Only at our house...

Only at our house would the love of Star Wars and the love of the Buckeyes meet like this....

Drew designed this for Jack...it made me smile when I found it this morning.

Does it get any better?

Does it get any better than your 2 year old asking you to rock him and sing "Jesus Loves YOU" at bedtime?  Note he doesn't call it "Jesus loves me" he calls it "Jesus loves YOU"...just like when he wants to be held he says "Hold YOU"!  Think he hears us say "do you want me to hold you?"

Sigh...I LOVE being a Momma.  I was made for this job...and I have known that all of my life.  

Weekend Catch Up Ramble

Not sure where the weeks go...but it is already Sunday again.

The week was good, full, but good.  I am still doing my 5:15 am workout class every morning.  And have learned to really enjoy that.  I haven't felt this much energy or this strong for a lot of years.  Down about 15 lbs...2 more weeks in this "challenge"...my goal is to lose 20 lbs in this challenge.  So I have my work cut out for me these last 2 weeks.  After that my goal is another 20...then I will be at my goal weight.  It's been great to start to get back into shape again.  I hope the next 20 comes off before June.  That's my goal.  I will continue the early morning work outs...after years of dreading mornings and NOT being a morning person I have learned to love getting my workout DONE and home by 6:30 and ready to start my day.  It's checked off the list.  Of course I miss my late nights...but so much of those late nights were spent during stuff that either was a waste of time, or stuff that I could have done during the daytime just didn't have the energy.

We had a busy weekend.  Tommy and Drew both played basketball in a tournament in Boone Iowa, which is about a 50 minute drive from here. Scott was the only one that made it out as a fan, Jack, Max and I opted to stay home.

Saturday I picked up a big load of ground beef and chicken from a bulk distributor and spent a couple of hours separating it into smaller bags for the freezer.

Saturday night we also had a 40th bday party for a Customer of Scott's...it was held at this very cool barn in West Des Moines.  We met the basketball boys there...it was a great party.

This morning we had church at 8:15, and Sunday School at 9:30 and then I teach in our Special Needs Sunday School classroom once or twice a month at 11:00.  Today was one of those days.  Drew and Tommy stayed with me to help in the room.

This afternoon the boys have been home and played outside most of the day since it was in the 50's.  I went to a healthy cooking class for a few hours and we just finished up dinner.  Hoping for a quieter week this week...but never seems to happen.  Both Tommy and Drew have started baseball practices on top of finishing up the basketball season.  So our weeknights are very full not to mention busy weekends.

Scott's sister Kathy comes on Friday night late for the weekend, she won't know what hit her with the busy weekend ahead.  :)  More basketball tournaments, birthday party for Jack to go to, a bridal shower for me to go to, and a few other things going on Saturday.   We are looking forward to having her here...

Max is talking up a STORM these days..."watch Max", "eat pancakes please", "I try", "hold you up high", "my turn", "chips please", "get Daddy a Buckeye shirt", "Watch Max jump" etc and so on...it's so fun to watch him chatter away.

Chef Drew

Drew loves to cook, he loves to bake, he loves to create stuff in the kitchen.  He has been very "into" making breakfast lately for his brothers, us, whoever will eat it.  This morning, after he left for school I found this on the counter top. (click on pic to make larger)

 He has evidently now made a breakfast menu for Jack and Tommy....How cute and creative is that?  This was Jack's order from today.

Max loves self portraits

Here is a sampling of what I often find on my phone after Max has had it in the car while I am driving or at home.  He LOVES taking pictures of himself.  :)

Sweet Husband of Mine

Happy Birthday to my beloved....we have been so busy celebrating here today I haven't even gotten on here to post a HAPPY BIRTHDAY note.

It started this morning with breakfast together as a family...I got home from working out and grabbed all the boys and we went and sang Happy Birthday to Daddy.  We then took him out to a local breakfast place "Cozy Cafe" and ate.  We were pretty much the only ones there, had the place to ourselves.

We then got the boys off to school, Max and I headed off to the grocery store to get our ingredients for the birthday dinner that was requested.  And Max found some balloons for Daddy too.  A football and a basketball of course.  We also picked up some last minute birthday gifts for the birthday boy.

Home for lunch with him...then he headed back to his office to work and we baked a Boston Creme Pie and got the stuff ready for dinner.

Picked up the boys...and celebrated tonight before Tommy headed out to basketball.  We opened gifts, ate our big ham loaf dinner and had his favorite Boston Creme Pie.  :)

We are so blessed to have him in our lives.  I am so proud to be his wife, we have been through so much and I feel like we just keep getting stronger and stronger...it hasn't been without a lot of prayer and patience...oh and forgiveness.  But what a blessed woman I am to be loved so well by him.  And our boys...sigh these boys have NO idea, just yet, how blessed they are.  One day they WILL understand.  One day they will look back and realize how dedicated he was (and is) to their Mama, to them, to their well being, to the important things in their lives...to leading them on the right path.  How much time he has given to them, how selfless he has been with his own time...how he would, and does, literally drive all night sometimes just to be there for me or for them.  That he juggles meetings, and activities to be able to put us first.

So today...we are so grateful and we celebrate YOU my Love.  Happy Birthday!

One of my All time FAVORITES

I want this played at my funeral some day....THIS version of THIS song.  Sigh, I love it.

Staycation

Just home from taking the boys to meet my Dad part way to MN...Scott and I are home alone this weekend.  He has not been feeling great today, the knee has not either.

Here's to a quiet weekend together.  Not sure we have been ALONE in our house overnight since before Jack was born.  Seriously...

We planned this back in October...the plan was cleaning, organizing and celebrating my 40th birthday.  Oh how God enjoys it when I HAVE A PLAN....hmmm His plan is different.  It is a hubby with his leg up on the sofa, not so much organizing getting done and 2 boys who have been fighting bronchitis this week.  Oh and not a lot of eating out between the bad knee and the fitness goals I have right now.

Oh well....God's plans are better than mine.  I am learning...always learning.

Praying for our sweet boys.  My first time ever away from sweet Max.  Sigh....and the other 3 I am not away from much either.  :)

This sums up my day and week....

My Valentine

Despite the day of surgery ahead Scott was prepared, think he finished this morning around 5 am but he finished...my Love surprised me this afternoon with this homemade Valentine's day gift...the BEST kind of gifts are ALWAYS homemade.

It is a jar filled with 31 different reasons he loves me and is grateful he married me.

Sigh...he had it hidden in the top of his nightstand drawer.  This afternoon when I went to check in on him he asked if I wanted my Valentine's day gift.  I assumed it was a kiss from my patient...instead it was this jar.  He told me I could open one a day all month long.  

So sweet.  I cannot wait to read them all...

today's was I am grateful I married you because you were willing to leave the bubble for me.  For those of you who don't know what "the bubble" is, it's what we refer to Edina as...where I grew up.  It's kind of a Beaver Cleaver suburb, everything appears clean, perfect, tidy...everyone "appears" to be kind, well off, and happy ALL THE TIME.  :)  We all know that there is no place like that in real life, but it was very VERY hard for me to leave Edina, Minnesota and my parents.  A big deal for this homebody girl.  And my love...I would do it over and over again to be with you. XOXO Love you

True Love

Heart of Gold

This is a boy with the servants heart...he went out without being asked this morning to shovel, knowing Scott cannot do it right now.  And here is where I found him after school...

Cutest hat ever?

How cute is this boy?  and HOW cute is the Brutus hat??

Here we go AGAIN...

My sweet husband has been blessed with knees that aren't so cooperative many times.  He has had an ACL repair and medial meniscus surgery on his right knee.  And now...the left knee is asking for a turn.  His right knee surgery was 2 years ago, right before Max was born.

As I understand it, the meniscus is the consistency of a gummy bear....as we get older, and as we are harder and harder on our knees it can cause the "gummy bear" to crack apart (think of hard taffy maybe more than a gummy bear :)  )...and as these pieces come off, or "tear" the fragments can cause a lot of pain.  And many times they can act like a rock in your shoe, where they get in-between "stuff" in your knee and aggravate it.  This is what has happened.  It has been bothering him off and on for several weeks and then on Saturday night he did something and we think it tore a chunk off and it's lodged in there in a very painful way.   So after meeting with the Dr yesterday, yes Sunday, afternoon....the only real option is orthoscopic surgery.  They can go in and vacuum out the mess and repair anything that needs to be repaired, scrape out any arthritis and clean him up.  :)

So please be praying at 7:00 am as he goes into surgery.  Pray too that the recovery would not be too difficult and he would be good as new in the next week to 2 weeks.  :)

What a wonderful and romantic Valentine's Day it will be huh?, at least we get to spend the day together right?

Thanks friends...

Jack's Persuasive Essay

This was in the hallway this week when we went for conferences...should ANY of us be surprised?

(click on it to view larger)

Picture of a Happy Boy

Tommy sent this last night from my parents house...do you think he is happy??  Oh and I think my Mom is happy too.  Cute one....

sigh Tommy looks SO old to me in this picture...

Special Weekend for Tommy

The boys have had a short week of school this week, conference week....so early outs the last 3 days at 1:30 and no school tomorrow.  They are loving it...earlier this week I realized Tommy had NOTHING on the calendar this weekend that he couldn't miss...and I tried to figure out a fun weekend idea for him.  I then realized our good friends, the Millers, were headed to Mpls on Thursday after school to visit other good friends of ours, the Ericksons, that had moved about a year ago to Mpls.  I put a few phone calls out there and realized Tommy could hitch a ride with the Millers and spend the weekend ALONE with my parents, aka Grandma and Grandpa (Poppy), it isn't very often, if EVER, our boys get alone time with grandparents.  I picked Tommy up from school on Monday and ran the idea by him, knowing what he would respond with...and HE almost ran me off the road with his excitement.

First off, it melts my heart that he SO loves being with his Grandparents, my Mom and Dad.  Second off, I know my parents would be just as excited as Tommy to get him all to themselves.  All of that combined just blesses my heart. I remember when I was about Tommy's age...I would JUMP at any chance to ride out to South Dakota with my Dad, to visit my Grandma and Grandpa Twig.  I LOVED those trips where it would just be the 2 of us, and once we got there, it would just be ME with my grandparents.  My Grandma Twig and I would giggle giggle giggle in the kitchen, make milkshakes, eat foot long hot dogs...my Grandpa would smile with tears in his eyes at the sight of my Dad and I walking in and he would squeeze me so hard when he would hug me.  My Grandma would about JUMP out of her skin at the sight of us in her driveway.  I LOVE having the memory of Grandparents that were SO happy to see me.  And I LOVE that our boys have that same experience.

As the days went by this week I randomly checked Tommy's texts...and saw he was texting to my Mom the days and hours until he would be there.  The 2 of them went on fast planning mode too of where they would eat, what they would eat, when they would go to the Mall of America, when they would go see Charlie play hockey and that G'pa would try to get some Timberwolves tickets for them to go to a game.  It was so cute.  I love that he has such a great relationship with BOTH of my parents.  It says a lot to me about the time they have invested into his life.  It speaks volumes to me about the respect he has for his Grandparents.

So by now, they have almost every minute planned out I can imagine.

What a fun weekend ahead for him...in the meantime we have a day off of school tomorrow. :)  Max is a bit croupy so not sure what it will entail.  Drew has basketball on Saturday and believe it or not our Little League "try outs" are Saturday morning for Jack.  Jack is happily tucked into Tommy's bed, enjoying a room to himself...although he will still pop out of bed in the morning the second Max makes a peep.  Cute....    Drew has a birthday party tomorrow afternoon and night.  Also..if you don't know, Star Wars in 3D comes out in theaters tomorrow, so that MAY be on the list of things Jack wants to do this weekend.  :)

Drew gets braces

Today was a BIG day for Drew.  Braces went on...

 the BEFORE pics.

The during pics...with Max and Jack "helping" all along.  Thank goodness our orthodontist (Jeff Sturdivant at Smile Orthodontics) is a good friend and a super friendly family man, he loved the extra help.  Jack was along since he had his first "consultation for HIS braces" sigh...I asked Jeff if the 4th one is FREE.  :)...umm and I wasn't kidding.  

Ta-DAH.. the AFTER.  Pretty Handsome huh?

After the braces we snuck in a visit to Krispy Kreme at Drew's request.  We actually went in and ate donuts..well the boys did.  :)  Haven't been inside there forever, Max LOVED it, watched the donuts go round and round and round.  Then we drove through Wendy's to pick up lunch for the boys to take to school.  Not a bad day huh?  Oh and they have early out at 1:30.  So that means they will be in school for less than 2 hours today.  :)

A reminder for myself..

When the alarm goes off at 4:40 am and I want to stay in my warm and cozy bed, in my quiet and still house, with my sweet husband snuggled beside me....

I don't want to give up.  

Another Chapter for Drew

Tomorrow is the big day, Drew get's braces in the morning. His smile will look very different the next time we see his teeth without metal on them.  :)

Don't worry, I will be taking "before" pictures tomorrow morning.  

Just feels like such a big step when they get braces.  Once they come off, there is such a grown up look to their smile and their face.

Sigh....they just keep growing up on me.

Shoelaces

Took this of Drew's feet yesterday....Mr. Loyal wearing his blue and purple laces in honor of Gailen.  Makes me smile when I think of him and the impact he had on our family.

We will miss him tonight at the Superbowl party.  He was the party prize coordinator and quiz maker, Steph is going to try to take over this year without him, but I know it will be hard for her.  Such memories tied to this day for her....

Big Brother's are the Best

Driving home yesterday morning from working out, I turned the corner and saw the sweetest picture.  Drew and Max were both outside playing and shoveling in the snow.  It was Max's first real time in snow.  Bundled up in snow boots, pants, warm jacket, gloves and hat.  Drew had found all of the clothes and had dressed Max by himself and taken him outside to play.

These are the moments that make my Mommy heart melt...where you know those big brother's are doing something for their baby brother without being asked, told or even suggested.  Just because they want to do something fun for their little guy.

Made my heart smile...

10 down...

This is my theme for 2012.  :)  My goal to better fitness and to finding the athlete in me again...no excuses this year.  I am shocked and amazed that I am LOVING working out at 5:15 am.  It's not really the working out I love...it's the feeling at 6:20 am when class is done and we are stretching out and I am headed home that I love.  It's what gets my out of bed.  

I am NOT a morning person.  I am a night owl and have had to switch that thinking in me.  It has been SO worth it.  I have more energy than I have had in months and months.  Odd isn't it? I am eating better and feeling better.  I am a better Mom and wife...less cranky and less exhausted.  My clothes will start to feel loose soon....can't wait for that.  I have been there before, and I will be there again.

We are at the end of week 4 in my 9 week Kickboxing class challenge.  I am down 10 lbs.  I have 30 more I would like to lose.  Turned 40 in December and want to lose 40 in 2012.  Hopefully by May or June.  I KNOW I will feel so much better.  Once the challenge is done then it's just back to the new routine of working out without any one checking my daily food intake.  But it is a new habit that I am liking.  Goals in Motion, where I do my workouts, motivates me.  I have been there before and the people there inspire me and the class environment makes it so I have to push myself and I have NO excuses when I am there.

So onto the next 10 lbs...

then the next 10...

then the next 10.  :)

In love...

With this new Momma tee but MORE in love with the sweet boy.