July 4th

July 4th is one of my favorite holidays. I love the USA and the liberty it has given me. I also began dating William 8 years ago this past July 4th. Congrats to Mary Beth (William's sister) got engaged to her Fiance this July 4th! So, it seems that July 4th is a great love holiday too!

July 4th , we  went to see my Aunt Laura and Uncle Richard. There aren't enough words to describe what an amazing woman Laura is! She is truly the best person I've ever known and I have the privilege of calling her family. Laura shares great wisdom and love! Richard and her boys are amazing also!

We spent the morning and lunch with them! Some of my favorite moments are Thompson playing in the pool with Richard and Richard making him a sandwich. Richard trying to explain that the pool was 5feet and Thompson looking and saying no there are two feet…his two feet. I loved Laura and Thompson talking about the trains.

Thank you, for letting us celebrate July 4^th with y’all! It was a highlight of our summer! We love you! Thompson still talks about swimming with Uncle Richard and the lunch he had at their house! He just loves them.

Ben came home and put on his helmet! Thompson loves Ben!

Richard throwing Thompson

That evening we went downtown to watch the Fireworks! Turns out a tree was blocking the view of our fireworks...it was funny! It was still a great evening:

June...better late than never??

We did so many fun things this summer and I was too busy to blog! :)

Here is the month of June:

William surprised me and called his mom to ask her to watch the boys. We went to Chateau Elan.  It isn't too far from us and it was a nice relaxing place with wine to sip and a pool to relax by. It was Father's day weekend so after the trip we had dinner in the Monks home! Thank you, Granmom and Granddad for keeping our guys!

My dad purchased a zoo membership for Jonathan for his birthday! We have been using it every month since. They have a passport that the boys can get stamped each time and earn prizes. Next month, we will earn free rides for the rest of the pass...6 months!
Here they are climbing the wall at the zoo:

 Finally, we had a fantastic dinner with some of Thompson family! It is always great to be together and we had a wonderful dinner celebrating Patrick's 21st birthday! There were many laughs!

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:

Reptile Day

Today, Thompson had reptile day at Preschool. William and I also went a long as parent helpers.  My reptile guys did a fantastic lesson for the children. They let the kids pet and hold (with assistance) the animals. Thompson really enjoyed it and became more excited with each new reptile.  He only wanted to pet and look at the reptiles. Daddy had just as much fun as Thompson! It was a fun morning and we were glad to be a part of it.

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: