Eli -- in the span of five seconds!

Just as happy as can be...

Starting to get a little concerned...All-out meltdown!

Safe and content in Daddy's arms.

I finally have a fat baby! He was in the 50 percentile for weight at his 2 month check up. (Daniel and Caleb were always at 10%) And he actually has rolls on his legs I have to wash between. :-)

Summer has arrived and it has gotten very hot here in Colorado (but you will never hear me complain because at least we do not have humidity to contend with!). The boys enjoyed an afternoon on the deck, eating orange juice popsicles they had made with their babysitter.

I have to mention that our deck is now quite sticky and that popsicles and sandboxes are NOT a good combination!

How wonderful a father is the father of my children? Let me count the ways...
He has a passion to see our sons be strong men of God and he sees it as his responsibility to teach them what that looks like.
He lavishes love on me in front of our boys and in that they see I am his #1 and they are learning how to one day treat their own wives.
He steps in as my sheild on the hard and tiring days.
He instructs, disciplines and encourages his sons.
He leads us all in the reading of God's word.
His family is his priority because he always "comes home" early, even though is office is just downstairs.
He gets up everyday and works hard so we can have a good life, do many fun things as a family, pay for a babysitter so we can have couple-time and mostly so I can stay home where I know I belong and fulfill my calling to be a wife and mom.
He is my partner in discipling the next generation for Christ.

We had a very cold and rainy Memorial Day. It was weather better suited for skiing in the mountains (which you can still do on Memorial Day in Colorado) rather than the pool and barbeques. We had not made plans with any friends so we laid around most of that morning trying to figure out what to do. We had heard a lot of great things about The Wildlife Experience, a museum-like attraction right near us. Since it was inside out of the rain we decided to check it out.I don't want to be insulting, but let's just say... we were a little underwhelmed. It is a beautiful building. Probably took a LOT of money to build it, but there wasn't a whole lot inside. Basically two rooms of dead stuffed animals.
There was a fun, hands-on room for little kids. I dressed Caleb up as a lion, but as you can see he was less than thrilled about it. They did have a very cool big-screen movie called "Sea Monsters." It was about dinosaurs of the ocean, back when most of the North American plains were under water. Daniel loved it and talked for days about the great white shark that ate the little dinosaur and the alligator dinosaur that ate the great white shark.
We're wondering if we can convince anyone this is a real mountain lion and we encountered it during one of our hikes. No???

Our Memorial Day ended with Patrick spending several hours at the side of a friend in the hospital. Actually, he was their for his friend's wife since they have no family in town and the doctors were running a battery of tests with no real explanation as to why her husband was passing out. Patrick was able to explain things and ask questions for her, which she was very thankful for. And I am thankful to say that our friend left the hospital a few days later with no major problems!

Today's Blessing

Sometimes I'm amazed at my kids' ability to encourage me, especially when I'm feeling a little bit down. Today's weather is overcast and chilly and it has been reflected in my mood. But at one moment I just sucked it up, wrapped my arms arms around Daniel and told him how much I love him and how happy I am that he is my little boy. Then I asked, "Are you happy I am your mommy?" He gave me a heartfelt "yes" then paused and looked at me. Very quietly he added, "Yes, I don't want anyone else."

It melted my heart.

Patrick and Daniel flew to Nashville a couple weeks ago for Patrick's nephew, John's highschool graduation. Patrick really enjoyed spending time with John while Daniel enjoyed being spoiled rotten by Grandmama and Grandaddy. Daniel came back home looking fat. He apparently ate at least three bowls of icecream every day while at Grandmama's.

Storytime with Grandmama

Happy Birthday to Me!!

It's official -- I'm really in my thirties. Yes, I realize I turned thirty last year so technically I've been in my thirties for a year already, but I could still think that I was in my twenties just a year ago. No can do now. I'm thiry-one. Officially in my thirties.
My friend, Jen and I decided to have a double birthday celebration since our birthdays are only three days apart. We had a girls night out at The Melting Pot. Seems like I always do fondue for my birthday. I can't get Patrick to take me there on a date. He doesn't think we should have to pay to cook our own food! But I love it! And it's my day so I get to do what I want!!