Good Morning Sunshine!

I've always said that when I get to heaven I'd love to get a chance to paint the sky. This morning when I got up, I was greeted with this awe-inspiring sight from my back porch. From my very own back porch!! I took one quick look and knew I had to grab my camera. This is a sunrise I will remember forever- it's exactly what I would paint if I could (and if it really is a job in Heaven, I plan to look up the painter when I get there and tell them how much this one meant to me.) The color, the richness, the clouds....if I saw this in a painting I wouldn't think such a sky was even possible. And yet, there it is. I just loved it so much I knew I needed to come out of my blog dormancy and post. :-) Enjoy!

In my thirties...

So, I'm no longer 30. Now I'm in my 30s. Yikes. Doesn't that seem so old?! I never understood why people would lie about their age. I mean, who doesn't love their birthday?! And then it hit me. I do love my birthday...just as much as last year....but I do not necessarily love that I'm over 30 now. So, for all you people who celebrate your birthday, but not how many years it's been since that blessed day when the world was graced with your presence...I say, 'I get it. I won't ask you how many candles if you don't ask me.' ;-) ha ha ha Or maybe I will...but then I'll say '27' and hope one of my kids doesn't shout out that I'm not telling the truth the way I did to my mom when it was HER birthday one year. (Aaaah, childhood videos. They always seem to capture those moments you can't wait to relive over and over and over.)

On a good note, Logan's 7, Tyler's 4...and I'm older than my husband. ha ha ha He LOVES this part of the year. It's amazing how much age comes up in the month of June...and how little it comes up the rest of the year. Thank you James, for reminding me how important those 28 days between our birthdays are. ;-) On a brighter side...we're almost to the point where we've been together a third of our lives. That's pretty cool, though it seems like we've fit a lot of life in those years...more than 9 years worth. It's exciting to think how many more years are ahead of us...but for right now, I'm just enjoying how fantastic this one is. (Even if I am 'IN MY THIRTIES.') Eeeek!

I'm so proud!!

Who's this handsome lightening bug? Why it's Logan!! He's making a goofy face as he heads back after a fantastic performance. :-) Way to go little lightening bug!! He had a speaking part as well as the musical part. We're so proud!! And the costumes were FANTASTIC!!


Enjoy this little clip...a catchy tune about bugs going to a picnic to get their fill. :-)
This is James and I after an awards ceremony he was an honoree at. This guy is so amazing...it's fun to see other people recognize him for it! ;-) On a side note, he also won the national level award for research labs this same day. YAY JAMES!!

I LOVE being a Mom

I love how my babies come running to find me when I've been gone. (Pic with my first-born by 9 min...Luke!)
I love how they watch my reactions...and always want to make sure I see whatever cool and amazing new thing (or old thing, for that matter) they're doing. (Pic with Logan when he was almost 3)

I love when they cuddle right up on your chest...as if there's no where they'd rather be....and there's no where else I'd rather them be. (Pic with Tyler when he was a few months old.)And I love that they try to do whatever you're doing...even if it means you can't really do what you were doing as easily. I've come to realize that though it may take longer to have 'help', it just means the memory will last longer. (Pic with Katie...our aprons say 'cookie maker' and 'cookie taster.')

I love being a mom. I love learning how to parent these little ones alongside my best friend James. I love my kiddos. I love that right now they're mine to enjoy for the majority of every day...and even part of the night if you count the times I run in to check on them...just to kiss them goodnight once more. I appreciate my own mom so much more now that I have kids. I love her so much, and can't put in words what her example means to me as I work to become the mom I want my kids to have. :-)

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mamas out there!!! It's the best job in the world, and the pay is priceless.

Farm, Flags, and Funny

We had a blast going to the dairy farm near here- the boys posed for a pic in the little cutouts. They LOVED feeding the animals, playing with their friends, and eating ice cream in a VERY messy way. :-)


Check out how happy Tyler is! He thought these goats were hilarious!
Logan had the privilege of holding the flag with his Tiger scouts at a Wright State Baseball game! It was VERY windy, but he did very well not letting the flag get away from him.
Check out that determination! :-) I'm so proud of my little man!
Katie's proud of her brother as well...so proud, in fact, that when he came home from school the other day I found her in his tennis shoes with his hat on holding a note she'd pulled from his backpack from school. :-) She sure loves her brother!

Electra's Back!

Just a quick message for those of you who didn't catch the facebook announcement:

Electra is back in business! And I'm doing fantastic, considering just having gone through surgery...thank you Tylenol. By the way, I learned the hard way that Tylenol requires food in your stomach. Yikes. Do not try it at home. Eat!!! Even if you're doing a classy lady challenge and you are trying not to eat after 8pm... (you know who you are, ladies.) I was NOT a happy camper when my medicine was working away and my stomach was writhing in pain. It did take my mind off of my shoulder, though...

But back to the reason for my post: I'm positive the prayers have been a big part of my recovery and safety throughout surgery. Thank you so much!! I'll be sure to post a picture as soon as I can find my camera. It's kind of not at the top of my list of things to do right now. Pretty much I'm focusing on eating, sleeping, taking medicine...and then eating again... ;-) Love you all!!

Walk Like an Egyptian

James had the privilege to travel to Africa last week!! He had a plan to buy a camel at an auction and then sell it so he could say that he owned a camel once in his life, but that didn't quite pan out as the auction was too far from town. He opted instead to rent a camel and travel near the pyramids. Here he is on his camel. Evidently the camel owners change up the names of the camels depending on who's riding...James' camel was either Charlie Brown or Michael Jackson, depending on who you asked.


Here he is actually riding- evidently it's quite a bumpy ride...and noisy due to the camels 'singing'...or braying like a donkey...evidently they're quite grumpy animals.
And in King Tut's sarcophagus...of course James followed through with my request to 'walk like an Egyptian.' :-) I had no idea you could actually go INSIDE the pyramids!! He had a great time...even if it did take 50 hours to get home. (thank you to the flooding in Cairo, major snow storm in New York, Delta's inability to leave the East Coast for a few days, and the rental car which actually brought him home...) Needless to say, we were glad to have him back safely. :-)