MAY we catch up??

First of all, sorry for my super cheesy title! May has been BUSY; William has been out of town most of the month! He had two Navy duty trips (one long weekend in VA and then his 3week trip to Naples). Some people said, "How do you do it on your own?"
Here is how:

1.       I'm insanely proud of my husband for serving our country. The night we met, William said he was in the Navy and it made me want to get to know him. God started working on my heart at an early age to love and appreciate the military. When, I was in middle school, I began to watch military documentaries (still do)! Both my grandfathers served and so did my great-uncle Frank! This led me to have great pride in the Red, White and Blue and the men and woman who serve.  

2.       I’ve had help from  Lacey (always), Andy, Patrick (my cousin), church friends, my mom (this week she has been off from work and helped a ton),Kristi (drove from Charlotte) and Gayle came for an afternoon! Thanks so much to those who helped!!

3.      As far as military deployments go, three weeks is nothing. I have military friends whose husbands are away for an entire year serving. My little part in serving our country is to take care of our family while he is serving. However, there are many spouses doing it for longer and we should help them out.  The three weeks have been hard let’s be real- I’ve been tired and haven’t had as much patience with the boys as I would have liked (which is a slightly scary thought as I’m not the most patient person but that is another post for another day) but I have perspective and most importantly Jesus’ Grace and Love!

My darling boys, I want you to know that Daddy is way cool for serving our country and we should be super proud of him!! Daddy, we love you and thank you!

 The boys and I went to Destin with Lay-Lay and Patch and TLO (for one day before she headed back to work). Patch sat in the back of our KIA for the entire drive and watched CARS 9 million times and didn’t speak a complaining word.
We had a great trip and it was a fun way to make the time go by.

The best photo of both of them this trip:

Historic Fourth Ward Park

Last weekend we didn’t have any plans and we took full advantage of it. The Jones' came over last minute Friday night to grill out and it was great to catch up with them.

On Saturday morning we headed to Fourth Ward Park in downtown Atlanta. The park is very similar to an obstacle course and their is a splash pad that opens May 1st! We can't wait to pack a picnic and head back downtown. After burning our energy we went to VA highlands and had lunch. After lunch, we stopped at another park and played. It was fun to be in the city and it couldn't have been a more perfect day (if we had planned it; i'm sure it wouldn't have tunred out so great).

Sunday, we had Thompsons' class at church and then our Community group that evening. Our group is reading The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller. It is a great book and we are enjoying getting to know our church family! Lay-Lay and Andy watched the boys during CG.  After Community Group William and I went and saw The Hunger Games.

This weekend has been very low-key. Friday, the boys and I stayed home all day getting over our colds and Daddy flew back from his business trip in Chicago. Saturday, I finally used the massage that my friends gave me at my "Sprinkle Shower" for Jonathan. Then, Lacey treated me to a pedicure. It was a pampering day! We grilled out at the Dyer's last night and the food and company was fantastic.

The swing was awesome:

Easter Lesson

We tried to teach Thompson (and Jonathan) the true meaning of Easter by reading the bible. We use these two bibles: Jesus Storybook Bible & The Beginners Bible (a gift from Auntie). This past Sunday, William and I had his sunday school class. Thompson ran into Sunday school and said to his friend, "Hampton, Jesus is Alive!" It is neat to hear Thompson say these things and we hope both our boys can grasp that Jesus is real and alive! Happy Easter!!!

 The best picture I got of them:

Most of them were like this (it was the end of a long day)

For their Easter baskets I used non-sugar Easter items that I purchased last year on sale. It was awesome because I didn't have to even think about Easter baskets. Thompson got some little Thomas trains and Playdough. Jonathan got some toys. This year, I missed the good sale and when I went to the stores only candy was left. So, next year I will have to get creative.

  We gave them their baskets at the end of the day and TWM is closing his eyes waiting for it:

Easter Lunch 2012

This Easter was incredibly special because Laura and Richard hosted us for lunch. We had a wonderful time and words can't express how much they mean to us. It was a great meal with my fantastic family!

Thompson had figured out a new system after his two previous egg hunts. For the family egg hunt he went to each egg and opened it up and ate the candy. Thompson wanted to make sure he ate ALL the candy.  Thankfully, some of the eggs had toys instead of candy. :)

JRM found the candy too while we were picking up lunch! This was his easter outfit but I brought a back-up. :)

I love each of these amazing Ladies

 You can see how much Aunt "Law-ra" means to Thompson. 

I love my precious Uncle:

Stone Mountain

Thompson loves his Aunt Lay-Lay; one of the many reasons is because she is great about making memories with him. Lacey took us and my cousins,  Sara and Matt to Stone Mountain. It was a wonderful way to spend Good Friday; William had off from work so he came too! Thompson loved the obstacle course and Lacey was super sweet and let the kids do what they wanted. Thank you, Aunt Lacey for another fantastic memory and for being a terrific Aunt, great-aunt and friend. We love you and Andy too! :)

 

 

 

 

  

He wanted to get into the water the entire day:

Jonathan had fun "taking it all in"

Brotherly Love

   On Friday night, William and I went to a Mark Miller concert at a fellow church member’s home (Thanks Auntie for babysitting).  It was fantastic and we bought the CD!! We listened to Grace upon Grace the entire way back from Sylvester. I have been jamming out to it since!

Monday morning in the car, Thompson started singing part of Jesus Paid It All. “Praise the One, who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead.” Then, Thompson turned to Jonathan and said, "Jon-a-Fin,  Jesus died on the cross for your sins.”

It was one of the sweetest moments I’ve witnessed! Yes, we've told Thompson that many times. Sometimes we tell him when we are playing and sometimes when he is disobeying and we try to explain sin. But, it was precious how Thompon shared the Good News.

 One of our prayers is that, our boys would know Jesus, share Jesus, and become dear friends.  This moment was a reminder of Psalm 127:3 “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.”

My sweet boys, I’m blessed to be your Mom! Thank you for reminding me that Jesus died on the cross for our sins! Tullian Tchividjian (who inspired the Mark Miller CD)  says, “ Jesus + Nothing = Everything.”

Picture Post

March has been packed full of fun activites!

Jonathan's first haircut in Rome, GA

Rhonda gave William and Thompson

their first haircut too!

Naval Retirement Party

Lake Allatoona 

 

Atlanta Zoo

(Daddy had Navy duty) 

 

 

 

Cascio Visit

In February, the Cascios came for a visit! Jay and Kristi are the boys God-parents and their family is so dear to us. They also have adopted our dog, Chapel (now their dog). We love them a ton. Kristi drove Lilly and her friends down for her birthday to go the American Girl Cafe'. I was able to join them and it was so much fun! Lilly is so sweet and Thompson just adores being around his "God-cousin"

Later in the month, Sadie came down for a couple days and stayed with us during her winter break. We went to the aquarium, Children's Museum and many parks! We had a blast with Sadie and I really miss my "helper" and Thompson misses his friend! She was great with Jonathan!

Happy (Very Belated) New Year!

New Year's weekend was busy and fun. William's grandparents treated us to a night in Callaway Gardens and the festival of lights. We enjoyed seeing all the Christmas lights and riding on the train. We stopped by the lake on the way out and Thompson ran and ran and got soaking wet in the lake (I didn't get a picture). Thanks to Daddy for keeping up with him!

New Year’s Eve (Saturday) we went to the Zac Brown Band concert with Auntie and her friends (Granmom kept our boys). ZBB was William and I's first concert together and we had a great time. However, the opening bands were terrible and we should have showed up when ZBB came on. They rocked it and played all their great songs!
On New Year's Day we went to church and then spent the day hanging out as a family! Looking forward to 2012!!