Breakfast with Books

Today was "Breakfast with Books" at the book fair at Brody's school.  They had donuts and juice for the moms and kids while they shopped for books.  I let Barrett and Brody each pick out a book to buy.  As we left Brody at school and headed back out to our bike to go home, I noticed that Barrett hadn't eaten his donut...and he LOVES donuts.  When I asked why he said, "Because I'm saving it!  I'm gonna eat it all the way home and it's gonna be gooooood!!" 

Great Season Boys!

I downloaded these pictures from our team shutterfly site....since I didn't take my camera to the boys end of season parties.  They had a great season and are excited to be playing for Coach Dan and the Marlins again in the Spring! 

 

 

Ancient Treasures in Mom's Desk

Caleb & Tyler....we're in trouble!!!!

Mom just found a stack of coupons that we made for her as gifts when we were little kids!  She asked if I was gonna be at work Friday so she could cash in these two coupons that I gave her.... 

 

I'm guessing we were in elementary school when we made these.  Check out the kind of paper that Tyler used (remember the printer paper that you had to tear the edges off after printing?) and... well... his spelling is lacking just a little.  I think he meant to give her a free lawn mowing, free garage cleaning, and free "anything"!  Yikes!  Wonder what she'll cash that in for now that you have more than "money you borrowed from me" to your name!  (Yes...at this age you probably had your name on the chalkboard in my room..."Tyler owes me $5" or something close to that! lol)

 

Caleb is the one who should be the most worried.  He actually wrote "Expires: Never" on his coupons to Mom!!!!  I like how he also wrote "From: Her favorite son, Caleb"...and in cursive!  I'm not sure I'd recognize this was from Caleb unless he'd written his name...I don't recall ever seeing him write in cursive!!

Forest in the middle of the City

The other day I took Barrett to the park so we could go on a hike.  I love that my phone has a camera on it so that I can capture these moments and save them!  Simple times like these are so special...and will probably be forgotten if I don't record them.  I had so much fun hiking through the forest with my little guy!

We found "guns" aka sticks and put on our tough faces... 

 

Barrett was my navigator and lead explorer. 

The trees have finally began turning here and it's beautiful!  

 

Back at the playground, Barrett wanted to climb this rock structure.  He remembered some picture I took of Brody on top of the rock a few years ago and asked me to take the same picture of him so he could show Brody.  I really cherish times like this...

 

 

Play Date over the Phone

Sometimes technology makes my heart so happy!!

Itty Bitty Carts!

After Brody's Thanksgiving program, we went to Tom Thumb to get a few groceries.  Brody wanted to use the little cart (we thought we were only buying a bag of flour).  Just so happened A&W Cream Soda (Mike's current fav) and a few other things were on sale.  The little cart was to heavy for Brody to push.  I couldn't help but snap a pic of Mike pushing this itty bitty cart as we were leaving the store!

Brody's K Thanksgiving Program/Party

 

Riding to School

He looked too cute this morning!! I just had to take a picture :)
Brody at the school bike rack...

Love Notes

Look what Brody left me on my computer monitor. :)

What does your work uniform look like?

This is Barrett's...

What comes first?

Why does Barrett have a hard time spreading the peanut butter on his sandwich? Because he puts the brown sugar on first!!! Lol!

"Oh my goodness!!"

Attitude Check!

Do you ever have days where you want to pull your hair out?  The other day was not a good one for Brody.  When I picked him up from school he was begging to go to his friend, Logan's, house to play.  I told him no....and thus ensued a total meltdown at the bike racks.  He was crying and begging and pleading!  A few friends from his class came up to him to see if he was okay and I don't think he even noticed!  He was so focused on begging me to let him to to Logan's that the rest of the world disappeared.  I told him that I hadn't talked to Logan's mom about a playdate before school...so I wasn't going to let him just go show up at their house!  I also told him that his attitude wasn't helping things.  He cried all the way from the bike racks to our house...begging, crying, pleading the entire way home. 

I was so fed up with his attitude by the time we got home that I just sent him to his room.  I had originally planned on taking the boys to The Batter's Cave after school to practice hitting, but there was no way I was taking Brody now!  So, Barrett and I went out in the backyard and set up the net and tee and hit balls in the backyard while Brody pouted in his room.

Brody finally came out of his room and sat on the back porch eating his snack...and sniffling.  About an hour after school I got a text from Denise, Logan's mom.  It read, "Can Brody come over to play?"  I replied that it would have to wait for another day.  Then I went into the living room to tell Brody about the text. 

Me: "I just got a text from Logan's mom asking if you can come play."
Brody: "You did!!!  What did you tell her?!"
Me: "I told her it would have to wait for another day."
Brody: "WHY????" (and the tears began again with a pleading look on his face)
Me: "Because of your attitude!"
Brody: "But I wouldn't have had a bad attitude if I'd've know she was gonna text!"

I explained to him that was a ridiculous statement!  His attitude should not depend on him getting his way.  It is selfish to only have a good attitude when you get your way.  I told him that he should've had a good attitude regardless.  The way he had acted was unacceptable and totally selfish!  More crying ensued...so back to his room he went.

He finally got over himself and was able to enjoy the evening with our family.  After Mike and I put the boys in bed, Brody came out into the living room.  He looked up at me very seriously and said, "Momma.  I'm really sorry for my attitude early.  It was totally wrong.  Will you forgive me?"  I knelt down and wrapped my arms around him (tears welling up in my eyes).  "I already have forgiven you.  Thank you so much for apologizing.  It makes me so happy that you can see that you weren't behaving well earlier...and did you know that not only does it make me proud, but it makes God proud that you humbled yourself and came and asked for forgiveness?!  I'm so proud of you!  I love you!"  With that he hugged my neck and went back to bed.  He came out about 5 minutes later with tears in his eyes and said, "Momma...I'm really sorry for the way I acted.  I promise that I will have a good attitude tomorrow." Another hug and kiss from me and then he was finally able to go to sleep.

Days like this can be very trying...but when I saw Brody's heart tonight...I knew that God has been working on our little boy in spite of our shortcomings.  I'm so proud of his tender heart that really does want to do the right thing and strives to imitate Christ.  I pray that he always remains humble and willing to ask for forgiveness when needed.  It's hard to set aside your pride and admit you were wrong!

On Monday we had another time where the boys were taking their time obeying and I got really frustrated with them.  I asked them to put away the clothes from their laundry basket while I got ready to go.  I went into their room 30 minutes later to find that they had successfully put away THREE items of clothing!  Seriously?!?!?  I got a little frustrated and told them they were losing stars for not obeying.  Before I left for class that night Brody said, "Can you wait just a minute?  I need to write you a note."  Here's his note...

"Momma

I'm sre (sorry)

for not

doeg (doing)

wut (what) you

set (said) rler (earlier)"

Final Fall Games

Just a few pictures from Brody and Barrett's last game of the fall season.

 

 

 

 

 

Brody and Logan

 

Roller Derby?

We dressed up 80's style for our 5:45 am aerobics the day before Halloween. Well...at least 3 of us and the instructor did! It was funny to see Mike's reaction when I got home from the gym (he didn't see me before I left). He did a bleary eyed double take and said, "Where you guys playing roller derby?!?"
(Sorry...the cell phone pic is pretty blurry...but you get the idea.  It's Bonnie, Staci, Elly (the instructor), and Trish)

Halloween Party

Barrett "Bear" and Barrett.  Yes...can you believe Barrett has another kid in his class by the same name?  Although, since his friend goes by "Bear"...I'm not even sure he really knows that his name is Barrett.  They are so cute together and we're hoping that Bear will play t-ball with the Marlins this Spring!

I love getting to go to all the school parties with my boys!  For some reason Barrett is going through a stocking cap obsession.  He's insisted on wearing one daily (whether it's hot or cold outside) and won't take it off all day long!!!

Who thinks shopping is boring?!

Ok...so maybe Barrett wasn't exactly thrilled when I told him we had a list of errands to run after the gym last Friday. I could also see the look of dread on his face when we walked in the door of Sam Moon. Have you ever been in that store? It is a HUGE store that just carries bags and accessories...you know..."girly stuff". Not exactly the Cabela's type store Barrett asks to visit. However, he did find a few things that he thought were fun...

And then he was rewarded for his patience with a carousel ride at the mall after lunch :)

He claimed that he was NOT tired and didn't need a nap. He was happy all day...however he didn't make it all the way to the softball field awake. He fell asleep on the way to our 6:00 game. Notice the sucker stuck to the side of his leg? lol

Batter's Cave

Brody went home with a friend after school today...which made Barrett VERY sad! In fact, he cried the entire bike ride home! He misses Brody while he's at school all day!  In an effort to take his mind off Brody, I asked Barrett if he wanted to go to The Batter's Cave to practice hitting off the tee.  YES!!!!  He was so excited to go!  We spent an HOUR there...hitting ball after ball!  He was so sweaty when he was done!  How is it that he wasn't sore the next day? I know I would've been!  Here's a video of him hitting.  He starts laughing at the end because he "hit the ball so hard it stuck in the net"! 

 

He might need to grow just a few more inches to safely retrieve balls from the net! lol

 

Stuck in his head!!!

Barrett was supposed to be taking a nap this afternoon....but I could hear him singing from the other room! Here's a video I took from the other side of the door..

Gotta love Wranglers!

For picture day, Barrett wanted to wear his boots, jeans, and cowboy shirt.  No complaints here!  This momma loves a boys in Wranglers!  (Their daddy looks pretty hot in them too!!!)

 

Car ride devo

Most mornings Barrett is not awake for our morning devotional.  Typically it's Mike, Brody, and me at the breakfast table at 6:45 eating our breakfast and spending time in the Word and prayer together.  I usually carry Barrett from his bed to the bike trailer when it's time to take Brody to school.  So...many days I try to relay to Barrett what our morning devo was about.  The other day we were on our way to his preschool while I was telling him what we read about in the Bible that morning.  I told him about how Jesus was in a boat with his disciples and he was asleep.  A storm came up and the wind and waves were so rough that the disciples thought they were going to die!  They woke Jesus who told them they were silly for worrying (using kid terminology here) and then he told the wind and waves to be still....and they were!  We talked about how awesome it is that even the wind and the waves obey Jesus.  Barrett and I talked about how we can make the weather change....so it was a miracle that Jesus was able to just by talking!

When Barrett's in the backseat and I'm talking to him (half distracted, mind you), I'm never sure whether he's actually listening to me....or if he's just looking out the window thinking his own thoughts and tuning me out.  The paper he brought home from school that day let me know that he does listen!  After they finish doing their assigned worksheet, they are allowed to turn the paper over and draw a picture of whatever they want.  I turned Barrett's worksheet over that day when he got home and said, "Tell me about the picture you drew on the back of your paper today?"  He said, "Well...the big guy is Jesus and the little guy is Peter.  On the bottom are the big waves and on the top is the sunny sky after Jesus told the waves to be still!"

 

He was listening!  Yes...this masterpiece has earned a place on our fridge :)

Grandparents Day

 

Brody's first FIELD TRIP!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caleb & Audria Maternity