Six Years of Marriage

Then...

And now...

Six years later and still having fun!
We're even golfing together - Stephen's wildest dreams have come true!
I love you more than I ever knew possible!

Happy Anniversary!

Picky & Porky

Ah, the differences between children.

By the looks of it (above), Jeremiah was a well-fed baby, but the reality is he was (and still is) a picky eater. Now, his parents are picky eaters so it's not entirely his fault. But ever since he started eating "big people" food, his repertoire has been pretty limited. Graham crackers (see below) were a favorite at 11 months :) Chicken nuggets are a favorite now.


Then along came Joshua. That boy will eat ANYTHING! I have a couple of theories why:

1. He is the second child. We have given him much more variety than we offered to Jeremiah.
2. He got teeth MUCH sooner than Jeremiah which made us more comfortable giving him chunks of food. Jeremiah at 11 months: no teeth. Joshua at 11 months: 8 teeth!
3. The child loves food! He chows down on meat, vegetables, fruit, crackers - I haven't found anything he doesn't like yet!

Seriously, I can't feed this child fast enough! I'm not complaining - it is such a blessing to go somewhere to eat and know I can almost always find something Joshua will eat! And I love that he will eat the same meal as us most of the time!

So the tale of Picky & Porky (only said out of love - I love chubby babies!) continues. I think the contrast between the boys is so interesting! I have a feeling Joshua will be cleaning up Jeremiah's leftovers as they get older :)

American Idol Wrap-Up

SPOILER ALERT! Do not read if you haven't watched the Finale yet!

Everyone ok?

If you're still reading, you must have seen the finale. Or you don't watch the show. In which case, why are you still reading?!

Ok, here I go.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's about what it sounded like around here last night when we finished watching American Idol. Never mind that the kids were in bed - we were PUMPED! Can you guess who we were for?

That's right - Kris Allen won American Idol Season 8. And we could not have been happier! Well, that is unless Danny Gokey had won, but he wasn't in the finale so that was not an option. Danny and Kris were favorites of ours from very early on and it was so exciting to see them go so far in the competition.

And the best thing about the two of them - even better than their voices? They both love the Lord and are using their voices for Him in their local churches. I love it. God can be glorified anywhere - even on American Idol.

I can't wait to see what both of them do next in their careers - I'll be waiting for their albums!

In the meantime, it's time to download music from the season from iTunes. There were some great performances this year. So here's my question...

Favorite performances? What should I add to my list?

And now I'm moving on because FOX isn't giving me much of a break. Tonight is the beginning of what we affectionately call around here "Shoobeedooba," also known as...

Pioneers Park was Picture Perfect

I don't know if you can tell from the title of this post, but it's "P" week around here. We've been working on one letter a week - what it looks like, what sound it makes, words that start with the letter, etc. And now we're on the letter P.

So today we headed over to Pioneers Park and their wonderful Nature Center. And we pointed out everything along the way that started with P :)

Pioneers Park is my favorite place to take pictures of the boys, but I didn't have any of Joshua there since he was so little last summer. I'm so glad he cooperated today!

We saw deer jumping through the water, geese with their goslings and elk resting in the shade. Lots of busy birds out as well - Jeremiah kept telling them to go back to their bird house! The boys were fascinated.

It was a perfect day to take in the beauty of God's creation - in nature and in my boys.

Crazy Cookbook Sale

I love cookbooks. Way too much.

Which is why I almost cried tears of joy when I discovered this sale.

Taste of Home publishes several wonderful cooking magazines - Taste of Home, Simple & Delicious (formerly Quick Cooking), and Healthy Cooking, to name a few. At the end of every year, they put all of the recipes from each magazine in their own annual collection and publish it as a cookbook. They also publish several other wonderful cookbooks.

And here's the deal...

...are you ready?...

Many of them are on sale right now for $5!!!!! You have to go to their website right now!

And if that's not enough for you, type in the code T0170 at checkout and you'll get free shipping AND 10% off your order!

Doesn't that rock?! Even if you don't like cookbooks, think cheap - excuse me, inexpensive - presents!

Happy shopping...and cooking :)

Fun Update on the Boys

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Year One Done!

As my wonderful husband pointed out tonight, I am a little behind on family updates on here.

There's a lot going on here, but the most exciting thing is Stephen completing his first year of medical school! As a good friend of ours said the other day, "Now I can say, 'My friend Stephen is one-fourth doctor!'"

The last few weeks were a flurry of studying and tests and it all concluded with an all-day comprehensive exam. That's right - 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (with a lunch break, thank goodness!) and covering EVERYTHING they learned this year. Doesn't that sound like a fun way to end the year?!

Well, to put a cap on a great first year of med school, we found out Thursday that Stephen passed every section of the comp! Now that is cause for celebration!

Let me just take this opportunity to say that my husband is amazing. I am so incredibly proud of him for so many things - for hearing God and taking the leap of faith to start the whole doctor journey, for balancing school and family so well, for being a FABULOUS father and husband, and for excelling academically. I am in awe and so thankful to God that I am married to this man.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support along the way - we have seen God working in this every step of the way. I can't wait to see what He does next!

Way to go honey! YEAR ONE DONE!

***By the way, this summer for him will include a three-week rotation at a clinic, working at our church (which he seriously loves) and several vacations (some as a couple, some with friends and some with the kids)!

BzzAgent - Nature's Source

I am a BzzAgent. What is that, you ask? It's really cool. Here is what there website says about it:

Started in 2001, BzzAgent is the leading word-of-mouth marketing and media
company. Viral marketing, buzz marketing ... whatever you call it, we help
people find, try and share cool products, brands and websites. It's like the
word of mouth you spread already — just easier and more fun.

As a BzzAgent, you join word-of-mouth marketing campaigns
to try new products and services from some of the biggest companies around. Your honest recommendations help people you know, and help influence brands like Tropicana, Max Factor and Philips.

I have been a BzzAgent for almost a year now and I love it. I already loved to tell people about products I liked, so getting free stuff to tell people about was a bonus!

Most of the products I've tried have been excellent - stuff from Pledge and Aveeno to name a few - but there have been a few flops as well. Either way, it's fun to try new things!

I decided to start sharing on here about the products I try - I hope the information is helpful to you! Let me know if you have any questions!

So here's my first product review:

The campaign I'm participating in right now is from Nature's Source, the new natural line of cleaning products from SC Johnson.

Now, I'm not one to usually spend extra money on "natural" products, but I do like the idea of not introducing any more chemicals into my home than necessary, especially with two little kids.

I'm also a little wary of the cleaning power on "natural" products, but the Nature's Source line has not disappointed me. Each product is compared to one of SC Johnson's original product, such as Scrubbing Bubbles and Windex, which are products I already use and trust.

I have been able to try four products from the line and I am very happy with each of them. I was especially excited to see that a toilet bowl cleaner was included in the line! Isn't it funny the things you get excited about as a mom?!

I would definitely recommend these products for a more naturally clean home. You can check out more about them on their website.

Have you tried them yet? Are you interested in trying them? Let me know what you think!

My Marvelous Mother's Day

The best way to celebrate Mother's Day? Time with the three most important men in my life and...a 2 1/2 hour nap!

After church, we ate at Braeda (moms eat free on Mother's Day!) with good friends and then headed to the zoo!

It was a little cool but that didn't put a damper on our fun!

Jeremiah finally warmed up to the idea of feeding the goats. I've been trying to get him to do that for the longest time!

Jeremiah had fun exploring on foot - he didn't last very long in the wagon! This spider web was a good place to climb - but he just sat most of the time :)

And forget any fancy rides or toys for these kids! Jeremiah and his buddies Emma and Sam thought sitting in this dinosaur egg was awesome!

The zoo had lots of fun stuff for Mother's Day but, of course, the free train rides were the highlight of the day, especially for Jeremiah!

Joshua was a little cuddlebug with Daddy on the ride!

And Jeremiah sat by his "girlfriend" Emma. Stephen is already planning their wedding :)

Mother's Day this year reminded me that, even in the midst of temper tantrums and diaper blowouts, I am the luckiest woman in the world because these two boys love me and call me Mom. I thank God everyday for blessing me with them and a wonderful husband who is also an amazing dad.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you beautiful women out there!

I know this blog is supposed to be about us...

but I just have to tell you about my friend, Mindee. She's going to be on Rachael Ray tomorrow. Seriously. I am SO excited!

You can read all about it on her blog and then watch her on the show tomorrow.

My VCR - yes, I said VCR (we have not caught up with DVR age) - is set for 9:00 am tomorrow (check your local listings).

Oh, and if you go to the Racheal Ray page for tomorrow's episode and watch the pictures scroll by, you'll see Mindee standing next to Bill Clinton!

But first you should read all about it on her blog. Right now. Start here and work your way up to today. It's a great story.

Way to go Mindee! We are so proud of you! And I know you will look beautiful!