memory dump . february edition

1. i enjoyed these until the bitter end. they were beautiful with all of their opening up and spilling over. 

 

 2. william is certainly coming into his own. oh boy. he is standing on his own but still no signs of steps. he gives that cheesy grin just about 348 times a day and i love it. he LOVES to sing. and talk. and play outside.

3. this little tuck monster has been quite the 2 year old this month. just when i think we're slipping out of it...BAM. he hits again. and we go right back to calling him the tuck monster on a regular basis. you know, like today, he chose to have a spanking instead of pushing his bike up the hill. oh that will of his, it's strong and fierce at times.

4. no picture for this one but we have been cleaning up and cleaning out. dare i say that i am getting organized?! it's true. and it really feels so good. i have thrown so much away and given so much away. it actually makes my stomach turn to think about all the "stuff" we accumulate. this probably deserves a post all on it's own because of the work the Lord is doing in our hearts here.

5. tent building and sleeping. 

6. showers. all by themselves. grey washes himself then helps tuck. they think they are big stuff. and they kind of are.

7. so much dancing lately. SO MUCH. this was during one of our afternoon sessions. dancing to hillsong united. i know it makes me feel good just to dance it out a good one every now and again. so we all get out a little energy a few times a day by breaking it down. and i might say that grey has got some moves that makes me think he watches vanilla ice in secret.

8. after pulling my computer down onto himself and splitting that little foot right open, he got three stitches, laughed and played, and then passed out on our bed. thankfully he hasn't skipped a beat.

9. lots of drawing! though these are not his greatest creations, grey is constantly drawing me pictures. i love it. i enjoy seeing how he puts thoughts into pictures. he is even starting to write words on his own without asking me how to spell them.  he draws pictures and hangs them on the front door for matthew when he comes home from work, i find them on my bedside table, and scattered all over the house. and heaven forbid he catches any in the trash.

tuck joins in on the drawing occasionally too.

{on the left is a mad pig and a mammoth. on the right is a map to poppie and marmie's house}

{during rest time on sunday, he laid out paper and pens for matthew and i to draw him a picture while he was resting}

{me: tuck, i love your picture. can you tell me exactly what it is?

tuck: yeah mommy, it's the promised land.

classic tuck}

10. riding bikes more and more. most nice days after lunch you can catch us building confidence in the cul de sac. and scaling fences. 

11. really looking forward to spring. and planting our garden. and having picnics. and grilling. and living mostly outside. the little taste has been all i need to want to put my shorts on and spend all day in the yard. it will be here so soon.

this week

 

 has been full of:

3 trips to the doctor. one for each boy.

grey with an ear infection.

tuck with a virus gone bad.

will with a deep cut on his foot for three stiches.

lots of tears from pain.

sleepless nights. 

more medicine than we've consumed in months.

more tv than we've watched in months.

eating cereal for 3 meals a day.

daddy out of town and mommy going stir crazy with sick children.

lots of holding and cuddles, singing and reading. 

a little of trying to hold it all together.

man i'm ready for a normal day. hopefully this week will deliver just that.

wrc . 11 months

what a little man.

what a busy, busy boy!

what a happy baby.

 

what a silly william!

what a beautiful son we have in you william reeves. 

 happy 11 months.

a love song

i love you

a bushel and a peck

a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck

i love you

a barrel and a heap

a barrel and a heap and i'm talking in my sleep

about you

you bet your pretty neck i do

i love my dad

no it's not his birthday. no it's not fathers day. no it's not any special day having to do with dads.

i just love my dad and appreciate the man that he is. 

a sacrificial love, a tender love, an intentional love. it's ingrained in the three of us from the example of a father who loves his Father first. and now loves my boys with the same love in a whole new way.

what an incredible legacy to leave on this earth. 

i love you daddy-o. thanks for all you are.

for our health

 {this picture has nothing to do with this post. i found it today and love it. and i have such a hard time with a picture-less post. so here's to tuck at the beach being tuck.}

to the point of the post...

if you see my husband these days, you may think he's a different person. sometimes i even do a double take. he looks good, it's very true. i mean really good. and it's okay for me to brag on him because he'll never do it.

okay, i'm done.

with that being said, i get lots of questions like this, "i didn't even recognize matt, WHAT are you guys doing?!" or "WHAT diet are you on?!" so in an effort to answer some of those questions. here's what's up.

we don't do diets. i personally can't handle all the box they put you in. and i've never thought cutting out an entire food group was any kind of a good idea. so we are using our common sense. for the rest of our lives. FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES.

some may call it a healthy lifestyle.

it started deep in the heart and has now become a way of life.

along with very regular exercise we are eating lots of fruits and veggies, 100% whole wheat, chicken, fish, lowfat cheese, etc. we are not depriving ourselves of anything. we even eat sweets, just in limited amounts. we find we enjoy them more that way. i'm a dark chocolate junkie.

  i absolutely love what we're eating. i like to create in the kitchen so i am coming up with all sorts of new recipes off the cuff. the problem is, i don't write them down often enough.

i had some tilapia thawed for dinner tonight and wasn't quite sure how i was going to prepare it. after researching a few recipes i decided to just throw it together myself. i didn't want to forget what i did so i thought i'd post it here. it was so incredibly easy and so incredibly delicious. i'll call it...

sweet and spicy tilapia

4 tilapia filets
1 red or orange pepper
1 small onion
3 large cloves of garlic
a little honey
1 - 8 oz. can rotel tomato sauce
olive oil

process the pepper, onion, and garlic in a food processor. sautee with some olive oil until soft. add a little honey, maybe a tablespoon-ish. add the can of rotel tomato sauce and let simmer for 5 minutes. place the tilapia in a glass dish and pour the tomato mixture over the fish. bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

mmm mmm!


wish i had a picture. maybe i'll take one next time since i have the recipe to make it again!

i made THIS with quinoa rather than couscous. my mom made it for us this weekend so i tried it tonight. it is so tasty and i will add it to our regular menu.

what a delicious dinner!

i have so many recipes to share. hopefully i will start posting more so i can remember and make them over and over.

weekending

we spent friday and saturday at poppie and marmie's. it was much too quick of a trip but our time was full. there's really nothing like going home.

my mom, of course, fed us like royalty. we enjoyed grilled salmon, roasted brussel sprouts, and a delicious quinoa. her delicious and healthy blueberry coffee cake for breakfast. and she filled us up with vegetable lasagna {that was absolutely delicious} right before we had to leave saturday night. i suggested we make a tiramisu recipe i found. little did i know it was going to end up costing an entire months salary, but it was absolutely worth it.

my mom and i did a few preparations for a certain little boy's upcoming first birthday and slipped away friday afternoon for a little bit of shopping. browsing really. i just love that time with my mom.

 a houseful of different things to play with kept the boys busy busy. matthew and i got to sneak out for a short run on a rainy saturday morning and grey built a castle with poppie while we were gone. i really enjoy seeing my own children play with the same toys that i played with as a child. can't beat wooden blocks.

grey and poppie put meal worms out for the bluebirds.

daddy gave grey a little lesson in leg push ab things.

and they gave daddy another workout.

oh this little fella showed us quite a new side of himself this weekend. i'm still not sure if he was not feeling well or just exerting his will. never have i ever experienced him in the form he was in. he spent most of the moments he was happy sticking his tongue out as far as he could. also a new trick of his.

we drank coffee together, played games, and just enjoyed conversation. love when a short time seems to be multiplied in the fullness of the moments.

love boxes

just to answer a few questions on our love boxes...

i found these babies at target at the $ spot. i'm sure you've seen them. the boys {minus will} decorated them with their own personal touch. 

i knew i wanted to do something a little special in february to bring attention to specific things that we love about the boys. i didn't want to feel like i had this grand plan i couldn't fulfill because it was just TOO grand. so...

each morning when the boys come to the breakfast table, their mailboxes will be at their seats with the flags up. inside is just a simple piece of paper with something specific to them that we love about them. along with a little sweet treat :)

i'm figuring this out as i go but yesterday we wrote things like "we love your big hugs." tomorrow will be things we love to do with them. they are specific to each child.

something so simple made them smile from ear to ear as i read their cards to them this morning.

it's the little things.