One Last Thing...

6 years ago yesterday (Sat. the 28th) John asked me to marry him. It is so hard for us to fathom that we had just begun this journey only 6 years ago. But yes...6 years ago...

...I almost didn't let him come to Dallas for the weekend.
...I told my sister that if he asked me to marry him I'd say "no".
...I was late picking him up at the airport.
...we ran through Chick-fil-a, Bass Pro, and the Gap with a "strange tension" in the air.
...we were alone in my apartment as I was packing my bag to spend the weekend at my parents'.
...I walk into my bedroom and find John holding something in his hand.
...I looked closely and realized that it was a diamond ring he was holding as he took to his knee.
...I fell to my knees asking "Did you talk to my Dad?" "Are you serious?" "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"
...I said "yes"!

John -- I still say "Yes"! Every day I say "Yes"! I love you. Thank you for asking me to marry you.

One Wacky Weekend

Our lives are not that quiet with these two boys and it's never boring around here. But this weekend was one crazy weekend! OY! We had some great plans to check out the children's museum in Pasadena on Saturday...enjoy dinner and games with some friends...do the church thing...and just enjoy another beautiful weekend. Most of that got scrapped when P began to "wake up" at 3:15 on Saturday morning...off and on the crying went until 6:00...and sleep was all but impossible for those 3 hours. I think our great "plans" went out the window before we even started the day!

Poor little guy was not himself this weekend. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that he had his vaccinations on Friday morning. Yippee. After our "rough wake up" I decided to ditch the road trip and museum and just spend the morning at home so P could take a good nap. It wasn't just a "hang out" morning -- by 7:00 we were all loaded up in the car on our way to the grocery store (forgot to buy syrup the day before -- hard to have pancakes without syrup), Starbucks and the youth garage sale at the church (they helped us unload of some unneeded baby items and such -- purging before the move). Thankfully he did take a good 2 hour nap after our "outing".

Luke and Daddy enjoying some play time during P's nap.

A happy baby even when he doesn't feel well.

Instead of finding some games to play outside, or head off to the park - we decided to have a family outing at the mall! What the heck were we thinking? (Oh wait, Mommy really needed to have her eyebrows threaded.) We opted to enjoy the food court for lunch and wrap up our time at the mall with a little "lookie-loo" at the Disney store. Luke must have been tired because he road the stroller throughout the store and didn't even seem to recognize any of the Disney characters that we watch constantly. Hopefully our trip to Disneyland will prove more exciting than that!

So...(my diatribe will continue)...naps came and went (thankfully they both took good naps so we could get our taxes done)...and the madness continued. Our friends David and Krista were joining us for fajitas and a game of Wizard -- usually a festive get together...but the craziness continued. Before dinner Jonny came over with Bailey and Laken so we had all the kids in the driveway. I prepped dinner, bathed the baby, put the meat on the grill and changed a big-girl diaper -- while the "boys" chatted in the driveway. (I believe my "Super Mom" cape is at the dry cleaners now after that one!) We convinced the Mills to join us for dinner -- and the rockin' fun-mad-house continued! David and Krista always joke that hanging out with our boys is good birth control (really it just fills his need to hold a baby and play with kids), but having two 2 year olds (who were running around, screaming, fighting like husband and wife, laughing, you name it...) and two babies came close to pushing their 5-year plan into a 10-year plan! (Here is my props to parents of twins!) We finally got the big kids bathed and the Mills sent home, frozen yogurt picked up, Luke in bed, and we were able to sit down to our game...only to have P wake up and need some loving. Did the day ever end?!!

Bailey and Luke having their fun in the bath -- this photo is going to haunt them one day!

So...here we are to Sunday (I'll keep today's diatribe shorter). P is tucked in bed, Luke is bathed and ready for books, all while Mommy and Daddy are somehow staying sane. Not a normal weekend needless to say. Crazy but fun. Luke pushing every button, but cracking us up at the same time. Paden feeling the effects of his shots, but happy just the same. Basketball brackets totally busted, but do we really care? And one tired, but happy set of parents!

Polliwog Park is one of our new favorite outings...

Luke is "selling" "donuts" to Daddy...thankfully we gave up baked goods for Lent!

This is what I did part of this Sunday afternoon while we watched our Elite 8 bracket get busted...

...and this is why I do "what I do".

A is for Azusa

On Mondays you can usually find the boys and I scampering around the house in our pj's taking it easy as we recover from the weekend. If we head out -- it's usually just to the park or in our driveway to burn off some left over energy. However this past Monday found us in Azusa instead! Grams lives in Azusa (my grandma) and it had been probably since early February when the boys and I made it out there last -- so it was about time for a little "road trip." Thankfully the "road trip" is only 45-minutes (on a good LA traffic day). The "kids" (my 4 cousins) were visiting during their spring break, so instead of Grams' and my usual trip to Flappy Jack's for brunch, we loaded up the kids with a picnic and headed off to the neighborhood park. It was so nice to have young blood chase my boys around while Grams and I chatted and got caught up. It was "one of those days" with Luke so I was more than ready to have someone else entertain him. We all certainly had a good time and of course it was a beautiful Southern California day!

The girls "introduced" Luke to those hot Cheeto-things...

...he turned out not to be a big fan of them!

Grams and Paden

Hannah & Tabitha taking turns with Paden

Can you believe her? She's 80 and nothing stops her from sliding with the grandkid (Rebekah) and great-grandkid

Uncle John loved how Luke and Peanuts were the same size! (I do believe the dog is heavier than Luke though!) (And how ironic is this? Luke is allergic to peanuts and dogs -- but he's okay hanging out with Peanuts!)

Guess who's taller?

This visit was certainly a "God-thing." I was about to back-out (it was one of those mornings with Luke) but Grams and the kids were really looking forward to us coming out. We did end up having lots of fun and the boys did great, even slept all the way home. But the most awesome part of the day was my opportunity to have a "sit down and come to Jesus" with my uncle John. God had been weighing my heart with a desire to just encourage him...and the time finally came. I think John cornered me and kept me talking for almost an hour after our park time. God does work in mysterious ways.

Seriously?!

Last night John and I spent a quiet evening reading after we put the boys to bed. As I was reading my Parents' magazine I realized how screwed Luke is! Sorry kiddo but from some of the articles I was reading between your genes and the moldy house we lived in the first year-and-a-half of your life you don't have much hope when it comes to allergies. It seems that children who are exposed to mold seem to have a higher allergy and asthma rate. That was proof last night when our poor little boy's face was red and his eyes were giving us that "allergy look." We have been working so hard to watch his food allergies and clearing up his eczema and after two days of playing outside it seems that the allergic reactions are coming back. Bummer!

And then I was reading an article about night terrors - and sure enough those can also have a genetic touch. Mommy is always having dream-filled nights, and now it seems little dude is starting to experience the same. The last three nights we have been abruptly shaken out of our dream world with a crying little boy. Poor baby! One night even found him in our bed after the 3rd "night terror."

So see, the kid has no chance! Night terrors and allergies...just a few of the "fun" things Luke gets to experience.

One fun note though...as I was putting Luke down for his afternoon nap he started to sing. The little dude was singing "Jesus Loves Me" while using hand signs! How cute was that?!! I wish I could have caught him on video -- but I will remember this one for a while! Thanks to the awesome ladies at church for teaching him this sweet song!

Let's Make A Fort!

Luke was so excited to see Daddy this morning when he woke up. It was almost like Christmas morning! Absence certainly makes the heart grow fonder!

T.G.I.F.

All I can say is Thank Goodness It's Friday! It has been one long week, especially without John home. It's been a little over a month since John has had such a long TDY so I can't really complain, but having him gone for the entire week can be long and boring (for me anyway). Needless to say I'm looking forward to having him home tonight and am quite glad that he'll be home a couple of hours earlier than originally planned (8 instead of 10).

I'm also thankful that today was Mom's Morning Out! I put both of the boys in this week as I knew I could definitely use the break. I was able to clean the house this week (and keep it clean) -- so today I got to chillax! A little coffee, mani/pedi and a trip to the bead shop -- whoohoo! I almost felt like a new woman!

I did have a couple of interesting conversations today during that MMO time. I spent almost the first hour of MMO chitchatting with Miss Kim (one of the teachers in Luke's room). It was encouraging to see her excitement and joy to see Luke today (she hinted that he's her favorite). It was funny to hear her say that her teenage daughters always look forward to hearing her stories of Luke on the MMO days. It definitely delights my heart to hear how someone loves Luke and so enjoys being around him -- especially when he's been whining and cranky at home! He was my little lover today though. Luke joined me in bed this morning covering me with kisses, licks and a little tickle-time. What a sweetie

When I was getting my mani/pedi I was surprised to hear a young lady chitchatting next to me mention that she lives in Plano. How random! We ended up talking for a good 30 minutes about our time in Plano, the ministries we were involved in before either of us got married (she worked for Women of Faith), finding good churches, and of course all things mommy!

Now I'm counting down the minutes until John comes home. I still need to toss Luke into the bath and put him to bed -- but it's nice to know that Daddy will be able to help me out with the bed-time routine for a little while before his next trip!

Here are a few fun pics of the boys from the week with Mommy:

He's trying so hard to crawl! He pushes back on all 4's and manages to scoot backwards or rotate -- no forward movement yet.

Luke was quite willing to "help" Mommy with the dusting. I am not quite sure where he ended up putting the feather duster though...hmm...

He was even eager to do the vacuuming!

Mommy's new discovery -- kiddo hangs out in the sink while I finish getting ready for the day -- and he's tickled pink about it!

What's up with this?

BTW -- Paden turned 7 months this past Monday. Time sure does fly by while you're having fun!

Polka Dots

We have struggled for a long time in keeping Luke's skin blemish free. Often it seems like a losing battle. We have seen the pediatrician, a dermatologist and now an allergist to see what we can do about the never ending cycle of eczema and polka dots that covers his milky skin. I tend to also forget that the "winter" season tends to create more havoc on his skin. But we did go ahead and start the allergy testing to see if foods or other substances are irritating him. Looks like there are several things that bother this little dude: cats, dogs (great, what to do about Bailee!), peanuts, tree nuts (almonds), egg whites, soy (poor dude loves edamame), and tomatoes. We're going to take a break mostly from eggs and tomatoes and see what that does...but man, what a struggle for a little guy who loves salsa, barbecue sauce with his french fries, ketchup on his hot dogs, and all other "dips" that are made with tomatoes! Here's hoping we will be able to post a picture of a little boy with nice, clear skin! (Before and after pics to come later -- hopefully) Oh -- and we carry an EpiPen with us wherever we go now -- swell!

We Have Teeth!

So our drooling baby finally has cut his first two teeth! What a long and painful process (for Mommy and Baby), and this is just the beginning! Oy! First tooth came in last Wednesday (2/25) and tooth #2 finished it's journey today (3/2). I can't believe how quickly Paden is growing! I was so eager to see Luke move to the "next stage" when he was a baby, but with Paden I can't believe how time is flying by!

I'll add pictures when we get some taken of this little guy's new toothy grin!

Tag You're It!

For 4 weeks we were lucky to have the grandmas visit! It was certainly a tag-team effort on their part and ours with these active boys of ours! It was certainly an entertaining and crazy time. It seems that the boys "know" when grandma is here because their sleep patterns are completely thrown off (I believe because they want to play) and their antics are non-stop! Luke certainly picks up various new phrases from both Grandma Mimi (Char) and Grandma Ferne. Let's see what we here often from his little mouth..."Uh, oh sghetti oh", "I did it!", "chilly wompus", and much, much more! Paden started to roll over and "scoot" some on the floor, as well as work on his two new teeth (what a pain!). Never a dull moment in this house, and the boys certainly enjoyed sharing all those moments with the grandmas! Now let's see if they want to come back to help out so John and I can go to Hawaii...

Here are some pics that were taken over those 4 weeks, thanks to the grandmas and their cameras!

Food induced coma

What a smile!

Laughter fills the house! Auntie Paula and Grams with our funny boys.

Several generations (minus the mommy) -- Paden, Auntie Paula, Grams, Grandma Mimi (Char) and Luke

One content little baby with Grandma Mimi

Peek-a-boo! I see you!

Questionable maybe, but he was trying to get his fruit treat from Mommy. One persistant little boy!

Whee!

Luke sharing his slide with Baby P

Mommy and Baby P

Sunday morning actually finds us all "dressed up"

Daddy and Luke feeding the birds at Pollywog Park

Our Lukadelic!

A happy Paden (before the teething really began!)

"Music Machine"

Trying to get the pic to look like Luke's did...it turned out okay...

My sweet boys

Grandma Ferne and her grandsons

Is he cute or what?!

He's pretty cute too!

Okay, so there's a lot of pictures...but it's nice to have some help with taking pictures. I made one comment to Ferne about never having anyone take my picture with my boys, and now I have lots! Thanks for humoring us!

Paden's Dedication

On February 8th we were able to participate in Journey's Baby Dedication Sunday. For John and I we just saw this as a "formality" and a "coming out" for Paden. One of the sweet things that we have done with both boys is give them to the Lord within hours after they were born as we were in the hospital. John and I both know that we are so incredibly blessed to be parents to these little boys that there is no way we can do this on our own without the Lord. So, within mere hours of their birth we surrender our babies and ourselves to the Lord.

As for our church's baby dedication...standing before our church family and asking for their prayer support and making the vow to raise our child to love and serve our God, is not just a "formality" -- it's a step of faith. I believe all parents can attest the fact that it is not easy to raise children, as many of us know we weren't easy children to raise. We can only hope that we're doing the best for our little ones, but the best way we can do that is to surrender all to God and rely on Him alone.

So on the 8th we, along with our friends the Mills, made that step of faith. Of course it came with a lot of laughs (especially towards Luke whom the pastor said will be a "lively" preacher one day!).

Pastor Glen, Paden, Kristen, John and Grandma Mimi (I think Luke was off flirting with Bailey at the time)

Paden and Pastor Glen Martin

Jonny, Denise, Bailey and Laken Mills

Luke was more interested in "flirting" with his friend Bailey and making cool "thud" noises as he jumped up and down on the stage. Oy!