20 questions....

I saw this on Facebook and thought it would be fun for my end of year post.....

20 questions for a New Year’s Eve reflection

1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year?
We started building our house in November

2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened?
Started to build our house.  We were supposed to start in August and it just kept getting pushed back and then we had issues with our septic drain location.  It was pretty much a nightmare to get it going.

3. What was an unexpected joy this past year?
Our camping adventure.  It was a perfect time of reflection and relaxation in a time that we desperately needed it.

4. What was an unexpected obstacle?
Taking Grant to preschool.  I never realized how hard it would be on both of us to let him go.

And, the passing of Jason's grandma.  She was such an amazing person that exemplified Christ like living and she is missed everyday.

5. Pick three words to describe this past year.
excitement, challenges, grief 


6. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe your year—don’t ask them; guess based on how you think your spouse sees you. (If you’re not married, have fun guessing the answers from other friends and family, or just skip this question.)
hmmmmm.... I really don't know!  He always says I am too emotional and attached and I need to let go and stop trying so hard so maybe let go would be appropriate:)

7. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe their year—again, without asking.
excitement, challenges, hard work (his beach project, house projects he is helping with)


8. What were the best books you read this year?
Charles Martin books were my favorite this year.  Of course I can't remember the name of the one I liked the best!

9. With whom were your most valuable relationships?
I have formed a wonderful friendship with my neighbor Jodi.  I kinda think she was an answer to prayer actually.  I have been lonely for quite a while.  I have friends, but most of them grew up here, have church friends, or family and pretty much already have strong friendships formed.  Jodi is a person that would do anything for you without expecting anything in return.  She would never judge me by what school I send my kids to or laugh at me for wearing my jammies all day.  When she found out about our girls, she brought us flowers in their memory and is not afraid to bring them up in everyday conversation unlike a lot of people who actually lived through the experience.


10. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year?
My biggest challenge is always to stop comparing myself with others and wanting what they have.  I feel I have come a long way at realizing that my life is pretty great and material things don't matter as much as the 3 cute boys I have in my life.

11. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally?
I let go of all the what ifs this year.  Yes, I did catch those daddy daughter dance pictures, but for the most part I was able to stop wondering what life would be like if my girls were here.  That was a huge accomplishment for me.  It felt very freeing emotionally.


12. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually?
Not sure I really grew spiritually this year.  I am on a hunt for a good devotional book to get me back on track.

13. In what way(s) did you grow physically?
The only way I grew physically was the ginormous zit that appeared on my chin the day before Christmas......I thought that stuff wasn't supposed to happen when you were 36? 


14. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others?
I tried to be authentic in all relationships I had.

15. What was the most enjoyable part of your work (both professionally and at home)?
 I love being able to stay home with my boys and be a part of their daily life. And then get out for two days to grow my patience and have some adult conversation!  I feel very blessed that I am able to make that work.


16. What was the most challenging part of your work (both professionally and at home)?
 Relationships with co workers that didn't have good intentions in their heart.

17. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?
Facebook.  About half way through the year I started checking it only once a day and that was very freeing for me. It also helped in my coveting of others since I wasn't seeing all their perfect family pictures complete with fifteen pinterest projects in the background!


18. What was the best way you used your time this past year?
playing on the floor with my boys

19. What was biggest thing you learned this past year?
To cherish every moment.


20. Create a phrase or statement that describes this past year for you.
I have no idea so instead I am going to pick the theme for 2014- the year of the house.  We have dreamed about this house ever since we bought this property 6 1/2 years ago.  To finally see this dream become a reality is overwehelming.

weekly 10

1.  Ashton seems to be coming out of his no sleep phase.  He has slept through the night 5 out of the last 7 days.  I will take it!

2.  I take that back.... the last two nights he refuses to go to sleep.  And then last night he woke up an hour after he finally fell asleep.  When I asked him this morning why he won't sleep, he told me it was his super creature powers.  Maybe we need to lay off the Wild Kratts a bit:)

3.  Jason and I were lucky enough to get away for our annual Christmas trip to Chicago with some friends last weekend.  This is something that my family has done every year since I was in high school so to me it isn't Christmas until I see all the twinkling lights on Michigan Ave.

4.  To Jason, it isn't Christmas until we hike out to the big tree by Macy's.    

5. Our extended family Christmas party was moved to Sunday this year so tit was the first time since Jason and I have met that we actually had no where to be on Christmas.  We spent the day in our jammies laying around and watching the boys go crazy with all of their toys.  In the evening we took a trip out to our lot to see if they had delivered the lumber yet and then we stopped at Chinese to grab some take out.  I could definitely see making this laid back Christmas a tradition!

6. Ashton never ceases to amaze me.  I was working with Grant on his counting this morning and suddenly Ashton burst out with 1- 20 all by himself.  It was a little rough around 12 but for a 2 year old that doesn't even know his ABCs I was really impressed!

7. Christmas morning Grant woke up at about 8 and started to head downstairs.  There were a few presents that my mom still needed to put under the tree so he had to sit at the top of the stairs with daddy to wait.  While they waited, Grant reminded daddy that Christmas isn't about the presents it is about God and all that He gave us.  What a sweet thing to hear. 

8.  I am in serious Christmas let down mode.  It is hard to go from Christmas 24/7 to nothing.  I am glad Sirius gives you an extra week of Christmas tunes so I can bring myself down gradually.

9.  My favorite Christmas tune is Silent Night sung by our church congregation by candle light at our Christmas Eve service.  I never make it past 'Sleep in Heavenly Peace' without balling my eyes out, but it is so beautiful that I long for that moment every Christmas.
 

10.  Blessing of the week:  seeing the look on the boys faces as they opened their presents.  They were so excited and quite spoiled I might add!  I just love to sit back and soak it all in and thank God for these simple yet amazing moments.

weekly 10

1.  This one is quickly being put on the naughty list......

 

2.  Ashton has not slept through the night for about a month now.  I feel like I have a newborn again.  He also thinks he doesn't need to take naps.  Needless to say, I am tired.  Very, very tired.  How can HE not ever get tired?  He.never.stops.moving.

3.  So, does anyone have any good ideas on how to get an extremely strong willed toddler to stay in bed when it is time to sleep?

4.  My dad has been here for a week.  We always try to do fun things while he is here, but this time mother nature is not cooperating.  It has snowed just about every day and has been bitterly cold. Needless to say, we have spent a lot of quality time inside.  Good thing  my dad doesn't mind watching back to back Hallmark Christmas movies!

5.  Jason and I got out for our association Christmas party Saturday night.  I couldn't resist this fun dress that I found shopping that morning.  Our usual date nights consist of a quick dinner out and a stop at Target for toilet paper and socks, so it was a lovely change to actually get dressed up for a fancy dinner for a change!

  

6. Grant has loved waking up every morning to find Sherman doing silly things.  So far he has colored our milk green, taken a swing ride in the doorway, used their crayons to write his name, drank the syrup, built a house with blocks, told the kids to bake cookies for the neighbors, given them instructions to buy groceries for the mission......sorry this is boring for you, but I need to remember what I did so I don't do it again next year:)

7. I took this pic a few weeks ago and posted it on FB but forgot to do it here.  We stopped to put up the girls Christmas tree and Grant told me wanted to get out and show Brooke and Alexcyn that he can write his name.  He is so good at knowing how to melt my heart.

8. I have a love/hate relationship with ama.zon.com.  I love that you can press a button and have presents delivered in two days but I hate the games they play with pricing of their items. 

9.  Ashton's favorite phrase as of late,"I am naked!" as he runs through the house with no clothes on.  Too bad he actually is naked or else it would make a hilarious youtube video!

10.  Blessing of the week:  Reading my favorite book from my childhood,"The Mouses Terrible Christmas" with my boys.  I fondly remember reading that book with my parents as a child and I love to see the look on their faces as they listen to the story that brought me so much happiness.

weekly ten

1.  Sherman the Elf arrived on Wednesday.  I have decided to do a combo elf.  He does naughty things occasionally (but nothing that takes me more than 5 minutes and makes a mess out of my already messy house!), he does fun things like making a Christmas chain countdown,  and most importantly he suggests random acts of kindness that we can do for others.  Yesterday he instructed us to go to the store to buy cleaning supplies for our favorite play place- Deanna's Playhouse.

2.  Today, the boys woke up to a special message from Sherman.  He had tickets for the local Santa train.  The boys were beyond excited to go on their first train ride.  It was a bit cold seeing as the train was quite ancient and lacked a good heating system but Grant and Ashton didn't even notice.  They loved their hour long ride and getting to see Santa.

3.  Ashton is way into babies lately.  He carries around my old Cabbage Patch doll and puts it in funny places.  His latest favorite is to put it in the dump truck wrapped in blankets.

 And yes, that is a kitchen pan flying through the air.  I finally had proof as Grant said,"I didn't do it!"


4.  He also has taken a liking to baby Jesus from the Nativity.

5. We cut our tree down last weekend on our way home from Thanksgiving festivities.  Last year it was raining when we were at the tree farm so we were surprised this year to see Santa, reindeer and a horse carriage to take us on rides around the farm.  Grant and Ashton loved it.  Ashton was not a fan of the animals though- still trying to get over his goat biting incident.  Are two year olds really supposed to remember things that happened when they were 1?

6.  Decorating the tree was an adventure this year.  Ashton apparently thought the ornaments went around the train track....

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7.  Grant is my Christmas lover.  He pretty much had all the ornaments on the tree before I could even get one out of the box.

8.  Ashton's new favorite word- amazing.  Exampes: "this is amazing mommy."  "look at that amazing tractor"  "mommy, you are amazing".  Ok, maybe I made that last one up.  Nontheless, it is pretty cute to hear this tiny 2 year old belt out all these amazings.

9.  Recent conversation overheard between Grant and all the Santas we have encountered...

Santa:  What do you want for Christmas this year little boy?
Grant:  A chainsaw.
Santa:  Oh my- as he looks up at us with a strange look on his face.

Yes, it is true that Grant wants a chainsaw for Christmas.  I just wish he would say a TOY chainsaw in order to avoid all the questioning looks from Santa and his elves.

10.  Blessing of the week:  all the precious memories made this week with Grant and Ashton as we cut down our tree and went on our first train ride.  And, a huge blessing that I made it through all the daddy daughter dance pictures that flooded my facebook without shedding a tear. Not to say it didn't hurt my heart, but I didn't cry and that is a huge step for me.  If I could just get someone to warn me next year so I can just not check my facebook for a few days, that would be great!

weekly 10

1.  Having fun with Pampers boxes.  These are cars for their babies. And yes, Ashton is using my Christmas decorations as bracelets and yes that is my cabbage doll from when I was little!

2.  I can't believe I actually watched a tv show called Vanilla Ice Goes Amish.  The sad thing is, I watched it for more than 5 minutes.  I am ashamed of myself!

3.  The other night I was cuddling the boys before bed.
Me:  I am so lucky to have two handsome boys sitting on my lap.
Grant:  You are so lucky to have two handsome boys that toot on your lap.
Grant:  toots
Oh, life with boys is always fun!

4.  We had Grant's first conference last week.  He got a good report.  They did wonder why he had such a hard time at drop off.  I told them I wondered that as well!  They said he has an amazing heart and is such a kind boy and will be a gift to all his teachers in the future.  I am so glad that despite his drop off issues, they get to see my baby and what a great kid he is.

5. We decided to go for bed transition over potty training because the other night we found Ashton in our living room at 3 am.  I heard someone get up but assumed it was Grant.  When I didn't hear the potty flush I went to double check. I found Ashton sitting on the couch asking to watch his show.  Apparently he was ready to start his day.

6.  Ashton versus the laundry drying rack.  Unfortunately, Ashton won.  I am thankful I have a fun new Amish drying rack waiting for me under the Christmas tree.  However, it is HUGE so I was hoping to not bring it out until we actually had a laundry room that wasn't in the middle of our kitchen.  Thanks Ashton.

7.   So, we have had an Elf on the Shelf for the last two years but haven't really used it.  I have been pinning tons of ideas about what to do with your Elf, but I still don't understand why the Elf has to be naughty.  Can someone please explain to me why he has to create so much extra work for me every night????

8.  Between the wall and the glider = where I found Ashton taking his nap the other day.  When he woke up I asked him why he slept there and he said,"I was hiding."  Guess he thought I was coming back to find him.  oops.

9.  I can't get enough of this  picture. Grant was so excited to see Santa that he didn't even think for a second that this was Jason's Uncle Bernie.  I love his innocence about Santa and I am considering quarantining ourselves  in our house for the next 5 weeks in order to keep him away from anyone that might ruin that innocence by telling him Santa isn't real.

10.  Blessing of the week: so much to be thankful for this week of Thanksgiving. This week I am thankful for walls.  Not only the ones that keep us warm this time of year, but also the ones that were poured for our new house this week.  I took the boys out to see the excitement of the "ment mixers" the other day and just stood there in awe.  I was so overwhelmed with emotions of gratefulness that after such a long time (and a lot of hard work) we are finally getting our dream  house.  I feel so lucky. 

catch up

1.  Life really has slowed down a bit with the colder weather, but I seem to be spending my computer time shopping for Christmas presents instead of blogging! 

2.  Two weekends ago, I asked kindly forced my parents into watching the boys for the weekend.  I was about to loose my mind with constant whining and fighting and screaming and crying and I needed a little time to reset my patience button.

3.  We didn't go anywhere, but instead enjoyed a little staycation.  I was worried that being home I would feel compelled to clean the toilets and fold the laundry, but I surprised myself by totally ignoring the mess around me and just allowing my body and mind to rest.  We slept in, Jason did boy stuff at our property, I wondered the aisles at Target for hours, I laid on the couch and watched every Hallmark Christmas movie I could, we went out for dinner and drank martinis and enjoyed quality time alone. 

4.  When we picked the boys up on Sunday, I felt refreshed and renewed and ready to face the holiday season.  Grant is a little home body and actually missed him momma (yes!) and Ashton seemed a little pissed he had to leave the arms of his pop pop.  He is definitely addicted to his pop pop!  It was a great weekend for all. 

5. Once Monday hit, the boys were back to their old antics of whining, fighting, screaming, etc... but I felt like I had more patience to handle it than I had in a long time.

6.  I am surprised it took him this long.......

7.  I put Ashton's toddler bed in his room the other day but he wanted to stay in the crib. He is fine in there at night, not so good at nap time.  Ashton is also wanting to go on the potty so I feel torn between bed switch or potty training.  I really don't want to do both at the same time! 

8.  Grant's question of the week to my friend who just got done breastfeeding her baby (under a cover btw).  "How do you feed your baby with your body?"   I just about peed in my pants I was laughing so hard!

9.  Goodbye fall and hello Christmas.... guess what I am doing today:)

10.  Blessing of the week:  Christmas music on the alarm radio in the morning, in the car, on my computer at work, CDs at home.  I just can't get enough of Christmas music.  I may have a crazy obsession with Christmas music, but it really just reminds me to stop and take it all in.... enjoy family, eat lots of cookies and watch the faces of my boys as they go through the holiday season with wonder in their eyes.

4

I finally had time to sit down and do my birthday posts from last month.  Better late than never!  Here are the things I want to remember about our little Grantster who isn't so little any more....

- he is full of excitement.  I always say that he is going to be the next Brad Pitt because he puts so much excitement and drama into everything he does.

-he is still a huge daddy's boy. 

-his favorite show is Caillou, Curious George and Wild Kraats.  The other day he told me all about lungs and why we need them.  I was impressed he learned about that in school and then he told me he learned it on Curious George.  Hey, at least he learns something!

-he is a hard worker and wants to help out wherever he can.

-he loves his brother even though they fight over things A LOT.   When we are around other kids, Grant gets very protective of Ashton.

-he loves to eat little chicken "samwhiches" from Costco, pancakes, fruit loops (every morning!), grapes, strawberries, blackberries (he actually eats a whole container in one sitting), raspberries, fish, and rice. 

-he dislikes tomatoes and makes me take them out of everything!  Other intense dislikes for potatoes unless they are fried of course, cheese sticks (has to be "flat cheese", yogurt, and peppers.

-he has finally started showing interest in dressing himself and usually picks the same shirt to wear everyday..

-he loves to ride his bike, play with dinosaurs and run around outside.

-he loves to go to the "pawk" aka park and swing for hours.  And yes, he still talks with a southern accent that is most noticeable with momma, pawk and mewk.

-he weighs 32 lbs and is 39 inches tall.   He wears 3T pants and 4 T shirts.

-he has a huge heart.  I always wanted my boys to have compassion and empathy for others.  I think I have definitely succeeded with Grant.  He has such a kind heart and a compassion for everything - even ladybugs!

-he has a temper and it usually flares as we are headed out the door to school.  He is not a morning person so getting him up, fed and dressed is always a struggle.

-he is very particular about things like socks with writing on the bottom and his pant legs being around his boots, certain fabrics and especially hates it when tags are in his shirt rubbing against his back.

Grant is an amazing boy that has taught me how to be a mother and how to look at life with excitement and a smile again. I feel so thankful that God blessed us with him.

weekly 10

Lately I feel like a chicken running around with its head cut off.  Between finding our groove with school  and work schedules, extra curricular schedules, volunteer schedules, house stuff, illness, etc.... I have started to lose my mind.  I can tell that it is wearing on me and the kids so I have decided to take a deep breath and focus on the little things that make me smile everyday.  Cause really, those are the only things that get me through all of this chaos of life.

My smiles this week:

1.  Hearing Ashton tell me he want cuddles on the couch with me.  I will gladly lay with him for hours on the couch if he would just sit still for longer than 2 seconds. 

2.  Grant talking to me about God.  He is asking a lot more questions now and it just warms my heart to know he will have God in his heart at such a young age.  That is something I never had at that age.

3.  Seeing the glee in Jason's eyes as he cuts down trees and starts to see our dream house become a reality.

4.  Walking through the Christmas display at Menards and watching the looks on the boys faces as they see all the twinkle lights.

5.  Christmas in the stores!  I know many people grumble, but there is something so peaceful about Christmas and I love nothing more than to slowly stroll through the Christmas aisles even if it is only October.

6. The Goldbergs.  I don't sit down and watch many shows, but I have made the time for this one.  This weeks episode made me smile because I will totally be that mom that wants to protect her son from getting his heart broken.  Jason looked right at me and said, No, you cannot do that to our sons!"  He knows me too well.

7.  Great doctor appointment check ups and hearing Ashton tell the nurse thank you after she gave him 2 shots.  Never one to forget his manners....

8.  Sunday drives to see the beautiful colors.  I think they are better than they have been in years.  Hearing Grant tell me how beautiful they are- I love his appreciation for nature! 

9.  Watching Grant and Ashton play together.  They fight, they whine and they can scream and yell very loudly, but every once in a while I catch them quietly playing together and it makes it all ok.

10. And finally, an hour of silence as I got a really good massage.  This should be mandatory for all mothers.

Up Up and Away its Ashton's 2nd Birthday!

Last Friday we celebrated Ashton's second birthday with family and friends.  It was a wonderful night celebrating our little love.  His theme was airplanes since every time he sees or hears a plane he points to the sky and screams airplane.  He walked around all day saying,"up up and away its my birthday."  It was so cute!


He LOVED his balloons.  Many fights took place between him and Grant since he also loved the balloons...

 

I had so much fun with this theme.  I had an Arrivals sign on the front door with everyone's name on it.  (left it off here for privacy reasons.)  I made this TSA sign as well as Baggage Check (present area) and Baggage Claim (favors).  I also made a shirt for him with an iron on transfer.  I couldn't get a picture of it though because he refused to stop moving for a close up shot.

 Baggage Claim- candy airplanes, sugar cookie airplanes and peanuts for the adults. 

The Food Court- once again I got into naming dishes just because this theme was so fun and it all came together so easy.  I hope I am not setting a precedent for all future parties though!

Grant's Sami Shop- Hot ham and cheese on buns
Mom Mom's Pasta Palace- Mac and cheese
Raul's Mexican Restaurant- Seven layer mexican dip or chips and salsa
Ashton's Apple Stand- apples and caramel
Jason's Juice Bar- Lemonade, apple cider or my new favorite- apple cider and a little caramel vodka:)
Krista's Cakery- airplane cake

 I thought that no one could get as animated as Grant when opening presents. I was wrong.  Ashton was hilarious.  He ripped open all presents.  He opened the clothes boxes, yelled clothes and then threw them.  He opened a card with $ and propudly yelled,"money!"  Jason helped him open his cards and Ashton would rip them out of his hand and proclaim,"I read the cards daddy."  It sure was fun watching him get so excited about his gifts!

 

The cake from hell.  Looking at this cake you would think it would be the easiest thing ever, right?  Wrong.  I bought butter cake mix instead of regular yellow cake.  For some reason when I was at the store, I bought 2.  I figured out why after I went to get my first cake out of the pan and the whole things crumbled out in pieces.  I am assuming this was because the butter mix was SO moist. So, I greased and buttered and floured and made the second cake and thankfully it came out ok.  I had made my frosting the day before as a time saver but as it warmed up, it became very runny which made it hard to decorate with.  And, I ran out of frosting so there were patches you could still see the cake through as well as a huge section that came apart when I tried to take the wax paper out from underneath when it was completed.  I attempted fancy lettering to look like clouds but it looked horrible so I had to scrape it off and re-do with what little frosting I had left.  All in all, it turned out ok, just not one of my best attempts!

 

Ashton seemed quite happy with his cake so it made all the crazy cake making worth it!

 

It is hard to keep him still.... showing off all his new gifts.  What a blessed little 2 year old!

 

 

 

1.  Sayings heard recently that I swore I would never hear in my house...

"If you don't stop crying, I will give you a reason to cry!" - Said to Grant for crying hysterically for not getting the blue plate.

"Don't make me pull this car over"  - Said to both boys for screaming in the car for no good reason at all.


2. On Sunday, we were able to get out for the fall color tour I had been craving.  We drove around and enjoyed the beautiful colors in silence while the boys napped.  We then went to my favorite orchard and took a hayride and picked more apples because seriously who can resist apples at 40 cents a pound!  The boys had fun playing on these pumpkin haystacks. We then drove to South Haven for some yummy Sherman's ice cream for dinner and then headed home.   It was a great day!

3.  The next time I tell Ashton to grab his shoes as we are headed out the door, I should pay more attention.  I have noticed that my attention to detail has seriously been lacking the last few weeks, but this is really bad!  I didn't even notice these shoes until we climbed onto the hayride!

4. In reference to #3,  Sherman's Blue Moon ice cream makes for shockingly blue diapers!

5. The other night Ashton was asking to wear underwear.  (No, we are not potty training him!)  Well, Grant decided he was going to help Ashton go potty so he took him into the bathroom and took off his jammy pants and his diaper and then Ashton proceeded to pee all over the floor. Grant was not pleased with Ashton.  I however thought it was hilarious and was so happy that I caught it all on video!

6.  I had planned on the boys 2 and 4 year pics during our drive on Sunday but Ashton fell and scraped his face up on Sat and then Sun he got scratched at the orchard and that night he got a bug bite on his face that made his eye swell up AGAIN.  So, back to the dr we went.  Luckily he didn't need to get a shot this time but it still scared the heck out of me. I hate when things get that close to his eyes.

7.  The other day I picked up The Goonies for super cheap.  This is one of my all time favorites but I haven't seen it in a while.  It is amazing how different it is to watch it as a mother.  There are some serious swear words in that movie!

8.  Neither of my boys are big eaters at all.  That is why I was so surprised the other day when Grant ate 2 sausage links, 5 french toast sticks, and a bowl of cereal for lunch.  Followed by 2 sandwiches and a half a carton of strawberries for lunch.  I guess my little boy is starting to grow!  That is his usual appetite for a whole week!

9.  The boys are really into jokes these days.  On the way to drop off this morning, we prayed and then the boys started in with knock,  knocks.  Of course, jokes at their age make absolutely no sense, but they think they are hilarious!

Ashton: knock, knock
Me: who's there?
Ashton: strawberry
Me: strawberry who?
Ashton: seasaw
Grant and Ashton crack up.

Grant: knock, knock
Me: who's there?
Grant: strawberry
Me: strawberry who?
Grant: strawberry toot toot (because yes, his world seems to revolve around toots these days!)
More laughter from the second row.

I want to remember these hilarious car rides especially after the chaos of trying to get out of the house on time!


10.  Blessing of the week:  After a lot of headaches and waiting, we finally got approval from our association to start building our house!  We were surprised when our excavator called us the next day and told us that he had scraped our lot already.  I guess we can officially say we are building a house:)

Weekly 10

1. The last few weeks have been crazy around our house.  Ashton was stung by the bee and had hives all over.  The next week he had a cold and then got bit by a bug and his whole face swelled up.  Last week Ashton and Jason were diagnosed with strep throat and Jason had pneumonia.  If you wondered why I haven't been blogging lately, that is why!

2.  Getting Ashton to take his antibiotic is like wrestling an alligator.  He spit it back in our face, closed his mouth so tight there was nothing getting in it, ran away, etc....  I finally had to take him to the dr on Friday for an antibiotic shot because he wasn't eating and every time he tried to eat, he threw up.  The poor guy was a mess.

3.  I am really hoping that now that we are all healthy, we can get out and enjoy fall before it is over.  So far we have gone apple picking and made 2 batches of applesauce and one batch of apple butter.  This weekend I am hoping to get for our annual fall color tour before the weather turns on us.

4.  Lucky for us, we have now entered the colors phase.  Also known as the,"but I wanted the blue bowl" phase.  Ugh...

5. I have started praying in the car with the boys as we drive to school, day care and work.  This has been such an uplifting way for the three of us to start our day.  Most mornings Grant prays for the firefighters; that they stay safe and Ashton usually prays for Jesus or Lisa his fabulous day care provider.  Today however provided a few laughs as Grant prayed for Halloween to get here safely.  I just love the way his mind thinks.

6.  Words you never want to hear,"mom, Ashton is putting poop on the couch."

7.I haven't watched Glee for years, but happened to catch the episode the other night that dealt with the aftermath of Finns death.  I had tears rolling down my face.  They really captured the raw emotion of grief and after hearing # 8, I was balling my eyes out...  they got it so right.

8. "You know, when I would see that stuff on the news, I would shut it off because it was just too horrible to think, but I would always think, 'how do they wake up every day?' I mean, how do they...how do they breathe, honey? But you do wake up. And for just a second, you forget. And then, oh, you remember. And it's like getting that call again and again, every time. You don't get to stop waking up. You have to keep on being a parent even though you don't have a child anymore."

9.  Grant asked me why I was crying and I told him that I was sad sometime because I missed Brooke and Alexcyn and this show reminded me of them.  He came over and gave me a hug and said,"I get sad about them sometimes too mommy."  I was speachless.  He is only 4 but knew exactly what I needed to hear in that moment.  God definitely had a plan when he blessed me with Grant.

10.  Blessing of the week:  hearing Grant pray all by himself at the dinner table.  "Dear God, please bless this food onto our bodies.  Thank you for the food on our table and the roof over our heads.  Amen"  Totally brought tears to my eyes.

Roar Grant Weston is 4!

Last weekend we celebrated Grant's 4th Birthday.  He is still in full dinosaur mode, so we planned an extreme dinosaur weekend for him. 

On Saturday we surprised Grant with a trip to the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago.  We left Ashton at home with the grandparents so that each boy got some one on one time- something they never ever get.  Grant was so excited and asked just about every 15 minutes if we were there yet.  We had never been to that zoo before.  We were quite surprised at what an awesome zoo it was!


Ironic that my 4 year old asks to ride in the stroller but my 2 year old refuses!  Grant also still has a love for maps.

We saw a dolphin show, huge lions, giraffes, hippos, bears, rhinos and most importantly a dinosaur exhibit.

 So excited to see all the dinosaurs! 

Grant's absolute favorite is the long neck.  I was so excited to see one and get my pic with Grant in front of it.  Too bad Grant had to pull his refusal to take a good pic with mommy attitude AGAIN.  I an starting to take this personally.

The look of amazement on his face when he saw the dinos move and roar made the 6 hour car ride totally worth it! 

Even though his official birthday was on Tuesday, we had his party on Sunday so that all the family could be there. 

My 4 year old Grantasaurus was full of energy that day.  Next year I will need to remember that making him wait all day for his party is not a good idea.

He wanted his party gear on all afternoon and refused to sit still.  He ran through the house yelling and screaming like a wild child!

 You can almost see the wild in his eyes in this pic!

Finally about 20 minutes before the party started, he was sent to time out in his room and fell asleep.  Suddenly happy excited Grant turned into grumpy sleepy Grant but luckily that was short lived once he saw all his cousins here.

My attempt at a cake.  Grant was very specific that his green long neck dinosaur HAD to be on the cake.  No exceptions to that rule.  It turned out better than I thought it would considering I forgot to put in my cardboard piece to hold the top cake on the bottom!

The food.....  I don't usually go to the extreme of labeling food, but I saw some fun ideas on Pinterest this year so I got into it.  Plus, Grant thought it was so fun to eat dino eggs, etc... so it made the extra effort worth it.

Dino Eggs- meatball subs.  Broncho bites- corn. Swamp Dip- chips and dip. Carnivores- dino chicken nuggets for the kids. Herbivores- fruit salad, Dino dig- dirt cups with dino gummies.

So many awesome gifts.

The tractor he has been begging us for forever.

 

My Grantster has a true talent for opening presents.  I mean, who really gets this excited for a new backpack! ?

 Finally, he can be a golfer just like his daddy...

Blessed by all his gifts.

 Time for cake and ice cream!

Things I forgot to take pictures of but want to remember for my books.... Party favors were dino grabbers and dino hats like the one Grant is wearing.  School favors were treat bags with a little dinosaur and dino sticker book.

At the end of the day, we all sat on the couch for some tv time.  Not 5 minutes later I looked over and saw this.  Such a precious ending to a special day.