date night!

We (I) made Wilson take a picture before our date last night...Our church offers parents' night out once a month in exchange for one hour of volunteer time in the children's department (as well as once-a-week-mother's-morning-out!). Talk about a blessing!!

Can you see Brad's shirt? It says "MY WIFE IS HOT"

{sidenote: Brad sent me a link to that shirt while he was at work a few weeks ago... I think he said, "50% of the price of this shirt goes to Samaritan's Purse, should I buy it?" I laughed and said, "YES! but you would never wear it!" Needless to say, I was surprised when he put it on Friday!}

I felt like I needed to look good to go out with him wearing that shirt ;) Thankfully, he was pleased with the result of my efforts!

We had a great time, the kids had a great time; everyone's happy!

what are you doing Saturday night?

Help Haiti February 27th - HelpHaitiLive.com from Compassion International on Vimeo.

it's about blogging time you get back to blogging...

here are the boys... climbing all over our swingset... which looks a bit gigantic in our new backyard. we have a rule "friends cannot play on the swingset." (it seems like they could bump their head on the fence when they are swinging.) I am not sure how long it will be staying here...the boys do love it though...
We had a lovely-weather weekend, so one day (like I can remember which) the boys all got their game on... "Crush it, Lutz!"
I thought this would make a good postcard to encourage people that are getting over a hard time... maybe a relationship that has ended or a job loss or a long, hard, winter: etc... with this caption...

"Some rebounds are longer than others."

(not sure why but that just makes me chuckle, maybe its the dork in me??)
Littlest Lutz was practicing his fantastic follow-through. While Koka kept score.
Daddy coached some shooting pointers to the Big Man.
And assisted the Little Man in his own dunk.

I may have (or may not have, you never know), yelled out a few old-school cheers from back in the day. Just to get the guys fired up! ;)

some dorks are dorkier than other dorks...

Brad said that my Valentine's post "inspired" him to do some tattoo work on Walker... he makes a pretty cute cat...he even gave him some mean-looking-knuckles. (I may be going out on a limb here, because I don't usually feel comfortable predicting the future; but I think its safe to say that Brad and I probably won't ever become tattoo artists...at least not the kind that get paid... just the dorky kind)
Here's a picture of Wilson on his new bed. He told us (about 4 times) that he slept r-e-a-l-l-y well last night! You can tell he kinda likes it ;)
And I updated the wreath for Spring. I love busting out my glue gun! I had snowflakes in January and some hearts for February and decided there is NO way I can keep up with the new-wreath-every-couple-of-weeks-pace. So these cheery little blossoms should get us through the next couple of months... (p.s. all scrap fabric, and buttons that I have had for years = free update).

lazy Valentine's Day...

thanks to the big snow, our church was cancelled all weekend. so the boys and I had a very lazy day today while Daddy was at work. We did rearrange Wilson's room a little to get ready for his bed {finally!!... poor kid has been sleeping on the sleeper-sofa for months}. After rearranging together, the boys did some rearranging of their own...
and created a super hiding place! They giggled and giggled under that bed!
We also squeezed in some time for the Olympics and Nascar. We couldn't hang to the end of the race though... did it ever end? This morning I showed the boys the video of Apolo Ohno's final last night. Half way through it Walker said, "Which one is Daddy?" Wilson and I laughed and told him that Daddy wasn't in the race... About a lap to go - when it was getting really intense - Walker yelled, "I hope Daddy wins!" Oh that boy makes me laugh!

oh, and I just had to show you my roses. First, I got dark chocolates from Fabiano's earlier in the week and then Brad braved the snow on Friday to go retrieve my roses because FedEx wasn't going to deliver them!
Sadly, I knocked this one off of its stem when I was removing "2-3 outer petals that were left on for protection during delivery." Earlier in the day while lazing around on the couch, Wilson and I gave ourselves tattoos... I am nothing, if not dorky. Brad is a lucky, lucky man.

I was completely surprised by the Valentine's gifts. Brad is so sneaky sometimes! I often wonder why on earth God decided to bless me with such a wonderful man. We were a little bummed that he had to work today, but thankfully he will be home with us tomorrow...

Here's hoping for an equally lazy President's Day!

sometimes waiting is worth it...

and the snow began to fall lightly around 10 am or so...
Wilson watched out the window for awhile... (so did Muskoka, but she moved when I went to take her picture, such a diva)
We went for a little walk in the snow. It was wet, heavy snow and rather pretty.
After the walk and brief stint at the playground across the street; we came home. Walker played happily in the back yard for a bit while I made some hot cocoa. Brad tried to snap this picture of Walker making a snow angel...
And here is the picture outside our front door at about 4:45pm. The snow is supposed to simmer down in the next hour or so, and will probably be all gone by tomorrow afternoon.

The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting. - Dr. Suess

Today we are waiting for the snow to snow. You can see this morning the ground is bare...but school has been cancelled so we are hopeful! Daddy is home sleeping, and Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls are in the oven... its a good day for waiting...and perhaps for reading "Oh the Places You'll Go."

little things

Koka got her hair cut...
because both the boys were wearing red, and the groomer gave Mussy red bows and a bandana; I thought we should have a picture. Brad took these. I love the bottom one =)
and finally, FINALLY, I got up the nerve to take some treats to one of our neighbors! I added a little note with my name and "Wilson's Mom" along with our phone number. They have a daughter in Wilson's class.

I've mentioned how much the tragedy in Haiti has been heavy in my heart. I have been going round and round with God about what my role here in GA has to do with what is happening there... and elsewhere (such as Africa) for that matter. I've been nearly overwhelmed with the sense that we are wealthy in this scenario. We -in America- are wealthy. And I believe God is still going to be working this out in my heart, in my mind, and in my soul. But meanwhile, He kept prodding me to love my neighbor. I kept fighting Him on it. For various reasons, but they were all just disobedience deep down. And while a plate of monster cookies didn't solve the world's problems, walking down the block did remind me that sometimes I just have to do the little things first. He is faithful and I trust Him to lead me well.

"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
Mark 12:30-31

for inquiring minds...

Sunday Best

...I've gotten the question about church a number of times, so I thought I would give y'all an update all at once. We are still going to "The Big Church," which you can check out by clicking *here.* You might remember that we first decided to try it out because it had a Saturday evening service which works well for us on the weekends when Brad works on Sunday. I think we are settling in there pretty well.

After a couple weeks at "The Big Church" I was really ornery about going there again. Sort of pouting-on-the-inside. I had my eyes focused on a couple things that didn't sit well with me...running off a little list in my head... And as clear as can be, I heard, "don't be so self-centered." God and I had a little more in-depth conversation about that concept. But it basically ended with me understanding that this place might be it, and I might just miss it if I didn't open my eyes! Thank you, Lord, for your still small voice that can break through my pouting!

The boys really like their classes. Walker LOVES the pre-school worship time. He came out yesterday singing "where? down in my heart. where? down in my hear where? down in my heart. where? down in my heart..t... (on repeat, as is his style)." And after trying a couple, we are pretty happy with the Bible study group we go to on Sunday mornings. Its a topical study and right now the focus is parenting. The teacher is heavy on the dad being the leader in the family, and let me tell you, that is some refreshing teaching! The guys are doing a little men's weekend too. Low-cost, short-time-commitment, no frills, learning more about being men of valor. I am so thankful that we found a place for Brad to be with men that love the Lord. It is an answer to prayer, a gift beyond measure.

You can see Walker gives it a thumbs up...

I still very much feel like we are "new," but I am excited to see what God has in store for our family here.

age appropriate articulation!

(here is Wilson on his first day back to TALK class in the fall of 2007...)


Yesterday made it official...Wilson no longer needs speech intervention!!

We knew it was coming, they almost signed him out of speech this fall while we were still in Lawton. The pathologist there decided to continue with therapy because he was sometimes leaving off the ending "s" sound in words. When we did his IEP here, we knew he would be re-tested and it was unlikely that he would continue in speech. He has come such a long way!

***it all started just over three years ago***

At first, we really just thought Wilson's speech was cute. We repeated some of the words he would say, exactly the way he said it, because it was so adorable. (Maybe even teased him a little, and yes, I feel bad about it, Sandy!) He was our first-born, I am pretty sure I thought he would 'just grow out of it.' Remember if someone asked him his name, it sounded like "Wilton?" when he would answer. It wasn't until he started playing with other kids his age, that it became a little more obvious that there was a problem. I remember one boy telling Wilson, "you need to talk better!" That got my attention- and also, I may have wanted to smack that kid - We began to be more aware about how frustrated Wilson would get when trying to tell us something and we couldn't understand him. Sometimes he would even use gestures to act out what he was trying to say...

Our neighbor told us about the TALK (Teaching Articulation and Language to Kids) program at LPS, and after some testing, it was obvious that he would benefit from the early intervention. I am so grateful that Lawton had the TALK program so he got to start speech when he was just 3 years old. I am certain that it gave him more confidence when he started kindergarten. We have been blessed to work with excellent speech pathologists all along the way, as well as wonderful classroom teachers that were actively reinforcing what he was learning in his speech therapy sessions.

We are so proud of our big guy! And so thankful that the resources he needed were easily attainable. What a blessing! God provides for the details in our lives.

a few of the cuties...

...it has been awhile since I posted some pictures of the cuties, so here you go. Enjoy.

ok, seriously, that big dog does NOT sleep on our bed. I raced Walker into our room the other day at naptime, and Muskoka launched right on the bed with us. I had to tuck her in, and take a little picture. (The boys giggled and giggled just now when I uploaded it.)
Wilson and I did a little Valentine-crafting-after-school yesterday. Well, until his friend came and asked if he could go to the park... Luckily I snapped a picture of him with the valentine card that he made for Daddy and I at school before the doorbell rang...
Walker got back in touch with his inner-artist...
...while Wilson finished up his book report today.

and that, my friends, is the extent of the excitement round these parts. And to be honest, I think that is just about perfect!!!

while snuggling this morning...

...Wilson, Walker, and I shared one couch cushion. All curled up in a little family ball.

Wilson broke the silence and said "Let's watch some TV."
I asked, "the news?" (that is usually the only thing that is on in the morning, if the TV is on...)
Walker whispered, "No, watch the Old House."

so, we have successfully won another over to our dorky-PBS-ways. Gotta love a boy that likes This Old House!

...we ended up just turning on Daddy's playlist and snuggled a few more minutes before breakfast.