Parent in Training - Part 2

Another job that Ben loves to have is helping feed Luke with his bottle. Ben is an amazing combination of rough and tough at times and sweet and kind at others.

PIT - Parent in Training

Ben loves Jellybean (Luke). I mean he talks about him all the time. He always wants to know where he is and give him a rub on the head. He likes to pretend with his own baby as well. He got Baby Andrew all buckled up, complete with passy and burp cloth the other day and then headed for the door. He is really enjoying being a big brother.

Along Came a Spider

We found this in our yard last weekend. I walked into the web when I was watering the trees and bushes we had just planted in the back yard. I was glad I composed myself pretty well in front of the boys, because this thing almost ended up on my head. It is the biggest spider I've probably ever seen in the wild. It was about the size of a baseball.

We looked it up afterward and found out it is a Yellow Garden Spider. Harmless to humans, but freaky looking. Freaky enough to warrant a few pictures, some study by my boys, and then a swift stomp with my boot. Sorry spider, you just don't look friendly enough to share a yard with.

Ninja Cat

Blog Inspiration

For those of you who don't watch the office and don't understand the new blog header, here is the picture that inspired me. I just thought it would be a funny spoof.

Special Bible Time - Lost Parables

We are trying something new at our house. It's been in the plans for months, but just never got put into practice. I wanted to make the Bible story time more active and memorable by making it an experience rather than just a lecture. This isn't my idea, but I'm just running with some ideas that I've come across in the books I'm reading in Seminary [imagine that!]

So once a week I'll be putting together a Bible story experience that is hands on. I think the boys will be able to reflect back on this a it will definitely leave a more permanent mark on their minds.

So week one is the Lost Parables from Luke. The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, and The Prodigal Son. I gathered a sheep, a coin, and a little man figure from their toy collections and hid them in their room without them knowing. We then sat down and read the story from Luke 15 (I paraphrased the Prodigal son because they were getting antsy and I wanted this first week to be very positive). I then turned them loose to find their lost items. They used flashlights to help them, just like the woman used a lamp to find her coin. Then when you find all your items its time to celebrate, just like the people in the story celebrate when they find their stuff.

I admit that this night did not have the amount of planning that I would have hoped, but I at least got the ball rolling and the inertia is broken. I'll share pictures and ideas about each weeks stories as we do them. If you have any ideas, please share them with me.

Stylin

It's tough when your 3 week old has more style and class than you do. Chucks are making a comeback and Luke is looking hip.

Luke Pictures

Luke doesn't do a whole lot yet, but he does know how to look cute, and he does that well.

Animal Rescuers

For their birthdays the boys got some nerf guns. Uncle Daniel supplemented with a few more from his collection, and we can now play animal rescuers. We pretend that the animals have escaped from the zoo and are hiding all over the house. We have to freeze them with our bullets and return them to their cages. The boys love it.

Hows that for putting a positive spin on guns and shooting?

High Divin

This man is the world record high dive champ. He dives 172 feet in this video. When he's up top preparing for his dive, it makes my palms and bottoms of my feet clammy. I expected him just to jump off, but give the guy credit for the flips and somersaults. And who is the judge who only gave him a 7.5? How do you give a 7.5 to someone who does a world record jump? I smell a conspiracy.

New Camera Test

Emily got a new camera recently. She wanted to take it up a notch so we sprung for a Nikon D40. It takes great pictures. Even I can tell a difference, and I'm not a camera buff. These were some pictures she took while playing with the focus and settings. All the pictures that we took of our Echota trip were also taken with the camera. I do love the speed that it takes pictures. You don't miss the moment like you do with other digital cameras. So you can expect top notch photos of this new baby.

Lego City

The other day we were playing legos and building a city. I built a school and preschool (the one with the cross on top because Ben goes to preschool at our church). We built a police station for his motorcycle. We built a gas station and mini mart, complete with bathrooms out back. We had a few bricks left over, so I just built this tower/pyramid thing you see in the first picture. I asked Ben what it looked like, and he said a corner. He then got his lego guy and put him in the corner in time out. I thought that was priceless and very telling.

Echota Trip - Coming Home

Coming home, we drove right through Winston Salem, so we contacted some friends from college to see if they could eat dinner with us. The boys enjoyed the pit stop, and to get to play with some new toys. It was great to see our friends (we missed you Ben - sorry you had to work).

By the time we got home, the boys were beat tired. They both fell asleep watching Mary Poppins (I think). The new van really makes traveling so much easier. More space, more comfort, and the movies that they can listen to on their headphones.

Echota - Playground

Right before we hit the road to come home we went by the playground in the neighboring city of Valley Crucis (I'm sure I spelled that wrong, its Latin for Valley of the Cross). They have a wonderful park in the valley among all the mountains that it seems like the whole city comes out to on the weekends. The weather was beautiful and the boys got some energy out before our drive home.

His Car Gets Away from Him

This guy is pretty oblivious. He must have had a rough night, or is one very focused person.

Echota - Hiking

On Sunday morning we went down to the "conservatory" for a hike. It was really well done, with wide trails and river access. Perfect for young boys to hike on. The boys could have played down by the river for hours if we let them. Finding animals under rocks, throwing rocks in the water, racing leaves. We also found an eagle feather, which they could fight over.

This was one of my favorite parts of the trip.

Echota - Part 1

Two weekends ago we spent some time in Echota, a development near Boone NC. It is very nice with an indoor pool for the kids, hiking trails, great views, and peace and quiet. The boys (especially Ben) were so excited to see mountains. They thought they were so cool and big.

We went out walking the first morning and discovered what the kids called the machine rock (second to last picture). It's just a name. It doesn't make any sense, even to them. But they liked to climb up the roadside hill and put leaves and rocks up on top of the machine rock. Little boy stuff.

The boy's cousins were also there, which made the trip even more exciting. They play well together.

We saw a lot of wildlife, including a deer that ran right in front of our car as we were heading up the mountain. (Rabbits, Birds, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Bees, and a Chipmunk as well).

The outdoor pool at the other phase of the development has a waterfall feature with flowers covering it. It also overlooks the mountains as you swim. Pretty spectacular, but it was too cold with the strong winds from the hurricane in Florida to swim outside.

We can't wait to go back for a visit.

Fence Project

While Emily was busy with her own building project, putting the finishing touches our out new baby in her womb, I was frantically trying to complete the fence in our back yard. Here are a few pictures at different stages of the project. It was finished with a few days to spare, right before we had all the rains last week. It's nice to be able to relax in the evenings after work for a change.

First Day of Kindergarden Pics

Caleb's first day of Kindergarden went great. Here are the pictures I promised. We are still getting the hang of the drop off routine, because they want him to hop out of the car and walk in unaided by the teacher. He's not quite ready for that, but is moving in the right direction. The deal is that if he hops right out like they want, he gets to play games on my ipod on the way to school the next day. So far that has been enough of a reward for him to do what he doesn't want to do. Caleb loves a video game.

Last night as a family of Four

On the night before the new baby was born, we headed out one last time as a family of four. We happened to run into my parents there, who were happy to take our picture. Well we won't fit easily into a booth at the restaurant anymore. Now we seat five.

Hospital Part 3 and Coming Home

Here are some pictures of the new room we had a Rex. It was great. If you are planning to have a baby at Rex, try your hardest to get a room in the 3rd floor pods. The other rooms just don't compare.

We had a few other visitors who we were very happy to see. Baby Luke was a sweet little baby for everyone to hold. The boys came by again on Sunday and Ben and I played dress up and put on doctor outfits that I saved from when I put on my scrubs when Luke was delivered. He thought that was pretty cool. The boys really seem to enjoy holding and caring for Luke.

We came home on Monday and are happy to be in a familiar and comfortable environment. Our beds have never felt so good, and the boys seem to agree. They were exhausted and slept 3 hours for nap on Monday!

There is a great picture here of our new family of five all together on the couch. Hard to believe it, but our family has five people in it now. What a blessing.