IN REMEMBRANCE OF MY MOM WHO PASSED 5 YEARS AGO TODAY

Fun in the Sun

We got a preview of summer last week as it was in the 100's! We got the swim shorts out and the boys had so much fun running in the sprinkler. Mommy even got her suit on and ran through. Of course I had to have the talk with Logan about appropriate swim attire for girls and boys. When I put his suit on and then got mine on he asked "mommy why do you where a top with your swim suit and Luke and I do not?" Well, good question sweetie. So I just explained to him that boys do not have to wear tops but girls do. It was pretty cute! It is so nice to finally have some good weather to enjoy and makes the days so nice to be able to get outside. Hope you are all enjoying the outside time.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful Mom's out there! What a joy and amazing gift to be a Mother to my great boys. When I was thinking about what to write and looking through pictures I could not help but get a little teary. Mother's Day is both special and hard for me at the same time. I am so blessed that I am a Mom and love that the Lord has called me to this job and I would not trade it for the world. As we all know this job of motherhood can be challenging at times but so rewarding also. The love that our little one's have for us is amazing. Just yesterday Logan and I went out just the two of us to do a little shopping. We walked hand in hand into the store. In his sweet little voice he said "I love you Mommy! Happy Mother's Day." Oh my goodness he just melted my heart and I tried not to break down right in front of Fred Meyer. Then there's Luke. He barely stops long enough for any sort of mooshy stuff but loves to give me big, big hugs so tight right around my neck, with his little "momma!" Gotta love those hugs. So, thank you Lord for allowing me to be a Mother able to celebrate with others. The hard part for me is that I do not have my Mom to celebrate with. I was reading an article today titled "Mother's Day without a Mom." It was a good article just talking about that it is OK that you are a little sad on Mother's Day and to acknowledge you are sad and that you miss her. My first Mother's Day with Logan was also the first Mother's Day without my Mom and I struggle every year because I don't want to come across that I don't love that I am a mother but reading this article made me feel better in the fact that it is ok that I have a little sadness on Mother's Day. I so wish that she was here for me to love on and for her to see that so much of what I do today with my boys comes from her great example of what a mother is. My mom loved the Lord and shared her love for Him with others and was blessed to speak at many Women's Retereats for many different churches. My Dad recently gave me the box of all her notes from things that she has spoken on over the years. It has been so fun to look through because even though I do not have her here to talk to about Motherhood I found a file with notes about just that. Let me leave you with a few thoughts of her's and I pray that you all are blessed on your special day!

"There are few things I care about as much as I care about being a Mother to my girls....not just caring about them.....but carefully mothering them."

"The reality is---the role of the Mother is still one of great impact and influence. The need for her to fulfill her role is greater than ever before. You can make an incredible difference in the life of you children and in so doing impact your world."

p.s.

Some special pictures: 1st- Luke and Mommy

2nd-Logan and Mommy

3rd- Last picture taken with my Mom

Working with Daddy

Saturday was work with Daddy morning. I left early Saturday morning to go to garage sales with by best bud! We had so much fun driving here and there just looking for nothing in particular but found a few things that we could use. We will definitely be doing it again because it is so much fun to drive around, chat, and look at every one's stuff. I arrived home and did not see or hear my boys. There was some strange looking boxes on the kitchen counter so I knew they were doing some sort of project. I had mentioned to Michael the other day that both of our bathrooms needed new toilet seats. Now I know this may sound silly but you know how it is, you don't always want to spend any extra money on a new toilet seat! My dear husband listened when I just causally mentioned it and I opened my bathroom door to find my three boys busy replacing the seat. He had taken Logan and Luke to Home Depot and they got work aprons which Daddy wrote there names on and they were busy in the oh so small space of my bathroom with tools in hand and everything! It was so cute to see and as you can tell the littlest of things excite me like a new toilet seat. Oh and by the way he cleaned the toilets so nicely too! I am fighting a bad sinus infection so I have been a little under the weather this weekend but I am now on antibiotics and feeling a little better so we plan to get out and enjoy the sunshine this afternoon after nap.

Bye, Bye Tubes

Our Logan is such a trooper! He got tubes put in his ears when he was one because he had so much trouble with ear infections. Now that he is four they have been in a while and usually they fall out on there own but his were not so we had to go in today and have them taken out. It is not that big of a deal to get them out but he did have to be put out to have it done so that is not always that fun. Luke was gone overnight last night at our dear friends so that meant Michael and I could spend some special time with Logan. We went to the park and ran around and then we told him he could pick where we went to dinner. His favorite is Chinese food so that is what he picked. We wanted him to eat a lot since he was not going to be able to eat breakfast this morning. He did just that and then we finished the night off with ice cream at Dairy Queen. We explained to him what was going to happen today and Daddy bought him his first very own fishing pole that he was going to get today after his procedure. He did great this morning and I did not say anything about not being able to eat just let the morning happen and about 7:30 he said "hey Mom, we forgot to eat breakfast!" I told him that we would not be able to eat until after the doctor and he was just fine with that. I was a little worried that the no eating thing this morning was going to be an issue but the Lord heard my worries about that. So, besides him being pretty upset after waking up from the anesthetic, things went just great and he just got up from a 2 hour nap. Hopefully we will get some nice weather this weekend so we can get outside and play. Have a blessed weekend!

HOME & THANKFUL

It is so good to be home from our Portland trip but we did have a good time. After Luke's doctor appointment on Wednesday we all felt such relief and were ready to relax and spend some time with my family. We have not been up since Thanksgiving and so it was good to see my sister's, cousin's, dad, and grandparents. I have twin sisters and one has 2 boys and the other has 2 girls and one boy. We went to one nephew's soccer game on Tuesday evening and then dinner at my sister's which was a good time. Wednesday after the doctor was spent at my other sister's. Her little boy is 6 weeks older than Luke and they were so fun to watch play together. The girls took great care of there cousin Logan because they are the little mother's you know. It is always fun to shop in Portland and after visiting with my grandparents on Thursday the boys were given a little money so we headed to Washington Square and they spent there money at the LEGO store. Michael and I got the kids to bed on Thursday evening and my Dad was so sweet to let us go out. We had a good time together but we were both so tired we did not have much to say to each other just ate some dessert and headed for bed! We were supposed to head home on Friday but decided to just stay one more day and spend a little more time with family. We headed home on Saturday morning and drove in rain, hail, sun, snow, you name it we went through it! We made it home tired and ready to sleep in our own beds. This week I am so thankful that all Luke's stuff is behind us and thanking the Lord that he brought us through every step. When you sit in the waiting room at OHSU you realize how truly blessed you are when sitting right next to you is a sweet little 10 month old girl having a seizure because she has little tumors in her head and she has as many as 60 seizure's a day! So, I say thank you Lord for our healthy child. We are back in the swing of things at home just getting things back to normal. Logan had tubes put in his ears when he was 1 but they have not fallen out on there own so on Friday morning we will be heading to the surgery center and he will be having them taken out. So far he has been a trooper at the doctor's with hearing tests and such. We are praying that all goes well on Friday also. God bless you all and hope that you have a blessed week.

Pictures: Papa was a hit when he made Mickey Mouse pancakes with strawberries and whip cream. You have to get a Krispy Kreme donut when you go to Portland.

Great Report!!!

Hello from Portland! So, Luke had his doctor's appointment at OHSU yesterday and praise the Lord everything was just fine! We arrived at the clinic Wednesday morning and he had an MRI at 10:00. That was not much fun as they tied his arms down and then I had to lay on top of him and hold his head and go into the machine with him. We were in there for 5 minutes and he did not like any bit of that but we made it through with only having to stay in for an extra 30 seconds because at one point he wiggled a little too much. We then saw Dr. Seldon and he was only in the room for just a minute and assured us that the MRI looked just fine and that Luke just has a big head. What a praise and relief for us! The Lord has been right beside us in all this and I have felt at such peace for the past couple of days as I know that many of you have been praying for us which we are so thankful for. So, we are now officially done with this head thing and are so glad. Thank you to our Lord for walking with us and taking care of our sweet Luke. Our plan is to stay in Portland until Friday to spend some more time with my family and tonight my dad has agreed to stay with the boys so that Michael and I can spend an evening together in the big city! Thank you again to all of you for your love and prayers. I will post pictures from our trip when we get back.