One Crazy Summer!

I can't believe that Summer is almost over! Is it really the middle of August already?? Usually the end of Summer isn't such a big deal to me because I am a "Fall girl." However, at the end of this Summer my Logan is starting preschool! Oh, I don't know if I am ready for it, but I have no choice! I just keep telling myself that he will be fine and it's going to be good for him! In all reality, I KNOW that HE will be fine, but I KNOW that I won't! HA!

Another added bonus to this Summer is that Dustin has been home since the end of June. He had surgery in late July and will be home, rehabbing for another couple of weeks! While I didn't want Dustin to have have surgery, I am glad that we were able to spend the Summer together! Especially since this is our last Summer before school starts!! We have obviously stayed around home and haven't gone on a real vacation but we all have enjoyed being with one another!!

My Luke turned 2 a couple of a couple of weeks ago. We decided to have his party at the park. My boy loves sports, especially baseball. Dustin thought it would be fun to have an outdoor party at a park with a baseball diamond for the kids to play on! Sounds great and like a lot of fun...right??!! Well, it would have been great to have the party outdoors but wouldn't you know it...it POURED RAIN ALL DAY THE DAY OF HIS PARTY!!!!!!!!! We made a last minute change in location and had the big birthday party (with lots of people!) at my parent's house! We were a bit crammed but a good time was had by all! Thanks Mom and Dad for "hosting"the party!!

A few short days after Luke turned 2, I celebrated my 33rd birthday! WOW!! I was talking to Dustin and while my age keeps climbing, birthdays aren't like they used to be and I am fine with that. Once you become a mom, it's all about the kids! My main focus is making sure my boys have the time of their lives on their birthdays. My only wish or request for my birthday is to spend it with Dustin and my boys!!

Dustin always does something nice for my birthday and this year was no exception! Friday night, we went to a baseball game and had a great time! Great seats...right there in the action!! I love going to games and being a part of it!! Saturday, I, along with my parents, went and cheered on my 2 cousins who participated in the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk! What an amazing task they took on and completed!! I am so proud of them!!! Then Saturday night, I hung out with some of my friends and ended up talking for 7 hours!! Can you believe that...just talked and snacked!! We had a great time!! Sunday, I got up and relaxed a bit, cleaned the house and then Dustin and I went to some of the closing ceremonies for the Breast Cancer Walk. Then back home to an evening of family and dinner!! I had a great birthday weekend!!

That's about it for now!! We are taking it easy for the next few weeks and then Dustin goes back to work and Logan starts school! I am going to enjoy these next couple of weeks with my guys! I am so truly blessed!!

Hope you enjoyed more pictures from our Summer in this post!! The park pictures were taken by one of our friends! She did an amazing job and I love them!!

Please Pray

I have asked for prayer before, for a sweet baby named Stellan. I am begging you all to pray for him again. He is in the hospital and is not doing good at all. Please pray for him and his family. Thanks!

www.mycharmingkids.net

Surgery Day

Update: Dustin's surgery went great! We have been home since early this evening. He ate dinner, has been walking around and has been sleeping for a couple of hours. Thank you all for your prayers and keep them coming!! Now, if I could only get my boys settled down and in bed, then I can get some sleep!! HA! Have a great weekend!!
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Please pray for us today! Dustin is having surgery on his knee today. He has torn his meniscus and the Dr. is going to go in and clean it all up! Please pray that the surgery goes great (and that his nervous wife in the waiting room does well too! HA!). It is outpatient surgery so we will hopefully only be gone a few hours and then be able to come home to our family! Please also pray for his recovery that it goes great too...no complications!! Thank you all!

Summer 2009

Apparently I can promise and promise to blog more or to post pictures and I can't seem to follow through with those promises!! HA! Sorry, but I will try to make it up in this post (a little!). Where to begin...

We are enjoying our summer here in our household. We have someone here with us every day, all day, and that is Daddy! You see, my sweet husband has torn his meniscus and has been off of work for the past 3 weeks. He is having surgery next week and will be off for another 5 weeks! Crazy, I know!!

I feel very bad that he is in pain, but have enjoyed him being around the house every day! To be honest, I have taken advantage of him being home and have been able to do some things on my own...paint pottery, hang out at a friends pool, etc.! However, I know that my time away from the house (which has only been a few times, not every day!!) is about to end due to his surgery!

Now that that has been said...onto our busy week this week!

Monday, the boys and I went on a play date with my friend, Becky, from high school (she was also my maid of honor at our wedding all those years ago!) and her 2 yr old twin boys! We all had a great time! I love to see my boys interact with other children. Logan is just so caring and nurturing. He walked right alongside Becky's stroller and talked to her boys. At one point, one of the boys looked back and called out for Logan. How sweet is that! Luke enjoyed running around and playing also! We really had a great time and hope to do it again soon. Maybe even to the zoo...right Becky??!! HA!

My 3 nephews are in town this week and we have been able to spend some time with them which has been awesome! My dad and I felt courageous enough to take all 5 boys to the zoo yesterday! We had a great time! I was proud that Dad and I survived and that all the boys had fun and we returned in one piece...no injuries or major melt downs!! YEAH!

After the zoo, we all (including Dustin who was home resting his knee and my mom who was working) ended up at my parents house for dinner and more playing!

Today, we had play time and lunch here at the house and then headed over to Aunt Vickie's for swimming and dinner! The boys had a blast in the pool! Even I got in and swam a bit! Yes, I did buy a bathing suit this year for $20!! Thank you Walmart!! I have stayed away from swimming for years because of bathing suits...yuk! However, I felt guilty about not having one in order to take the boys swimming, so I caved and got one! It isn't the greatest and I may have to spend some big bucks and get one that actually works better! Oh well...A for effort...right??!!

Tonight, my two older nephews are staying the night! As I type this they are all fast asleep. To be honest, it was a lot of fun tonight at our house! Not stressful at all! It is fun to have a sleep over! After all, I am "fun Aunt Stacey" and who wouldn't want to stay at our house!!!

I just checked on the boys and I wish I could go and take a picture of the big boys sleeping but I don't want to wake them. They just look so big and cute!

Tomorrow is another fun adventure. A friend of ours is going to try and take some pictures of the 5 boys at a local park! I am praying for good weather and happy, not cranky, boys! I have a feeling I am going to have to do some MAJOR bribing!! HA!

So, enjoy the pictures, not from this week, but some from the past few months that were taken with my new camera!! YEAH!!

Hope everyone else is having a great Summer 2009!!

Hello...It's Me Stacey!!!

I can't believe it has been so long since I have blogged! The main reason is that our laptop is broken and our "big, old school" computer is not as quick or good as the laptop. However, I am sitting at the "big, old school" computer right now trying to come up with a clever post while my sweet Luke should be napping in my bed behind me. I wonder how many times I will have to tell him to stay in the bed, lay down and go to sleep!!! For all of you that know me personally, you will understand when I say that my Luke is JUST.LIKE.HIS.UNCLE.SCOTT!!! Enough said!

I am just going to write about random stuff about us in this post. Hopefully, you can all follow along!!

These days things are quite crazy here in our house. I am not complaining though. I love my life as a stay-at-home mom and love that God has blessed me with two precious little boys (who can fight like cats and dogs! HA!). I am so thankful for them (even when I am at my wits end with them like yesterday!) and cherish them so! There is nothing better than their sweet kisses and hugs! However, usually by 8 pm at night, Mommy is done! Daddy has to take over, because Mommy just needs a bit of silence!! Who knew that a 4 yr old and almost 2 yr old could be so loud!! All that to say, that being their mom is the best thing ever and I am so thankful for them!

I texted my sister-in-law, Amy, the other day and told her that basically we don't talk every day like we used to and I was being silly about stuff and she texted me back to call her. I called her back and we literally talked for 60 seconds because her boys and my boys were so loud that we couldn't hear each other on the phone! Thank God for texting! At least we can check in without having to talk on the phone!!

By the way, my sweet Logan is all signed up for preschool in the Fall. That's right! I could cry just typing about it! I just keep telling myself that it will be good for him. He will enjoy being around and playing with other children his age. But still, my baby is going to school!!! Plus while Logan is at school, Luke and I will have some together time! All in all, it will be good for us all...I think! HA!

I AM ADDICTED TO TWITTER! I know, I know. It is crazy! I love that I don't have to type a long post but can give a quick "status" update on what is going on from time to time. Plus I can do it all from my pink BlackBerry! It doesn't get better than that! HA! Oh, and I can check Facebook from the BlackBerry too! I love it! How did I ever live without it before!! HA!

We are all (me, Dustin, the boys, my parents!) going to my brother's house this weekend to celebrate my nephew Caleb's 5th birthday! It is going to be a lot of fun! My parents are going to have all 5 of their grandson's under one roof! It is going to be CRAZY, but priceless!

For the record, people have been asking Dustin and I if we are going to have another baby; if we are going to try for the girl! Here is what my response is....IF I were to get pregnant again, and that is not a given, we will most likely have another son. I think boys are all this family can produce! We have two and my brother and sister-in-law have 3! HA! Having another son would just be great! I would love to have a little girl but we will not "try again" solely for the purpose of having a little girl. IF we decide to add to our family, it will be because we want another child, either sex would be great! In saying all of that (sorry if it sounded rude, it was not intended that way!), we will NOT try to get pregnant until we have some control over Lukey!! Ha! I love my boys!

Finally, I would like to wish my wonderful husband, who so graciously and lovingly puts up with me day after day after day, a very HAPPY 11th ANNIVERSARY (early!)!! Our anniversary is this Saturday! I can't believe it has been 11 years, Babe! Thank you so much for all you do for me and the boys. You are more than I deserve (seriously) and I love you so much! I am so thankful for you and the husband and daddy you are! Love you always!

Hope everyone (basically my parents, Kate and a few others who read this!) has a great weekend. I promise to post some fun pictures (we got an awesome new camera!!) as soon as our laptop is fixed...hopefully next week (Sarah)!

Thanks for checking back in. I promise to post more often, even if it is from our old school computer!!

Happy Birthday Logan!

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY LOGAN!

Today is my first baby's 4th birthday! I am amazed that he is already 4! He is becoming quite the young man. I was telling Dustin the other night, what I difference I have seen in Logan in the past few months. His vocabulary is expanding and we are able to have complete conversations with him. He is learning to express his feelings in a better, more mature way. He is a wonderful big brother to Luke. He truly brings so much joy to our family! I love my little man so much and am so proud to be his mommy! Below are some pictures from his special day!

He chose to have lunch at Applebees for his birthday. While there Dustin, Luke and I gave him his first gift...a Thomas the Tank Engine (new!) video! He will get his other gifts at his big birthday party on Saturday!

Luke enjoyed Brother's birthday lunch too! If you are looking at his crazy hair and wondering why his mother would let his hair get so long, well you will no longer have to wonder...haircuts for both boys on Friday! HA!

Does anyone else have trouble getting their children to pose for pictures??!!

The wonderful waitresses sang "Happy Birthday" to him and brought him a birthday sundae, which he loved!!

Both sets of Grandparents along with Aunt Heather and Lyndsey came over tonight for a mini-birthday celebration! He was very excited for the cake and his favorite ice cream!

I told you he was excited!!

Of course, Luke was excited for cake and ice cream too!

Here is our birthday boy after a long but fun day! I wonder what time he will go to bed tonight after all of the sugar he ate today! Oh well, birthdays only come once a year!

Happy Birthday Logan!

Daddy, Mommy and Lukey love you very much!

Keep Praying

Please continue to pray for baby Stellan. He is going to take his first flight tomorrow to Boston. He is being transferred to another hospital. There is a lot going on with his little body and we all need to lift him (and his family) up in prayer. There are some specific ways to pray for him and (and his family) that are listed on his Mama's website. Please go there and pray, pray, pray!

Twittering!

I am joining the world of "Twitter!" If you would like to view my "tweets" go to www.twitter.com/CrazyMommy2. You have wait for my approval in order to view my tweets! We will see how it goes!

Hope you all are having a great day!

Please Pray

Once again I am asking everyone to get on their knees and pray for a precious, miracle, little baby boy named Stellan. He is in the hospital with a very high heart rate. This is a very serious condition and we all need to lift him up in prayer. Please go to his Mommy's blog to get all of the information on this sweet baby.

Thanks

Thanks God!

Do you ever have those days when you just feel out of sorts? Do you ever feel anxious or overwhelmed? This is the way that I am feeling this morning!

I was up late last night and had a hard time falling asleep once I got into bed because my mind was just running. I am a worrier. I have mentioned that before and how I am not proud of this. I know that worry does not come from God! I have personally learned that about 99% of the things I worry about, never come about!!

I tend to get worried and feel unsettled when I am not spending time in prayer or reading my Bible. I begin to live in "what if" land!

We were up early today and while the boys were eating breakfast and watching "Dora the Explorer" I felt the need to get out my Beth Moore "Breaking Free Day by Day" devotional. I opened it and began to flip to today's reading. However, I ended up looking at yesterdays reading too. Here is the verse from yesterday:

Matthew 11:28

"Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

That is me!! I am weary and burdened, because of my own doing, but still! Jesus tells me that when I am feeling like this to come to Him and He will give me rest. How awesome is that! I can focus on Him and not on my worries. When I turn my focus to Him and away from my worries, I realize that the worries are wrong and only bringing harm to me.

When you really think about it, who wants to live their life in a way that is harmful. I don't want to go through my day living in "what if" land!! I want to be full of joy and happiness. When I worry about needless things, I am robbing myself of joy and happiness. See what happens when you are able to get a little rest...you are able to think more clearly!!

The thought also came to mind that I might have had a better night and morning if I would have read yesterday's passage YESTERDAY!! Hello!!

Thank you God! This is just what I needed today!!

Have a blessed day everyone!

Happy Birthday to You...

SCOTT!

Today is my little (but taller) brother's 30th birthday!

I feel so old having a brother who is 30! HA!

Scott, you are an awsome uncle, brother-in-law and an O.K. brother! Just kidding! I am very proud of you and thankful that you are my brother!

I hope that you have a great day!

Enjoy your birthday weekend!

Welcome to the 30s!

Let's Play Catch Up!

Believe it or not, every day I think about blogging the happenings of that particular day. As you can tell, I don't follow through with my thought. Then when I don't post for several days (or weeks!), I get overwhelmed with what to blog about. So, here is a bunch of random things that have gone on with us in the past few weeks!

-Dustin and I went to the funeral home to pay our respects to the family of our pediatrician that passed away. I am still shocked by this and don't know if I will ever be the same. I am confident in saying that I don't think I will ever find another pediatrician who cares about my boys the way that our pediatrician did. As Dustin and I were getting ready to leave, we stopped and talked to the nurse and she asked me how I was doing, and honestly, I was so overcome with emotion that I couldn't even speak, so we just hugged! Dustin and I said that we didn't expect that we would be this emotional about him passing and the nurse told us that she had had grown men come to her just sobbing over him. One special thing that made me emotional but also brought a smile to my face was that the family had his "doctor's coat" that he wore displayed. They had make up a shirt and tie and the coat was filled with all of his normal stuff he used! How sweet is that!

-Both Logan and Luke took turns being sick! I am praying that this is it for the winter and that we will have a happy, healthy Spring and Summer!!

-The boys, my Dad and I all went to the Henry Ford Museum and had a great time! My Dad said he hasn't been there in 40 years and it was such a joy to watch him look at everything. He would explain different things to the boys and I. The boys enjoyed going with their Papa! It was a nice afternoon for us all!

-The boys and I spent the afternoon last Friday with my parents! We shopped, had lunch and hung out at their house for a bit! I just want to say that I love the store "Children's Place." I love their "3 tee shirts for $18!" I was able to get a jump start on the boys Spring/Summer wardrobe! Mommy also bought some new Clinique make up -- love it!!

-After spending the afternoon with my parents, Dustin's whole family came over that night and I cooked! Yes, you did read that correctly...I cooked! We celebrated (a little late) the February birthdays --- Happy Belated Birthday to Aunt Heather, Uncle Ryan and Lyndsey!! Speaking of February Birthdays, I must also wish my nephew Zachery a Happy Belated 7th Birthday too!

-We topped off our busy weekend last Saturday with a trip to IKEA! I LOVE IKEA!! Let me say that again...I LOVE IKEA!! We were able to get a few things and have already planned another trip back in a few weeks! One quick story about our IKEA adventure! I was purchasing a quilt. I had seen the quilt on the upper level on a bed that was all decked out. There was a bin of the quilts by the bed, but we hadn't decided if we were going to get it at that point so I didn't pick it up. I did however look at the price. When we got downstairs where all of the "textiles" were, we picked up the quilt. I noticed that the quilt was more expensive. Then while in line, I realized that I must have picked up the "king size" instead of the "full/queen size." So, I told Dustin to go ahead and pay and just wait with the boys and I would quickly run back upstairs and switch! Let me just say that "quick run" back upstairs took about 20 - 30 minutes. There is no such thing as a "quick run" back upstairs. I never stopped moving and I swear it took me at least 20 minutes. However, that "quick run" saved me $30!!! Again, I LOVE IKEA, just in case you didn't catch that earlier!!

-Lastly, and certainly least..."The Bachelor." This is what I have to say, "are you kidding me?!" Melissa was my favorite from the beginning. I was all excited and then the Friday before the finale I read some spoilers that told what was going to happen and it did! I lost a lot of respect for that guy! I do realize that I am talking about the reality TV show "The Bachelor" but still! In saying that, I am soooo excited that Melissa is on "Dancing With the Stars!" She did really good last night and I hope she sticks around! GO MELISSA!!!

That about sums it up! Thank you for reading my rambling! Hope you all have a good week!

I've Been Tagged!

My dear friend Becka tagged me a while ago and I am just getting around to it (sorry Becka)! So, here we go!

Ten Random Adjectives That Start With The Letter C:

1. Cold

2. Cute

3. Crappy

4. Calm

5. Clammy

6. Childish

7. Crazy

8. Colorful

9. Creepy

10. Courageous

I am not going to lie...had to cheat to get a few of these!!

Enjoy your day!!

Our Pediatrician

As I was nearing my due date when I was pregnant with Logan, I began to stress about a pediatrician. I had no idea who to go to or where to even start looking for one. Let me just say now, that I feel that our pediatrician was sent to us by God! Some of you may be thinking that I am crazy, but I am not.

We met with him the week before I delivered Logan just to see his face so that when he showed up at the hospital after Logan was born, we would in fact know who he was! He was older but came very highly recommended! So, that was that! He became our pediatrician!

I am not going to pretend that our pediatrician did not stress me out COMPLETELY when Logan was 3 months old and told me he needed to see a neurologist because he couldn't hold his head up well enough at his check up! Can I just say here that Logan wanted to be held constantly the first 8 weeks of his life! I thought "tummy time" was so that his head wouldn't go flat for laying on it so much. Why would his head go flat when I was holding him all day every day! It never hit me that he needed to learn to hold his head up...build up the strength!

Obviously, Logan is fine now. There was never a problem. He was just held too much and had a big head! This whole situation taught me that our pediatrician was one who cared for my baby and would do what he thought was best. He wasn't going to take any chances with anything! I appreciate that so much as a mother. I learned that if our pediatrician wasn't concerned then I wasn't either.

Not to mention that I think the world of his nurse and office staff. They all treat my boys like they are family and I so love that! Logan and Luke like going to see everyone at the doctor's office, that is, until the shots come out! Not to mention, they all put up with me!!! I used to call the office weekly when Logan was little and used to have him in the office at least every other week. Never did they make me feel silly. Now you know if they can put up with me, they are great! (I am much better about not calling so much with Luke!!!)

When I went to take Luke for his 18 month check up we saw another doctor who was filling in for our doctor. We were told that he had to take some personal time off to deal with a matter that couldn't be put off any more. I asked a few questions but was given some vague answers. I really didn't think much of it at the time.

Well, Dustin and I found out tonight that our pediatrician passed away today after a battle with cancer. I had no idea he was battling cancer. I just feel very sad tonight. I am thankful that my boys were under his care for as long as they were. I am thankful that he cared about my boys like he did. I am saddened for all of his family, patients and their families! He will truly be missed.

Happy 100th!

Congratulations to me! This is my 100th post! I don't know whether to be excited about it or be embarrassed because it has taken me 2 1/2 years to get to my 100th post!! Either way I feel, it is still an accomplishment!


I have been thinking for the past 2 weeks what my 100th post should be about. I don't feel that it should just be a regular post. There should be something exciting about this post; a little something extra of sorts. I have thought of a million (well, not million but a lot) of different things to do and I think I have it! This post is going to be dedicated to my immediate family. They are the one's that know me most and put up with me through the good and the bad. So, family, this is for you!! (It''s a long post, but from the heart!)

Dustin: I love the fact that I don't really remember life without you. We were married at young ages and I am so thankful for that. I also love the fact that I married my first real boyfriend! We have definitely had our share of tough times and I made it through those times because of you being my strength when I was weak. We have also had a ton of great times! I am thankful for the strong, Christian man you are. You are a hard worker and you provide the best you can for our family. Thank you for that! I can't even put into words what a great "daddy" you are. I get teary-eyed when I see you playing with our boys. They love you so much and I am so thankful for you all. Thank you for loving me and putting up with me!! I am excited to see what God has in store for us and our family! I love you with all that is in me!

Logan: You are my miracle baby #1. There was a time when I never thought I would be a "Mommy" to anyone and then came the day when we found out I was pregnant with you. You are such a blessing to our family. You have open my heart in ways that I never thought possible. I love watching you learn new things every day and I especially love your hugs and kisses. I feel so privileged to be your Mommy and I will love and cherish you forever. My prayer is that you come to know Jesus as your personal Savior and that you will grow to be a strong man of God. I thank God for you every day!

Luke: You are my miracle baby #2. You are quite the adventure and I love you for that. You are truly Mommy's boy. You are such a blessing to our family! I love to watch you grow and learn new things every day. You love your brother so much and it melts my heart when you call him "brother." You have opened my heart even more and I will love and cherish you forever. My prayer is that you will come to know Jesus as your personal Savior and that you will also grow to be a strong man of God. I thank God for you every day!

Dad and Mom: Thank you so much for raising me in a loving, Christian home. I am so blessed to have been raised by two God-loving adults who cherished God as well as each other. I am also thankful that you have shown me the true meaning of marriage. There are tough time as well as easy times. You fight through the tough times together and enjoy the easy times. I love you both and appreciate you so much. I remind Dustin often how lucky he is to have you all as in-laws!Thank you for being the best grandparents to my boys! They sure do love their Grandma and Papa!

Scott: I am amazed at the man you have become. I will always think of you as the little boy who chased me around our kitchen table with a hair brush, but I am so proud of the Christian leader you are. You are amazing at what you do and God is doing amazing things through you. I can't help but tear up every time I hear you speak. I am very proud of you and am thankful for you. You are an awesome Uncle to the boys and I still am not quite sure why they love you so!! Thank you for welcoming Dustin into the family and loving him like a brother! I love you and can't wait until we live near each other again....just kidding. Don't up and move away tomorrow!!

Amy: I have always wanted a sister. I never thought that it would be you!!! HA! I remember years ago your mom saying that she couldn't believe that we are as close as we are and I agree. I am so thankful for you and the impact you have had on my life. Thank you for sharing your precious sons with me and letting me mother Zach and Caleb a bit before I got pregnant with Logan. You are such a great example of a Christian mother and I am blessed to have you. Plus, it is fun to gang up on Scott and Dustin together!!!

Zach, Caleb and Blake: I could never have imagined what being an aunt would feel like and then Zach, you were born. You truly were the apple of my eye. Even though you are big now, I will always cherish our "best friends" song. Caleb, you are my buddy. I am thankful for you and your gentleness with Luke. You keep us all laughing and I love to be around you. If you ever run for President, you've got my vote. Blake, you are the baby of the family and what a special baby you are. You are so easy going and quiet and to be honest you probably don't get the chance to be loud with all of the crazies in this family! You are such a happy boy and I look forward to teaching you the "best friends" song!

My Mother-in-Law and Father-in-Law: I am truly blessed to be your daughter-in-law. I am so thankful for you both. You have always been there for Dustin and I and the boys! We love you so much. Thank you for welcoming me into the family with open arms. I have never felt like I was just the daughter-in-law. You have always treated me like another daughter! I love you both! Also, thank you for loving the boys like you do. The sure do love their Grandma and Papa so much! Thank you for being the best grandparents!

Heather and Lyndsey: I am so thankful to have been in the family since Lyndsey was so little. Lyndsey, you are my one and only niece and I love you to pieces. Although you are mouthy at times (just like your Aunt Stacey!!) I am so proud of the teenager you have become. Thank you for playing with and loving Logan and Luke like you do! You are an awesome cousin to them. I will always remember you and Uncle D discussing "cinnamon toast" that Sunday morning when you were 5! You were and are so cute! Aunt Stacey loves you so much! Heather, I don't know that I have ever met such a strong person! You have had to deal with a lot and I am so proud of the way you have handled things! I don't think that you realize how strong you are! Thank you for always being there for me and for always treating me like your sister! You are an awesome Aunt to the boys too! They love when Aunt Heather comes over. Thank you for loving them like you do! I love you and pray that you will one day be loved and cared for by someone special, like you deserve!

Ryan, Jenn and Brock: Ryan, I was afraid of you for years!!! Don't you wish I still was?!! HA! I am so amazed that you are married and have a son!! Jenn, I am so thankful that you chose to put up with Ryan and marry him!! Seriously though, I love you and am also thankful for you both and the close relationship you have with Dustin and I. I look forward to raising our children together. Brock, you are the baby of our family and what a strong baby you are! You just couldn't wait to enter this world. You brought tears to Aunt Stacey's eyes the first time I saw you because even though you were so tiny, you were so perfect! Although you seem to like to spit up all over me, I love you and will gladly smell like spit up any time, just so I can hold you and play with you! I am excited to hear you say "Stacey" for the first time. If you could say my name before Daddy's that would be even better!! I love you Brock and am so thankful for you!

Thank you Lord for my family. Help me to never take them for granted. They are wonderful people and I am who I am because of them!

Answered Prayer

A few weeks ago I asked you all to pray for Baby Harper. Well, I am so thrilled to now say that her Mommy and Daddy took her home last night! She is well and is doing fine! There will be some extra precautions that her parents will have to take, but she is home!! Thank you all for your prayers. This little girl's life is such a testimony to the power of prayer!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Good Friends, Good Food and Good Purses!

Saturday was a big, busy day for me. It started off by me loading up our minivan with 3 of my friends and we set out on an adventure. Our adventure was Vera Bradley shopping! I have been addicted to Vera Bradley for over 10 years. Slowly, but surely, I have gotten my friends addicted too!

This sounds crazy and I DO realize it while I am typing it, but honestly, when I get into a store that has A LOT of Vera's (as my friends and I refer to the line) I get so excited! Certain members of my family do make fun of my obsession but I don't care! I don't know what it is about Vera Bradley but I love everything.

So, I got a purse (that my Dad bought for me...thanks Dad!) a wallet and a free little pouch because I spent so much money!! But it was all worth it.

Not only do I love to buy Vera Bradley items but I also love to watch others buy. Some need a little push in the right direction and I am all too happy to give them that push that they need (right Jen and Lori!).

We had a bunch of fun and ended our afternoon with lunch at Applebees! It was a nice afternoon with friends that I have had forever. It was nice to catch up and just hand out without the husbands and kids (that we love very, very much!).

That evening, Dustin and I went to dinner at Outback with my parents and two other couples. We all used to go to church together. It was so nice to get out and have dinner with adults. It was weird not taking the boys with us (thanks to my mother-in-law for watching the boys!) and I did miss them, but it was nice to enjoy my meal without having to cut food for and feed the boys!

I am thankful for a great Saturday but must admit that I was quite tired on Sunday. I am not getting any younger!!

Hope you all have a fun and tiring weekend too!


**In case you all are wondering (and I know that you are!!!) what kind of purse and wallet I got, go to the VB website and look at the picture of the "Gabby" bag in "Purple Punch" and the "Sleek Wallet" in "Purple Punch!" And if anyone out there wants to get me a Vera Bradley item, but aren't sure what to get ...I love it all!!! HA! : )

Birthday Weekend

This past weekend we went to my brother's house to celebrate Blake's 1st birthday! The baby of our family is now 1 years old. It seems like it was yesterday that my parents and I were anxiously waiting by the phone for news that he was born! What a happy day it was when Blake was born into our crazy family.

We had a good time celebrating his birthday and it was nice to get away too! Logan, and now Luke, love seeing their cousins. Luke was especially happy to see his "Mimi!"

I just downloaded my pictures of the party and called Amy laughing because I took 60 pictures! Yes, 60!! Isn't that hilarious! I won't post all 60, but here are some of my favorites! (Some of the pictures are blurry and I don't know how to fix my camera so the pictures will not be like that. I hit something on the camera a while back and now it is all messed up!)

Our Birthday Boy getting ready to party!!

Isn't he so sweet?! I just love his face!

Logan and Luke were getting in touch with their musical side!
Logan does look like "Rambo" playing the drums!

He's walking now!!

Watch out world!

Pinata Time!

Get it Lukey!

Look at Logan's swing!

Caleb's turn! He was ready!!

Whoa!! Zach was determined to bust it open!

Luke was enjoying one of the goodies from the pinata!

Blake loved it all too!

Look at all of that good stuff! Logan was so excited!

Blake and his new car! He loved it!

Cake Time!

Happy 1st Birthday Blake!

Uncle D, Aunt Stacey, Logan and Luke love you!!

Brock

Update: Brock was discharged from the hospital tonight. All of his test came back normal. Thank you all for your prayers. I ask that you please continue to pray that he won't have any other issues and that Brock and his mommy and daddy will get a good's night sleep tonight! : )


Two posts in one day!! I know I am CRAZY!!

Seriously, though, I am calling all of you to pray once again for a sweet little boy who happens to be my nephew Brock. As you all know, Brock was born this past summer and he was a preemie. He has done amazingly well and is the chunkiest "preemie" I have ever seen!

Yesterday, he just wasn't acting like himself and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law ended up taking him to the ER. They ran some tests that came back negative but the ER doctors thought it best to transport him to a Children's Hospital where more tests could be done. All of his tests yesterday came back negative. They ended up keeping him overnight for observation.

He did get sick (sorry to be so gross, but throwing up all night long) last night. He is much better today. He hasn't gotten sick any more (as of this afternoon) and according to my brother-in-law, he is acting like his normal self. They are going to run one more test on him and then he will stay overnight again for observation.

Please pray with us that there won't be anything serious that comes up. That he will be fine and able to come home with his parents tomorrow. We are very thankful that all of his tests have been negative thus far. Please pray for his parents too as they are obviously staying with him at that hospital.

Thank you...our family appreciates all of the prayers.

Below is a picture of Brock during Christmas time! He is asleep but ever so cute!!

Learning

The past several weeks I have been frustrated as a mother when I have to repeat myself over and over again to the boys. Whether it is telling Logan to not "sass" me or telling Luke that both Daddy and Papa are at work, when he asks me about them often throughout the day. I feel as if I repeat myself a hundred times a day. I do realize that they are still so young, but nonetheless they are days that I wish they would just get it!

As I was thinking about this, I realized that this is how my Jesus must feel with me at times. He has to constantly tell me things over and over and I bet there are days that He wishes I would just "get it."

I have struggled, probably my whole adult life, with a daily quiet time. By that, I mean a time during the day that I can set aside time, by myself, to study my bible and pray. Basically, set aside time to learn more about my Savior and to draw closer to Him.

I am good at making plans to do this in my head, but not so good as executing the plan. I probably have posted about this before, but still this is something that I struggle with daily. I talk myself into just doing this or that first before having a quiet time and then before I know it, it is midnight and I am too tired to do anything.

I have been thinking about this a lot this past week. I have been very moved at what the power of prayer can do. Especially in the case of little Miss Harper. Again, to read her amazing story, please click on the "Pray for Harper" button to the right. God is moving and healing her and it is amazing to see all of the love and support for her and her family from strangers. People are praying all over the world for her. While I am so excited to hear she is doing better every day, I am also amazed at her parents.

Harper's parents have never lost faith in their God. Sure they have asked why their little girl, but the thing that has struck me the most is that right after Harper was born, her mom posted and she was very scared because they didn't know what was going on at that point. They only knew that their sweet little baby was very sick. She mentioned in a blog post that God was Sovereign. He was the same to them in that rough and scary time after Harper was born as He was to them during that morning when they were excited and praising Him on their way to the hospital. How amazing!

I was just telling Dustin that I don't ever want our children to be in a life threatening situation, and who would!, but my prayer is that I could remain that strong in faith even when I was shaken to my core. You see, I have this power thing. I need to be in control of situations. If I am not then I am a crazed person.

I have realized since becoming a mom that I can't be in control of situations. That there are many, many times that I must just trust in God. I know that He will be there right with me and will see me through. I am better than I used to be, trust me and is it all because of God!

I say all of this because I truly believe when we are dependent on God and have a "real" relationship with Him, it is easier to deal with the tough times in our lives. Not only that, but we are able to be more joyful about life in the not so bad times. Let's face it, times are tough right now. Everybody is struggling in some way or another, but with God was are better able to handle life. Because of God, we have hope and having hope is an amazing thing!

So, I am learning a lot this week. I am learning that just as Jesus is with me, I need to be more patient with my precious boys (who really are blessed that they are soooo cute!) and I need to become a better Christian by spending more time in bible study and prayer.

What are you learning this week?

Keep Praying!

My heart has been so heavy this weekend. I have been on my knees in prayer for Harper and her amazing parents. I have been anticipating her birth as if it were my own sister (if I had one!) giving birth. I have followed Harper's Mommy's (Kelly) blog for months now as well as hundreds of other people. Kelly has been waiting for a baby for a while now and I can relate to her in that way. We all know that I had trouble getting pregnant too. I have a special place in my heart for those couples dealing with any kind of fertility issues. Kelly is just the sweetest person and I was so excited to see pictures of her sweet Harper.

Harper was born on Friday night and she weighed 9lbs. 12 oz. Yes, you read that correctly! Apparently is was a tough delivery and after Harper was born, she had difficulty breathing. Later in the evening Harper's parents were told that their little girl was born with pneumonia. She was going to be transported to a different hospital (a couple of hours away) that would better be able to help her. Kelly and her family then called on all of us to PRAY and PRAY A LOT. Little Harper was in very critical condition. My heart just goes out to this family. I was up until 4 am on Saturday because I couldn't sleep. I just kept praying and hitting the "refresh" button on Kelly's blog hoping for a positive update. But, believe you me, God is preforming miracles and he is preforming miracles on precious Harper.

As of the last update today, she is still in critical condition but seems to be stable. It was thought that she would need to be on a heart/lung bypass for roughly a week. Praise God that as of yesterday she doesn't need that. She has been responding well to the treatments they have been giving her. There is now a concern for her little heart. They are waiting for a doctor to come and talk with them.

The amazing part of all of this is that there is now thousands and hundreds of thousands of people praying for Harper because of Kelly's blog and blog friends. There are people all over the world, yes world, praying for this sweet baby girl. Please continue to pray for healing. I believe that God can heal this sweet baby girl and I have faith that He will!

The family is also asking that we pray for Harper's "friends" that are in the NICU with her. They feel so blessed to have so many praying for them that they want those other babies to blessed with prayer also.

I probably have not done a good job of detailing this story so please click on the "Praying for Harper" button for updates from Harper's Mommy.

Please Pray For Harper

I am asking everyone to get on their knees and pray for a sweet baby girl named Harper. Please click on the button to the right and read the story.

Mini Vacation

Dustin decided to take a "mini" vacation from work this past week. He had last Friday off and will go back to work tomorrow. I just want to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed him being home for the past 6 days. To be honest, I don't know what the boys and I are going to do tomorrow. Both boys have gotten up the past few days and the first word out of their mouths were "Daddy!"

Since Dustin has been on vacation, I have decided to do some "house" projects. Just to name a few: clean the bathroom up and down; organize our clothes in our dressers; laundry including all of those loads that only involve a couple of articles of clothing that can't be washed with other loads; putting together a shelving unit; getting the boy's room ready for 2 twin beds; etc. I don't know what has come over me this past week and not to toot my own horn, but "toot, toot." I have cleaned and organized this house. I do have a few more items that I need to do tonight, but I am very proud of all that was accomplished! Dustin still has 1 or 2 items left on his "chore list" but oh well! The man needs to rest some too, right?!

Dustin was supposed to go back to work today but ended up extending his vacation another day which was great! I have been so excited that our family has been relatively healthy this winter meaning no major illnesses. I keep waiting for "it" to hit...well, it did...sort of! Last night, Lukey fell asleep and Dustin was holding him for a while. After he had been asleep for a while I heard him burp and said, "is he going to throw up?" My question was answered a little bit later. Lukey had his first experience with "big boy" throw up! You know what I mean when I say "big boy!" Just as I did with Logan, his first time, I cried a bit with Lukey. It is just so hard to see them that little and sick. It was scary for him. Let me just say that Mommy can handle a lot, but throw up is not on my list of things I can handle! I feel bad thinking this but thank goodness he threw up on Daddy and not Mommy. But wait, it gets better...

After I got Lukey all cleaned up and situated and after Dustin showered and put on clean clothes, Luke wanted Daddy again! Roughly 30 minutes after the first time...it happened again...all over Daddy, AGAIN!! Today, we laugh. Last night, we didn't! The thought of this happening every 30 minutes was enough to put me over the edge. I know how wrong that is for me to have felt that way after Dustin went through so many outfits in an hour's time last night. But like I said, I don't do throw up well at all! Praise the Lord, for Lukey's sake and ours, he was only sick those two times. He had a hard time falling back asleep last night and we all played musical beds/couches but we made it through!

Today, was pretty low key. The boys stayed home and rested with Daddy and I was able to go to get my hair done and then went to Target for some odds and ends. I am praying that tonight is non-eventful, meaning everyone stays well.

The pictures below were taken a few days ago while Dustin was putting our new storage unit together. Luke was in his booster seat so he would stay out of the way and Logan had his "special" seat where he could help Daddy more! I actually think Logan is drawing "plans" for the unit Dustin was building!

Have a good night!

Logan's 1st Dentist Appointment

Logan had a big day on Saturday. He went to his first dentist appointment. I was a bit stressed that his teeth were going to be bad and that the hygienist was going to tell us that we were not taking care of his teeth properly and that we were horrible parents. You all know me! My feelings on this matter are not a surprise to you!

We (I) decided it would be best for Dustin to take him because I felt we had a better shot of him listening and sitting still if Daddy was there (and if the hygienist was going to yell at us about being horrible parents, I wanted her to yell at Dustin..Shhh!). Have I mentioned that I think my boys are immune to my voice! The don't seem to be "hearing" me any more! So, Daddy took Logan and to my surprise they came home with a great report.

The hygienist was able to count all of his teeth, look at them with a mirror and show him how to brush his teeth. He came home with a "Cars" toothbrush! We made a huge deal about him going and doing such a good job. She didn't "clean" his teeth or do any x-rays, but said that his teeth looked good from what she could see...YEAH!! It was also recommended that I take Logan with me next week when I get my teeth cleaned so he can see all about what goes on and then make an appointment in the summer for him to get his teeth cleaned.

All in all, I consider his first visit to the dentist a success! I, of course, made Dustin take the camera to capture the visit. Enjoy the pictures of my big boy! Once again, ignore the spacing issue I have with posting pictures and commenting on them!!

Logan playing the the waiting room before seeing the hygienist.




Logan was pushing the button to raise the chair up in the air like a spaceship.

Here he is all set and ready to go. Please notice the little dog on his lap that he was allowed to bring into the room with him...how cute!

Dustin said that the hygienist was showing Logan Mr. Tickle Bug, aka the air thingy that goes in your mouth!

Learning to brush his teeth with his new "Cars" toothbrush!

She was polishing his fingernails like she would polish his teeth!

The "Blog World"

I am truly amazed at blogging. Not my blogging exactly but many of those who are blogging. I find myself getting lost in "blog world" many times a week. I have "met" people that I would never know in the real world. I am also able to keep up on the happenings of some of my friends. Many people have touched my heart and moved me in ways that I truly can not put into words. I have rejoiced with people and I have wept with people. I am a different person because of other people's blogs.

Sometimes being a stay-at-home mom is tough! Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change my life with my boys for the world. I love being able to stay at home with them every day, sometimes though, I long for adult conversation. At times, I forget that there is a world out there. When I read some of the blogs that I follow, it puts me out there, in the world again. It is fun to read different blogs that deal with aspects of life that I am going through or have been through. I wish that I could meet, in person, many of the women whose blogs I follow.

I remember being so scared about starting my own blog. I didn't know if anybody would read it and you know what, it doesn't matter. My parents and a few friends may be the only ones that read this blog, and that is O. K. Blogging, for me, is an avenue of creativity in explaining the details of my life or the lives of others. So, I am not a "tech" kind of person (Lord knows how I made it through my high school computer class! and those that are gifted with technology are truly blessed and I admit I am a bit envious!) but I am thankful for the "Blog World."

Happy 2009

We are trying to find our way back to some kind of "normal" here in our household. Things have been so crazy the past month that I am not sure what our "normal" is any more. It has been a rough couple of weeks and we are all trying to continue on.

I just want to thank all of you who prayed for us, visited us, sent emails or cards during the past couple of weeks. Our family so appreciates your kindness. It is so comforting to know that you all care so much for my family. It is never easy to say goodbye to a loved one but I am so thankful that we will see Grandma one day again, in Heaven. That knowledge brings so much comfort to my family.

We spent a lot of time with my family this Christmas season, obviously, but I am so thankful for Dustin's parents and all of the help the provided with watching the boys. Let's just say that Dustin's mom took a 5 hour nap after watching the boys for 1 1/2 days during the viewing and funeral!! They are very active little boys!

I have added some pictures of our Christmas gatherings..Enjoy! (I know that the spacing is way off but I can't tell you how many times I have tried to fix it won't work right for me and now I am frustrated so just pretend it all flows very nicely!)

Grandma and her boys making Christmas cookies!

Papa and Lukey were very tired after an afternoon of baking!

Logan and Luke opened their new tent from Dustin's parents on Christmas Eve.

This tent is currently up and in our dining room, but the kids (and Dustin) love it!

Logan and Luke opening their Diego backpacks on Christmas morning!

Santa packed the backpacks full of treats!

Luke love the Fruit Loops!

Look at his sweet "Fruit Loop" stuffed cheeks!

Santa brought Logan a new Thomas the Tank Engine train! Surprise, surprise!

I love my big boy!

Santa also brought the boys a ball pit with 50 balls...YEAH!!

Cousin Sarah enjoyed the ball pit too!



Do you think Luke likes the ball pit?

Logan enjoying his new art supplies that my parents got him.

Happy New Year everyone. I pray that it will be a blessed year for all!