Boys and Super Hero's

Brigs has a new love for Super Hero's, and his big brother isn't quite sure if he likes it or not!  Boston loves playing with Brigham, but sharing his Super Hero's is another story!  The other night they were downstairs playing for awhile and the next thing I knew, they were upstairs dressed like Super Hero's 'spying on me' and fighting each other. 

Brigham's favorite weapons are guns and swords, and he knows how to use em!  

 Looks like the little guy is winning this fight!

 You can see by the smiles on their faces that they were having a blast!

 



 Boston is selective about what Super Hero's Brigs can play with.  He knows that the figures that come with small pieces are not for little kids, so he is careful about which ones are left out.  The Hulk happy meal toy is one of them he has handed off to his little brother.  If you ask Brigs what The Hulk says he will growl and say 'Mash'. 

Brigham is now 19 months old and talking a LOT!  I am just amazed at all the words he can say.  This week he has started to jibber jabber sentences.  I'm guessing it won't be long before he'll start saying 2 word sentences, but for now it's just one word at a time.  Some of his newest words are dinosaur, spider man, hot dog and loves it when you say 'Ready, Set'.. and then Brigs yells 'Go!'  He also is really into Lightning McQueen cars and books. 

I thought it was cute that Jaxon was snuggled up by the boys.

This little turkey is always up to something!

Brigs has 10 teeth, with 2 more on the way.  His bottom canine teeth are starting to pop in!

 If you can't tell, he loves the camera!  He is either smiling this huge 'Cheese' smile, or closing his eyes giving his 'I'm going to be shy and hide from mom' face. 

 Mom can't forget about this handsome guy!  Kindergarten is going well.  He had his second memory verse due yesterday and he recited it without any mistakes! The teacher did send home a few notes on his papers this week that he needs to practice writing his letters and not be in such a hurry.  I'm not surprised by the 'hurrying' part.  Conferences are mid Nov. and I am already nervous.  I remember dreading conferences for my parents.  I knew every year what the teacher would tell them.  'Jamie can do the work if she would just take her time' or 'She sure likes to talk a lot'.  :)  I would bet money that Boston's teacher will say the same things.  B was was up bright and early for his first day of Basketball yesterday!  Derek took on his first coaching position, and I know Boston is excited about that.  It's good for the both of them.   

Boston survived his 2 weeks of punishments for lying. Walking the dog when it started to get colder was his least favorite thing to do, but Jaxon sure enjoyed it!

 

I had a fabulous week of getting together with some friends!  I don't get the opportunity for girl time as much as I would like, so felt very spoiled this week!  I had lunch with a friend on Wednesday while Derek was home & spent Friday doing Pinterest crafts with another friend!  Yesterday, my mom came down and spent the day with the boys so I could meet up with some friends at the Arts Festival & grab lunch.  I texted my mom when I was on my way home and she told me not to rush.. so I grocery shopped alone.  It was SO NICE, but when I got home I told her my $170 grocery bill was the result of not having kids in the cart to take up space :) 

 

Brigs loved snuggling with his Mam-a Peggy!

 

And that's a wrap of the last few weeks!  We have fun things planned for daycare this week in celebration of Halloween!  Tomorrow is pajama day and I can guarentee that I am just as excited as the kids:)

 

 

 

Watch em grow.

When we moved in May, we had to leave this behind...

 

I tried talking Derek into cutting the board out of the wall and replacing it with a new one but he thought I was being ridiculous.  I was so bummed to leave it behind.  It had memories, and my baby's milestones.  It was the original.   We moved.. and the board stayed at our old house, but the measurements did not!  I have been determined to make a new growth chart.  A chart that we can take with us where ever we end up.  I couldn't be happier with the results!  Thank you Pinterest for the inspiration!  There are many different versions, but this is the one I fell in love with. 

My afternoon started out like this..  I attempted to quickly sand one. little. spot on the board.  I forgot the stain can was sitting on the board.. without the lid.  'Oh Shit!!' 

 

This is exactly how I looked at that moment.

 

I ran in the house to get Derek because I panicked.  He is SO particular about the garage.  I just calmly said 'Honey, please come outside.  I need your help with something.. you are going to kill me!'  

 

 He didn't kill me.  I'm still here!  He didn't even yell at me.  He never does.  Such a sweet husband with a laid back personality!  Praise the Lord!  I called the paint store and drove there as fast as I could to purchase this $13 bottle of magic!  The floor actually looks much better than I ever imagined it could.  Derek is quite impressed too!

 

 

 Ok, so on with the show!  None of the project got done during nap time...except the mess and clean up.  The rest of it happened after bed time.  I was determined to get it done!

Step 1:  Stain the board.  I put 2 coats on.

Step 2:  Tape off 6 in. sections.  This took me the longest.  I kept putting my blue tape on the wrong side of the lines.  (You will see the stained sections are narrower than the white painted sections.  Once the tape is pealed off, the sections are all the same size!)  I set the numbers in place so I knew which taped off area had to be painted.  I used 2 coats of an off white craft paint.

 When the paint was dry, I peeled up the tape.

 The next step was positioning my number stencils, taping them down & painting them!

 After it dried awhile, I took the stencils off.  The paint did seep through in a few places, but no worries. After the next steps, you would never know the difference!

 After the painting & sanding is complete.. it's time to beat the board up!  I used one of Boston's baseball cleats & both ends of a hammer. 

 Once the board is roughed up, you sand the entire thing.  Extra sanding on the edges of your board.

 I used this little hook that I already had to hang it!

I am so happy with the finished product!  Derek is not entirely thrilled I hung it in our dining room, but I wanted it to be in a place that everyone would see it!  I think its perfect! 

For now I have the measurements in pencil, but I am on a hunt to come up with a 'fancier' way.

 

Project Complete.  This may be my favorite crafternoon yet! 

I've been keeping a secret..

 

Proverbs 16:9

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. 

 

So I've been keeping a secret for a month or so now.  Can you believe it?! A whole month I have known this incredible, exciting, amazing, prayers answered kind of secret and I haven't been able to share it. 

Until now! 

It is with great joy that I share the news that my brother & sister in- law, Jason & Shana, have been chosen to be adoptive parents of a baby girl due in December! 

1 Samuel 1:27

 I  prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.

 



Words can't begin to describe how excited they are!  We have ALL prayed with them that if it was God's will for them to be parents, that in His perfect time it would happen.  Those prayers are being answered!  To God be the glory!

Now that you are all in on the secret, I need you to do me a favor.  Please put these items on your prayer list.  If you don't have a prayer list.. you should get one!

• Prayers for the birth mother.  She has personally chosen Jason & Shana & willingly admits that they can give her baby girl a better life than she could.  What an unselfish gift. 
• Prayers for baby girl!  That the pregnancy continues to go well, and that she is born without any complications or heath issues.  She is going to be perfect, I just know it!
• Prayers for the rest of the adoption process to go smoothe.  Jason & Shana are beyond thrilled to meet this precious baby girl, but they are also anxious, worried, nervous...  Things don't always turn out the way we hope and pray in the adoption world, so I just ask that you pray specifically that He watch over this whole process and that Jason & Shana experience nothing but JOY!
• And last but not least, prayers for Jason & Shana!  I know what it's like to look at a calendar and anxiously & patiently wait the arrival of your baby!  Prayers that they have peace throughout this whole process & that as they prepare to become parents, they experience encouragement, prayers & love from each and every one of you reading! 

A year or so ago, I blogged about the beginning of their adoption process here.  The donations received & the hair clips that were sold, helped them raise almost $5000 for this adoption to even be possible!  Jason & Shana wanted me to thank you again for your generous contributions to their adoption fund.  If you didn't get the opportunity to make a donation last year, there is still time! Donations can be mailed to myself or directly to Jason & Shana.  Please contact me or comment on the blog if you need an address!  Adoption is NOT cheap and can be a huge financial burden.  Please prayerfully consider making a donation to help ease this part of the process for them.  Any amount is helpful and appreciated!  Trust me on this, they are the most deserving of every single penny!  Some day this baby girl will know just how lucky she is that God had a perfect plan for her life.

 

   

Consequences.

I mentioned in a previous post that we have had some issues with Boston lying and telling 'fibs'.  I thought things were getting better... and then on Monday I got asked the question:

'How did Jaxon die?'

 

Jaxon isn't dead.  In fact, he's alive and well, which wasn't the case earlier this year! I should have known better than to even ask where on earth they had heard such a crazy lie, but I did.  The answer:  

 

'Boston told us at church yesterday.'

 

I just looked at Boston in disbelief and said 'When you get home from school today, you are in a BIG trouble..'  I really hoped he would worry about his consequences all day at school.  All morning I wondered how I was going to get a handle on this.  It's been an ongoing issue for awhile now, but mostly just little fibs about silly things.  For instance, he would say yes when I asked him if he has washed his hands after using the bathroom when I know darn well the water didn't run.  Or 'Yes mom, I already washed my hair.' when I peak in the shower and his hair isn't even wet!  Those fibs are still lies, but not quite as awful as lying at church about your dog dying!

 

I posted a picture of Jaxon on Facebook that morning with a comment that if Boston had happened to tell anyone else at church that the dog had died, it was a lie.  I figured everyone would find it comical, and most did.  Derek and I laughed about it too!  I didn't expect to get the comments that I did though.  The children's ministry leader at church commented that Boston had raised his hand for a prayer request because his dog had died.  Here I was thinking he had just told a FEW kids this crazy lie, when in deed he had told it to all the kids in Sunday School!  His Sunday School teacher commented that he had mentioned the week prior that Jaxon had been barfing all over the house and that he was sick and dying.. and another person commented that his daughter had said a prayer for Boston that night because she felt bad his dog had died.. 

 

'Lord, help me...'

 

When Boston got home from school he asked right away what his consequences were.  Maybe he had thought about it all day?  For the next 2 weeks he is not allowed to play iPad.  This is a huge.  He also has to do one hour of homework AND walk the dog twice around the block each day during that 2 weeks.  We are on day 4, and the homework part is kind of a punishment for Derek and I too!  'How do you do this?'  'What does it say?'  'Is this letter right?'  I may rethink this form of punishment in the future! 

 

Derek came home from work Monday night about 8:30.  Boston was already fighting the tears because he was so worried that his dad would spank him.  Boston is normally a very good kid, so he not been spanked often.  I guess he remembers the few times he has been.  Derek sat down by Boston and I and told him how disappointed he was that Boston is continuing to lie.  We talked about who lying hurts (mom, dad, friends, and God), and also asked him why he was doing it.  He wasn't sure, but we know it is for attention.  Derek is always so calm & collected with this type of thing.  He told Boston that since he had lied about Jaxon dying, that Boston must not love our dog or want him around anymore, so he had decided that on Tuesday morning he was taking Jaxon away.  Boston and I were both crying.  I knew Derek wasn't for real (or maybe he was?!) but I am such a softie and was hurting so bad for Boston.  He was feeling quite bad about his lie.  Derek then asked Boston if he thought it was a good idea to get rid of Jaxon?  Boston said no, that he didn't want the dog to go away.  Derek then asked him what he thought his punishment should be.. and Boston replied: 

 

'I need to tell all of my friends at church that I told a lie.'

 

We are proud of him for that.  It won't be an easy thing to tell all of his friends he made a mistake, but we are praying this lesson will be an example for the other kids.  Hopefully these next 10 days go quickly, and that at the end of the 2 weeks he has learned a hard lesson. 

 

His cute-ness makes up for the naughty-ness :)  I love school pictures!