Smiles with Myles - Volume 11

Today is Myles birthday! Myles has brought so much joy to our lives... as all of our children have! We continually re-visit Psalm 139 - in how thankful we are that we can be *confident* in the Lord's creation of Myles. That even Down Syndrome is something the Lord has allowed into His life... not because it was an accident or a 'mishap' or a abnormality in the womb, but b/c the Lord has a very specific purpose to use this in Myles' life, his brother's lives, our lives, and anyone who comes into contact with him. But most of all, He has put this in our path to bring glory to Himself. God's plan is so, so, so much bigger than our plans. His ways are higher than our ways. We think so little compared to Him. I see this all the time when I'm reading with the boys... studying about Abraham and how he waited for Isaac, then Isaac married Rebekah... they had twins... Esau and Jacob... Jacob had Joseph... Wow! When you start to see the plan fit together, it is incredible! And to think that Jesus was coming -- it is so powerful and starts to give us a glimpse at how majestic God is.

At some point, I will write out our birth story with Myles. I don't think I've done that yet, but the details are still pretty fresh in my mind. For now, suffice it to say he is just another dose of joy we get to partake of everyday. Each child is a nugget of sweetness... we love, love, love them and are so grateful to God for sharing them with us!

 Myles is a little over 19 lbs - VERY happy, eats well, is starting to display a little attitude, and can get up on all fours and rock. He LOVES to swing, LOVES the water, LOVES his daddy! It's super cute. Happy Birthday sweet My-my! We love you! 

Memorable Things Kids Say - Volume 22

Happy Father's Day a little late... we were out of town! We are so thankful for Jonathan - he is the one who brings spontaneity to this family, a sense of humor, storytelling, lots of tackling, a deep affection for his sons, tons of cuddle time, the final word when it is needed, and a serious commitment to his family and church in spite of a very demanding work schedule. We love his love for Jesus, his leadership in our home, the wisdom he shows as he deals with the stresses of life, and the side of him that comes out when he actually gets a break to unwind! We are looking forward to a two week vacation with him and can't wait to have him all to ourselves!!

Grandma B. and Myles

Grandpa B. and Myles

Josh and Lori went to Ireland and brought back these great hats!

In the past few weeks, we have had the privilege of spending a lot of time with family lately! And we are looking forward to spending more this coming wknd for July 4th.

And we also have the privilege often to hear our boys dialogue. We find this happening a lot at night times when we are laying in bed with them... Night time is a great time with our boys (once they are actually all tucked in!) :) -- Jonathan loves to lay with them and cuddle and just talk with them about their days or friends or Myles or whatever comes to their minds until they fall asleep. We take advantage of these times as much as possible while they're little and want us around to tuck them in! Here's last night's discussion which came completely out of the blue:

Henry: Who is God's father?
Dad: He has no father.
Henry: Oh, so He just was born out of his own belly?
Dad: No, he wasn't born.
Henry: Then how did he get here?
Dad: He's always been. He's the beginning and the end.
Henry: So He'll never die?
Dad: No, He's like a circle. There is no beginning and no end. He will always be.
Mom: It's like a mystery.
Henry: When will we see God and Jesus?
Dad: In heaven.
Henry: When we touch them, will they disappear?
Dad: No, did someone tell you they would?
Henry: No, I just made that up.
*Silence*
Henry: How do fireworks go up from the ground?
Dad: They shoot up in the sky.
Henry: Why don't they just go off on the ground?
Ahhh.... good night Henry :)

Memorable Things Kids Say - Volume 21

A conversation held in the back of the van.... we drove past the gas station and saw a Bud Light semi unloading. (Henry must have thought it was a soda drink.)
Wyatt: Henry, look at the semi truck!
Henry: Yeah, it carries drinks.
Wyatt: Look at it!
Henry: Wyatt, those drinks are bad for you. They just take bad sugar and water and mix it together. Then they sell it. It's not good for your body. (I'm not sure where he comes up with these ideas!)
Wyatt: Look at it! That' so cool!
Henry: People drink that and it's bad sugar Wyatt. It can kill you.

(About 5 minutes later...)

Wyatt: Henry, look how big my muscles are (says as he flexes his arm)
Henry: Yeah, but my muscles are bigger b/c I am bigger.
Wyatt: My muscles are big too. Look.
Henry: No, my muscles are bigger b/c I'm bigger. I'll always be older than you so my muscles will always be bigger than yours. Right Mom?
Wyatt: No they won't.
Henry: Yes, they will.
Wyatt: No they won't.
Henry: Wyatt, yes they will. But you know what, God's muscles are bigger than both of ours. His will always be bigger. He can hold the whole world in just one hand.
Wyatt: Yeah, He's really, really strong.

Kids are so wonderful even though some days they are so challenging!  I love it.

The Honeymoon, Belleair Beach, Florida

Ten years ago, we'd still be on our honeymoon. We were able to go for 10-days, and it was so, so great. If you can, you should take a long honeymoon. For us, it was really a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We still talk about it. Jonathan's parents let us use a week of their timeshare which was an amazing gift and actually made it affordable for us to go for so long. We went to Belleair Beach, Florida. The highlights were, of course, being MARRIED, and all that entails for those of us who wait :), the beach, seeing dolphins, eating out dinner every night, watching Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter every day (it was CROC week), and attempting to take every picture together with the timer on our camera. We'd actually avoid people who looked like they were going to offer to take our picture... we loved the challenge of the timer. All of the pics here are timed except the one at Guppy's. Anyways, such great and wonderful memories that we will cherish forever. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true.... back to regular programming now. No more pics of honeymoons and weddings :)

Happy 10th Anniversary

Ten years ago today, we were married in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We were young... only 22 and 23, met at an Applebee's, had only known each other for a year, and only dated 4 months before we got engaged. God has given us a friendship that we are so grateful for! We still laugh A LOT, and while these past two years of our marriage have probably been the most challenging for several different reasons, we are so thankful for each other and the bond the Lord has given us in Him. We continually trust in His plans for our home, and have seen His faithfulness in many ways over the past ten years.


We had a ridiculously large wedding party! But we talked about that tonight, and decided we would still do it the same way. We had an outdoor wedding... and it was a little panicky all the way up until about 6pm, when finally the rain clouds parted, and the sun came out. The wedding started at 7pm. It was PERFECT. Cool, sunny, and just enough wetness to add a little sheen. Tonight we perused through our wedding album, honeymoon album, and our first years of travel. So many, many good memories... it's incredible how fast it has all gone by. Florida, Seattle, California, Arizona, London, Ireland, multiple houseboat trips, bus trips to NYC... we are so thankful for the time we spent traveling before we had the boys. So much fun with family...



Sit tight... in the next few days, I'm going to post some pics of our honeymoon! :) It actually worked out fairly well to take digital pics of the prints (since this is pre-digital age!)... Yikes!

Memorable Things Kids Say - Volume 20

Henry has never asked where babies come from. He has never asked me about where milk comes from even though he has seen me nurse Myles 1000's of times. He has never asked how you get a baby in your belly. Nothing. Today, our Bible story was about Isaac and Rebekah, specifically about how the babies were wrestling in her belly. We read in Genesis 24 about how when they were born, Jacob was grasping onto the heel of Esau. Why was that? What did they look like? etc. Henry asked out of the blue, "Well, how did they come out?" 

I said, "What do you mean?" 

"Like, how did they get out of her belly?"

"Oh yes, there is a special place that God made for babies to come out."

"Did they have to cut open her belly?"

"Um, that sometimes can happen, but not with Rebekah I don't think."

"Did they have to cut your belly to get Myles out?"

"Nope." 

"Well, then how did he come out?"

"A place where God has babies come out."

"Where?" (He was getting very persistent.)

"A special place that God gives Mommies."
"Can I see it?"

"Um, nope. It's a special place God gave Mommies and it's ready at just the right time to have the baby. Sooo... why do you think God said Esau was going to serve Jacob? And why do you think Esau had hair ALL over his body?? Isn't that strange?" 

He moved right on... thankfully :) My first exposure to that question... I almost started laughing out loud. It was so darn cute.

*There is no denying this bundle of cuteness! Watch out first grade, here I come! Doesn't Henry look just like him?*

*Chillin' with Myles*

*I know, as my mother would say, BUCKLE HIM IN. And since this picture, I have!*

Memorable Things Kids Say - Volume 19

The boys have been in swim lessons the past 9 weeks. They are doing great! The past two sessions there has been this 'dummy' there b/c they have been doing some lifeguard training. We walked past it the other day and Wyatt stopped. "Mommy, Mommy, can I touch this?" I said that was fine, but then to hurry along so we could get his life belt on. He touched it and then came running up to me and Henry. "Henry, I touched Jesus." Henry did a double take and said, "What?"

Wyatt said, "I touched Jesus." I said, "What do you mean Jesus?" And he pointed to the dummy.... "I touched his knees and his head. They had holes in them. Boo boos. That's how I know it was Jesus."

Honestly, kids are so beautiful. It was so funny, and at the same time, so simply sweet.