another milestone...

...I am still processing the fact that Wilson is no longer a kindergartner. My baby. Here he is with Ms. Frost... she was everything I could've hoped for in a K teacher. She definitely cultivated a love of learning in this little man...

...just a flashback from Day one. Nervous, but ready.

And here he is with his buddy, A.

To celebrate this milestone, we went out for ice cream. We went to Braum's for hand-dipped cones. You can see it was a big hit...Those boys are so unpredictable. Obviously they didn't quite finish their cones, so they had to wait for me. Maybe right after school isn't the best time for ice cream. This morning started on a high note because Daddy emailed the combination to the lock on his box. Seriously, this was the biggest treat for them... They went through it last night, but got right back into it this morning as soon as they got up. So adorable!

And randomly today, this was parked in the commissary parking lot. So we got a picture with it. Its the National Guard Chopper as constructed by Orange County Choppers.

When we were walking away from it, Walker muttered, "I'm going to get a bike like that..." Super.

around the house stuff...

here are some pictures of a couple projects I worked on with Yaya. Here is the nasty before picture of the ottoman. I do wash it periodically, but wanted to be real with you... Yep, its that gross... ... which is why we thought it would be smart to make a washable slipcover. We had bought fabric to cover the floor pillows, and had enough to cover the ottoman too! I'd like to at least keep it nice to throw on the ottoman when company is coming ;)

Wilson: modeling proper usage of a floor pillow.

(here is what those pillows looked like before - they were hand-me-downs from Barbie...)

And this, my friends, is a sight for sore eyes... A big black case containing gear & stuff that Brad no longer needs over there... Time is ticking away...

Oh, p.s. my strep test was positive. Blah! But I started my z-pack today. And I don't feel that bad... especially when I remember to take my motrin on time. Please pray that the boys don't get it this time either! Thanks!

a few random Sunday photos...

...look what we found on our front patio light... No eggs though. Brad, I am guessing you would like this thing relocated before you get home???
Crazies on the bench...

And Walker's church-inflicted wounds.

I think I may have strep again. I went in today for a swab, waiting for the results before I begin another antibiotic. Hoping nobody else gets sick around here...

Wil's last day of school is Thursday. Next Tuesday-Friday our church is doing VBS. I am doing the (completed) Pre-K class. This is my week to prep everything. So I thought I better post now, or I might not for the rest of the week!

PWOC finale!

Well, I know time is passing because PWOC is over for this year. My last official act as VP/Programs was this morning at the board meeting. It was such a privilege to serve God in this position with these wonderful women this year. So many lessons and treasures to ponder in my heart! I hope that Brad will be able to meet some of these ladies when he gets back... This first picture is me with my "Spiritual Mommas." They have blessed me greatly this year with encouragement, prayer, and wisdom. Diana is wearing the pink, and she was our prayer coordinator this year, she also worked on my Programs team. Sherry was the president this year. She and her husband will be moving to Georgia this summer, but not the same post that we are supposed to be moving to.

And this is Crystal. She was one of my roommates at the retreat I went to in Dallas last November. She will be the president for our PWOC next year. I am so excited for her and all the things God will do through her here at Fort Sill. By the way, she is the one that did all the leg work for the "Dear Army Families" Christmas Card project. She is really humble about it, but honestly, if left to me - it would've only been an idea. She made it happen.

Last Thursday was the last meeting for the year, also the last program - which was the installation of the new board. This picture is the outgoing board...

And these ladies are the incoming board...

I can't even begin to explain all of the blessings that I have received by participating in PWOC this year. My heart is overflowing with gratefulness.

My service at PWOC wouldn't have been possible without Brad's support and encouragement - imagine problem solving a women's event from thousands of miles away - he is a good man! Also, Barbie helped with childcare every single month so I could be single-minded in my purpose. I am truly blessed.

"Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude." Colossians2:6-7

seriously?

...has it nearly been a week since I last posted? Last Friday was a beautiful day. I had decided to let Wilson stay home so he could have an extra day with Yaya. We went to the park... Yaya played at the playground with the boys...

Then we got the pool out... just look at Wilson's face...

Walker obviously had Wilson's swim trunks on...

Not sure why, but I really like this one... messy muzzle, anguish, and mischief all at the same time...

Friday night ended with a movie night, Wall-E because Yaya had never seen it. I had an event at the chapel, so it was just the three of them.

And I believe this was taken on Tuesday, the day after Yaya was supposed to leave...

In between the Friday pictures and the Tuesday picture, lots of other stuff happened, but none of it was photographed...

• I went to reintegration training most of the day Saturday, while the boys hung out in their pj's with Yaya.
• Saturday evening the boys and I went to the park with Gavin & Nicole... and then Wilson and I went to the ER for a few hours. He knocked his noggin on a bar at the playground and head injuries make me a bit nervous. They ran a cat scan and all was fine...
• Sunday - Mother's Day. It was a lovely day.
• Monday took mom to the airport (after cramming in one last sewing project... pictures to come... maybe). Brought mom home from the airport because her plane was delayed which would cause her to miss her connecting flight...
• Watched Hotel for Dogs to make up for the loss of our regular movie night on Saturday while we were at the ER

good times

The sun FINALLY came out Wednesday afternoon - following days and days of drizzly rain. The boys were eager to get out in the steam and enjoy themselves... Wilson loves to climb all over the swingset, but I don't remember him ever getting on this thing and sitting there by himself.

Of course, I had to yell, "Be careful! Do you need help getting down???"
And he replied, "Do you know who taught me how to do this?"
I, of course, had no clue... "No, who?"
"Uncle David!" Wilson shouted, with a tone that said I should've known that... (That kid has a super memory, Uncle David was here nearly two years ago!) Meanwhile, Mom was giving Walker some spring training tips... we are working on NOT hitting the tee... need more practice!

And a picture of me with my boys on my birthday. See my "#1 Mom" pin?

shhh... don't tell anyone, but I am thinking of wrapping it up and giving it to my mom after I wear it to church Sunday morning.

I had a great day yesterday. Wilson got to stay home from school so he could bake a cake with Yaya while I was at PWOC. After lunch, I met Barbie for a pedicure (which by the way, are much cheaper here than in MI). Then I came home and took a nap with Walker while Wil and Yaya went to pick out a couple birthday gifts for me. We had dinner at Lonestar which was a great deal because they emailed me a free entree coupon for my birthday! And we got a big fat dessert to share for free... So we'll be eating the cake today.

To top it off, I got a few extra IM sessions with Brad yesterday which were a pleasant birthday surprise. We are planning on celebrating our birthdays together next month when he is home! EEEEEEEEEE!

yaya love

after dinner snuggles... ...begged to be photographed

yaya arrives!

we met Yaya's train, in the rain... we took her to see the OKC Memorial yesterday, as you can see the skies were gray...

walker got a treat, and then fell asleep.

---

I might even take a picture of Yaya while she is here. She didn't even bring her camera this time (gasp!).

four posts in one...

1. more company coming...
...therefore, more pictures will be online this week. It won't be hard to beat last week's number - zero. Unless you count the one with the Walk for Life post - but you could probably guess that I didn't take that picture.

2. We had a busy week...
...well, the last two weeks actually, were super busy. Which made the wait for Yaya's arrival go by quickly. We will be picking her up tonight in Norman (by OKC). It will be nice to have her here for El Cinco de Mayo, my birthday, and Mother's Day! FUN!

Wilson has told her that he has been bored lately, but he doesn't think he will be bored while she is here. No pressure, Yaya. And Walker told her he would be sleeping with her. She's a lucky duck for sure.

Wilson had his annual IEP this week. When he was first tested for the speech program here, he had 59 errors on the test. This week, he had 4!!!!! How amazing! I have always thought speech teachers were amazing, but now I do even more so!

3. We did not look at one single van this week...
...although, I think Chip-the-used-car-salesman has called me every day. We do appreciate prayers as we look for a vehicle. We want to buy a used vehicle that still has many miles to go. We aren't too interested in bells & whistles, but would like one with privacy glass because it is H-O-T down here. Both Brad and I are content to wait for just the right vehicle, which relieves the pressure to find something immediately. I might mention that to Chip. I do want to keep an open relationship with Chip, because I entered the contest to win a flat-screen TV and wouldn't mind if we won. Yesterday, I was watching my friend's 3-year-old twins, and the boy walked in and said, "where is your TV?" I pointed it out to him, and he said, "That's tiny!" It kind of made me chuckle. Our TV has been our visual reminder that we were working on getting out of debt... We wanted to wait to replace it. Our old one had some major picture quality issues; then some friends gave us their old one, which was better, but smaller; then one of the guys that deployed with Brad let us use his while they are gone... did you know that single soldier's have to store ALL of their stuff while they are deployed?

4. Speaking of single soldiers...
...I have volunteered to help another lady in our FRG prepare their rooms for them when they get back. Because all of their stuff is in storage, they come back to nothing. The unit is providing a small amount of $ per soldier and we are going to get sheets, a towel, some toiletries, etc to set up their rooms. We are also going to see if some kids will make "welcome home" signs for each guy. I think there are 54. Let me know if you have any ideas to make it more inviting for them.

Walk for Life

I signed up for the Walk for Life to support the Pregnancy Resource Center of Southwest Oklahoma.

Shortly after we moved here, Brad and I had a garage sale and advertised in the wrong paper... so nobody showed up... which meant we had A LOT of stuff left over! We decided to donate what we could to the PRC. The ladies there were so grateful for our donations, and helped carry stuff in themselves! About a year or so later, I was helping with a ladies group in our SS department. We hosted a "baby shower" for the PRC and one of the volunteers came and shared her experiences. It was so interesting to hear her tell about women she had counseled. They do so much more than discourage abortion. They offer the ladies a safe place to come and find support and encouragement. They even perform ultrasounds in their office. The PRC is a strong advocate for adoption as well. They also provide parenting classes and offer new mothers all kinds of supplies and resources.

So, when they had sign-ups for the walk at my church, I signed up. Basically, I am helping raise funds for the Resource Center so they can continue to offer their wonderful services to women and babies that desperately need it! If you would like to sponsor me in the walk, all you have to do is tell me! I can add your address to my sponsor pledge form and the PRC will contact you via mail. Simple!

Laura Numeroff...

If you give this kid your autograph, he's gonna want you to pose in a picture with him... And when he gets his picture taken with an author, he's going to think he should certainly get his picture taken with his momma... right after her Arbonne Hollywood makeover...

But getting all those pictures taken is going to make him tired. So when he goes to the dealership to look at used vans, he's gonna want to kick his feet up and watch a show while momma is negotiating*

After a long, restful Saturday, he's going to want to do something really fun after church on Sunday...like go to an old-fashion picnic to celebrate MOMC again. He'll watch his brother toss some beanbags...

...and he'll decide that he wants to ride a pony.

While riding the pony he'll see the petting zoo, and decide he'd like to check out all the animals. His brother will notice a turtle that is trying to make a run for it... (there were no swine at the petting zoo, and there was a handwashing station that we utilized... just so you know)

Of course, while at the free picnic, he'll want to get his picture taken old-fashion-style to commemorate the day for Daddy. He forgot to mention that he wanted Momma and Wilson to be serious like him in the photo.After getting all those clothes on, he's going to want to go blow off some steam at Gavin's birthday party. He'll get in the bounce house with his big brother - but NO WAY will he stay in it long enough for another picture...

WOW. We had a full week, and a mighty full weekend. And this week is just as jammed. Perhaps it is a good thing. Takes the mind off the countdown (momentarily, anyway). Be prepared for the exclamation points to start making a return soon. And possibly even some e-shrieking in the next 6 or 7 weeks. I'm just sayin'.

* momma isn't really negotiating used car prices, I am just test-driving different models to see what I like. Apparently cars aren't selling that well right now, because the salesmen just knock off thousands of dollars without me even asking.

I was wrong...

...today's story was If You Give a Cat a Cupcake... again, well done! The kids got to decorate their own cupcakes, complete with sprinkles spilling all over the floor... ...and then they got to eat them! YUM!

Umm... Not sure what my young son was thinking when he did this... I discovered these two apples in our drawer when I was putting away groceries. I asked him why he opened the ziploc box the other day, but he just shrugged... now I know.

And we kicked off the pool season tonight with Gavin and his parents, Wilson and Gavin tried to get the water slide going...
And they all had fun "swimming." I finally turned the AC on yesterday, its getting warm around here. (We even slathered on sunblock at 4pm, because I am certain my legs were turning a little pink...)

Mr. Aaron grilled burgers and hot dogs for us, and the boys played from after school until bath time. It was a lovely evening!

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie ... Storytime

Every week our library hosts storytime for preschoolers and they do a craft afterwards. I did a great job bringing both kids last year, but this year Walker and I have only been a few times. However, this week they are having storytime EVERYDAY (because of MOMC). Yesterday, was before school, so both boys got to go. Today Walker and I met Gavin and Nicole at storytime. The kids got to make playdough cookies after hearing the story... For some reason, Walker looks teeny-tiny in this picture to me, and I kind of love it. He often says that he wants to stay tiny for Daddy... After making playdough cookies, we went out to the patio for cookies and milk... And let me tell you, it was a BEAUTIFUL day.

The sunshine energized Walker and he started busting a move to the kid tunes... You can see this little girl was totally mesmerized.

And then Gavin jumped in and they did a little street performance for us... They had so much fun! And to top it off, today was Gavin's 4th birthday! I cannot believe that he wasn't even two yet when we met them...

And then...

The beautiful day came to a screeching halt briefly this afternoon. We have a brand-new neighbor (shares our duplex) and she came over to play after school. Walker didn't have a nap so the boys kept picking at each other... Maybe showing off a little for Marianna (I have no idea if that is spelled right... pronounced "mar" not "mare"). Anyway, Wilson swung the plastic bat at the tee and knocked Walker smack-dab in the middle of the forehead... Huge goose egg pops out immediately. I decide it was time to pack it up and hope Marianna comes back another day when things aren't so crazy. I gave Walker a bag of frozen rice and went to put some stuff in the garage... And I see this nasty spider... I grab weedkiller to spray at the ceiling. Red weedkiller. For real. Anyway, it keeps wandering around for awhile... Meanwhile, I call Barbie to see if I need to take Walker to the ER... She gets to hear me shriek when the spider falls from the ceiling...

But thankfully I was armed with a fly swatter and that spider will roam no more. When I walked in to check on the goose-egg, Walker was eating the frozen rice. Awesome. After some flashlight shining and a call to Renee, I determined we could skip out on the ER tonight.

The beauty of the day was restored when we went looking for some pine cones after dinner. Wilson needed some for a school project (most likely something for Earth Day tomorrow). We only had cedar trees at the park across the street, so we hopped in ol' Aztec with Big Girl along for the ride. We pulled up to a tree that we suspected had pinecones and Wil hopped out to survey, sure enough, he found some. We did this about four times, each time Wil hopped out while Walker, Big Girl, and I watched from the car.

One time Wilson said, "I like looking for pinecones..."

I said, "Oh you do?"

He said, "Yeah, its like looking for Easter eggs!"

And I said, "Except with no candy inside, huh?"

And Walker said, "No, just a nut."

Umm not quite buddy.

Tomorrow storytime is If You Give a Moose a Muffin... the author of these books will be on post Thursday and Friday =)