Closing up shop

Well i've debated and debated and procrastinated.... I finally decided I am shutting the blog down. I had a good run! Maybe i'll pick it back up again one day, but for now it's goodbye!

Happy Halloween

Trick or treat!

(Left to right: Hannah (Rapunzel), Caleb (Football player), Jackson (Bumblebee Transformer), Ethan (Superman)

Brazil

We are currently in Brazil. I forgot to post this before we left. Check our church website for posts about our trip.

www.bridgemissiontrip.wordpress.com

Family Pic

Let's Go Canes!

Matt and I went to the Carolina Hurricanes game this past Friday. It was the first game of the season and despite the 1 to 5 loss, we had fun! Matt celebrates his 30th birthday this month so the family pitched in together to help me buy tickets to the game. Matt said he is going to stop asking to go to sporting events for his birthday because every time we go, the team we are seeing loses. A couple of years ago we went to a Carolina Panthers football game and they got spanked. Of course, this isn't out of the ordinary for the Panthers ;) ha ha! So Happy Birthday babe! Sorry I couldn't rig a victory for you to see. But no matter where we go or what we do, I always have a blast with you! (Wow, that rhymed.)

My boys

Ethan & Caleb.

Other than my man, these are the loves of my life!

October!

October, I am so glad you are here!

Today it is absolutely beautiful outside. A cold front came through and it actually feels like fall. I have been waiting for this!

Ethan had a soccer game this morning. He hasn't played in 3 weeks due to rain cancellations. His first game of this season all he did was cry and run off the field and refuse to play. He has done well in practices but for some reason has a lot of anxiety about the games. We went through this last season and thought he was over it, but that wasn't the case. This morning we were nervous about how he would do and the first few minutes before the game he started crying and saying he didn't want to play. The coach let him sit out in the beginning, but then called him into the game. He seemed unsure of himself but kept trying and Matt and I cheered like it was the World Cup. Well, HE SCORED 3 GOALS!!!! I could not believe it! I was jumping up and down and screaming. I was SO proud of him. Hopefully he will now have the confidence to continue trying his best and prove to himself that he can do this. I actually look forward to his next game!

Sickness is finally leaving our house! The past 2 weeks 3 out of 4 of my family members were infected with hand, foot, and mouth disease. If you don't know what that is, look it up! It is a virus where you get blisters on your hands, and/or feet and mouth. Matt got it the worst. He had blisters all over in his mouth. He missed a week of work, church, and 2 softball games. I KNOW he is sick if he misses one of those, let alone all 3! Praise the Lord he is feeling better. Today, while our windows are wide open because of the gorgeous weather, I plan on disinfecting our house!

We leave for Brazil in less than 3 weeks! I am getting very excited! Our team has raised over $12,000 for us all to go and only need about $2,500 left! It is so neat to see how God uses other people to provide in ways that you necessarily can't. There is no way Matt and I would be able to afford this on our own, so we are thankful that friends and family have partnered with us so that we are able to make this possible! We are so excited to be able to see the kids again that we met last year.

Catch up

(I added this picture after my original post because my dad wanted a picture of Caleb too!)

Wow, I think the past year has been my worst blogging streak ever. Now that I "do" facebook a lot, I rarely find the time or need to blog. Facebook is my outlet to my friends and family where I can tell short stories and post pictures, etc. But as you may know, Facebook has been making horrible changes lately and might lose a lot of users! So this morning I thought, "maybe I should blog"!
This season is our busiest time of year. We have soccer practice, 2 softball games, and bible study during the week, then soccer games and other activities on the weekend. Throw in some Brazil team meetings and functions- we are plain BUSY!
This past month I celebrated my 30th birthday! I just can't believe it! I don't feel older, but 30 just sounds old! (No offense to my older, I mean wiser readers!)
Another thing I have gotten into is Pinterest.com. It is a great site full of neat ideas and recipes. I have tried a few lately and have so much more that I want to try! Most of them being sweets! Who can deny anything with chocolate or peanut butter, or my newest obsession NUTELLA! Oh. my. gosh. My neighbor introduced me to Nutella and it is a delight! I tried it on a banana, a piece of bread, and just plain off the spoon. It is heaven in a jar as I call it. Ha!
As I mentioned before, we go to Brazil in just a few weeks. I cannot believe it! It has really snuck up on me. Although we've been planning a lot with our team, I just kept thinking to myself that it was far away. But the time is almost here! I am very excited to be returning with my hubby and a bigger team! I am not excited to be leaving my boys, but I can't talk about it now or I will spiral down the path of sadness. I know they will be in good hands while we are gone and I am so thankful for family that is so willing to help us out in this way so that we can be worry-free to go!
Well that's all for now, here's a few pictures to catch up!

Ham & cheese sliders! Recipe came from Pinterest! So yum!
Ethan is playing soccer again this season. Although he had another rough start to the season, he is doing great! Yes he is holding a pink ball. When we went to buy him one at Walmart that was the only one left in his size and he really wanted it!

My sweet hubby planned a surprise 30th birthday party for me! I am so thankful for him and the blessings I have!

My boys--- life lately.

Caleb. 18 months old. Caleb is like one of those exotic wild animals that may look so stinking cute, but as soon as you get close, they are deadly. Ha. That may be an exaggeration, but very close to the truth. He is so stinkin' cute. He is a snuggler and my baby. But, my boy is w-i-l-d. He is wide open. He does not let anyone push him around. Here are some of Caleb's favorites:

Favorite word: "No"
Favorite food: pizza
Favorite toys: anything that Ethan is playing with
Favorite snack/sweet: chocolate cake

Caleb LOVES being goofy and his favorite thing to do is get hyper before bed. He has started blowing kisses and waving hi and bye. He is doing well in his big boy rooms at school and church. I adore this boy more than anything!

Ethan. 4.5 years old. Ethan is my sweetie. We have gone through some tough times in the terrible two's, terrible three's, and terrible four's! Ha! He has really turned a corner and is really growing up fast. He adores Caleb and often gives up his food, toy, spot, anything for Caleb. Ethan loves being silly with Caleb. I know they will continue to grow closer the older they get. They truly adore each other. Ethan loves painting, playing with play-doh, and he still loves his race cars. Here are some of his favorites:

Favorite food: cookies, peanuts
Favorite movie: Toy Story 3
Favorite phrase: "that's ridiculous"
Favorite personal game that I just love (not!): repeating mommy

I just can not believe Ethan will be going to Kindergarten next year. Crazy! I love him so incredibly much! I love being a mom to these boys! I hope to add a "sister" to the mix sometime, ha ha! Ethan is always asking for a sister. I told him he needs to place an order with the big man upstairs! Ha!

Blogging Block

I am back to the cycle of not having anything to blog about. Now that our vacations are finished for the summer, we are back to the grind. Caleb just turned 18 months old. I can hardly believe it! He moved up to the next room at church and at school. He is 30 pounds which is 90% for his age, and he is in the 80% for height. He is a spit fire for sure! Let's just say you won't have to worry about anyone pushing him around because he will fight back! Maybe having an older brother adds to that, but I think he just has it in him not to go down lightly! With both boys it is always my prayer that they would grow up loving God and that he would use the strong will he has clearly given them both for their good and His glory!
Other news, we are returning to Brazil this October. This time Matt is the team leader! He and I are the only ones returning from the team that went last year. We are very excited to be going back! Next year Ethan starts kindergarten so we won't be as easily able to pick up and go as we have been! Off to clean up, I feel like our house is in constant disarray!

Heading home

This is my final post from Ocean Isle. We have had a great time. Tonight we went out to take family pictures out on the beach. It gets harder to coordinate poses and who is looking at the camera, so this is our best shot. Not too shabby. We then walked over and did some putt putt. It was Ethan's first time and he got 3 holes in 1! Tomorrow morning we pack up and head home. Fare thee well for now.

Hole in 1!

Pier walk

We went to the pool yesterday morning instead of the beach to have a break from the sand and surf. Last night we took a family walk to the pier that is .6 miles one way. We were all sweating by the time we got back because it was so humid. But we had fun! We saw on the news where there was a shark bite on 2 different occasions just north of us and just south of us. That is always scary to hear. Needless to say, we won't be going out past our ankles this morning!

Daddy throwing Ethan.
My little fish who loves the water.

Cousins on the pier.

Family shot on the pier.

Slipping and sliding

This morning we hit the beach again. Caleb was a little more content than yesterday. We had a lot of fun in the sand and surf. Then this evening after dinner we took the kids outside to play in the kiddie pool and slip and slide. They had a blast and Caleb was a hoot to watch. He was having so much fun in the water. He was sticking his head in the water and then Uncle Mike threw him down the slip n' slide like the rest of the big kids. He would get up and laugh. He really loved being sprayed with the water hose. It was so funny to watch him out there. Ocean Isle is such a family friendly beach area. I love that there is a constant breeze out, so it makes sitting in the sun actually bearable. I can't believe we are already half way through this vacation!

Caleb chillin' while eating a snack.
We had our second annual pillow sumo wrestling with the boys. They loved this!

Mike was having a blast with all the kids in the pool! Ha!

He may not care for the sand at the beach, but he LOVES playing in the water!

Hello from Ocean Isle

Today was the official start to our 3rd annual beach vacation with my in-laws. There are 15 of us staying here for the week! We are looking forward to some fun!

Ethan was really into digging a big hole that he could jump into.

Wading in the pool, courtesy of Grammy and Papa.
My adorable, yet extremely fussy baby boy. He is a hot mess between teething, not liking the sand at the beach, and not having a "normal" week in over a month!

Captured this sweet moment of Ethan and his cousin Jackson reading together before bed.

Camp Willow Run- Day 6

Not too bad of a family picture... considering I didn't wear make up or do my hair all week!

Camp Willow Run- Day 5

Today has been another great day at camp. It was absolutely beautiful! A "cool" front came through last night and brought our 101 degree weather down to 88 today! How nice! It was glorious. We took many walks and were outside a lot. Ethan got to ride on "Lola" a small motor boat that pulls in sailboats when they get stuck out on the lake. He also got to watch kids shoot off model rockets today. I took him swimming again. He is getting more brave and is going under the water some. Hard to believe tomorrow is Friday, that last full day of camp.

A familiar scene at camp: surrounded by girls.
My two men on the boat.

Snack time on the big rock near sailing.

Beautiful sunsets over the lake. That is the swim dock way in the background.

Camp Willow Run- Day 4

Well another day came and went at camp. The beginning of the week seemed to go by slow, but now I can hardly believe that tomorrow is already Thursday. The boys are having a blast and are tuckered out! We are all sleeping well and Caleb is eating like it's his last meal. Today was another hot day but it was overcast so you didn't feel the unbearable hot sun on you as much. I took Ethan swimming again today while Caleb napped and Matt worked on his camp sermon for tonight. Ethan loves to swim and has even gone under water several times. We just love this place and we get excited each summer we get asked to come back.

Boys playing together right out front of our boxcar.
Such a cutie pie! We know he's cute, but it's especially fun when other people keep telling us that!

Oh, and just admiring my ring while swimming at the lake! Hard to believe we will be married 7 years at the end of the month! I am so blessed to have a man like Matt by my side!

We drove around camp on the golf cart tonight. I went inside to grab my camera and snap a picture, well it was so humid out that the camera fogged up!

Camp Willow Run- Day 3

I don't have many pictures today. It was a scorcher. 101 with a heat index of 111! We stayed indoors a lot, but did make it out to the lake to swim. Ethan also visited the basketball gym again, archery and riflery, and loved just running around camp. Matt and I agree that it is so fun to watch him assert his independence. We both looked at each other today and said, "our little boy is growing up"! The campers love both our boys and oogle over them. Caleb's fussiness is better, which makes things so much nicer. Ha!

p.s. Sorry for the delay in posting. I tried last night and it would not work for some reason.

Camp Willow Run- Day 2

Greetings from CWR. I just put both nuggets to bed and took a shower while Matt does his evening "sermon" for the campers. It has been a long but good day. Fussy does not even begin to describe Caleb.... so in that regard it has been a stressful day. But overall we had fun. I took the boys swimming this morning by myself. I knew it would be a task to begin with being by myself with two non-swimmers, but Caleb was just a bear. We ended up having to leave the swim area. I promised Ethan I would take him out later during Caleb's nap. Ethan and I ended up going back out as promised. He is like a fish. LOVES being in the water. We also hit up the basketball gym and played soccer and Frisbee in between. I am hoping Caleb's mood is just an adjustment to being away from home. Although I know those 4 canine teeth are going to pop through literally any minute. I am hoping he sleeps well tonight and sleeps later than his 4:45 a.m. wake up time this morning. I am hitting the sack early because I am one tired girl!

Posing with a basketball- he kept trying and trying to make the shot on a regulation goal. One of these days, buddy!
He has such patience with his mama who is constantly telling him, "wait, stop and say cheese!" Why do we do that to our kids?! ha ha!

Yes, I got that look many times today! You are lucky I am in love with you, stinker!

Both boys in the water. Caleb REFUSED to look at the camera. *sigh*

Camp Willow Run- Day 1

We arrived at Camp Willow Run Sunday afternoon. This is the beloved place where I met my husband 8 years ago. Since then we have married and had 2 children. It was surreal driving in the entrance with our family now. It just seems like it has always been in some ways. We are so thankful for this place. This week Matt is the camp speaker for middle school students. We look forward to a great week with a lot of fun! As long as Caleb doesn't wake up at 4:45 a.m. every morning. I guess he was a little anxious to play today. Yikes!

The boys breaking in the bunk bed.
Sitting in front of the engine. The camp is built around a railroad theme where the old boxcars are converted into dorms for the campers.

We checked out the low ropes course.

Taking a break from the heat to watch a movie. Caleb's hair is slicked back with sweat. Nice.

Forgive me

I have been meaning to post for a while now. We went to Colorado 3 weeks ago and I have gone to post about it like five times and each time I forget that my pictures are on Matt's computer. Then, this past week my dad had a massive heart attack and has been in the hospital, so I have been focused on my family. So this post is to say, forgive me for my lack of blogging. Which seems to be a reoccurring theme lately. I hope to post soon. Especially since this week we will be at Camp Willow Run. Stay tuned.

I love when babies sleep with their tush in the air!

Ethan's first pet

Meet "The Hudson Hornet". Ethan's new beta fish and first pet! He has been asking for a fish and Matt and I decided to let him use some money from his piggy bank to get one. I had the bowl and rocks already from when I had a fish in my classroom when I taught before Ethan was born. He picked out the bright blue beta, the bright orange plant, and some food. Of course while in Petsmart he wondered why we couldn't get a cat, bird, hamster, snake, lizard, or dog. All of which we had to reply: "it's too much money". But a beta, now that we can afford! He is already asking to hold it and touch it. So we had to a have a lot of talks and lessons about fish and what to do and what not to do. And we had to have that talk. The talk about death. We went ahead and prepared him that the fishy might not live a long time, so that his little heart wouldn't be broken when it does die. He was sad, but understood. So here's hoping for a long living beta! The picture does not do it justice, it really is a vibrant blue color! Oh, and I have to tell the story about the name. He first wanted to name the fish Ethan, then The King (from the Cars movie), but after he thought a minute he said, "no, the king is light blue and my fish is dark blue". So we settled on "the hudson hornet" which was a dark blue car in the movie. Somehow it fits.

We are sad to report that not even 24 hours later... the hudson hornet has died. yikes! Good thing Petsmart has a 14 day guarantee. So we will be getting another fish and hoping it lasts longer this time!

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** See www.becominglast.com for more details or donate directly to www.mycharitywater.org/onemillion

H2O

For the month of June my husband is trying to raise awareness and money through his website for charity:water, which is a non-profit organization that funds clean water projects. Please check out Matt's site for more information!

http://www.becominglast.com/

Or you can donate directly to www.mycharitywater.org/onemillion

$$

I have taken a temporary hiatus. Not for any particular reason other than we are so busy right now. Between softball games 2 times a week for the hubby, soccer games and practices, bible study, and other random things, our days are flying by! And we are about to get even more busy with our summer trips starting! But I had to stop and post about the insanity of the price of antibiotic eye drops for Pink Eye. Ethan got it 2 weeks ago and we had to pay a whopping $81.26 for his medicine. I had forgotten it was so expensive and there is no generic. Which by the way, can some scientist go ahead and jump on that... I bet you will become a millionaire. Anyhow, when we got home before I even opened the bottle I had to snap a picture to share. So here it is folks, $80 for this little beauty! Liquid gold I tell ya! I do have to say, after the first dosage, his eyes did stop oozing that nastyness. So it really is great medication!

GGGGGOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!

I just need to brag on Ethan for a minute. He scored a goal in his soccer game yesterday! I am so proud of him. This is not only a huge accomplishment for the fact of scoring a goal, but also because he has persevered and was rewarded for it. Ethan loves playing soccer but he has had a real hard time with learning and actually playing the game. Our ultra sensitive child has run off the field several times crying because he was offended. How dare someone take a ball away from him in the game of soccer! (Please note the sarcasm) Ha! My little guy has had to learn about sharing and not feeling attacked if someone runs up to him and tries to get the ball away. Matt and I have been dumbfounded after a few practices as to how to help him. We literally prayed for him about this at bible study one night! But we kept encouraging him and explaining that he isn't a failure and this is how the game works and to keep trying. At yesterday's game the first half was not good. He kept trying but would just get frustrated and ran off the field a few times. Matt and I both had to give him pep talks. Well the second half of the game (by the way, an hour is a REALLY long time for four year olds' to play- that is just my opinion!) he started doing much better. We kept telling him to be aggressive and that it is ok to be aggressive. Well he got the ball at about mid field and dribbled and scored! You should have seen me. Poor Caleb was in my arms at this point and I about gave him whip lash. I was jumping up and down screaming and had tears in my eyes. Not because he scored a goal. (They don't keep score anyway) But because he kept trying and was rewarded for it! I am so stinkin' proud of him. He was our only goal of the game. Now the other team had like 30, but that is a different story, ha!

It just takes one person to get it started

Hang with me here. You know sometimes when you encounter something or are learning and it is such an "ah ha!" moment. But when you try to explain to someone else it just doesn't come across the same way. Well bear with me while I try to explain my moment. This morning at church we took communion. There are two tables up front with bread and grape juice. The band was playing some music and we were supposed to come up when we felt ready, take communion, and go back to our seat when we were finished. There were no other limitations. It was a free for all time. Well we all sat in our seats. Praying and just thinking and reflecting. The band was playing and no one was getting up. After a little bit, when I felt ready, I got up and headed towards the table. Well it was as if the flood gates opened. In a matter of seconds there were lines and people were coming up to the table. On my way back to my seat I thought to myself, "Hm. It just takes one person to get it started." What came out as just a simple thought, then echoed in my head. "It just takes one person to get it started." I then proceeded to think about all the great movements throughout history. Even simple tasks... and I came back to, it just took one person to get it started. God completely used that little thought and those few moments to teach me. What am I supposed to do? What is my "one thing" that I am supposed to start. What movement am I supposed to lead. Not to get any recognition, but to simply live out my calling. Matt and another lady from our church were burdened to pray more. It just took them to get it started. We now have regular prayer nights. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for Civil Rights for African Americans. It just took one person to get it started. The Jewish nation escaped from slavery. Moses lead those people. It just took one person to get it started. Behind that one person is a mighty God. He doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called. It just takes one person to get it started.

Monster Jam

Ethan in front of Grave Digger, his current favorite monster truck!

Yesterday we had the opportunity to take Ethan to the Monster Jam. Grammy & Papa had bought tickets to take him, but unfortunately my dad ended up having to work. So Matt and I were able to step in and take him. Ethan had been last year with my parents, but this was the first time for Matt and I! It was a lot of fun! It was also fun to see Ethan so excited! We had great seats and enjoyed being able to go down and see the monster trucks up close and personal before the show. Thank you Grammy & Papa for a great time!!

Paparazzi

"Ugh! Not the paparazzi again!"