Oh Warm Weather, You Are A Wonderful Welcome!

This past weekend was gorgeous here in East TN and we enjoyed soaking in each minute of it. Saturday we grabbed some food and had ourselves a picnic at our favorite park. We played on all the playground equipment, the sandbox, and on the soccer field. We discovered that Thomas has a love for bugs as he took to a caterpillar he found. The caterpillar didn't even mind Thomas' oreo face. The boys didn't take to well to kicking the soccer ball around. They were very frustrated that it took them more than one kick to get the ball in the net while Mommy and Daddy gave one big kick. We tried encouraging them to keep trying, but they gave up almost from the start. I did manage to get some shots of the boys even through their frustration, as moms do best. I hope that they can learn to persevere through struggles and be content with their abilities or hardships. For now I want them to enjoy just being kids and enjoying these sweet times. I managed to leave sun burnt (is this really the month of April?), but it wasn't too bad and finally my white legs look less ghostly. What is one thing I learned? Ryan doesn't like it when I kick he ball and it hits him in the face/neck, oops!











Thomas cheers on "Team Joseph & Thomas", he yells!

I am loving this weather. It is so nice to be able to open the windows and it seems to make the house seem so much bigger, brighter and sweeter smelling. I have been struggling with lack of energy lately though. I wake up exhausted and ready for a nap despite the fact that we are going to be a lot earlier and I've been trying to be more active. I don't know what it is, but I am ready for it to go. Anyone else deal with this same thing?

Hittin' Pins

My oldest nephew, Ethan, turned the big 10 over the weekend and we joined the festivities at Family Bowl in Knoxville. I did learn several things through the fun.

1. ALWAYS bring a pair of socks for everyone when going to the bowling alley. We were wearing sandals and I had brought socks for the boys, but not myself, ewww!

2. Wii bowling is a poor representation of my skills. Wii bowling I am nearly a pro, real bowling I stink and hate to say it, but I love the gutter guards :)

3. My boys who act crazy at home and dance 24/7 (it seems) will not dance in public and instead stand there starring at the other children acting crazy.

4. You should always take one parent per child. I fore-went this rule and paid the stressful price and caught Joseph dancing all the way down in front of everyones lanes and Thomas was awefully interested in the bowling balls in the return caddy.

5. Kids will play for hours with glow sticks, so there is no need to spend the money on them to bowl.

6. Never pick your own bowling ball and always steal someone elses.

7. Don't expect to get good pictures in a dark bowling alley with strobe lights and disco balls.

8. I stink at real bowling, did I say that already? If so, I need to make that clear.

9. People (like my brother and sister-in-law) who hold babies while bowling should be considered cheaters, because the baby acts as a counterweight and they do much better.

10. Cut your nails very short before you bowl to prevent your nail from being ripped off your finger, believe me, trim those nails!

11. Help your children, under five, roll the ball hard enough to avoid the ball getting stuck nearly half a dozen times.

Here's the picture of our fun at the bowling alley. I really did have a great time and love doing these new things with the boys.

What I Hear From the Top Bunk

Joseph: "Here lay down and put this over your belly."
Thomas: "okay"
Joseph: "Ok, now we'll just pull the blanket down, like this...and...here's your baby!"


Oh my goodness, I think these boys have learned quite a bit about having babies from observing the cat. We may have an OBGYN in the making :)

Spring Brings New Life

Lady is now a tired mama of 5 kitties. She had them a couple of weeks ago ranging in every color in the gray spectrum. In about four weeks they will be up for grabs to a good home(s). Joseph takes after me, Daddy says, as he is often found sitting and watching them nurse and petting them every now and then. Unlike Daddy, Joseph watched nearly the whole birth process and was very interested with the whole thing. Who says you can't teach biology at home or to four-year-old's for that matter. Thankfully he hasn't wondered how those kitties got in the cats belly :) Here's their day beau:







As always, we will probably keep one of these cuties and this one is so far our pick. Joseph wants to name him, "Joseph", lol.

Celebrating My Husband Being Another Year Older

Ryan turns 32 on the 15th and with his CRAZY schedule starting his newjob (yay!)along with school, we thought best to have the festivities over the weekend. I try to make something special on birthday's and let the birthday person choose their cake (even though I realllllly wanted to make a cheesecake, yum). Ryan choose a meatloaf and I decided to make my first ever twice baked potatoes...more yum and FRESH green beans. It was a delicious meal. I really like the recipe I have for rice and cheese stuffed meatloaf. I don't know why everyone makes so much fun of meatloaf, it is so yummy. He choose a chocolate cake with white icing, not bad when betty crocker lends a hand. We also enjoyed the opening of presents, presents and more presents (which were shorts, pajama pants, burts bees shaving stuff, mouse pads (one of which looks like a mini projector screen--its for a laptop and retracts for portability) and a lantern. Boy was it a fun day.

Another of Gina's Great Giveaways!

A fellow blogger friend is havinga giveaway for DVD from The History Channel. If you are interested in these great DVDs go on over and check it out

The past two months we have had the opportunity to travel down to GA to visit Ryan's side of the family. It seems in these times (after being in the family for more than 5 years) that Ryan's brother's wife, Teresa, and I have grown closer. There is a uniqueness in being wives of brothers that has brought us together. As many people may know, marriage is difficult and add to that, that Ryan is from a divorced family...well that has been more difficult than I ever imagined. I never expected the many trials that come divorce and even more shocked how they follow through into adulthood and NEVER go away. Anywho, back to Teresa, well she is one of the more God-centered women I know. She never judged me for my difficulties with breastfeeding as many other women have. She never judged me for wearing makeup when other women do. She never judged me for my lack of knowledge of the scriptures. She never judged me for for being me. She has always been accepting of me and even more so understanding. It was such a sweet time sharing together (even tears at times) during this last trip down there. I love the fact that we can be honest with one another and not fear offending one another. I love the fact that she doesn't hold things against me, cause I know there has been plenty she could :) And what makes it all so great...she is 16 years older than me...which means she's been there done that. She's learned from many more experiences than I have and can share with me her life lessons. We also came to the realization that our husbands (being brothers 11 years apart) are alike in many ways and some of their traits have been a result of the divorce. You see, Ryan was 5 when his parents divorced and John would have been 16. Because of the age differences during the divorce, Ryan and his brother were sort of separated as his brother went to live with their Dad for a short while. Although separated they both have similarities in how they were affected--this was Teresa and I's realization this past visit as I shared my heart and she shared her past. I am so thankful to have someone I can talk to about my struggles without it turning to gossip or disrespecting our husbands. What a blessing she has been to me.

Great Giveaway Over at Gina's Blog

A blog friend is giving away the Exergen Temperal Thermometer. Go check it out!