I thought I should at least decorate our blog for Christmas since we have officially decorated everything else that doesn't move around here!  I just finished up the Fall semester and maybe I will be able to find some time to update this blog with some new posts now.  You know... until the Spring semester begins in January!

We've been busy, busy, busy around here.  Between school, my sister having a new baby, and preparing for the holidays, I just don't know where the time has gone.  All I know is that it truly is "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!"  I am glad to be done with all of my Christmas shopping so that I can sit back and reflect on the true meaning of it all and try to remind my children about it.  It truly is a struggle to remind little ones that this time of the year is not about Santa or presents.  When they are going on and on about all the excitement that comes along with Christmas, I will sometimes stop them and say, "But what is Christmas really all about?"  And when they tell me about God sending Jesus to be our savior, it makes me feel like I am at least doing something right.  I pray that all of you are having a wonderful time with each of your families as we try to survive the hustle and bustle of the holidays.  But, most of all, I pray that we can all remember what this season is truly all about: that sweet, holy baby in a manger that came to save us all.

Summer is Here!!!

Yes, I know - I missed the entire school year!!!  I don't know where the time went.  I kept meaning to post updates throughout the year, but it just never happened.  The boys each had another great year of school and activities.  Jacob finished up the 2nd grade and will be in the gifted program for 3rd grade next year.  He had another good soccer season last Fall and a great baseball season this Spring.  He enjoyed playing a new position this year - catcher!  He loved it!  He has decided to skip soccer this Fall and do Fall Ball instead.

Daniel completed pre-K with flying colors and is off to Kindergarten in the Fall.  He also played soccer and baseball this year and loved them both!  This year has been one full of milestones for him and we couldn't be any prouder.  His speech has improved by leaps and bounds.  We are truly blessed that God put such an amazing speech therapist in our lives.  He also had tons of learning opportunities in Pre-K that he never would have had in preschool.  This year was exactly what he needed and we have no doubts that he will be 100% successful in Kindergarten.

School ended for us last week and as soon as it did, we were off to the beach!  My parents bought a beach house in Nags Head last year and have been working hard on getting it ready for the summer. We spent 9 days down at the beach and will be heading back again soon.  The boys had a blast.  I thought they might get bored being there day after day with just each other to play with, but nope!  They were just happy to be at the beach.  And so was I!  I can't wait to go back.

Jacob's first question about the beach house was if he could have his birthday at the beach. And so we did! I can't believe he is 8 already. 10 more years and he'll be off to college - now that's a scary thought!

Happy 8th Birthday, Jacob!


8 years old and car seat-free!!!

The table all decorated for the party.  Beach-themed, of course!

Even the food was decorated for the occasion.  (Those are little palm tree toothpicks in the burgers.)

The cake.  Again, beach-themed (per the birthday boy's request!)

Daniel wading in the sound.

Daniel and Jacob, waaaayyyy out there.  It didn't matter how far we went out, the water was never past your knees.  I got Daniel to take off his floaties once he saw that it was never deep.

Jacob and Pop-Pop out in the ocean.  Jacob was definitely my fish/beach bum this week.  He never tired of being out in the waves and it didn't matter if he wiped out.  He kept going back in the water for more!

Lessons Learned

I wrote this back in April, but for some reason it never got posted.  Here you go...

Well, Springtime is upon us and with warmer weather here, that usually means one thing for Jacob: time for his buzz cut!  Or as his cousins like to call it this year, Fuzz Boy, part 2.  Every summer, we shave off Jacob's hair and he looks forward to it.  He says he likes it short because he gets so sweaty and hot and that less hair keeps him cooler.  I think he just likes it because it means I don't have to do his hair anymore in the mornings. 

I'm sure by now you are wondering why I'm talking about his hair, so I'll get to the point.  I was going to take the boys this week for their summer haircuts, but then I realized that I still have to take pictures of them in their Easter outfits on Sunday.  So, I explained to Jacob that his haircut would have to wait because I didn't want his head shaved for Easter Sunday.  He was OK with it, but I think he was a little bummed.  So, yesterday, he was walking quickly through our living room and he slipped and fell... and hit his head on the coffee table.  He hit it right outside of the corner of his eye.  At first, I didn't know what was hurting, so I just picked him up and tried to comfort him.  Then, my niece said, "Oh my goodness!  His face!"  My first thought was, "Oh, no!  He's going to need stitches."  Then I looked at his face and saw the largest goose egg I have ever seen!  His eye/face proceeded to swell up so badly that the skin in the corner of his eye actually now has a small tear.  Ouch.  I would post a picture for you, but so far, he has not agreed to let me take one.  He says he never wants to remember this.  Ha!  I don't blame him.  His eye is swollen, bruised, and makes me hurt just looking at it.  The swelling has gone down some today and if I can keep convincing him to put ice on it, with any luck, he'll be back to normal in no time.

So... my point in all of this...  after everything calmed down, I looked at Jacob and I said, "You know what, Jacob?  I just realized that there is a lesson in this for ME.  I was so worried that if I cut your hair short, then you wouldn't look as nice on Easter Sunday.  Now, you'll have a black eye and there's nothing I can do about it.  But, what it made me realize was just how silly I was being.  Easter isn't about what your hair looks like or how nice you do or don't look in pictures.  I should be thinking about Jesus and what he did for you and me." 

I know it sounds ridiculous, but sometimes I just find myself wrapped up in the details and not focusing on the big picture.  Forget the pictures, Easter outfits, jelly beans, eggs. etc.  I've said it before and I'll say it again:  What in the world does a bunny have to do with what Christ did for us?  We don't "do" the Easter bunny in our house and I honestly wouldn't have it any other way.  That's right - we're weird.  And I'm OK with it.