Pray

For the victims of what, so far, is the second deadliest tornado in US History.  It is likely to be the deadliest when it is all said and done.  As of this morning, there were 343 confirmed deaths.  There are hundreds of people still missing.  This tornado covered over 300 miles trekking all the way across our state of Alabama.  There is an incomprehensible amount of damage in all of these cities and small towns.  Each one is a link containing pictures of the damage…  

• Pratt City
• Pleasant Grove
• Tuscaloosa
• Bham |  Elmore
• Cullman |  Concord
• Anderson Hills
• Dekalb |  St. Clair
• Huntsville |  N. Ala.
• Argo |  Cordova

These are the videos of the tornado

http://blog.al.com/montgomery/2011/04/must_see_top_ten_alabama_torna.html

Many of you will remember my maid of honor, Bethany.  She is getting married in a little less than 2 months.  She was set to move into her fiance’s house after the wedding.  Her fiance’s house is in a billion pieces.  It is unbelievable.  It is heart breaking. 

The pictures of the destruction are heart breaking.  In many of these small towns, there is nothing left…

These people have lost everything.  Many people lost their children.  Many children lost their parents.  Many, many are still wondering if they have lost their family members as they begin the 4th exhausting day of searching for them. 

There are no words for what these people are going through.

Please keep them in your prayers.  Please consider trying to help them in any way you can.  If you are local, donate food, clothes, or time.  If you are not local, please consider making a donation to the Red Cross.  These people need help!!!  If you are on Facebook, Like “Toomers for Tuscaloosa”  There are many, many suggestions for ways to help.  Today, I read that there are dehydrated babies out there!!!  If that doesn’t break your heart, nothing Will.  Please do what you can, and most importantly, please pray! 

Luke’s 1st Easter (in A LOT of pictures)

  The fam after Easter MassLuke’s 1st Waffle House breakfast.  It’s kind of an Easter tradition :)

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The day started out pretty well… :)

 

Will

A couple nights ago, I had to go out to run some errands after dinner.  Stephen was working in our bathroom on some plumbing.  Sarah had already gone to bed, but Will wanted to stay up to watch what Stephen was doing in the bathroom.  Will watched for a little while and then disappeared for a while.  At some point, Stephen asked Will to go put his pajamas on and brush his teeth for bed.  We’ve been having some trouble with Will not following directions lately.  He gets involved in little art projects (like we’re talking using 300 pieces of paper a day!) and is so engrossed in them that he either forgets or chooses not to do what we’ve asked him to do.  About 5 minutes after Stephen asked Will to get his PJ’s on, he heard a loud crash in the living room and came out to find one of our crucifixes lying on the floor.  Not only had Will not done anything that was asked of him, he found him trying to tape another one of these little projects to the wall, which is what resulted in the crucifix falling to the ground.  So, let’s just say he gave Will a “little talking to” and drug him downstairs to bed.  All the while Stephen assumed that the note Will was working on was for me.  Once Stephen finished his little “talk”, he could tell how troubled Will seemed over the whole thing.  So, he asked Will if he wanted him to give the note to me when I got home.  (The trouble with getting onto Will is that 9 times out of 10 he is completely remorseful in such a quiet way and he really, really internalizes every thing you say to him.  So, by the time, you’re finished with your speech, you can really tell how sorry he is and how disappointed in himself he is, so it’s hard not to come around.)  Will told Stephen that the note was not for me, but would not tell him who it was for.  Eventually, Stephen discovered just who the note was for, and allowed Will to finish this project.  Here is a picture of the note…

 

I hope that we can all keep these simple words in our hearts tomorrow as we remember the great sacrifice Jesus made for our sins. 

Random update

Have I mentioned how much I love Spring??  I love Spring!!  Mostly because I love our yard in the Spring.  It is still a work in progress, but it is probably the thing I love the most about our house.  Our Dogwoods are my absolute favorites!  I tried to grab a picture of the big kids in front of it before it loses its flowers.  So pretty!!

Soccer is still going well.  They both absolutely love it, and they are both doing well!  Last week, it was insanely hot, but Sarah and Will volunteered to play during every rotation when a lot of the kids were asking not to, so they got quite a bit of playing time.  It was a lot of fun to watch!

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Little man has been a trooper at these hot games. 

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Proof positive that I love my animals!  Here’s a picture of Jack after he made himself a bed on top of my clean, folded laundry.  He got to stay long enough for me to take a picture!

A Day Out With Daddy

Will and Sarah are so lucky to have a Daddy that loves to spend time with them doing things that they absolutely LOVE.  Moss Rock Preserve backs up to the lower end of our neighborhood.   It is a great place to hike and explore.  Stephen and the big kids have gone their often to spend a pretty afternoon.  Everyone always has a great time!  Here are a few pictures from their most recent outings…

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Have you seen the newest “Celebrate” magazine??

You might see a couple little monkeys you know…

Luke’s 6 month check up/update

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Just got back from Luke’s check up.  He was a champ despite getting 2 shots and having his little finger pricked.  He whimpered a little but that was about it.  He remained smiley throughout the appointment, even immediately following his shots.  Sweet guy! 

Luke continues to be a big boy!  He is 17.5 lbs and 27 1/4 inches long.

Some of this month’s accomplishments include sitting up, (although he still occasionally takes a tumble!)

 

rolling like a maniac to get to what he wants (who needs crawling?), and sitting up in grocery baskets and high chairs.

  Luke continues to like to eat.  The only food he has turned his nose up at so far is avocado.  He has enjoyed sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, bananas, pears, and green beans (the jury is still deliberating on the green beans).  Right now, I am giving him cereal in the morning and cereal with a fruit or veggie for dinner.  That seems to be working for us at the moment.  Here is a picture of Luke eating.  In between EVERY bite, he has to suck his thumb for a few seconds.  It makes for really long meals!

  After taking a few steps backwards on his sleep last week, we are back on track and sleeping 6:30/7-6 (thank goodness!)  Luke’s biggest accomplishment this month was getting his first tooth.  He got it about a week shy of turning 6 months.  Now we are working on tooth number 2.  I can feel one tiny little ridge on the tooth, but it has not poked through yet.  Should be any day.  It’s a little sad for me that he already has a tooth, but he looks pretty cute with it ;)  I had to take about 2000 pictures to get one with the tooth.  Here it is on the bottom right (if you are looking at the picture).  You can see the bottom left too, but it is under the gum. 

Boy, oh boy, do we love this little guy!!  He really has turned into the sweetest little baby!  Luke adores Will and Sarah!!  His little face lights up when we each one of them returns from school!  It is so cute.  The feelings are mutual.  The only jealousy Will and Sarah have displayed, is over Luke’s attention.  They are constantly bickering over his attention.  He’s a lucky little guy.  Here’s one of my favorite pictures so far taken at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning when we were all, unfortunately, awake.

  

It’s hard not to feel incredibly blessed when I look at this picture. 

Luke 6 Months Old!!!!! (4/11/11)

This little (big) guy cannot be 6 months old already!!!!!

What a wonderful 6 months!!  Happy 1/2 year birthday, Buddy!  We love you more than you will ever know!

The rest of March

Sarah’s 1st Field Trip!!!!

Sarah started asking us when her first field trip would be on the second day of school.  After answering this question at least a zillion times, I finally told her it wouldn’t be until after Christmas.  She seemed to understand that, so we got a bit of a break from the question.  On the way to school on the first day back from Christmas Break, she said, “Oh no, Mommy!  I’m not wearing my field trip shirt and you saaaiiiid we had a field trip after Christmas!!!”  After I stopped laughing, I then explained that it would be after Spring Break.  So, last week, Sarah finally got to go on her first field trip and she loved everything about it!  It was to the fire station.  Such an exciting day in our house!  Here are the pictures…

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First soccer game of 2011 and Sarah’s first game ever!

The kids are playing Upward Soccer this Spring.  Will played last year, but Sarah was too young.  Last year, Will had a great time and was on a great team.  I wouldn’t say he was the most talented player on his team.  He seemed to just enjoy running up and down the field alongside the ball.  He had a couple of good moments last year even scoring a goal, but overall, he was just happy to be out there.  Sarah was chomping at the bit to get a “costume” and get to play.  This year, they are both on the same team (thank goodness).  Our first game was this past weekend.  The games are either at 12:30 or 1:30 with a 30 minute practice beforehand.  I looked at the schedule the night before and determined that the game was at 1:30.  The kids were up and dressed in uniform by 8:30 AM.  I didn’t have the heart to tell them that the weathermen were all in agreement that it was going to rain/storm quite a bit that day.  We had a leisurely morning assuming that the game would most likely get rained out.  At 12:02, I handed Luke to Stephen and said, “you know, I’ve just had this nagging feeling all morning that our game is at 12.  I better go double check.”  I have been known to do such things before.  Well, low and behold, the game was at 12.  Needless to say, we were all in the van in about 30 seconds flat, and I was very thankful that they were practicing for 30 minutes first.  We couldn’t find Will’s socks, but in that situation, if that’s the worst that happens we’re doing okay.  We arrived just in time for the game.  There was a brief period of rain during the middle of the game, but the kids loved it!  Will had a GREAT game, scoring 3 goals!!!  It took Sarah a little while to get the hang of what she was supposed to do, but by the end of the game she was running alongside the pack.  We weren’t keeping score, but we won 3-2 :) 

Sarah’s first game!  This is what Sarah did for the first 3 or 4 trips the ball took up and down the field.  She stood just like this.  She didn’t move a muscle.  The coach told her to stand there, so she stood there.  It was hilarious!  I told Stephen, at least we know she follows directions (sometimes!)

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Aunt Ginny and Baby Richard came to visit

Stephen’s youngest sister, Ginny, has a baby named Richard who is 10 days younger than Luke.  So fun!  Ginny’s husband, Dick, is in the Navy and left after Thanksgiving for a 6 month deployment.  In the meantime, Ginny has been spending time in Atlanta with Stephen’s parents.  She was able to make it over to BHM this weekend for a short visit and to check out Kidsmarket with me and another one of Stephen’s sisters, Andree.  It was fun to get to see the baby’s together, and Stephen and I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with Ginny.  We really appreciate Ginny making the effort to make the drive with a baby!  Here are some pictures we took while she was here.

 

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Uncle Stephen and Richard, who is such a sweet and happy baby!

Luke loves his big sister!