Happy Friday! I told a friend I would meet her this morning at the gym for a spin class. Well, 20 minutes in to the class I walked right out and found a comfy treadmill!!! Don't think that is for me :) So now I am back home and able to catch up in silence. We've had a busy week. Mark worked off his shift Monday morning and has been home all week. I will be sad to see him go back tomorrow and I feel certain the boys will too. Monday was our last day of Kindermusik for this semester and I don't believe we'll do summer since I am working summer MDO. We then met friends at the park for a picnic and Earth day cupcakes (green & blue.) It was fun and the boys were tired! We tossed around the idea of heading to the beach for a day, but weren't certain of exactly where to go, so we settled on picking strawberries! The boys enjoyed that and then I enjoyed cooking things and freezing the rest. We had strawberries stuffed with greek yogurt and banana and then a cobbler using coconut oil and almond milk. (I try to justify why I can eat these things!;)) We've played out back a lot this week. The weather has been nice and we've not wanted to be inside. This morning we have our meal swap at a park and then thinking about a car wash day along with soccer and date night with friends!

I am so thankful this SICU month is almost over and I know Mark is. The boys had a tough time understanding why Daddy was always sleeping when they came home from school. Can't believe this year is almost over and we'll only have 2 more here. Sounds exciting until I think about the yellow Penske truck that will take us somewhere else! I guess if it's to the beach for a year then I could get happy real fast! Who know's where we'll end up? But I do know we will be leaving behind some of the best friends I'll ever have!

I know I say it often, but these boys are FUNNY, period. Bently told me the other day that I always for get things. Thanks for the ego boost, son! While I was getting ready one day last week, he was on my bed playing with Anderson and said "Holy crap that was fascinating!" Ummm, not sure where that came from and as much as I wanted to laugh, I had to get on to him for that! Anderson walks around making funny faces just so he can justify sticking out his tongue. ;) And he's still hungry. I call him my caterpillar because I'm hoping one day soon he will get full and flourish into my beautiful butterfly. If not, I may just go broke trying to fill him. Last night he had a peanut butter covered graham cracker with a banana on top. I would think one would fill me and his stomach is NOT bigger than mine. Nope, he had 3 and he was still hungry! Boys... love them!

Update on freezer meals: They have all been great. They have all been eaten that night with no leftovers. If you haven't tried this, DO IT. It is so easy on days I work and soccer nights to throw a meal in the crockpot and it be ready. I'll be trying a few new recipes come early May when these are gone.

I'm playing catch-up on pictures, so here you go. Love to you all!

One of my cuties!

Practicing cutting his boxtops.

Ready to FIGHT!

I think he was being a Daddy!

Cheese? Surprise? Not sure!

Snake balloon from Earth Day Downtown.

Sumo-wrestlers

New sweatband from our run for Boston.

His first face tattoo!

We are back and our old routine is in full swing! School/work, soccer, spending time outside, and eating popsicles! We had a wonderful visit back home. Bently had the chance to fish and eat fish with his Daddy, Pops, & Papaw. Funny the things they request & what makes them happy! The weather was wonderful, so most days were spent outside just playing. It's so nice that they have each other because it provides the perfect playmate! Mark came back Thursday and we stayed until Sunday and then came back half way. The house guests left our home nice and clean and are even working on getting us an autograph. The boys won't have a clue, but it will be something symbolic for our time here once they are older. It's always nice to be back home. I'd say together, but we've been anything but that. I'm just counting down the days until this month is over. SICU is not a fun month for any of us! ;( On a happier note, he did do awesome on his test he took the beginning of March!!!

The boys were happy to get back to school. They are loving playing in their new sandbox. I'm very impressed with their ability to hit a ball with a bat. Didn't know that coordination came so early or maybe I just missed out! :) Anderson has matured so much lately. He loves sharing his sugar, he says please/thank-you (most of the time), and is attached to me. Not a bad thing, but if you go anywhere with out him, he gripes because I didn't wait on him! Bently is still a nurturer. He loves his brother. Sometimes you can hear him say, "Good job, Anderson! You _____." Sweet!

Random, but obviously it's a popular question. I am not pregnant. I'm guessing some would like me to be or thinks I should be, but nope, no baby on the way. There are times when I'd love another little one if God chose to provide, but others when I'm content with my two. I prayed hard for Bently and was double blessed when Anderson came so soon. I would have never planned it that way, but God had a different plan and it has worked out just right. We aren't sure whether we will have more or not, but I'll still praise him for the opportunity to be Bently & Anderson's mommy!

We have big plans for Saturday...taking part in Earth Day activities & a friend's birthday party. Hopefully we'll make it to the strawberry patch next week to fill our freezer! Don't think our little garden will feed the family this year, but it's growing and fun for the kids to help with!

Have a wonderful weekend & love to all!

  

Mommy & Me

Since Anderson went home with Mom last Monday, Bently and I had a lot of time together this week. I  loved every minute of it, but didn't realize how attached he would be to me though! It's been nice just having one since Mark is on a rough schedule this month. He has been almost invisible. Bently and I went to a movie one day, park several days, school, painting, car wash, and ate ice-cream in bed 2 nights! & best of all, he's slept with me to keep me "warm" at night! Loved this time...but today we are headed to pick up Bubba. They have indeed missed each other. Anderson never wanted to talk to me, he always wanted Bently. They have face-timed so much and each morning Bently would wake and ask if today was the day! So sweet...

It ends up we will be staying (the boys and I) a little longer than originally planned because we rented out house out for Master's week this week. An in-law to one of the golfers will be staying here through the weekend. So we will stay in WM and Mark will come back and stay with a friend. Needless to say, my house has not been this clean and organized since we moved in! It's a blessing to us and I hope they will find that too with how close we are to the course!

Bently's to do list while in WM:
      1) Eat crawfish!
      2) Eat pizza!
      3) Go fishing and eat the fish!
      4) Go skating!

*** Guess it's a good thing I didn't start a cleanse before this trip!! :)

Have a good week and we'll "see" you next week sometime!

Easter Week

So hard to believe the picture above was one year ago! This last week has been busy and eventful! After much thought and prayer, we decided to go on to Knoxville with Mark last weekend. Taxes were not nice to us this year. I'm not really one to spend when I know I owe someone, but all were looking forward to this trip, so I wasn't going to take the joy away because of something like that! We are always taken care of and I know this time we will be too! So...we left on a Friday and made several stops along the way for the boys to sight-see and enjoy the beauty of what we have so close to us! I'm glad we did because the rest of the weekend was a yucky mess! ;( We played at the mall where several hours were spent two years ago. We visited with a few old friends, and Mark and I went to a fabulous wedding. We realized just how much we miss living there. I'm sure if a job came open once finished, we could possibly relocate there. (However, after having grandparents here this week, Mark sees just how much they miss them)

We came back Sunday because I had an appointment Monday morning and his parents made it late Monday night. Bently didn't really know how to contain his excitement. He hid behind Mark's legs and said "This is scary!" as they walked up the sidewalk! I worked and let them stay home to soak up as much time as they could. Wednesday we all went to Edventure and the zoo. It was still a little chilly, but fun! Thursday they had their egg hunt at school and our auxiliary hunt that evening. I just knew they would crash, but it still took MaC and Pops to get them to bed before they left. Mom and Todd made it here late that night, so the boys woke up to a new set of faces Friday morning!! They came with a new, blue SANDBOX!!!! So we made a trip to Lowes for sand and made 2 new boxes for the garden this year. I love working in the yard and being outside when it's nice. The boys love the sandbox and will spend lots of hours in it, I'm sure! Every time I leave the house, Bently tells me to get new sand toys! He had his first real soccer game Friday night. He does really well on his own, but put him with a group and he runs around...not even following a ball...but has a good time!

Easter was nice, low-key. We decided to just go eat rather than cook and just like last year, the place we decided on was reservations only. So we scrambled to find something else that wasn't a chain and ended up at The Bowl Weevil! It was perfect. The boys enjoyed hunting eggs and we ended the day with the last series of The Bible.

It's been a while since I've been really sad about Mark going back to work, but yesterday it hit me. I love him being home with us and I know what a tough month this will be. No set hours and don't even know if he'll come home some days. It's 10 straight days with 5 off and so on. But it's one month...he was dreading it too and that is what made it worse. (Please keep him in your prayers.) Anderson went back with Mom this morning. I was crying when I gave him a hug. He asked, "Why you crying?" I replied and then he said, "Come with me!" He hugged his brother and left. Never thought of staying back since I was sad. Little toot! Bently and I have had a fun day today, though. He bought more sand toys with a Toys R Us gift card and we went to the movies. (we never get to with Anderson) It will be nice just having him and doing special things this week. We hope to go home Sunday sometime when Mark gets off and stay for a few days. This way we can meet a new nephew/cousin and visit with other family. Plus it's our spring break and Masters Week here!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and life is good for you. We have had our moments this past month, but I'm praying for a better April!

Sorry for the picture overload!

Love!

Love this even more!

Elk on the side of the road when we came down the mountain.

Cheese! I may not smile with the bunny, but I'm smile with my brother!

At Bubba's cold practice.

SCORE!

Stretch it out..

EdVenture!

Like father, like son performing surgery!

Can really see the resemblance in their smiles in this picture.

No words!!

Daddy's first time at school!

I won't take a picture, but I'll share my chocolate with you!

Water boy / Snack boy

At the market with Nonnie and Papaw 

He was SO excited it changed colors.

Pretty eggs this year.

Ready to roast his marshmallows!

Easter 2013

Showing off his Batman belt.