Prayers Needed

Tuesday afternoon I went home from work with really bad cramps. Tuesday night I had blood in my urine...which isn't normal in my book! Since I don't have internet at home yet and couldn't Google anything, yesterday I went to the doctor. After talking with them for a while and giving them a urine sample, they sent me for a CT scan. They called this morning with the results. I have a "big kidney stone" (10 mm) that is blocking the flow of urine and the radiologist informed her that "something needs to be done about this". The nurse actually said, "Not to scare you, but if this stone moves...it's gonna hurt WORSE than labor!! Take 2 vicadin and go straight to the ER!" YIKES!!!!! Now I'm really freaked out! She's trying to get me in to a urologist so they can zap it...but that may not be until next week!

I would really covet your prayers right now. Pray that I can get in and get it zapped before it moves. (I don't feel the need to experience that pain!) Pray that if the stone does move, it's not when I'm at home alone with the boys. Thank you!

***EDIT***
Just got a call that the urologist appointment is Monday at 8:00 am. Pray I make it until then!

Lost Connection

My posting will be sporadic until next Tuesday. That is when our internet will be connected at our new house. We had lots of helpers this weekend and got pretty much everything moved into our new house. We didn't think that we'd get it all moved until this coming weekend, therefore, we didn't have the internet installation scheduled until after this weekend. It stinks to be without internet...but I know we'll survive. I guess instead of blogging and emailing and surfing the net...we'll have to unpack!

All you need is Photoshop...

well, that and a little know how. I actually have Photoshop, I just haven't figured out how to use it yet! My sweet friend, Amy, emailed me a nice surprise. She played with a couple of the pics of the boys. Here are the results. If I could find some time to figure out photoshop...I don't think I'd ever need to take them to a professional photographer!

So which do y'all like better? Color or black & white?

Cutie Pies

I know that Barrett will be 10 months old in 5 days, but since he's still 9 months old right now...on Monday I took his 9 month picture for his story board. We had Brody's pictures professionally taken at 3, 6, 9, & 12 months for a story board and I decided to do Barrett's on my own. Both boys stood with this little chair for their 9 month picture. It belonged to Grandmommy and their Great-Great Aunt Sharon when they were little girls!

Of course I had to attempt to take pictures of the boys together. And, as expected, I didn't get a single picture where they both looked at the camera and smiled!

Brody was cooperating and would sit still for me to take his picture.

Barrett was a different story! All he wanted to do was crawl away from my backdrop!

And most of the time he was screaming, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!" as he crawled away as fast as his little arms and legs would crawl!

Silent Shooting

Last night Mike got home from working on our new house (yes, we helped Jonathan (the seller) move out on Saturday...so we officially have possession now!) and hollered inside for us to hurry and come outside. There were 2 ducks in our yard. I went and got some bread for Brody to feed them. Mike was telling Brody about the differences between males and females in the bird world while Brody threw bread at the birds and laughed.

Then Brody suddenly panicked and ran inside as he yelled, "I NEED my gun!!!!" Mike and I were dying laughing! He came back outside with his shotgun and proceeded to throw more bread to the ducks to lure them back closer to him.

Then he pulled up his gun and started shooting! (Yes, I realize that he is just in his underwear...but if you've had a toddler before...you know we're lucky that he had any clothes on!)

When they didn't fall dead, he turned to us and said, "I need some caps!" Since we didn't go get any caps for him, he just chased after the ducks aiming his gun and silently shooting at them.

Beware ducks! Next time you stop by I have a feeling that Brody will have caps in his gun!

Nap Overlap

Almost two weeks ago (yes...I'm just now getting around to posting this...it's been sitting here as a draft since that Monday!) I watched Jayden while Angela had her monthly meeting at work. On her way to her meeting she went with me and the boys to pick up our car from the shop. On my way back home, both the babies fell asleep in the car (even though Brody and I tried REALLY hard to keep them awake!) Thankfully they both continued their naps once we got home. It was a little difficult when they both woke up at the same time and were HUNGRY! Brody was eager to help so I set him on the couch with the boppy and Jayden in his lap with a bottle. The plan was to let him feed Jayden while I sat beside him nursing Barrett. Well...Jayden didn't like a kid giving him a bottle! Even though Brody was doing a great job...he wouldn't take it unless I was giving it to him. I tried laying Jayden on the ground and giving him to bottle, but I don't think he has a bottle often enough to know how to hold it by himself yet...so that didn't work. I ended up just letting Barrett fuss until Jayden finished eating and then I fed Barrett. Whew! Made it thru that.

Ok. I've just gotten really off track as to what this post was to be about! Lemme get back on...

Angela called and said that her meeting was going to run long (into the afternoon). Nap time was quickly approaching. Angela had told me that Jayden had really been fighting afternoon naps lately (this week we learned it's because he was getting a tooth!), so I was leery as to how nap time would go. I put Jayden on a pallet in the laundry room (yes, seems strange...but it's the only room that I could put him in where he and Barrett wouldn't wake each other up if either of them cried!) I closed the door (yes, he was crying) and went to put my boys to bed. By the time I got Barrett and Brody in bed...all was silent from the laundry room!

Silence!

There was silence in the house!

Nap overlap is AMAZING! (Now it's awesome on any day...but today was especially awesome because I had ALL THREE kids sleeping at once!)

Nap overlap is the first time in my day (after the kids wake up) that I can really hear myself think. On one hand that's wonderful! On the other hand...when you haven't heard yourself think all day...do you know how many thoughts can run thru your head during a nap overlap! It's almost dizzying! You're rushing around trying to get everything done that you can't accomplish while the kids are awake. On days that I'm working, as soon as the kids are down I run back to the office and work as fast as I can. On days that I'm not working it's a little more complex. I'll have a list of things to do: laundry, vacuum, clean shower, dust, sweep, mop, clean bathroom, work on books for the LRC, work on our books, get a drink of water, sit down for a minute, work on my blog book, post to my blog, check my email, check my messageboard, check my blog reader......

Now realistically, I can't get all this done in one nap overlap. Sometimes I spend too much time trying to decide what to accomplish, then starting a task only to decide something else should take precedence! Today I'm off work and Brody went with Daddy Steve to see GG (so it's really only Barrett down for a nap right now). I should be cleaning house or packing (since we're moving next week!!)...but instead I'm blogging! To make the situation even funnier...I hear Barrett waking up over the monitor! I guess I can check "post to my blog" off that long list! lol

It's the little things...

Do you make your bed every day? I know some people only make it when company is coming over. They say, "What's the point? I'll just be messing it up again tonight!" I'm the kind of person that likes to make it every day. I think it makes our bedroom look so much neater/cleaner when the bed's made.

Lately Mike has been making the bed before he leaves for work. He's the kind of person that doesn't see much sense in making a bed...so why does he do it? It's just one way he shows his love for me. It doesn't matter how many times he's made the bed in the past, EVERY time that I walk into our room and see the bed already made...a HUGE grin spreads across my face and my heart feels warm with love for my husband. Seems kinda funny that him making the bed brings forth such intense emotions...but it does! So thanks babe! Thanks for showing me that you love me even in the little things!

Couch Sitting

Sunday after church we went to Daddy Steve and Namaw's house for lunch. I haven't gotten a good picture of the boys together in a while, so I decided to give it a try. It was rainy and cold outside...so I just had them sit on the couch. Seems like an easy thing to do...right? Personally I've never found sitting on a couch to be a difficult task! Well...here's the ONE picture I have where both of them were sitting! (pretty cute, huh?!)

The rest of the pictures are of them doing anything BUT sitting still for a picture!

And they found this to be HILARIOUS!!!!

Meeting Bella

Ok...so maybe our Saturday family get together at Lake Lewisville was more than just about meeting baby Bella...but you have to know that everyone there was so excited when Jon & Cindy drove up! This was the first time that most of us got to see Bella in person! When she arrived, she and Barrett were both sleeping. That didn't last long! When one started crying...they were both wailing!

GG was happy to spend most of the day sitting in a lounge chair holding her newest great-granddaughter. Brody was excited to see Bella for the first time. He's very gentle with babies...and was telling Collin to be gentle too!

Barrett didn't really care about Bella. He just wanted to crawl around and put every leaf, stick, and blade of grass in his mouth! It was cloudy and cool when we left our house on Saturday morning. By the afternoon the sun came out and we weren't cold anymore. Do you think that means I remembered to put sunscreen on me and the boys?!? Nope. This cute smiling face was sun kissed and his poor blond head was red by the time we got home!

The kids were ready for the Easter Egg Hunt (and no...we didn't let Brody bring his shotgun!) Brody, Collin, Bella, Lauren, Katelyn, and Barrett. Katelyn forgot her Easter basket, so she used a bucket that Ron & Jan had at the campground. Too bad we forgot to set the Electrasol bucket aside for this group picture! lol

It was so much fun having the Easter egg hunt at a campground! It was like having a citywide egg hunt for 4 kids! As much as we tried to hurry Brody, he had to open EACH egg that he found before he put it in his basket!

My sisters, Ann & Audria. Aren't they beautiful?! Hmmm...just realized that this is the only picture of adults that I'm posting. Oh well. All of us were there (except for Josh who had to work) and none of us look much different! lol

Namaw made a few "special" eggs for Barrett. They were cheerio filled eggs.

Easter Egg Hunt!

Last night Brody brought his gun to me and asked me to put more caps in it. I obliged and he headed out to the backyard. A few minutes later he came back inside and grabbed his Easter basket and headed back outside. We looked out the back door and saw Brody setting up the eggs in a row and then aiming at them with his gun!

When I asked Brody what he was doing his reply was simple, "I'm going Easter egg hunting!" Mike and I were wiping tears from our eyes we were laughing so hard (after we went back inside of course)! I guess when you have a 2 1/2 year old that loves to hunt...he takes it literally when you tell him that we're going to go Easter egg hunting!!

He swung around to shoot at this egg before it got away (it was rolling down the driveway)!

Breakfast with the Bunny

Today Brody and I got to have breakfast with the Easter Bunny at his preschool! He was soooo excited to take some eggs to give to his friends and was asking me about the Easter Bunny on our way to school. Recently Adam the Alligator visited them and taught them about good dental hygiene. Later when we were talking about alligators, Mike and I told him that alligators crawl along the ground and that they don't walk like humans do. He insisted that they can walk because Adam can walk! We had a long discussion about how Adam wasn't a real alligator, but it was just someone in a costume. I think this triggered thoughts about the Easter Bunny.

Brody - "Mommy? Is the Easter Bunny real or not?"
Me - "No, it's just someone in a costume. But it'll be a big furry costume that will be soft to touch!"
Brody - "So it'll be nice to me?"
Me - "Yes" "What's Easter really about?"
Brody - "Jesus!......Do you think Jesus likes Easter eggs?"

When we got to school he was terrified of the big bunny! Most of the other kids were clinging to their mommy's and it took a while for them to warm up to him enough to sit in his lap for a picture! Brody finally asked to go sit in the bunny's lap and even promised to smile!

Of course as soon as anyone else wanted to take a picture with him he'd go silent and straight faced! Ms Jessica tried hard to get him to smile for this picture...but he held his ground!

Of course as soon as she walked off he started laughing and smiling for the camera!

And being super silly while he ate his powdered donuts!

Last Hurrah

Last week was Mike's final softball game to play in during the spring season. The rest of the season Mike will be coaching rather than playing. Remember when he tore his meniscus over 2 years ago while playing basketball at a church retreat? Well, it's never felt 100% since he had surgery on it. Lately it's started hurting again. Saturday he and Caleb played raquet ball and this REALLY made it hurt. After watching him limp after ever play last Monday night, I knew he had to get to the doctor! I was just glad the game last week was an early game so that I could take the boys to watch Daddy play!

Brody has been getting much more interested in watching the game lately (rather than just playing off to the side). Here he's eating his fruit snacks and standing on his tippy toes to see over the tarp/fence.


Caleb hitting the ball.

Barrett had fun riding around in the backpack with Daddy Steve.

The great thing about a church league. They guys huddle up and pray together after the game is over. Maybe the LRC (where I used to work in KS) needs to implement a joint prayer after the summer youth league games. It might help diffuse the parents that yell at the 16 year old umps all the way to their car after a 7 year old baseball game!

Barrett and Staci at the PR Black softball game. I just love his "extra" dimple (the one just under his eye). It's so cute!!

And just so I don't leave you hanging...Mike has now gone to 2 different doctors. One wants to go ahead and do arthroscopic surgery. The other dr sent him to get an MRI today and will discuss his suggested plan with Mike later this week. Hopefully we'll figure out what he needs to do soon so that he won't be in pain anymore!

Staycation

Saturday morning we thought about going to look at furniture. We've been wanting to go to a rustic furniture store...but it's close to the Texas Motor Speedway...and there was a race this weekend. So we decided to head a different direction. What started out as just a trip to Bass Pro turned in to something that felt like a day of vacation! I guess since we didn't really travel anywhere, we're supposed to call it a "staycation"...at least that's the term I've heard in the news lately.

We loaded up the boys in the Durango and headed towards Bass Pro. On our way we called Tyler and he agreed to meet us for lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Lunch here isn't just lunch...it's an experience!

Tyler, Brody, & Barrett

Brody points out the fish swimming over Brody.

Our family at the Rainforest Cafe. When they get older will they both look at the camera and smile?

Staycation - Bass Pro Shop

After eating lunch, we headed to the Bass Pro Shop. Brody was soooo excited to get there. He sat on a majority of the ATV's that were in the store. I'm reminded how small he still is when I see him sitting on a 4 wheeler reaching for both handles!

The first place Brody headed was the golf department. He walked thru the golf dept turning his head left and right. Then he looked up at me and said, "Where is there course? I can't find their course!" We looked together and finally found their putting green. They even had a kid putter sitting out. Brody was a happy camper! I sat there watching him put for about 15 minutes. One of the golf pro's even came over and gave Brody some lessons on correct form.

What was Barrett doing? Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

We've been wanting to get a new backpack/kid carrier. We were disappointed that there was only ONE to choose from at Bass Pro. It was a good one, but we decided to keep looking online. Brody didn't like it when we put this one back. He said that it's much more comfy than our black one. It couldn't be because we've used our current backpack so much that the boys are wearing holes in it!

We had to make one last stop before we left...the "shooting range". Mike popped in a couple quarters and let Brody have fun shooting a gun.

Five minutes after we got in the car both boys were asleep. Mike and I enjoyed the ride home with each other. It was a very fun day! I'm glad that we had a little staycation!