Gardening with Pa

Last week, my Pa came over and helped the boys plant a garden in our backyard. Pa thought that the boys, Easton especially, would enjoy watching the plants grow and learning a little about the process. The boys had a great time and I enjoyed watching Pa teach them just a tiny bit about one of his specialties - how to plant a garden. What is really neat is that the land we live on used to belong to my great-grandparents, Pa's mom and dad. He said that they used to have a really good garden on this property. I am sure that it never crossed their minds that their great, great grandsons would one day grow vegetables from the same ground they had once toiled. 

I hope you enjoy the slideshow.

I'm Back!!!

Can you believe it...I am finally posting again?? After several months of not documenting anything and barely having time to snap pictures here and there, I am going to try to do better. I am feeling very guilty and disappointed that there have been so many events that have taken place in the last 4 to 5 months that I don't have record of. It is too overwhelming for me to try to actually get "caught up" on my blog, so I guess I am just going to start from here. I may occasionally go back and post something that I remember or some cute pictures, but I am not making any promises. : )

After Christmas,  I began working with Mat at the office 2 days a week. It was not expected, but with some business personnel changes, we decided it was the best option for now. We had to quickly find child care for the boys and the Lord blessed us with an absolutely wonderful lady to watch Lawson all day for 2 days a week and Easton half day after Carpenter's Kids. It was extremely difficult for me to come to grips with not being home everyday with Lawson like I have been with Easton, but I think all in all, it has worked out great. I enjoy getting out of the house a few days a week and being with adults and Mat, and I also get to enjoy being home with the boys. So I guess right now, it is the best of both worlds.

As far as the boys go, Easton is growing up so much and acting a lot older. His vocabulary is out of this world. He amazes me all the time with the words he uses.  Easton has the sweetest personality and loves to play with other kids, especially his cousins. He has such a desire to please and be accepted. He is just heart-broken if he thinks I am upset with him. He is a great big brother and helps me with Lawson all the time. They play good together and have so much fun. I love to hear them chasing each other and laughing. Of course, it is not all fun and games. They can both be very territorial when it comes to toys they are playing with. Unfortunately, Lawson hasn't grasped the concept of sharing just yet, which has caused great aggravation with Easton on several occasions.

And Lawson....oh Lawson....where do I begin??? He and Easton are total opposites. Lawson is very sweet too but he is definitely more strong-willed and adventurous than Easton. Lawson is a climber and is not scared of anything. Well, except maybe the vacuum cleaner. He makes us laugh all the time with his little mischievous expressions. I think that Lawson is definitely going to give us a run for our money as he grows up. He is constantly on the go and wears me out. Just within this last week, he has proved to me again that he cannot be trusted to be left alone in a room. He will find things that I don't even know are there and destroy them. : )

Wednesday, I was doing the dishes while the boys were playing in the next room. I saw Easton run through to my bedroom and noticed that Lawson didn't follow. I called for him and there was no answer. I kept on with the dishes and said aloud, "Lawson, you are very quiet. That usually is not a good sign." I started to have a bad feeling and left the water running and poked my head into the playroom. I found him on TOP of the piano. My phone was sitting on the top of the piano and I guess he decided he wanted it. He used a pillow as a step stool and climbed on the piano bench and from there climbed on the the lid covering the piano keys. He was sitting on his knees up there playing with my cell phone. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest as I grabbed him as quickly as I could. He could have slid off and busted his head open. Needless to say, we have no piano bench now. It has been removed until further notice along with several other items he has used for climbing. I am praying that we get through this stage of no-fear climbing without any broken bones.

Life is not boring right now and I know that it will all pass so quickly. Just working 2 days a week has changed things for me so much. I look back on the last few months and everything almost seems like a blur. It is just flown by. That is one main reason why I want to make time to blog. I want to keep up with my thoughts and remember the sweet, funny, and sometimes dangerous things the boys do. I am so thankful for the family God gave me. I want to soak them all up and treasure every moment. 

Here are a few recent and a few older pictures:

Christmas 2008

Disney World December 30, 2008

We drove to Florida for New Years and Mat's family reunion.  We had a great time! All the grandkids had so much fun playing together with Gammy and Papa Todd. 

Disney World December 30, 2008

The boys playing and singing. I am praying that they are both very musical. They both love music. Lawson sings and dances every time he hears something that could remotely sound like music. This was taken a few days before the "top of the piano" incident. : )

Easter Sunday.

 This is the best family picture we could get and little Lawson's eyes are half shut.

Before church Sunday morning. 

It was so cold here on Easter but I still dressed them in their matching shorts. 

My Handsome Easton.

Boys in my House

I came across this poem and had to share it. Oh, how I love my two little boys!!

Boys in my House

Author: Erin Jo Kilmer

There are boys in my house – and Spiderman shoes

And 200 papers in various blues.

There's Bob (he's a builder) and Thomas the Train,

There's a fireman coat to wear in the rain.

They have cars on their shirts and frogs on their hats

There's a glove and a ball and a red plastic bat.

There's dirt on a face and a smudge on a nose;

Grass stains on knees and sand between toes.

There's bathtime at night with bodies to scrub,

And when we're all done there is dirt in the tub!

There's bandaids and bruises and curious bumps,

There's smiles and laughter and sometimes there's grumps.

There's odors most icky; there's boogers so green

There's more yucky things than I'll ever get clean.

There's piles of laundry; there's stories at night;

There's bedtime and bathtime and dinnertime fights.

There's cars and there's trains and there's books about trucks

There's Scoop, Lofty, Dizzy, and Travis, and Muck.

Sometimes there are bugs, and sometimes there are frogs;

Sometimes they are lions, or dinos, or dogs.

There are cute little vests and darling neckties

Dragged right through the mud – oh what a surprise!

There's running and climbing and jumping and falling

And laughing and crying and hugging and brawling

And rolling and losing and finding and creeping

And whining and stealing and sometimes there's sleeping.

There's tantrums and time outs and extra loud noise –

There's love in my house shaped like two little boys.

Unhappy Lawson

I know I am way behind on posting. I hope that I can go back and post sometime about what has happened in the past few months but for now I just had to post this picture.  

There are many cute captions I could write with this picture but..... I'll just let it speak for itself. It's too cute!

Happy Birthday Lawson!!

Happy Birthday my sweet Lawson! One year ago today, you entered our lives and have brought us so much joy. I praise the Lord for you. I have been so amazed at how fast this year has gone by. You have grown up too quickly in my opinion but I have loved every second of it! I love your little personality and how you are your own little person already. I love your big cheek smile, the way you walk, the way you love to be loved and cuddle, the way you tuck your arm inside mine when you lay your head on my shoulder, your long beautiful eye lashes, your sweet little laugh, the way you love to splash with Easton in the bathtub, the way you run to your daddy when he comes home from work, the way you try to wrestle with your brother, how smart you are, the way you use your extremely advanced fine motor skills, and the way you say momma and dada. You light up my life!! Thank you, Lord, for giving us Lawson. I pray you will bless him on this day and everyday of his precious life!!

11.13.07 - 8 pds  &  20 1/4 inches

11.13.08 - 25.1 pds &  30 inches

These are pictures from his party last Saturday.... Sorry the pictures are kinda backwards in order. : )

He wasn't a fan of eating the cake, but he did get a little messy. 

This was Easton's 1 year hat, too. They look so much alike as babies. 

Happy Birthday Dear Lawson!

He loved being sung to. He was clapping and bouncing the entire song. 

This was one of his gifts from Nana and Papa. Lawson loves to push things. So we thought a shopping cart his size was a perfect fit. He loved it!!!

Such a happy baby. He also loves this little toy from Memmaw and Pa.

Some family and friends wishing Lawson a happy 1st!

Happy Birthday, precious baby boy!

Pumpkin Patch

I love Fall! I love the weather, the trees, the pumpkins, the hayrides, even the football although I haven't been to a game this year. I love it all! Last Monday, Easton, Lawson and I went to a pumpkin patch in Quitman with my MOPS group. It was great! There were so many things to see and do there. Both boys had a great time and we were all wore out by the time we left. They both fell asleep before we even got out of town to come home. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip. I took my new small camera I got for my birthday this summer. I think I probably took over 100 pictures and these were the only ones of them looking at the camera. My camera takes the picture about 2 seconds after you push the button. ---Not good for little ones. I have some really funny ones though of them making really weird faces. Must look on the bright side, you know?? Anyway, here are the decent ones....

This was Easton pumping water to push a little ducky down this long trough. He has talked about the "ducky game" for a few days. The little Indian lady told us all about what it was like to live a long time ago as an Indian. 

They had 2 tepees that the kids could go in and walk around. 

They had lots of animals there. Easton always stood with his hands behind his back when looking at the animals. He absolutely loves animals but doesn't want to get too close.

Finally out of the stroller, Lawson was happily running free!!

This is Easton digging for "dinosaur eggs". 

He found one and now has a tiny baby dinosaur of his own.

I thought they looked so sweet inspecting their pumpkins. I think Lawson is more interested in his big glob of dirt that he later decided to eat. : )

My two precious pumpkins!!!

Chuck E What?

We were sitting at the kitchen table and I was feeding Lawson supper. Easton said, "Tomorrow we are going to go to Chuck E Jesus." I said, "What?! Where are we going?" He said, "Chuck E Jesus. They have lots of cool games there."