Generations

Today my hubby is back in North Carolina honoring the life of a very important man in his life, his Grandpa W. Grandpa was like a dad to Jason- he spent many summer days working with him on the family farm. Grandpa taught Jason how to ride a horse, drive a tractor, help pigs deliver their young, tend to crops- and much more. Most importantly, Grandpa taught Jas the importance of God, family, and hard work. He was a preacher back in Jacksonville- a leader to many and a mentor to Jas- one that holds a special place in our hearts. When we took Noah to meet Grandpa for the first time, Grandpa opened his front door and said, "Thank God for the next generation!" See, Grandpa had three sons, and some of those boys had sons, but until right before Noah was born it didn't look like there were going to be any boys in the next generation to carry on the family name. He was thrilled that Noah was a boy- and then Jason's cousin had two more boys- and we added Jonah to the mix, too. His name and legacy will carry on!

The trip where we introduced Noah to Grandpa, Jason wanted to show Noah around the farm. It's a special place- where Grandpa taught Jason many lessons about life and they spent a tremendous amount of time together- it was so important in molding that little boy back then. Here's one of Grandpa's tractors in the barn (Lorilu, I think you'll approve!)...

And a look out into the pastures...
Everytime we visited, Grandpa had this same huge smile on his face. He loved life, he loved God, - and he loved his family.

We're sad to say goodbye to this special "old timer," but so thankful to have known him. I'm so grateful for the influence he had on my husband's life as a young one and so glad we were able to introduce him to our two boys, who will carry on his name.
We love you, Grandpa, and we know you're in a better place. We'll see you again one day! I know you were thankful for the next generation, but we're thankful for your generation and the heritage you have passed on to us, too.

Visiting the Pumpkin Patch

We took the kiddos to the pumpkin patch at the beginning of the month while my mom was visting. We met some friends there and had a great time.

Riley and Jonah enjoying the hay maze.

A hay ride to the petting zoo... (Noah, Mima, Jonah, Riley, Hunter, Darci, Graci)

This camel was looking for food!
Sheep and goats...
Jonah's pumpkin pick! Noah's pumpkin... he proceeded to drop the pumpkin twice after this picture, so we came home with a cracked pumpkin. It lasted about a week before it molded!
Hunter's pumpkin pick!
The hay ride after we had chosen our pumpkins... (Riley, Noah, Jonah, Andrea, Hunter, Graci, Darci)

(Mima, Noah, Jonah, Andrea)
Jonah loves his Mima- and Mima loves her Jonah! Since Noah's first pumpkin rotted, we told him we'd go back to pick out another one. So, this week we went back with some more friends...

Hannah, Pauline, Riley, Noah, Ben, Jonah, and Jason on the hayride.

This time all the older kids went for pony rides! Ben...

Hannah...

Noah...

and Jonah.

The hungry camel was a favorite again.
Ben picked up carrots off of the ground to feed him- Noah though it was hilarious!
Hannah fed this donkey some carrots, too.
The goats were really checking out the kids. Jonah would bend down to look at them and say, "Hi there, Mama Goat, you are so stanky!" He sounded so southern, we couldn't stop laughing. I don't know where he learned the word "stanky," but it's too funny.
You may be wondering where the pictures are of the pumpkins from our second trip... well, it was dark by the time we made it out to the actual patch. We were literally feeling for the perfect pumpkin. I didn't think to pack flashlights, but both families came out with great pumpkins, regardless. I wouldn't recommend hunting for pumpkins in the dark with five kids, but we made a great memory!

Thanks Darci, Hunter, Riley, Graci, Mima, Pauline, Ben, Hannah, and Riley for some fun times!

I'm an Aunt!

I'm so thrilled to welcome my new niece or nephew into this world around April 3rd! I can hardly wait- I'm an Auntie, y'all! Here's my sweet sister-in-law (16 weeks) carrying the sweet baby!

And here's the baby at 13 weeks. We'll know November 19th if this sweet little one is a "he" or a "she!" Congrats Brent & Amanda!

You can keep up with them here. It should be fun having cousins that are about a month apart! What a busy spring for our growing family!

Telling Mima... and Papa

On Friday, October 3rd, my sweet momma came to visit while my hubby was away on the "hunt of a lifetime." We had not told her that we were expecting baby #3, so yet again, we were able to tell her in person! I love it.

So, I made the "I'm the big brother" t-shirts for both of the boys to wear to the airport when we picked her up. When she saw us, she gave each of the boys hugs... then hugged me.

Then she hugged the boys again. First she noticed Noah's shirt and said, "I'm the big brother." She hesitated a moment, looked at Jonah's shirt, and read, "I'm the big...what the heck? WHAT THE HECK?" "You turkey, you turkey!" It was priceless! So happy to have the camera clicking to catch her expression!

Once we got back home, we took a picture of Jonah to send to my dad's cell phone.Unfortunately he couldn't tell what was on Jonah's shirt- we learned this when he FINALLY called on Saturday afternoon. We told him to check his e-mail because the boys had sent him a photo greeting...
I expected for him to call us immediately... but he didn't. We went to church that night and finally heard from Dad around 8:30.

I guess he saw the picture of the boys and thought they both looked so big. He went down to Tom & Kathi's (my 2nd parents, as I refer to them!) house for dinner after checking his e-mail. He told them about the cute picture that he'd been sent and how both boys had grown so much and that they were both wearing "I'm the Big Brother" shirts. Ms. Kathi looked at Dad and said, "So Andrea's pregnant?" My dad just stopped and said, "I hadn't even thought of that. I guess I need to go find out!" Tom & Kathi laughed so hard. She said that my dad's face was hysterical! She and Mr. Tom both said, "Duh!" I guess Tom said my dad got out of there pretty quick.

So when Dad called, I answered and he says, "What's up with two big brothers?" And I said, "Well, we have two big brothers- we'll know what we're having around May 10!" He thought it was great and we all got a good laugh about how clueless he was with our e-mail photo! Thanks, Ms. Kathi for helping to fill him in! I'm so glad that she and Mr. Tom got to be there when Dad figured it out!

Two Big Brothers!

Look for more details coming around May 10!

Just Laughin'

A couple of days ago I hear Jonah in the bathroom. Since he is just newly potty-trained, I keep a close eye on what he's up to in these moments.

So, I hollered, "What are you doing, Jonah?"

He replied, "Just waffin' (laughin')."

I thought to myself, what in the world? So, I responded, "Are you going tee-tee or poo-poo?"

"I just waffin'," he replied.

I knew I needed to check to make sure everything was ok. When I walked in, he grinned, laughed, and pointed to the stream of pee that was running down the shower curtain. He had aimed from his sitting position on the commode and was most amused with the mess he created! UGH!

If only I could just be laughing, too... Potty training- it's not for sissies!

O-R-E-O!

We rarely have store-bought cookies in our house. Mainly because of my love for baking my very own; fresh from the oven, homemade cookies just cannot be beat. However, last week I bought some Oreos. I don't even know if my kids have ever had Oreos... maybe at church or at a friend's, but not here. So, when I pulled out a couple after lunch today I was shocked when Jonah said, "These are the cookies you put in milk." "What?" I said. And again he repeated himself, "You put these cookies in milk." How does he know that? Of course, I then poured each of us some milk for these cookies. I guess advertising works- and he was right, they are the cookies you put in milk. Yum!

We're missing...

...this guy!

We're coming to the end of a 12-day span that has Daddy away for work and boy do we all miss him. The boys have been fantastic, but tonight Noah had a sad moment and he quietly began crying. I asked him if he missed Daddy and he said yes. So, we called Jas, but Noah couldn't stop crying enough to talk. About 10 minutes afterwards, he looked at me and said, "I can talk now." So, we called back and he was so happy to have some quality phone time. It was too sweet.

We can't wait for you to get home, hon. We love, love, love you. Mommie needs some sleep- and a hug- and your "tough guys" are ready to wrestle and fight!

Merry Christmas... in July

Christmas in July cards...now a tradition in our family! Merry Christmas! Stay posted for our annual "Christmas" letter!

Grandma Visits!

Jason's mom was able to come for a visit from Virginia to spend about two weeks with us. We had a wonderful time. The boys loved all the play time and special outings... playing checkers at Cracker Barrel,
a little shopping at the mall,one of several new Bionicles (compliments of Grandma),a trip to the zoo,icecream at the zoo,climbing at the park,looking at snakes at the nature center,swinging at another park, playing with the new lego set,going out for icecream after the movies,learning the states with the new puzzle,playing in the river, opening "belated birthday" gifts,splashing in the fountain downtown,more icecream, racing cars on the track,making cookies,and playing in the new pool!

And, for the 4th of July weekend, we headed to McCall and...went on a beautiful hike, had a picnic lunch,played with sticks,skipped rocks,enjoyed silliness and shopping in town,played in the lake,
and ate some more icecream!

Oh, and we watched some great fireworks over the lake, too! What a busy and fun time! We made some wonderful memories. She spoiled us all (Jason and I even got a date night!)- thank you, Grandma! We love you!

Now you see why I'm having to adjust back to our "normal" routine! :)