The Glenn Gang

Micah loves music

2012-01-28T17:12:00.000-05:00

After the nursery called to tell us Micah had gotten sick, we walked around the perimeter of the sanctuary to try to decide what to do. Should I go? Should I stay at the hotel with him? If I do leave, how will Dan get back and forth since he was dependent on the car? And, how will he eat since we didn't sign up for the meal plan? We walked one end of the hallway to the other talking about what to do. One of the doors of the sanctuary was open so we walked in so Micah could hear the music. He loves music. Fortunately, it was the door to the area that no one was sitting. That way, he didn't disturb anyone. I quickly grabbed my camera to capture the moment.

Sick or Sleepy?

2012-01-28T10:11:00.000-05:00

My plans were to be in Jacksonville with Dan at the Pastor's Conference until tomorrow night. But, yesterday morning at 9:40, the nursery there called and said "Micah got sick. Can you come get him?" We got on the elevator and headed upstairs only to discover lots and lots of sick. Sweet baby boy was just playing and threw up everywhere. All over their BRAND NEW CARPET! We gathered all of his things and had to make a decision about what to do.

He couldn't go back to the nursery for 24 hours. Containing him in a hotel room would be tough. And, I only had just enough clothes/pajamas for normal days, not sick days. So, the decision was quickly made for me to drive home and take care of him. That caused quite a few issues for Dan since he would no longer have a car but it was really our only option.

We got the car loaded and we headed out. About five minutes into the trip, Micah was OUT. Oh, the thing you need to be reminded of is that he never napped the whole day before. Like, never once closed his eyes. And, then when he went to bed that night, he slept for two hours then woke up crying. SEVERAL hours and screams later, we finally got him back to sleep. It was a rough night.

So, his little eyes couldn't stay open for any of our trip. He woke up as we were pulling in our neighborhood. He slept a good 90 minutes or so. We came inside, got unpacked, read books and played. He was a little whiny even though he napped on the way home so I put him down for a nap at 1:30 p.m. He slept until 5:40 p.m. (over 4 hours!!)

He woke up hungry. Even though he hadn't gotten sick again, I stuck to the BRAT (bananas, rice, apple sauce, toast) diet. I only gave him Pedialyte to drink. He did fine. By 7:30 p.m., he was crying for bed. So, even though he had only been up for a short while, I laid him in is crib. He never cried. He went right to sleep. He is still sleeping now. It is 10:10 a.m. In 20 minutes that will be 15 hours of straight sleep.

Dan & I both are wondering if he was really sick or just really sleepy?

Saturday afternoon Science Fun

2012-01-28T00:19:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Dan had meetings at the church all day on Saturday. So, at the last minute, I had to come up with some fun things to do with the boys. Micah was easy to entertain. I gave him green beans, carrots and bananas and he was good for a while. I then grabbed a bar of Ivory soap, the Learning Tower and my favorite five year old.

After Micah's food was gone, he moved to the Exersaucer for a little more fun. He would have preferred roaming but Jonah needed my full attention so I squeezed out one more use of this wonderful thing. Jonah loved his Exersaucer and so did Micah. But, I'm afraid he is at the end of the days of us using it. It was a good run though. Sigh.

I read about this little project online and bought the bar of soap so we could try it. Who knew Microwaving Ivory soap would cause it to expand?

He couldn't see into the microwave so I moved him to the island and stood him so he could see in. As you will see, he really enjoyed this view.

And, Micah...well, he just wanted OUT! He wanted to see what all the fuss was about!

After it expanded, he broke a piece off and used it to wash his hands. I think Micah thought it was a big pile of mashed potatoes because he kept reaching for it and licking his lips. HA!

The little boy who didn't nap all day!

2012-01-26T20:04:00.000-05:00

Today, we loaded the car and one child in order to head up I-95 to attend the Jacksonville Pastor's Conference. Since Jonah has school, he stayed behind with one of his favorite families. Micah got to come with us and experience life as an only child. He did great on the drive.

Our hotel is right on the river. I put this picture on facebook and my friend left a comment saying "from this view, he is thinking THIS IS THE FANCIEST PACK N PLAY I'VE EVER HAD!" HA!

We got checked into our hotel and hurried over to the church. We wanted to get there in time to get Micah checked into the nursery and then make it to the session with Johnny Hunt. At this point, Micah had yet to close his eyes for one moment. By this point, he usually has about 5 hours worth of naps under his belt. I was hopeful he would sleep a little there but when I saw all of the toys, I knew he would not close those sweet little eyes.

And, I was right. I went back to get him and they said he had not slowed down one bit. The sessions tonight weren't going to be over until around 9:00 and I knew he couldn't hang. So, at the dinner break, Dan brought us back to the hotel and that sweet baby boy was OUT by 6:30 p.m. I'm sad to miss the two sessions tonight but Mommy duty trumps anything else. As I typed the last sentence, Dan just sent a text to say it is streaming online. So, I'm off to watch and pretend I'm sitting next to my favorite Pastor!

Worry

2012-01-25T20:22:00.001-05:00

I just finished devotions and prayer time with Jonah. That is usually Jonah/Daddy time but Dan has meetings most Wednesday nights and isn't usually home until around 11:00 p.m. So, Jonah is finally accepting that it is just me on Wednesday night. He really misses his daddy but he is also bothered by the fact that we have to rush through everything. Since we get home 1.5 hours after their bedtime, the bedtime routine is rushed and not very special since I'm trying to get both of them down in record time.

After getting Micah in bed, Jonah's teeth brushed and clothes laid out for tomorrow, we snuggled in his bed to do his devotion. The topic was worry. The writer used 1 Peter 5:7 as the reference. The opening question was "Do you ever worry?" I asked Jonah the question and he said "Oh, yes! I worry all the time!" That shocked me so I quickly asked what he worried about. He said "I worry about you and daddy when aren't here!"

The nature of Dan's job takes us out of the home a lot but I never knew it worried him. So, I pushed a little more. I asked him if he worried something would happen to us or that we wouldn't come home. He said no to both of those. Then he said "Well, I guess you wouldn't call it worry...more like miss. I just miss you when you are gone." It was so sweet.

Then he said "But I do worry that you go too fast when you put me to bed on Wednesday. I worry that you need to slow down and read more stories. That's what I'm worried about!"

Sweet...

2012-01-24T23:04:00.000-05:00

LOTS of pictures to post but I just had to share this one from today. Love it...and him!

Reflections- Kindergarten Year (County)

2012-01-22T16:01:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure if you read the post about PTA Reflections or not, but if you didn't, click HERE to read it so you'll understand this post. Current? Ok, we can keep moving. We got Jonah dressed for his big awards night at the Daytona Museum of Arts and Sciences then went outside for some pictures. Doesn't he look like such a big boy?

Some friends from church, Jerry and Roxanne came over to watch Micah for us. I'm so glad they did because we thought Jonah's deal was just a reception. We had no idea it was also a sit down awards program. Micah never would have made it through that and one of us would have missed Jonah's big moment because we were outside with him. I wanted to take a picture of Jerry and Roxanne with Micah. Except, he kept looking and they didn't. ;-)

We got to the museum just in time to check in, get Jonah's name tag and then view some of the winning projects. He was so little compared to most of the kids there. The program is for Kindergarten through 12th grade. His age group was definitely the smallest in number.

Here he is seeing his project for the first time since it left his hands at his school. He was so impressed to see it there with all of the others.

A man offered to take our picture as a family but the first one didn't show his project because of the glare and Jonah had his eyes closed in the second.

Jonah was especially happy to see his Principal, Ms. Link there to support him and the other two students.

One of the other students representing our school also goes to our church, Lorelei! She ended up winning first place at the county level. Quite impressive.

All of the students had to sit in assigned seats in the auditorium. I thought that would freak Jonah out but it didn't. And, our seats ended up directly behind him so that made ~~him~~ me feel better. I wanted to take a picture of him in his seat. So, I tried. Like, 32 times! He closed his eyes EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I'm attaching a few of those so you can see.

Wait, wait...I think we got one. But, it was kind of a goofy smile, so I tried again.

Nope, not gonna happen!

I'll show you the video of him getting his award before you see the pictures. Because he was so little, when he walked out, the entire auditorium did a collective "awwww" and it continued most of the time he was on stage. Unfortunately, you can't really tell that because this was shot on Dan's Iphone rather than our video camera.

Yep, he got 2nd place for all of Volusia County in his division. The first lady put his award (certificate, ribbon and gift card) in his left hand and taught him how to shake with his right hand. Then, he shook the hands of all the important people there.

Here is Ms. Link with her three students who won awards at the county level. (Lorelei got 1st in Dance, Brendon got 2nd in Music and Jonah got 2nd in Photography)

These three people (I can't remember their official titles) who were on stage spotted him afterwards and came over to tell him what a great job he did and how cute he was.

His favorite part of the whole night was the reception afterwards. He asked if he could have three cookies. I said yes. He said "This is a wonderful night!"

That night, as I was putting him to bed and saying prayers with him, he said "Tonight, I felt happy!" Oh for every child to have a night like that. At just 5 years old, he had a sense of pride and accomplishment in something he had done. And, it made him happy. As you might imagine, I was pretty happy too!

Oh, and in case you are wondering about Micah's night. I got a text from Jerry that said "Everything is great! When you said busy little boy you really meant, BUSY little boy. We're loving it!" Now, maybe they understand why I bought Micah a onesie yesterday that says "My Mommy Is Exhausted!"

Upward Basketball- Game 1

2012-01-21T14:13:00.000-05:00

We just completed our third Upward Basketball game so I felt it was time to post the pictures from the first game. You know, two weeks late! And, since today looked exactly like the first two weeks, I didn't take one single picture. If you aren't familiar with the Upward program, take a minute to click HERE and read about it.

Prior to his first practice back in December, I'm not sure that Jonah had ever touched a basketball. And, that certainly shows. But, unlike other sporting programs, he doesn't recognize or realize that he isn't as skilled as some of the other players. And, he is have a ball! (Pun totally intended!!)

We have two teams of Kindergarten kids at our church and the other team is coached by Dave West, Miller's dad! Our team is coached by Dan, or as some of the kids call him, Coach Pastor Dan. HA!

Upward works in a way that you are guarding a player with your same skill level and the entire team gets the same amount of playing time, regardless of ability. While that would be great for most kids, Jonah actually prefers to sit on the bench. You know, because of the water breaks and rest!

Since Dave is coaching too, Aja and the boys come some of the games. It is actually quite impressive that he is taking the time to coach when his little ones aren't even old enough to play. Although, knowing what I know about Holder, he may never want to play. He and Jonah are so much alike! And Miller, well, little Miller would be out there today if someone would just get him out of the stroller!

The next picture sums it up so well. Yes, folks, that is my little athlete. The game is going and Jonah looks like he is watching an episode of Super Why on TV. Could he be anymore relaxed???

I have a feeling this will be a season full of learning and laughs. We are three weeks in and I'm certainly already amused. I only wish some of you who lived far away from us could be here to experience a game. Today, he actually dribbled the ball in the game. I was so proud. The rest of the time he ducked if someone passed it to him. HA! He may not be a star basketball player but he certainly is pretty cute and sweet!

NEVER STILL!

2012-01-20T12:25:00.000-05:00

Mommy wanted this...

But, I wanted to do this...

Guess who won???

Way Back WHENsday

2012-01-18T08:31:00.000-05:00

*all taken January, 2011

My "Happily Ever After!"

2012-01-16T20:46:00.001-05:00

On this day back in 1998, I walked into East McComb Baptist Church and met my husband. That wasn't my plan that day. Actually, walking through those doors, I had a rotten attitude. I was only there because my best friend guilted me into it. They were short one girls leader and in desperate need. That would have been my third week in a row to lead a group if I did go. And, I had five or six more scheduled over the next couple of months. (Can we say DNow Overload???) She knew that I could step right in with no prep and be fine. So, she chipped away at me until I agreed. While I loved leading DNow groups and being part of those weekends, my heart was just in a rough place.

I walked into that church and immediately met Dan. I could give you so many details about that weekend but none are important. (to you, anyway!) All that matters is that God crossed our paths that cold day in January of 1998. During the concert on Friday night, Hope leaned over and said "He's gonna be your husband!" Ummm...we just met 3 hours ago!!! (She ended up being my Maid of Honor. I figured I owed it to her since she forecasted our love!) The next night, when the event was over, Hope and Stephen invited us to go eat with them. I called my mom to tell her I would be late getting back to Jackson. My exact words were "I'm going to dinner with my future husband so I will be late getting home!" I was actually kidding! But, she loves to tell people that I called it on night 2!

We stopped for dinner at The Golden Corral (nothing says romance quite like the Golden Corral) in McComb before we all went our separate ways. I don't remember what I ate that night but I do remember Dan being to my right at the little square table. I touched his leg once during the meal. You know, in a "trying to make a point" kind of way. He later told me that is how he knew I was into him. Except, I wasn't? I was still into the guy who was the reason for my rotten mood. As the meal went on, I knew I wanted to be his friend. So, I wasn't the least bit upset when he walked me to my car.

I let him borrow some tapes I had. (Yes, it was 1998.) Since I gave him those tapes, he had to have my number to call so we could figure out a way to meet up sometime in order for me to get them back. We lived 90 miles from each other but I lived fairly close to his mom so he knew he would be in my town in the next couple of weeks. We said our goodbyes and my heart fluttered.

The next morning, I could hardly wait to get to church to talk to my friend Melanie about him. I was a tad bit smitten. Then, the next day, a huge boquet of flowers arrived at my work. They were from him. Then, he called. The same night, I officially ended the long term relationship I had been in. There was no looking back. We have been "us" ever since. We never did the on again/off again dating. Once we were on, we stayed on! We got engaged less than 8 months later. Then, we got married 8 months after that.

Our meeting truly was orchestrated by God. Our relationship has been nothing short of incredible. (Well, for me at least. You may need to talk to him for a second opinion!!) The last 14 years have brought unspeakable joy to me. I woke up this morning with a sense of excitement. Not because we had some big exciting and romantic day planned but because I get another day with him. I truly feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

And, just because you may have the feeling that life is just too good for us, let me give you a little peek into our day. Several weeks ago, I decided to take the boys to Animal Kingdom since Jonah was out of school today. I mentioned it to Aja last week and she said she wanted to go take her boys too. Then, her husband realized he was off work and convinced Dan to take a day of vacation and go with us too. So, at 7:45 this morning, we were loading vans and swapping bags of McDonalds.

Dan and Dave rode together with the big boys, Jonah and Holder. Aja and I took the little boys, Micah and Miller. We all feasted on some yummy McDonalds (or Old McDonalds as Jonah calls it) on the drive down. Our goal was to be in the park by 9:00 a.m. when it opened. As we pulled off of I-4 and onto Disney property, I glanced at the clock and thought "Man, we made great time!" I was actually very proud of us for getting moving so early and at our destination before we planned to be. Then, my phone rang with Dan's special ringtone.

When I answered the phone, he informed me that Jonah just threw up all over himself. We quickly tried to find a place to pull over but had to drive a little ways to find a safe place to stop. I jumped out of Aja's van and got to Jonah as quickly as I could. He was covered in yuckiness. His car seat was covered. It was bad.

We got him cleaned up as best as we could and then drove a few miles down the road to Target. I ran in to buy him new clothes while Dan disassembled Jonah's car seat and bagged all of his nasty clothes. Fortunately, I had an extra booster in the car that he could ride in because his was beyond use! We wanted to just leave them at the park and us head home. But, he insisted that he felt good so we went inside. He was right. He didn't have anymore issues. I guess something was just bothering his tummy and he couldn't hold it in.

We stayed at the park until early afternoon then headed towards home. Dan and Jonah had Upward Basketball practice tonight so we needed to be home in time for them to change clothes and head out the door. After they left, I fed Micah his dinner then put him in the tub. After just a few minutes, I realized he was attempting to do a little business. I jerked him from the tub and put him on the potty. Except, he fell through the hole and got stuck in the potty. Just wait...it gets better.

I finally got the tub clean and put him back in to finish his bath. I let him play and splash as much as he wanted. Then, after 15 minutes or so of playing, I noticed "the look" again. Then, I saw things floating again. I grabbed him from the tub and put him in the bathroom sink to finish bathing him. I took him to his room, lotioned him up and gave him some books in his bed while I cleaned the bathroom.

I grabbed each toy, cleaned it and then put it away. I took a step towards the back of the tub so I could reach the next to last toy. But, when I took a step, I slipped on the wet floor and fell into the tub. I lost control of the sprayer and it flung against the wall then sprayed the rest of the bathroom before I could get it.

I. WAS. SOAKED. But, all I could do was laugh. Minus Micah, I was home alone and I sat in the floor just giggling. Seriously, 14 years ago, at that exact time, I was meeting the man who would one day get down on one knee and ask me to be his wife. And, on this night, he was at the church coaching little 5 & 6 year old boys in basketball while I was getting a 14 month old ready for bed and creating quite a mess. All I could do was smile. Because, even on a day like today that started with puke in the car and ended with poop in the tub, I reminded that this is MY life and I absolutely love it.

The last day before reality

2012-01-15T21:40:00.000-05:00

On January 2, we decided to take advantage of our last day together as a family before Dan went back to work and Jonah went back to school. We decided to start the day at the zoo. Dan's mom gave us Season Passes to the zoo for Jonah's birthday last year. He loves the zoo and we love having passes to do things like this as a family. And, in typical form, Jonah grabbed a map as soon as we walked in and led us to the first exhibit.

There is a fairly new playground in the middle of the zoo. The boys loved it. Micah especially loved the slide. He must have gone down that thing 50 times. He giggled and gasped every time. It was precious!

And, just in case you ever wonder how on earth one gets a picture of a 14 month old sitting next to his brother on a slide, well, don't look to this blog for that. Take note of the following pictures. Sweet Jonah did exactly what we told him...sit and smile!

We left the zoo and headed to a pizza place on the river for a late lunch. Then, we went to a playground to play a little more. Was this a little boy's dream day or what? 2 playgrounds in one day!!!

Perfect day...a simply perfect day!

Outside Photo Attempts

2012-01-14T14:45:00.000-05:00

Sometimes when the boys look extra cute to me, I take them outside in hopes of getting a good picture. The more mobile Micah has become, the more difficult this task has become. But, I try anyway.

Last week, as we tried to corral Micah for at least one good shot, Jonah ran into the garage to grab his basketball. He is playing on a team at church and unless I'm forgetting something, the first practice just happened to be the first time he ever touched a basketball. So, his determination to practice dribbling that day totally trumped getting any more good pictures. I was glad he wanted to practice.

Then, one day later in the week, I took Micah outside to try to get pictures of him in one of Jonah's old outfits. I love comparison shots. Because of my insanely strange memory, I knew he wore that to Tammy's birthday party back in October of 2007. (HOW do I remember such random things??) So, I went back to that blog post so you could see Jonah in the same outfit.

He was walking SO fast that he kept falling down. And, since our yard has a slope to it, he had a hard time getting up. I tried to help him but he got mad every time I grabbed his hand. So, I just took pictures instead. :-)

I finally rescued him (against his will) because at the rate he was going, he never would have regained his footing.

One day...

2012-01-13T20:51:00.000-05:00

One day, their wives will love me for introducing them to this piece of machinery at such an early age.

My 37th Birthday

2012-01-11T13:10:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks into December, I got a call from my friend, Susan. She asked if she, Betty and Tracee could take me to lunch for my birthday. I checked my calendar and we decided on a date. We attempted to do this for Betty's birthday but since it was the week of Thanksgiving, it just didn't work out. So, the plan was to celebrate both of our birthdays in December. Or, so I thought!

So, on the morning of our scheduled lunch, Betty sent me a text to tell me she would be by to pick me up at 11:30. We chatted all the way to the restaurant. We were still talking as we walked in to the restaurant and to our table. Except, when we rounded the corner to our table, everyone screamed "SURPRISE" and I was BLOWN AWAY!

My sweet friends threw me a surprise birthday party! And, I was TOTALLY surprised. People kept asking if I was really surprised and I said "YES!" My supporting factors were the fact that I didn't have a camera with me and I had no lipstick on! HA! Had I known there was a party, I would have both of those things! But, fortunately, a few people had cameras and took all of these pictures for me.

The thing I loved most about this party was the wide group of people represented. There were teenagers through senior adults. It was so special to look around that room and see people who meant so much to me and my family. Later that day, I started getting texts from friends apologizing for not being able to make it. I'm actually wondering were they would have sat if they had been there. That room was PACKED! Nothing like celebrating with 44 of your closest friends! :-)

And, in case you haven't noticed, they used all bright colors...nothing red or green! In case you don't know, people with Christmas birthdays often end up with all Christmas colors at their parties and on their cakes. So, it meant even more that they went out of their way to have a bright a cheery spring looking party right in the middle of December. It was such a fun day full of surprises and love. I've seriously never felt so special in my entire life. The gifts were so sweet but the cards were unbelievable. I'll treasure them forever!

Then, on the morning of my actual birthday, I received a rare treat...breakfast in bed prepared by the three sweetest boys I know. The middle one, who happens to be five years old, came into my room and said "Mommy, you stay in bed and do not come out here because we have a surprise for you. Don't ask me if we are making pancakes and eggs and bacon because I can not tell you that because it is a surprise!" Me, being me, called Dan back there and asked him to grab my camera. Otherwise, you would have missed the following photos.

Micah couldn't look at the camera because he was trying to get to FOOD!

While they finished breakfast, I jumped in the shower and started getting ready for the day. But, I quickly got back into bed as to appear like I had been there the whole time. But, it didn't work. Jonah walked in and said "Why are you wearing a green shirt because you had blue pajamas on before?"

It really was a sweet day. It started early in the week with the surprise party, then breakfast in bed, lunch and pedicures with Aja and then a night out with my husband at the Ritz. Seriously, the BEST birthday ever.

A Sunday at Sea World

2012-01-10T15:34:00.000-05:00

One particular Sunday in December, we realized Dan had zero meetings so we decided to spend the afternoon at Sea World. Before the boys changed clothes from church, I attempted to capture a sweet shot of them together. (Attempted being the key word!!)

We finally gave up on the perfect shot and just changed clothes and headed west on I4. We got there and it was still very warm so the boys were able to wear short sleeves for a while.

It started cooling down a little as the sun went down so we put long sleeves on them and headed into the Dolphin show. That is one of the best shows there. I wasn't sure how Micah would do since he had to be still. But, as you will see, he was mesmerized!! Before the show started, they had so much fun playing with each other, giving love and being silly. I treasure moments like these.

After the show, we let Jonah choose what we would do next. He chose the sharks. That is his favorite thing to see there.

One of my favorite things about living in Central Florida is being able to go over to the parks and see them fully decked out for the various holidays. Since Micah was so little this year, we didn't make it to all of them during this season but we did enjoy the ones we saw. (LegoLand, Magic Kingdom, the zoo & Sea World)

LSU/AL

2012-01-10T00:17:00.000-05:00

Tonight, we had a group of guys (and 2 girls) from our Sunday School class over to watch the BCS National Championship game. Between the last minute plan of inviting people over and the start time of the game, a lot of people couldn't make it. But, we had so much fun with the ones who were here. Most of the wives were home with the little ones but since my little ones were here, all tucked in their beds, I got to be part. Nights like tonight remind me of how grateful I am for the Sunday School class I'm in. I love doing life with these people.

Aja's Christmas Playdate

2012-01-09T01:14:00.000-05:00

My friend Aja does a Christmas playdate every year. This was our second year to attend. Jonah was able to go because it was his first day out of school for the Christmas break. That made Holder very happy. He is a huge fan of Jonah! :-)

It was so hot outside that I had to remove Micah's undershirt. He looks a little redneck in his Mudpie outfit with no undershirt. He didn't seem to mind though!

She had a "Pin the Nose on the Reindeer" game for the kids. Neither of my boys did very well with it.

After I loaded my kids in the car to leave, some of the other kids made their way into our car too as the moms talked. We realized that all the kids were contained and entertained. We all decided this would be a great babysitting service.

Thanks for another fun playdate, Aja! You have the best parties!! :-)

Jaxon's 5th Birthday Party at LegoLand

2012-01-08T01:59:00.000-05:00

Just recently, LegoLand Florida opened it's doors. We got an invitation to visit during their preview for free so I could blog about it. But, the time didn't work for our family so we missed it. Then, just a few weeks later, we got a birthday invitation for a party to be held there. Our neighbor, Jaxon invited us to his 5th birthday party on December 22. So, we all loaded up and headed that direction.

The party was held in a room close to the front of the park. So, we had pizza, cake and presents right as we arrived. After we celebrated Jaxon's birthday, we all headed into the park for a full day of fun.

Micah got to ride his first carousel horse. And, in the words of Jonah, he was much a fan! He thought that was super fun.

As you can imagine, the park was FULL of lego creations. They were amazing.

I knew the day would wear Micah out at some point so I brought something to keep me busy while he rested...thank you notes! I got to spend an hour sitting at a table writing notes while Micah slept.

When he woke up, he was raring to go. The thing I like most about LegoLand were all the playgrounds and play areas scattered throughout the park. They even had a lego room just for toddlers. And, since it wasn't too busy, we were the only ones in that room.

It even snowed as we were walking out. Nothing like Christmas music blaring and snow falling while you wear shorts and sweat. Welcome to life in Florida. :-)

On our way out, we rode the old Cypress Gardens staple. Dan stayed on the ground with Micah. The last few pictures were taken way up high in the sky.

Happy Birthday, Jax. Thanks for inviting us to your super fun birthday party. How can anyone top a party at LegoLand?

Sara Madalin, Soccer & Disney

2012-01-07T07:03:00.000-05:00

Back in November, our friends from MS came to visit us. They are our most frequent guests and we love that. They are the kind of friends that you can totally be yourself with. And, when they are here, we get to laugh...A LOT! It just so happened that this trip was planned around Micah's first birthday party. They came in the Thursday before and were such a huge help to me. And, Jonah was totally entertained by Sara Madalin. They love each other so much.

They were snuggling in my bed with me one morning and I snapped this picture of her hair. Have you ever seen anything so wild? Her momma should get an award for tackling that everyday. The second picture cracks me up. It looks like a mug shot.

One of the ~~truths~~ jokes about their visits is how Reagan comes to cook and clean. That is only partially true because we do go out to eat some too. But, when I walked up on Malinda reading him a recipe to enter into his Ipad for the grocery trip, I had to document it.

And, just for proof, here is one of his yummy meals. Those mushrooms were the BEST I've ever eaten. The entire meal was incredible. (Come back, please!)

The morning of Micah's party was one of Jonah's soccer games. Sara Madalin and Reagan joined us for the big event.

The next night, Jonah and I went with them to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. I laugh every time I look at the next picture. Doesn't this just scream "I can't believe I'm at the happiest place on earth?!??!?!" Seriously, who told them to give us your fakest smile ever!!!

I so wish Dan could have been with us. Unfortunately, he had a Deacon's Meeting that night and could not miss it. So, we did the party without him. It wasn't the same though. Disney is always better with Danno with us. Jonah had school the next morning so we didn't stay very late. We said goodbye to our friends and headed back home. It was another fun time with friends we love so much.

Feeding the Ducks

2012-01-06T22:32:00.000-05:00

Back in the fall, a couple of the sweet ladies in our church stopped by to visit. They left about the time I had to get Micah up to go get Jonah from school. They were a little sad to miss seeing the boys. Come to find out, people don't really come to our house to see us, they want to see my boys! Who knew? :-)

I had already planned to get Jonah from school and head to a local park to feed the ducks. So, I called them to see if they wanted to join us. They got there right as we did.

There weren't any ducks near us when we arrived but when the first piece of bread hit the ground, they came running from everywhere! It actually freaked me out a little bit.

We gave Micah a piece of the bread to give the ducks. Except, he didn't Dude ate it himself. And then, he ate some more. And, some more. Have I ever mentioned on this blog how much he likes to eat? Oh, I have. Okay then!

After we fed the ducks all the bread, we walked to the open grassy area so the kids could just run and play. We (as in me too) had lots of races. We had lots of tickle matches. We had lots of fun! Oh, and snacks. We definitely had snacks. It was such a fun afternoon that we shared with two sweet ladies! I'm pretty sure they had as much fun as we did. But, if not, they are too nice to say otherwise!

My sleeper

2012-01-05T22:07:00.000-05:00

Micah is a sleeper! Like, a serious sleeper. He slept until well after 11 a.m. numerous times during Jonah's break from school. (I attribute that to the lack of scurrying around outside his door in the attempt to get Jonah out the door for school.) Right now, a typical (sleep/wake) day looks like this for him.

9:15 up for the day
11:00 nap
12:30 up
2:30 nap
5-5:30 up
8:30 bed

I, along with all of my friends are amazed at how much he sleeps. I would think it was a fluke but he has always slept well. But, now, it just seems to be over the top. But, on New Years Eve, I saw this and wonder if it might be the contributing factor.

Yep, the kid LOVES bananas. He would eat 10 a day if I would let him. If he sees one, he yells "NANA, NANA, NANA!" Oh, and he won't say MAMA but he has no problem with nana!! So, there you have it. Maybe it really is the banana?!?!

Reflections- Kindergarten Year

2012-01-04T23:56:00.000-05:00

The PTA at Jonah's school participates in a national program called Reflections. You can click the link to read more about what it is but basically, it is an opportunity for kids to take a pre-determined theme and express themselves using a specific medium. (ie. dance choreography, film production, literature, musical composition, photography and visual arts) Since I'm involved in the PTA, I wanted Jonah to participate in order to show our support for the PTA and his school.

We looked at the different options and other than dance choreography (TOTALLY KIDDING), the only thing that stood out was photography. The work had to be done by the student with minimal input by the parent. The theme this year is "Diversity Means..." Obviously, being five years old, Jonah wasn't versed in the meaning of diversity. So, we talked for weeks about the meaning and pointed out every kind of diversity we could.

Then, we started talking about what kind of picture we could take that would explain what diversity meant. He actually came up with a few really good ideas but I couldn't quite figure out how to execute them without doing most of it for him. Then, one day as we were talking, he came up with the idea that he had a lot of favorite toys but they are all different so they must be diverse. Ding, ding, ding...we have a winner!

So, we sat down and got started on his project. I used my camera to take pictures of him doing all of the work. I'm so glad I did because he really got into it and I'm glad to have the progression of photos. (By the way, these first photos were taken back in October. You'll understand later in the post why I waited to blog about this.)

He used his MagnaDoodle to write the word "DIFFERENT." Then, he took it outside and found a place to prop it up and surround it with a few of his favorite toys.

Then, the photos began. Check out my little guy taking all the pictures. He was SO into it. He snapped HUNDREDS of pictures in the short time we were out there. So, I just followed him around an took pictures of him taking pictures. (Confused yet?)

And, here are some of the shots he took from different angles. I wish I had a video of this because it was so cute to watch him move all around and snap away.

We finally settled on one photo and then took a few days to get it ready to turn in. He filled out all of the paperwork and then proudly took it to school that day and as far as we figured, that was the last of it.

Except, sometime in early November, we got an invitation to a program at his school where he would be presented with a medal and a blue ribbon for 1st place in his age group. (K-2nd) There are no pictures of that because we missed it. :-( Yep, it fell on a Wednesday night and we had church. The next week, he got to be on the Morning news (watched by all the kids in his school) where he was congratulated and given his medal and certificate.

Then, again today, I got an email from someone with the Volusia County PTA telling me that we were invited to the County reception at the Daytona Beach Museum of Art because Jonah won AGAIN!!! So, next Thursday, we will get all dressed up (which he will HATE) and head to the museum so he can be presented with another award before his photograph goes to the State level to be judged.

I'm so proud of him. And Jonah, well, he could not care less! Cracks me up!! But, I bet if he knows he might get ice cream out the deal, he will be THRILLED!

1st time was a charm

2012-01-03T21:41:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, at the zoo, Jonah wanted to take a picture of us. Normally, when I attempt to take a picture with Micah in it, it takes 18 tries to get him to look at the camera and smile. Jonah said "Micah, smile" then he snapped and this is what we got. Unbelievable!

The days of our lives...

2012-01-02T17:46:00.000-05:00

See that last picture? I was behind the boys at the park trying to capture a sweet photo of them with their daddy. Then, as they do most days, their personalities come into play and you get an accurate depiction of what life is like with my compliant 5 year old and his "mind of his own" little brother. Oh, what WILD days are in front of us!

FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!

2012-01-01T19:47:00.000-05:00

Jonah: Mommy, what is the day my tooth is going to fall out?

Me: What? Why?

Jonah: It would just be nice to know things like that.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T17:09:00.000-05:00

Greetings from Sunny Central Florida! The weather here is absolutely beautiful which is a little symbolic of how I feel about the new year. In many ways, starting a new year on a dreary day seems to set the mood for me. So, you can imagine my feelings on a beautiful, 75 degree day in DeLand, Florida. This whole year seems full of hope, promise and sunshine.

And, just so you know, I'm not so naive to believe that 2012 will not have bumps and curves but I'm still keenly aware of the hope a new year brings. I'm beginning this year with a renewed passion for my Lord. I'm so acutely aware of my dependence on Him and know that I will only be as strong as the time spent with Him and His word. I'm claiming Psalm 19:14 as my personal verse for the year. (May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.) I actually made a conscious decision this time last year to remove some of the negative people and behaviors from my life and what a difference that made in 2011. I noticed a whole new world open up for me when I focused on the positive and saw people the way God sees them versus through the eyes of another person. I hope to do that even more this year.

I'm excited about beginning another year with Dan by my side. In just 15 days, we will celebrate 14 years of knowing each other. And, then in May, we will celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary. I felt like the luckiest girl in the whole world when he asked me to marry him but as we have walked through some pretty dark days recently, I've come to feel that even more. His compassion towards people, his strong leadership skills, his integrity, his ability to remain quiet and defenseless when he has every right to do the opposite, his quiet strength, his humility, his love for God's word, His church, His truths and his leadership of our family have been spotlighted recently. I love him more than I ever thought I could.

And, these little boys...what sweet ones they are! We, like all parents I'm sure, find ourselves saying things like "He is so sweet" or "Look how cute he is" or "Isn't he precious?" time after time each day. I look at them and see innocence. I want to be a better person because of them. I want to love Jesus more and live my life for HIS glory in order to show them. Sometimes when I rock Micah or snuggle with Jonah, I ask God to protect them or keep them healthy but most of all, I find myself praying God would use them for His glory. And, let me tell you, as a parent, that is a SCARY thing to pray. Back in early 2009, I read this quote from Beth Moore and it did something to me inside. "I want a thousand things for my children, and I ask without hesitation! But, I want nothing more than for God to be glorified. The only thing that will matter forever is the glory that came to God through their lives." So, I pray that sincerely for the sweet little lives on loan to me from Him.

If your family is like ours, your may be ready to jump into a new year with both feet. 2011 may have brought some things your way that you weren't ready for. You still may not see God's plan or hand in what came your way. But, I hope that you can trust the Hand that holds you even when you can't see where it is leading. That's what I'm doing! I can't promise tomorrow will be filled with happiness or sunshine but I can rest in the fact that I KNOW who holds my tomorrow and that alone is reason enough to welcome another year!

My new DSLR

2011-12-31T23:06:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, I put my DSLR camera in the bag in our closet and as I turned to walk away, I accidentally pulled the strap of the bag and the camera dumped out. It hit the floor...HARD! I immediately felt tears well up in my eyes. This happened in the midst of a crazy time for our family and it just seemed to be one more thing that didn't go well. But, before I could even cry about it, I made up my mind to have a little perspective.

This camera was a gift to me from Dan just a few months after Jonah was born. He totally surprised me and I loved it. But, even with the emotional attachment to the camera, I decided that a camera is a small thing in the grand scheme of life. I decided that my kids were healthy, I had an amazing husband and my life was actually pretty incredible. So, even if I never got to take another picture, then life would be okay. Seriously, I had all of those thoughts while sitting in my closet. I knew it was broken but I willed myself to be okay.

Dan, knowing how much I use a camera, encouraged me to go get another one. But, it just wasn't in the budget. In the meantime, I sent a message to one of my photographer friends asking what she would get if she were me. She knows I never want to be a photographer but that I take TONS of pictures of my kids. She sent me her recommendation and I started doing some research. Then, just two weeks ago, we were quite surprised to receive an incredible gift that allowed us to purchase the camera. I decided to do a little more research for the best price. I even shopped at some local places before finally ordering it online a couple of days ago. It arrived today. I'm in love. Although, I have no idea how to use it yet. These are straight out of the camera shots with no editing.

So, if you wonder what I'll be doing for the next couple of weeks, then you can just imagine me curled up on my chaise with a camera, Youtube tutorials, a book about my camera and a couple of cute little subjects. I can't wait!!!

A little video gem from earlier in the year!

2011-12-31T01:12:00.000-05:00

I found this video on my iphone tonight. It made us laugh! I thought you might need a laugh too! As you will see, he was very upset about the mother of Moses giving him away. And, even though this video was obviously taken sometime many months ago, he still cries when he thinks about this. Poor guy! But, the swimming comment totally makes this a "must post" video!