Camera Contest with a Cause

Enter for a chance to win a Canon Rebel camera. Just click on the link to the right and you will be directed to the site. Its a 10 dollar donation to three great organiztions. They help people who want to adopt disabled children and also families who have been given fatal diagnoses for their unborn children. Please join in! For all the details go to www.mycharmingkids.blogspot.com . You should also read this blog, you will be truely blessed.

Wild Maine Blueberries and Some Pool Fun!

Today we took the kids out to rake blueberries behind our house. This is the third time we have been out, but we have not raked this much before. We had daddy with us today so he was able to fill a bowl quite quickly. The boys had fun. They found some blackberries and quickly made that their home for the rest of the journey. Brody sat in his stroller and was content as long as someone was continuously feeding him berry's. I raked while constantly thinking " please Lord don't let me get any tick's on me, please!" I didn't. I am terrified of ticks. They are just so disgusting to me. Fortunately we all made it back tick free. Brody had a few misquitoe bites, but other than that we were clean. On our way back home we found a bunch of blackberry bushes that should be ready in a few more days. Randy and I spent a couple of hours picking through that bowl in the picture. Cleaning out all the leaves and sticks. We only made it through a quarter of them. I guess I know what I will be doing tomorrow.


We have been spending quite a bit of time at the pool this summer. It has been good for the kids. Calvin and Grant are pretty much swimming on there own now. Brody loves his float. He has no fear of the water so we really have to keep an eye on him. I will post a video of Calvin jumping in the water. At the beginning of the summer he wouldn't even get in the pool without his life jacket so this is a big accomplishment for him.

I can't believe how quickly summer is coming to an end. We will be taking a trip to Boston's Childrens Museum this week for our last bit of summer fun before school starts. Grant and Brody have birthday's coming up at the end of the month. Brody has been walking everywhere all of a sudden. A lot has happend in such a short time, and there is a lot more to come. I will try to keep up with my post of our upcoming fun.

Psalm 84

I have been reading Audrey Caroline's blog. If you haven't read it you must. What a blessing! This Psalm is so awesome! Do you yearn for the courts of the Lord?

Psalm 84
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
O Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
Selah
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.

8 Hear my prayer, O Lord God Almighty;
listen to me, O God of Jacob.
Selah
9 Look upon our shield, O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.

10 Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.

12 O Lord Almighty,
blessed is the man who trusts in you.

Family

We just had family in town this past week. Karen, Randy's sister, and her family were here from Alabama. We had such a great time. They have two boys, Gavin and Colin who are 6 and 2. They play great with our kids and we always have a lot of fun. I hated to drop them at the airport this morining. I am looking foward to when her boys are old enough for me to say they can stay and I will fly them home in a month. Haha.

We took the kids to a farm while they were here. I didn't get any pics , but they got to see baby pigs and feed horses. We also had a bonfire at our house and the kids roasted hot dogs and made smores then we caught fireflies.

On Saturday, we got to spend a day together without any children. Randy's mom took all of us to Cabbage Island. It's in Boothbay. We took an hour long boat ride to get there, then had a clambake. The food was great and it was beautiful on the island. I would highly recommend it.

Check out my Slide Show!

Mother's Day

We spent Mother's Day with Randy's mom and family this year. We try to take turns each year. We went to church at Rick's church then to his mom's for a cookout. When I woke up that morning Calvin brought me a little book he had made at school. It was really cute. I have been looking forward to when the kids would be old enough to understand and make things on there own. That means more to me than an purchased gift. Randy had asked me, as he always does, what I would like. We had just had family pictures so I told him that that was my gift. I love photography and pictures of my family so this was a great gift as far as I was concerned. So that morning I figured he would have a card and that would be fine. Usually when he has a card for me he will wake up, go get it, then wake me up and give it to me. He didn't do that so I wasn't sure what was up. We got in the truck to go to church and I was digging through my purse and not really paying attention to him when he handed me a little box that he had been hiding in his truck. I opened it and it was a beautiful emerald ring. He and the boys had gone to pick it out and I was completely surprised. Here is a picture of it. Sorry about the ugly cut on my finger.

Cook out went great we got to see Randy's grandmother's also. I wasn't very good about pictures so I didn't get one of them. Calvin and Grant caught frogs in the little stream in front of the house. They thought that was great. I don't think the frogs did. They eventually stopped hopping out of their hands as you can see.

Brody has been standing up on everything lately. He pushed himself up in our bed two morinings ago and stood there all by himself. He has also finally cut one of his front top teeth. So he is now filling in the gaps from his two side teeth.

Updates and a Trip to Boston.

A lot has happened since Easter. Brody is now pulling up on things and trying to stand. He has cut two top teeth. Not the front teeth but the next ones over. He does not have his front teeth so this is very funny to look at. He crawls everywhere very quickly now and everything goes in his mouth.

Grant is growing quickly. His vocabulary is expanding on a daily basis. He cracks me up everyday. He is very loving too. Don't get me wrong he has a terrible temper, but he can be so sweet.

Calvin just got his report card and had all a's and b's. He has done great in school. The year is ending quickly and he has a busy month ahead of him. He will have a school picnic, a field trip, and kindergarten graduation. He is excited to have graduation. He will be playing Jonah in the play. I haven't been informed of any details so I am anxious to see what they will be doing. Calvin is very shy, but school has really boosted his confidence and brought him out of his little shell.

Over April vacation we took the kids to Boston for an overnight getaway. I have been wanting to do this for a year and it just hasen't happened. We left on Monday and spent the night in a hotel. There was an indoor pool so the kids got to swim and then we ordered food and ate in our room. They thought it was so great to stay in a hotel until it was time for bed. Grant kept saying he wanted to go home now and go to bed. The next day we took them into the city and went to the New England Aquarium. We had a great day and got to see a lot of different animals.

I guess this is all for now. I did get a new haircut. If you want to see it its on my myspace. It was long over due and I am loving it.

Easter Eggs

Ok, I'm on a roll, another post! This will be a short one. My kids are very excited for Easter this year. It seems to be the first year that they have really noticed that it is a special day. Without trying to push aside the real meaning of Easter, we have tried to have fun with Easter Eggs, baskets and all that stuff. I finished my shopping yesterday and put my baskets together today. The Dollar Store sure does help with this kind of stuff. I had a lot of fun putting my own baskets together which I usually do, but am not very good at. I kind of lack in the creativity sometimes. I just wanted to share a few pics of the boys coloring eggs. We used a kit that had paint this time instead of dye. We had lots of fun.

Updates, Birthdays, and Baby Adventure

Ok, so i am going to try this blog thing again. I read everyone elses and think that its so great to have documented so much of their family life.

SIX!
Well, Calvin is now six. He just had a birthday at the beginning of the month, and he has been growing quickly. I can't believe how tall he is getting. Grant has had quite a winter with sickness, but we are pushing through and he is on the mend. He is so funny lately with the things he says, and thinks of all on his own. And as for Brody, he is now 6 months and is changing everyday. This has been a big month for him. He has learned to sit up, crawl, and is now eating food. He also tries to stand on his head wich has been entertainment for the whole family. I will post a pic so you can see what i mean. He is a very happy baby. He smiles and laughs at anyone. I have been really trying to take in every moment with him since he is probably going to be my last baby.

Calvin had his sixth birthday party last Saturday. This was a big birthday for him because it was the first one where he had his own friends from school to invite. He wanted a Spiderman theme again. ( i think this was the third time). Anyway, the party went great we had about thirty people in our house, and for anyone that has been to my house you know that i really don't have that kind of room. It was a little crazy for a couple hours, but Calvin said it was the best birthday he has had yet.

Grant has been very funny lately. The other day I was feeding Brody his breakfast and he kept trying to suck his two fingers. Grant was by my side so I said to him " All he ever does is suck his fingers!" , and Grant says to me " I know Mom, everytime I look at him he is nursing his fingers!". I just cracked up laughing. He has been really thinking up some funny things lately. I took him with me the other day to Target and then we went to Petco to look at the "rapsters". Calvin got a hampster for his bday and that is what Grant calls it. Anyway whenever I get a chance to take one of them with me I jump on it. Most of the time they don't want to go and it isn't very often that I can have alone time with them. So we had a great time. He talked the entire way there and back. The other day i got this toy out for Brody. He was needing something new to keep his attention and boy does he love this. I told Grant that this was his when he was a baby so he had a great time teaching Brody how it worked.

Brody, he just had a check up this past week and he is now 18lbs 6oz and 27 3/4 inches tall. He is in the 75 % for weight and 90% for height. I think he will be a big boy like his brother Grant. He started crawling on the 13th of this month, and is now making a B line for anything that catches his eye. He has a sweet spirit, you can get a smile out of him just about anytime. We also started the food a few weeks ago. I guess I forgot how much time it takes to feed them when they first start. I know he was ready because he would attack anyone with food, and he was 6 months old. He just still lets it run out of his mouth. He does love to drink from a sippy cup though. I'll put a short video up of him eating (if i can figure it out) and also some pics.





Well, as for Randy and I , not to much is happening. We had our share of the cold an flu this month and I'm ready for warm weather now. Randy has been home for the past month with not much work, but things are really picking up now. He will be starting a job tomorrow and then he has a bunch of jobs in the works so that is a blessing! God always provides!