Back to School

Naptime on Sunday afternoon (Caleb and Clark). The peaceful slumber of a man without any homework... yet.

Well, the exciting last semester is beginning. Caleb is scheduled to graduate in December and we are making important decisions for what happens next. Caleb is preparing to take the GRE exam. He is considering going to grad school for a master's degree in education. If you had asked me what he would be studying a few years ago I would not have seen that coming, but then again when we moved here we thought he would be studying accounting and not english...

I've decided to stop thinking I know what will happen in the more distant future and just choosing to "go-with-the-flow" and try to enjoy things as they come. Not to mean we will not be planning for our future, but you just can't control some things. I guess the Lord just wants us to stop trusting in our own strength and rely on him a little more. I would have to say that every time in my life that I have it all "figured out" is when the biggest surprises come. So, maybe grad school. Maybe not. Hopefully gainful employment... :) The good news is that when Caleb talked to his counselor she said that it looked like he would graduate with honors. Go Caleb!

Hello again.

It's been a while. It may seem strange to some in this day and age, but sometimes I go a really long time without using the computer. It just doesn't seem to make my to do list sometimes, but mostly I've been in and out of town. Also, there is a guilty feeling involved with leaving your children to ravage someone else's house while you're on the computer. Even close relatives. Well, I'm back. (This may be a relief to my few remaining readers.) And I flatter myself even thinking that people still read my blog.

We have actually had an eventful few weeks. Spent a whole lot of time with family. My brother and his family came to visit from Colorado. Celebrated my 5th wedding anniversary. Went to the beach. Lots of summer stuff, relatively no pictures. I hate to admit it, considering I believe I have two of the most beautiful children in the world, but I'm not really a picture person. I am the person at the event that didn't even think to bring a camera (or left it in the car), but will ask someone with a camera if they will send me some of their pictures because I feel a bit guilty about not recording this part of childhood for my boys. In reality though, we have plenty of pictures. The boys' lives are well documented even though it may not be entirely with pictures.

This photo was taken on our anniversary.

We had a wonderful 5-year wedding anniversary. It isn't that we did anything spectacular, but we spent a few consecutive hours together without children. Sometimes that in itself is spectacular. I have to say that one of my favorite things to do is to talk to my husband. I think he's funny and after 5 years of marriage, he still makes me laugh. Technically, we go back a lot further than that, but that is a story for another time. We actually share a wedding anniversary with my grandparents. I really love them a lot and think of them (especially on our anniversary).

I've been spending a large part of my very small free-time sewing. I have made 2 shirts, altered 3 shirts, sewn 2 purses, and plotted more projects. My most recent learning is sewing with knit fabrics. Now, there is a reason why people buy their clothes from stores. It is because once you have factored in time and resources, it's usually cheaper these days to buy off the rack. But when you have a mother who has a lot of fabric laying around, with a $3.44 pattern you can have a very satisfying one of a kind article of clothing (hopefully one of a kind in a good way). I'm not posting the first attempt at this pattern because I think this one turned out much better.... :) If you're interested the pattern info is Simplicity New Look #6875 (from Walmart). Very simple, which is how I like it.

Ring around the rosie!

When I went into the church nursery on Sunday to pick up the boys, they were playing ring-around-the rosie. The kids were so cute hand-in-hand in a circle. Bruce was in the middle doing his thing. That night he was showing off for us. I guess Brucie is more of a solo act.

He tried to be a team player... briefly.

Happy Birthday Clark!

Clark turned 3 years old on August 1st! I can't believe he's getting so big. He truly is more little boy than baby now. He tries so hard to be good, but sometimes he can't resist... If I had to describe him to a stranger, I would say he has a sunshine smile. He is such a people person and will chat up anyone who will look in his direction at the store or anywhere! No shy violet here. He is smart and is always asking questions, wanting to understand. (I think that comes with his age.) Loves to read, color, sing! Loves his brother (bubba), even though sometimes it's more of a "tough" love situation. :)

I tried to set his b-day up with some age appropriate activities. We went to the zoo (Brucie in photo with the Galapagos Tortoises),

baked some cupcakes (with sprinkles!) which he picked out - frosting and all,

fixed a bike with Dad,

and had some serious sugar consumption. We did the candles 3 times, I think. Happy, happy birthday, Clark!

This is the cupcake he picked to eat. Also, thanks to HB and K who came to celebrate with us and make sure I didn't polish off the rest of those cupcakes alone!

Side note: Brucie devoured this cupcake like nobody's business. I wish I had it on video. I swear, like 30 seconds from start to finish. You would think he hadn't just eaten 2 whole pieces of pizza, or anything in the last 12 hours! He must be going through a growth spurt.