On a prayer

Listen, my son, and be wise,
 and set your heart on the right path.
Proverbs 23:19

Weekend fun!

We had a great weekend! Saturday, of course was Halloween and we had a fun day! We went to our neighbor's house in the afternoon for a little Halloween party that they hosted for their nephew who is in elementary school. Owen loved watching all the big boys play in their costumes. They went bobbing for apples, played a white elephant gift exchange game, and then bingo with candy corn pieces. All of the boys had tons of fun! We went home for a quick dinner and then the boys and Greg went trick or treating around the neighborhood. Owen walked along side Greg as Greg pulled Jase in the red wagon! It worked out well. We have such a great neighborhood, everyone was excited to see the boys. Owen typically doesn't do well for trick or treat. He doesn't like scary masks or anything 'spooky' so he only makes it to about 4-5 houses before he wants to come home. This year was different! He did so well! They started at about 6pm and were back around 6:45pm with lots of goodies. Our neighbors welcomed us back to their place to hand out candy together on their driveway. They had a fire in their fire-pit in the driveway and we circled it with our camping chairs. Once the boys got restless, we headed to the little church across the street from our neighborhood. They had a Harvest party from 6-9pm with food, games, candy and a bouncy house! The boys had a great time and the people there were so nice and welcoming. All in all we had a great time on Saturday. We are so thankful for our wonderful neighbors and community.
We were also thankful for daylight savings coming to an end- it gave us the much needed extra time in the morning to get the family up and to church. After church we came home and Greg worked on the house. He sanded and painted the garage and water proofed the roof on our sun room. The garage door's paint was in dire need of a face lift and the roof in the sun room has been leaking. The last big rainstorm we had was terrible- water was everywhere in the newly renovated room. It was a little heartbreaking. We are hoping that what he did this past weekend has fixed the problem..fingers crossed!
Here are some pictures of our adventures:

Before

During...

After!

Apples for everyone!

We had a great weekend! The weather was beautiful, a little chilly, but beautiful! We spent the day Saturday around the house and getting errands done. We needed to replace the kitchen faucet anyway, and we really needed a new sink, so Greg installed a new kitchen sink and faucet! We are so happy with it, and we are thankful that Greg is so handy.
Sunday we went off to church first thing in the morning. Owen really likes his classroom and Jase is liking it much better! Jase has now been playing with the other toddlers in his classroom and doesn't cry too much when we leave him. After church was lunch and then my dad and his wife came to visit. We spent the rest of the afternoon at a local orchard picking apples. The orchard is so beautiful, the apples are delicious and everyone had such a nice time. Now it's time for apple sauce and apple pie! Yum!

Greg's helpers

Old sink

New sink

Ready for apples!

The boys with Bubby and Grandma Sandy

18 months of Jase

Our baby turned 18 months on October 1st, I can't believe it! He is such a funny guy, he loves to eat, laugh, read books, but most of all he loves to play with (aka torment) his big brother, Owen. Jase has no fear. There have been times when I turn my back for a moment and then find Jase sitting on top of the table. He's quite the climber. He has started the process of potty training on his own. I'm not one to force this issue- really it's too soon for me- but when he tells me he has to go, I'm not going to stop him! He loves to take things and put them back where they don't belong. We've found rubber duckies in our pot and pan cabinets and plates in our bedrooms. He's also been known to throw things away-we've lost a few sippy cups and a veggie peeler because he's thrown them out without us noticing...or maybe we'll find them someplace else one day...

Jase was dedicated last weekend at our church! We are so happy that Greg's parents and my dad and his wife could be there for the service. For those who are unfamiliar with a dedication service, it is a time when parents of a child make a promise to raise their child in a Godly manner, with the intention that someday said child will choose to accept Jesus as their savior. It was a nice service. After the service we went home and had pizza and cake! Thankfully, the boys' cousins met us back at the house after the service. They all had a blast playing!

Here's a rundown of the little man!

Jase loves:

Owen

Milk

Food!

Books

Cows

Building block towers

His lovie 'dog dog' (a blue blanket with a dog attached to it)

Any thing his brother has that he can take

Brook, and all other dogs

Exploring the dirtiest parts of the house when mommy turns her back- the toilet brushes and plungers, the bottoms of the toilets, the trash cans. (I caught him putting his mouth on the kitchen trash can once!)

Thomas the Tank Engine

Singing and dancing

Jase HATES:

Fingernail trimmings (I have to sit on him for him to hold still..it's not pretty)

When we tell him NO!

When he doesn't get what he wants

Sharing

Wiping his nose

Dr visits

The nursery at church...he doesn't hate it, but he holds one lady hostage the entire service. He doesn't let her do anything else but hold him and rock him for an hour. She's glad to do it, really who doesn't love rocking a baby?! The only bad part is he comes home smelling like really strong perfume every Sunday!

We are so blessed to have this little guy in our lives...and he's actually started sleeping better! Thank you, everyone, for your prayers! God is good!

Jase's dedication at Lifepoint Church 

9/26/15

Cuteness overload!

Our handsome boys

God has blessed us!

Squishy face kiss ❤️

Busy Bees

We had a busy weekend! Saturday we had a bunch of our karate friends over for a potluck BBQ party. We really had a nice time. We got to debut Greg's uncle's kabob invention- and it worked really well. Essentially it is a box shaped charcoal grill with slots for kabobs to sit in at the top. On the handle of each metal kabob skewer is a small gear that links into what looks like a bicycle chain, which is attached to an electric motor, on the outside of the grill. Plug the motor in, the bicycle chain beings moving and the skewers rotate! It was great, and cooked our kabobs perfectly! We had a nice visit with our karate friends, the weather was perfect and the food was great, what could be better?

We had a busy day on Sunday too. We got to church early, came home and had some lunch then headed to a party for Greg's department at school. It was nice to see everyone again. We came home to watch the Eagles lose to the Cowboys. Bummer. 

The big excitement of this weekend was that Owen now rides his bike (with training wheels.) For the longest time he refused to petal it and now he won't stop! We are so proud of him and we are excited for this new way to play. We get out there at least once a day, weather permitting. I walk Jase in the stroller and Owen rides next to me. We were out riding on Sunday night and our neighbors invited us in to watch the remainder of the Ravens game. We had a nice time with them. We are blessed with such great neighbors. They have a boy who is in grade school who took to our boys so well. He showed Owen and Jase all of his toys and they were in heaven. 

Jase was doing really great with his sleep! Hooray! But now he is back to his old antics. He’s getting some teeth in right now so hopefully they cut soon. Prayer request for sleep, please! This momma and her hubby could really use it! 

No TV Tuesday!

This morning, for no particular reason, I wanted to watch TV while I drank my coffee. Usually this isn't a problem because I watch PBS kids cartoons along with Owen and Jase. But this morning I didn't feel like watching kids' shows and it was met with much resistance. Owen was just about crying when I wouldn't put an 'Owen show' on and Jase was just confused. Instead of getting upset, I let the boys know that since we couldn't agree on what to watch, there would be no TV for anyone today. Owen was immediately upset (a sign that he really should watch less tv!) and I reassured him that we would have more fun without the TV anyway!

..and mommy was right! We spent the morning coloring, playing playdoh and modeling foam, and playing together in the play room. When it was time for Jase's nap, Owen and I listened to music, danced and read some books. Once Jase woke we had some lunch, ran an errand and then landed at one of our favorite places: Baughers Orchard! We went into the store, got some apples and then played the day away! The boys love playing there and seeing the animals at the petting zoo. Jase loves to swing on the toddler swing as well as climb all around and follow his brother. 

All in all it was a great day- without TV! They were both so well behaved, its amazing how TV really rots their little brains. I've never let them watch too much TV but lately I've been letting them watch more and more so I can get 'stuff done' around the house.  Today reminded me that I should really spend more time with them and less worrying about what chores need to be done. There's always going to be dishes to wash, laundry to fold, and shelves to dust, but these boys won't be little forever. They won't always want to play with me, to color with me, or to hold my hand. At the end of the day (or the beginning) I need to remember that I am here for them, and they are here for me, right now. Those dishes can wait.