200th Post!

Tonight starts Nate's journey as a Cub Scout! He's been waiting for this for years, always looking up to the Boy Scouts he knows & meets. Bryan and I are the Tiger Scout den leaders. We will lead a group of first graders as they meet the goals & challenges of being a Tiger Scout! A responsibility that we aren't taking lightly.

Henry was so excited that he could go & just watch. I made it very clear that it would be 2 more years before he could be a Tiger Scout. I think Cub Scouts will be something Nate really enjoys.

I had the pleasure of meeting my dear friend Caroline's little girl today, Madeline. She was just beautiful! I thought she looked just like her mom.

Wrestling

another for Silas

For Silas

Happy Grandparents Day!

The best place to go when you're sad is Grandpa's lap.

The reason grandchildren and grandparents get along so well is that they have a common enemy.

"If I'd known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren, I'd have had them first!"

An hour with your grandchildren can make you feel young again, anything longer than that and you start to age quickly!
When grandparents enter the door, discipline flies out the window!

They say genes skip generations. Maybe that's why grandparents find their grandchildren so likeable.

"Grandparents hold our tiny hands for just a little while, but our hearts forever."

Aunt Joy! (again)

James & Stacie left for England yesterday. They'll be gone for a year while James studies at the University of Bath. They also just found out that they are expecting their first baby! Yippee! I'm going to be an Aunt (again!). So, while they're gone I will try to keep them updated on our family by blogging. They will probably feel more connected & know what's going on (thanks to the internet) than when they were living right here in Walhalla.

Tonight was Nate & Henry's first soccer game. Here is Luke cheering them on. We had to rush home to watch the Tigers play. Luke has had terrible nights this week. For some reason, he wakes up at 3am ready to get up for the day. He stands up in our bed & climbs all over Bryan. I try to cuddle him and get him to be quiet & go back to sleep, but he is wide awake. I finally put him in his crib at 4am this morning only to watch Bryan get up to bring him back to our bed when he started crying. I had him back to sleep by 5:30, but Henry was up by then. I will remember what I tell everyone else - everything, the good & the bad will pass in time. Hope this phase passes sooner than later. It's almost 9pm here, guess it's around 2am in London. Goodnight James & Stacie. Hope you are already fast asleep!

Luke laughing at Henry

Happy Labor Day!

Well, we had a good labor day considering Henry is STILL running a fever! AAAHHHH! We thought he was better, it sort of comes & goes. But this evening, he was hot again. We did take a quick trip up to Stumphouse to see Isaqueena Falls, caught a very large insect and had a late lunch at Mexican. It's not even 8pm and all 3 boys are asleep! I hope to follow them and get to bed very soon. I'm used to interrupted sleep, Luke still wakes to come to our bed around midnight and Nate & Henry wake me up often, but the last 5 nights have been really rough.

Just wanted to share a couple of pics from the weekend. The batteries have been charging on the 4 wheelers for about 3 months, so we just discovered that Luke loves to ride with the big boys!

And this picture of Nate is such a common sight, he is so patient and just loves to burn things using the magnifing glass.

Enjoy the short week!

Henry

Today is day 5 that Henry has been sick. Fever, no appetite, no energy. Poor Henry. Silas wanted a video of Henry because he'd watched one of Nate & Luke but hadn't seen Henry. Henry was so excited to send one. Please pray that he will feel better soon and that the rest of us won't catch this icky flu-like virus.

Luke is a mess!

Luke is needing a bath after every meal lately. Unfortunately, he only gets one bath a day, so he's dirty quite a bit. I scooped mashed potatoes and mac & cheese on his tray today to buy me enough time to care for Henry (who is still not feeling well) and returned to find a huge mess.

The Saxophone

Nate and Henry found the saxophone that I attempted to learn how to play in the 7th grade. They are eager to start a band. Nate wrote a song last night, while Henry lay in bed with a 103 degree fever. (he's feeling much better today) Thought I'd share it with you. By the way, they're already much better musicians with no training at all than I have ever been.

Lynx

We are proud to announce that we have a new addition to our family.....
Lynx!
What a beautiful cat (she takes after her mom)!

James and Stacie are leaving on September 9 for the University of Bath in England (just left of London). James will be getting his masters degree and they will return next summer. In the meantime, we are thrilled to be the caretakers of their beautiful cat. We are "cat" people. At one point, before Nate was born, Bryan and I had 5 cats!!

James & Stacie are sure that Luke said "kitty kitty" this evening when he saw Lynx. Nate & Henry are so excited. They've been looking forward to Lynx moving in for weeks now. Hope Lynx enjoys living here. It's sure to be a little louder than she's used to!

School Daze

Whew! What a day! Back to school time is so busy. Nate had a fantastic first day of first grade. He woke up excited and ready to get to school. I am so thankful that he loves it. He's never said "I don't want to go to school today." I think that says lots for his great school.

Henry also started school today. He is going to another Elementary School every afternoon for 2 1/2 hours for a unique program that puts 9 special needs children in a class with 4 non-special needs children. It's designed to help the special needs children learn to play & socialize with other kids. Henry is sort of a role model. Scary, huh! He will start kindergarten next year (finally!) I sometimes forget that Henry is only 4 years old.

Luke had a great 1 year well visit at the doctor while everyone was enjoying school. So far, he's been measuring and weighing a little more than Nate did at that age and a little less than Henry did. Well, today, he topped them both. He weighed 24 lbs. 4 oz. Nate didn't weigh 24 lbs until he was 2 years old, and Henry weighed 24 lbs at 18 months. He measured almost 33" tall which is taller than Nate & Henry at 12 months. I guess he's my big boy. I love it!!!

Happy Birthday to Luke!!

Last night Henry told Luke, "Today you're zero, but tomorrow, when you wake up, your gonna be one year old!" Henry was up at 6 eagerly awaiting any signs of waking from Luke. By 7am, Nate & Henry were singing "Happy Birthday to Luke." They were sure that Luke would walk by himself on this day. (he didn't) Turning one was a big deal in this house. The party was great with lots of family and friends. Luke wasn't interested in his cake, but Nate showed him just how it was done.

Luke was in bed by 6:30 and happy as could be on this very happy first birthday.

What blessed

parents we are to have these 3 precious children.

Driving to Greenville

The last week before school!

What a fun week we've had! Big birthday weekend, Bryan's and Mama's on the 8th, Martha's on the 9th. We had lots to celebrate. Then a last minute trip to Gatlinburg with Granny, Nana and Uncle Brent. Now we're gearing up for the first day of school on Monday! So with all these exciting stories to tell, I really just want to share a few cute parenting tips I recently found:

1. Put Band-Aids on everything your kids want you to. Why not?

2. Just throw away the poopy underwear!

3. Answer this question: What's the worst thing that can happen if your kids sleep in their clothes?

4. Teach them to like cool music, Why suffer through The Wiggles when you could be enjoying Wilco or Barenaked Ladies!

5. Use duvet covers and forget about the top sheets. Your kids will thank you when they're learning to make the bed.

6. Teach them to pump on the swings ASAP.

7. If your child falls asleep occasionally without brushing her teeth, don't wake her; baby teeth do eventually fall out.

Thought these were great and I'm gonna remember them, especially #7.

Good luck going back to school!

Thanks Silas!

Portacrib in the bathroom

I had to move the portacrib to the bathroom so I could get a shower. Wild man isn't interested in toys, just escaping.

Getting ready for the big day...

Luke's 1st birthday is August 16 and Nate & Henry couldn't be more excited. When someone asks how old is Luke? Nate & Henry are quick to say "zero!" Turning one is a big big deal! They've decided to start practicing singing "Happy Birthday" so Luke will know the song.