Restful Weekend

I will start off by saying that I failed to get any pictures this weekend. Anyhow, when Jeff got home from work on Friday night, he took Luke and I on a "hot date." Luke calls going out to eat, "going on a hot date!" I taught him this last Wednesday when I was trying to convince him to leave the babysitters and come home with me. As usual, Luke was quite wild on our outing. Jeff and I always ask ourselves why we insist on trying to eat out, when we know exactly what will happen. We both know that we will eat as fast as possible and then rush out the door without ever relaxing or enjoying our meal. Luke is not much on staying in his seat and rarely makes it past the chips and salsa before he is trying to play in the floor or jump from his chair. I am sure he really entertains the people around us.
Then on Saturday, we woke up and I cooked breakfast (pancakes, sausage, and eggs). Jeff and Luke played for a while and then I went to buy groceries while the men did manly things (sweep garage, take trash off, and buy brake pads). Then, I picked up lunch and eventually Luke took a nap. As always, by the time Jeff and I start thinking that we might take a nap too, Luke decides to wake up. He woke up in such a good mood and was so eager to play with his daddy. I just love watching them two together.
On Sunday, we went to church and then came home and I cooked a quick and easy lunch. After Lunch, Luke and I both took a nap. I love race season because I can always count on watching the two best parts, the beginning and the end with a nap in between. After nap time, Luke and Jeff went out and played. This is when I planned on getting some great photos but Jeff said not to bother because the wind was blowing (see how I just blamed him for my lack of photo capturing). Last night, came a big storm and as usual I was afraid. I hate how the wind sounds at our house. I always think the roof is about to come off, which is quite funny given that when I left the house this morning, our yard was littered with shingles. You know it was a pretty rough storm when you get a call at 6:45 am from the neighbor saying that we are welcome to come over and get in their basement any time we need to (LOL).
On another note, I am so proud of Luke. He has been doing so well with this potty training business. He is wearing big boy underwear and has been accident free for about 7 days now. He wears a pull-up at nap but that too has been dry the last few days. We still haven't mastered the night time and so he wears a diaper then. And to be honest, I am not really excited about him waking me up to go to the bathroom (Evan already does that enough as it is, LOL).
So as you know, Jeff had been gone a lot for the past few weeks. During that time, Luke turned back into a Mommy's boy and became a bit whinny. Well it has only taken a few days but, Luke no longer wants mommy to do everything for him. Everything is about daddy now!!!!!!! Honestly, you would think that this might make me a little sad but it is nice to just sit back and rest especially given the fact that Evan is causing me hip issues and there are just times where I cant seem to get up and walk to the bathroom by myself. Speaking of, Luke was so precious yesterday. I was having a difficult time walking and he was so helpful. He would hold my hand and walk me down the hall every time I needed to get up. I just love that little angel and I know he is going to be such a wonderful big brother to Evan Woss (ross)!

Jeff

Well it has been a crazy two weeks but I think that has all come to an end. Jeff left last Tuesday to go to Louisiana for work. He had to be gone till Monday night. Sadly, while he was there, one of our friends got notice that his mom was not doing well and he needed to get home. Him mother, Lisa Raynor (an amazing women), passed away early Sunday morning. Lisa was an amazing lady with an amazing voice and heart for God. She loved our boy and so looked forward to getting any cards with pictures that we sent her way. Our family will cherish the time that we were able to spend with her. Please continue to pray for Matt and his family. I have never had to experience anything like this so it is hard for me to even comprehend the pain a child goes through when their parent goes on to be with the Lord. Ms. Lisa is up in Heaven singing in the choir of angels and we can all look forward to hearing her singing upon our arrival into the pearly gates.

Anyhow, Jeff got home Monday night and then he left again Wednesday morning so that he could go to Indiana to be with Matt and his family for the funeral. Luke was so sweet about his daddy leaving. We prayed all week for his daddy to be safe and for Matt and his family. I told him that Jeff was going to see Matt and Becky and left it at that....but leave it to my child to add his own story to things. Luke kept saying that Jeff went to see Matt and Becky and the baby!!! I think he may be predicting the future or it could be that he just stays very confused about our baby coming.

Well, Jeff made it home last night and we tried hard to stay up for him but Luke just could not make it. He was very excited (once he got past his mommy stage in the morning) to see Jeff this morning. He got to get back to his morning routine: go to the bathroom, brush teeth, chap stick, floss, and spray deodorant....in that order, lol. Its hard to keep Luke on his routine when Jeff is gone because I am doing good just to get shoes on him and me!!!

We are so glad to be back together as a family and are really looking forward to a wonderful weekend. Lots of pictures to come with the weekend post.

Beautiful Day!

God has certainly blessed our family with a wonderful home and an amazingly large yard for our children to play in. When Luke and I got home today, we decided to go play outside for a bit and enjoy the wonderful weather God has been giving us. Luke is all boy and it is very hard to get the kiddo to come inside once he is allowed out those doors.



This is just one of the wonderful views from our house. I know that we look forward to having some land and a lot more space for our family but it is really hard to beat 2 open acres in a wonderful neighborhood.

As always, Mr. Independent wanted to slide. Before he reached the bottom, he was saying, "I do it again." I am pretty certain he would have slid till it was dark if I would have let him.

Most of the time, it is difficult to catch Luke for a photo. He is always moving and I never can get him to pose for me. Jeff is out of town so I told Luke he needed to smile for his daddy so I could send him this picture. Luke said, "Smile for daddy!" He is just so cute!

The little guy loves rocks. I kept telling him not to throw the rocks in the grass but he just wouldn't listen. He said, "Mommy, mine get one more rock!" Sorry Jeff in advance for all the rocks you will be mowing over. We love you!!

I don't usually take too many pictures of myself (especially pregnant) but thought I would try to snap one. Obviously, I am looking at the camera and Luke is saying something like, "take the picture mom...is that a doggy?" So much for a cute pic together!!

As always, we had to ride Luke's 4 wheeler. So we went to the garage and got it out. He took off through the yard and got just far enough away that it would be a task for ol' prego to get it back to the house. He stopped, looked at me and said, "oh, mommy ride bike!!" It was like he suddenly remembered this wonderful bike his pa and grandma got him for his birthday. So as he ran to the garage to get his bike, I pushed that stinking wheeler back to the garage. As you can tell from the picture, Luke is not quite long-legged enough to reach both pedals at the same time, so I pushed him around a bit.

We really had a great time!! We are certainly looking forward to Jeff being back home so he can enjoy this wonderful weather with us. With any luck, Luke and I may get to go to the park after I get off work tomorrow.

As a side note, I sometimes forget how amazing God is and how he will always take care of us. I am a bit of a worry-wart (even voted so in high-school). Jeff is one of the most laid back guys I have ever met so hopefully we balance each other out, but he often has to remind me just to give all my concerns to God. This week, God has answered prayers and has taken care of two concerns that had been pressing on me pretty hard. How quickly we forget all the aspects of pregnancy but I certainly am remembering that anxiety comes toward the end and it comes with a vengeance. Praise God for his comfort and answered prayers.

Finally, (just so I can document and not forget) I went to the doctor yesterday. I passed my sugar test and fortunately did much better on my weight gain. Everything seems to be going great with Evan and we are looking forward to his arrival. I start going to the doctor every two weeks now which really makes time fly. One 10 and 1/2 more weeks till he is here.

Good night!!

Valentine's Day

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and for anyone who knows me, you know that I am just not that into any type of holiday in which a gift is expected to be received or given. I suppose I have always looked at like this, you should always celebrate your love and there really should not be a need for one special day. The same applies for Christmas, we should always celebrate Christ and his birth, everyday!!! Anyhow, that is my soap box and I am finished on that note.

Anyhow, the only thing I ever do for V-day is get Jeff a card. The always have really good cards for this holiday so stock-up so you can surprise your sweetie throughout the year!!! I promise that will mean more than the card you give him or her on V-day! When I went to pick Luke up, he had made me a precious card (Thanks Becky)!! This is certainly one of the perks of being a parent. I remember as a kiddo, making all kinds of things to bring home to my mommy and I have looked forward to the day when I would start receiving special creations from Luke. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture taken of the card but it was cute. I not much of a keepsaker, but I have about decided that I am going to have to get a box to put some of this stuff in.

ON another note, we had a great weekend. On Saturday, Linds and I went grocery shopping and baby registering (no we aren't both having babies at the same time again, LOL). Then we went and ate at our favorite little Mexican Restaurant. Here is a little funny story on this restaurant: There is a Waiter there that seems to always be eyeing me. Every time we go in there, he always waits on us and last time I was pregnant, he really wanted to touch my belly. Apparently, there are men out there who think that pregnancy is HOTT!! Anyhow, we both have told our husbands about this and a year or so ago, we went in there with our significant others and I think the guy got his feelings hurt (lol)! This time, when we went in (remember I am pregnant), I was really dreading seeing him because I figured he would trying to wait on us. Fortunately, our hubbies must have scared the poor guy off because he did not even speak to us, thankfully!!!

When we got home, the boys (our hubbies), went out to work in Lance's shop while Linds and I took over kiddo duty. Linds made cookies and let the boys (our children) decorate the cookies. They had so much and got a little carried away with the sprinkles!

"What do I do with this thing mom?"

My little man proceeded to take all the wonderful sprinkles off and say nasty, remember that he is the one who put those sprinkles on there.

I am pretty sure Landon is saying something like, "Luke give me those sprinkles before I come across this table and take them for myself."

I sure do love these boys and cant even imagine how we are gonna separate them when they get older. I am pretty sure we will be rotating weekends from the time they are 5 on. God has truly blessed our families with great friends and wonderful families!!!

First Snowman

Luke and I had a very big day yesterday. Jeff called to see how we were doing and to find out if I had taken Luke outside yet. I sadly had not because I kept reading on facebook about how cold it was and I knew it was going to be alot of work getting us both ready and to be honest, I was just trying to avoid going outside. Well nonetheless, we bundled up and headed outdoors.

Luke had a difficult time at first trying to walk in the deep snow but it did not take him long to get going. Doesnt he just look so cute.

Right before this picture, he said to me, " Mommy, let's make a snow Jesus." I said, "you go ahead, Mommy might have trouble getting back up!"

Sorry these pictures are all out of order, I haven't figured this all out yet!! Anyhow, before we went outside, we whipped up a wonderful batch of chocolate chip cookies. Yum, Yum!!

Well after making a "snow Jesus," we decided to move on to a snowman. Let me first say that I have never in my life made a snowman without my father so I knew this was going to be a difficult task. I considered waiting until this weekend and then Jeff would be able to help us; however, the temps are suppose to warm up so I did not want to risk missing this opportunity. So off we went trying create our masterpiece. Luke had so much fun and he was awesome at packing the snow on.

You may notice that there are two different hats on our snowman. Well the hat that matches the scarf was the one we put on right after Luke knocked the snowman's head off. Yes, we had to build it twice!

Luke said, "Mommy I lay down next to the snowman!" I asked him what the snowman's name should be and he told me, "snowman." It was like duh, mom!!!

Our finished product!!! It may be small but you gotta give us a break. This is about as good as a 7 1/2 month pregnant woman and her 2-year-old son can do!!

Luke decided he needed to give the snowman some "luvins." I missed the picture were he also gave the snowman a kiss.

More "luvins!" This kid loves to give "luvins!" Everyday before I leave for work, he has to give his Jeff luvins. One day we forgot and he cried all the way to the sitters. Even at night, he has to give us goodnight luvins and that includes hugging and kissing Evan.

Luke had a very difficult time understanding why we had to leave the snowman outside but I told him that we would see him in the morning. I am proud to say that our snowman survived the night. We checked on him this morning and Luke was so happy to see that he was okay!!

After our outdoor adventure, we came in and got warm. We started supper and then Jeff came home. We always sit down as a family for dinner and Luke always makes certain we say our prayers. Luke has never been much of an eater so we are always looking for new ways to get him to eat what we are eating (ie. ranch and ketchup). Anyhow, I made meatloaf, potatoes, corn, rolls, and salad. It was a good meal or so I thought. Luke would not eat it. Finally, he wanted to set with Jeff (wish I had a picture of this). Jeff got him to try a bite of everything. Before the meal was over, Luke was eating just like his Dad and even made a happy plate.

Well I suppose I better close as my child has take over the dining table and thrown ever decorative stone on the ground. Yes, I will be cleaning this mess for days but I managed to get this blog completed.

Final note: Jeff and I are getting to go on a date tonight and Luke is getting to go visit with his Nana and Pop-Pop. Yippie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Luke loves the snow

Luke loves the snow. On Saturday, we went to bruno and Luke had so much fun with his cousin Grady. Luke got to do all his favorite things: be outside, ride the tractor with pa, ride the wheeler, and his new favorite...sled. Here are some pictures from our adventure.

Even I got to go and watch the kids and adults play, at least for a while. It was now always the most comfortable going up hills and wearing a ton of clothes while trying to hold on to Jeff on the wheeler!

Luke got to sled some in the big sled but it was soon discovered that he was able to sled by himself on one of the above sleds. I missed the part were he was really having a ball and going down by himself. I am told that before he would ever get to the bottom, he was yelling "go again and watch me Grady!"

Looks like he had a blast to me. I love this precious little gift from God!!

Pa is letting Luke drive all by himself and looks like he is doing a good job. The spent the first part of our adventure going back and forth to pick up the fellow sledders.

When we first got to Bruno, Luke was napping so Pa went and got the tractor ready. He knew that Luke would want to ride and feed the cows as soon as he woke up. Luke is completely obsessed with riding the tractor and that is all Jeff and I hear!!!

Yesterday it snowed alot and as soon as Luke saw it, he thought that meant he was going to get to go sledding. I would have taken him outside but it kept snowing until dark. I suppose we will attempt the difficult battle of getting me dressed and try to go outside some today. Hopefully, I will post more pics of the fun that will occur.

Here I go!

Well, everyone's doing it so I thought I would too. I have offically started a blog for our family. I am pretty certain that I will not be as good as most about posting pics but I will do my best.

Today I woke up to find out that the school I teach at was out for snow for the 9th time this year. Let me just say that this is killing me!!! You see, I will be on maternity leave for the entire month of May (which i planned on); however, I did not anticipate that I would be on maternity leave for the entire month of June as well.

I took Luke to Becky's today and decided I would get all of our tax paperwork ready, laundry done, and professional development completed (not to mention, create this blog). I have not managed to get much more than tax paperwork and blog created so I suppose I better close. Hope all you fellow teachers are having fun at work today!!