Eight

The 24th was Riley's 8th birthday. We celebrated lots over memorial day weekend. Somehow he managed to get a birthday weekend rather than just one day. It was a lot of fun though, for him and us. This birthday brought a first at our house. Riley talked me into hosting a spend-the-night party for him and 4 of his best friends. Except for his cousin, Tyler, all the boys that came were in Kindergarden together. It's cool how 3 of them are now in 2nd grade together and have remained good friends. They were boys and we had to tell them to settle down a time or two, but really they were pretty good. After the movie, they went to Riley's room to sleep on his floor and Lance and I went to bed too. Not sure how late they really stayed up, the next morning they claimed it was 'very' late. I woke up at 4am with Megan and they were all passed out in different spots around the room with the t.v. still on.

The boys all went home about 10am Saturday morning and our family came over at 1pm to celebrate and have lunch with us. More partying, more presents. Riley was eating it all up.

This was the first year when Riley asked for money rather than gifts. I was a little skeptical, thinking he'd miss having gifts to open. He did get a few from his friends but all the family gave him cards with cash. All that cash could only mean one thing for Sunday after church......a shopping trip.

We stopped at several spots before ending up at Target where he spent most of his money. The big purchase of the day was a video/game chair. It's sort of like the video-rockers but with speakers built in behind where your head rests. It'll take an audio feed from your t.v., iPod, DVD player or in Riley's case, his XBox. Besides the chair he bought lots of baseball cards, a nerf gun, a water gun and several Star Wars action figures.

My baby boy is 8 years old. I can't believe he'll be heading to 3rd grade next year. He's grown up so fast! His latest fascination is baseball. After attending a Braves game last week and having the opportunity to play with a great team this season, he is really loving the game. He loves to watch the pro games on t.v. and is really excited about his own games with his team. He loves to play catch in the yard and is always begging for trips to the batting cages. He is excited to be heading to play in a World Series tournament in Panama City this summer. The big time.

I love you, Riley! Happy Birthday big boy!

My Cup Runneth Over

It’s been a while since I’ve updated the blog. Sorry. Life is very good, just very busy and I’ve let this blog take the backseat lately. Baseball is in full swing for both boys, so that adds the chaotic schedule in our home. We enjoy it though and the boys are doing so well this year in ball. Riley’s league especially has become so much fun to watch as the boys are now turning double plays and hitting the ball over the fence on occasion. It’s cool to see how far they’ve come, from playing in the dirt (which they still do on occasion) and fighting over the ball in the outfield to where they are this year.

Baseball was on hold for Spring break and that week also coincided with my last week of maternity leave. I was glad to have the full week to spend with them and Baby Girl. We spent most of the week camping in Parrott with PawPaw and Nanny. The first part of the week was pretty cool and very windy, but by Thursday and Friday it was sunny and warm. We had a lot of fun riding through the woods on the 4-wheelers. We all enjoyed introducing Megan to camping and the woods. She did a lot of sleeping while we were there and it was sweet to watch her be mesmerized by the campfire at night.

Coloring Eggs While Camping

Looking for Lizards

We returned from camping on Friday and prepared for a full day on Easter with our families. The kids woke up to their treats from the Easter Bunny. The boys each got a movie and of course lots of candy. Megan’s basket had a rubber duck, rattle and a shorts outfit. After church we headed to visit both sets of grandparents and do the traditional Easter egg hunts. Riley, Owen, Jacob and Ethan (we missed you Zach and Kait!) had fun running through Nanny’s yard and finding all the hidden eggs. And of course we had a great meal of ham with all the fixin’s from Nanny. We left there and headed to the GG’s house to do another egg hunt and eat some more ham. Needless to say, by the end of the day our bellies were full and the baskets were overflowing. Coincidently, Riley is learning the 23rd Psalm for Awana. He’s learning it verse by verse and then at the end he’ll have to put it all together. I was explaining to him about what it meant by ‘my cup runneth over’ as he was memorizing that portion last week. No doubt our cups do run over and our blessings are abundant in more ways than one!

Our Pretty Girl on Easter

All 3 on Easter Morning

The Helton Grands
(minus Nathan who was napping and Zach and Kait)

PawPaw and Megan

The Boys at the GG's

The Foster Great-Grands

Returning to work has gone well. I’ve been back for 2 weeks now and it really couldn’t have gone smoother. Megan is taking a bottle easily and I’ve been successful at pumping plenty of milk for her in my absence. Of course I miss her, but knowing she’s at home with her Daddy and in great care has made the transition easier. I also am able to telecommute from home each Wednesday, so having that middle of the week day with her makes it much more doable as well.

This past Sunday was another awesome example of our overflowing cups. Riley was baptized Sunday morning and we had Megan dedicated in the same service. All of our family was able to attend and what an awesome day. I can’t help but get teary whenever I see anyone baptized, so it was even more special to watch my eldest son take the plunge. We tried to reiterate all week what he was doing and make sure he really understood. He was excited and I believe he really understood the significance of his baptism. Funny, as we walked into the changing room before the baptism and were met by a gentleman who had Riley’s robe ready for him to put on Riley turned towards me and said under his breath, “I ain’t wearing that, Mom!” He didn’t put up much of a fight though and everything went well.

Megan’s dedication was also very sweet. The pastor had all five of us come up on stage and then had our family (all 23 of them) stand in the congregation. He asked each of them to agree in helping us to raise Megan in a Christian home and pray that one day she too would make the decision her oldest brother had demonstrated that same day.

Our cups are overflowing! I pray yours are as well!

Shower

This weekend was another busy one. We spent a good deal of time doing more prep-work for Little Girl. She will be here soon, only 3 weeks left till her due date. I can’t believe it is creeping up so fast!

Saturday we spent a good portion of the day at the ball park for Riley’s practice. What beautiful weather though, none of us minded the extra time outdoors. February practices aren’t always so pleasant! Saturday night Riley began complaining of a sore neck. We soon realized what he meant was that he had a sore throat. By Sunday morning he was running a fever and kept it off and on all day Sunday. We missed church, but it’s hard to take part of the family when Riley is the one who loves to go and never likes to miss a week. I didn’t want to go and leave him home.

Sunday afternoon I headed to Alice’s house for my baby shower she and my Mom threw me. It was so much fun. Technically it was a diaper shower, since we really weren’t needing too many other things. We ended up with plenty of diapers plus lots of cute outfits and numerous other baby things. The prize gift was from Kaitlyn, she made both the boys t-shirts. Riley’s says, “I’m the oldest. I have a new sister.” Owen’s says, “I’m in the middle. I have a new sister.” They both loved their shirts and can’t wait to wear them to the hospital and to school after the baby is born. She also made a onesie for the baby that says, “Lil Blessing.” After Riley woke from his 4 hour nap Sunday evening (that’s how I know he was really sick), I showed them the shirts and he said, “I like the way that Kait thinks!” Only trouble is I think she’s now introduced them to a new craft idea. I bet we’ll be buying puffy fabric paint and plain t-shirts very soon. In fact we received a package of solid-white onesies that I know they would love to decorate for their baby sister.

The crib is partially assembled. Turns out we are missing some of the bolts/hardware to finish, so we’ll make a stop at Home Depot today to see if we can get what we’re missing. I guess some of it was lost during our move.

The countdown continues. I have my 37 week appointment this afternoon. I don’t expect much news from that except to hear her precious heartbeat and confirm that all is going well. I’ll post if we hear anything different.

A few ism's

I figured I better post them before I forgot them entirely. Here are a couple of Owen-isms and Riley-isms:

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Riley said to me after sitting beside me on the couch one afternoon telling me about his day at school:
“After the baby is born, you aren’t going to be able to talk to me and Owen much anymore, are you?”
Of course I quickly corrected him and explained that although we’d be busy with the baby, we’d always have time to talk to both of them.

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Tuesday afternoon, as soon as I walked in the door from work, Riley greeted me and grabbed my hand. “Please come watch t.v. with me Mama. Before you cook supper or I start my homework, let’s watch t.v. together.” How could I say no?! He led me to my bedroom where he proceeded to find one of my favorite shows, Jon and Kate Plus 8. Talk about making my day!

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As Lance and I were tucking the boys in bed last night Riley said, “We had a good day today, didn’t we? None of the parents yelled and none of the kids got in timeout!” He then proceeded to make mention of the same thing in his prayers, thanking God for our no-timeout, no-yelling day.

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Owen came to the kitchen while I was cooking dinner one night last week (he’d been watching his favorite show, SpongeBob) and asked me, “Mom, how does Spongebob take a bath? His house is already full of water!” (For those of you who don’t know, SpongeBob is a Sponge and lives in the Ocean.)

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A couple weeks ago as we were walking out of Target, Owen asked me after studying the automatic exit doors, “Why do they have handles on those doors, Mom? They open all by themselves!”

My New Brother

That's right. I have a new brother. A new brother in Christ. And it's so special that he's my son too. Riley thought it was so cool that he is now a 'brother' to Lance and I. I think it's pretty darn cool too. Thank you, Jesus!

Sunday night, Lance had gone to his brothers to play cards with him and some of his former youth group. The boys and I were home watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. One of the designers was doing a little commentary about how they were helping out this family that was in need. Riley said to me, "Mom, I can tell he's a Christian." I said, "You can? What does that mean? What is a Christian?" He went on to tell me that he must be a Christian because he was doing something nice for someone (obviously oblivious to the fact that this designer probably gets paid big bucks to do this nice deed, but that's OK). I just responded, "Yeah, your right. Christians do do nice things for other people. And he is doing something nice, he might be a Christian." A few minutes later he asked if he (Riley) was a Christian and I tried to explain that he wasn't one yet, but when he was ready and older it was something he could do. His reply, "Well if I'm not a Christian, does that mean I'm a democrat?" Too funny! Obviously he's heard one too many political conversations this election year. Anyway, I told him it didn't mean that at all and we went on and finished watching the show.

Thirty minutes or so later as we were doing our bedtime routine and saying bedtime prayers, Riley started asking more questions. I really hesitated. Not sure if he really understood or was old enough to take this step and especially didn't want to go on with this without Lance. He insisted! He was ready and he didn't want to go to bed without becoming a Christian first. He said he'd just wait up for his Dad and we could do it then. Well we ended up making 2-3 phone calls to Lance instead and before his head hit his pillow, he was my brother in Christ. Oh how special that is! He, Owen and I sat on his bedroom floor, held hands and he repeated after me the sinnners prayer. We talked some more before he went to bed again trying to make sure he really understood.

Lance had to teach Monday night, which means another night where we couldn't really have a family discussion since we only pass each other for about 30 minutes as he leaves as soon as I get home. Tuesday night though, we sat at the kitchen table and talked with Riley. Lance and I both just really needed to be sure he understood what he was doing and what it all meant. We went through a series of scriptures my youth minister, Chip, had given me a long time ago to help lead someone to Christ. The first one talks about why we need him and then the next explains what he did for us and then one that tells what we have to do to get to him and finally last verse talks about the glory of heaven and the hope we all have as Christians. I've had them written in inside cover of my Bible and they were a great guide in helping my 7 year old understand what it means to become a Christian.

Below are the verses if you are interested. I have the first one written in the cover of my Bible and then the next one written at the bottom of the page where the first one is found and so on. That way you can turn from one to the next without having to go back to a list at the front.

1. John 1:14 - Revalation
2. John 3:3 - Need
3. John 3:16 - Response
4. John 3:36 - Consequences
5. John 10:28 - Security
6. John 11:25-26 - Hope

We talked to our pastor tonight about baptism. He has a workbook he likes kids to complete about baptism and salvation, we'll get that from him on Sunday. Once he works through the book we'll schedule a conference with the pastor and again make sure Riley is clear on what he's doing. Then we'll pick a Sunday for the baptism. What an awesome thing to experience. No doubt a moment that not only he will remember for the rest of his life, but Lance and I will as well. My son, my baby boy is now a fellow Christian, my brother in Christ.

I love you, Riley! Mama and Daddy are so proud of you!

Riley on Prayer

Riley brought home a sheet this morning from Sunday School which ended a discussion they'd had on the foundation of prayer. I thought it was very sweet and so I had to share, it's all in his own handwritting so I'll type it here with his spellings and all -

PRAISE - "Thank you for my family."
REQUEST - "Plese help me to pla beder football."
ADMIT - "Plese forgive me for being bad."
YIELD - "Please help me to do will not mine."

Catch up Post....

A lot has happened in a couple weeks since I last updated. Let's see if I can cover it all in one post.

Owen started preschool last week and is doing great. He's usually not excited to go in the mornings but always has a good time and comes home happy to tell you what all they did. He started last Monday, but since I was in training all week I couldn't be there for his first day. I was able to work from home today, I had the privilege of driving him to and from today. Since the church where he goes to preschool had just put down new sod a couple of weeks ago, today was the first day they were allowed to go on the playground. That and snack time seemed to be the highlights.

We had a great Labor Day weekend. We spent Saturday and Sunday at Lake Oconee at the GG's (Lance's grandparents). His Mom, Dad, Brother and his family all joined us there. We had lots of fun boating, swimming and jet-skiing. Owen is still not a huge fan of the water at all but did get in at least once to swim with me and rode a couple times on the jet skii's. Riley is a fish. He loves the water. Surprisingly he, and all the kids, prefer to swim around the boat more than anything else. They all rode the jet skii's at least a few times but would rather jump off the boat into the lake and swim more than anything else.

A couple of weeks ago, Riley had the "most exicing-est day of his life." He had been anticipating this day since football season began. His coach managed to arrange for his team to play a 10 minute game during the Falcon's half-time at the Georgia Dome. What a cool thing! No doubt something he'll remember for the rest of his life. I think all of the Dad's were envious of their sons. It was very cool. They arrived at the Dome about 2 hours before kick-off. They were able to go on the field with the Falcons during their warm-up. A few of the players even tossed the ball back and forth with our boys. Then they had their picture taken with the cheerleaders. Unfortunately all the parents were watching this from the nose-bleed section so I don't have any pictures to share. I plan to get copies of all the close-up ones that the coaches were able to get though. During the 10 minute half-time game Riley made a good tackle that made it onto the big screen in slow-motion. That was the best view of him we had the whole night. That was cool! Lance did go down to the lower-level to video the game, but I don't have anything I can share here.

The pregnancy is going great. No real news to report. I won't see the Dr. again till the end of the month and I'll have another ultrasound then which should tell us with more certainty whether we're having a girl or a boy.

As you can tell, things are as busy around here as ever. I'm thankful that I'm allowed to work from home 1 day a week. That started today and has worked well. I got up a couple hours before Riley did for school and got some work done that way and then once he and Owen were both off to school, I had a good 3 hours to work in quiet. It's worked well. I feel like I'm getting my work done and still able to spend more time home with my guys. It's only 3:30 and dinner is already on the stove and Riley is working on his verses for Awana's. This is going to work out great!

He Made it Home

He made it safely off the bus. Owen and I nearly melted waiting the long 10 minutes for the bus to round the corner, but it was finally there and our 2nd grader was the first one to jump off.

(scroll down for post from earlier today)

Back To School

I can’t believe it’s already that time again. After a weekend of tax-free shopping, today was the first day of school. Riley is a big 2nd grader this year. What happened to my baby??! He wasn’t exactly excited about going back to school. But at the very least, he was ready to see his old friends and buy an ice-cream in the lunchroom (the only thing he talked about this morning before leaving). Boy it really would have ruined his day if I’d forgotten to put that $.50 in his lunchbox this morning.

About 2:40 this afternoon, Riley will climb off the school bus and walk down the driveway home. It’s a first for him, to ride the bus home from school. In fact this may rank above his friends and lunchtime ice cream. He was very excited about no longer being a car rider. Because the bus comes so early in the morning, Lance will still drive him in the morning, but he’ll jump on the bus in the afternoon for the long ¼ mile ride home.

Saturday, along with the rest of Henry county and possibly all of Georgia, the boys and I went to the local office supply store for school supplies. Tax free weekend is great, but it’s almost not worth fighting the crowds for the discount. It’s a lot like the day after Thanksgiving, although who am I kidding, I go out into that madness every year too. Anyway, we at least found a one-stop-shop and got all his supplies in the buggy and then joined the other 50+ people in line for the 3 registers. After only a 30 minute wait, we were out of there, not too bad really. And the prize purchase for the day, a locking pencil box. Riley was so excited about that little box, it was funny. I never knew how important it was for him to protect his pencils in a special box. In fact that one purchase may have made him just a little bit excited about going back to school.

We had already stocked the boys closets with new clothes, thanks to PawPaw and Nana the weekend before. But Sunday after church we met Nanny to do it all over again. We tried to make the boys look for more winter, long-sleeve, type clothes this time. They made out with several great outfits each. Riley chose his new Star Wars t-shirt for this first day, along with some cargo shorts and his new black and white Nike’s.

Owen has a couple more weeks before preschool starts. Unlike his brother, I think he is a little excited about going back to school. He can’t wait to be in the big 4-year old class this year, the biggest kids on the preschool campus. He’s not one for change though, so we’ll see how he fares at his new school – First Baptist Locust Grove. I think it’ll be a good move for him, a little bit bigger school than last year and they have a brand new building that they just moved into this summer.

School starts today. Football practice 3 nights this week. Guitar lessons on Tuesday. Awana’s starts back Wednesday night. Ready or not, here we come….

Callaway

Since our vacation, I had planned to take one more day off work this summer to do something fun with the boys before school started back. When my buddy, Dan offered me his season pass to Callaway Gardens a couple of weeks ago, that settled our plans. I called Alice and Mom and we made plans to go this past Wednesday.

I have a lot of fond memories at Callaway, so it was particularly special. Every summer when I would spend a week with Granny, she would take us to spend a day at Callaway. We'd take one of our Dawson friends and she would take Mrs. Edith and off we'd go. She and Mrs. Edith would sit under the pavillion reading books in their rocking chairs and my buddy and I would swim in the lake, ride the train, ride paddle boats and have lots of summer fun. Callaway is special because of those memories and I was excited to share some of that with my boys.

It has changed some over the years, but really is a lot like it was when I was a kid. Riley, Owen and Jacob loved the water and spent most of the day splashing around. Ethan wasn't very interested in the water but hung out with Nanny in the shade while the others swam. They have a play area out in the water with lots of inflatable toys - rock climbing walls with slides on one side, 2 huge trampolines and several smaller ones. Riley and Jacob loved playing there, especially jumping on the trampolines and landing in the water. Owen tried one of the smaller trampolines but was a little more cautious and ended up watching the older two. You'll notice in all the pictures below, his hair is dry. He absolutely hates to have water over his head or get splashed in the face. We'll have to overcome that sooner or later, but for now he prefers to stay in water where he can stand.

We all enjoyed a game of putt-putt too and a ride on the paddle boats. Unfortunately the train was out for repair and the circus didn't have a showing on Wednesdays but I don't think the kids missed either of those, there was plenty else to keep them busy.

The cousins all played really great together and except for a few arguments over who was going to pick the movie for the ride back, they got along great. Thanks, Dan for sharing your pass with us, we had a great time!

Owen playing putt-putt.

I guess we need to work on his form.

Riley playing putt-putt with Ethan watching.

Three silly boys.

Three Muskateers

You wouldn't believe how many shots I have like this with none of them looking at the camera. At least Jake and Ethan are smiling in this one, better than my two managed to do for the camera.

My 3 Guys and Me....no more?

As most of you probably already know, I may need to change the name of my blog pretty soon. We are expecting a 5th member to our family next March! We are very excited about our new addition. Riley and Owen were very excited when we told them the news. I think the newness has already worn off for them. I'm guessing it probably won't be till March when the reality of it all really hits them. Riley wants another brother, and Owen would like a sister. Actually, Owen would like twin sisters, he said that way our family will be 'even' with boys and girls. We'll have to wait and see. I'm about 6 weeks along now and it won't be till 20 weeks before we know the sex of the baby.

So far my pregnancy is going great. I've always loved being pregnant and have been blessed with very easy pregnancies. I'm praying this one will be no different. Knowing that this will likely be our last, I'm trying my best to savor each moment of this pregnancy. I know it will go by all too fast.

Owen's prayer as I was tucking him in a few nights ago, "Thank you for God, Thank you for Jesus, Thank you for Mommy and Daddy and thank you for our new baby. Please help our new baby to come here in 2 days. Amen." I couldn't help but giggle at his request and had to explain that it was important that the baby grew inside Mommy for 9 months before he or she came out. I'm not sure he understood, he seemed a little disappointed but again 9 months will be gone before we know it.

The boys have been camping this week with my parents and Jacob in Parrott. It sounds like they've had a great time. Four-wheeling, collecting fire wood, playing in the irrigation system of the neighboring sod farm and even swimming in the neighbors pool. Mom said one night as she was cooking dinner, Jacob came inside and asked her if they could just stay 100 more days. Owen chimed in and said, how about 1000 more days! I think that must be some indication of how much fun they have there. They are on their way home now and should be here in the next hour or so. I'm anxious to see my 2 monkeys and get some hugs and kisses!

Lance and I have enjoyed the quiet time at home this week. Lance has finished washing our deck with a pressure washer and then with a deck wash. Now he has to let it dry for several days before sealing and staining it. What a job! Today we both worked in the yard. Cut grass, ran the weed eater and I actually got a lot of planting done. I put 4 rose bushes in the ground that Mom had given me for Mother's Day and also 10 azaleas that I've had even longer than the roses. It feels good to have that all done.

I'll try to post at least weekly updates as I have pre-natal visits and changes in my pregnancy. My next appointment isn't until July 29th.

Guitar Lesson

Tonight was a first for us.  Riley began guitar lessons.  Santa brought him a 'real' electric guitar for Christmas.  We really thought it would be an interest for a week or so after Christmas and then become more or less a toy.  We were wrong.  He is very into it and has been begging for lessons and says he plans to ask Santa this year for an acoustic guitar.  For his birthday we told him we'd get him signed up for lessons, so tonight was his first one.  

It's only a 30 minute lesson.  His teacher is the minister of music at a nearby church.  He was recommended from a friend and is very reasonable as far as cost.  We are sort-of trying this out for a month and we'll see how it goes and how serious he really is about it.  His teacher seemed great, very patient and talked on his level but also was very informative.  He started with the first and second string and with the first and third fret.  Riley was all grins and has been anticipating this for a week or more.  The last thing they did was play Mary Had a Little Lamb.  Granted the notes had 5-10 second pauses between them, but he did hit them all.  I think we'll be hearing that song all week since that is his homework for 10-15 minutes a day.  His teacher warned him that his fingers would be sore but he'd have to work through that to make them tough if he wanted to learn to play.

As soon as we got home, he had his guitar back out of it's case and was practicing.  He tried a few of the exercises the teacher taught him and then proceeded to find a spiral notebook.  I had no idea what he was about to do, but he drew the 6 lines for the 6 strings and proceeded to start writing his own song.  His music looked exactly like the music his teacher had given him, only in his 1st grade handwriting.  It was complete with 'o' for open string notes and '1' and '3' for fret's 1 and 3, each drawn on the appropriate strings.  It looks like we'll be into this for more than this first trial month.  

I'm so excited that he is genuinely interested in music and his guitar.  It's not anything we ever pushed on him or even encouraged, yet he has completely requested all this and persued it on his own.  I love seeing him grow and getting glimpses of what the grown up Riley might be like.  Who knows, we might see him up on a stage someday with that guitar around his neck.  

Another busy one...

It was another busy weekend but definitely full of fun. Saturday was all about baseball. Riley and Owen each had their final games of the season. Both boys played well and finished the season with some nice hits and good plays. Owen had 2 balls hit to him at first base and stopped them both and then proceeded to get back to back hits off a pitch. Way to go Owen! Riley’s team struggled the first few innings of their final game, but rallied in the last 2 innings. Riley squeezed out 2 solid base hits and looked good fielding a few balls out in left field with strong throws to the infield.

Sunday after church we headed to an ice-cream shop for Owen’s end of year t-ball party. Owen was so proud of his trophy and we were proud to hear the description his coach gave of our O. He said, “This young man is a great ballplayer and an excellent team player. He always responds with a ‘yes sir’ and I don’t think I ever had to remind him to get back on the field or pay attention. That is rare for this age group. And he’s a great left-handed hitter too!” That is consistently what we hear from his teachers and now his coaches, that he is well behaved and very obedient. I’m so proud! I only wish he behaved that way for Lance and me but I guess he knows how to cut a few corners at home and it doesn’t help that his brother is pretty good at pushing his buttons.

We left Owen’s party and headed to the park for Riley’s birthday party. We were a little worried about the weather forecast – thunderstorms. It turned out there wasn’t any need to be, we had beautiful sunny skies the entire time. We had his party at the BMX track and used the picnic pavilion there. The kids were in a hurry to hit the track so we cut the cake, opened presents and off they went to ride. The track is a double-‘S’ so a couple times around and they are ready for a break. We cooled them off with popsicles and they headed right back to the track. Riley had a couple of falls, but nothing too bad and he was back on his bike after dusting off the dirt. Owen declared himself the ‘coach’ and positioned himself at the start gate to watch and coach. Our niece Abby had a good tumble on the paved berm, but thankfully she was OK too, only a few scratches on her hands and chin. Riley told me later that night that it was his favorite birthday party ever. That is all I needed to hear to declare it a success. I’m so glad he had fun and all his friends, most of which had never ridden on the track, had fun too.

Keepsake

Riley came home from school with a homemade book they’d made in class this week. Here are a few quotes from his book, spellings as he had them with my interpretations in parenthesis. What a keepsake! I love this!

When I grow up I want to be a…..
I wunt to be a rme (army) man. Rme (army) mans fite in wars for fredum and justiz. It is fun to be a rme man.

Home sweet home…
I like my home. My home has no lekes (leaks). I have buk bez (bunk beds) in my room.

My favorite movie…
My favurit movie is Inne Anna Jons. In Inne Anna Jons they look for tresur. I like Inne Anna Jons.

Ok, so we’ll keep working on his spelling but as his Mom, I’ll treasure this precious book for years to come.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a great Memorial Day weekend and although I didn’t get to any of my projects I had planned, we had a lot of fun and enjoyed our time together playing and relaxing. Our grass is still tall and my azalea’s are still in their pots, but we shared lots of fun and laughs and for that I am grateful.

Saturday was of course the big day for our now 7 year old. He enjoyed the day and as I described in my previous entry, had us pampering his every whim.

Sunday we headed out to the lake after dropping off Owen with PawPaw and Nanny who were taking him and Jacob camping for the week. It sounds like they are having a lot of fun. We talked to them last night as Owen and Jacob were playing in the water, splashing in the irrigation system that was spraying across the road from the neighboring sod farm. They had enjoyed the day riding four wheelers and playing in the sand and a sprinkler. Nanny was worried her earlier bath had already been un-done and they would be heading to the tub again before bed time.

Lance, Riley and I had a fun Sunday and Monday at the lake with his family. We took full advantage of the beautiful weather on their boat and riding their two jet ski’s around the lake. Riley enjoyed a couple of rides on the jet ski’s but I think enjoyed swimming and jumping off the boat more than anything else. After getting a late start on the water Sunday, everyone voted to spend the night with the GG’s so we could start all over again on Monday. Unfortunately my sister-in-law ended up miserable all night and after a Monday morning visit to the emergency room learned she had a kidney stone. After a dose of some powerful narcotics, she slept the day away while the rest of us played some more on the water. PawPaw bought all the grandkids new fishing rods that were very cool and sparked a new interest in fishing for all of them. They were rocket-launching fishing rods which meant no casting skill was required and added a whole new element of fun to the day. They alternated fishing and jumping into the lake for a swim to cool off. Of course our sweet O was missed terribly but knowing that he was having the time of his life on his camping trip put a smile on my face. It was a fun day and a great end to a great weekend.

On a side note, I have an Owen quote to share. This was while eating dinner at Longhorns Friday night.
Owen, "Mom, I know what it means when you're full."
Mom, "What?"
Owen, "It means you can't eat anymore, right?"
Mom, "That's right. Good job."
Owen, "Well how come it hurts to be full?"
I went on to try and explain how your tummy was being stretched, etc. I'm not sure I did a good job but thought it was funny that he described being full as painful. He's right! That's exactly how we all felt as wel left Longhorn that night, in pain!

Seven

Happy Birthday, Riley! I can't believe my firstborn is already 7! Wow! Time does fly, no doubt about it.

As Riley requested, he started his morning with gifts and then breakfast in bed - bacon, eggs, toast and chocolate milk. He had been up a good hour before breakfast was served but quickly tucked himself back in for his meal. Lance and I gave him a couple of action figures - Indiana Jones and Ironman as well as a book and $20 plus a promise to get him signed up for guitar lessons. He is most excited about the guitar lessons. Owen gave him the new National Treasure II on DVD. I'm not sure who was more excited about that gift, Riley as he opened it or Owen so proud of himself for giving his brother the perfect gift.

His party is next weekend. We've found from previous years that if we want his friends to be able to come, we don't need to schedule a party on Memorial Day weekend. So next Sunday afternoon we'll all gather at a local BMX track for cake and bike races. Riley is looking forward to it.

Riley, your Daddy and I are so proud of the young man you are becoming. A great athlete, a smart student, a compassionate brother and an incredible son. You are learning and growing so fast and it has been amazing to watch you learn and become independant on so many tasks just in this last year - reading, showering and riding a bicycle. I love your excitement about church and going to Sunday School as well as Wednesday night Awana's. You have an appetite to learn and you love to be around kids your age, whether you know them or not. You don't meet a stranger and it's so fun to watch you interact with others. We're looking forward to watching you grow more this year as I know you'll continue to surprise us. Do me just one favor, would you? Slow down! I love my 7 year old Riley but I miss my 1 year old boy at the same time.

We love you, Stink! Happy Birthday!

Riley the Brave and Owen the Astro

Riley is making big plans for his birthday weekend. He wants to see the new Indy movie this weekend and has already asked for breakfast in bed Saturday morning. I think he got that idea from Mother's Day since Lance and the boys served me. Too funny!

More later on the birthday boy, but I wanted to make a quick post to share the boys baseball pictures from this season.

A few Riley-isms….

Following his baseball game Tuesday night,
“Whew! I’m getting too old for baseball.”

Explaining a situation at school with his on-again/off-again best friend,
Riley - “Collin always has to give me consumenses. If I don’t give him what he wants he always say’s he’s not my friend anymore. Or if I don’t let him get in line with me, he won’t share his ice cream money. Or if I don’t let him borrow something, he won’t play with me on the play ground. He’s not my friend anymore. I’m tired of his consumenses!”
Mom – ‘What word did you say? Collin gives you what?”
Riley – “consumenses.”
Mom – “Do you mean consequences?”
Riley (getting frustrated) – “Yes, that’s what I said Mom, consumenses.”

More Baseball Tales

If it seems like all I talk about on this blog anymore is baseball, it’s because it’s true. By the end of the month the season will be over but for now it’s what rules our world, or at least our schedule. Friday night after dinner we went by a local sport goods store to buy a bat for Riley. Did you know it’s not uncommon to pay $300 for a little league bat?! I knew there were people that were *way* more into their kids baseball careers than we were who might pay that kind of money for a bat, but I really thought that was the exception not the rule. I mean really. These bats are locked to the merchandise rack like fur coats! It’s ridiculous! Fortunately for us, Riley picked up and quickly grew attached to a $50 bat. Honestly I never thought I’d pay $50 for a bat but considering the alternative I thought we did OK. Especially since at least 2 kids on his team have the $300 version that he can borrow during most games. Not that he will ever choose those bats over his prized new bat. The icing on the cake was the ‘Hit Stick’ we also bought for batting practice at home. The ‘Hit Stick’ is a long, flexible pole with a rubber, ball-like end on it that both boys can use to practice their swing. We stayed an extra 30 minutes after the store closed practicing Riley’s swing in the parking lot. He loved it and was so excited. Seriously, he has been baseball-obsessed since those two purchases Friday night. We spent no less than 4 hours this weekend playing catch, pitching balls to him or holding the ‘Hit Stick’ out for him to practice with. Saturday morning I woke to an odd thumping sound. After I got up and investigated I found Riley in his room hitting plastic balls (like those from a ball pit) against his bedroom wall. Needless to say the bats’ new home is our garage and a new rule had to be made that it was no longer allowed inside despite Riley’s plea to the contrary and his promise to never ever do that again. Owen took a few swings over the weekend, but wasn’t nearly as impressed with the new equipment as his big brother. The first game with his new bat will be Tuesday night. He can’t wait!

Lance finished plowing half of his garden. This is the half where the corn will grow and he and Owen sewed the corn seed Sunday afternoon while I mowed the yard and Riley (yes, you guessed right) was hitting the baseball on his own. We are slowly but surely getting our outdoor projects done although the list seems to grow faster than we can check things off. What we did accomplish this weekend was done between a birthday party, a baseball game, baseball practice and of course church and a shopping trip to Sam’s.

Saturday night our niece Abby hosted a slumber party at her house with nine, 8 year old girls. Needless to say, my brother-in-law, nephew and youngest niece evacuated to our house Saturday night to escape all the estrogen. Plenty of female reinforcements were at their house to help with all the girls. Our house ended up being much like a smaller slumber party. Riley and Tyler shared the top bunk, Owen in his bed, Scotty and Kaylee in our guest room and another friend who wanted to join in the fun, Garrett, crashed on our couch. We enjoyed the company and of course the boys had lots of fun with their cousins.

One sad note from our weekend, instead of 10 we now have 9 chickens. As we were coming outside Saturday night to get in the truck and go find something to eat, Scotty noticed all the feathers in the yard. It turns out the there was a small area where the fence was about 4 inches off the ground and the chickens were escaping from their pen. Apparently this one had gotten out and Escher had found him. We knew there would be casualties going into this whole thing, but I really didn’t think Escher would be the assailant.

Lance and I will be driving to Norfolk next week on a business trip (Lance is tagging along with me on an NS trip) while my Mom and Dad sit with the boys. The boys are excited and Lance and I are looking forward to it too. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of tales to share following that week.

Baseball and Field Trips

Baseball is what we’ve been doing a lot of lately. Riley’s games have really become exciting to watch as there are now boys in his league who can knock homeruns over the fence. Riley isn’t quite there yet but he has gotten a few line-drive doubles and made some exciting plays in left field. Last night he jumped to catch a fly ball, caught the ball in the air (he and the ball were in the air) but then the ball fell out of his glove. Exciting even though he didn’t get the out! Catching fly balls in the air is still somewhat rare in this age group. Riley is the youngest on his team, the only one not to have turned 7 already. And since they are playing in the 7/8 year old league, there are a few mostly-8-year-old-team that have smeared them. But they have improved some each game and had a great near-win last night. Exciting! What’s also fun is that Riley is now looking for Braves games on t.v. and will sit and watch inning after inning of a professional game.

Owen’s league is always fun to watch too. Owen is not as into the sport as Riley but then again Riley wasn’t so into it at that age either.

Football sign-up is in a couple of weeks. It seems like the two seasons get closer and closer together. We’ll be done with baseball by the end of May and then football will start practice in July and games in August. We’ll get a little break at least and only have 1 son playing in football. It’ll be at least another year before Owen is ready to try that.

We have so much to do around our house and yard too, but there just doesn’t seem to be enough time. Lance did get ½ the garden tilled and hopes to get the rest done this weekend. Then there is planting the garden, but that is the fun part for Lance. I still have those azaleas to plant and the grass is in bad need of cutting again. The chickens are in their new home although there is some work left to do there too – build a gate and then clean up all the scrap lumber.

Wednesday I went with Riley and his first grade class to Noah’s Ark. It’s an animal rehabilitation facility and also has a children’s home for foster kids. I was paired with Riley and 3 other boys for the morning adventure. Would you believe I forgot a camera?! Lance had it all setup and ready for me and I left it sitting on the kitchen counter. The trip was fun. The kids got to pet a few animals – deer, goats, lama’s, ostriches. And they got to see many more – bear, monkey’s tigers, a lion, buffalo, tropical birds, chickens and the favorite by far of the 4 boys in my group - alligators.

Hard to believe school will be out soon. We’re all looking forward to summer which brings vacation, swimming and lots of fun outside.