Quick change

My house is quiet tonight; Scott is at Ruby Tuesday's with a friend and both boys are asleep. I'm enjoying it! Ahh, QUIET......

So, I'm messing around.... deleting old email.... and ran across Isaac's first webpage. Seriously, how DO babies grow up so quickly?!! http://www.growingfamily.com/webnursery/babypage_view.asp?URLID=4H3L5R2V9U

Bathtime!

I don't think there is anything much sweeter than my babies at bathtime! And oh, the sweet smell of a baby's skin afterwards.......

My next great idea....

I was just talking to a friend about the "Shopping Therapist" idea.... yeah, she thought it was a good one, too!

So.... here's my next great idea: BABYSITTING AT WALMART!!!!!!!!!!! Hey, they have it at the YMCA, why not at Walmart?!! (of course, it would be complete with references, video cameras, pagers, etc, so that you could trust the services!)

Also, I think that moms (and dads) should always be handed a t-shirt when leaving the store that says, "I survived Walmart with __ kids!" (fill in with appropriate number!)

Have a great day! Here's to happy Walmart shopping!

Keep clicking!

Yahoo! The Colts are currently running at the top of the "Most Improved" category in Campbell's "Click for Cans" competition. It would be terrific if they "won" in this area and if lots of Indiana food banks benefited from the Campbell's company. If you haven't started clicking, there are 18 days left! http://www.chunky.com/clickforcans.aspx

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures!

I don't know about you, but one of my favorite parts of visiting friends' blogs is seeing pictures! So.... I'm overloading you today! (you'll have to forgive me.... I'm not a web expert, so I don't have a "Flickr" account, and I can't figure out how to insert this many pictures in one post.... so you'll have to check out all three installments this time!)

We had a GREAT weekend! We loved the beautiful weather and even enjoyed a bonfire in Muncie and golfing in Noblesville! Aaron loved every minute of it! We had a great time snapping pictures of Isaac and cousin Lainy, too! She is 14 months old and is an absolute doll! Because Jill, Kenny, and Lainy live in Nashville, we don't get to see them as often as we would like, so we enjoyed soaking in the time with them this weekend (between everyone's naps, of course! Oh, let's just blame it on all that "triptophan" from the turkey.....)


Sweet, sweet Lainy at the bonfire
Isaac and Aunt Jill (Scott's sister)

More Pictures!

The guys returning from golfing (Aaron, Grandpa-Great, Scott, and Grandpa Burch)

With my sis, Deb
With cousin, Kara (from South Carolina)Hanging out in the toy tub at Grandpa and Grandma Greene's!

Yes, folks.... Isaac is ON the lazy susan in the middle of the table! He loved it!

Installment #3

Grandma Greene, Lainy, and Isaac
Our littlest angel!

"Lainy, I LOVE YOU!"

I sure love these boys! We had fun taking this picture at our bonfire (complete with marshmallows, of course! "I think I have a headache.... no more pictures, Mommy!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are looking forward to a long weekend together! We'll be in Muncie through the weekend with Scott's family, and we'll even head to Noblesville for the day on Friday to see mine. We will head home Saturday evening so that we can be home for church at WCC on Sunday and "One" (aka youth group) on Sunday night.

We hope that you each have a wonderful, blessed holiday with friends and family! We are truly thankful as we reflect on the blessings that God has given us in the past year.... our new little miracle is certainly at the top of the list!!! Aaron even says that he is thankful for Isaac!

Blessings to YOU!

Eleven hours!

Isaac slept for eleven hours.... STRAIGHT.... last night! It was amazing! Considering the fact that he is usually up twice a night to eat, that was a lot of improvement! Unfortunately, Aaron snuck into our room at 3:30 AM instead, but it was still great to get a pretty good night of sleep! YEA!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'!

Isaac is on the move! He's been rolling for awhile now.... he doesn't do it a lot because we spend so much of the day holding him and cuddling with him, but when he decides to show off his new trick, he really can move! He rolled the length of the room yesterday!

We had a first at our house today, too; I was playing "Chutes and Ladders" with Aaron, and Isaac was holding one of the game pieces.... Aaron proceeded to inform Isaac, Dad, and me that this was HIS game and not Isaac's. Oh no.... let the lessons in sharing begin! Aaron has REALLY liked Isaac up until this point.... but I'm confident that the "fun" of sibling rivalry is yet to come!

A "Shopping Therapist"

Okay.... so we did it.... we ALL endured Kohl's tonight! I wanted to find a few new clothing items for the holiday season (for Isaac and me! And the REAL reason.... I had a great coupon!), and Scott decided he wanted to join me with the boys! As he made rounds through the toy area with the two cuties, I headed to the racks and racks of clothes and THE DRESSING ROOM!

So.... here's the deal.... I think I have a new idea! After enduring numerous trips in and out of the dreaded dressing room, I told Scott on the way home, "I think I needed a therapist in the dressing room with me tonight." And then, I realized, DUH! I'm a counselor.... I COULD START A NEW PROFESSION! Ladies, can you imagine???? Someone to POUR words of TRUTH into your life as you're standing in front of WAY TOO MANY MIRRORS as you try to find a pair of jeans that fits.... or even as you pick out that dreaded SWIMSUIT! Okay, I know that you precious size 2 ladies may not understand.... but to the rest of you, great idea, huh?!!! And.... to go along with it.... the therapist wears a blindfold the entire time; she is just there to hear you growl at the image looking back at you (or listen for the mirror shattering as you kick it!), and then, she'll just randomly shoot out Scripture and words of affirmation: "YOU ARE FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE! YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR JEANS SIZE! SWIMSUITS WITH SKIRTS TO COVER THE DIMPLES ON YOUR BACKSIDE AND THIGHS ARE THE LATEST STYLE AND YOU WILL BE STRIKINGLY GORGEOUS ON THE BEACH THIS SUMMER! THINK ABOUT THE BEAUTIFUL BABIES THAT CAME FROM THAT BODY!!"

Nice, very nice.... yeah, I think I'm onto something!!!

Funny baby

This is sure to make you laugh.... too cute.... not as cute as our boys.... but cute, nevertheless!

A tooth!

Yep, it's official! Isaac's first tooth popped through today on the bottom right! He was up a little bit last night.... I had no idea that it was teething though! Thank goodness for baby tylenol!

We've taken some fun pictures of him at chow-time recently. He's eating just about everything.... squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans and peas (when mixed in with the yummy orange veggies!), pears, applesauce, peaches, bananas, and AVACADOS! Yum, yum, yum!

"Click for Cans"

Campbell's Soup has a competition that is called Click for Cans. Please go to the below web site once a day, click on the area to vote, and then click on Indianapolis Colts (even if you aren't a Colts fan, this is the team that would help people in Indiana). If the Colts get the most clicks for this area or are the most improved from last year, Campbell's will donate one can of soup, for however many pounds the entire Colt's Team weighs, to a local food bank. Think of how many hungry people we can all help just by one simple click of a button!

http://www.chunky.com

"Chazown"

I'm just starting a new book called, "Chazown, A Different Way to See Your Life." Scott brought it home from the Catalyst Conference in October and handed it off to me. After reading the first chapter, I'm pretty excited about the journey that I'm starting by diving into this book! Here's a memorable quote already:

"His vision for your life is bigger and better than you've had the courage to even hope for. Your God is that good. That strong. And He loves you that much."

Don't ya love that?!! To see more, check out: http://www.chazown.com

A few similarities?

Well, it's official.... these two definitely cannot deny the fact that they are brothers! Whenever I pull out my scrapbook of Aaron at 6-months, it floors me to look at the pictures!!! Yes, there are a few differences (at 6-months, Aaron was over 18 pounds and Isaac is 12 1/2... Aaron was 27 inches, and Isaac is 24). However, they definitely have a few things in common....

Note: the first two pictures are Aaron, and the second two are Isaac!

I'm crazy about these guys.....

Have I mentioned?!! I really love having ALL these men in my house!!! I feel a little outnumbered on some days... I should have thought ahead and made sure that we at least got a dog that was a female! Hmmm....

Having grown up with TWO SISTERS, I feel like I am regularly getting an education about the world of little boys.... for example.... last week, our neighbor boy, Austin (who is probably about 10), came over with his RAMP and razor scooter to play with Aaron and his new scooter. Scott was outside supervising, and I was standing in the window, holding Isaac, with my jaw dropping the entire time. When I asked, "Do you think this is a good idea?" after Aaron's third, face-first crash, Scott informed me that this is just what little boys do (this from the sweet man of mine who had Aaron jumping off the fridge to him when he was 10-months old!) Ummmm..... Aaron's already endured stitches and a broken bone, what's next?!!!! (please note, however, that he was wearing a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads while going off the ramp... mom does have a little influence!) I REALLY DO need to get my hands on the book, "Wild at Heart," and read up about the lives of men so that I can do the best I can raising these little adventure seekers! (I read "Bringing Up Boys" already.... it was a little too "heady" for me.... I hear that I'll love "Wild at Heart" though). Any advice out there from moms of boys?????

P.S.

I do promise that all of my posts will not be as long as the last one.... wow, crazy things happen when I don't use up all of my words in a day when my hubby is out of town!

Who knew?!!

Wow.... who knew that having so much fun could be so stinkin' tiring?!!! We had a HUGE day today! Many of you know that I PACK my weeks when Scott is gone to make the time go by more quickly.... I have definitely learned that I have to get in my quota of adult conversation or I'll go CRAZY!!! Well, today was one of those days....

First stop, the doctor's office for well-baby/well-child visits for Aaron and Isaac (no.... this wasn't the fun part of the day.... we were there for TWO HOURS! AHHH! A note to any doctors out there who read blogs.... please apologize when you are 1 1/2 hours late for an appointment!) Both of them are very healthy! And.... Isaac FINALLY made it to 12 lb. 6 oz. They were teasing me and said we should get him a shirt that says "Brutus" on it.... what a peanut! And... they both survived/endured flu shots. Yuck. Aaron "made" Isaac go first.... and the little man barely cried. Well, Aaron decided to let the ENTIRE office know that he had to get a shot, too... the ladies around the office kept handing him fruit snacks, suckers, and stickers to try to get him to calm down afterwards; yeah, nothing worked. I said, "Buddy, look at how brave Isaac is.... he's not crying." Aaron decided to respond, "I am NOT brave when I have to get shots." This coming from the child who runs around making muscles and telling me how brave he is?!! You would have thought I was trying to cut out his liver without giving him anesthetic first. He told everyone the rest of the day, "Something bad happened at the doctor today...."

We had two WONDERFUL play dates after that (one over lunch and one over dinner) and then, we were off to see "Over the Hedge" at our church's family night. It was really fun, thanks to Angie and Katie who were willing to help with Aaron while I ran around, trying to keep Isaac happy. Aaron was so cute.... he is such a "verbal processor".... asking Angie questions throughout the entire movie (hmmm.... I wonder where he gets it?!! His mom and dad are SO shy!) :) He was sound asleep when we got home; since he's in the process of giving up napping, it's amazing how sleepy he was when we got to that time of night.

Side note: Scott is doing great in California! He's met a lot of great people and is making some great contacts. Someone asked him to write for another magazine (oops.... can't remember who). If you think about it, say a prayer for him.... he connected with one of his old youth pastors while he was out there.... their church has a ministry called "Jackets for Jesus" and Scott will be joining them on the streets of L.A. to hand out jackets to homeless men and women on Sunday night. Pretty cool. Another "funny" story: as I was driving home from Syracuse yesterday in the SNOW, I called him and he was sitting over the ocean on a pier at Huntington Beach, reading a book... wow. That's all I can say.... wow....

We had such a fun night on Monday! Scott left for California on Tuesday night, so the boys had fun dressing up the night before Halloween. We actually headed to a local church in town for a "Trunk 'n Treat" party.... uh, oh.... we arrived to find out that the date had been published incorrectly in the paper! YIKES! That was NO fun to explain to a 4-year old! So.... we were truly thankful that we had already made plans to stop by my mom and dad's! They enjoyed seeing the kids, and we enjoyed showing off our cuties!

Funny stories about Isaac's outfit: first, Aaron wore it when he was 2-weeks old! Yeah, it fits Isaac at 6 months... he's such a peanut! Also, Aaron told everyone that Isaac was dressed like a "snowman" because of the picture on his chest.... we have been trying to distract Aaron for the last month from the "ghosts and goblins" thing, so we went with the snowman theme! "Yes, Aaron, it IS a snowman!"

Now, for Aaron's costume.... a funny and gross story: Aaron has worn this costume for 10 days in a row! Yeah, he loves it... he was THRILLED when I found it at Kohl's! Needless to say, I had to put the "Dash" costume in time out today.... it certainly needs to hit the wash!