Brothers

You can't tell these two are brothers...

Lazy Sunday

Had a wonderful weekend.  Sunday was another gorgeous day outside. I woke up early and took the kids for a walk across the street to the park and down the trail.  It was so nice to be outside on such a beautiful morning.  I got some cute pictures of the boys with there "coolest brother" tee shirts on.  They looked adorable.

Later Jason and I took the kids for a walk together to the park.  We had chicken on the grill for dinner.  Perfect day to grill out.  It was a great Sunday to just spend the day together doing nothing. 

 

Beer, Wine and Cheese!

Today was another beautiful day.  Not a cloud in the sky, sunny and 70 degrees.  I went to the beer, wine and cheese festival.  It was a sold out event and it was packed.  There was so many people waiting in line to sample beer and wine....it was really fun.   

After the festival we went to an Irish Bar, "Dublin Square" for dinner.  The food was AMAZING. I ordered the Irish stew which was awesome.  I also tried my very first muscle.  It was actually very good.

 

Finally a 70 degree day!!  I have never been so thankful to get outside!  I took a walk on my lunch break today and took the kids to the park after work to relish the beautiful day.  It is supposed to be nice all weekend.  Thank you God for some good weather finally.  I am heading to a wine, beer and cheese festival with one of my fiends tomorrow and I am glad it is going to be nice out.

AB-I-TOOT!

Had a good weekend.  It was still cold on Saturday but  the sun was out all day and it made it feel warmer.  Took Austin to the park and down the slide for the first time.  He really loved the slide.  I put him in the swing too but he didn't seem to like that as much. 

Jason took Riley to play basketball.  He is learning some new moves from his dad.  He is a pretty good dribbler and can make a lot of underhand shots.

 

 

Austin wanted to play too!

Dad brought us home some hot fudge sundaes.

We were a little silly.

We took a nap.

 



Tonight Riley was singing "AB-I-TOOT" and I couldn't figure out what the heck he was singing.  He kept saying "You know that part where the song says AB-I-TOOT" and then hummed the rest of the song.  Finally we discovered he was singing the Jason Aldean song "1994"  that I listen to in the car all the time.  It goes "Gonna bust out my honkey tonk ATTITUDE..."  Ha!   Now when I listen to it in the car I can hear him back there singing with a smile "AB-I-TOOT", too cute!!!

 

 

 

Matthew 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

It is 11 o'clock at night an I am just sitting here on my computer reading stories about some of the survivors from the Boston Marathon bombing.  I sit here crying, trembling and amazed at these beautiful amazing people that survived this horrific tragedy and can't imagine what they are going through.  I think about my life.  My husband and I go on little road trips with our kids all the time and never once do I think, "Is today the day someone is going to bomb us?"  That thought never crosses my mind.  I think about all the times I have gone out to eat with my parents and sat around laughing and enjoying our time together.  Never once do I think, "Is today the day someone is going to bomb us?" I think of my sister who lives in Milwaukee who I dearly love and cherish.  Never once do I think, "Is today the day someone is going to bomb her?"

All those innocent people enjoying a day with there kids, there girlfriend or boyfriend, there mom or dad, there co workers, there friends and family.  Not one them was thinking...."I wonder if today will be the day someone is going to bomb us?" 

Every day is a wonderful gift that we get to share with each other.  I cherish all my friends and family and can't imagine having them ripped away from me in such a senseless and cowardly act.  The heartache is enough to make you feel physically ill.  One day you are just living your life like any other day and then BOOM life is shattered into a million pieces.  It may not have happened in my back yard but I still feel pain and shock over such evil.  The scary thing is it can happen anywhere at anytime.  Life as I know it can be shattered into a million pieces right before my eyes.  That could have been my child who died or my family member who lost a leg.  As children of God we all stand together.  It is amazing to see the outpouring of people willing to help or give of themselves to help others who have suffered such loss.  When tragedies like this happen it is easy to allow yourself to live in fear of the evil that seems to be taking over this world.  Yet when I see all the wonderful people willing to risk there lives or give of themselves to help others it restores my trust in God and the spirit of God that is in each of us. It reminds me that one day that powerful God given spirit will CRUSH the head of evil and put it under our feet forever!  Our time here on Earth may seem long but it can't compare to the eternal bliss of Heaven.  Some people on Earth have suffered so much pain and I believe there is a special place in heaven for those who have suffered.  One day there will be no more tears.  One day we will all be together as one and we will all be reunited with our loved ones.  Oh what a happy day that will be!  Thank you Jesus for the hope of eternity in Heaven with you and all our loved ones.  Without it life would not be worth living.

The Beatitudes
3Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.      

New things

Austin has been doing so many cute things lately that I felt the need to post them.  His hair is starting to get curls just like Riley's did at this age.  I am sure people will begin to think he is a girl as his hair has gotten quite long now but I am not ready for his first haircut just yet!  He is a great walker but now he not only walks but runs all over the place.  One of his favorite places to run to is Riley's bedroom.  He usually will go straight for his bed to lay down.  He loves Riley's Lightning McQueen bed which is good as soon it will be HIS Lightning McQueen bed.  If there are shoes on the floor you can count on him finding them and carrying them all over the house.  What is it with baby's and shoes?  Who needs toys when you got shoes?  He loves playing all sorts of cute games.  Riley likes to throw the blanket over him and play peek a boo.  Austin just cracks up laughing.  Riley would probably play the peek a boo blanket game forever if Austin didn't finally get sick of being covered in a blanket everywhere he goes.  He also loves balls now.  He loves kicking and throwing them around and pushing them back and forth on the floor with Riley.   He knows how to give high fives and he will give you a kiss if you ask him too.  He still loves to sing and dance and likes any show that has music in it.  He loves to take out all the toys and then put them all away again.  He doesn't like it when Riley takes his toys away from him and he has a firm grip that even Riley can't break sometimes.  Every day he gets more loveable and fun.

Riley has some new tricks these days too.  He says the funniest things all the time.  The other day I was holding him pretending he was a little baby and he says to me "Mom, I am not a baby!"  I say "Aw my cute little baby!"  He gets up and runs across the room and starts doing jump moves and dancing tricks and says "See mom I am not a baby, if I were a baby I wouldn't be able to do these tricks."  He sure proved me wrong there!  Another thing he has been trying very hard to learn is how to do a summersault.  He asked me to do one and so I did.  I felt sore and dizzy for a while after doing it.  I guess summersaults are not so easy anymore.  Today I heard him talking to Jason in the other room.  He saw our wedding picture and said "Dad, You and mom got married?"  Jason: "Yes."  Riley "At the church?"  Jason:  "Yes we got married at a church."  Riley says "Well I have been to the church and played there 5 times in the playroom so I must have got married at the church too."  Ha!  Too funny.

Riley is very excited to get outside and play catch with his new baseball glove.   He loves that thing.  Austin tries to copy him and play catch too.  I have been trying to read more books to Austin as he seems more interested in them now.  Riley has the entire book "Cat in the Hat" pretty much memorized.  If I skip a page or say a word wrong he is correcting me right away, no cheating and skipping a few pages anymore.  He has gotten 100% better at going to bed at night.  I put him to bed at the same time every night(830) and we always brush teeth, go potty, wash hands, read a book and then he gets a kiss, squeeze and hug goodnight.  The bedtime battles have not been bad lately.  (Knock on wood).  Austin always goes to bed at 8pm and always sleeps through the night.

With all the tragedy in the world these days I am sure counting my blessings!  Life is so precious and every day you are alive it is a blessing.