Happy 4th birthday, Andrew!

We celebrated Andrew's fourth birthday party this past weekend. He invited his entire class from school as well as his friends from our small group at church. There were fifteen children hoopin' and hollerin' everywhere! Andrew's only special request was to have a hockey cake, so I asked my friend, Tera, to make it for him. Tera even went as far as to make it extra special by putting the local minor league hockey team mascot on the center of the "ice" rink. Andrew loved it!




Mitch and I gave Andrew something he's been asking for FOREVER....a pair of inline skates. I was amazed at how well he skated the first time he put them on. He didn't want any help!

Spring Music Program

Andrew had a spring musical program this past Thursday at school. I think that you can tell by the pictures that he loves to sing and boogy.

I'm just having a moment....

Backyard adventure

After "rest" time yesterday, we ventured into the backyard to enjoy the sunshine. Andrew went on his usual hunt of anything breathing and came out of the bushes with this. I made Andrew let the frog go today after holding it captive more than 24 hours. He wasn't too happy about it....Andrew, that is.

The Lord's Prayer

This is too cute!

My friend, Davina

Davina has only been in Columbus for a short time. Soon, she and her family will be moving to Oregon for a new minstry position. I am so thankful the Lord brought her into my life....my only regret is that we didn't get to spend as much time together as I would have liked. We always chit chat about crafty things, new business ideas, or our latest earnings on consignment or garage sales, etc. Our conversation is sweet and our children play well together. Davina, I will surely miss you when you and Kyle pack up and move to the other side of the country!

Aviators

Luke and Andrew with their friend, Lee (I'm sure Mikey loves this picture), at the airshow a few weekends ago.

Easter 2008

This is the best I could do, holding an infant in my hands while shooting the picture of the kids. The sun and shadows are horrible but sometimes you just have to take the picture whereever the kids decide to plop down (to avoid a meltdown).

Talented Tasha

In my earlier post, I mentioned that I got to spend some time on Wednesday with my sweet friend, Tasha. We always take pictures of our kids when we're together and this visit was no exception. Here are her three girls with my three kiddos.



Also, as a baby gift, Tasha MADE Abigail this easter basket....looks a lot like Pottery Barn, eh? Yeah, she's pretty talented, that Tasha. It will work great as a diaper bag throughout the spring season. She's always taking orders if you're interested!

Recycle your old cell phone(s)

Mitch and I get an upgrade on our cell phones every two years (it's in our contract). We've had our old phones in a box under our bed for quite some time, meaning to take them to Staples and drop them in the recycling box. Yesterday, I heard that there's a need for old cell phones in Iraq for soldiers to use to call home and speak to their family. I'm mailing ours off today in a postage paid envelope. If you'd like to learn more about this service, click here.

My kids

For the grandparents....and for me to take a peek at to remind me of His wondrous gift of these three children.

My mind is racing....

My feet hurt. I am certainly getting older. My body whispers that to me many times a day.

Gosh, will someone please come over to my house and help me pick up all these toys that seem to live on the floor rather than in their proper container!?!?!?

I think I've watched the movie, Flight of the Navigator, a total of eleven times this week, never in its entirety at one sitting. Just bits and pieces here and there, in between other tasks. Andrew and Luke are now masters at working the pause button.

Oh, how I love, love, love it when the kids are all in the bed early and at the same time! YIPPEE! I got a lot done tonight, including two pages in Abigail's album. I'm actually going to bed early tonight. Right after I finish this post...no kidding! Wait, did I remember to put the clothes in the dryer? Oh, man!

Andrew caught a frog this afternoon. The frog's new home is currently in the small sandbox out back, except it's full of water. I made sure Andrew left a branch in the middle so the frog wouldn't die overnight from treading water.

Just found out that a new close friend of mine is moving this summer....to a galaxy far, far away. Some people call it Washington, D.C. Well, Virginia, if you want to get technical. It's all the same up there. Needless to say, I am not happy about it. Melissa, we can clear out a room and let you and the kids stay while Sean does his army thing up there. Yeah? Oh well....free lodging and food when we want to tour the Smithsonian!

Tee-hee! Tasha came to see me today. I love visits with her. She is so simple, sweet, laid back, authentic, and funny. If it weren't for her, I'd still be frustrated with The Grocery Game. Come to find out, I was making it harder than it actually was. Thanks, Tash. You're 'da bomb. Our kids played well together, too!

Thanks to my friend Becky, I have now signed up for every free sample ever offered to man. My mailbox will be full in about 6-8 weeks. The mailman will have to leave packages on my door due to box spillage. I love it! Of course, I spent about two hours online the other night researching blogs, reading fine lines, and completing registrations....but it was worth it. I should be all caught up now. I'm cheap and I like it that way.

Andrew will be four years old in a few weeks. He is obsessed with hockey and has been begging for some inline skates so he can play street hockey in our cul-de-sac. We sized him and just purchased a pair. Now, where can I hide them? Maybe under all these toys on the floor. Also, we took him to his first big screen movie a few weeks ago to see The Waterhorse. It was fun watching him watch the movie. He would cover his ears when it was really loud but he was memorized at how large everything was. The DVD is being released on his birthday. Not a day too late!

Eye kneed two go too bed, now. (That won was four you, Amy M.) *inside joke*

Flying high with Luke Duke

This picture speaks of Luke's personality:

• - "free to be me"

• - enjoys playing alone

• - singing to himself

• - shaking his bum to the beat

• - in his own little world

• - always smiling (usually)

• - loves life

Air Show

Mitch took the boys to the air show that's here in town. For the first time, Andrew and Luke sat in the cockpit of many airplanes and helicopters. The helmet was too heavy for Luke but Andrew managed to balance it on his head.

Hoodies

My boys in their hoodies.

Free card at USPS.com

HBO is scheduled to show a mini-series called POWER OF THE LETTER, highlighting the 1,000+ letters John Adams and his wife Abigail wrote to one another. The United States Postal Service is trying to give the written letter the love it deserves since email is quickly taking over the method of correspondence. So, if you'd like to create a free postage paid card (no charge at all, not even S&H!), click here. You can personalize it and even upload a picture to make it special. It will be mailed to your address so you can then sign it and send it on its way.

A Rainy Day

What does one with small children do on a rainy day? Take them outside and let them dance in the rain and stomp in the puddles!

March scrap challenge entry

I didn't win the February scrap challenge but I had so much fun doing it! In fact, I sat down last night and completed my entry for this month's sketch at the local shop (see below). This challenge motivates me to get a page or two done and also gives me ideas of how to place my pictures, getting me out of my "layout-box". I'll let you know the results at the end of the month.

What a weird story

My friend, Burt, brought this story to my attention. I just don't know what to say about it. Weird....yeah, that's the word.

Got it all for $5

I am pleased to say that I accomplished my goal of finding cute, nice, quality spring dresses for Abigail without paying over-the-top prices...especially for the Easter holiday that is right around the corner. Our city has a city-wide consignment sale twice a year (spring/fall) so I always make sure to gather all the junk clutter outgrown children's clothes (and other random items) to sell of my own and then get in there to dig through the racks to find that one, two, or three really special outfits. I found these sweet outfits in the first fifteen minutes I was there and only paid $5 total. I would have continued shopping but I felt that the dresses were all I really needed. So, happily, I walked out with only these three items...I done good!

Extreme Funny

Another fun video to watch. It's five minutes long but please stick with it. It's gets extremely funny at count 2:40.

Pictures from small group time

Another picture of our "small group"...it's not so small anymore.

Plus, there were three couples not present!

Luke on the run

Andrew swinging.

Abigail playing peek-a-boo!

My cup runneth over....

Sacred

One of my favorite bands is Caedmon's Call. I've loved them from the day my ears heard their first note. Not only do they sound good but their songs are hard, true, and deep. Their newest album, Overdressed, doesn't disappoint. My favorite on this project is track three - Sacred (lyrics below). If you're a mom, you'll find this song comforting. It exposes my sin, shouts the truth about my role, and, most importantly, points me to Christ. Enjoy.

Sacred

this house is a good mess
it’s the proof of life
no way would I trade jobs
but it don’t pay overtime

I’ll get to the laundry
I don’t know when
I’m saying a prayer tonight
cause tomorrow it starts again

could it be that everything is sacred?
and all this time
everything I’ve dreamed of
has been right before my eyes

the children are sleeping
but they’re running through my mind
the sun makes them happy
and the music makes them unwind

my cup runneth over
and I worry about the stain
teach me to run to You
like they run to me for every little thing

when I forget to drink from you
I can feel the banks harden
Lord, make me like a stream
to feed the garden

wake up, little sleeper
the Lord, God Almighty
made your Mama keeper
so rise and shine

Photos of our day

The weather was amazing today! I'm not sure what the exact temperature was but I'm sure it was in the mid 70s. I took my camera outside and caught the boys at play.

Paint Jam

This clip lasts five minutes so make sure you have the time to watch it because it's definitely worth the wait! What an artist!

Ewwww....

I love him....nasty teeth, dirty face, and ALL! (No, those are NOT his real teeth!)

Today during Playgroup

Some monsters visited us during playgroup this morning. They were so cute that we decided to keep them around for a while. After much roaring, fire breathing, and mischief, I decided upon the lion to keep as my own (hee hee)....he was just too adorable to let back into the wild.

We all scream for ice-cream!

After dinner Saturday night, we dressed the boys in their PJs and took off to Bruster's as a family to enjoy the free ice-cream. Here are a few pictures of our time getting sticky!

"My name is Jawan & I'm a Scrapaholic"

I went to a scrapbooking crop tonight and got eight pages completed! WOW! The crop started at 4pm and lasted until midnight. There were about 25 ladies there and lots of conversation could be heard. It was enjoyable to make new friends and borrow stuff from others for free. TEE HEE! Mitch said I could make it a monthly event so I'm already getting excited about my crop date in March. Now, the question is "will I scrap at home before then?". Hmmmm.....