Outside Fun

It has finally gotten warm enough to take the boys outside to play, and they love it!! It is so nice to be able to be out enjoying the sunshine - we stay out as long as we can and even eat our lunch outside when it is possible! I am thankful for the spring weather and the chance we have to be together every day!!

They both love to ride their bicycles and chase each other all around! In the first picture, FJ told Judah that he shot him so to fall down; and of course Judah did exactly what his big brother told him to do!! And it is so true that boys make guns out of everything!! They just love to play like they are policemen or soldiers - it is a natural thing!! And it is fun to see them use their imaginations!

FJ's fourth year

Today, I took FJ out and took pictures of him for his birthday. He was more cooperative than I thought he would be and I got some great pictures. I put one funny picture on here, too, just to show everyone what a photo shoot with FJ is like! He makes me laugh!! He is a joy, and I think that he is a very handsome young man! I might be a little biased, though!! = )

FJ's 4th Birthday

On Monday, March 19, FJ turned four years old! To me, it doesn't even seem possible that my baby boy is four! We had a great day! He woke up to a bedroom floor full of balloons, and the day just got better and better! Jay's mom and sister were able to join us for the big day (even though Gran was sick on Monday and couldn't come to the party), and we had a great time! FJ asked for a Spiderman birthday, and as you can see, he loved it! Spiderman balloons, cake, new pajamas, and the list goes on! He just kept saying, "Mommy, Thank you for my birthday!" And of course that made me cry! He is a joy and makes us smile and laugh all the time! We had a great time together as a family! Judah got in on the fun, too; and he probably made us laugh more than ever before! At one point he put his hands on Jay's face and said (in a very low, grovelly voice) "Look at me when I'm talking to you, boy!" We all laughed so hard on that one! Then on Tuesday, we took the boys to Kicks - easiest way to describe it is a buffet/arcade place like Chuck E Cheese except for adults. We had a blast!! We even got to go on the go carts - Daddy and FJ raced Mommy and Judah. Mommy and Judah were winning until the last lap when Daddy and FJ bumped into us and pushed us out of the way! Oh well! They got the ribbon for winning, but we all have the memories of the fun that we had racing! (We were the only ones on the track, so it made it even more fun!!!) All in all, we had a great time celebrating FJ's birthday, and we thank the Lord for a wonderful little boy to celebrate!

Day after Christmas

What an exciting time Christmas is and this year was no exception at our house! We had a house full of guests-my sister, Trisha, came home from college on December 12, her boyfriend, Jeremy, came home from Basic Training on Dec. 20, Jay's mom, Ann, came on Dec. 21, my sister, Tanya, and her family came on Dec. 22, and Jay came on Dec. 24. Not to mention that my Uncle and his family came to have dinner and presents with us on Christmas Eve, too!! We had a good time, even though things were kind of different this year - my grandpa is still in an acute care hospital recovering from West Nile Virus. We usually go to my grandma and grandpa's house for Christmas Eve and have ever since I can remember, but we obviously could not do that this year. But none the less, we had fun being together.

A few weeks ago, we took the boys to a church here in town that does a "Journey to Bethlehem". We saw Roman soldiers, talked to Zechariah and Elizabeth, went through a marketplace, and went to a stable and saw Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus. What a wonderful way to be reminded of the real meaning of Christmas, to see what it might have been like when Jesus was born into our world, and to see the wonder in F.J. and Judah's eyes as we took our "Journey to Bethlehem".

F.J. and Judah had a good Christmas and were a lot of fun to watch this year. They are old enough now to understand what is going on and get excited about the presents, stockings, Christmas goodies, etc... What fun to see the wonder in their eyes and to hear the excitement in their voices as they unwrapped their presents. Enjoy the pictures and keep in touch when you can!!