Random Events of the Week...

There was nothing too exciting this past week, but lots of fun and absolutely adorable pictures, so thought I would just share a few of those this week.

We started Jax on rice cereal this past week and the first few days, he hated it. I thought "oh no...this is going to be fun." But, 2 days later and trying the rice cereal with fruit and he is a champ and can't seem to get enough of it.



This is just Jax being cute in his big boy high chair. It swallows him, but he knows he gets to eat in it, so that brings a smile to his face.



For some reason, I have a hard time getting Tye to leave Grandad's houes. Wonder why?



We went to Discovery Green down by the Convention Center last week and once Tye got used to the volume of water squirting from the fountains, he loved it. You can tell by the smile on his face. It was great, but if you go, make sure to show up after the YMCA Day Camp finishes their field trip. The big kids are a bit intimidating to a little 3 foot tike.





Last, but not least, is my sewing project. After years of searching, I finally found fabric to make pillows for our couch (at a quilt store in Atlanta back in April), and thanks to my mom for her patience and her sewing expertise, I have one of four made.



Hope you all have a splendid week,
bethany

What a month...

I am not complaining, but whew...what a month. Well, I guess more like a half of May and half of June, but a good 4 weeks, nonetheless. We had a bout of sickness run through the family for a good few weeks, and that was exhausting. Everyone got sick except for Jax, thank goodness. Although, you never get sick at the same time, it is just one after another, so it lasts forever. Then, we went to Port Aransas, for our annual beach vacation (well, Russ would not call it a vacation, because we had our kids and he says that if you can't sleep in then it is not a vacation to him, so really I should just term it our beach trip. For me, it is a vacation if we are anywhere but our house, but oh well.) Gary and Cecile were supposed to join us, but Gary got bronchitis the day before, so they drove back to Dallas. My mom got sick while we were there, too, but with a dose of steroid and antibiotics, she was able to make the best of it. We had a great time and Tye loved the beach this time, and Jax loved to sleep at the beach. We missed you Grammy & Pappa. Here is the link to our beach pictures..I think you will have to copy and paste.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37440249@N03/sets/72157619829551859/



Then, we went to Guatemala a week and a half later. Thank you so much for all of your prayers. The team was fantastic and it was good to see all of our missionary friends. Our new doctor and wife, Sherwood and Areli were there and we got a chance to get to know them better, so that was great. Russ loved the fact that they have a motorcycle that they let us take for a ride while they watched our kids (Thanks, guys) The new addition is complete and beautiful, and Kathleen, Alma, and Linda came down to repaint the dorm rooms, YEA! Arnold and his family are doing great and the school is pretty much done and ready to open in January.

It was a great trip, although it is bittersweet for very routined children. Tye was into everything and Jax was a fuss-bucket. That is how I would describe them overall this past week. There are always adventures, though. Unfortunately, they were mostly at 3am, which is never good. My favorite night was when Tye fell off the bed onto the concrete floor at 1pm, which scares me silly and takes me about an hour to go back to sleep and then Tye wakes up at 3pm saying "Mommy, there is a mouse under my bed!" (which would not surprise me). I asked him how he knew and he responded with "it went pst, pst, pst". So how do you convince a 2 year old that there is not a mouse under his bed and that it was a dream, and to not wake up his 4 month old little brother who is sleeping right next to him. So about an hour later, he decided that his bed is okay again. Then, both kids are awake at 5:30am. What fun! We just have to laugh at it now, but me not getting my 7 hours of sleep makes for an impatient mommy. We did have a great time with the team and had a chance to go with them to Lake Atitlan on our way home, it is gorgeous. Anyway, here is a link to our pictures. ENjoy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37440249@N03/sets/72157619756076163/



Blessings,
Bethany

Goin' on a trip

We are heading to Guatemala to host a mission team from the Houston area. We will be there for about 10 days so please be in prayer for patience and love as we are taking our entire family. We are looking forward to going and a little anxious about taking both boys. I think they will be fine but this is our first major trip without any family extended family help so we are praying for the Lord's provision.
Thanks

I love being a mother! Why, you say?

I thank the Lord for giving me the incredible responsibility and privilege of being a mother to these 2 special boys.



I love being a mother because I get the most beautiful flowers on Mother's day, and a super cute Mother's Day Out card. Yes, that is my son's cheesy smile and a bent artificial daisy, but I love it.





Last but not least...to see my son take after me (just a little). He lines up his cars and little people just perfectly and feels the need to share his snacks with his cars and trucks.





Nothing profound, but just a few cute photos to share.
Blessings,
Bethany

Out engineered but not conquered

Well, we have been sick around here and so the last week or so has been pretty slow. Slow enough in fact, that Russ got out-engineered on the front porch of our house. Not too long after we moved in to our house, we noticed that the top of one of our porch columns was a favored spot for local bird populations to nest. Shortly after this discovery, Russ engineered (not what he majored in at aTm) and installed an anti-nesting device on the top of the column (basically a few pieces of plywood screwed on top of the post to make a sharp incline so that the birds cannot perch on top of the post to build a nest). This device has yet to be painted so it is easily seen in the pictures below.

This device worked for a couple of years until a very determined bird couple decided to make an attempt at building a nest on top of the post. Seeing the progress of this couple as they began to bring mud and small sticks and plastering them directly on the anti-nesting device, Russ impeded their progress by tearing down what had been accomplished by the birds. He knocked it down a second time after the birds did not get the message the first time. Now, you are probably asking, "Why not just let the birds do their thing and enjoy the opportunity to observe nature at work?". We are happy to let nature run its course but as we observed "nature" on our front porch, "nature" started leaving presents on our concrete as they were building their nest. This is something that Russ did not like seeing on the porch as he walked out the door each day to go to work. Also, the birds made a habit of dive-bombing anyone, including Bethany and the boys, anytime that they walked out the front door of our house. We have two small boys who like to put things in their mouth and touch everything in sight, so Russ decided to take more drastic measures to deter the birds from continuing their nest building (somewhat to Bethany's disapproval). I will spare you the details of what exactly was done but lets just say that Russ sent a message to the bird couple that they cannot forget (well at least one of them, and the other member of the couple has not returned to rebuild the nest). We are happy for these birds to make nests anywhere else in our neighborhood except on our front porch. Here is a picture of the nest that was built before the final discouragement of the nest building. Feel free to voice your opinion about Russ's efforts.

Jax...3 months!

Here are a few pictures from the past week or so. I think Tye has finally accepted Jax as part of the family. He is starting to carry on conversation with him and telling him about his cars and trucks. He is already teaching him his colors and the names of his little people...you know, the important stuff.

Happy Easter!

Here is our family photo for this year...I did not get a chance to take it before Tye jumped into the big mud puddle at my parent's house...so here it is. He loved it, so it makes for a great memory. Below are the last 3 years of Easter pics, and a few videos I have taken recently of the two kiddo's and my wonderful husband...enjoy!

Easter 2009



Easter 2008



Easter 2007