Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Grateful

Today I took my boys to a different park where they had never been before. I didn't realize that it was next to a school for specialized children until some of the teachers brought over some of the children while we were there playing. First I wasn't sure if I should leave with the boys so they didn't say or do anything to hurt these children or if that would look rude. So, I stayed.

Some of the kids were in wheel chairs and none of them could walk very well. One girl they sat down and Josh sat next to her and she had her tongue sticking out and she was moving around in excitement b/c Josh was trying to play with her and he kept tagging her saying, "You're it!" Josh didn't realize there was anything wrong with her, he just wanted to play with her. I was glad to see that he was making her smile and laugh. I was so proud of him.

At one point one of the teachers was helping one of the boys to walk up the steps and go down the slide and Josiah was standing there and the teacher said, "His legs are a little different than yours and they aren't as strong as yours." She was explaining whey they looked different and why she had to help him. Josiah responded by saying, "My legs are strong." And at that moment I just felt such gratefulness that Josiah was normal and could walk on his own and play and climb and go down slides.

I asked one of the ladies if any of the kids had cerebral palsey b/c they said Jadon, our first son who was born premature, would've most likely had that if he would've lived due to being on the ventilator so long at such high levels and plus b/c of his prematurity. Some of the kids did have it and I just looked at them and wanted to cry b/c I could've had a child like that and my life would be so different. I realized once again how beautiful and precious my boys are to me and how much of a better life Jadon has in heaven than he would here. They didn't stay very long b/c they kids were pretty much worn out from their walk, but I thought I was going to lose it once they left. I was so touched by this and reminded once again how blessed I am to have two healthy, pefectly formed little boys who can live and have a normal life.

We take so much for granted and it's good to be reminded sometimes how much God has given us. We all have suffered or will suffer through tragedies in life, but God still has blessed us tremendously and I am more than grateful.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Cheesiest smiles!


My boys love to say "CHEESE!" as loud and as big as they can!! And yesterday they wore their Easter outfits yesterday that I never got a picture of!

We're finally done!





We finished laying the sod in the backyard on Saturday afternoon and we are so glad it's done! It's so much work, but well worth it, so I wanted to post some before and after pics so you can see the huge difference!

Friday, April 18, 2008

Lots of Hard Work

Today Ronnie is tilling the back yard to get it ready to lay sod down. A few months after we moved in we pulled out tons of huge plants and bushes in order to make room for a playset. So, now that it's grass planting season we can finally put sod down since we have all these huge spots of dirt where the plants where. And the boys are bringing in the dirt from outside into the screened in porch and then into the house and it's impossible to keep it clean, so this will help fix that! Here in FL you can't just put seed down to grow grass. You have to either use sod or plugs and they're about the same expense. So, we're tackling our big project this weekend! Tomorrow our sod is delivered and we'll be laying it down. We're new to all this, but I can't wait to see it when it's all done!!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

The Lord's Prayer

WOW! What more can you say??

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Fishing in Lake Wales


We went last weekend to Lake Wales to fish with the boys and of course it's Ronnie's heaven on earth. The boys loved going in the boat and catching fish. This is the one of the best places to catch fish, so I actually caught some too! Josiah was so excited every time someone caught a fish and he was able to use his new Lighting McQueen fishing pole, except a lot of the fish were so big they were bending his pole way over! Josh was more concerned with eating snacks than anything else! If you see in the picture of Ronnie and I, we both caught a catfish, but guess which one is bigger???? That would be mine! And if you also notice I have a huge poncho on because it just had to start pouring as soon as we got out on the water! Plus, that's my dad's arm holding the catfish b/c I wasn't about to touch it!

Chucky Cheese


Last week while my parents were here we took a trip to Chucky Cheese. Too bad for Ronnie but I beat him in the basketball game again! Everytime we play that together, I win! Weird, isn't it? Guess I just have skills! The boys had a blast as always and we all pigged out on their gross, greasy pizza! Check out all the pics in our family pics link!

Wet-n-Wild


On Monday we went to Wet-n-Wild waterpark in Orlando with my parents and my dad's cousin and his wife. The boys love the waterpark and Josiah actually got to go on 4 slides outside of the kiddy area so he felt really big! Check out all the pics under the Family pics link!