My Sweet Angel, Joel David

Just a few precious moments of Joel David. There is no one like him. No one. :)

The CUTEST pUPPY i'VE eVER sEEN

Enough said.

Thank You Mia

Benjamin and his classmates are taking a "180 days around the world" tour in their classroom this year. They made passports and all. A couple of weeks ago they "visited" Japan. Benjamin's grandmother, who he calls Mia, came to the classroom and demonstrated all kinds of neat things about Japan. (Taylor's dad was stationed in Japan for about 2 years when Taylor was a little boy.)

Mia, Benjamin, and Joel David got to wear their kimonos for the class and show off all kinds of neat things that Mia brought from when Taylor and Towns were little. There were toys, chop sticks, a poster of a beetle just like the one they had as a pet. There were Japanese snacks for the kids to eat and she taught them some vocabulary words in Japanese too. It was such a great presentation. Thank you so much Mia. You were a star. (I think the boys had fun presenting with you too. :) I know Benjamin felt so special having you come to his classroom.

On November 8th 2008

Terry and Kimberly got married. And we were there. It was beautiful. Everything about it....the weather, the decorations, and especially the ceremony. It was one of the most precious weddings I have attended. It was so personal. So real. So fun. So lovely. And Kimberly....she was gorgeous. And Terry....he was radiating in his love for her. The wedding was held in a church building on top of a big hill (in Santa Barbara) in a sanctuary that opened to to great outdoors on one side. The entire "wall" was made out of huge sliding glass windows, so when the windows were slid out of the way there was just open air and columns on that side of the sanctuary. It was so neat. After the ceremony we went out onto the lawn for the reception and enjoyed lots of treats. After they cut the cake Kimberly sat down in a chair and Terry washed her feet. (A beautiful experience to watch.) When he was done Kimberly took the mic and told everyone that that was done in place of the garter toss. (How cool) And then she said that she had a gift for all of the ladies. "Really", she said........"there will be no bouquet toss." (that's pretty cool too) Joel David was a little confused by all of this however b/c he kept asking me what the gift was for the ladies and if I was going to get one and when was I going to get it. :) I did the best I could at explaining the whole thing and he was finally satisfied with it I suppose. I am so thankful for our time in Santa Barbara and so glad that we were able to witness and be a part of this very special day. (Hey Kimberly, now that I've blogged about your wedding maybe you'll get a little bee in your bonnet to update your blog. :)

A Day on Granddad's Farm

We got to spend last Saturday with Taylor's dad on his farm. The boys had a blast riding in and driving the tractor. What a fun thing for little boys to get to do. Granddad was a great host. He first fed us lunch and then took us to the land. Thank you John for a wonderful day and great memories.

The Gregory Cousins

Here are Silas Gregory Gray and Thompson Gregory Winterburn. Cousins-2 months apart and both named after their grandfather, Gregory John Winterburn. In this picture Silas is 6 months old and Thompson is 4 months old. I'm sure this is the first of many pictures you'll be seeing of them together.

Smiley-poo

Here's the smiley-poo. I could just eat him up as I'm sure that's what you are thinking right now too. He now has 5 teeth, rolls over from back to front and vise versa very quickly, and has begun to eat rice cereal, oatmeal, and applesauce. He continues to be such a delight. He is pictured here with my mom who he will call Mumsey.

Friday Morning

Taylor woke up with a hankering for a cinnamon roll on Friday morning. Since it would have taken a couple of hours for me to make them he decided to go to the donut store and get some. Joel David tagged along with him (in their matching outfits). Once they got home our little fashion guru put on the rest of his get-up. And the "gun" he is holding came from one of our chairs that broke the night before while Taylor was standing on it replacing a light bulb. Thankfully no one was hurt in that incident....only the chair and it made lovely weapons for the boys.

Joel David and Daveney

Could it really have been this long since I last posted? I tell ya, life with three is busy! Isn't this the sweetest picture? Joel David loves holding Daveney and this was one of the few moments when she obliged him. :) They had a blast playing together last night.

Showing Off His First 3 Teeth

I don't know what is cuter...that face or those sweet teeth. I could (and do) just gobble him up.

Silas @ 23 weeks

Here is the big boy and one of his adoring fans. Time is just flying by. I tried to upload a picture of Silas' first teeth. He has 3 so far and I think I can see a fourth. I'll keep you posted.

A Great Ending

Thank you Aunt Jessica. We are having Benjamin's party on Saturday but Aunt Jessica came over to deliver a little birthday cake tonight. So fun. Don't mean to brag, but isn't that birthday boy gorgeous? What a killer smile.

Happy 6th Birthday Benjamin

Here's a little collection of pictures from Benjamin's day. (I keep forgetting to upload these backwards so that you get them in the right order...sorry.) This morning we had a special birthday breakfast of donuts and chickfila. Then BTG opened some presents. The favorite ones, a coon skin hat and Old Betsy (Davy Crockett's rifle). Benjamin also got to dress up today for school. The school is taking this week to promote a drug free lifestyle and today's activity was to dress up as a professional....something you'll have a hard time becoming if you're on drugs. Benjamin picked to dress a lawyer, like his daddy. At the end of the school day Joel David, Silas, and I took smores, cheetos, drinks, and balloons to Benjamin's class. It was so much fun.

Answering the Tag...FINALLY!

I'm sorry Beth that it has taken me this long to answer your tag. Here we go......(for those of you that don't know about being tagged on a blog....since being tagged by Beth I now have to share 6 random things about myself.)
1. I can not stand long toe nails-on me or anyone else. I've been known in my past to pass out nail clippers at a slumber party for everyone to get their nails in shape. :)
2. I love to cook and although I like the idea of doing it neatly, the kitchen usually starts off a wreck and lasts that way through the entire process...sometimes having to hid dirty dishes until after the guests have left. :)
3. While taking a car trip I can hold multiple things (the map for Taylor, snacks for the kids, activities for the kids, etc.) in my lap for hours on end. Taylor constantly asks me if I want to put it all away(b/c that would drive him crazy to hold all that junk in his lap) but it just doesn't bother me one bit.
4. When I make my grocery list I put it in order of the store isles. This way I can go down my list in order. It sure helps me from backtracking in the store a million times. The trick is, I just can't shop at other stores so efficiently. GO SUPERLO!
5. I'll take my leftovers cold, thank you.
6. I often drive out of my way a bit in order to avoid making left hand turns. I guess this is b/c of the precious cargo I have in the car with me.
So there it is........ :)

Thank you again, Vicki.

One of our dearest friends, Vicki gave these shirts to the boys when Silas was born. The smallest size she could find in a matching set was 9 mo. So it is just now that they are able to wear these -all three together. (Polo shirts run small, in case you are wondering.) I love having them all dressed alike. Isn't it so cute that Silas posed for this last picture. I couldn't believe it. Look at that little hand on his chin. Isn't he so smart. :) Yea to daddy for getting them all three to smile.

LUVIN that Daddytime

Super Si @ 18 weeks

I could just gobble him up. Both hims. :) Joel David continues to LOVE holding his baby brother. Here is one of the few pictures I have of him wearing his eye patch. It is so cute, isn't it? He wears this one hour a day (and could be doing this until he is 8 years old) in order to make his brain use the weak eye.
I tell you, that little Silas is such a happy little guy.

A Happy Ending

Here are a few last moments spent at the fair. There is the big slide I was talking about. Silas loved watching all the lights that came on once it started getting dark. And then of course, all the kids were able to leave the fair with a prize. All three big kids got a bear and then Daveney got a purple football too. (She picked that out all by herself. :)

The favorite treat of the fair.................. "sno cones." This particular type is actually a slushy that you are able to fill yourself, of course they all picked rainbow. How fun.