Ok Daddy, let go...

I'm sure this is only the beginning of that phrase in our home. As I parent you want you child to create that autonomy, but at the same time, we want to hold on to doing things for them.

Tonight before dinner we spent some family time outside. The weather was unusually cooler, so we took advantage of playing baseball, basketball, and riding around. One toy the boys don't ride often are their bikes. Well, that's about to change....

Owen and I were talking and he asked, "Who are my friends and Griffin's friends that can ride a two-wheeler?" So I answered and he said, "Why?" "Well, buddy, they practice and enjoy riding. Do you want to try your bike?" After some contemplation between whether he and Griffin should ride bikes he suited up. I mean, knee pads, elbow pads and helmet. "OK, Mama, I'm ready for you to push me!" Well, unfortunately he had to say that 3 times while I was juggling dinner prep, and just as I walked outside, Daddy drove up. Perfect timing. Owen was hyped, and wanted us to push him. Well, first time out Chad was holding on most of the way down our driveway...second time around Chad steered him towards the grass....third time Owen said after two steps, "Ok Daddy, let go!" Those words wandered in my head as I saw him "get it." So, here's a clip of how we spent our next 30 minutes and why we ate a cold dinner.... IT WAS WORTH IT! :-)

Watermelon Surprise

Yesterday we picked up our goods from the CSA, and as usual, the food was beautiful. Over the last few weeks we have gotten watermelon, cantelope, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, lettuce, onions, cabbage and cukes. But tonight when we cut open our watermelon for dessert, we had such a surprise........

Now, have ya'll ever seen a yellow watermelon? It tasted wonderful!!! I actually closed my eyes to see if I thought it tasted like a red watermelon...and it does! I don't know why it would have tasted different, I guess it was just a mental thing for me. :-)

Cousin Camp

After our week at the beach, Owen spent a few days with Grandma Jo and then went on to Mom's house for "cousin camp." Now some of you may be giggling at the name, but if you know anything about my mom, she is ALL about the grandchildren spending time together. And boy did they! They had a wonderful week at mom's house. She planned that part of their day be spent at a local farm camp, Spence's Farm. Each day Owen got to groom and ride horses, go creek stomping, rock slide in a river, climb a tree and fall out (thankfully only once), gather eggs from a chicken coop, make pottery, do woodworking, and just enjoy nature. As my mom said, "Laurie, you would have loved it, it was complete granola." Owen's counselor Charlemaine tended to 6 little 5-6 year olds from 9-3. The cousins went Tues-Fri and then spent the evenings with mom riding the gator, playing in the sprinkler, swinging on the front porch, climbing trees, playing tag, picking blackberries, and making jam with mom. A bonus was that IVey, my grandmother, turned 93 while the kiddos were there so it was an especially special b-day for her. Mom told me that she was journaling while they were there, and that she totaled 22 pages of fun. I really can't wait to read all the little details. Here are a few pics from the week together. Griffin plans to join the crowd next year!

Sewing Machine

Burp cloths and Bella Kate's blanket

Front of Isabella Kate's blanket

Back of Bella Kate's blanket

Last week when Owen was at Cousin Camp....more of that later.... I spent my boy's nap times sewing. It was a week that I had originally planned to scrapbook, but I literally scrapped that idea when I realized the huge baby boom in our lives. Four girls at church, one college friend adopted, and a new little niece is on the way.

Over the last few years, I have gradually taken up sewing. It has been a source of satisfaction as well as frustration, but I'm learning the hang of it so there are many happier days recently. I was sharing with a friend what I did in my "so-called" spare time last week and she wanted me to share with all of you the pictures. So far, these have just been personal gifts for friends and family. So, if you need any of these gifts....let's talk!

Beach Trip '08

So, here's a glimpse at all the fun we had the last two weeks with all our family. I just loved being around both families for an extended amount of time to really relish them. It wasn't just the holiday rush around that we are used to. We really had great conversation, great food, fun memories, some time to read lots of books, listen to music, play play and more play.

Out time in the Outer Banks started a little rocky with a trip to urgent care then on to the hospital. WE got there Sat. and Sunday morning Griffin woke up with what had to be a 103 temp. Tylenol wouldn't touch it all day, so we left for the hour long drive to urgent care around 3. Once there, they did blood work, chest x-rays, and motrin to get a handle on things. At that point, they mentioned "hospital" and I got anxious. Why, well let's see, we are 15 hours from our doctor, one hour from family in a small coastal town with a 19 bed hospital. So, I immediately called some girls to pray and God completely went before the whole ordeal. We only stayed a few hours got Griffin the medicine he needed for: pneumonia. Crazy in the middle of June!! So his week at the Outer Banks was alot of sleeping and laying low. He really wasn't back to 100% until about 8 days later. On a happy note, with all this antibiotic he was on we were able to rid his body of all dairy. I know most of you are wondering....WHAT! Well, on the way to the beach, Chad and I had made a decision to illiminate cheese from his diet. That was the last of dairy to go, and I was just being stubborn. (But, if nothing else as a parent, we learn sarifice. It looks a little different for everyone) Cheese in some form has been a part of our family, so this was going to be a good time to do it- on vacation, with no normal routines. As for the antibiotic, it truly flushed his system of all good and bad, unfortunately I didn't have a probiotic for him to take, but oh well. The reason for this illiminatation is because of his ezcema on his feet. Well, combined with the sand, sun, antibiotic, and no dairy his feet look wonderful. I was amazed at how quickly his feet started to look better. I am so thankful that I'm learning more and more how to care for our health needs more naturally. It is so amazing to see how our bodies heal when we give them the right foods!!!

Anyways, that was a terribly long post about Griffin's needs but I wanted to share with you all what our family continues to learn.

Outer Banks, NC

"Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morning!"

That is line from a famous song, and it definately resounded in our hearts this past week. We had a wonderful time in Corolla, NC with Chad's family of about 30+ people. One would think we would be too cramped for enjoyment, but the house was great. Our place was right on the beach , but the fun part was that we had to drive on the beach to get there. There was no road to take, so all our cars had to be four wheel drive to get 6 miles up the beach. On the flip side, that made it interesting during the day when we were all playing on the beach. I think Owen and Griffin might have learned the art of traffic patrol while building their sand castles. Here's a glimpse of our week: played in the pool, walked out to the beach, played volleyball, played pool, woke up to wild horses by our place, four-wheeled on the sand, flew kites, and learned about "beer-pong" from some cousins. We decided to be the designated tossers. On the 4th, we got to visit Chad's aunt and cousin, Ryan, who has children around our boys age. I just loved getting to see them and get to know that side of the family better.

I will share pictures when we return....we are now in Hilton Head Island with mom, Ivey and soon-to-be Grandma Jo. The week has already been fun with lots of pool and beach time. Owen could easily be mistaken for a fish in the water. He has also made some little friends at the pool, imagine that. :-) Griffin has also come out of his sheel a little this week and is becoming a little more of a risk-taker with the water. as for Tate, all I can say is WATCH OUT! My no fear boy just loves the sand, water, birds and people. He too knows no stranger. What wonderful memories our family is making! I just love it!