In My Opinion...

...Sand angels beat out snow angels any day.

What's Been Goin On...

I finally transferred pictures to the computer this morning, and realized that I have missed posting a lot of blog-worthy pics. Our computer is sadly dying. She's been a good ol girl-- nearly 9 years old which is apparently ancient where technology is concerned. All that to say, it took me FOREVER and a year to download all of these shots. (thankfully, I had an endless supply of laundry to fold while waiting. lucky me.)
So...in no particular order whatsoever...

I actually took these this morning. Look at that sweet little boy! Overalls, camo shirt, and cord hat. You really can't beat that.

Joshua and I went on our first official field trip last week with his preschool class. I have to be honest and admit that I wasn't totally looking forward to the trip. This may make me sound like a really bad and ungrateful mommy, but j and ab going to school 2 mornings a week is just as much for me as it is for them. The break does me good. I get things done. I rest and relax and by noon I usually really miss them and am ready to see their sweet shining faces. However, we ended up having a wonderful time and I'm really glad that I got to go with him and his class. I was able to meet some of the other parents. I got to see how he interacts with his teachers and classmates. It was really fun. Here are just a few pics of me and my Joshua...and sweet Caleb tagged along too.




This is Fred's intern. Do you think that he knew that loving our kids was in the job description when he got the job? They adore him and love it when he comes to our house.


One thing we have learned about our sweet AB is that if it's really quiet she's definitely doing something she's not supposed to. ...Like getting an entire batch of cupcakes off of the counter and plopping down to eat as many as she can. ...And like the good mother and discipliner that I am, I stopped to take a picture before we had a little chat:)


Who needs Disney World when you have a big hill and a stroller? Seriously one of our kids' favorite things to do. And it's a really good work out too!



I LOVE it when they show love to each other!


This is just one of the MANY piles of sheets/towels that I washed 2 weeks ago...when all five of us got a stomach bug. It was terrible. I've never done so many loads of laundry or sprayed so much Lysol in my life!!!


I love rainy days. I really do. They're so relaxing- we've had tons of rain lately but it hasn't really kept us inside. We've spent many mornings in and out of the garage in our messiest play clothes. I love it!






My kids love anything having to do with water. And they're really smart...because when they ask "mommy, can we wash each other's feet like Jesus did?" how can I refuse?!!?


My friend Becky blogged about doing cheerio art at her house so we gave it a try one morning. J and AB loved it! Thanks for the idea, Becky!



J has become obsessed with letters, words, sounds, spelling-- anything pre-reading really. So we pulled out a big pan and some cous cous (sp?) and spelled things out. It was really fun!


Whew...sorry about the long post, people. But like many of you, I want to be able to look back on all of these entries in the years to come and remember what life was like. I think that if I don't blog about it, I'll forget so many of these sweet treasured moments with our little family. And I don't want to forget any of it...even when I washed a bazillion towels in one week:)

What's Worse Than Diarrhea?

Two year old's diarrhea...

In the little potty...

That we keep in the minivan...

While sitting in the Chick-fil-A parking lot...

On the way to church...

That was then spilled all over said two year old...

Needless to say, we didn't make it to church tonight.

FOUR

My baby turned four on Friday. FOUR. It sounds so old. I was going through some clothes for Caleb tonight and was reminded again of how fast time flies. Wasn't Joshua wearing those 12 month track pants LAST WEEK?!!?



Our prayer for Joshua is that he would be bold and courageous for the LORD. Another prayer that I have been praying for him lately is that he would be tenderhearted towards others and broken over his own sinfulness. There are a lot of wonderful things that I could write here about my precious little boy- but instead, here are two bedtime conversations with Joshua that we've had lately that I DO NOT want to EVER forget:



(*It's so amazing to see God answer our prayers and watch Him develop character in our little boy)





*My mom was visiting with us last month and one evening Joshua was having a particularly difficult time falling asleep (this isn't that abnormal with Joshua!) My mom finally went up to chat with him (that's what grandma's do, right?!) and the conversation went something like this:





Mom: Joshua, what's wrong, buddy?



Joshua: I'm going to die soon.



Mom: (naturally, quite concerned) Why do you think that you're going to die soon?



Joshua: Because I hit Anna Bell. And I'm going to die.




This is how "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" connects in a 4 year old's mind. He had just memorized this verse a few weeks before that. Praise God for the glimpse that Joshua got of the depravity of his own sin.





*For those of you who don't know my family, my sister and brother are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. Joshua and I were talking about the adoption and all the steps that have to happen before we get to meet our new neices/nephews. It is not natural for Joshua to have compassion for others. He is not a people pleaser, so you know that whatever comes out of that boy's mouth is genuine. With all that said, this is what he prayed unprompted over the weekend:




"Dear Jesus, Please help Aunt Laura and Uncle Luke and Maddie to get their babies soon because they miss them very much and are crying everyday. And I really want to see them because I love them a lot."





...AMEN!



...I love you Joshua Baker

Chucks N Leggings...

...should be an essential to every girl's wardrobe

"I Already Love Her"

I was putting Joshua to bed tonight and we somehow got on the topic of the names of each finger. When we got to his ring finger, the conversation went something like this...

Me: You see how mommy has the ring that daddy gave me on this finger? Someday, you will probably meet a girl that loves Jesus and loves you and you will decide that you want to marry her. So you will get her a ring and ask her to marry you. Then you will put a ring on her ring finger.

Joshua: ...And I think that I will pick Anna Bell. I already love her...

Talk about meltin' this mama's heart...

Caleb's First Buddy

Wow.

*On the way home from the grocery store yesterday...*

Anna Bell: Eww! Somethin' stinks!

Me: Really, Belly? What does it smell like?

*Long pause*

Anna Bell: I like the smell of poop.

...alrighty then.

My Husband Rocks

Friday was my 30th birthday. Big stuff, huh. It's strange to think of myself as a 30 year old. Not that I think 30 sounds that old or anything...it's just weird to think that I am no longer a 20 something year old. It seems like I just graduated college last week!

Anyways-- my sweet, thoughtful, creative husband did a fabulous job of celebrating my birthday. He took Joshua and Anna Bell to school on Thursday morning and texted me a few minutes after he left telling me to look in the garage. There, I found a packing list instructing me to get things together for us to be gone thurs-sat and to be ready to leave by 4:30. SO fun, right?!!? I was super excited! I quickly finished laundry, packed everything that's needed for our little family to travel, ran to Wal-mart to grab snacks for the car and breakfast/lunch stuff, and cleaned up the house! ...If only I had a surprise destination to motivate me to get everything done every week! When Fred got home we all hopped in the van and were on our way. I had no clue where we were going and didn't know for sure until we were about 10 miles away! We ended up at Hilton Head. We stayed in a condo right off the beach. It was so wonderful! The beach is probably my favorite place in the world, so to spend my birthday there with Fred and the kids was just about perfect! Thank you, dear husband! I love you!

To Do...

*Make the biggest possible train track.

...check.

8 Months.

Sweet Caleb Judson is eight months old! Fred and I were talking about the fact that 8 months have past since he joined our little family and I cannot believe how fast it has flown by! He is such a joy. He is very content to sit and watch his brother and sister play around him- no attempts at crawling yet (this mommy is thankful!) He has yet to get any teeth either (again- thankful!!!) He LOVES food; I have not had to buy a single jar of baby food this time around. He eats mostly avocado, banana, and sweet potato straight out of the peel. I've also steamed carrots, green beans, broccoli, & squash. He likes those too, but avocado and cheerios seem to be his favorites. He can say "Mama" and "Dada" and we are working on "uh-oh" and "bye." Caleb has the greatest cackle of a laugh and laughs hysterically when Anna Bell falls down (this happens a lot- she's quite clumsy) or when someone has the hiccups. He is still very content to ride in my sling when we're shopping or at church. I have joked that he's going to go from riding in my pouch right on to walking- actually, I think that's his only option...so I hope he doesn't get super heavy all of the sudden!:) We are so thankful for this little guy. I am humbled by the fact that God has placed him in our family. Thank You, Lord for Your lovingkindness!

Worth Boasting About

thus says the LORD,

"Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom,

and let not the mighty man boast of his might,

let not a rich man boast of his riches;

but let him who boasts boast of this,

that he understands and know ME,

that I am the LORD who exercises

lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth;

for I delight in these things,"

declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

Can 3 and 2 Year Olds Have Pica?!!?

Me: Joshua...Anna Bell...tell your daddy what you did to mommy's pens today.

Joshua: We ate them.


It's true. I walked into the play room yesterday morning only to find my two oldest chomping down on ball point pens. ...Thankfully, they were not so much interested in the ink as the surrounding plastic...that they had crushed into tiny little plastic pieces...that lay all over the floor where Caleb was playing. What in the world?!!?

Good Friend...?

Anna Bell: Momma, Caleb spilled (meaning that he spit up)

Me: Where, Anna Bell?

Anna Bell: I cleaned it up.

Me: Well thanks, sweet girl.

Anna Bell: I'm a good friend.

...I don't know where she's come up with this whole "good friend" thing. She decided that Uncle Luke was a good friend at the beach... what can I say? my AB is a little random...a lot cute:)