The Farmer and the Dell

The boys are trying the garden thing out this year. Brandon and his dad constructed this cute little raised bed and Braxton is SOOOO excited about planting. I do have to tell you that Braxton helping with the planting lasted about as long as it took me to take these pictures. Hopefully, the interest in what grows will last a little longer.

And This I Know Is True....

It's not a secret that for years, many years actually, I was angry and hurt that my mom "left" me. I couldn't understand why she wouldn't take care of herself better and how she could just give up. I always heard that you can't begin to imagine a mother's love until you become a mother yourself. I now know how true those words are. I've been thinking about all of this lately because of the new baby on the way. One thought leads to another and like many things my mind always goes back to my mom. I'm reminded that the path was chosen for her and she didn't chose the path. I want to cry when I think about how angry I've been at her. When I think of Braxton and my love for him I feel confident that the love I have for him can be compared to the same love she had for me. Greater than life. Bigger than death. It's taken over 13 years but I think I'm finally at peace. I would never choose to leave my children. I don't think she would have ever willingly left us. I know the choice wasn't hers and if it were she'd be here with us today.

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!

Our little Violet was in desperate need of a hair cut. Her winter coat wasn't falling out quite like it should and it was clumping. She had huge knots all over and we decided she needed to have it all shaved off. Poor Cat.

Brax keeps asking when she'll "get big" again?

Request= Granted

Okay I guess it's time to let the cat out of the bag. I'm pregnant! Braxton started asking for a baby back in November and come the end of September his wish will have been fulfilled. When we first told him a few weeks back he had a sudden change of heart. He told us he wanted to be the "only baby". But if you look at the picture above he's trying NOT to smile. He's coming around and occasionally he'll ask "when's September?"

I'm 15 weeks today and MUCH bigger at this point in this pregnancy than I was with Braxton. I was very sick this time for about six weeks and am so glad that all of that is behind me. We went back to the doctor yesterday and everything sounded great.

Wanted you all to know. I'll keep you posted!

March Madness

Since Grandaddy and Uncle Steve have decided to go to the beach for the entire month of March( this is where you groan) we decided at the very last minute to head down for a quick weekend visit. You would have thought by the amount of bags that we took that we were going for the week but that wasn't the case. I actually didn't pack outfits "just in case" the weather changed and once I got down there I remembered that you should ALWAYS do this no matter how short the trip. I packed for an 80 degree weekend and when we pulled into the condo's paking lot the themometer in my car showed 61 degrees!

We had a great quick little visit. We were able to spend a few hours on the beach on Saturday (it was 80 degrees then) and we were able to take Braxton to play putt-putt for the first time. Good thing kids under 4 are free!! He played (his own version) for about 11 holes and then decided he wanted to keep score and told me I could play his turn!!

Although it was quick it was nice to get away. Only 5 more weeks until my own spring break!!

Proud To Be An American

My three year old informed me while we were out walking last weekend that they take turns with "the United States of America flag" at school . I wasn't sure what he was meaning but I didn't press it. When we got home he broke out with the Pledge of Allegiance. Not sure what you think but I was rather impressed.

Game On

Ever heard of cabin fever? Well I haven't just heard of it I've LIVED IT. Today was another snow day and last night after a LONG day inside (remember when you have a 3 year old that wants to play in the snow you spend 20 minutes getting dressed to go outside only to spend 10 minutes outside because it's cold!) it was almost bedtime and we were all sitting in front of the fire exhausted from......well just exhausted. I pulled open the "game drawer" and found one of my most favorite games: Mancala. If you have never played you should start. Its a lot of fun. I admit I haven't played in a while. As soon as I opened it up Braxton saw the "pretty rocks" and was all for learning to play. He actually played really well and won the first round without me even trying to let him. I have to tell you some funny things he said though. He was putting the marbles aka "pretty rocks" around the game board and I decided I'd start explaining what we were doing. BIG MISTAKE. I forgot who I was playing with and when I told him not to put one on my side he looked at it and said "No your side has more!"( See the bottom picture). He asked a million questions before I convinced him that I knew how to play. When he actually won, I told him to take his marbles out and count them and he said, "Mama I don't want to count".
Brandon said while most three year olds are learning Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders, my son is learning Mancala. And I thought a Toy Story 3 Memory game would be appropriate for Christmas!