April

April 2013

Picnic and playtime with friends

Benjamin learned how to sip from a straw...mostly out of necessity because I had left his sippy cup at home.

Enjoying a snack while watching the sea lion show at the zoo

For all you numismatists out there: This is an 1832 penny given to Benjamin from his Great Grandfather. It's now worth about $15-20

Saturday Morning Pancakes

A family tradition that I would like to continue from my childhood : )

Benjamin is actually big enough now to sit in a chair and play! 

New adventures at the park this month with his ever-increasing mobility!

He discovered crawling through the tunnels...

climbing...

and the swing with mommy.

Here is Benjamin sliding for the first time with my parents during their visit

My mom caught this awesome pic of him pressing his cute face up against the dome - lol

RANDOM SIDE NOTE:

For those of you who know me well you know that my love for our cat Marley has diminished since

Benjamin arrived. Despite my husband's and mother's words of wisdom/encouragement to "be sweet" it has been a struggle for me the past 18 months to really love this cat...anyone want him?...just kidding. So I was reading in my Bible and read this verse: 

Proverbs 12:10 "The godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel."

Wow...enough said! My heart is being changed (slowly). 

I had the pleasure of helping host a baby shower for my sweet friend Diane! She is expecting a baby boy in May. God used Diane in my life to keep me in Memphis after a tough first semester at UofM. After that we were fast friends!

Our friendship over the past 10 years (has it really been that long?!) has been such a blessing and now our kids will grow up together. 

Our babies will only be 6 months apart. Not Benjamin, but our new little one : )

That's right, I'm due November 15th - The same week as Benjamin's 2nd birthday (Nov 20)! Although the thought of another winter baby almost makes me want to cry (JK...not really). We are truly excited about how the Lord has blessed us! 

Can you believe that I waited 10 weeks to tell my parents?! It was tough, but I really wanted to tell them in person this time since they had planned a visit in April. It was quite a surprise as no one was expecting this big announcement. 

Mimi and Grandy played with Benjamin all weekend while Frank and I went camping with some friends. They had a blast!

My mom taught Benjamin how to play the harmonica...Now he won't stop

We went camping at Village Creek State Park in Arkansas without any kids!!! It was our first weekend away from Benjamin and it was awesome (love you son!)

 Yes...that is a picture of three men actually looking at a map! 

I planned all the meals and did the shopping and Frank was our grill master for the weekend. We had bacon/eggs/biscuits/pancakes/steak/fish/corn/potatoes/garlic bread/smores all cooked over the fire.     We even figured out how to cook a biscuit on a stick!

With three pregnant ladies (18 weeks, 8 months, 10 weeks) we visited the bathroom often. Thankfully I kept from getting up in the middle of the night because it was sooo cold. It was 38 degrees the first night! Not exactly the spring weather we were hoping for even though the guys didn't seem to mind it.

It warmed up during the day and we went on a a nice walk where the guys naturally began a rock throwing contest. We ate a picnic by the lake, played cards, and went fishing. 

Shawn caught a fish...the girls named him Jake...

...and then the guys ate him. 

We had a nice time getting away for the weekend without the kids. Thanks again mom and dad : )

After the cold weather passed - spring is officially here! The flowers in my neighborhood are amazing.

It's no wonder they call it Central Gardens

Benjamin makes me "stop and smell the flowers". I do love watching him discover the world. It makes me stop and appreciate the small things in life that I usually just pass by. 

**********************CONSTRUCTION ZONE**********************

Not as pretty as those flowers, but Frank has made some amazing progress on our guest house this month! Remember that chimney that Frank spent a few weeks repairing??

Yeah he decided to take it down brick by brick...

it only took a few hours one afternoon. 

Apparently the chimney needed to come down so that he could straighten the guest house correctly.

It has been quite a process...

but now it's level and straight! It doesn't sound like much but it has been half the battle. At least now we know it won't fall over. 

He put up the sheathing (fancy word for walls) and has started to build the enclosed staircase. Funny, Lowe's is Frank's preferred hardware store and you can see their motto here: "Lowe's, Never stop improving". Ironic huh?

 Benjamin loves to go outside and check out the progress.

I will end this blog with a funny video of Benjamin dancing! Enjoy a good laugh : )

March

We have a brand new Kroger that is about twice as large as our previous store.

I am excited, but will have to re-vamp my grocery planning word document 

since there are twice as many aisles!

I'm trying to do better at "couponing" - not like the crazy people on TV,

but at least clipping them and not forgetting them once I'm at check out

So far it has saved us some $$

Some girls in our Sunday School Class did a freezer 

meal swap. I made six of the same beef stew recipes

and then we got together and swapped, each leaving with 

six different meals for our family. Genius! 

 We used the below website for our freezer meal recipes

I have already made a couple and they are great!

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/09/slow-cooker-freezer-meals-make-8-meals.html?m=1  

Benjamin loves to "play" with the Swiffer

I try to make the most of it and let him clean up after meal time 

Benjamin's other favorite activity is ANYTHING that involves

                                              a ball. He is learning to roll, throw, and kick. 

At the new Kroc Center in midtown they have a wonderful

indoor soccer field. I enjoy taking him there to run around to

get out some of his energy - as well as kick a ball around (video below).

Shelby Farms Dog park 

We had a wonderful "Family Fun Day" this month!

Typically, either Frank or I work every Saturday, but this month we

both got a weekend off (Thanks Mandi Burke!)

We started it off by going to the Kroc Center.

They have an awesome zero entry pool and a lazy river. 

After Benjamin's nap we had a picnic at the park and 

enjoyed the sunshine, Valkyrie, and of course Benjamin's ball.

Benjamin loves to take out the sink from his kitchen and sit in it.

Probably because when he does, I push him around the house : )

We had a wonderful class reunion from our original Young Married

Class at Bellevue. Many of the couples moved back to East TN

after finishing grad school and the rest of us have started our own YM classes.

My how our group has grown!

All the adults were saying "cheese!!" and trying to get their

kids to smile...which apparently terrified Benjamin

(Far left) Poor baby

First signs of spring in our neighborhood

We love taking walks

I am so blessed to be the one to hold this little man's hand!

Sunny days require lunch on the porch...

and trips to the zoo with friends!

Marley spends his entire day following the sun spots 

around the house. Such a hard life!

Here is the finished headboard Frank built

Just in time for my parents to come visit next month!!

Above - Frank's 5th grade project

Below - Frank's project 20 years later

(look similar but on a much different scale)

Frank has been spending this whole month working on the

guest house. He has replaced the rotten boards and is now

working on straightening and leveling the house downstairs. 

Benjamin and I watch from a safe distance.

Here is a recent picture of Frank and some of the guys with whom he works

My two best friends from college (Beth and Diane) are both

pregnant! We got to celebrate at Beth's baby shower with Lindsey. 

We can still be silly together after all these years with

 our mustache stickers on our coffee mugs. 

I had the honor of hosting a baby shower for a friend Charity.

We had a wonderful time celebrating Ainsley Joy

and her upcoming arrival : )

Here is the finished product of the chalk board

that Frank built me : )

After the party Frank was so sweet to do the dishes for me...

but we realized that plastic tends to melt at high temps

Oh well...looks like modern art to me!

So...Benjamin had a little accident in the bathtub

"What?!"

"Nooo! Don't tell everyone..."

"...that I was eating chocolate pudding"

Self-feeding with a spoon training that turned into 

finger painting. LOL

Benjamin learned a hard lesson about gravity and momentum 

on our driveway. As my grandaddy would say, 

"Don't worry, it will get well before you get married."

Somebody got the curly hair gene : )

Happy Easter!