Gratitude Campaign

I saw this today and thought I'd share. I know, TWO YouTube videos in two days? Crazy. I am totally one of those people who wouldn't say anything but then would wish I had. Here's a way to do it that's very subtle but very powerful.

Back To School

So it's the first day of school. I didn't take any pictures because it never crossed my mind, honestly. I'm waking up so much earlier than normal for me so I suppose I could blame it on that.
It went pretty well. Jaaromy walked Nathaniel to school so he could get used to walking by himself. He's in the smarty pants class this year with the 5th graders. AND they get to use computers. I'm excited for him, I think he'll have fun. He told me all about it when he got home. I had to ask him specific questions but at least he answered them all. He's getting so big. I noticed it this morning. I don't know if it was the new haircut or what but as I watched him come down the stairs, he was definitely older to me. Unlike most of you, I'm not nostalgic for the past, even when it comes to my children. This morning was no exception. I'm so excited for him to grow up and learn new things and to see what kind of person he turns out to be, if the last nine years are any indication, I won't be disappointed.

Jonathan will start All-Day Kindergarten next week and I get to do this all over again. I'm just as excited for him, too. I'm excited that they can walk together to and from school. Nathaniel is also excited to have a sibling in school with him. All three of my boys will be in school together for one year when Nathaniel is in 6th grade. That will be fun, I think.

Anywho, I saw this commercial at my mom's yesterday and I think it sums up this time of year just right. (I hope you don't mind, Rachel, I totally took my own advice :))



So, as you can see, even though it means waking up way early for me, I'm excited for my boys to start school. Although, I'm not quite gloating like this dad is. Learning news things is always fun!

Jaaromy's Birthday

We celebrated Jaaromy's birthday on Sunday. We were the only ones at my mom's but she made rolls anyway, just for him.
When we got home I made some more of those delicious cookie brownies and the boys made him cards.



Here's a picture of the insides of the cards because they're so awesome.

Jonathan made this Jupiter all by himself on the computer, then drew a balloon, a cake, and a candle with crayons.


Nathaniel has a flair for design as you can see from the first picture. On the inside he drew a picture of the event. He captures the moment quite well, I think.
Here's a close up:


Everybody sang Happy Birthday and we enjoyed our treat.

I don't think I will ever get tired of cookie brownies!

Happy Birthday, Jaaromy! We love you and think you are the Best Dad EVER!

Another birthday for me but not for tree

So it was my birthday Monday and the first thing I did was wake up way too early so I could be there when the tree man arrived. We had a tree in our backyard that had been slowly dying since we moved in due, I believe, to termites. Earlier this Spring there was one main branch that was still alive but by the end of summer it was all dead. It was just as well. The root system is very close to the surface and I was constantly cutting down little painfully thorny tree sprouts all over the lawn. That whole corner of the yard is over grown anyway so when the tree man came I had him pull out to bushes as well. They were covered in morning glory vines and only added to the overgrowness of the yard. So after an hour or so of pulling and a couple of exchanges that drifted dangerously close to sexual harassment the tree and bushes were gone.


It didn't occur to me to take a "before" shot so I did my best to recreate it for you.


I hope this gives you an idea of how it looked before.

It's still a mess back there but already it feels like there is more space and I can't wait to get it all cleared out. In fact, I may clear out some more.


I've got my eye on you, pine tree!

Jaaromy and I already got our birthday presents last month when we got new motherboards, processors, and memory for our computers(Can't you tell how much faster I was able to post this?), but Jaaromy still got me something. He picked up dinner at Ab's and got me donuts, flowers, and Reese's Peanut Butter cups.


As you can see, the box of donuts is empty. Don't worry, I didn't eat them all. But aren't the flowers pretty? I thought all my vases were still packed away and I was resigned to watch my flowers wilt overnight. But it turns out that I had some vases on my dresser in our bedroom. I guess I'm just so used to looking at all the clutter on my dresser that I've forgotten what's actually on it. So I put the flowers in with the plant food and they look beautiful!

Not a bad birthday. I'd like to thank all six of you who went to the trouble of giving me a call. A few of you said Happy Birthday on Facebook which is okay too, I guess. ;)