Remembering Papa

Our hearts are aching today with the unexpected loss of Ty's papa. He was the kindest man I have ever known. He loved unconditionally. He always smiled, always had a silly joke to tell, and always had a hug and kiss for everyone. He worked harder than anyone I know. He loved Jesus with all his heart. His license plate was "WWJD". There were always grandkids on his lap, playing with his hair (what he had left) and jumping up and down on his lamp. Gabe loved to sit on papa's lap and tip upside down. It makes me even sadder to know that Gabe will not remember Papa someday. I am so thankful that he is papa's namesake, and I hope he grows up to be a man like papa. We love you, papa.

Summer's waning moments...

I am grieving the fact that I must go back to work in less than 2 weeks-the thought of leaving Gabe every day breaks my heart. I love to teach, I love the schedule of school, I love working with difficult teens who are struggling (or not even trying) to get through school...I love walking into school in the crisp morning air with a fresh coffee of steaming coffee (and yes, that one cup of coffee is back in my morning routine...and makes me smile!). But none of it compares to cuddling up and reading books, picking "pitty" flowers, singing and dancing in circles 'til we get dizzy and fall down, or just holding your sleeping baby 'cause you don't want to put him down. It is exhausting, lonely at times, frustrating that your 13 month old can run away about as fast as a 4-month pregnant mom can chase, and oh so messy...very very messy. Let me emphasize...boys are MESSY! And I thought my husband was bad:) But at the end of the day, I love being a mom. I wish I could do both and do both really well. But, on a brighter note, this school year will be short...cause of our little addition this winter! And maybe next year...well, we will worry about that next year. For now, here are some great pics of how we are spending the last days of summer...


We got to meet little Abigail Stephens, such a beautiful little baby! We miss you already and wish you weren't so very far away!

We are discovering how much fun playgrounds are...for kids and parents!

Gabe thinks that bein' beach bums is great fun!

Gabe LOVED the "hot" (fires) daddy built while we were camping!

Ear infections and long sleepless nights

I cannot believe how sleep deprived I am nor how much I have to do. We are leaving in 2 days for a week of camping on Kueka Lake, and the "to do" list keeps growing! We are in the middle of remodeling part of one of the apartments, storing up for winter (food, wood, etc.), and now taking care of a sick little man who did not sleep for the third night in a row last night. For anyone who has kids, you know how dismal the hours between about midnight and 5am can be. You have just fallen in REM sleep when you are jolted awake by a cry which quickly turns into desperate screaming...and you know it is going to be long night. I slept more sitting up last night than laying down....and not at all between 2 and 4:30. Poor baby, everytime he laid down, his ears hurt so bad. But when the sun comes up, he is as happy as a lark and you would never guess anything was wrong. Ear infections....yuck. I am off to make dinner for a new mommy....and dreaming of napping, but only dreaming...

Blueberry picking

My little family's all time favorite fruit is blueberries...and so mom and I drove an hour south to spend the day in a field of blueberries....picking, and of course, eating too many to count! We picked over 20 pounds of berries until our little helper became too sleepy to continue. It was a wonderful adventure and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a day trip into the beautiful country. Although we were exhausted, I had to muster the strength to throw together a pan of blueberry buckle, which is almost gone already! Yum!!! Today marks 12 weeks....still in normal clothes, still feeling sick, and counting the days til I can feel this little one kicking...it all becomes so real, then!

Happy 13 month birthday, Gabe! You have made life an exciting adventure!

Sharing ice cubes...dada is the best!

Thank God for Aunties...and cousins!

All FOUR boys had so much today playing with this great water table from Aunt Ki-Ki. What a great thing to have boy cousins everywhere you look! Life sure is good!

Sorry, Noah...you were sleeping by the time I got the camera out!

Scrapbooking

So, I have to confess the reason I have not been too great about posting is because I have been avidly scrapbooking every minute I get while Gabe sleeps. I am desperatey trying to get caught up with his book before school starts up again in a month. There is NO way catching up will happen in September...being a mom, pregnant, and teaching...I'll be lucky to have clean underwear for us all! Ha-ha. Once the new baby is here, I want to be just scrapping current pics of the boys. Yes, I say boys. I have felt sooo different this pregnancy than my first, and I was starting to think girl (Ty thinks it's twin girls-boy are we in trouble!) When I went to get my bloodwork done the other day, the lady told me to come home and check the bridge of Gabe's nose. If there was a blue "vein" or line across the bridge of his nose, then it was a boy...she says it is "scientifically proven". Well, shortly after arriving home, Gabe fell and hit the bridge of his nose on the side slat on our bed....and now has a LARGE blue line across his nose. So, I am now betting on a boy!

Can you see the blue????