Goodbye 2007!

Well, it's another exciting New Year's Eve. The boys are watching a little Tom & Jerry in the bed & we just returned from dinner at our neighbor's Eric & Elizabeth. I am hanging out with some popcorn & the Clemson game about ready to hit the sack.
As I recollect New Year's Eve's of the past I recall spending some on an airplane, some on layovers alone, some at exciting parties, but this kind of New Year's Eve suits me fine.
I have been very sick today, thus leading me to believe that it's a girl.
New Year's Resolution #1: I will not stop my running. I ran 5 miles on Saturday and 3 today. I am a little slower than before, but I'm going to try to keep on until I can't anymore. I had worked up to 10 miles before pregnancy and although I won't go that far, I hope to keep up some endurance.
New Year's Resolution #2: I will dig in deeper to bible studies & try to keep learning & growing. I will also try to get up at least 30 minutes before my children to have devotions/prayer in the am.
Hope you are all having a nice evening bidding 2007 goodbye. Can't wait to see what 2008 has in store....

I am the type of pregnant person that seems to be hit by all the symptoms immediately. In the past 2 weeks I have already gained 2-3 pounds, I am tired and feeling a bit queasy. For all of you who just love being pregnant, I am envious, because I don't enjoy it one bit.
But I am looking forward to blogging all about this pregnancy. This week's craving has been soup. Soup of all kinds! Salmon stew on Christmas, chicken noodle yesterday and today I made a huge pot of vegetable soup.

Hope you all had a great Christmas. Ours was wonderful. Today the tree came down and the floor was mopped. Almost all the toys have found a place to go and the boys are ready to play.

They are both excited about a new baby. Henry wants a brother and Nate wants a sister.

Merry Christmas!

What a wonderful Christmas this has been. There was lots of toys, food and exciting news in my family. I am going to be an aunt! My brother Mark and his wife Denise are expecting a baby boy due in May. And to add to the excitement, Bryan and I are pregnant also!! I am figuring an August due date. So our family willl have little cousins close to the same age, getting to play together. Yeah! Hope your Christmas was Merry!

Bragging Parents

Nate & Henry had their first real speaking parts in a Christmas program at church tonight. Nate was a sheep with curly horns. Nate's line was: I gave him my wool for his blanket warm and He wore my coat on Christmas morn.

Henry was a camel and his line was: Over the desert upon my back, I brought Him a gift in the Wise Man's pack. They had their lines memorized and of course, Bryan and I thought they were perfect!!

Here they are singing a song about bells and enjoying every minute of it.

Here is a blurry picture of them just getting on stage.

And, finally the proud parents standing in front of the most beautiful stage I've seen in a long time. It was a bunch of Christmas trees, almost like being in a Christmas forest.

Good night!

O Christmas Tree

Decorating the Christmas tree is a tradition I look forward to every year. Around mid-November I get the fever to go ahead and put it up. However, this year I made myself wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate. Oh the excitement when you unpack those decorations from last year. I just love the look in Nate & Henry's eyes when they open a box of ornaments and are in awe of their beauty. Nate especially appreciates beautiful decorations.

So finally you get the lights out and we all know what a pain they are. By the time I am stringing lights on the tree, Bryan and the boys are completely involved in another activity that is more exciting. Here is a picture of me trying to string lights. Scary, huh.

The boys did help put ornaments on the tree and each day I am delighted to see what may be added to the tree that wasn't there the day before. Last night we made one of those construction paper chains. It was on the tree, then strung around Nate's room and now I'm not sure where it is now.

Aaaahhhhh!
Now, that is a great holiday! Thanksgiving. You don't have to worry about gifts, decorating or having a tan. Highlights of my holiday:]

Our friends Robin, JD & kids Trace & Tara drove hundreds of hours from Florida to spend the day with us. Oh what fun we had together!!

I made crock pot mac & cheese for Granny's house & accidentally used sweetened condensed milk instead of evaporated milk and it turned out like a dessert.

I made a new recipe called "oops I dropped it again - sweet potato pie cobbler" the recipe calls for a sweet potato pie cooked as directed, dropped (accidentally) on the floor and then smushed into a corning ware dish. Yum.

Needless to say, the food only plays part of a role in the celebration. However, my favorite Thanksgiving treat is mixing rice, dressing & turkey all together and then covering it with gravy.

Happy Thanksgiving. What Joy is thankful for:
My Salvation & my evolving relationship with Jesus
My wonderful family
My health
The beautiful place I live - isn't fall great??
Good Food!

Fall

I am in such complete awe of the beauty of autumn. It seems the upstate of SC is even more beautiful this time of year than it usually is. As I look at the landscape, the colors seem so vivid. It reminds me of a song by Watermark that I love. It talks about how all of nature praises God in its own beautiful ways, but how God cherishes our praises above all.

I'm already thinking about that great photo opportunity for the "Christmas Card Picture." Which is often the only family picture we have that year. It's sort of become a tradition for us to take a family picture & then send Christmas cards. Timing is everything. You don't want to forego Thanksgiving and take the picture too early, but you can't wait until the last minute, unexpected bad (buzz) haircuts or cuts or bruises on the face come into play. Remember, this is a house full of boys. So, I will keep you updated on this. Maybe an early snow would be a perfect setting --- ahhh! If only....

Legos

Nate has discovered Lego blocks. He just loves them. Here is a picture of him with his first creation. I think this was a ship. He had a great time crashing it into the wall and then trying to build it bigger. Henry, however, isn't quite ready for legos yet. Nate waits until naptime to pull them out so Henry won't tear anything he's built up.

Happy Halloween!

It was a low key Halloween for us. The boys have been sick with a cold all week and now Bryan has it. But we did go to a few neighborhood houses and scored just a few pieces of candy. I thought we had 2 spidermen, but a last minute change of costumes (thanks to TJ Maxx & Dee Dee) meant a knight & pirate graced the streets. Here are a few pics.

A trophy!

Today was the Oktoberfest 5/10K and what a great morning it turned out to be! I brought home a trophy! I got third in my age division in the 10K. Bryan got second in his age division for the 5K. This was Bryan's first race and he loved it! Elizabeth & Christy also ran & we all enjoyed each other's company & the beautiful scenery Walhalla has to offer! Hope to see you at the Oktoberfest!

Joy flying Delta

What fun it was to be on the airplane again after so long. I found myself paying close attention to the safety demonstration, making note of the emergency exits around me, I realized the closest exit was behind me. I tried not to be needy during the beverage service, and I couldn't help but notice the fantastic red dress that is now part of the Delta uniform.

Here are some pictures for the record.

Disney's Race for the Taste 10K

What a great weekend!! Here is a picture of me and Robin at the 10K in Orlando on Sunday. We didn't set any records for speed, however we did have a blast. The boys enjoyed a long weekend with both sets of Grandparents (thank you for babysitting!) I can't wait to share more pictures from the trip. However a very large pile of laundry is calling my name.

Guys love chainsaws! Bryan is actually behind me with his chainsaw, gloves & safety glasses getting ready to cut down a tree. They love to be just like dad!
What a beautiful day it's been here. We have had so much fun hanging out today. I love this time of year when you can't decide if you need long sleeves or if you'll be okay in shorts.
Big plans for the weekend! Bryan and I are headed to Punta Gorda Florida where we'll visit our friends Robin & JD and their kids and then on to Orlando (without kids) to run in a 10K with Robin that goes through Epcot! I can't wait. I haven't flown in over a year. To think that I would fly 20-30 flights a week just five years ago! Of course we will be on Delta!!!

Happy Birthday Uncle Mark!!

Happy Birthday Uncle Mark! We love you,

Bryan, Joy Nate & Henry

Check out these soccer pictures!!

The boys are playing under 6 soccer. Which means Henry is by far the youngest player on the team. In fact, I had to get special permission from the YMCA director to let him play. He just doesn't understand that he isn't 4 years old, like Nate. Henry loves the attention, he spends most of the "game time" giving kisses and hugs to us on the sidelines. Nate, however, is all about the "game." He is serious. He gets mad when someone else scores, even when it's someone on his own team.

Oh what fun it is to watch these boys learn about life. To be a kid again...

Well, our week has been quite full! The boys have discovered fun at the Clemson football games. They had a blast on Saturday rooting for the Tigers (while wearing Furman shirts - Bryan is currently attending Furman). Soccer is in full swing with our first game tomorrow night!! The weather is finally cooling off some and we are enjoying the great outdoors (again).

What a difference it makes to have high temps in the 80s instead of the 100s!

One of those days...

Today was one of those days where I feel like I've been scolding or screaming at one of my children most of the evening.

They must be tired. Right. Maybe they're hungry. Probably. Maybe they're just trying to aggravate me and they're doing a fine job of it.

They are asleep now. Precious and innocent(looking).

As I laid there trying to get them to sleep I prayed and asked God to give me more patience and maybe a few more ideas on promoting good behavior.

I will go to bed having faith that my prayer will be answered. In the meantime, I will thank God for the 3 quiet hours preschool gives me.

1st day of preschool!

The first day of preschool has arrived, and it was great! The boys go to an excellent preschool at Golden Corner Church and had a blast the first day. What a change from last year. Some of my first posts on this blog tell of how both the boys cried quite a bit getting used to school last year. But today went great. They both have fantastic teachers (of course all the teachers at GCC Preschool are fantastic) and they seem excited about the coming year. I know I am!

Bald Heads

My children are bald. Bryan asked me late Thursday (while I was half asleep) if they could all 3 buzz their hair. Well, they did. There is nothing left except a little stubble. I almost cried when I saw them and had to remind myself that it is only hair and it will grow back.

So, if you see 3 bald heads running around in our yard don't be surprised.

On another note, we had our first backyard bible club this morning at an apartment complex in town. It was so great. The children were precious and I know we got just as much out of it as they did. Jesus was undeniably there. Can't wait to go back!

Check out this cute picture of Henry when he had lots and lots of hair!

Just thought I'd share a few adorable pictures.

Here is Nate - age 1 1/2 (left)

And Henry - 9 months (right)

Still hoping my camera will turn up. Or maybe someone will give me one for a birthday present (but that isn't until October).