Surrounded by Boys!

I'm just posting this picture to say, "I love my boys!" What a blessing to be the Mommy of 3 little, crazy boys! Wow!

Yearly Check-up

I avoid keeping many "wreck" pictures around the house, so please forgive me if I've posted this pic of Stephen on here before. This was taken a couple weeks after he had his neck brace off in 2007. Every year since then (and for many years to come), he has to have x-rays to make sure the metal, etc. in his neck is still in place.

Thankfully, this year, his neurosurgeon, Dr. Couture, allowed us to have the x-rays done at Duke and then mailed to him for review. Jeremy and I took Stephen last Thursday, and he did great! We always cherish the opportunity we have to explain this to him, and he's always full of questions. This year the big thing he told us was that the only part of "being in the hospital" he remembered, was jumping from Mommy's bed to Daddy's. Of course, this took place right after we came home and were sleeping in separate beds in our living room, but it's all one big memory for him. We're so thankful that he remembers the good things when his mind could be full of so many negative ones.

He did great for his x-rays and sat as still as a 4 year old possibly can! The technician was shocked that he had metal in his neck. We forget sometimes too.=) She also told us a story of a little boy who had the same neck injury as a baby, and now, as a 3 year old, has never been able to walk. It reminded us how blessed we are as I remember Dr. Couture telling us that before surgery Stephen had some delayed movement in the right side of his body, and there may be some paralysis. Praise the Lord we avoided all of this and have an active, little miracle boy on our hands!

We celebrated "good x-rays" with Arby's curly fries that evening! Stephen, sweet boy, thank you for reminding me of miracles!

The Road to Emmaus

Last night at church the boys learned about the Road to Emmaus. This morning at church they got a reinforcement of the same lesson. So, as is our usual routine, this morning during breakfast, I went over it again with them! Stephen did a maze I had found online, and then the boys created a "road to Emmaus" out of icing, butterscotch chips, and a marshmallow! They also took some sneak bites of this sweet food for "breakfast dessert!" I then retold the story using the Toy Story aliens and Woody. Yes, I admit, Woody represented Jesus, but it was the best I could do! I wasn't trying to be irreverent, but it worked for the moment!=) I'm praying the boys are continuing to learn how much Jesus loves us! What an honor for Jeremy and I to partner with the Summit in the raising of our boys!

A "New Museum"

As much as we love the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, we decided to try out the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh on Friday. The boys had a great time, especially seeing the dinosaurs. They were also pretty amazed at the snakes (which I absolutely hate!!). We ended our visit with nachos and cheese along with a hotdog from a "food stand" on the street. Yes, this goes against my healthy eating initiative, but it sure was fun!=) We are blessed to live in an area with so many great things to do (and I'm blessed to have a husband who has Fridays off!!).=)

Dino-Reading

Lately the boys have become fascinated with dinosaurs, so I've incorporated some of it into Stephen's school! Today the boys looked for "dinosaur bones" (broken dog bones) in "dirt" (bird seed) in our garage. We made it "educational" by putting the bones together to make words. I had written various letters on them, and Stephen sounded them out to figure out the words. They then measured and poured bird seed everywhere. This activity could have entertained them for hours, and it was so simple!

Cooking & Crafts

Glowstick arrows (You make my heart glow) & Dinosaur Hearts (You're Dino-Mite)...Cheesy but cute!


Making old fashioned boxed brownies with Daddy!


Homemade Valentine's Strudels


The bigger the mess, the better!


Homemade cinnamon rolls!


We've had some fun lately trying out some new recipes. They haven't been the healthiest choices, but they've been pretty "natural." We're still learning but are having fun in the process! We've also been working on Valentine's crafts for our "friends." Good times...

They Grow Too Fast!

Recently, Stephen has been the oldest kid at different playgroups, etc. we've been to. I'm not sure how that makes me feel! Will he really be 5 in April? My little boy is growing up way too fast!

Not Ready to Be "Big"

This face was caused by this...



Which eventually led back to this...




...Still the baby!=)

Mickey...It's in his blood!=)

Yeppers, Caleb's got his Mommy's heart! We found him snuggling with Mickey the other night. Just today Jeremy said we need to go back...Seriously, it's been 2 whole months...way too long!=)

Small Group Launch!!

Tonight we "launched" our small group at our house. It was exciting to partner with the Clark and Castillo families! We're super sad to be leaving the small group we love, but also confidently hopeful of all God has in store. We ended tonight with 16 adults and 14 kids! Wow! We know God will form our group as He intends, and we're so excited just to be a part of it!

Oh, and the boys had a great time preparing for everyone's arrival today. Caleb kept asking "When are my friends coming?" They made signs and hung them by the front door. This is a "family affair" for us, and I love that the boys are beginning to understand community!