I have wanted so long to be a stay-at-home mom, and there is truly no where I'd rather be today. I am SO thankful and blessed that I am able to stay home with my kids this year and I know it's the right thing for our family....
BUT...
As Norwood goes back to schol today, I can't help but feeling a little nostalgic... call me crazy, but I have always LOVED the first day of school! The excitement, the nerves, the untouched school supplies, clean classroom, new faces, the curiosity of not knowing what the year will bring and how you'll impact lives in the coming year... and just the all around fresh start that the first day brings. I'll be praying for my old students today and for all my teacher friends... have a great first day!!!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Beautiful, ordinary moments that I never want to forget...
Friday night pool time with the whole family: being the only ones at the pool, watching Gary and Alex play and giggle together in the deep end (beautiful sight), Alex LOVING the water (he starts out a bit timid every time we go... usually he warms up fairly quickly), water fights, chasing mommy around the pool, watching daddy do "tricks", giggling like crazy, and Nathan joining in on the fun before falling asleep in his carseat
Nursing my beautiful baby in the middle of the night (yes, he's still waking up :) - especially this weekend, since I tried not swaddling him... it didn't go so well ;) ), sweet smiles, baby coos, nursing, big burps, and then falling asleep on my chest... love these sweet moments alone with my baby in the quietness of the night
Saturday morning at the DMV: waiting 2.5 hours in line to get new licesnses and register one of the cars (we'll have to go back for the Vue), so proud of how well my boys did!... this was a LONG time for me as an adult! Alex creatively entertained himself: being a rocket (sound effects and all), pointing out letters, people watching, drawing pictures, playing with "his baby", flying his airplane and superwhy action figure he brought along, eating a "fuit nack"
Saturday picnic at the park: beautiful weather, shady trees, giggly boys, shredded chicken salads, yummy homemade chocolate chip cookies, Nathan loving the outdoors and staring up at the trees and clouds (kicking his legs, squealing, huge smiles), Alex loving the playground, "watch me!", hearing a train and then SEEING it in the distance (a DREAM for Alex... never gets old!), waiting and waiting for another one (even after we assured him it would be a while before another one would come), "CHOO CHOOing" as he runs around the playground (his little arm "pulling the chord" each time he says it), "two more minutes mommy???" when it's time to go
Saturday afternoon: Snuggling with Nathan and falling asleep together on the couch for 2 hours, waking up feeling refreshed, playing marbles, building a tall tower, Alex to daddy: "Let's build it high honey... look honey... watch me honey..." "Daddy's my honey", Nathan loving his bumbo (getting stronger and being able to sit in it longer! he loves watching all the action!), snuggling with Gary and Alex while watching the Disney movie "Dinosaur", Alex being so engaged in the movie (yelling to the characters to RUN!, laughing, "uh oh"ing), popcorn, "I want to sit by you mommy", "hold me daddy", random "uv oo"s (love you)
Sunday: checking out another church, talking the whole way home about our visit, grocery shopping (spending only $21 this week!), lots of "oh what a sweet baby!" "how cute!" "how old??", etc., another afternoon nap with Nathan (while Gary played video games), SUCH a happy baby, Nathan playing with my face, Alex getting concerned with Nathan putting the toys in his mouth, Nathan getting good at picking up toys off his high chair tray! and seeing how excited he is when he grabs ahold of one... so cute!, Alex being so cute with his brother, calling him "baby boy" and patting him so gently, Alex cleaning up ALL his toys (there were lots...) because if he did we'd put more batteries in his remote control car, the PROUD look on his face when he finished, playing pretend with Alex - "cooking" with the playdoh, snuggling with my hubby all evening
I love my little family :)
Nursing my beautiful baby in the middle of the night (yes, he's still waking up :) - especially this weekend, since I tried not swaddling him... it didn't go so well ;) ), sweet smiles, baby coos, nursing, big burps, and then falling asleep on my chest... love these sweet moments alone with my baby in the quietness of the night
Saturday morning at the DMV: waiting 2.5 hours in line to get new licesnses and register one of the cars (we'll have to go back for the Vue), so proud of how well my boys did!... this was a LONG time for me as an adult! Alex creatively entertained himself: being a rocket (sound effects and all), pointing out letters, people watching, drawing pictures, playing with "his baby", flying his airplane and superwhy action figure he brought along, eating a "fuit nack"
Saturday picnic at the park: beautiful weather, shady trees, giggly boys, shredded chicken salads, yummy homemade chocolate chip cookies, Nathan loving the outdoors and staring up at the trees and clouds (kicking his legs, squealing, huge smiles), Alex loving the playground, "watch me!", hearing a train and then SEEING it in the distance (a DREAM for Alex... never gets old!), waiting and waiting for another one (even after we assured him it would be a while before another one would come), "CHOO CHOOing" as he runs around the playground (his little arm "pulling the chord" each time he says it), "two more minutes mommy???" when it's time to go
Saturday afternoon: Snuggling with Nathan and falling asleep together on the couch for 2 hours, waking up feeling refreshed, playing marbles, building a tall tower, Alex to daddy: "Let's build it high honey... look honey... watch me honey..." "Daddy's my honey", Nathan loving his bumbo (getting stronger and being able to sit in it longer! he loves watching all the action!), snuggling with Gary and Alex while watching the Disney movie "Dinosaur", Alex being so engaged in the movie (yelling to the characters to RUN!, laughing, "uh oh"ing), popcorn, "I want to sit by you mommy", "hold me daddy", random "uv oo"s (love you)
Sunday: checking out another church, talking the whole way home about our visit, grocery shopping (spending only $21 this week!), lots of "oh what a sweet baby!" "how cute!" "how old??", etc., another afternoon nap with Nathan (while Gary played video games), SUCH a happy baby, Nathan playing with my face, Alex getting concerned with Nathan putting the toys in his mouth, Nathan getting good at picking up toys off his high chair tray! and seeing how excited he is when he grabs ahold of one... so cute!, Alex being so cute with his brother, calling him "baby boy" and patting him so gently, Alex cleaning up ALL his toys (there were lots...) because if he did we'd put more batteries in his remote control car, the PROUD look on his face when he finished, playing pretend with Alex - "cooking" with the playdoh, snuggling with my hubby all evening
I love my little family :)
Friday, August 20, 2010
Rockets, Haircuts, and Bumbo Pics!
Ever since going to the Air and Space Museum, Alex has been so into rockets, astronauts, and space! I ran across an informational movie about space at the library and decided to pick it up... I'm so glad I did! He has already watched it twice! You can see how into it and engaged he is in this pic! I also found two space books and he's read them each several times and announced that he wants to be an astronaut! He said he'd take me and daddy on the rocket with him :) 
Notice any change in this little guy? That's right, his hair is SUPER short now! haha... a little shorter than I thought it'd turn out ;) Rachel (my sister-in-law) taught me how to cut hair... we invested in a $30 hair cutting kit and I've decided to save us a little money by cutting Alex and Gary's hair myself! I figure they get haircuts about every 2 months at least and it's about $30 for the two of them to get cheap cuts and tip the hairdresser... so that's saving us at least $180/year! (Not to mention in a couple of years i can do Nathan's too!) It was much easier than I thought! 
Nathan has been loving his fingers these past few days! He's been really sucking them good... he still takes a passy too, but he's been doing this more and more. He's also discovered his feet (about a week and a half ago) and gets really excited to play with his own toes! (Haven't gotten a photo of that yet!)
My smiley boy!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Our week at Treasure Lake!
We spent last week at my parents' house in PA! Most of our time was spent outside: campfires, beach, lake, pool, backyard, etc.! I love a house full of little ones... my sister-in-law and her kids are in town from New Mexico, so we had five kids under five: two 3 month olds, an 18 month old, a 2 1/2 year old and an almost 5 year old! It was such a fun week! Gary took the boys and I down Saturday and then left Sunday to come back to DC to work for the week. He came back and spent a 3-day weekend with us the next weekend!
We'll get to go back in a couple of weeks for another 3-day weekend when my brother Ben comes to get Rachel and the kids... so glad we didn't have to say good-bye quite yet! I wish we didn't live so far from each other so that our kids could spend time together more often!
Grandma and Nathan relaxing at the pool :)
And Nathan and I at the beach :) The hat I took for Nathan (that fit him just TWO WEEKS ago had outgrown him... so he ended up using big brothers! Can't believe how fast he's growing!
And Nathan and I at the beach :) The hat I took for Nathan (that fit him just TWO WEEKS ago had outgrown him... so he ended up using big brothers! Can't believe how fast he's growing!
I love watching kids at the beach... they are so busy! As soon as they get there it's like they can hardly wait to get sunscreen on and get their shoes off because there is just so much "work" to do! The kids loved the sand and water!
It didn't take long for Alex to look up to his big cousin Hayden! Here he is following him around... won't be long and Alex will be the one being followed around by his little brother :)
The kids were "chopping wood" here... being like grandpa!
Enjoying smores!
Grandpa took the boys fishing... Alex caught a fish!!! He was so patient with the fishing - I couldn't believe how long it kept his attention!
It was so fun spending time with my sister-in-law, Rachel! Our babies are just 2.5 weeks apart!
These two were hilarious! They're about 10 months apart and picked at each other constantly!!! You can see Alex is about to take that sprinkler, and she's bracing herself saying "No! Mine!" They always wanted what the other one was playing with! These two couldn't be left alone for more than a minute without someone ending up in tears! At the same time though, Alex would ask where she was when she wasn't around and has told me several times since being home that he misses both Hayden AND Savannah!
These two had a blast and got along great! It was especially fun to watch them together because they are about 2.5 years apart... about the same distance that we have between our boys!
So fun having these two little babies "play" together! Nathan was born just a couple of weeks before Eliana. It will be crazy next summer when these two are toddling around with the other three!
It didn't take long for Alex to look up to his big cousin Hayden! Here he is following him around... won't be long and Alex will be the one being followed around by his little brother :)
The kids were "chopping wood" here... being like grandpa!
Enjoying smores!
Grandpa took the boys fishing... Alex caught a fish!!! He was so patient with the fishing - I couldn't believe how long it kept his attention!
It was so fun spending time with my sister-in-law, Rachel! Our babies are just 2.5 weeks apart!
These two were hilarious! They're about 10 months apart and picked at each other constantly!!! You can see Alex is about to take that sprinkler, and she's bracing herself saying "No! Mine!" They always wanted what the other one was playing with! These two couldn't be left alone for more than a minute without someone ending up in tears! At the same time though, Alex would ask where she was when she wasn't around and has told me several times since being home that he misses both Hayden AND Savannah!
These two had a blast and got along great! It was especially fun to watch them together because they are about 2.5 years apart... about the same distance that we have between our boys!
So fun having these two little babies "play" together! Nathan was born just a couple of weeks before Eliana. It will be crazy next summer when these two are toddling around with the other three!
We'll get to go back in a couple of weeks for another 3-day weekend when my brother Ben comes to get Rachel and the kids... so glad we didn't have to say good-bye quite yet! I wish we didn't live so far from each other so that our kids could spend time together more often!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Random moving thoughts
I love the fact that I moved to a new city with my little family... I know people move to new places alone all the time and find themselves in a big, strange place without a single friend or even acquaintence - but I just don't know if I could do that! A lot of people were surprised in finding out that we would accept this job and give up the life we'd built in NKY to move to a city where we wouldn't have any friends and where we'd have to leave our house behind. I know some people thought it was crazy that we were "giving up" so much to take this job opportunity. I see it in a whole different light... who better to take off on an exciting adventure with than my best friend and the two little boys that I get to be a mom to? This new job and move was the answer to many prayers for us - allowing me to be a stay at home mom, putting Gary in a good career path with an exciting job, great benefits, and an exciting adventure (something Gary and I have talked about doing for a long time!) After spending our high school and college years in the Cincinnati area, we kind of always dreamed of moving somewhere brand new... moving to KY was a baby step in that direction for us, I guess :)
So, yes, we were very sad to leave behind some good friends, a fantastic church, and a nice home, but we got to bring our closest and most important relationships with us. And we know God will place us in another church where we can grow/learn... and not to sound too cheesy (ok, I know it does, but I'm going to say it anyway) - a home is where your family is.
So here we are, we don't know a single person, I have to stop and think for a minute when someone asks me my address (and I've even given the wrong one out a couple of times...), we can't get around town without the use of a GPS (thank God for technology!), and we are busy putting together a new home! And I love it! My best friend is right alongside me and my treasured babies are with me, and that really is all that matters for now!
That brings me to my next point...
We have made it our goal to find a church by the end of September so that we can start getting to know some people and continue to grow spiritually with others. We set the deadline of September since we would like to start making some friends and because we know it is easy to get into the rut of church hopping because you just can't find that "perfect church". Well folks, there is no such thing... so we've set some guidlines and some "non-negotiables" and we'll do the best we can to find somewhere that fits those and call it our home :)
We've learned through our experience at Grace Fellowship the importance of a few things and we kind of know what we would like to look for...
So, yes, we were very sad to leave behind some good friends, a fantastic church, and a nice home, but we got to bring our closest and most important relationships with us. And we know God will place us in another church where we can grow/learn... and not to sound too cheesy (ok, I know it does, but I'm going to say it anyway) - a home is where your family is.
So here we are, we don't know a single person, I have to stop and think for a minute when someone asks me my address (and I've even given the wrong one out a couple of times...), we can't get around town without the use of a GPS (thank God for technology!), and we are busy putting together a new home! And I love it! My best friend is right alongside me and my treasured babies are with me, and that really is all that matters for now!
That brings me to my next point...
We have made it our goal to find a church by the end of September so that we can start getting to know some people and continue to grow spiritually with others. We set the deadline of September since we would like to start making some friends and because we know it is easy to get into the rut of church hopping because you just can't find that "perfect church". Well folks, there is no such thing... so we've set some guidlines and some "non-negotiables" and we'll do the best we can to find somewhere that fits those and call it our home :)
We've learned through our experience at Grace Fellowship the importance of a few things and we kind of know what we would like to look for...
- Small groups - we've decided this is a "non-negotiable" for us - small groups have been so important to us and this is where real growth happens and real relationships form!
- Bible-Teaching - this seems like a given, but we've been to churches where the pastor doesn't even preach from the Bible! So the pastor better be quoting lots of scripture, encourage people to read their Bibles, and be giving more than just "feel good" sermons.
- True worship - we don't want to be at an "entertainment" driven church where they are there simply to put on a show for those that come
- Evidence of service and fellowship
- Good children's ministry
There are some other things we'd like to see, but these are the main things we've talked about and put at the top of our list. So please pray that we would find something quickly and start forming some relationships!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Weekend in Pictures
We had such a great weekend!!! It's a little out of order (why is it that you have to put your pics up in reverse order? Am I doing something wrong?) Anyway, these first pics are actually from Monday! Gary had his first 3-day weekend, so we spent Monday downtown! 
We visited one of the Smithsonian Museums, the Air and Space Museum!
Alex got to "fly a plane" - he LOVED this!
Alex REALLY enjoyed all the "big space stuff", rockets, planes, huge engines, planets, stars, things with buttons/wires, etc. We couldn't believe how into it he was... we thought he'd lose attention after the first little bit - but he was talking, pointing at things, running from one thing to the next, and asking for more the ENTIRE time! We were there almost 3 hours and he was totally engaged, having a blast! This was very surprising because there was only one section that was really geared toward kids. Maybe he'll be an engineer, pilot, or astronaut! haha!
Here he is telling daddy about the rockets and space stuff! He talked NON-STOP the whole time we were there, he was so excited!
He was dissappointed when it was time to go... we assured him that we'd come back again :)
Taking a little snack break on the lawn of the National Mall! It was beautiful!!
Here we are in front of the WWII Memorial... the boys were fast asleep at this point.
Worn-0ut kiddos :)
Washington Monument :)
Alex and I in front of the Capital Building. Everything was so beautiful... we had a great day! Next time we're thinking we'll visit a museum in the afternoon and then see the Mall at night when the monuments are all lit up! And I love that all the Smithsonian Museums are free... we took a picnic lunch and some snacks and spent only $18 for the entire day downtown - and that was just to park the car!
These pics are actually from Friday, Saturday, and Sunday... we enjoyed making chocolate chip cookies on Sunday afternoon!
Here's our first trip to the pool (It just opened on Friday since it's a new complex)
Nathan loved the water!!
Alex was a bit hesitant to go out into the actual pool... he spent most of the evening playing in the wading pool area playing with his beach ball and the fountains :)
We also spent some time at the Potomac Mall in Woodbridge... it is HUGE! It takes about 40 minutes just to walk from one end of the mall to the other... it's crazy! The mall is split into 5 sections and each one is practically it's own mall. I got some great deals on end-of-season sales for clothes for the kids for next spring/summer!
We visited one of the Smithsonian Museums, the Air and Space Museum! 
Alex got to "fly a plane" - he LOVED this!
Alex REALLY enjoyed all the "big space stuff", rockets, planes, huge engines, planets, stars, things with buttons/wires, etc. We couldn't believe how into it he was... we thought he'd lose attention after the first little bit - but he was talking, pointing at things, running from one thing to the next, and asking for more the ENTIRE time! We were there almost 3 hours and he was totally engaged, having a blast! This was very surprising because there was only one section that was really geared toward kids. Maybe he'll be an engineer, pilot, or astronaut! haha!
Here he is telling daddy about the rockets and space stuff! He talked NON-STOP the whole time we were there, he was so excited!
He was dissappointed when it was time to go... we assured him that we'd come back again :)
Taking a little snack break on the lawn of the National Mall! It was beautiful!!
Here we are in front of the WWII Memorial... the boys were fast asleep at this point.
Worn-0ut kiddos :)
Washington Monument :)
Alex and I in front of the Capital Building. Everything was so beautiful... we had a great day! Next time we're thinking we'll visit a museum in the afternoon and then see the Mall at night when the monuments are all lit up! And I love that all the Smithsonian Museums are free... we took a picnic lunch and some snacks and spent only $18 for the entire day downtown - and that was just to park the car!
These pics are actually from Friday, Saturday, and Sunday... we enjoyed making chocolate chip cookies on Sunday afternoon! 
Here's our first trip to the pool (It just opened on Friday since it's a new complex)
Nathan loved the water!! 
Alex was a bit hesitant to go out into the actual pool... he spent most of the evening playing in the wading pool area playing with his beach ball and the fountains :)
We also spent some time at the Potomac Mall in Woodbridge... it is HUGE! It takes about 40 minutes just to walk from one end of the mall to the other... it's crazy! The mall is split into 5 sections and each one is practically it's own mall. I got some great deals on end-of-season sales for clothes for the kids for next spring/summer! And Sunday we checked out the second church we've been to since we got here... more on church hunting later though... it's time for breakfast!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
