Parting is such sweet sorrow

Saying goodbye is one of the hardest things I think to be done no matter how well you feel prepared or have done it.  I had to say goodbye to my sister and her husband as they took off for a new adventure in Soul, South Korea.  They are going to be teaching in a international school for two years with one trip paid home in between.  I have grown very close to her since our move to Virginia, and it was hard but important to say goodbye.  I definately did it in my own way while she did in hers.  She has great words for people while I feel like I do things for them instead.  We shared a "last American meal" together the night before they flew out that included turkey (since they don't serve turkey in Korea), mac and cheese, home grown green beans, salad with home grown lettuce and cucumbers, and corn casserole (on Jarrod's request). Then for dessert, we had cream puffs, a treat from my and Steph's childhood.  We played games and enjoyed each other's company. Stephen enjoyed playing in the front yard with Uncle Jarrod and Aunt Stephanie. He will sure miss them. I am so happy that Stephen had this time with them so that he built a relationship with them and knows them. Then, on Wednesday morning, we had cheese danishes, which has become a traditional breakfast food at our house.  After that, Jarrod's parents came and we all went to the airport.  We had a great time with them and are excited to see what God has in store for their future. I am already counting the days until I will see my sister (and my best friend) again.  We love you guys!

July!

Wow,  how time is flying! July started off with Peter being home for the week because of a forced vacation time from work.  The first was also my birthday.  My husband was amazing, cooking me a crab leg feast with my little brother, Caleb and of course the boys.  Scott didn't partake in the crab, but I am sure he will love it as much as his brother does! We also went to Julia's birthday party, a friend of Stephen's, who turned 7.  We had a great time splashing in Ida Lee's new water park.  

Next came the 4th of July... We had many people over and had a wonderful time.  Steph and Jarrod cooked hamburgers 

and hot dogs on the grill and everyone else filled in the sides. Peter, Jarrod and my cousin, Mike, had a blast setting off all the fireworks we bought.  Some were legal and some not so legal in our beautiful Commonwealth.  The cops came by 

and said that they didn't mind as long as we were blowing them off in our yard instead of the street.  Since Peter didn't get into trouble, he has put out there that next year will be better and bigger! It was a great time and I loved seeing everyone.  I am only sad that it was a kind of farewell to my sister, Steph, because they are going to Korea on the 22 for two years.  Keep her and Jarrod in your prayers as they are going to teach international students and hopefully be able to present Jesus to many of them.

Peter is back at work this week so we are trying to get back into our routine.  With the family all at the beach, it has been pretty quiet around here.  Hopefully next year we will be able to go with them.  My brother is coming to my house to say his goodbye's and will be going to the airport tomorrow to go back to the Air Force Academy.  Keep him in your prayers as he will be undergoing his survival training in the last session before school kicks back in. 

The boys are doing well. Scott seems to be getting really close to walking. He loves to be up and scooting around anything that will hold him. He is also getting into everything. The other morning I was doing dishes and the next thing I knew he had dumped over my plant and was playing in the dirt! He is for sure all BOY!  Stephen is sweet as ever.  He has such a servant's

 heart. He wants to do what is good and right all the time. He loves playing with his friends and helping me out with my chores.  He is also a little green thumb.  He loves to be in the garden with me and pull out all the fresh veggies.  Roxy is taking well to being the big sister dog.  She still longs for her alone time with the family on walks, but for the most part the two are romping around and she even taught Boots to go through the doggie door. (That's good and bad since he is not potty trained all the way yet!) Boots is becoming a horse. He seems to grow overnight. He loves to swing in Stephen's swing and still likes to chew. I can't wait for that phase to be over, since he tore a hole in one of my favorite t-shirts.

Next week will be busy. Keep us in your prayers as we will be helping in our church's vacation Bible school.  We are doing it on Paul and the underground church and pray that many lives will be changed.  It is a little different since whole families (parents included) are invited.  We are looking forward to the challenge and I am so blessed to be a part of a great church family!

Summer fun!

We are having a great time this summer. From family get-togethers to playing at the park to swimming at the pool with friends, there seems not to be enough time in the day.  I must tell you that I am slacking on my housework as of late because it is so much more fun to be outside enjoying the days playing on the swing set with the boys than cleaning a bathroom or moping the floor.  We have gone to the public pool in Berryville twice now. The first time it was too cold for Scott, but the second time- yesterday- we all had a blast! We met some friends there and Stephen really is starting to try and swim. I think there might be lessons in the future because he still doesn't like water on his head. Scott had a blast once he was in. He loved splashing and playing with mommy, but his favorite thing was to be in his orange tube and walk around by himself! I think he is definately trying to keep up with his big brother!

Stephen loves all things with balls.  He has been asking us recently to play tennis all the time and one of his little buddies, Michael, also loves to play tennis, so one morning we (the Moms) decided that it would be fun to take the kids to the court.  Stephen and Michael had a blast hitting the balls back at us.  Stephen is getting better about his swing, but he never has really been taught.  The whole time we were there, I just kept remembering the times my dad would take us to the tennis courts and teach us to play. I look forward to teaching Stephen "happy feet" and making fun memories with him.  While we were playing tennis, the babies~ Scott and Nicolas, who is about a month younger than Scott~ had a good time on the blankets we brought for them with some toys, that is until Scott started taking Nick's passy.  Once Scott stopped that, the boys played really well together.

What a Week!

This week we added a new member to our family!  He is around 16 pounds, black and white, and will grow to be a horse! Peter has always wanted a Great Dane and I have never felt the need to have a dog that will outweigh me, but since this year will be his 30th birthday, I thought it deserved a present that would fulfill a dream of his since he was a little boy.  His name is Sir Boots von Ville, but we call him Boots for short. He is turning out to be a great family addition.  Roxy didn't know what to think at first but she is learning to be a great big sister dog to him.

Other activities that we have done this week are going to the pool for the first time, Joelle Cole and David Cole's high school graduation parties and celebrated Father's day.  The men~ Caleb, Peter, my Dad, and Granddad~ went out to play golf and then we had a rib dinner after they came home.  We ended the meal with a raspberry cobbler that I made for the first time and it was delicious! Joelle, my cousin, graduated on the 12 of June from the school I coached at with a couple of the other girls I coached. It was a great ceremony and it was fun to see some of my girls again. Joelle will be going to Liberty University in the fall.  David, another cousin, graduated from Broad Run High School with an Air Force ROTC scholarship to the University of Alabama. We are proud of them both. My brother also came home from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, so I look forward to seeing and spending some time with him this vacation.  He will be returning in 2 and 1/2 weeks to go through the academy's SEAR training course. He just finished jump school, and had 5 jumps out of a perfectly good aircraft.  He said it was a blast! I will just believe him (since I am scared of heights)!

what do you do on a rainy day?

Thought I would give you a glance into our world when its raining... We have a blast singing and dancing, playing wii and reading stories.  Other things we like to do are going to the library, watching it rain on the porch, and playing with toys.  This is a video of Stephen singing his alphabet. He also likes singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." He loves to perform and asks me all the time if he can be "videoed."

I am so blessed to be able to stay home with the boys. It makes times like this priceless when I think about working moms and how much they miss their children growing up. 

Happy Birthday, Uncle Jarrod!

We were fortunate enough to have Jarrod and Stephanie come up and stay with us the night before they made their trip to Maine and Kentucky. Since they would be traveling on Jarrod's actual birthday, I thought it would be nice to celebrate it the night before.  We had a fabulous dinner cooked by my husband that consisted of beef kabobs, grilled veggies, bread, baked beans and strawberries and bananas. After dinner, the guys went out and set up Ladder Golf, a great yard game and practiced while I put the baby to bed, then challenged Steph and I to play them.  They won~ of course, since they had been practicing  ;)  and then we switched it up a little and in a grueling match of husbands and wives, Peter and I pulled out the victory (nice to do to the birthday boy, right?) 

After that, we headed inside and sung happy birthday over the ice cream cake Steph special ordered from her favorite cake decorator~ ME! It was a layer of white cake, icing, cookie dough ice cream in the middle (Jarrod's favorite), then another layer of cake with chocolate frosting on the top.  It was my first attempt at this kind of cake and I am happy to say that it got great reviews~ so much so that my husband has now requested a similar cake for his birthday! Anyway, after cake we hung out for a little while longer then decided to turn in because Steph and Jarrod had to leave for the airport at O Dark Thirty (4:30) in the morning. Since today is Jarrod's actual birthday, we once again want to wish him a very  HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 

Boys Day Out!

Peter is a Mariner's fan.  Understatement of the year. So one time a year, when the Mariners make the trip to Baltimore, Peter will be in the stands at Camden Yards  with his Mariner's jersey on with at least one family member.  This year given that it was a night game starting at 7:05, Peter had Stephen join him since he is the "big brother."  This was a special time for the two of them, sharing in the team Daddy loves with the sport his eldest son loves (Stephen wants to be a pitcher when he grows up.)  It was also special because Ken Griffey Jr. returned to the Mariner's lineup this season, which will probably be his last, and is one of Peter's favorite players besides Itchero Suzuki. A good report came home to Mom and Scott- both in bed and asleep when the boys returned- that the Mariner's won the game 4-1 over the Orioles. Stephen loved the time alone with his dad, watching the game, sharing pretzels, peanuts, hot dogs, and sodas. If it was not a yearly tradition before, I believe we have one now... Only next time hopefully we will all be able to go!