Blessed Again!

So you want to know what's in this box?

Or maybe what's in this box?

The boys want to show you!

Evan was scratching his head and wondering what the pink balloons could mean.  Brody just loved the balloons!

Still wondering?

Evan was still wondering and looking for more clues in the box. 

Do those balloons give you a hint? 

Maybe something else in the box will help!

Evan found a baby doll, but Brody wasn't interested. 

And finally, they find pictures of the newest addition to the family. 

Evan trying to decipher the pictures by himself.

I just love Brody's face here!

Brody says, "Who cares about pictures!  We have balloons!!!"

The sweetest BIG brothers in the world! 

Mommy showing Brody his baby. 

He was pretty fascinated. 

He gave her kisses. 

And some love too!

Quite possibly my favorite picture of his face ever!

And finally getting to show Evan his new baby sister. 

He was so serious the whole time and wanted to know everything. 

Mommy and her sweet little men are ready to welcome a little pink into the house. 

Mommy at a little over 18 weeks. 

So yes, we are...

And yes...

So will this little guy be ready?

He is going to enjoy getting lots of practice in the months ahead. 

And we think he may just be the most loving big brother in the world!

He's pretty excited!

And very fascinated too!

A Long Overdue DIY Project

This post is a thank you of sorts.  Back last summer, I "won" my first real blog giveaway, and it was seriously an awesome prize.  I don't enter too many giveaways, and I really didn't do this for the giveaway.  It was my sweet and awesome blog pal Annabelle's birthday (stop on over and check out her blog because she is such a sweet southern belle although still as tough as nails), and she was doing lots of giveaways for HER birthday.  I mean if that doesn't tell you how awesome she is, I don't know what will.  When she posted that I won one of her giveaways just for wishing her a happy birthday, I was like "What?"  And it was the best prize, ya'll!  I am a typical southern girl and love monograms.  I also had not done much decorating to our bedroom, and it needed some love.  When I e-mailed the owner of the etsy shop about winning, I really wasn't sure what to expect since I was new to the blog giveaway forum.  The shop owner's response was so sweet as she took my information for the personalized monogram and told me it would take a few weeks as these are purely handmade by her.  The detail of these wooden monograms is just amazing.  When the prize arrived, I was so excited to see it.  It was better than I could expect and definitely worth the $60 price as it is large, very detailed, sanded, and just ready to be painted whatever color you choose.  I have been "patiently" waiting for my sweet husband to finally paint mine so I could hang it and see what it looked like above our bed.  We chose to do the couple's monogram since it was going in our bedroom.  I decided to hang the monogram with some trendy burlap ribbon.  Thanks, Annabelle, for this awesome gift!

This was the wooden monogram before my husband painted it.  He hung it from a tree in our backyard to spray paint it, and then we let it air out a couple of days in our garage before bringing it inside.  Due to the extremely wet weather we had last week, it took a little longer to completely dry.  

The monogram above our bed.  I kind of took this photo from an angle to avoid glare  so it actually isn't hanging crooked.  

Please visit Ms. Stevens' etsy shop at trendytrimmings.etsy.com for more of her fine creations. 

It's Gonna Be a Crazy Year...

I seriously think this year is going to be crazy with so many things happening for our family.  The Spring is definitely going to be a busy time.  Here are just some of the things we are looking forward to in the coming months:

• Mommy finishing up what has been a grueling four years of law school and possibly preparing to take the bar in the summer.  Other events may dictate whether she chooses to take the bar exam in the Summer or waits until the following February.  She may just need a little break first.  
• Evan turning 6 and Brody turning 2 within a month of each other.  Mommy loves throwing big birthday parties, but two in the space of a month is a little challenging.  We may have to combine this year.  
• Mommy's graduation!
• Possibly some job changes for Daddy in the future. 
• Celebrating our 10th Anniversary! 
• And lots of preparations for a little surprise that is coming soon!

What a year it's going to be!

Yesterday

So yesterday, we were supposed to get this:

But instead, we only got this:

A few flurries were actually stuck to our back deck in the shade in the morning. 

So we made the best of it.  After work and school, Daddy and the boys met Mommy in uptown so that she could run some errands and do some school business and then we went to the park to play a little.  Yes, it was a tad cold, but neither of these kids seemed to mind.  Brody showed us how big he is sliding, climbing, running around, and chasing ducks.  Afterwards, we went to eat pizza at one of Evan's favorite places called Wolfman.  He loves all the pictures on the walls of werewolves from old movies and loves the breadsticks and pizza.  For some reason, Brody has not acquired a similar taste for this restaurant and was not equally as happy.  He enjoyed the breadsticks and a little of Mommy's salad, but he was not happy with the pizza at all.  Plus, I think he was getting pretty tired by then.  When we left, we noticed that the hot doughnuts now sign was lit at the neighboring Krispy Kreme (I do apologize for anyone who doesn't know the joy of a warm, fresh, glazed doughnut from this establishment.  Just take my word for it...it is melt in your mouth goodness!).  We picked up a box of the good stuff and enjoyed one before heading home to bed.  I guess we'll call yesterday a good day even without the lovely white stuff we were hoping for!

*Note:  All of the following pictures were taken on the camera phone since I was caught without the camera.  Not the best quality but not too bad either considering it was getting dark and was already cloudy.

Brody enjoyed climbing on the playground equipment.  Yes, his little hands were frozen, but he didn't mind. 

Showing us his new tricks. 

"I can slide on my bottom now!"

"Here I go!"

Not too sure about this big slide though.  He did go down after watching big brother and Mommy helped him get into position. 

Big brother leads the way!

Smiling from the top.  

Climbing the big stairs like a big boy. 

Going to check out the choo choo train. 

My boys!

Brody chasing ducks.  He was so cute quacking and saying "duck."  

He just giggled when the duck would open its wings to fly away when he got too close.  Then, he ran after him.   He was not happy when he flew away for good. 

A sweet picture of Daddy and his littlest man. 

Sunday Lessons: And it was very good!

Today's church message was just so beautiful and powerful.  I always love the story of the creation.  So many in this world still question how this world came to be and where we all came from.  I don't question that.  The answer is always right there in front of me and all around me.  It is as clear as the words on this screen or the smiles on my children's faces.  I could never even imagine believing that this world just came from some chaotic primordial oozing mess.  There is just too much sense and order.  It was obviously orchestrated by SOMEONE with a lot of love and care.  Who could have that much love?  Obviously, someone a lot greater than myself.  However, I believe He imparted a wonderful part of himself into each and every one of us, His creatures.  Our pastor pointed out today that the magic of Genesis 1 is the use of the word creation, or the Hebrew word "bara" which means to create something out of nothing.  In all other places in the Bible, the word "asah" is used to mean to make something.  "Bara" was deliberately used to describe how God created the heavens and the earth, the sea creatures and birds, and finally people.  After creating all of this from nothing, God looked at it and said "it was very good."  (Genesis 1:31).  God intended His creation to be very good, and it was.  It was perfect.  Death, sickness, pain, and chaos were not a part of His created order.  In His infinite love, He knew that if He created man and woman "in his image," they must be different than all of the rest of His creation.  We must be allowed to choose to love and be loved in order to be "like God."  God gave us that special gift of freedom to choose.  He blessed us uniquely with this gift.  He knew that we would either choose to follow His wisdom, or we would seek to follow our own.  Of course, He knew the consequences we would face for following our own wisdom instead of His.  We would get into trouble.  We would bring chaos to His orderly world.  The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the epitome of that choice.  If we chose to eat of this tree so that we could find our own "wisdom," we would have to face the consequences.  Should God have given us this choice in his infinite wisdom obviously knowing we would fail?  As a parent, I think He had to if He truly wanted "children" and not just more "pets."  I teach my children right from wrong because I want what is best for them.  Do I think this will protect them or keep them from ever straying from what I have taught them?  They will have to go out into this world on their own, and they will have to make their own choices.  I won't always like what they choose. They will get hurt starting with burned fingers on hot stoves or cut or scraped knees from falls or other bumps and bruises.  Later, it will likely be car accidents,broken hearts, or other catastrophes.  Should I lock them away in their rooms forever never to be set free to live their lives?  Of course not!  They will make mistakes and they will stumble, but they will learn and grow and make their place in this world.  If they choose to follow God's wisdom, He will use them for His wonderful plan.  I hope and pray they do!  But bad things will happen to them.  It is the price we pay for the choices we all make.  I'm not saying we all deserve death.  God did not want any of us to die.  He wants to save us from that ultimate final judgment.  That is why He sent His Son in human form to be born in a lowly stable to die a cruel and horrendous death and to conquer death so that we don't have to face our ultimate fate.  To me, if you choose to seek your own wisdom or the wisdom of the world, you will always be seeking, and you will always have questions.  I have no such questions anymore because God is the only answer.  I know who I am and where I came from because of Him.  I hope you all find the answer and the peace that only comes in knowing Him!

We sang this beautiful song by Chris Tomlin in worship today, and I just love it.

Whom Shall I fear? 

I know who goes before me

I know who stands behind

The God of angel armies is always by my side!

The one who reigns forever

He is a friend of mine

The God of angel armies is always by my side!

Celebrating Our Favorite Person

We celebrated Daddy's birthday last weekend with his mother and Papa James.  On Saturday night, Grandma and Papa James let us have a date night to go and see The Hobbit.  On Sunday, we went to eat at Outback and then went home to enjoy some yummy ice cream cake.  We hope our special Daddy enjoyed the time with his family.

Daddy's cake.  No, that is not enough candles, but I attempted lighting the number of candles for his birth year a few years ago, and the cake looked like a fire hazard.  Ha!

Making his wish and blowing out the candles.  

Evan likes the chocolate ice cream center.  I thought it was half cake half ice cream, but I was mistaken.  It was also frozen solid and required that big knife to cut. 

Silly daddy pulled out the left over 1st birthday napkins.  

Digging in!

Brody couldn't dig into this cold cake so he had to wait for Mommy to feed him.  

We love you, Daddy! 

Dear Eddie,

I hope you already know how special you are around here.  We all think you are the greatest...especially Brody lately.  I know it is hard sometimes having your birthday so close to Christmas when we are all just starting to get our routine back in order after the holiday season.  We always want to make your day extra special.  It was a little hard this year since your birthday fell on Monday, but we tried to celebrate last weekend when your family visited.  I am sorry I have been so tired and demanding of your time lately, and I wish we could have done more to make your day extra special.  We all think you are deserving of a national holiday for being so truly amazing.  I often feel so guilty that you have to do so much for all of us doing the work of a single full-time daddy on many occasions while still working full-time.  But then I listen to the laughter and see the special bond you have developed with your little boys, and I am just thankful.  Thankful that you have the opportunity to develop a bond that is so unusual for fathers.  Fathers are usually the bread winners, and while many are good dads, you are so much more.  You feed them, clothe them, wash them, change them, read to them, play with them, love them, and are often their primary caretaker.  They see all that you do for them, and it is no surprise that they want to be with you ALL THE TIME.  You don't treat these duties as if they were a chore either.  You always act like you enjoy your time together.  There is always laughter coming from any room where you and the boys happen to be with lots of tickling and playing.  Although I am very ready to resume more of these duties again, I know that you and the boys are always going to have this very special bond that has developed during these last few years.  The boys are learning from you how to truly be caring and giving men, and of course, they will make their future little wives very happy just like you make me.  Thank you for going so far above and beyond the traditional responsibilities of a husband and father.  We are definitely the lucky ones!

Love always,
Mommy

Videos: Christmas Morning 2012

This is my annual posting of our Christmas morning videos.  I just love capturing my kids' excitement as they come down to see what Santa has left for them for Christmas.  I love looking back at these videos and remembering these precious times and seeing how much the children have changed.  Last year, we carried Brody downstairs.  This year, he made his own way down.  Next year, I am sure he will be more vocal in his excitement.  Every year since Evan was 2, he has verbally proclaimed everything that he spotted as he made his way downstairs.  You can check out some of those other posts from 2009, 2010, and 2011.  Nothing captures a moment quite like video.

Video:  This first video is the actual coming down the stairs and the first spotting of the presents.  Evan was his usual verbal self and was quite funny looking for his new DS game.  It was right in front of him the whole time as Santa had taken it out of the box and plugged it in so that it would be ready for him.  Ha!  Brody made his way straight for his new tricycle and climbed right on.  We are sure it won't take too long for him to figure out how to ride it all by himself...once his feet can more fully reach the pedals, of course.  I do hate that this video is often not in focus as we find the new camera's video function is a little more difficult to keep in focus while taking video.



Video:  This video is a longer continuation of the first and shows Brody playing with more of his new toys, mostly his new Lego blocks and Alphie robot.