Brazil

"Leaving on a jet plane, don't know when i'll be back again."

Actually I do. Matthew and I get the huge privilege of going to Brazil with some people from our church in less than 3 weeks. We are going to a town in the southern part of the country called Florestopolis. I am getting very excited. But at the same time, I am very nervous about leaving my boys. I am actually struggling with it more than I thought I would. But I am really thrilled about going to Brazil and loving on people and doing some work projects. This will be my first time flying out of the country since my trip to China in 2001. What is going to be really special to me is being able to experience this with Matt. It is our first "missions" trip together! During our church service yesterday we actually skyped in with a man down in Brazil and he was able to talk to us for about 15 minutes about where we will be going and what we will be doing. It actually took some of my fear away that I have about leaving my boys and instilled in me a sense of urgency and excitement to go! So stay tuned in the next month for pictures and stories from this trip because I am sure it will be life changing to us in so many ways!

23 things

So, I want to blog but don't know exactly what to blog about. So in honor of the 23rd of September, I will give you 23 random insights into my thoughts/life...

1. Ethan doesn't nap anymore, but he is currently in my bed resting. Yes, I said in my bed. Because Caleb just figured out that he and Ethan share a room. He gets on his hands and knees in his crib during nap time and looks over at Ethan trying to rest and coo's, laughs, talks, and gets hyper. This is the first of many times I will have to separate my boys!
2. I am excited, nervous, scared, thrilled about going to Brazil in a few weeks!
3. My kitchen is always dirty.
4. I feel like my house will always smell like a poopy diaper.
5. I am very thankful that our parents live close by.
6. My husband is the best husband in the world! He does so much for our family and loves his boys and does a great job balancing his busy schedule.
7. My dad recently gave me a Starbucks gift card and it's almost used up!
8. I am so happy I discovered Target brand formula when Ethan was an infant, because it is $11.00 a can cheaper than Enfamil!
9. Our roads are being paved where we live and they are currently all torn up and have huge holes. Secretly I am happy about the holes because it forces people that speed to SLOW DOWN!
10. I hated my apartment when we moved in. I cried. Matt seriously thought he was going to have to go talk us out of a lease. But, now I love it and everything I hated about it I now consider a blessing! I love where we live!
11. Our car really needs washed. It hasn't been washed since we bought it over a year ago!
12. We sleep with a fan on to drown out noise and now I am addicted and have to sleep with a fan wherever we go.
13. I still sleep with a body pillow that I got when I was pregnant with Ethan.
14. Matt and I kiss each other and tell each other "I love you" every night before bed and every time we leave.
15. There is currently a garbage bag of dirty diapers at the front door that needs to be taken out to the trash... thus the reason behind #4.
16. I am excited to start a new bible study with a good friend of mine on the book of James. It is being shipped to us as we speak. I know this because I am watching the shipping tracker, constantly!
17. I bought more vegetables at the store the other day and i'm actually eating them.
18. I REALLY need to get back into working out and a healthy lifestyle. I have gained substantial weight since having Caleb. (sigh)
19. I am now struggling to come up with 23 random thoughts. I was on a roll....
20. I bite my nails and Matt always tells me to stop. But I never do.
21. I love being a mommy and I would have more kids right now if money were no object.
22. I am a facebook addict. I am never on for long periods of time, but I constantly go on it throughout the day for 1 or 2 minutes a time... which does really add up!
23. I am looking forward to going to Matt's softball game tonight and I am extremely thankful for flexible kids that don't have to be in bed by a certain time or they turn into pumpkins! I am thankful my boys got Matt's laid back personality!

Honored

I am honored to be a mom to these 2 cuties! I feel blessed in so many areas of my life, but the most way I feel blessed is my family- specifically these boys! I was never prepared to feel the way I did and still do when I had these boys. I seriously grow more in love with them every day! Not that every day is easy, for sure, but I love them so much and feel honored to be their mommy!
Since my blogs are few and far between, I thought I would do a recap on each of them.
ETHAN- Ethan is every bit of a 3.5 year old boy! His imagination and energy grows more and more each day. He loves to do crafts, run around (literally! Our poor neighbors below!) he adores his baby brother and his daddy. He is definitely still a mama's boy and will run to me for most things, but I know that he loves and respects his daddy. Ethan loves going to daddy's softball games and looks forward to running around the bases after the games. He loves going to "school" and really looks forward to church. Mostly because his Granddaddy brings him a Krispy Kreme doughnut every Sunday! Ethan loves reading books and watching a few favorite TV shows: Curious George, Thomas, and Sesame Street. Ethan, since the beginning, has been stubborn and very strong willed. He has the best manners when he chooses to use them. Lately though, when someone says "hi" to him or tries to talk to him, he purposefully ignores them or looks away. I have no idea why he does this, for attention I think, but it is so against his fun-loving extroverted personality! So we've been talking to him about always practicing his manners and responding when people talk to him. I love him and look forward to him continuing to grow and develop!
CALEB- Caleb is the cutest baby alive! Ok, maybe I am biased. But still, he is just a chunky little smile right now! He is so easy going and content. Although, I have seen a bit of a temper on him lately! I think he will be our fit thrower, for sure. Ethan was never a public fit thrower, but I have a feeling Caleb will make up for where Ethan was lacking! He is becoming a spoiled little guy! He LOVES being near us. Even if it is sitting on the couch next to us, he is happy. He just recently learned to sit up and is really trying to crawl! He has made a lot of progress with that just in the past 2 weeks. I feel that he could be crawling soon for sure. He doesn't have teeth yet, and if I remember correctly, Ethan had at least 2 by now. Caleb is the best sleeper, still taking 4 naps a day. Yes, I said 4. This kid is a sleeper! When I had Ethan I thought he was the happiest baby and a good sleeper, and while he was, Caleb is even more so! Which I am very thankful for the sleeping because the boys share a room and do great! They have NEVER woke each other up. Anyhow, I love my boys so much!
Thank you, God, for allowing me the privilege to be a mommy. I am truly honored.
(Side note: I do have to say this is an awkward picture... due to me holding the camera myself, the angle of the pictures makes it look like my arm is the same width as my face, and I can tell you that indeed it is not.)

Funny stories courtesy of Ethan!

Ethan has a few things he says I that hope he never stops saying. One of which is "got-for" instead of forgot!
Today at lunch we started eating and then all of a sudden Ethan yells, "hey guys, we got-for to pray!" We just laughed and laughed! It is so cute to hear him say it. But I guess it won't be cute when he gets to high school and tells his teacher, "I got-for my homework!"

Another one of Ethan's sayings is "p-cause" instead of because. When he gets excited and is telling a story he really gets on a roll: "I want to get a new race car p-cause I want it, and p-cause Lightening McQueen is my favorite, p-cause he is the fastest!" So cute.

Today at Walmart we were waiting in a checkout isle. I had the two boys with me by myself. The next isle over was an older larger lady and all of a sudden she starts laughing really loud and really hard. Well, Ethan then echos her and laughs really loud and really hard like she did. She whipped around like she was going to hit someone and saw my precious 3.5 year old darling standing there. She wasn't so angry but I could tell was a bit bothered. I apologized on Ethan's behalf and then noticed that the 2 cashiers and people around us were laughing so hard into their sleeves, trying not to make it a bigger deal to the woman. It really was hilarious. But being the good mom I am, I had a talk all the way out to the car with Ethan about mocking people and how even though she was laughing, and so was he, that it wasn't funny. Somehow I don't think it sank into his mind... it's a hard concept. (Son, don't you laugh when other people are laughing or after they laugh!)

Ethan is always keeping us on our toes! I thank God for his joyful personality and his love for laughing and making other people laugh! I know we will have our hands full in a year or 2 when Caleb and him get going together! They already laugh together and Caleb gets really hyper! See God, I need a little girl to even this household out ;)

Fall is Coming

Fall is coming. Changing leaves. Cool breeze.

Opened windows. Hot chocolate. Sweat shirts. Jeans.

Starbucks coffee. Pumpkins. Shorter days. Pink cheeks. Cold noses.

Long walks. Cinnamon. Vanilla. I love it.