every captive thought

This post is going to have a lot of pictures so I can get caught up.  It's also going to be very random and disorganized...sort of like my life right now. Since we've moved into the new house Brad spends a lot of his off days working on the yard and fixing things up.  The boys love to help him.  Even if they aren't "helping" him, they want to be near him. When he's not home they snuggle with me.  I love my time with my sweet babes.     And sometimes they even snuggle with each other.  Which makes this mommy all warm and fuzzy inside.   I hate crafting worse than pretty much anything.  James loves it more than life itself.  He got a workbook that is packed full of hours worth of torture.  For a couple of days he begged me to get yarn to make these puff ball crafts.  Do you know how much of this he was able to do on his own?  Yeh...none of it.  Which means it was really a crafting book for Mommy...

Happy Birthday to the love of my life! You are the perfect husband and father.  We are so blessed.  Thank you for all you do for us.  We love you so much!!!!

It started with Katy Jane.  She had a runny nose last week so I took her in on Friday.  Turns out she had an ear infection in both ears.  Got her on an antibiotic and moved on.  Until Monday when both boys started acting like they weren't feeling well.  Then it quickly turned into lots of snot and coughing and grumpy attitudes.  Then we topped it off with Katy Jane not doing any better and not eating.  Back to the doctor on Tuesday.  Thankfully I had Mom to help me.  It is truly amazing the difference it makes having another adult present.  Especially the Nanapie! While we were all heading up to Dr. Honey's office James got his hand stuck in the elevator doors as they slid open.  Not in the part where it closes, but between the two door parts that slide in to the wall.  Does that make sense?  No?  Never mind.  Just take my word for it...it was horrible.  It looked way worse than it was though.  He sc...

James loves to cook.  Anytime he can help me in the kitchen, he does.  He doesn't eat a variety of different things, but he sure loves to cook them.  He tells us, with no uncertainty, that he will be a chef when he grows up.  But he says it with his heavy southern accent so it sounds more like "shayuff".  Jude helps cook only when James talks him into it. And he quickly looses interest.  Even still...I guess I should probably order him his own apron like James' so he doesn't always have to wear one of mine. We love to have breakfast for dinner around here.  One of our favorites is french toast with berries. James is in charge and Jude is the sous chef.  Always.  If it's not Jude, I'm his sous chef.  Regardless...he is always in charge. Brad coming home from work is the highlight of our day.  The boys scream and run to the door as soon as they hear the garage door going up.  After dinner Brad plays with the kids until be...

Happy Mother's Day to my Mommy and Mother-in-law.  I had a wonderful day with you both.  Thank you for sharing it with me.  Love you! This morning both boys came and crawled in bed on either side of me.  So sweet.  As I was laying there thinking about what a perfect Mother's Day morning that was, they BOTH started snoring...right in my ears. Before church, my kids had to endure the obligatory Mother's Day photo.  It's always so pleasant trying to get a picture of 3 kids as we rush out the door for church.  Seriously, there should be a law against that.  It's torture.  But I'm sure 20 years from now we won't remember me saying through gritted teeth, "sit still and SMILE at the camera or you're going to the corner!!!!!!" Apparently Katy Jane had had enough of Jude.  Talk to the hand. Katy Jane was dedicated at church this morning.  She is the happiest baby ever.  She's always so content and good.  Except for wh...

As Mother’s day approaches I find myself reflecting so much on my Mom…and the childhood she gave me. My childhood was full of love and security and two parents deeply committed to the Lord, each other, and my sisters and I. I would come home from school to the windows open, curtains blowing, music on, my Mom cheerfully singing, a waiting snack and a listening ear. Idyllic. My childhood was idyllic. James often asks me about when I was a little girl, particularly what Nana and I did together.   Mom and I cooked, played, made crafts together, she taught me to sew, she made numerous sheet forts, we had picnics, we would make homemade play dough, she made up games we would play, we went on walks, we swung on the front porch swing, we read bible stories, we sang.   We sang a lot.   She even bought a special music book and tapes that we would listen to in the car and sing along to.   You could play one side that had the words and the other side just had the music. We ...

Last week was brutal.  I emotionally hunkered down and waited for the storm to pass.  It did and we are feeling a bit more pulled-together about things.  But first!  Jude's labs came back lower (this is good) and he is within the normal range!  Thank you Lord! Glad to have that behind us. Now on to Katy Jane.  After getting home from the EEG and settling back into our routine, she started some new little movements.  She was circling her arms and legs and then a few days later started slapping the right side of her head.  Of course I immediately assumed she had a brain tumor because once you've ever been told one of your children has cancer you naturally assume that every odd thing they do is the early warning signs of cancer.  I talked to the GI doc, the neurologist, and Dr. Honey about it.  The GI doc said it was neuro, not GI.  Neuro said it was GI, not neuro.  Dr. Honey made appointments with 2 different specialist...one a...