Tarred and Graveled?

This morning, our street was being resurfaced. Jacob & Sophia asked if they could go out on the porch and watch the trucks go by. No harm in that right?
WRONG! When I looked out the front door to check on them, Sophia & Jacob were at the end of the driveway. I called them in and to my dismay, found Sophia's feet COVERED in tar & gravel. Ugh!This is after I scrubbed her feet for 20 minutes with warm soap & water.

At The Lake

It's hard to believe Memorial Day has come and gone. I know I've said this before, but HONESTLY, where does the time go?

Every year we spend Memorial Day weekend at Nana & Bapa's cabin. It's always so fun to get out on the water and enjoy some extended time together. This year, Jacob & Sophia were old enough to enjoy some fun crafts and games Nana had planned.

We spent Sunday afternoon out on Bay Lake. Because the water was WAY too cold to swim, Craig and Bapa bought some bait and we all went fishing...well, when I say "all", I mean Craig, Bapa, Jacob & Sophia. Call me crazy, but I prefer to pass on activities where I am required to dip my hand into a bag of slimy minnows, retreive one and spear a hook through it's face. Bapa & Jacob -

Getting the minnows ready A quick photo with DadJack didn't fish either, but he enjoyed watching the action Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks!?! Sophia had just woken up from a nap, so she needed to snuggle with Nana first.
First fish of the year! Sophia caught a small mouth bass, but decided she didn't like fishing once she saw it up close

Hope you all had a safe and wonderful Memorial Day!

Playground Buddies

Ol' Blue Eyes

Our little baby is growing up so fast! Tomorrow, he'll be 7 months old. Knowing that he's our last, I'm trying to treasure some of the things I didn't with Jacob & Sophia...like the early morning wake-up calls from his room and the teething. In reality, there's nothing I can say about this little guy other than he is a true charmer. He's always ready with a smile on his face...you can get him to laugh over just about anything. And his laugh isn't just a chuckle...it's a full-blown, gut-jiggling, howl. It's pretty contagious.

Books and Covers

This past year, someone has come into Jacob's life. She has gotten to know him pretty well. I, on the other hand, don't know much about her...other than my visual impressions and what I hear from Jacob.

There's always a smile on her face and she seems very nice. But she's really masculine. Her balding hair is cropped short. And she is rather heavy set. The times I've seen her, she's usually wearing men's clothing and no make-up. These things don't bother me, but ashamedly, I admit that I never really made much of an effort to get to know her. I figured we wouldn't have much in common.

Tonight, Jacob and I were talking before bed and this particular individual came up in our conversation. "If you could tell her anything, what would you tell her?" I asked.

"Mommy, I would tell her that she is beautiful!" he replied.

"Funny...that wouldn't be my first word to describe her," I thought. But then it hit me...this whole time I was focused on her appearance while Jacob was focused on her heart.

Why is it that when we grow older, our attention is drawn to the things that the world holds important...appearance, wealth, youth? When all the while, God cares about who we are on the INSIDE? What is it about our human nature that causes us to judge a book by it's cover?

Once again, I was humbled and gently reminded by my 4-year-old that the true judge of beauty lies much deeper than the clothes we wear and the car we drive. And hopefully I'll give a second glance to those books whose covers don't grab my attention the first time.

Another Year

Yesterday was the culmination of Jacob's 2nd year in preschool. It's hard to believe all the things he's learned this year...reading, writing, memorizing, math skills. But the biggest thing he's taken away from this year are a couple awesome friends, and 2 great teachers, Mrs. Guenther & Mrs. Johnson. Because we've opted to hold him back one more year, he'll get the priviledge to be under their direction again next fall. In the meantime...let the summer BEGIN!

Here Comes the Sun

After a long, hard winter...I'm 51% sure that spring is finally here! On Sunday, we went up to Grandma & Papa's house to celebrate a belated Mothers' Day. The sun was shining and it felt so good to get outside. My favorite part? Watching the kids wear off some serious pent-up energy! I love this photo...

My Grandpa Prentice used to stick his tongue out when he was concentrating.

I stick my tongue out when I'm concentrating.

And clearly, Sophia does it too.

Even though she never met him, she carries around a little bit of Great Grandpa Prentice in her!

Instead of picking flowers (it's such a girly thing to do),

Jacob played with Mariah...fulfilling his desire to have a dog.