doc in training

Tonight Charley and Ben enjoyed playing with a new kids doc kit. While we imagined various emergency scenarios and illnesses, I mentioned to Charley that he was a good doctor to which he very quickly replied, "I'm an excellent doctor!" nuff said.

good morning

this morning, i got to break my early morning groggery by snuggling with my husband and watching my youngest son pretend to be a frog on our bed, complete with, "ribbit, ribbit" or his two year old version of it. so adorable. thank you Lord for moments like these.

little boy Ben

he's at such a cute age right now. not quite 2, learning new words everyday, discovering his will, playing with his brother, deciding he has an opinion :) but one of the cutest things he's doing right now is answering "shoo" for "sure" as a yes answer to many things we ask him. it's soooooo stinkin' cute!

when he sees a picture of himself, he points to himself and says, "me!"

when the baby I watch is over at the house, he circles her saying, "hi baby, hi baby" over and over and over again getting really excited and then gently petting her on the head, ooh so cute

he dances and skips everywhere he goes and lately has started standing on one leg with the other extended behind him as if he's doing an ice skating move

he loves music and bobs his head or dances to anything even slightly rhythmic he hears

he gets confused when he's supposed to say "thank you" and says, "welcome" instead :)

he can't say his brother's name, but says the vowels so it comes out as "ah ee" for 'Charley' and I think he says, "min" for his own 'Benjamin' and of course 'please' comes out "pees" (with his "receiving hands" held out together in front) receiving hands are my way of trying to teach them not to grab at what they want, so they end of doing it when they're saying please for something

he think to give a kiss means to gently put your cheek up against another persons cheek

his sweet eyes and adorable smile melt my heart and make it very difficult for me to say 'no' to him, until he starts throwing a fit, then it's easy :)

he's still small enough to hold in a bundle, but he's getting so big, I find myself in denial that he's not my baby anymore and this makes me yearn for another one

even when he's sick, or in pain, or coughing his head off, he is able to find something to smile about, he's definitely a happy boy

so cool

Yesterday, I got the chance to play volleyball with some officers at the Navy gym who get together every T/R. Random people show up each time ... this time, I ended up on a court with officers from Tunisia, Jordan, Uruguay, Ukraine, and France. THAT is amazing to me! To know that they come from such different countries and yet we can all be on one court, playing together. I mean, in some countries, they would never be playing sports with a woman, but we all had a great time cheering each other on and consoling each other when we failed. At one point in the game, the officer from Ukraine hugged the officer from Jordan. I never thought I'd see that random mix.

This base (Naval Station Newport) in general, and the Naval War College specifically, is such a neat place to be a part of. At Will's graduation last year, it was so cool to see all the different clothing and dresses from all over the world. The African headdresses were amazing and colorful, the middle eastern and far eastern dress was exotic and made with delicate fabrics that rippled as they walked, they all looked so unique and amazing. It almost made me laugh that I wear jeans and t-shirts on most days and even when I dress up, it's all cotton. :)

some thoughts

Many prayers go out tonight for one of my friends, and especially for her father who is fighting cancer. I wish I could be near her in person to just hug her. Please pray for them with me.

Along the same lines ... I randomly visited Beth Moore's blog and read responses to some tough questions she was asking as research for a project she's working on ... so many hurting people ... so many things happening ... to all of us, at different times. I could identify with some of them at different times in my life via struggles I have met and overcome and other issues I am still wading through. Typical of my personality, I wanted to make a list of all of them and sort them by 1. issues I deal with rarely 2. issues I deal with every so often 3. issues I deal with daily. I wanted to make myself aware of them, that they exist or have existed, and then begin trying to purposefully work on some of them beginning with releasing any fear or self doubt and finding strength in Christ to help me deal with these things. just a thought.

And on what seems like the other side of the world ... here's a story in my children's very young life that I want to remember later on ... sometimes when Charley is thinking about doing or has done something mischievous, but funny, like finding a creative way to disobey that doesn't really break the rules, but that he knows is still wrong ... I'll be smiling at him while putting him in time out or telling him to stop, and he'll look at me with a smile and say, "Mommy do you love me?" and I always say, "Yes, Charley, I love you so much." It's like a script every time. Then he runs over and gives me a big hug and a kiss. aaaahhh and he only asks this when he's doing something wrong. Sometimes his questions is also followed by, "even though I'm being a bad boy?" I love that he is establishing the understanding now for the kind of unconditional love I have for him, and am trying to explain that God has for him. My answer to him when discussing why God still loves him is along the lines of "because He made you and you're special to Him." Other times it gets into Jesus dying for his sins. I wish I could get inside of his head to know what he thinks or understands about this concept, but I can't and have no idea since I know he can't understand yet. However, he loves the Easter story and I know that it will click someday.

Oh that we would always accept that we are loved by God unconditionally, even when we aren't able to love each other that way at all times ... even when we feel ugly, stupid, sinful, failing and so many other things that would keep us far from God. But in truth, we're white as snow as children of God. God's children are innocent in His eyes because of Jesus' sacrifice for us. Praise be to a God that would lovingly pay our way and long for us to be near Him.

"See, God?"

Sorry to all our faithful Patriot neighbors today :( What a crazy game!

I'm sick again, (as of last night) this time it's a head cold instead of chest. hmmm time to go to the doctor? not sure, since it's not a bacterial infection, just a virus he can't treat anyway. we'll see. Bad news is that Charley finally got a little cold too. He's on occasional Tylonol and Sudafed so he can breath and so it doesn't get worse and turn into a nasal infection. He's been getting gradually stuffier for the last week. It's weird how his symptoms are never as bad as mine and he doesn't act like he's miserable at all. Maybe his body fights things differently or something. Ben had a little runny nose but is still in the clear as far as a cold.

Charley was praying for dinner last night ... "God would you help the blister on my leg feel better? because I have a a blister, see?" and he proceeded to pull up his pants leg to show God. Too cute. I love how close he imagines God is to him. I really don't know what or who he thinks God is, but he at least thinks that God can see and hear him. We talk regularly about the idea that if Charley ever has a problem or is afraid, the first thing he should do is pray to God to ask for help so it's fun to see him actually trying to do this.

droopy day

This morning, I feel like that character, Droopy, from Looney Tunes. I caught a cold earlier this week and instead of recovering pretty quickly, like I usually do, it's been getting worse. It started in my throat and chest, which is weired b/c I usually get a head cold first and then it goes into my lungs.

Anyway, I'm just tired and keep coughing and can't breath very well. The kids are being pretty good, just energetic as usual. I just want to curl up in bed and sleep instead of keep up with them. At least Will is coming home early after a big test he has this morning. They're watching VeggieTales right now for a short break, then Ben goes down for a nap and hopefully Charley will play quietly for awhile, or some snuggle with me. :)

He came in this morning and told me that he prayed to God for me to feel better. I thought that was so sweet. He spent the next 1/2 hour looking for different things to pray for ... Daddy's big test, more snow, when the zoo opened, etc. :) I love hearing this, even if he doesn't completely understand. It gets really interesting when he tells me what God tells him back. For instance, he said God told him that the zoo was going to open in 5 minutes, and that God said yes to more snow. So cute. We'll talk about listening and meditating on God later, but for now, I'm just glad that he's developing such an open dialog and hopefully feeling like God is always near and can always hear him ... such a precious fragile time ...

I love being reminded how I can come to God like a child by my own children ... with a hopeful, "eyes wide open" spirit, with complete faith, and mystery. It's even better combined with my own adult faith and the experiences I've had so far and all the ways God has shown me that He's alive and active around me, but also forcing me to grow up with the struggles that He allows me to face, and the patience He has for me when I slowly face and recover from them, and the blessings that He gives me during the trials like a supportive and loving husband, extended family, and far off friends that pray for me even though we haven't seen each other in years. too many blessings to count ... helps me remember that with a God like this, I needn't fear moving to a strange new place b/c it's more of a fact that God will provide for us, than faith simply b/c He's promised to and b/c He's proved it in the past.

mmmmmmm

I was just playing with my son, Ben. He was playing peek-a-boo and tickling me and then he tried to pull my socks off. :) Whenever I get these one on one moments to just play and enjoy my kids, the same thought often comes to mind, "I must be the luckiest person in the world to be playing with this little child right now."

I guess I just imagine how incredibly special they are; then I think about how someday they'll be special to other people and hopefully do some really good things for people; and that makes me feel like I'm so special for even being given a moment of time with them. Because later on, when they're grown and gone, I'll remember that I was given some of the biggest blessings I can ever have . . . time, fun, love and a simple smile from my baby boy.

sweet dancing Ben

Ben is growing up sooo fast! Charley was his age when we first moved here and now I can't believe Ben is already 19 mo. old!! He's such a cutie with his little blond hair and big smiley cheeks! He's always grinning about something. I just had to write b/c I want to remember later that he loves to dance. Anytime he hears even a couple of bars of music, he starts bobbing his head and, if he can, moving his legs. It's so cute. I guess he's going to be the music lover in the family. It's just so much fun to watch and he is usually able to get the whole family started too. Once Ben starts, then Charley follows and pretty soon, we're all dancing around and being goofy.

We especially enjoyed one of these moments this past Saturday when we went to get our Christmas tree from Escobar's Highland farm, here on the island. We brought it home, turned on some Christmas music, heated up the cider, and the dancing and celebrating began. We got all the Christmas boxes down and had such a fun time together. I know it might seem a little early, but this is the first Christmas we won't be traveling in years, which means, I get to decorate! :) We plan on having a low-key family day, simple, easy, fun. (that's the plan) :) We'll miss all of our extended family, but if you've been reading, we've traveled quite enough in the past few years, and with very small children. Anyway, since I know we're going to be here, I just couldn't wait to get everything out and decorate for Christmas so I can enjoy it this year.

In other news, we enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with my Mom and brother, Grant, who flew from Houston, TX to be with us. My Mom was here for a week and my brother, who had to finish finals, was here for three days. Will and Grant went to NY on Thanksgiving day because Grant had never been in this area before and wanted to see it. They had a blast, and then we celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday. My Mom and I stayed home with the kids on Thanksgiving day and since it was such a beautiful day, we had a blast doing a ton of pruning and yard work. The kids played outside and it was so much fun! We also did crafts with the kids (finishing a handprint apron for the grandma's) :) and while my Mom (Nonny to the kids) was here, we also got to have a fun shopping trip to Providence place and did some sewing together. We had such a great time and it was so great to see both of them.

Well, back to chores and stuff while Ben naps. Charley has pre-school today to it's an errand day. :) All part of the fun!

Blessings!

our pics are ready!

If you want to see the pics we had taken at the Academy when I went down to visit Will, just click on this link: Visual Concepts and enter the session ID: williamandleigh_portrait We're so excited with how they turned out! It was so much fun to take them too. :) I'm so glad we'll have this memory of Will in uniform, especially at the Academy. If he ever gets out, it will be a nice memory of his time in the military. Hope you all like them and if anyone wants to order any, the info is on the same page as the pics. Enjoy!

soaked

How often do you get caught in the rain and just enjoy it? Today, after a long, hot couple of weeks, we got some scattered showers. We decided to go for a bike ride, but didn't see the dark sky until it was too late. It was just sprinkling, so I left with the two boys in the bike carriage behind me. We stopped at a neighbors house to look at a backhoe front loader that would be working on her driveway in the morning, then it started to pour! I covered the boys with the rain shield, but I got completely soaked. We weren't near the house, so I just finished the ride. I would have gone longer, but I was worried that my cell would get wet. We made it home, and by then it had let up. I dropped off my cell, splashed in the water running down the street a bit, then took another short bike ride around the block totally drenched. It was so much fun! :)

happy feet and shrieks of joy!

I was recording some fun things about Charley, and remembered some moments with Ben I didn't want to forget as well.

One cute thing Ben does is climb down the stairs to the landing and step around quickly like the penguins in the movie "Happy Feet". It's really cute and so when he does it, we all do it together and have the best time. :)

Also, every time I come home from being away from the boys, Ben lets out this ear curling shriek with a big smile and . . . happy feet, of course. :) It's so cute and it's one of the few things that Charley copies. So now I come home to two shrieking boys. It's sweet, a little deafening, but I know I'll miss it someday. It's nice to know they love me. :)

by the way . . .

I forgot to mention that last night as we were getting ready for bed and I was about to read Charley a book ("Puff, the Magic Dragon"), he said that I was the best Mom in the world. :)!! I have no idea where he's heard that before. I have a hard time believing he came up with it on his own, but you never know, he's a sharp kid. Even though I know he doesn't know what that means, it was still nice to hear.

In other news, he now knows what lying is and how to convincingly tell one. ugh! It's scary how good he is at it. Hmmm, do I wash his mouth out with soap or is that too much these days? :) Right now I'm settling for simply talking to him about honesty and trust and what God wants us to do, with time outs, creative discipline to fit the crime and spanking, if necessary, to follow.

In better news, Charley can almost spell his name. The other night we were writing with soap crayons in the tub and he asked me to write a C-H-A-R but didn't know the rest. I know it's sight spelling, but it's a start and it's nice to know some things are coming together in his little head. We've always worked on phonics so hopefully that will be the next step. It's a whole new world!

lovely words on a hot day

I don't know if I've mentioned yet in my blog that Will is taking classes in Dalgren, VA for 2 months while we are up here. It's been pretty miserable with the heat and no A/C; add to that the fact that Charley acts up when Will leaves so all the great changes that have occurred since he turned 3 (calming down a little, more self-control, more understanding, not as reactionary, less of a temper etc.) have gone on hiatus while he tests me day after day. Maybe it's because he wants to know if things are still the same when Dad's gone, maybe he doesn't like the change, maybe he's too hot! or maybe he's just lapsing for awhile, probably some sort of combination of all of those and more I don't even know.

Anyway, he said some sweet things to me today that I wanted to remember for posterity. I had just gotten off the phone with Will and gotten myself really depressed b/c I was thinking about how when you're on your own with the kids, the weekends are no different than the weekdays = no break. I was laying on our bed trying to pull it together (Ben was already down for the night and Charley was playing with trucks in the living room) when Charley came in, crawled on the bed and said, "I just wanted to come snuggle with you and give you company." I started to lose it again.

Then he wanted me to come outside and play before his bedtime, so we did (after a good hug and kiss). I, of course, had to tell him how much I loved him and how happy he made me and he said, "because I help my baby brother and a good boy?" and a list of a few other things I can't remember now. Then he set up some chairs and a little table as a foot rest and we sat there together talking (with our feet up together, so cute!) and asked, "Do you think Daddy would like doing this too?".

Then we made pretend snacks out of the maple tree seeds, then we made a train track out of them, then we blew them on the ground, it was so much fun! Then, he wanted to play catch with the nerf football, and to my amazement, he can catch now! So we had such a blast actually throwing the ball back and forth and I felt so lucky to be the mother of two little boys that will want to play sports with me (hopefully) :) He even put a spin on the ball a couple of times! :) Now just a year or two more and we can all go camping. Charley could probably go now, but I don't think Ben would do well, especially in a tent at night. ahh someday!

I'm also holding out for a girl and she will hopefully want to play sports and camp too, and with a mother and grandmother who love those things, I'll be surprised if she doesn't. In fact, my Mom taught me more about sports than my Dad and was a bigger sports fan in our house. It's funny because now I'm the bigger sports fan in our house, although I don't keep up with it right now for obvious reasons. Anyway, Will knows that I'd be happy having even four boys before we had a girl. I think we'd finally stop at boy 5, but hopefully, we'll have a girl before that. If not, I think we'd seriously consider adopting one. :) Who knows, maybe we're not even supposed to have that many kids b/c the two we've got require so much activity and energy. One kid at a time then, until God gives us peace that we're done.

Anyway, all that to say I had a lovely evening with my son at the end of a very hot day. :) Thank you Lord!

Happy 6 Years! and Happy Father's Day!

Happy Anniversary and Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband Will. We've been through so much in 6 years (2 kids, 5 moves, 1 deployment and more) and I only dreamed we could be this happy! Thanks for your patience and love and for being such a wonderful Dad! It's nice to know you love the job. I trust you with my kids, my life and my future and I look forward to many more years (in the Navy or out) with you.

For our anniversary, we went out to dinner at Newport's Vincent's on the Pier. Will got stuffed lobster and I got clam chowder and shrimp ceasar salad. We had calamari for an appetizer and didn't have room for dessert. It was fun getting all dressed up and then afterwards, we sat on the pier looking at the water, boats and sunset for a bit. It was chilly though so we took a drive on the beautiful Ocean Drive (around the South part of the island) then went home.

Father's Day was a little more low key since we felt like we'd been partying all weekend with the graduation and our anniversary. We went to church, and Charley stayed in the adult church with us for the first time until they had children's story time and dismissed them for Sunday School. He also wore undies their for the first time and didn't have an accident the whole time!!! After church we took naps, except for Will, he was waiting for a friend from El Salvador to come by. His friend brought us a beautiful hammock and some cute children's toys from El Salvador. Then he did some chores and we all went to the neighbor's Graduation party. We were in bed by 9:30 because Will had to get up at 2:30 AM to drive his El Salvadorian friend's mother to the airport. He got back home at 6:20 this morning and is beat. He's done with school now though so he has a few weeks off.

Will leaves on Wednesday with a friend, Jeremy, to drive a boat down to Annapolis for 5 days! I hope it will be a nice little vacation for him. I'm sure they'll have a great time!

I love you Will!!! :)

snuggler

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, one of my favorite things to do with Charley is snuggle. He loves to be held after naps and while we're reading. He's my snuggler and always has been. I'm so glad with all that energy, he can still sit still with me. He also comes up to my randomly throughout the day and says, "Mommy, I love you sooo much," and then gives me a perfect gentle kiss on my cheek. Aahhh, I melt again and again.

Early Happy Father's Day!

The grill is the early Father's Day present, not the Porche Boxter below! Actually, I think the grill is kind of a late Mother's Day present as well since I don't have to cook as much when he's grilling! Look at that . . . it works out well for both!


First lesson in push-ups :)



Making peanut butter butterscotch chip cookies with Dad, Cheers!


Porche Boxter on loan from a friend out of town. Happy to watch your car anytime! Will and I got to go to the PP&M concert in this as well.

cute Charley

Tonight, just before he went to bed, Charley was doing puzzles. It was so cute watching him finish each one, then put his hands in the air and say, "I did it! I did the puzzle!" Ah, so cute! He says the cutest things all the time and it's so fun when Will's around to hear them because we just look at each other and laugh and make adoring eyes at each other. :)

precious moments

I had the most precious time with Charley yesterday. Background first . . . when he was smaller I used to dance around with him while we listened to music together. So yesterday, I had a classical mix from a Paddington Bear CD (gift from Aunt Donnette, Thank you!) and I started to play it so he could calm down before his nap. On a whim, I asked if he would dance with me so I picked him up and we got to dance together again like when he was little. It was so sweet! Afterwards, he snuggled with me on the couch while we listened some more and he liked the music so much that he let me lay him in our bed and kept listening while I was able to go get some dishes done. When he finally got up and I asked him how he liked it he said, "it's pretty." Oh so sweet! :) Dancing with him was a sweet time and when Will got home, he reminded me that I would get to dance with him again at his wedding. That was a crazy thought, but dear. Anway, just thought I'd relay a very precious moment. It's so wonderful to enjoying our kids.