Easter Egg Hunt

Just the other night we went to an easter egg hunt. The weather cooperated and the boys had a ball. Before the party Jay told me he was too old to hunt for easter eggs but when it comes to a competition - however small it may be - Jay can't resist. He helped his brother find as many eggs as possible which equates to the more eggs Nick found, the more candy Jay could eat.

Our friend who hosted the party had a pink tractor. Nick is laughing b/c he was embarassed I was taking his picture while he was riding a pink tractor.

Jay, of course found the mud and proceeded to play in it!

Nick making cupcakes and proudly displaying it. I'll post more pictures from Easter later this week. I got some cute pictures of all the kids - Jay, Nick, Lauren and Luke. Stay tuned.

13 years and counting

Recently I was watching a movie about a wedding. The bride was walking down the aisle with her groom. She was clearly having doubts about marrying him. She began quizzing him: What's my favorite color? What's my favorite food? What's my favorite flower? To validate her feelings of uncertainity her soon to be husband knew none of the answers and they didn't get married. I had to chuckle to myself because on April 25 Mike and I will be married for 13 years and we've been together for 17 years and I can tell you he doesn't know the answer to any of those questions. Here's what he does know. He knows I snore and loudly and when I insist I'll sleep on the couch he whole heartedly refuses. He says he sleeps better with me in bed - even if I do snore! He knows I like to read in bed so without being asked he installed a remote control light switch I can use without having to get out of bed - truly, a beautiful thing, ha! He knows I hum and he just shakes his head! He knows I like flowers planted every spring and every spring when I buy them he plants them for me. I could go on and on but the point is if I were to have gotten hung up on the "little" things some 13 years ago then I would have missed the bigger picture. Happy 13th Anniversary, Mike, Life with you is steadfast, loving, funny and never boring!

Thoughts on turning 5 - according to Nick

On April 30 my "baby" will turn 5. I can hardly believe it! I've had some entertaining conversations with Nick about turning 5. He is so excited about his birthday. He never misses an opportunity to talk about the upcoming event. Recently he announced he was patiently waiting to turn 5 and everyday he asks me "how many more days until my birthday?" Tonight while we were making dinner I asked Nick if he was excited about turning 5. His response, "I'm nervous about turning 5." I asked him why he would be nervous and his response was simple, "Just because." Well can I just say I'm nervous about him turning 5 too so like mother, like son. Ha. I wish I could slow time down - just a little. I don't want to stop time but I vividly remember taking Jay to Kindergarten and it seems like yesterday. How time flies........

Smoothies

For several months I've had great difficulty getting Jay to eat his lunch. Every morning I would spend time making his lunch - with love I might add and every afternoon when I would check his lunch box his sandwich would not be eaten or his fruit wouldn't be touched. The interesting part is it has never occurred to Jay to simply throw his cold lunch out at school. I'm not encouraging him to lie but really I gotta admit it's hard to believe the kid has gotten all the way through 3rd grade and hasn't figured out if you just throw your lunch away then mom and dad will assume you've eaten it. Mike and I had about lost our minds about two weeks ago because Jay was eating NOTHING for lunch and we had tried everything. I bought him a thermos so he could have "hot" lunch. Mike grilled him cheeseburgers (for his thermos), I packed him soup, gondolas, you name it, I tried it. The big piece of the puzzle that I haven't mentioned is Jay is on a medication that decreases his lunch time appetite. He doesn't purposely not eat his lunch, he just doesn't have an appetite but just the same I was desperate to try and find a way to get him to eat something healthy at lunch. My dear friend Karen Neal (Thank you Karen!!!) suggested smoothies. For about two weeks I've packed Jay peach smoothies, banana and strawberry smoothies, you name it, I've thought of it and Jay has loved them! They are packed with yogurt, fruit and honey so he's getting the protein and calories he needs, in a healthy way. I was hoping to score some extra mom points and asked Jay if his friends were jealous that he was getting smoothies in his lunch and his quick response was, "No, AJ and Tristan both get candy in their lunches." Oh boy! To Jay's credit he has thanked me for the smoothies and just the fact that he's finally eating/drinking his lunch is thanks enough to me.

Slowly but surely

Today was Palm Sunday. As we were headed out the door for church I heard Jay say, "I hate church." I cringed and said an extra prayer for him and me. There are several reasons why I believe Jay feels this way but that's another blog. There are so many times when I want to throw my hands up and tell the Lord I've given up but of course, I know that is not acceptable. The service today was so nice and I was so thankful. It seemed to "speak" to Jay. There was a young couple from Nashville, Jacob and Katie Eckeberger, who make up the duo, My Anchor Holds. I heard Katie sing at Hearts at Home Conference in March and talk about AMAZING! Jay loved how Jacob played the guitar and Katie sang her heart out. Katie sang one song that the congregation could follow along with in our hymnals. Jay grabbed a hymnal and I heard my boy singing along . I almost had a stroke during the service! Later, during the Lord's Prayer Jay recited it from start to finish with the rest of the congregation. I say the Lord's Prayer with Jay nearly every night. Many nights I wonder if he's even paying attention. When I heard Jay singing during church and saying the Lord's Prayer - although it was a small thing - it was the little "sign" from above that I needed to remind me to keep on keeping on and leave the rest to Him.

Nick and his animals

Even though Nick will be 5 in 16 days his love of animals - specifically penguins and girafees - has only intensified. I had to take Nick to the doctor the other day. He had a sinus infection. At the grocery store as we were waiting for his prescription to be filled he suckered me into yet another giraffe. Meet Ginger, the girl giraffe. That evening he got himself tucked in on the couch under his giraffe blankie (thank you Holly Kelson) and Ginger! Nick is at such a sweet age and I want to savor every moment because I know someday he'll be so over his love of penguins and giraffes. Mike and I do joke that he'll probably tuck one of his favorites in his suit pocket when he walks down the aisle one day. Yet thinking about that, I'm thinking that's just weird. Mommy loves you, Nick!

It's true that penguins and giraffes are Nick's favorite animals but sometimes he surprises us. The other night he told us he wanted to be a zebra next Halloween. Just to make sure we got the point he went to bed with his zebra mask on and fell asleep with it on. All I can say is only Nick.

Greatest brother award

Jay came home last week with an essay he wrote at school about his brother. It touched my heart. Here's what he wrote - in his exact 3rd grade words: "I want to introduce my brother, Nick, for the greatest brother. He lets me play with him. My brother likes anything I give him and builds anything he likes. He lets me play soccer with him. I am giving the award to my brother because he's the best brother in the world."