Bobo's Got a Pool

Yes, we bought our beloved pooch his very own pool. How could we resist? Watching him run like mad in circles, attempting to attack the water that splashes all around him is hilarious.

Batman's in da house

Maddie and Ry LOVE playing make believe together. Ry is usually the superhero (mostly batman) and Madeline is usually a princess or super girl or bat girl. It is hilarious to listen to. They are so funny and creative. Madeline is the director and Ry literally says whatever she tells him to say. . .because as the director, Madeline also writes the script.

Ry LOVES that he and Daddy have the same shirt. If it was his choice, Ry would wear this shirt everyday and Daddy would too. It cracks me up that Matt and Ry have so many matching t-shirts. When we first had children, Matt informed me that he would NEVER wear matching clothes. Never say never. . .

Lake Day

Yesterday we had a fabulous time at Jordan Lake with friends from church. My friend Roxann took these great pictures of the kids on the boat.

Trusting the Lord

Numerous people have asked me if I was nervous when Matt was in Brazil, especially after the leader of the trip was mugged and knocked out by a machete. Truly, I was not. I really trusted that the Lord was watching over the trip and that His will would be done. However, I horribly fail to trust in the Lord in the small annoyances of life. Our fire detectors are not working properly. Randomly, they go off (not just the chirp, the full siren). While it's annoying during the day, it's horrifying to wake to at night. I have found no peace today, as I have attempted to fix this problem. My mind is consumed by it and my day has revolved around it. In the grand scheme of things, this is so silly. Worst case scenario, we live through this for a couple more days and pay an electrician to fix the problem. Why don't I lay these things at the feet of Jesus and trust that He knows. Big or small, He knows. Did I miss opportunity today to glorify Him because I was preoccupied by the cylinders on my ceiling???

Laundry Basket sledding, drywall and heads

Of course when Matt travels, things seem to happen. Hours before he left, we awoke to Bobo retching. Then last night, our fire detectors went haywire, going off three times in the middle of the night, waking us all up. Thankfully, a 2:30 am to the Hampton Inn in Wilmington was answered, and Matt directed me to the fuse box, where I thought we had disabled the smoke detectors. Not. . .

Anyway, back to yesterday and Bobo. After cleaning the crate, I took Bobo straight upstairs for a bath, as he stunk (and that's putting it mildly). Because baths are not his favorite activity, I close the door to the bathroom so he cannot escape. Mid bath, I hear Ry cry, and it's a bad one. I beckon him into the bathroom, kiss his hurting head, cuddle him, and finish up with Bobo. Then, I make my way into the hallway. Immediately, I notice that the blue laundry basket has made its way to our stairwell landing. And then I see it. . .the hole. The nice round hole that is a perfect resemblance of the crown of Ryan's head. And there we have it, our first drywall indention.

I'm not angry or upset with the boy. I'm sure he thought it would be fun, and I probably would have thought the same thing at his age (well, not really). Oh. . .the joy of mothering boys. There is never a dull moment, and I love it. . .especially since Matt is the drywall repairer in our home. Thanks, honey!

Bible Study Party

We love our Bible study. It meets at 6pm on Sunday nights, and we are always excited to hear the doorbell ring and have people enter our home. Each of the families in our group is so unique and special, and the children are precious. We learn so much from each other as we fellowship each week and study God's Word. However, if you, a stranger to our study, were to enter our home before study began or after it ended, you would think it was a meeting of chaos. Amongst 7 families we have 16 children, and these children can make some noise and movement! Thankfully, most of these sweet children are in the basement during our study and all we hear are occasional thuds. . .and if those thuds are not accompanied by crying, we ignore them completely (of course, there is supervision in the basement).

Ty and Ben enjoy a little movie as the adults eat burgers and hot dogs.

Nathan, Ry, and Jessica are glued to the TV. As an aside, Ry has a man crush on Nathan, who is a year older than him. The boy loves Nathan. Probably because they both love wii and they are both balls of activity. We love their little friendship.

Sweet friends. For those of you who don't know Jacob, he is the hugger friend. This sweet, yet masculine boy, loves doling out hugs. Jacob, Maddie, and Jessica pose for a picture.

For anyone reading this who has never been part of a Bible study, I encourage you to do it! Though it can be intimidating, the relationships are so special and deep. There is nothing like this community.

Kings Dominion 2009

As a way to celebrate Madeline's graduation from kindergarten, we took her to King's Dominion. This year we embarked on our homeschooling journey, and it was great. Madeline is a fantastic student. She learns quickly, works hard, and eagerly finishes her schoolwork. She is now an excellent reader and can add and subtract, and count monies. We are so proud of you, baby girl.

Maddie and Ry pose for a picture before the festivities begin. Daddy had the smart idea of dressing them alike so that it would be easy to spot them.

Mommy's sweet babies.

Maddie and her Daddy.

When are the doors going to open???

Madeline enjoys a sweet ride around a circle.

Madeline and Ryan LOVED running through the mister.

I wish I had video of the bumper cars. They both loved bumping into each other and other children. It would be so fun to have bumper cars in our back yard!

I have no idea who these characters are, and neither do Madeline and Ryan, but they loved having their picture taken with them.

How cool is this. . .Madeline and Ry actually got to drive cars around a little "town". Poor Ry had a hard time coordinating the gas and steering, but he eventually got it.

Ryan was so excited to meet all the characters. When he went up to Patrick he gave Patrick a big high five on his flipper. Yikes. . .we did not know that the down-ward facing flipper did not have someones hand underneath. Poor Patrick almost lost his fin, and we were asked not to give Patrick anymore high fives. :)

Check it out. Madeline got called up on stage. Though she said she was shy, she did a great job. She was all smiles up on stage.

Guess who has the roller coaster bug. . .Miss Madeline. Just like her daddy, she loves the excitement of a roller coaster ride.

This was the favorite ride of the day. After climbing a 7 story tower, Daddy, Ry and Madeline sat in a large tube and were whisked down a huge water slide. They were giddy and full of smiles after this ride. If Daddy was up for it (it was the very end of the day), they would have ridden this ride until the park closed.

Daddy and his love bugs.

Kings Dominion has an awesome water park.

Here, Madeline, Ry and Daddy await the fall of the huge bucket that is overhead, and filling with water.

Oops. . .a fountain got Ry's eye.

We had a wonderful time at Kings Dominion. I could not do any rides since my back surgery is still fresh, but I had a delightful time watching everyone and taking pictures. I do have a favorite story of the day. Of course, it was just wonderful to watch your children completely enjoy something. While that was a highlight, the highlight was an exchange between Madeline and Ryan. Ryan was really upset mid-day, as Madeline and Daddy got to ride a ride that Ry was too small for. Even though Ry got to meet Sponge Bob and Patrick, he was still really bummed that he did not get to ride the ride. So, after Daddy and Maddie returned, we decided to go back to the kids area where both Maddie and Ry could ride the Scooby Do roller coaster, a favorite of theirs from earlier in the day. Because I could not ride, Matt had to take the children on one by one, as this ride required an adult paired with a child. Madeline turned to Matt and me and said, "Please take Ry. He's really sad that he did not get to ride that ride and I want him to be able to ride this ride first". Then, we got a large dipping dots ice cream to share as a family. Since it was Madeline's special day, we let her pick the flavor. When we almost reached the bottom of the cup of ice cream, we told Madeline that she could have the rest all to her self. Instead of finishing it off, she alternated bites. . .one for her and one for Ry, until it was all done. Her heart is so tender and thoughtful.