Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Benjamin is THREE!

Yippee! Benjamin is three! We had a small dinosaur party for him this weekend that was lots of fun. It is hard to believe this little guy who was born in Delhi is already three... yet we sure have covered a lot of ground since he was born. He has already lived in three cities and two countries. He is definitely exploring his world these days. Unfortunately his favorite phrase is still.... "I DON"T WANT TO!" Even still, he is my cuddly little momma's boy and I will take all I can get as I know it goes by sooo fast. Happy Birthday my little man!




Friends with our new hats.... they were originally dinosaur eggs but at the end became stylish hats.

No dinosaur party is complete without it's very own volcano exploding just before our little explorers went on a dinosaur dig.

Face painting with our friend Juliann...


Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Making Memories and Messes

Ok - for those that know me - I can be a bit of a serious person. No... really, I'm serious! I tend to be like my father and get a little task focused. As a mom, being task focused I sometimes forget that a lot of the joy is in the process, not the end result of the task at hand. So lately, I have been trying to loosen up a bit and laugh a little more. Needless to say, the kids are loving it.

About a week ago they were out playing in the backyard and got off task and suddenly found themselves in the midst of a bunch of mud. Now, normally, I would get quite frustrated and promptly tell them it was time to stop and get cleaned up. This time I caught Abigail off guard. She had a bucket full of mud they were playing with. Very sternly I told her to give it to me and then proceeded to dump the whole bucket on her. After her shock of mommy getting dirty with them, they ran around like crazy wild children until I hosed them down. But, instead of worrying about all the dirt - I chose to make a memory........



Hurricane Ike was on the way and we all headed to Hobby Lobby to get some projects for the day. When was the last time you made paper maiche'?? We decided to make dinosaur eggs for Benjamin's upcoming dinosaur birthday party. What a mess! So while it stormed outside, we busily dripped glue all over the floor and actually got some of it onto the newspaper and balloons.



So.. my lesson lately.... if in doubt, choose the mess as the laughter is sweeter than a clean floor.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

What a Privilege

"Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The kids shouted. They were so excited to spend this past Labor Day weekend with Granddad and Mimi. We spent Sunday over in Jefferson enjoying an adventure on the Cypress Bayou boat ride... OK, so it is really quite lame for a little tour - but we got a great history lesson of the local lore! The other picture is taken in the courtyard of one of the famous old Inns.

The kids love their time with their grandparents. It has really been a huge blessing to see how much they cherish each one of their relationships with the three different sets of grandparents. Each one is unique in its own way, but so very special. I guess some how for me after being gone for so long, I appreciate the grandparents even more.

Something else I am thankful for right now.... I just started a new bible study today. As we were giving our introductions, I realized it had been almost 6 years since I have been able to participate in a formal bible study. What a privilege it is to have so many opportunities around us. Whether it is grandparents or the chance to grow in God's word with other women, I don't want to lose sight of how much we should cherish these things.

Much love, Lori