We're Off...

to visit some family tomorrow morning! Keep us in your prayers as the kids and I travel, Bryant will be keepin' down the homefront. We're SO excited!

The National Museum of Natural History...

Today was a dreary day here and we were tired of being couped up inside all week. So, we decided to head into DC and take advantage of our weekend.

We chose to take the kids to The National Museum of Natural History. I am convinced that is where everyone takes their kids around here (besides the zoo). It was SO busy, but then it is the National Cherry Blossom Festival... Today we also saw lots of kites on the grounds of the Washington Monument taking part in the Smithsonian Kite Festival. Nathan really wanted to fly his kite! We told him maybe next weekend... we'll see.

A Tinker Bouncey Day...

Gracie got a Tinker Bell for her birthday today. When she opened it both her and Nathan were jumping up and down cheering, "Tinker Bell, Tinker Bell, Tinker Bell!"

She also got a Jumpoline... it's definitely one way to jump all the crazies out!

And because she Loves ice cream cones SO much, she had cake cones for her birthday along with a small cake that I made. She didn't realize that it was frosting not ice cream until she took that first lick. And all she ate was the frosting, once she got to the cake... well, apparently cake doesn't belong in an ice cream cone... according to Gracie.

But, we did give her the good stuff too!

She's 2!

Happy Birthday Gracie Rose!

Our morning began with Nathan telling Gracie, "Happy Birthday Grace Grace. You have a present in mommy and daddy's room!"

Some fun facts about Gracie at 2:
- Her favorite color is pink
-She loves playing with her baby dolls, and pretend play food
-She LOVES to read books
-She'll eat just about anything... anytime
-Her favorite snack is an ice cream cone
-She's mastered the art of sneakiness
-Her favorite movie is Cinderella
-She says just about everything, most recently "uh huh" and "uh uh"
-She LOVES shoes
-She pats my back and says, "I love you mom"
-She takes one 3 hour nap every afternoon
-She can jump with both feet off the ground
-She can be occupied with a coloring book for what seems like hours
-She loves to walk when we're out (like a big girl)
-She still sleeps in her crib (because she hasn't attempted to break out)
-And every morning she ask, "Where's Dada, mom?"

It's hard to believe it's been 2 years since she was born! I remember that day so vividly.
-It was a beautiful Sunday
-I made so many phone calls that morning; the Dr., my sister, Elizabeth...
-Gracie was born at 7:34pm
-8 lbs, 14 oz. and 22 inches long
-My sister was there
-It was wonderful
-I told Bryant I would have lots more babies if they could all be that great

Happy Birthday Gracie!

Over the Past Couple of Days...

Nothing much has happened around here. So, I'll share a few pictures with you.


Wait, that's right! Batman showed up one evening after dinner and saved me from doing dishes! Well, until his accomplice showed up soon thereafter... then I kicked them both out of the kitchen and Bryant and I cleaned up their mess!

And here are a couple of pictures from tonight before bed...

Good Morning...

Currently it is just after 8 in the morning, and typically I am not at the computer! On a typical day I am crawling out of bed and into the shower at this time, Gracie is reading books in her crib and Nathan is either watching TV upstairs, or playing in his room. However, this morning I was awoken at 6:45 by a crying child who had wiggled her way into the corner of her crib and couldn't move. Then just after getting back into bed the phone rings. When the phone rings at 6:48am you know it's never good! I answer expecting it to be the voice of someone I know, because it is way too early for telemarketing! However, it's AT&T and they have a text message for me, on my home phone! Did anyone know that you can get a text message read to you by a computer over your phone!? Well, I didn't! Here's the message: "You did it! Congrats! First Sergeant ... (I'll leave his name out)". Are you puzzled? Well, I wasn't. I immediately handed the phone to Bryant and pushed 3 to replay the message. He couldn't believe it, and I couldn't go back to sleep. He has made the "unofficial" list for E-7! The "unofficial" list came out yesterday, and all night he was making phone calls to his old command in recruiting to find out if his name was on it. You must understand that only a few people are privileged to see the "unofficial" list (before it's made official and public), and he had no one to contact here so instead he was all over those guys in Indianapolis. The official list comes out on Monday with his sequence number, that gives us an idea of when he's pinned. Anyways, it was a good way to start the day!

Trying to Find a Good Park...

There are a lot of things that we miss about Indianapolis but, a BIG one is the great parks there! So, if anyone reading this gets a chance to visit Holliday Park, West Park or Coxhall Gardens anytime soon, we wish we were there with you! You lucky duck! We've been searching and searching for something that can compare around here... and the search is still on. We do have the privilege of Lee High Park within walking distance and the playground at the Elementary school is real close too. Last night after dinner, we went to Lake Accotink Park. And it was nice but wasn't what we were hoping for... maybe come closer to summer when the carousel and put-put open up it will become a favorite. They also have paddle boat and canoe rentals, now that would be fun! But, we did enjoy our break from the house! We played on the playground, the sand beach and hiked a little on a trail that goes around the lake.


Here's Bryant swinging with Gracie. He did get off so that a child could swing...

This is the closest Nathan has EVER gotten to Geese before. Apparently he has forgotten how often he had seen Geese at our old house... and how nasty they would get. These ones were fine though!

In this picture, I had no idea what the sign said (Please Do Not Feed Wildlife). Bryant kept telling me to stand here and open my mouth...

And this was on our hike around the lake. We didn't go too far...

My Little Weakness...

is the bargain book bin at the grocery store. I always stopped and usually bought books for the kids there every time I would pass by it at Kroger or Marsh in Indianapolis. But, low and behold we found the wonderful bin here at Giant! Finally, something that helps make this place feel like home! The prices are amazing, yesterday I picked up a book for each of our kids for their birthdays for only $5 each, originally $15! Well, Nathan found a Spiderman 3 Movie book, which I figured he could have now and Gracie stumbled upon a Dora book. The only problem was the Dora book didn't have a bargain price, but I let her read it while we shopped and then she put it on the belt at checkout. When it rang up it wasn't on sale and I told the lady that I didn't want it. After all, it wasn't a bargain!

And of course you can bet that she asked for the Dora book in the van, when we got home... pretty much all afternoon. I tried to trick her and give her one of the Dora books that she already has, and she threw it on the floor and cried for the other Dora book. OK, so at this point I feel like a mean mommy... seriously it didn't cost that much (and Nathan did get a book).

Fast forward... Bryant came home, and I told him all about the Dora book experience. And he agreed with Gracie! Which made me feel even worse. So my plans were set, after dinner Gracie and I would return to Giant and retrieve the Dora book from the bargain book bin (even though that book isn't a bargain). When we got there we found it, and she was so happy to be reading it in the cart while I pick up more books to set aside for the kids for Easter. I then turned to see the Dora book laying back in the book bin and Gracie was now reading a Pooh Bear book. After all this... and she put the Dora book back! After asking her several times and saying goodbye to the Dora book (I had to make it clear that if she wanted the Pooh Bear book then she wasn't getting the Dora one), we made our purchase. We walked in the house with our bag of books, and Bryant looked over at us from playing the Wii, and asked if it was still there. Then I explained to him everything that I just told you.... seriously, is it worth it? An almost 2 year old toddler starts to cry because mommy didn't buy her a book, and mommy tries to appease her, is that right? However, in my defense, Nathan did get the Spiderman book

and Gracie got nothing, is that right?

So yah, yesterday I felt like a bad mom... but Pooh Bear fixed that.

"Raise Your Right Hand, Now Raise Your Left..."

"... now wave them back and forth. Shake all the dirt off, because in the Medieval times they did not use silverware and neither will we! Your right hand is your fork and your left is your knife." (you must talk in a medieval accent when reading this)

And it was so much fun!

Our Knight that we cheered for was the Red and Yellow Knight (we "Booed" the Green Knight). And both Nathan and Gracie were really into it! The stadium was dark, so pictures didn't turn out as well as we would have liked... If you've never been to Medieval Times, you should go!

(click on the pictures to make them bigger)

Growing Up Fast...

Today I told Nathan that he needed to find his belts. He was playing with them last week, and since then we have not been able to keep his pants up. He of course ignored my parental tone which then demanded my response, "There will be no Wii, Game boy or movies until you find your belts!". Immediately he asked for the flashlight!

Bryant and I were both saying how he has grown so much since we've been here (in Virginia). He also wanted to play outside today and we told him it was too wet and cold today. He then put on his shoes and rain coat and told me, "I'll stay in the backyard, I will not run into the front. I won't! You can watch me out the window...". He's very persistent. Just a few moments ago he asked Bryant for a snack, he said his stomach was growling. Bryant said, "let me hear" and Nathan replied with, "grrrr". Again, persistent.

I guess when your little guy can play Star Wars Legos on the Wii all by himself, play on his Gameboy, and run up to his room at various times to watch a movie on his portable DVD player (and you use it as leverage).... he must be growing up!

Happy Anniversary Dear

9 Years Ago Today...

I was finishing up Spring midterms before heading for spring break from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY. I then proceeded to the airport to pick up Bryant and drive for the next hour and a half home to Ripley, to pick up a very important piece of paper from the Town Building. We then proceeded to the Westfield Fireman's Exempt Hall to see our parents, who were busily preparing food and decorating tables. Later that evening we headed to the First Baptist Church of Ripley, where we heard singing, scripture readings and practiced "the walk". Because you see, the next day we were getting married.
I can't find any pictures of 9 years ago today, but here is one of our Senior Prom. We started dating on Halloween in 1998, and now 10 years, 4 months, and 10 days later....

well, you know the rest!

This is what happens when you move...

You loose things! I have no pictures to post because I can't find my battery charger for my camera. And just yesterday we lost Bryant's extra car key. It was desperately needed after he purposefully chose to lock his keys in his car... OK, so here's the story on that. I was going to head to the store to return some movies that we rented for the weekend, but his car wouldn't start. So, he decided it was the battery caused by Nathan turning something on the day before when they were cleaning the vehicles. Anyways he got out the jumper cables, jumped the car with the van and decided to let it run for awhile to charge the battery up. But, being parked on the street, we know better then to leave a running vehicle unlocked... so hence, the locking the keys in the car on purpose. Which led to about a 45 minute search for the spare key. I do not have his extra key on my key chain, because the key is broken at the place where it would go onto a key chain at. Anyways, I knew where the extra keys and keyless remotes used to be when we lived in Indiana... however, of course they were not there now! Eventually after lots of looking and praying that we didn't have to call a locksmith, I found it in the bottom of one of my multiple bags. Thankfully I handed it to Bryant just as he was headed out the door with an unbent coat hanger (goodness knows how that would of ended up). So, now the search is on for the camera's battery dock.

Oh, and here's a brief weekend recap:

• We had beautiful weather, in the 70's, and spent a lot of time outside.
• Gracie got her toe nails painted. It was the first time, and she loved it!
• Bryant and I watched "Cloverfield", and don't really recommend it unless you like home videos. The movie kept our attention, and was a good plot, but the style was all taken from a home video camera and there was a lot of running and falling.
• And we attended a 5th church yesterday. Yeah, it's probably not the one for us.

What do you do...

When your kids are in bed, your husband is still at work and it's after 9pm? Blog. Well, tonight has been a "trial" run for when Bryant will be traveling. Everything went fine, dinner, snack, bed time. I just hate being home without Bryant at night!! It really freaks me out! Thankfully he will be here eventually tonight, but it makes me cringe a bit when I think about the future nights in two week stretches... maybe I'll have to go to bed at 9 like the kids do then! I could always read too. I do have this new book, "Red Hot Monogamy", and it is very interesting. It kinda makes me laugh like a 6th grader in some parts, but it does keep my attention! (and I can't say that about all non-fiction!) Anyways, tonight I'll just settle for some "Flashpoint" on CBS and a dish of ice cream. Hopefully he'll be home soon!

Signs of Spring Are Here...

I say this after Nathan came running into me saying, " Mommy there's ants near the rug!". And those clever little creatures had found a pop tart crumb left over from my kiddos ravishing the pantry last night. The first thing that came to mind was, "Oh man, we have no Raid!" however, kitchen disinfectant worked well! Afterwards, Gracie thought that she spotted some more culprits and kept saying, "bug...bug" and had to get real close to check out another crumb on the floor (no ants though).

I love signs of Spring, like tulips. However, I HATE ANTS!! You can bet that I'll be sending Bryant to the store for some good old fashioned Raid, and spraying the perimeter of all the rooms. Yes the signs of spring are here... the crawling ones. But, if I have anything to do with it, they won't be staying! Hasta la vista baby!

A,B,C's

Well, I'm making it official... Nathan will not be going to preschool next year. We missed the preschool deadlines around here. While we do have the option of going on a wait list, the cost is unaffordable for us... OK it's outrageous! Trust me I've done my preschool shopping around, the one that I could work into our budget was a Mom's Day Out twice a week. But, there wasn't much curriculum there. So, I am going to "home school" my preschooler. We picked up some preschool workbooks at the store and he's been writing his letters and numbers like a pro! I have even found a book for preschool science experiments that I want to get. I also told Bryant that I wanted to get an abacus, and he wasn't too hot on that idea... he said I should just take some apples out of the fridge! We'll see I might win the abacus battle yet! Anyways, a month ago Nathan couldn't even spell his name let alone write it! And when we picked him up from his class at church on Sunday, he had his name wrote very clearly across the bottom of his paper. So, I figure this home schooling thing is working so far! After all, it is just preschool!

So, here's a picture of Nathan's name and a dinosaur that he drew. Bryant taught him how to draw dinosaurs and then today I was working on drawing octopus's with him. The dinosaur looks pretty cool, the octopus turns out with a hundred legs though! I guess we still gotta work on that counting thing!

"The Blizzard"...

Well, in Virginia if it snows everything shuts down. They do have snow plows but, I don't think too many. I think that they just primarily try to keep the bypass and main roads into the city "clean". Bryant had a two hour delay for work and then while he was driving was told to head home, work was cancelled for the day. The local news said we got about 3-6 inches. Can you imagine, everything stops with a little snow?! Well, we took advantage of this great day because this Treacle Tribe LOVES snow! We don't have any sleds, but we do have laundry baskets and cooking spray!!

This weekend...

Lately we have been trying to have Family Fun Night at our house on Saturdays. This usually consists of eating in the living room while watching a movie that we rented for the night. Last night we each made our own pizzas and we watched Journey to the Center of the Earth with Brendan Fraser. When I first put the movie in last night we intended on watching the wide screen version, until we noticed everything was outlined in red and blue. It was 3D! And we didn't have any 3D glasses, so we quickly flipped the disc over and watched the normal version, thankfully with no red and blue outlines. But, that movie sure would have been pretty cool to watch in 3D! Bryant said we'll have to locate some 3D glasses and rent it again. I can only imagine Nathan's reaction to the dinosaur in 3D! Not to mention that I did jump during a few parts... so 3D would be pretty nifty!

Here are Nathan and Gracie making their dinner. I put their choices for toppings on the cutting board, not expecting them to use all of them, and they did. Bryant and I had to do some pizza editing before they were baked.

And today is Sunday, and we attended the First Baptist Church of Alexandria. And the worship service was awesome! They sang a special music presentation of My Abba's Child/ Abba Father arranged by Rhodes with the choir, orchestra, and children's choir. It was beautiful and so moving! I don't know if this is the church that God has called us to or not, but I do know that if we return we can expect some wonderful worshipping there!

I have really been feeling disconnected and unattached when it comes to church lately. Those feelings I know stem from the fact that we just haven't found a church home here in Virginia yet. And I just long for a place to belong. I'm not sure if this will be the church for us or not, it is a huge church, but they have wonderful opportunities for us and our children in our walk with the Lord. Please keep us in your prayers as we discover what our Abba has in store for us.