It's strange b/c I haven't been on here in 2 whole days to check anyone's blog or post anything on mine. I got to spend the night away with some other moms on Saturday night while Brandon watched the kids. Let's just say that awesome doesn't begin to describe it! This year I have joined the MOPS steering team and I'm in charge of crafts. I'm super thrilled about it and we had our planning meeting all day on Saturday at one of the resorts on the water. We had a big room and anyone could spend the night that wanted to. Only 9 of us did, but seriously, I have not laughed so hard and had that much fun in I don't know how long!! Let's just say I'm REALLY looking forward to MOPS this year! On a completely different note, a bunch of the resident wives took their kids to a local gym that offers toddler time on Monday and Friday mornings. I had Brandon meet us there so he could see them in action (we'd never been before) and spend some time with them since we hadn't seen him in two days. It was so much fun! It was crazy packed, but we were told it was more crowded than usual. I think we have a little gymnast on our hands with Sophie. If she continues to take after her Aunt Jenny then I will not be surprised if she does! She doesn't really have any of my traits so I've been very curious what this child will show interests in the next few years. Here are a couple photos.

I didn't even realize it until this morning, but we are halfway through the "terrible" rotation that I talked about a few weeks ago. It's 4 weeks of Brandon working in Pensacola followed by 2 weeks of OB nights. The best part of these rotations being back to back is we will get it over with. And the second best part is we will be able to get new tires for Brandon's car with the money he gets paid for doing the rotation in Pensacola. I was not happy about this schedule, but only b/c I found out about it the day before it happened. It meant 6 weeks of not having him home for dinner and bedtime activities. The first week was hard and about halfway through the second week we started getting in our groove. Not thinking about how long we have left has definitely helped b/c I don't dwell on it and make myself and the kids miserable. Plus I hate the fact that he has an hour drive home from work at 11:30 at night. Who wants to do that after pulling a 12 hour shift? Not me! So really, I think Brandon has it worse than we do. Now, OB night will be harder in my opinion b/c he has to sleep ALL day instead of just sleeping in. Which means the kids and I have to leave and that gets expensive. Thank goodness for Mother's Day Out. Lastly, it could not have been timed better b/c our neighbor that I hang out with all the time, Tiffany, doesn't have her husband around for 6 weeks either and we can hang out for supper and run errands together. It definitely helps the day go faster for both of us! I'm going to run, we are going to have pizza with our dad-less friends tonight! Oh, did I mention that I get to spend the night away from home tomorrow night? We have our MOPS retreat and they got a room for us so we can hang out all night! Tiff and I are pumped!

Yesterday after church Christopher was playing with his trucks and started to say something we'd never heard him say before, "it's good and right!" Brandon and I turned and looked to him and asked what he was talking about. He said it's what Ms. Karen told him. We asked him to say it again, we were curious b/c he said it in a funny voice. He went back to playing and then we heard the whole thing, "Do what the Lord says. It's good and right!" It was so cute! He says it so casually and firm at the same time. We were thrilled that he'd learned his first Bible verse. He walked around all day saying this with face focused and truck in hand.

Lately I've been trying to talk to Christopher about God more and typically ask him about what he learned in S.S. and Mother's Day Out while we are winding down for the night. They've been talking about Daniel and his friends, I won't even try to spell their names, and the story about food they refused to eat and the story about the lion's den. Last night I asked him what he learned about in S.S. that morning and he said, "God." I said, "What else did Ms. Karen talk about?" to which he replied, "Daniel and Jesus." I said, "What did Daniel and Jesus do?" He adorably replied, "Took Daniel's friends to see The Lion King." Sounds like fun!

Then I forgot to pray with him, so he came and got me so we could do this together. I've been trying to ask him what he wants to thank God for to get him to start thinking about it instead of me just telling him all the time. Usually it's whatever he sees from his bed, like his fan or the door or the planes hanging in his room, but last night he had a long list that he told me without stopping. Here's how it went... Me: "What would you like to thank God for?" Christopher: "Grammie, Pop, Papa John, Daddy, Sophie, Hunty, Drakey and the lawn mower at the lake." The boy knows what he likes and the list changed every day. And to those of you who didn't get mentioned, please do not feel bad b/c if you notice, I didn't make the list either.

Today was a day of "prizes" around our house. We haven't seen much of Brandon this week due to his schedule and so we planned to stay home and spend time together. We each ended up getting a new toy which excited everyone. Christopher wanted a new flatbed with his allowance, so he and Brandon went to Walmart. Here's what we all got...

Christopher very excited about his new 18-wheeler flatbed with a skidloader included.


Sophie's new (and first) Barbie doll that Christopher picked out for her. (Brandon said he had to find her a girl toy and not another truck. I think she's pleased. )

Brandon's sling shot, or squirrel getter as Christopher calls it. Christopher said that Daddy shoots it and the squirrels can go to another place. So far they've only run. Don't worry.

And my gift, it was purchased earlier this week and was just now used. In my opinion it was the best gift of all. I've been dying to cut the grass again, but haven't been able to after what happened last time. Here's the blade we took off and what the new blade looks like, just so you can compare them. And no, it's not b/c I'm a girl that this happened. It was a huge rock that was hidden under the tall grass that was not seen before it was heard.

Overall it was a great Saturday. We all got naps too. And long ones! Hope you had a great weekend as well!

Ok, I didn't want to have to do this, but I'm starting to stress/freak out. I'm in charge of crafts for MOPS this year and I've hit a mental block. I need some ideas. Do you have any? Some of the ones I came up with are taking longer to figure out, are harder than I thought or have already been done in the last 2 years. Please, please, PLEASE let me know if you have any craft ideas that are inexpensive ($1-4.00) and quick!!!! I'm desperate!!!!!

Here's what the storm that went through here today did to my indestructable flowers. They are not uprooted, just literally blown sideways! When I bought them I thought they would be just some simple little flowers that would drape over the side of my pot, but to my surprise they completely took over and I had to pull out whatever else I'd planted in the pot with it and move it somewhere else. If you are looking for something that can tolerate lots of sun, heat and doesn't need to be watered regularly, Portulaca is the way to go! It has tons and tons of blooms that come and go daily. I was told that it was a ground cover, but I didn't know this when I bought it. It spreads. Alot! This pot is probably about 14" across and has 4 of the 6 pieces that came in the pack. Just to give you an idea. I know nothing about plants and so I just dove in head first figuring the only way to learn, and remember, is to just do it by myself.

Everyone knows that Christopher has an obbsession with anything and everything truck related. This love has kind of rubbed off on his sister. This is great b/c they love playing together, but I still have to introduce "girly" things just so she knows about them. At lunch today they were making truck horn sounds and pretending to pull to cord, you know, how you tell the truck driver next to you to honk the horn? I sat down to join them and Christopher asks Sophie, "You want to drive a dump truck and I drive an 18-wheeler?" She just keeps honking her horn. Christopher turns to me and tells me what he just asked her and says it will be so fun! We finish eating, they get down to go play and Sophie runs in the room to play trucks with Christopher. He excitedly sits up, puts his arms around her and asks her again, "You want to drive a dump truck and I drive an 18-wheeler?" She immediately responds with, "Uh-huh!!!!!" Big dreams these two.