Shoo Fly Pie

Shoo-fly pie is a Pennsylvania Dutch treat. It's been made there by the Amish for years. It got it's name from the fact that, after being baked, it's often placed on the window sill to cool. Given that it contains lots of sugar and syrup, you have to shoo the flies away! That's the truth.

Movie Trivia Answer... so how did you do?!

Someone has to die in order that the rest of us should value life more."
- VIRGINIA WOOLF (Nicole Kidman) in The Hours (2003)

"I can't believe I gave my panties to a geek."
- SAMANTHA (Molly Ringwald) in Sixteen Candles (1984)

When I first saw you, I thought you were handsome. Then, of course, you spoke."
- CAROL CONNELLY (Helen Hunt) in As Good As It Gets (1997)

"And one day, not long from now, my looks will go. They will discover I can't act, and I will become some sad middle-aged woman who looks a bit like someone who was famous for a while."
- ANNA SCOTT (Julia Roberts) in Notting Hill (1999)

"I have nipples, Greg. Could you milk me?"
- JACK BYRNES (Robert DeNiro) in Meet the Parents (2000)

"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."
- VERBAL KINT (Kevin Spacey) in The Usual Suspects (1995)

"Jerry, d'you know the human head weighs eight pounds?
- RAY (Jonathan Lipnicki) in Jerry Maguire (1996)

"Fasten your seat belts - it's going to be a bumpy night."
- MARGO CHANNING (Bette Davis) in All About Eve (1950)

"Nobody puts Baby in a corner."
- JOHNNY CASTLE (Patrick Swayze) in Dirty Dancing (1987)

"As you wish."
- WESTLEY (Cary Elwes) in The Princess Bride (1987)

"Is this heaven?"
"No, it's Iowa."
- RAY KINSELLA (Kevin Costner) in Field of Dreams (1989)

I'll have what she's having."
- FEMALE DINER (Estelle Reiner) in When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

"You can't handle the truth!"
- COLONEL JESSUP (Jack Nicholson) in A Few Good Men (1992)

"There's no crying in baseball!"
- JIMMY DUGAN (Tom Hanks) in A League of Their Own (1992)

"And in the morning, I'm making waffles!"
- DONKEY (Eddie Murphy) in Shrek (2001)

A weekend in Amish Country

So Friday morning we loaded up the van (actually loaded it up Thursday night), and we headed up to PA for the weekend. We made it to Hershey around 11am in Friday, and was off for the chocolate tour. Avery loved the tour, but loved the chocolate he got at the end the best.

AJ was just an excellent baby through the whole tour, he is now facing out in his little pack I carry him in, and he is just as happy as can be in it. AJ even got to taste a teeny tiny bit of chocolate, I mean come on... everybody should get to taste chocolate at chocolate world!

After the tour we continued on our journey to Amish country. We got to check into our hotel an hour early so we were able to get settled and give the boys a quick nap. We headed to Hershey Farm in Lancaster for their smorgasbord dinner... OH my goodness the food was WONDERFUL. Fried chicken, rolls, mac n cheese, shrimp, ham, turkey so good home cooking, YUMMI.

Saturday we headed out to Cherry and a 2 1/2 mile corn maze. At the start Adam and I thought "oh we'll be done in 30 minutes" after 1 HOUR we had to ask for the exit as the boys (and us) were pooped. We got to eat the most WONDERFUL corn there. It was roasted in 500 degrees for 27 minutes... Absolutely the best we've ever had.
Then it was home for naps, and off to the Strasburg train. We had a wonderful time... check out the link to our kodak pictures to see pictures of our trip.

Sunday we did a buggy ride through amish country and then in the afternoon got in the van and headed off on our own tour through the town. It was soo amazing just to see these horse and buggies driving on the same road as us...

I think the thing that made us realize we weren't at home any more was Saturday morning we were driving down the road and there was a a young man running barefoot on the road with a young child (also barefoot), and the young child was pulling a cart as they both ran down the street... you don't' see that in our local county very often!

We headed back home on Monday after a quick stop back at Hershey world to bring some chocolate home... We had a wonderful trip and some great quality time with the boys.

To see our photos click here

Bags are packed

Well almost.... we head out tomorrow on our 1st family (of 4 that is) mini vacation. We are packing up the kids and heading up to Hershey/Amish Country PA. I am definetly looking forward to getting away for a few days.... no work, no chores! Just looking to have some fun with Adam and the boys. We are going to go to Hershey world, and Hershey park... we are going to do a buggy ride through Amish Country, go to a hands on mueseum for Ave, and a bunch of other stuff... definetly looking forward to getting away... will post when we come back all about our trip!

We have feet, and imaginary Bumblebee's!

AJ has discovered his feet..... its really cute. He will grab his feet with his hands and just smile, and laugh... he'll roll from side to side holding his feet. I love my little chunky monkey.

Avery has gotten into a imaginary bee thing. If you listened to him we have bees all over our house. He told adam one day he had 1 in his diaper.. Adam had to take his diaper off, get the bee and free him outside...

The funniest though I went to pick him up at school the other day, and the teacher told me that he came to her saying he was stung by a bee.... well he had a misquito bite, but he had convinced the teachers it was a bee.... i just laughed. Such innocents... i never knew my heart could love them as much as it does.

Prayer for Baby Kaleb

I have been on a babyboard since being pregnant with AJ, one of the mom's on the board's baby is in the hospital... and your prayers are desperately needed for this little baby. Please read his story below, and send out a prayer for Kaleb... and forward this to all you know to pray also. THIS IS NOT AN URBAN LEGEND.... this is true. See below for links verifying this story is true.



On May 8th, Kristy went to pick her son (then 5 months old) up from an in home daycare, he didnt' seem right so she took him to the hospital where he was diagnosed with bleeding on the brain due to shaken baby syndrome. (the childcare provider has been arrested). He has also been blinded by this, and has acquired bacterical mengitis (which can happen due to brain injuries.) He has been in and out of coma's and brain scans have showed that his brain tissue is dying, and his brain is shrinking. He is also suffering from numerous seizures. The released him from the hospital on July 16th, with a home nurse because he had started to stablize, only to be readmitted on July 22nd with the menegitis back. He may have to go back into surgery to have the shunt removed and put him back on antibiotics until the menegitis is gone then put the shunt back in... this is just a brief history for this little boy. To read more about it see the links below... but please please please.... pray for baby Kaleb!



You can go to Kristy's my space page to receive daily updates on Kaleb's status

http://www.myspace.com/kristyreynolds

http://www.myspace.com/helpkaleb

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/medical/kalebschwade.asp

Movie Trivia

Can you name the movie... will post the answers on thursday

1. "Someone has to die in order that the rest of us should value life more."

2. "I can't believe I gave my panties to a geek."

3. "When I first saw you, I thought you were handsome. Then, of course, you spoke."

4. "And one day, not long from now, my looks will go. They will discover I can't act, and I will become some sad middle-aged woman who looks a bit like someone who was famous for a while."

5. "I have nipples, Greg. Could you milk me?"

6. "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

7. "Jerry, d'you know the human head weighs eight pounds?

8. "Fasten your seat belts - it's going to be a bumpy night."

9. "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

10. "As you wish."

11. "Is this heaven?"
"No, it's Iowa."

12. "I'll have what she's having."

13. "You can't handle the truth!"

14. "There's no crying in baseball!"

15. "And in the morning, I'm making waffles!" (This one is for my oldest son!)

Brain Teaser Answers

From the first teaser:

1. Fancy That
2. Head over heels in love
3. Take over the job
4. Green with Envy
5. He came out of nowhere
6. Hollywood squares
7. No stone left unturned
8. Excuse me
9. The hand is heavier than the foot
10. Period in history
11. Open and Shut Case
12. Crooked Lawyer

2nd teaser Answers:
1. More harm than Good
2. 1 foot in the grave
3. Scrambled Eggs
4. Mother in Law
5. I understand
6. sitting on top of the world
7. Pen is mightier than the sword

Sleep oh how I love thee

So every time I think that we are on a schedule and good to go... the boys love to through a curveball my way.

The weekend was really nice. Friday was my office picnic and we had such a blast. Avery was soaking wet from playing with water, water guns, water balloons you name it. Both boys feel asleep on our way home. Friday evening, Adam and I decided to have a LONG overdue date night. We met up with our friends Miguel and Tiffany and had a few drinks and listened to some music. I can't remember the last time we had stayed out that late. It was fun, but OH what a morning when the boys woke up at 5:30! Saturday,AM I went to out with Mariah, and Theresa... we went to Target, well I thought I was just going to hang out.. but $60 later..lol I can never walk into those stores without spending/getting something we didn't need... thanks Mariah!!! (lol/JK) Saturday afternoon we went to the pool with the Caleb's.. (Caleb, Erica, and Cam) and get this... AVERY swam on his own... I mean he was wearing his little life vest/jacket but he was swimming Adam and I were SOOO proud. He can go about 5/6 feet on his own... our little boy is growing up.

Saturday even we got the fight (winky vs. hopkins..) we were struggling to stay awake but we made it.. good fight, I was pull'n for hopkins, winky it seemed just kind of was wore out near the end.

Sunday we ran some errands got AJ an exercauser and just relaxed hit the grocery store. And new we start the work week all over again.. It's a short week though as we head out on Friday to PA for a long weekend vacation. We are headed up to amish country so hopefully we can get some relaxing time in this coming weekend.

Learning to Listen

back when we went through premarital class, they stressed the importance of learning how to properly agrue... they said it will happen in a marriage, it is how you do it that makes your marriage work or not work.

In learning areas I needed to improve my life I was lead to a book called "Fighting for your Marriage" basically the book teaches you to fight right, how to listen and discuss without causing tension and stress in your marriage. I also think it applies to friendships, especially the speaker listener technique found on page 63 in the book. This has been on my heart of late, maybe it will help someone else out there, besides me!

Below is a direct quote from the book about this technigue"



Rules for Both of you
1. The Speaker has the floor. Use a real object to designate the "floor" In seminars, we hand out pieces fo linoleum or carpet for couples to use as the floor. YOu can use anything, though: the TV remote control, a piece of paper, a paperback book anything at all. If you don't have the floor, your the Listener. As Speaker and Listener, you follow the rules for each role.

2. Share the floor. You share the floor over the course of conversation. One person has it to start and may say a number of things. At some point, you switch roles and continue as the floor changes hands.

3. No problem solving. When you use this technique, you are going to focus on having a good discussion, not tryint to come to a solution prematurely.

RULES FOR THE SPEAKER

1. Speak for yourself. DON'T TRY TO BE A MIND READER. Talk about your thoughts, feelings, and concerns, not your preceptions of the Listener's point of view or motives. Try to use "I" statements, and talk about your own point of view. "I think your a jerk" is not an "I" statement. "I was upset you forgot our date" is.

2. Don't go on and on. You've have plenty of opportunities to say all you need to say. To help the Listener listen actively, it will be very important to confine what you say to brief manageable statements. if you're in the habit of giving monologues, remember that having the floor protects you from interruptions, so you can afford to pauce and be sure that your partner understands you.

3. Stop and let the Listener paraphrase: After youve talked a short while, stop and allow the Listener to paraphrase what you just said. If the paraphrase wasn't quite accurate, you should polietly restate what was not heart the way it was intended to be heard. Your goal is to help the Listener hear and understand your point of view. This is not a test - help make sure that the Listener really hears you.

Rules for the Listener
1. Paraphrase what you hear. You must paraphase what the speaker is saying. Briefly report back what you heard the Speaker say, using your own words if you like, and make sure that you understand what was said. The key is to show your partner that you are listening by restatign what you heard. If the paraphrase is not quite right (which happens often), the Speaker should gently clarify the point being made. If you truly don't understand some phrase or exmaple, you mak ask the Speaker to clarify, but you may not ask quetsions on any other aspect of the issue unless you have the floor.

2. Focus on the Speakers message Don't rebut. In the Listener's role, you may not offer your opinion or thoughts. This is the hardest part of being a good listener. If you are upset by what your partner says, you need to edit out any response you may want to make and pay attention to what your parnter is saying. Wait until you get the floor to make your response. As the listener, your job is to speak only in the service of understanding your partner. Any words or gestures that would show your opinion are not allowed, including making faces!

Learning to be content

While I normally post on the happenings in the family (will post that later), I wanted to share some personal thoughts/feelings, I am learning that I need to share where I struggle so that I can be held accountable by those who love and care for me. I am learning that I cannot change alone and I need those around me to help.. to let go and let God be in control of my life.

God the last few months has been putting a burden on my heart that I could no longer ignore. Over the last few years I have/had grown to be quick to anger, easy to get frustrated, unhappy about what I didn't have, and just sadden because I wanted something different (yet I didn't know what it was that I wanted.) I just wanted more. If someone cut me off in traffic I'd honk the horn, if someone didn't move the minute the light turned I'd honk the horn or holler out to them.. I'd roll my eyes if someone said something I didn't agree with.. I'd look at the families who were in these huge houses that were perfectly cleaned, the perfect foods served on the table and wonder... why not me!?

Over the past few months a weight had been on my heart I was doing it all wrong. While I was so frustrated, so envious of others I had stopped being thankful for what I did have. I was not content with what God has blessed me with. So I started taking a HARD look at my life...

I get angry/upset to fast, I am quick to get defensive, and let stuff bother me... ... I'm learning to let go, learning to listen

I would be the first to put my 2 words into a fight... I am learning to be the 1st to end it a fight hopefully before it starts, to find peace on common ground

I was unhappy with the size of my house, my clothes, my furniture, my looks. I wanted bigger, better, fancier... I am learning to be thankful for a roof over my head, for my family, and that fact that we have such wonderful belongings...

I was angry that God took my dad away. That my dad isn't here to met his grand kids to be a part of their lives, that I didn't have a chance to say I'm sorry, I love you one last time to my dad... I am learning to mourn, to stop hiding my feelings and to allow myself to feel, to grieve and to cherish the memories.

I am not perfect... and there are days when it is easy to fall into old habits to want to say harsh things to someone, to honk the horn when it isn't needed... to be unhappy where God has me in life right now.... but I'm learning.

I am learning that God has me absolutely right where he wants me, and it isn't until HE is ready for me to move up in life.. or to expand in life that it will happen.... I am learning to be content in Christ right where he has me.

With a blink of the eye its monday again

I don't know where the time went, it was as if I was just at work yesterday and here I am back again. We had a wonderful weekend... and that is putting it lightly. Michele came down Friday night, and we had such a great time. It was one of those you don't really do a ton, but just relax and have fun and sometimes those are the best times. We played Adam in some Squablle Men vs. Women Scene it... and we had a blast! Who knew Adam was so updated on his magazines!

Saturday was the big day of our BBQ... to say we had a blast would be an understatement! We had a wonderful turn out. Adam had thought we'd have too much meat/food but we were left with just scraps! We had an awesome time socializing with our friends and getting some men vs women games going! Needless to say we had fun, and look forward to the next party we have at the house!

Sunday was a day of rest. Avery and I went to church, we had to attend a class for AJ's baby dedication next month. We are all set, they gave us a take home bible study to help prepare us for raising our kids in a Godly home, which Adam and I will do together. The rest of the day was a pretty lazy day. We just kind of hung out at the house picked up some, and just relaxed.... it was a wonderful way to end the weekend. And now we are back to monday!

New Brain Teasers

1. HARMgood


2. gr12"ave


3. ESGG


4. POLMOMICE


5. STAND
I


6. sitting
world

7. PENsword

Good luck and have a great weekend... will post answer to both next monday!

It's a PLOT

I swear my boys are plotting against me. Why is it, they will both go DAYS sleeping through the night, and then the last 2 nights, they both wake up around 4:30 within 10-15 minutes of each other. AJ woke up at 4:30 this morning, just smiling at me ready to go for the day (We had a 1 on 1 while he was eating so hopefully he knows that Mommy doesn't like getting up early.) While we were downstairs I hear Ave at his door "mommy" "mommy" why is it in the middle of the night you never(or rarely) hear "daddy" because Ave's too smart to know that Daddy will just sleep right through it! The Joy's of motherhood!

It's finally friday and this weekend is our big BBQ/Game night we have been planning for the last month. It should be a blast. My best friend Michele is coming down from MD tonight... it will be awesome just to have her come hang out with us... Then Saturday is BBQ day, we got the grill ready, the meats are all set to go. It should be a blast, will post monday with all the fun details! Definetly looking forward to some guy vs girls game... the ladies are going to KICK BUTT!!

Sunday we have the class for AJ's baby dedication at McLean, that should be fun.. we've been trying another church lately so it will be nice to go back and check out McLean again. Hopefully Avery will do good in his class there!

Will post more later

Brain Teaser

Something fun to pass the day... see how many you can figure out... then if you are brave enough put your answer in the comments field

Blessed...

There is no other word I could use to better describe my life. Over the past few days I came across a blog of a family in PA who had a daughter just a few months older than Avery who lost there daughter last week to rare from of leukemia... The mother a brave, strong Christian woman chronicled their journey through the disease.... a family who I have never met I have come to mourn with over the last few days. My prayers go out to this family and to all families everywhere who have loved ones young and old suffering from any awful disease. I go home at night and hug my boys and husband just a bit tighter thanking God for our health!

Last night Avery and I ran to BJ's to get gas for the grill, and to get meat for our BIG BBQ we are having on Saturday. As Avery is getting older I have such a wonderful time taking him out on errands with me etc. He helps me put things into the cart, tells me all the things he wants. We laugh, we sing, we just make a good time of it. I know there will be one day where he will be too busy for me... where he won't want to go to the store... so I cherish those moments as I get them.
Adam went with Caleb to go help our friend Noah move to the place he just bought so I had the boys to myself (I love those times). After Avery went to bed, AJ and I just played... he has the most contagious smile He swung, we sat in his bumbo seat... he even allowed me to give him some tummy time and didn't complain (well at least not right away.)






One of my aunts is going through a rough time and she asked me to make her a poster with a saying on it, which I was more than happy to do for her. But as I sit and read and reread the words I know that they things I need to put into practice more in my life also so I thought I would share with others.












Please put these people in your prayers: My Aunt Bev as she battles cancer, My Aunt Evelyn pray that she has strength through rough times, and my brother Steve and his family as they are getting ready to move that they have safe travels and settle in nicely.

The Big 3-0

So in 3 months and 6 days I turn the big 3-0! I am starting to get the swelling of the throat as I say the number. I think back over the last ummm almost 30 years and I am quite proud (if I do say so) of the accomplishments I have. I've gone on 2 missions trips, worked with the church, done children's camps... I met a WONDERFUL man had a beautiful wedding. Gave birth to 2 of the most amazing children in the world. We own a beautiful house. I could go on...

There has almost been sadness in the last 30 years, we moved from St. Louis to VA, while at the time seemed awful has turned out wonderful! My parents moved back to St. Louis leaving us here in VA where we had begun our own lives/careers. Friends have come and gone in my life, due to distance or just a change in life's directions.My grandparents on both sides have all passed. My father just 6 months after my wedding succumbed to the disease that had taken hold of him. As I approach the 3-0 for me it has been a time of assessment on my life... where I have been, where I want to go. I pray that God has been pleased with me and the life I am living in him.

Hopefully if all goes well, I will be able to go back to where I came to celebrate my birthday (St. Louis that is). With the family who I don't get to see often due to distance but is never far from my heart.

To grow old.... Is to live life to the fullest and to capture the memories in the scrapbook in my head!

A New Blog Home

So I like this format better than the one we were using so I've decided to start our journey over here. Things have been going well with the family. Last night I went to jazzercise this is my 3rd week and I'm so excited that I've been sticking with it. And I've been soo proud of Adam he's been soo dedicated to running. I know I wouldn't be where I am today without his example and dedication.

The boys have been great. It constantly amazes me how smart Avery is (okay, I'm allowed to brag every now and then.) He is growing into such a great kid. He and I play preschool games on the computer we are learning the alphabet he loves to sing his ABC's. He's got his colors down and can count up to 10!

AJ loves to talk... you start talking to him and he'll just ohh and ahh with you till no end... I love coming home and seeing his little smiling face... AND I think we've hit a milestone for the last 4 or 5 days he's been going to bed at 10pm and not waking until 5:30-6:00am... I'm starting to feel human again!

We go to McLean this Sunday for his dedication class. AJ will be dedicated at church on August 19th. Rich Hurst will be doing the dedication... it is really special for us, because you see Rich (one of the Pastors at MBC), was the one to marry us, he also did Avery's dedication... so it just makes it that much more special for him to do AJ's too. It should be nice. My mom is going to try and come up for it, which would be nice because she was here for Avery's, but if she doesn't make it we understand as it is a long way to come.

Oh I forgot to mention that Laila got spayed last friday. I was so worried all day friday of course the boys were both sick our trip was cancelled and Laila was at the vet! She came through with flying colors though. She wants to run and play like nothing is wrong... and we are suppose to keep her "quiet" for 14 days.. YEAH RIGHT!

Hand me the Lysol

So we thought that on Thursday with Avery on the mend we were in the clear of the sick germs... No, and that is putting it lightly. Friday morning a little after 12 am, I hear little AJ coughing, I look over and see that he had spit up a bit... well it wasn't spit up, he had gotten sick. Poor little guy within the next 10-15 minutes he got sick 3 more times. A quick call to the after hours doctor and we were on our way to Fairfax Hospital.. to get our little guy checked out to make sure he didn't dehydrate.
We have learned the secret to getting seen quickly (although I don't want to test the theory ever again). We arrived at the hospital a little after 1am. I check us in while Adam parks the car. As we are speaking with the lady AJ proceeds to get sick again at the check in counter.. she quickly calls back.. "we have an 88 day old who is sick" next they you know we are walking back into the ped. ER area. We are seen by a nurse the minute we walk back and within 5 mintues the doctor is in to see us. It was wonderful to see how attentive they were to AJ, and besides being ill he just smiled, and laughed at the doctor. Our sweet boy.
After getting sick a few more times, and 2 missed attempts at trying to get an IV in him... Adam and I said no more needles.. we'll just wait and let his stomach settle... at about 3:45 am, AJ was being able to keep some pedialyte down so they sent us home with hydration orders to keep up the small doses of ped. every 20 minutes.
Saturday we spent in recovery mode. While Adam and I neither had the illness like the boys did, we both had the quisy stomach... and just over all feel'n yucky. I think a lot of our issue was the lack of sleep and stress over the boys being sick. By Sunday we were all 100%, and managed to go to the park and the pool for a bit. It was a nice quiet weekend, some good quality time spent together.... although the next time I'll take the quality time without the illness!

The 4th

The 4th was a wonderful, and awful day all at the same time.
The morning started off wonderful. We got up, and Ave helped me ice/decorate cupcakes we were taking to our friends the Caleb's house. I went to jazzercise (and boy do my bones feel it to today.) Then after Avery's nap, and making mac n cheese we headed over to the Caleb's to celebrate the 4th. There was a wonderful spread of food, but by 4pm Ave was not feeling well... SO we had to make a quick dash home. The rest of the evening we spent look'n after Ave who was not feeling good (stomach bug/or something he ate, we aren't sure). With Ave sleep'n on the floor in a blanket bed in front of the TV, AJ sleep'n in his bouncer Adam and I watched the DC fireworks on TV and the firework display out our window that some neighbor somewhere was set'n off.
As we headed to be around 10:30ish we knew that Avery was on the mend. We gave him some pedialyte and he quickly told me it was "sour" and then called it "yucky water" and politely told me "no" when I asked him if he wanted anymore.... We knew then that he was on the road to recovery. So while it was an aweful day with one of our baby's under the weather, it was a wonderful day in the fact that we were still all together. I hope everybody else had a wonderful 4th!

Bonding time with the Boys

so I would have had some new pictures to put up today, except that the internet wasn't working last night. I took the cutest pictures of the boys together after I got home from work yesterday. It utterly amazes me how much Avery loves AJ. You can see the love he has for his little brother by the way he holds his hand, or kisses his forward, or even just looks at him. I hope and pray that the love, bond that they have will last through the years.
Since having AJ, we have tried to make sure that Avery has his alone quality time with each of us, and with us both so he doesn't feel left out. Which means, I will take him to the store with me, even though I know it will make a 15 minute trip a 20-30 minute trip. I have come to love that little quality time Avery and I have, talking, singing as we go up the aisle.
Last night I had to run a few errands and decided to take AJ with me alone as I hadn't gotten that alone time with him lately. I loved every minute of it, as we strolled through the aisle of Michael's and Wal-Mart getting little things we needed for the house. AJ was in his little pack I wear/carry him in... and he'd just look up at me and smile. He had been quiet for a second and I looked down and he was asleep holding my shirt... I just stopped in the aisle and watching my sleeping child and just soaked in those precious moments. I know the proudest title I have ever, and will ever wear is the title of Mom.
As we go into the 4th tomorrow I look forward to celebrating this holiday with our new expanded family of 4. How precious these holidays are, and how lucky we are to be in the land of the free. I stop and think and pray for all of our men and women who stand up and fight for our freedom every day. I am allowed to feel safe at night because of those wonderful men and women...

Non Stop

This weekend was non-stop... but it was awesome. Saturday AM Adam went go to play golf with a friend, and I got some quality time with my boys. Avery and I went to the grocery store will T.T. watched AJ. Then when Avery napped AJ and I made a peach cobbler (yummi), I had such a wonderful morning playing with the boys. That afternoon when Adam got back from golf, T.T. watched AJ and Adam and I took Avery to CLEMYJONTRI PARK . (See below to find out more about the park... or use the link to go to the website about the park. I would have to say this is probably the best park we have ever taken Avery too... shoot, probably the best park I've ever been too..
We came home Saturday night, and had the Calebs and Noah over for homemade pizza and peach cobbler... and some practice rounds of catch phrase to get ready for Game night on the 14th!
Sunday, Erica and I went for Massages.... which were absolutely wonderful. I woke up Sunday morning and every inch of my body ached... it was like my body just knew that it was getting a massage that day. After that, we met up with Chase, Mariah, and Charles at the Reston Zoo for an afternoon of fun. I think we all had a blast, I will post pictures soon of our day. The boys got to feed lambs, and goats, geese (which mommy was afraid of), an osterich, and Bubbles (will live Bubbles to your imagination right now... will post pictures shortly. ) Avery our no fear child was in the wagon right calling "here bubbles, come here bubbles" while mommy and Aunt Mariah were saying "no bubbles, you can stay away" It was just a WONDERFUL time. It will be so neat come next year when all 4 kids will be old enough to go to events like this... We look forward to many years of watching all of our kids growing up together, and close as cousins.
After the zoo, we stopped and picked up some fire works, Daddy set a few off last night, Avery liked them all, although he was a bit scared of the ones that made noise. Then it was time to get the kids ready for bed, and for mom and dad to have a few minutes, to relax before starting the next week... at least we have wednesday off.
This next weekend we are headed to Massanutten, the weekend after that is our Game NIGHT/BBQ with friends, which we are sooo looking forward to. A weekend of rest follows that and then we are off to Lancaster, PA for our small vacation!! This summer is just flying buy. It is hard to believe that little AJ will be 3 months next week... it seems like it was just yesterday that I was still pregnant, and feeling him kick in side me, and how here is here and growing like a little weed...
I love my boys (all 3 of them), I couldn't ask for a better family... God has truly truly blessed me.



This park is absolutely amazing. It is 2 acres and has all sorts of equipment for the kids to play on. The park is the dream of our benefactor Mrs. Adele Lebowitz, who envisioned this playground and park and generously donated this 18-acre property.
The name CLEMYJONTRI is derived from the donor’s four children: Carolyn (CL), Emily (EMY), John (Jon), and Petrina (Tri). It is a playground where every child is welcome