Oh for the love of Sundays

Caleigh's eye is almost back to normal from her mosquito bite last week...it ended up swelling so much, she couldn't open her eye for a while...so scary....I hope her allergy to these bites gets better as she ages...poor girl!
Making sand mountains....
The boys fort....it was left by the previous owners of our home...it's 2 story with storage underneath...the top & inside floors had rotted out & it wasn't safe anymore....James tore it all out last weekend & replaced the flooring on Saturday with his nephew....the boys are glad! Now, they're "On Top of the World" again!
Blake's COOL look! hahaha
Bryce's SERIOUS look! hahaha
MMMMMMM.....SMORES! Enjoyed by all!


LOVE SUNDAYS!!!
Church, out to eat for lunch, home....all day....ahhhh...so nice!

Saturday was super busy. We had all of James' family over for a cookout Saturday evening. It was a late Anniversary Celebration & we all had a good time. Nope...didn't even have time to pick up the camera! The kids played outside all day & night. I think I'm in love with a new Mosquito repellent....it's a plant based by REPEL & It's Lemon Eucalyptus. I put it on C about 4:00 & she was outside until 9:00....bite free! I am going to use it religiously from now on & I'll let you know if my love for it continues! No piano next week...thinking of taking a week off the blog....I just haven't had the desire to pick up the camera lately. I think I need a little break.....if I happen to shoot anything super cute, I'll post....otherwise, have a great week & I'll be back next week. :)

The First Piano Recital

Bryce playing his piece...

Blake playing his piece...

Bryce receiving a certificate...

Blake receiving a certificate from his instructor.

Bryce...very proud!

I must say this was a "proud mommy night"! Very neat to see our boys playing their piano piece by memory on a big stage at a big piano in an auditorium! Very neat. And, they did wonderful! They were very proud of themselves which is the best! I'm so proud of all that they have learned in piano this year & am glad they like it so much. They were relieved to find out there is no summer break from piano! ;) Cool!

In Case You Didn't Hear Me The First Time....

WE HATE MOSQUITOS!!! I swear, I drown this child in repellant....and the nasty bugger bites her on the eyelid!!! *@$%&!!!!

Little Band-Aid & Fun Prizes!

Blake had his yearly check-up today with his pediatrician & Caleigh came too. Blake is fine and got a good report. His doctor wants to have a specialist check on his growth/height/weight as well as his brothers just to be sure all is well. They are both growing at a decent rate, just still below the 0 percentile on the American charts....

Caleigh has been needing a blood draw for a test for quite some time now. They have tried at different hospitals & clinics over the past year and a half to get it done with no success. Well, today...success! And, on the first try at that! One happy mommy here & now we pray for good results. Caleigh did wonderful and no trauma/drama so that was good. She is super happy with her prizes that she bought with her little tokens at the doctor's office. They're these stretchy, sticky 'things'. Bella ate her red one, so now she only has green & blue. She's been having a lot of fun with them this afternoon!

I had a hard time putting this precious dress on her today...I got all silly emotional and stuff...see...it was the very first dress I bought when I found out we were approved for adoption with Dillon. We were approved for a little girl up to age 3. We were told we would probably receive a referral for a 2 1/2 - 3 year old. So, seeing her in it today at 2 1/2, reminded me of what I thought would be....and how blessed we are to have had her with us for the past 2 years come June 26th!

Our beautiful school-room for the day....

I do love watching our kids learn...today we all needed a change of scenery, so we moved the classroom outside for Math & ditched the worksheet practice for the dry erase board. It was a hit...for all involved & we had a wonderful Math time on top of that! Caleigh enjoyed her snack while we worked & she did a little "fishing" after that! Now...I must tell you, our morning was wonderful....however, I have waited on a service man...all day...he's here again, for the 3rd time & it's 6:45. He should be done in about an hour (I hope). James is due in from out of town tonite. Oh, and I dropped an entire Sam's sized jar of cherries and it shattered ALL OVER my kitchen floor, cabinets & me! Talk about a mess & a TON of glass shards EVERYWHERE! I am sure it is the biggest mess I've ever made in a kitchen to date. It was a big one! Darn it...should have taken a picture! You'll just have to believe me!

A Cool Afternoon on May 17th

Photo by Blake

Photo by Bryce

I think Bryce took the one above too....

My sweet little neighbor

All the kids playing out front

Bryce mid dribble

Blake catching some air

Caleigh excited about the game

My climber, Bryce

Caleigh Grace Age 31 months

It was muggy and hot this morning & after lunch...when Caleigh woke up from her nap, the clouds had rolled in and there was a nice breeze. So....we've spent the afternoon outside & the boys snapped a few pictures with my camera. See, I actually AM with my kids even tho you never see me in pictures!!

Busy Weekend!

Whoops!! Missed a day! We had friends over last night & I was a bad blogger & didn't take one picture all weekend! So....thought I would post a pic from Fri. of my little one & her 2 week old mosquito bite..can you still see it on her hand? It looks like a bad bruise now...ick! I heard that Vitamin B-Complex is helpful if taken daily as a natural repellent (thanks to my FB Friends!) I think I will have to start my kiddos on it this week & see if it helps...I'm tired of drowning them in Deet to keep the little bugs from making big bo bo's!! The boys & I are on the "summer school plan" now....Bible, reading & Math...it takes us a couple of hours in the morning & we are free the rest of the day. My goal for the coming school year is to start our full curriculum in mid July, take a month off in December & then work through the end of April...start "summer" the first of May. May is just SO nice here before the Texas summer heat hits!!! We must enjoy it while it lasts!!! Here's to a good week!

May 14th

Today is our 16th Wedding Anniversary! We've actually been together 18 years & married for 16...wow...that is making me feel kinda old! Regardless, Happy Anniversary to us!

Berry Picking Day

There were berry bushes all along this dirt road lining the fence & all underneath this huge oak.
Pretty wildflowers all over the country-side.
Our master picker, Aunt Gladys (this woman could out-walk me in the pasture like no-one's business! She is IN SHAPE! I need to hang out with her more often!
My happy picker friend Glenda...she's my husband's cousin's wife & we've known each other for 18 years now...love her...one of the most good hearted people you could ever meet.



Treasure! More berries will ripen up soon! These red ones should be ready in about a week! Yeah!

The Loot!

Today we drove over to my in-laws place & let the kids play with MaMaw & Papaw for a few hours while I picked blackberries with James' Aunt & cousin's wife Glenda. Boy...I miss living in the country! We had a great time & there were more berries than we could pick. There will be more ready in about a week, so I'm planning another trip for next week. I will call it a huge success with a cooler full of blackberries, no snake sightings & no-one got in the bull-nettle (even tho the biggest berries were growing in it!) Fun girl time for me & yummy cobblers to come for the family! Gotta go rinse & freeze some berries.

What day is it anyway???

I've lost track of what day of the year it is for my posts....I do know that today was L.O.N.G. & it should really count for two days with everything we packed in. Did manage to take a few quick pics of C playing in the boys' game cabinet....she couldn't decide which she liked best, but settled on Operation & had fun with it. Bryce had a well check which consumed about 3 hours total of our day if you count in driving across town...I think that is why my day feels so long...I don't do well with wasted time...in the car, in doctors offices (the waiting...ugh..maybe God is trying to teach me patience, but I didn't do very well today.), driving to & from piano...waiting...more waiting....sorry to whine, but it has been a day...whatever day it is. Oh, and Bryce has swimmers ear...somehow...he hasn't been in a pool; hmmm.....