Swings and Things

This summer will mark our third year in our sweet little home. The first summer I was quite pregnant, so doing much yard work wasn't really something I was too interrested in.  So many things waited.  Last year, after assessing the trees, bushes and a heck of a lot of weeds, Scott went to work big time clearing out much of the mess that was the back of our yard.  We let winter do it's job and clear out the rest.  Now it is spring again, and we are in full swing to get our yard a place we really want to spend time in.  Jackson is ALL boy, hunting for bugs, collecting sticks and lining up rocks are amongst his favorite outdoor past times.  But we realized very quickly now that he is full on the move, that this kid has A LOT of energy and needs more ways of buring it off!  So this month we are building a swingset for our Little Man and a picninc table for us!  Right now, I don't know who is more excited, me or Jackson.  As a kid I was the swinging champion (Bonnie many try and argue this fact that she was indeed that, but don't listen to her...haha).  I can't wait to have a place to play- don't get me wrong, collecting stuff is cool and all.  It will just fun to have something else to do as well!  Construction starts on May 16th, so expect pictures to follow!  Yay!

Keeping the Faith

Yes, I know... I have been a very bad Mommy Blogger. It has been absolutely ages since I wrote on here last. And honestly I have no real good reason for it except that we have just been super busy having fun! After what has felt like the longest winter ever, we have been taking full advantage of spring! For Jackson's birthday he received an awesome pair of monster mud boots from the Stenger's, and spring is a perfect time of year to try them out. He loves them so much it is almost difficult to get him outside without them. But that is fine with me- throw on some play jeans and mud boots and we are ready for anything! ..more about these boots in a minute....

My friend Hannah, that I spoke of a while back, has finally moved back here to Ohio with her family like we have been wishing for. Her husband, Tim's job got transferred back here, and I can't say enough how happy we all are about it! Her friendship is like a breath of fresh air for me and her son TJ has been so wonderful for Jackson. They are such sweet little friends now!

For a long time I have wanted to do more with my faith. It has felt like something was missing, although I couldn't put a finger on what it was. Hannah belongs to a mother's group through her church called MUMs (Mom's Uplifting Mom's). She invited me to go along with her, and after just the first visit I knew that this was the thing I was missing. As it turns out it was the congregating with other young women, like me. Unfortunately for Jackson these first few meetings were pretty hard on him. As most of you know, Jackson is quite the Mommy's boy. He loves me to pieces and has a very difficult time with me leaving him anywhere that I won't be. The first two MUMS groups they had to come get me after about 30 minutes because he just wouldn't calm down for them. This was crushing to me because I knew how much my heart needed this devotional time . So when Hannah asked if I wanted to try going to the weekly Mom's Bible Study, I jumped at the chance. I knew right away that having to go a whole month before trying out the nursery was just too much time for him. This way, if it was weekly he would get used to it and hopefully- I am keeping the faith that eventually it might not be too terrible for him. The following week I prayed and prayed.... Please God, for me and for Jackson, please make this easy for him...please let him make it through the whole study. And guess what. He did it! There was a wonderful woman there when we were checking in that took him under her wing and held him until he was ready for play (about 15 minutes). The following week she did it again, and guess what he calmed down after 5 minutes! Week three our favorite woman wasn't there. But another sweet girl guided him away from me and soothed him for, get this, 30 seconds! That was all it took! This last week it was MUMs again, which up until now I haven't really been able to participate in. At check in, Jackson got a little tearful, but another sweet girl guided him over to the trucks and before I even left the room he was playing and having fun!! Way to go little man!!! Now once a week Jackson gets to play with other children, and I get a little RandR for my heart and soul. It is perfect. And through all this, Jackson is really getting a lovely friendship with Hannah's son, TJ. It is so fun to see the two little boys play together- 100% Boy through and through!

Now back to the Boots.... in our backyard we have this little creek that runs along the back of our property. It is just this little thing, probably no more then 6 inches at its deepest. Which makes it the perfect place to stomp around, in you guessed it, mud Boots! Growing up, some of my strongest childhood memories were of me playing in the woods behind my parents’ house. Stomping around in the water and coming home completely filthy equaled the perfect summer day. The moment I saw our little creek I knew I wanted Jackson to have those same experiences. After just the first time I knew we had to call TJ and Miss Hannah to join us. I was hoping that they would love it as much as we do! So this past Friday they came over, boots in hand, and to the water we headed. Oh my goodness - it was heaven watching these little guys! They had more fun then they knew what to do with. Stomping in the water, collecting rocks, skipping stones (okay, more like splashing with rocks), and scooping sand in their buckets- by the end of the afternoon these guys were completely filthy but 100% happy. As were Hannah and myself; it was a gorgeous morning and it just felt so good sitting in the sun listening to the happy squeals from our little men. It was truly a perfect day.

I promise I will be better with keeping up with this website! I have lots more things to talk about and already this post is getting super long. So check back for more stories throughout the week! I have uploaded a bunch of new photo albums today and updated his growth chart as well. So thank you for your patients- but we are finally BACK!