Tuesday, August 24, 2010

GratiTuesday

Happy GratiTuesday! This week we're thankful for:

  1. My friend Serena and her awesome photography/editing skills. It's humbling to personally know someone that God has so amazingly gifted. We got the other photos back, and I'll be posting them on here as the week progresses.
  2. Kelly who went to the photo shoot with me, and sat in a McDonald's playroom afterward with me while the kids 'celebrated' how well they did having their pictures taken.
  3. Friends who came to the rescue with their old cell phones to help me in the interim since my phone pooped out. We're trying to decide whether or not to stay with AT&T since our contract is up, and this way I can get by with a borrowed phone until we decide. (Side note: Remember how convicted I was about not wanting an iPhone? I'm eating those words now. I want one BADLY.)
  4. The ER doctors and staff who bumped Blake to the head of the line last Thursday night. He has a follow-up doctor's appointment tomorrow, so I'll post about our 'experience' after that.
  5. My friend Melissa who came over for a 'tutu tutorial' Sunday and didn't seem to mind the three extra pairs of helping hands!
  6. Our friends Tammy and Rob who (again) amazed us with their generosity this week. Brent went over to look at a small ladder they had, hoping to find out the brand so he could buy one for us, and they GAVE it to him. What an awesome surprise!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Teaser photo...

We had the kids' pictures taken on Saturday, and this is the "teaser photo" we got. I love it!! I'll post more as I get them!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Happy GratiWednesday!

So much to be thankful for, and it's been a long time since our last "Grati" post. I know I'm forgetting to add a lot, but here are a few:

  1. We found a great sitter for the Fall! We are losing our sweet Tara (she's graduating this semester), so she'll just be able to watch the kids as her school schedule allows. We changed gears and actually found someone who nannies professionally, and we're hoping we don't burn her out! She started this week and (knock on wood) we think it will be great.
  2. Fun birthdays! We celebrated our sitter Becky's 21st birthday this week, and (of course) Brent's birthday yesterday. Brent's birthday ended with a great dinner at the new Mongolian grill (Genghis) and a movie ("Expendables" with Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mickey Rourke, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin...you get the picture). He had a great birthday! (& yes, for those of you keeping score, it WAS complete Hell for me. He totally paid me back for making him watch "Letters to Juliet" on my birthday.)
  3. Tara brought the kids all kinds of fun goodies last night when she babysat for us--dress-up necklaces, magnets, butterfly tattoos and more--and the kids had so much fun playing with her.
  4. Air conditioning! Mercy, the AC has worked its tail off.
  5. Average bill payment for electricity (for #4 above). I'm sure we'd pass out if we had to *guess* how much to budget for electricity. Woooo, last month's was a doozy!
  6. The last FPU class ended a couple of weeks ago, and we still have a couple of weeks "off" before the next one starts. It's nice to get a break, but I'm anxious to meet our new classmates for the next session.
  7. The kids' pediatrician for filling out the necessary forms for Sophie's preschool without making us come in for an office visit. She's the best!
  8. Kelly helped me take the boys for their 'big boy' haircuts at the salon! This was their second time getting 'real' haircuts (Mommy's been doing it at home), but we wanted a good haircut for their upcoming pictures. The boys did amazingly well! (Side note, we won't be going back to that salon--Kelly and I almost fainted when the total was $18 EACH! For toddlers??)
  9. My friend Laura and her daughter Jaiden invited us to a movie last weekend. We saw "How to Train Your Dragon" and the kids were really good. I was surprised that it held their interest for so long!
  10. Mucinex and Vicks. I'm battling a summer cold this week and the 'Vicks + socks' bedtime routine is a lifesaver!

So many more that I'm forgetting right now--I'll have to add more to next week's list.

As promised, here are some pictures of the kids!

After the boys' haircuts--you can see the slight "spikiness" of the front of their bangs. Cute!

At the movie with Jaiden:

Purely for blackmail later (their favorite movie right now is Cinderella--you should see them ballroom dance!):

More pics to come as the week progresses!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRENT!!!!!!

We celebrated with doughnuts this morning--candles and all. Here are the kids singing to their Daddy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRENT!!!

We made a Happy Birthday sign, and Sophie was thrilled with the results. She couldn't wait for Brent to see it--she stumbled out of bed barely awake this morning saying "C'mon brothers, look at Daddy's sign!" Graham saw it and said "TA DA!!" Classic Graham--such a showman!

We're back in blogworld now after a not-so-brief hiatus. Somehow there haven't been enough hours in the day for the past few weeks. I'll be posting a GratiWednesday post tomorrow along with pictures and updates on the kids.