Recap

I haven't posted many pictures of the boys over the last several weeks. Falling down on my job! I thought about typing a narrative and describing all we have done over the past month but that would probably be really boring. Instead, here are some pictures of some things we have been doing. It's certainly not everything but I must have thought these times were important because I felt the need to pull out my phone and take some pictures. I had been boycotting my phone camera but it's all I had at the moment! After I loaded all these pictures, I realized they are in reverse chronological order.

Playing at home Monday morning. I'm probably one of the few people who love Mondays!

For a bike ride on Saturday afternoon. Nathan can pedal now but is not really interested in his bike yet. He loves sticks though!
Playing in the backyard on Saturday afternoon.

We have a walker now for sure!

Love this face!

One night recently we had some hail.

Nathan is still getting up very early. His usual time is 6-6:30. If I don't hear him get up and intercept him, he heads straight for the pantry and helps himself. One morning I was in the shower when he got up. By the time I got in there, this is what I found. Poptarts and Cheetos for breakfast. I'm sure his teacher loved me that day! We do have a child-proof doorknob cover but as you can see, it's not Nathan proof.

Luke had Bible Day at school and had to dress up as a Bible character. He chose Joseph. Here he is with Ms. Melanie. All Luke's teachers are great and he's had the best year at school. He's only cried once or twice when I dropped him off, compared to everyday at his previous school. The next day he also had to dress up but this time he chose to be a king. Too bad I did not get a picture!

I found this one night after the boys had gone to bed. I just thought it was so funny and wished I could have seen it in action.

Getting brave!

On a Sunday drive in late March. Too funny!

Ice cream in the backyard. Eli must have been napping.

Recently I took Nathan in to get his hearing checked. He was having trouble hearing and it turns out he has fluid in (on?) his ears. It seems to have gotten better lately. On the way home we stopped at Braums and had lunch together.

Luke has mastered the rope climb, something he could not do alone last year.

More playing outside.

Back around mid-March. Eli's first time to sit in a forward facing car seat.

So, those are all the pictures I have to post. It's been a busy month with work, school, some traveling and life in general. My semester is winding down and will be complete May 7, aside from a mountain of grading I'll have to do. Summer school begins June 7 so I'll have some time to prepare while the boys will still be in school. From now on my contract will be 12 months so I'll work each summer, 2 classes. I'm also teaching an online course for UNT, good to get a little extra money! The boys will spend the summer in school at FUMC Plano. HGBC does not offer summer care. But, the good news is summer classes are just as flexible as fall and spring so I'll have plenty of time to spend with the boys. I guess the big project for the summer will be potty training Nathan. We've sort of been working on it but will have to get it mastered before September. As I mentioned in the pictures, Eli is walking more than he's crawling now. It's so fun to watch but of course a little sad. It is a great sight to see them chasing each other around the house, especially at pajama time. Eli's down to one bottle, only at night. He is probably ready to drop that too. He's been drinking less and less of it each night. I guess he's getting what he needs at mealtime now. Big sigh, it will be good to get the counter space back I guess. TX Wesleyan is closed TH and F for Easter so it will be good to have a weekend with the boys, without having to work Saturday. We seem to be entering an easier period with the boys. It was so hard for a while, with Eli being so little, Luke being 3 and Nathan 2. Not that the boys are that difficult independently but they tend to feed off each other and sometimes create the perfect storm. Lately though, things seem easier. Of course it could be I have developed an immunity along with selective hearing. It's probably a lot of things in combination, I'm sure! And, I probably just jinxed everything so never mind.

Ten Trivial Things

So, here are 10 things about me the boys would never know, unless I just told them.

10. Went to 8 different schools, K-12.

9. Do everything left handed, except play golf but putt left handed. Not that I play golf very much but it's the only thing I can do right handed.

8. Growing up, and even into college, wanted to be an orthodontist.

7. Knocked out four teeth during the summer before 1st grade. Bike wreck. Did get $20 from the toothfairy and that was a lot to a 6 year old in 1981.

6. Favorite author is Anne Bronte.

5. Ran cross country and track growing up. Loved cross country and hated track. Don't know why I kept running track. Every year when I would run around that track I would think, why did I do this again?

4. Won a jump rope contest in 6th grade. Jump Rope for Heart, ironically the prize was a candy bar and a coke.

3. Always wanted to live in Montana.

2. Was very sad to part with my 5 speed after baby number 2.

1. Always knew I would have little boys and not girls. Was so surprised when the first doctor told us Luke was a girl. Not surprised when she turned out to be a he.

Mommy, at one year.

Happy Birthday!

Tomorrow is my brother's 38th birthday. Here he is in 2001 with my Dad. We were in Destin and were headed out to eat dinner. My brother is such a quiet and privately sad part of my life. But, regardless of all the sadness and regret, I want my boys to know who their Uncle Chuck was and is. There are a million things I could write but I'll save those for the posts in my head.

Happy Birthday big brother!

Big News

First, let me say I'm not pregnant! HA! Actually, I've been taking great joy in donating Eli's baby equipment/clothes/toys the second he outgrows them. I dropped off our two infant carseats today and it felt G.O.O.D! Although, I do have to admit that I did have to resist the urge to go back and take a picture of them. They have been with us for so long, well 4 years anyway, but it seems like a long time. I selectively ignored the new recommendations regarding car seats...what news report? My brother David gave us the car seats when Luke was born (he has twins, hence the two seats) so those seats have seen a lot of little behinds! Does some small part of me want to try for a girl? Yes, the thought of having a girl is thrilling to me but the REALITY of having another baby is more than I can handle. And, I would probably end up with another boy anyway and I'm all out of boy names. On that topic, spring break turned out to be a really great experience. The boys and I stayed home for most of the week and I learned something important. While I love my job and I'm so very thankful for it, the most difficult part of this year and my return to work has been this feeling that I don't get to spend enough time with Eli. He's so easygoing that he often plays and plays while I'm taking care of the other boys and household chores. But, spring break showed me that it's not the fact that I'm working that takes so much of my time from Eli, it's the fact that there are three of them now. Somehow, adding one more little person has increased the work around here exponentially. So, instead of sitting down to play with the boys once they are all playing peacefully, I'm off to squeeze in loading the dishwasher or clearing off the kitchen counter that seems perpetually cluttered. It was good for me to see that even when I'm home with them all day, everyday, I still have the feeling that I don't get to spend much time with Eli. In a weird way, it made me feel better. Now, when I become independently wealthy and hire a maid...

Anyway, on to my news. It's official now! I was offered the assistant professor of educational research position at Texas Wesleyan and took it! So, the "visiting" part of my title will be dropped and I'll be tenure track. And, I will get one year of credit toward tenure for this year! So very excited and so glad to get that off my back! This year has been like a year long interview! The most amazing part of the process is this: Last semester I was walking around campus and just talking to God and telling Him, Lord, I really don't want to go through an all day on campus interview. I just need them to give me the job. And do you know what? That's just what happened! It's almost unheard of but that is what happened. They did not even bring anyone else in to interview so I did not have to compete against anyone in an on campus interview. I went through one 30 minute phone interview and that's it! It's a real miracle for me and I'm so thankful!

What does that mean for our family? Well, we are making plans to move west. The 'when' is still unknown. We have been looking in the Keller area. The older I get the more I realize wisdom is the most important component of a successful life. With wisdom comes insight and knowledge about not only what to do but when to do it and the patience to wait until the right time.

So, while I'm spilling my guts on this blog which is really strange in and of itself, I'll go ahead and share another epiphany I've had recently. I mean, I write blog posts in my head all the time but never put them down on paper. But, something occurred to me not too long ago. For a long time I prayed and wondered what my role is in the Body of Christ. In a way I kept waiting to get involved until I "found out" what IT is that I'm supposed to do. But then one day it occurred to me that the IT happens every day. I should not wait to get in THE position before I can be useful. I mean, I get asked all the time, how do I manage 3 little boys, working, remain calm (HA, if they could see me at 8:30 every morning!)...? The answer is always easy and an open door for me to share with them, I could not do it without God. There it is, a role for me. Maybe one day I will have an official "ministry" role but until then, I'll embrace this one.

Family Fun

Monday the boys and I had the chance to go to the Dallas Arboretum with Grammy and our Mosley cousins. And, Aunt Julie brought along her fantastic camera (aka, the baby)! Brian and Julie always take the most wonderful pictures of the boys so it was a real treat to get these pictures of our arboretum visit from Julie. It's terrible that I've lived in Plano/McKinney for 10 years now and had never been to the Dallas Arboretum (except for a beautiful wedding reception that was incredibly FUN!). It was cold and cloudy but that meant no line and not too many people. Julie, Grammy and I talked about how our version of fun has changed over the years. This day really was fun even if it did end in some tears and poopy underwear (I mean, who has time to poop when there are cousins around and wide open spaces to run?).

This one reminds me, someone asked Julie how old her boys were! HA! She said, well, they're 1,2,3 & 4 but they're not all mine! Grant's face cracks me up in this one. It's hard being the big boy!

A photographic display of the early childhood term, egocentric.

Take a look at Luke's feet. Huge! We received a wonderful box of supplies from cousin Kyle (Luke's hero). Once Luke spotted the shoes he won't wear anything else! They are two sizes too big but who cares?!

This past Sunday Brian and Julie had us all over to celebrate Grammy's and my birthday. It was a lot of fun and the boys had a great time! And, I racked up the loot with some books I can't wait to start and my very own KINDLE! So excited! So long to lugging my heavy textbooks back and forth to work!

Papa with his biggest fans.

Grammy and her helpers waiting to blow out that candle!

Our Vacation Day

This week is spring break week for the boys and me. Today, Jeff was able to take the day off and we planned a little Vacation Day with the boys. Who knew it would be so exciting to give today a name! The boys were really excited about it. First stop, getting hair cuts. Luke and Nathan love to get their hair cut. On top of that, today was special because it was Eli's first time to get his hair cut. Here he is, happily (unsuspectingly) sitting in a little race car, waiting for the big boys.

And, let the fun begin.
Poor thing cried the entire time. :( The stylist worked like a pro and was even able to get us a little bag of his hair.

Mr. Experienced showing him how it's done.

Next Stop: Owens Spring Creek Farm. Not being a native Planoite or Texan, I had no idea this existed. Imagine, right in the middle of Richardson is a farm, a place where kids can feed animals, ride in a barrel train, and have a hay ride, while out back, The Owens Sausage is being made! Amazing!

Sporting their new do's.

Feeding the goats.

Nathan loved this weather vane.

They kept calling this man "the farmer."

Pretty place!

I guess I'll have to learn photoshop to get them all looking and smiling at me at the same time. I can't tell you how many times every day that old song "two out of three ain't bad" runs through my head.

Practicing a little baby tai chi. Really, it was super windy and I think he was trying to touch it.

On the way home. Looks like Trouble to me. No wonder I found him and Nathan yesterday completely naked in the living room and jumping on the couch. I was cleaning the high chair after Eli vomited ALL over it and was not, for once, staring exactly at them.

Thanks Daddy for taking the day off and spending it with us. We love you! XXOO

Can't Think of a Title

We decided to stay home this spring break. I say that like anyone but me had a choice in the matter. I thought we would go to MS to visit family but I decided we would stay home and start Nathan on the potty training road and try and get Eli to drop his bottle. Basically I decided to torture myself instead of going to do something fun. To mix things up a little, we went to Grammy's house and went for a walk with a detour by the playground.

Wish you could have heard "The Wheels on the Bus."
Back at home. Good thing we have two fire hats and two strings of Mardi Gras beads and good thing you can't see the Mama's boots they are both sporting. At least they balanced the beads and boots with fire hats. I think it makes this gender neutral.

Now, in this one Nathan has turned into a pirate and is saying "aye matey!"

Just wanted to show my sweet baby and his post immunization rash. It covered his torso too :(