Long Over Due!

Hello Friends~  It has been quite some time since I have last blogged about our adventures.  This is due to many factors, including but not limited to, winter illnesses that seemed to run rampet in our house this year, the loss of another close family member, the winter blahs, and being BUSY with the boys!  I have decided to recommit to my blogging though, knowing that some of you really would like updates on our crazy parenting adventures and cute pics of the boys are always fun to post!  So here we go again...

Life has been anything but normal this last year for myself and family.  I can not believe in 4 short days my baby will be a year old already!  I think of all that has happened in our lives and can not help but look at him with the utmost love and feeling of being blessed.  God knew exactly what I would need to get through this last year when he blessed us with Griffin Lawrence.  Not to say He didn't create a few unexpected moments along the way!

I would like to start with some honesty.  It has been a difficult year for me personally as I was diagnosed with post-partum depression.  I sought some medical help, but it took some time and I found myself questioning if I really needed the help or not.  I did.  I am so thankful for a long talk with my husband one night that made me realize just how much it was effecting
not only me, but my husband and children as well.  I have been on medication to help me for a few months now and am feeling much better.  I don't know that I would be blogging about this if not for the fact that some family members are now struggling with issues of their own and I feel the responsibility to say that it is OK to ask for help.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with needed help from other people &/or medication if it is needed.  No one is going to judge you (and if \they o, it is more about them than it is about you).  Also, getting help is better than the alternative.  So that is my 2 cents on that.

Along with the medical piece has been a greater understanding in faith.  We consciously placed Easton in a Christian preschool environment this year.  Along with this we have been attending MOPS (a christian based Mom's group and child care setting) which both Easton and I have fallen in love with.  I am sure Griffin enjoys it too, but can only show us with smiles for now.  We have been having a lot of talks about heaven due to my dad's (cousin Kyle and aunt Carol's) passing and this has helped us immensely.  I have also found a home in Grace Fellowship, a local nondenominational church and Easton is expressing a greater interest in Sunday school as well.  It has brought back a lot of memories of going to Sunday School, VBS, and church with my family as a child and I am happy to be passing that onto my boys.

I know this is a lot, but one more transformation that has been critical is living each day as best as we can.  Cleaning out the junk and surrounding ourselves with family and meaningful friends.  I have taken up running and Chris is getting into target/sport shooting.  Finding and enjoying new hobbies together and separately has put a spark back into our marriage, and is wonderful!  I find myself falling more in love with my husband everyday.  Easton is looking forward to starting up t-ball this spring and trying out soccer later in the summer.  he is not looking forward to school ending for the year, but I am sure he will find plenty of things to keep him busy over the summer months!  Griffin's big first birthday is on Saturday and I am sure walking will be soon be following, he is already busy getting into everything!

Enough for now!  I hope you all have a wonderful day filled with love and blessings!

Happy New Year 2011

Happy and healthy New Year to you and yours.  We hope that your 2011 blesses you with many friends, family, and wonderful experiences.
It is hard not to reflect on the last year as the new year dawns.  Mostly, the thoughts consuming me are about life and death in 2010. First, we brought our beautiful baby boy, Griffin into this world in April.  We have been blessed with a happy and healthy child.  The last 8 months have been a wonderful as we experienced all that a new baby brings into a family.  Second, we lost my Dad on the 23rd of December.  As most of you know, he was battling a rare and aggressive form of cancer for the last year on top of his not having any kidneys and other medical problems.  My Dad was a miracle for many reasons, aside from his medical issues.  He defied the odds again and again, but this cancer was just too much for him to take.  He passed away at the hospital, with my mom, brother, and I in the room.  He is at peace and in no more pain, and for this I am grateful.  I firmly believe that he is at home in heaven and is having the time of his life catching up with those we have lost before.  While it is hard to be here on earth without him, I know we will see each other again in another life.
2010 showed me in many ways to not take things for granted.  Whether it is a normal and to term pregnancy, the loud and messy ways of a preschooler, fragile relationships with family and friends, a home and a reliable job....nothing is guaranteed.  Each day is a wonderful blessing for us to make things better for ourselves and the others in our lives, and even a complete stranger.  It is easy to forget sometimes how truly blessed we are.  While there will always be "more" and "things" that we desire, what is really worth living for are the things that require the most effort like relationships and people.  I have many things I hope to achieve and accomplish in 2011, but my number one resolution for the new year is to stay humble and grateful for all of the blessings already in my life.

Again, a happy and healthy new year to all of you!

Lost loved one

A week ago today we lost a family member.  My 16 year old cousin, Kyle went home. 

I have never been to a funeral for someone younger than myself.  It was a very surreal and sad time.  As time passes it gets a little easier to celebrate the life he lived and the fact that he is home in heaven now.  I am sure that he is cracking jokes, being silly, and talking sports with who ever will listen up there.  Down here we are all blessed with having known Kyle and each of us has our own memories that will live in our hearts as the days move forward.

A very thankful time of year

Wow!  I can not believe that Thanksgiving is this week!  I have mixed feelings about my favorite holiday this year.  While it is still my most favorite holiday, it is just that little bit tinged by my dad's news of cancer that came last year at this time.  We actually found out on Black Friday through a phone call from one of my dad's doctors.  So it brings to mind all of the things that I am so thankful for this year.
 I am thankful for getting to spend time with my dad and family in general this past year.  After the initial diagnosis, we were not even sure that he would make it to see Griffin's birth.  This year we will be spending the holiday together as a family.  Eating delicious foods, stratagizing about the next mornings shopping adventures, maybe a Wii tournament of some sort, and watching some football.  Things that maybe got taken for granted a little before will be treasured this year as memories.
 I am thankful for all the things Chris and I have been blessed with.  We have a happy, loving marriage.  Our two boys are happy, healthy, and growing.  We have two vehicles to drive, a house to live in and keep us warm, food in our refrigerator and cupboards, and jobs that allow us to be a little extravagant at times.
 I am thankful for relationships.  Relationships with family and friends.  I am thankful for old relationships that have been stable and reliable for years.  I am thankful for newer relationships that are blossoming and spontaneous.  I am happy for friends that are childless, fellow parents, and grandparents for all the wealth of knowledge they provide. 
I am thankful for new experiences and opportunities. 
So as the Thanksgiving holiday gets rushed through to Christmas, I just wanted to say that I truly am thankful and grateful.  I am blessed beyond measurements and am happy to have the chance to acknowledge it.  We hope that your family's Thanksgiving is blessed!  May your turkey be moist and potatoes lump free!

Griffin is on the move...

So our little Griffin is all about doing things in his own time and as a second child I can appreciate this.  It does make me paranoid over those silly milestone "standards" and all, but Easton was a little like this too and I should know better than to generalize all children into one category.  Each child is their own person and develops at their own pace.  Anyway...  On Tuesday he turned 7 months and had previously rolled over from front to back and back to front a handful of times but that was it.  Well low and behold, this weekend he figured out that if he rolled over and then rolled again he moved a bit closer to what ever he was trying to get.  And he hasn't stopped since!  He rolls and rolls and rolls until he gets stuck at a wall or piece of furniture.  It is pretty funny to watch, but we remember very clearly Easton doing this same thing before he started crawling.  So it is a little bitter sweet since Griffin is our last that he is moving out of the baby baby stage and into the almost a toddler on the go stage!  Watching your children grow and learn new things is a great joy in life and we fully intend to enjoy this new stage with Griffin!

#2 Trip to Florida

The whole family on the air plane...our first family trip out of state.  Can I just give a little plug for SouthWest Airlines....they are so family friendly and fabulous.  We had such helpful people making our 4 flights (yes, we switched planes on the way there and on the way back) that made the trip so easy!  We also have the best children ever, as there were absolutely no issues with their ears!

This is the back of our villa, we had 2 large patio doors, with the patio, and a grassy area that was part of the golf course.  It was perfect for playing (although it was so HOT and HUMID that by 10:00 if you were outside you wanted to be in the pool) and getting a little extra energy out.  Not to mention the beautiful views of the golf course.

Easton and Daddy hitting the pool!  We spent hours everyday at one of the fabulous pools at our resort.  There were 7 total, but we favored 2 of them.  One was super fun, with a little cabanna restaraunt, a dj, and other fun family activities.  We also liked one of the other pools that had a little kids water slide that Easton loved.  He went down forward, backward, on his tummy, on his back, and on his bottom! 

Easton and Shamu.  My big boy has outgrown his fear of people in costume!  YEAH :o)  We spent two days at Sea World and had a blast.  It was the best place for our family.  There were so many fun things for us to do.  We saw the Shamu show (which was so amazing), Easton played in a splash pad, went on kiddie rides, saw all the animals, went on the Manta Roller coaster, fed seals, sting rays, dolphins.  It was a blast!

Unfortunately for Griffin, there was still a lot of napping going on.  At only 5 months old, he won't remember taking this trip, but I am so glad we brought him with us! This was at Sea World.

At the pool in his swimming gear!

We drove to Cape Canaveral and spent a day at the beach.  We had the best time.  It was cloudy, over cast, and a little breezy, but wonderful.  Easton loved the sand, waves, sea shells, the sea gulls....everything.  It was a magical fist trip to the Ocean for sure.  An added bonus was that the water was really warm (bath water warm) and so we could actually swim and play in the water.

Awake at the pool.  One of the pools also had a fountain area, which Griffin really enjoyed!  This is by far my most favorite picture of him.  His smile (tongue & drool included) is so infectious!

Our resort also had several family friendly activities going on while we were there.  One of them that Easton truly enjoyed was a character breakfast.  Here he is dancing away with Swampy the Alligator!  Needless to say there wasn't a whole lot of eating breakfast going on, but it was fun none the less!





It was a great trip.  It went quickly, but not too quickly and we really had time to relax and enjoy being a family.  Traveling is something we hope to be able to do with the boys as they grow older.  This was the best first trip we could have hoped for!

Playing Catch up! #1 First day of school

Easton getting out of the car on his first day of school!  Chris picks him up after lunch and takes him to his preschool class.  He goes in the afternoon with the 3, 4, and 5 year olds two days a week.  You can see the excitement on his face about going to school.

Opening the door to school, because he can!  He has gotten so strong and is capable of doing so much for himself now.  How did he get so grown up?

Already found something great to play with!  Easton also has a friend from summer camp in his class which he was so thrilled about!  So far he is loving going to school and asks daily if it is a school day.  It amazes me how much he has learned already.  His teachers say he is so enthusiastic about learning new things and is very passionate about the things he already knows!  It is so fun to see his passions and excitement for learning.  I hope that it continues throughout his schooling years!

He also got to go on the school bus in October for a field trip to Berry Hill Farm!  We love Berry Hill Farm, we go each year to the pumpkin patch and ride on the hay wagon pulled through the woods.  Chris was a chaperon and had Easton and a little girl with him.  It was a gorgeous day for the trip and fun was had by all!