Earth Day

Today is April 22 - a day noted on our calendars as Earth Day. The boys and I enjoyed the outdoors at the playground with good friends, and we talked about ways that we can help take care of the Earth. I'll save the fossil-making until tomorrow. And this evening I was reminded of the Creator. I was driving home from church and listening to "You're Beautiful" by Phil Wickham. The first line is "I see Your face in every sunrise." You get the gist. It brought tears to my eyes as I was driving along and seeing the trees, the spring flowers, and the bright pink sky as the sun set. I turned to check on Aaron, and saw God in his beautiful little face. Isn't it wonderful that I can see the face of God the Creator in the faces of my husband, my children, my family and friends? That HE is all around us! What an awesome and beautiful God we have!
As I was talking to Elliott about the sunset, I told him that God created this Earth and that we can see Him every time we look at His Creation. And we can help take care of it. What an honor to care for the Earth that God imagined and spoke into being.

Cheesy Grins

Oh how I love these cheesy smiles. And it's funny how they look exactly the same!

Aaron at 18 months

Aaron is now 18 months old. I'm not sure where the time went, because it seems like he should still be a little baby. Nonetheless, he is growing into quite a little toddler complete with temper tantrums. It's a fun time though, and he is learning new words and taking some steps on his own. He desperately wants to be doing what Elliott is doing. He is starting to enjoy books more. He absolutely LOVES taking baths. I think he gets dirty on purpose just so he can take one. Almost every time I take his clothes off he says, "Ba Ba." His plan is working because he had a post-lunch bath today less than 24 hours after taking one yesterday afternoon when he was covered in wet sand. I think new the new sand and water table will become a sand OR water table. Or perhaps the new home of the "rice toy".

Aaron - 18 months

Aaron looking like an oompah-loompah before his lunchtime bath.
*Elliott just saw this picture and said, "I want to see more pictures of baked ba-ziti head."

It's bear picture time!

Since Elliott was born, I have been taking his picture in our rocking chair with the same teddy bear. I started out photographing Elliott and the bear monthly during his first year, then at 18 months, and now I snap a photo each year on his birthday. He wasn't too keen on the idea this year and insisted that he needed to have his bear (the one from the post titled Meet Bear Zeppelin) for the picture. We finally convinced him, okay bribed him, to take the picture and the smile actually appears genuine! Here are some of the bear picture highlights from the past 4 years. They have been wonderful. We are incredibly blessed to have Elliott in our lives.

Elliott - 2 weeks old

6 months

The big 1 year old!

age 2

age 3

age 4

Elliott is 4!

Elliott celebrated his 4th birthday at The Monkey's Treehouse. He had a grand time playing with his friends, eating cake, and opening presents.

March Madness

The boys working puzzles together. This gives me such hope of them playing together!

Elliott stomping in the creek.

Aaron gets a chance to play with Elliott's new jackhammer!

20 Random Things about Matt

If you’re on Facebook, you have probably seen the recent rounds of 25 random things that everyone is posting about themselves. Well, I am stealing an idea from my friend Katie and writing 20 random things about Matt in honor of his birthday. I know I am short a few, so feel free to add some of your own in the comments.

1. Matt can cook, and not just on the grill. Before I left my job to become a stay-at-home mom, Matt got home from work first and he would always start dinner. Sometimes he still comes home and says he’ll cook dinner. What a treat!
2. He helps with the youth group at church. He went on a 12-day trip to Mexico last July with a group of high school student.
3. Matt has played the guitar for many years, and has recently started playing bass. I think it’s just because the youth group needed a bass player, but I’m proud of him for doing it.
4. He is in a band with the same guys he played with in high school.
5. He has been friends with some of these guys since he was 13. He is very loyal.
6. Matt really likes cookies.
7. He also likes zucchini bread, but not actual zucchini.
8. He makes up the bed at night before he gets into it. He likes the sheet to be nice and neat. I think this is because he is so tall that his feet actually come very close to the end of the bed. We cannot have a footboard for this reason.
9. Matt has worked for the same company for 10 years. Again with the loyalty thing.
10. He really likes to play golf. I think his retirement plans may revolve around how many times a week he will be able to play golf.
11. He also plays on the church softball team, but has relinquished the job of coaching this year.
12. Matt has a collection of cords and wires. This drives me crazy, but he assures me that he might need one someday.
13. Matt does not like to read. He probably reads one book a year. He enjoyed the Harry Potter series and read one book each year on vacation.
14. Matt is a very sound sleeper. He truly does not hear the boys wake up at night. Sometimes a swift kick helps to wake him though.
15. Matt is almost never wrong. If he says something, it is almost always true. It may not be exactly relevant to the argument/conversation, but it is usually an accurate statement. I have caught him doing this one time, and it brought me great joy. His friend Warwick keeps a tally on how many times Matt has been wrong. I think it may be up to 14 now.
16. My nickname for Matt is George. I don’t know why. Elliott is Fred. I don’t have one for Aaron yet. Matt calls me Lucy. Maybe I shouldn’t post this one in case we ever have to go into the witness protection program.
17. Matt is very gracious about providing tech support to the friends and family who call seeking his expertise.
18. Matt is a great friend.
19. Matt is an awesome dad! He loves our boys so much and always makes time to play with them. I can’t imagine a better dad for these two boys.
20. He is a wonderful husband…the perfect one for me. I love you, George! Happy Birthday!