I have taken over...JK!

Hi, it's Brandon...I have hacked into the blog and have taken over!  JK!!!

I am excited to be coming home soon and can't wait to write about our family adventures...

TOGETHER!!!!!!!!

Sola Deo Gloria!

Lowes and Texas Roadhouse

The last two days sure were eventful and fun, but boy am I exhausted. It has been HOT here in North Carolina as well. It was looking to be so beautiful that I decided it was finally warm enough to go buy some flowers at Lowes and made my front yard look pretty. When we moved into our house there was a lovely completely empty flower bed just waiting for some colorful flowers. Up until now, it was just full of fresh mulch. Thanks landscapers!

I was so excited to pack up the kids and head to Lowes. C was super excited as well as she loves flowers and associates them with my mom (Omi) who works at a plant nursery. I think she thinks all flowers are somehow related to Omi! Anyway, all was going well until I pulled into the parking lot and realized that I had no idea how I was going to carry D, who can't sit up unassisted yet, and my purse and somehow still have access to the entire cart to load up with plants. Typically, everywhere we go I leave D in his car seat and set it in the back of the shopping cart. Unfortunately, this method leaves very little room for plants, so I needed a plan B. Well, I remembered I had my baby Bjorn front carrier in the car. I had not used it in months but figured it was my only way to attempt this. So, in the parking lot I had to readjust the size since D is much large than he was last time I used it. I was just praying he wasn't going to hate being in the thing. Miraculously, I got it all adjusted and D seemed to really enjoy facing out and hanging on me like a baby kangaroo! Yay! 

I happily trotted into Lowes, and found a cart. C was being wonderful staying right by me as we navigated the outdoor nursery...and little D kept putting his hands on the shopping cart handle, haha, so funny! It looked like he was pushing (maybe this is only funny to me). Anyway, this trip was looking pretty good until I found the large flat of flowers I wanted and realized I couldn't pick it up around the 18 pound child dangling from my chest! I couldn't get my arms around him and still pick up the flowers. Where were the helpful employees we see on the commercials?? Nowhere to be found! Or a passerby....anyone?? So, Me and little D just did the best we could. He got a face full of pink flowers and we quickly tossed them in the cart. The next two pots I got were not a problem after that fiasco. But then....we needed soil!!! The bags may as well have been 100lb bags. How was I going to lift the big (heavy) bag of soil into my cart? Now, I must say that twice while I was there people commented to me, "you've got your hands full!" And I nodded happily as if it were a piece of cake (why don't we let our true frustrations show?). So, I was very irritated when nobody "noticed" me and my dilemma in the soil section about 20 feet from the register. Oh well, I had to settle for 2 small bags of soil because I could lift them and only partially squish my son. 

So, after paying and getting everything loaded into the car, we headed home. I absolutely hate planting flowers but I love having them to take care of and enjoy. So, C and I planted them out front and they look fantastic! What a day!

I have to share this one more thing because it was hilarious. That evening I decided to take the kids out to Texas Roadhouse. It is C's favorite place because she LOVES their bread and cinnamon butter. She knows exactly what she wants when we go and actually orders her meal by herself every time..."chocolate milk, macaroni and cheese and applesauce." We go there about once a week, so she is pretty used to this.  And, we are starting to get to know a couple of the waitresses! So, this particular evening, C was interested in the waitresses "dancing" in the center of the restaurant. (Every once in a while the servers do a line dance to one of the songs...not often though, maybe once every hour and half or so) C even asked our waitress if they were going to dance. She said she thought they probably were going to soon. C was excited but as soon as the waitress cam back again, C asked again. Our poor waitress didn't know how to explain "about 10 minutes" to a 3 year old! So, she asked C if she would like to dance with them when they danced. My little C smiled this huge smile and was so excited! All she could talk about the rest of dinner was "dancing with then...when we gonna dance?....we dance now?" Longest 20 minutes ever!! FINALLY the song came on and all the servers lined up. One of the waitresses came up and got C and off she went down to the floor. She stood right in the middle of their line and danced her heart out with the "dance teachers" (as she later called them). It was so funny and I was so proud of her. She is not afraid of much. I am proud of her independence and self confidence. She is going to be quite a woman one day - and will probably wait tables at Texas Roadhouse when she is in college!

Summer is coming!

Today was a beautiful day here in the Southeast! C and I were able to go out back and enjoy the sun and the breeze. We even had a discussion about the difference between "wind" and "air." She asked me if what we were feeling was wind or air, so we had a little lesson. So cute! 

Little D was exhausted after a long morning at the doctor's office for his 6 month well baby check-up. It was scheduled right in the middle of his morning nap, so needless to say, by the time we got home, he was ready for lunch and then a nice long (3 1/2 hour!) nap. He was quite a trooper and handled it like a pro...barely even crying after his immunizations. He is 18 lbs 1 oz(60%) and 27 1/2 in. long (85%tile).  Unfortunately, he had some fluid in his ears that will need to be rechecked in 3 weeks. Hopefully it will just disappear on its own and will not cause an ear infection...

Either way, today was a very good 

day! It gave me just a hint of what is to come this summer...sitting on the 

back patio watching C play after lotioning her up with sunscreen and slapping a hat on her head.  Our backyard has a lot of sand in it so she plays with sand toys when she's out back, haha. She digs for things and makes sand castles. I loved seeing her little pale legs in shorts for the first time this season and then smelling her little "sunscreened self"  every time she came to give me a rock or flower (weed) that she found in the yard.  By the end of our time outside I had a nice pile of "treasures" sitting by my chair! 

I also can't help but to write about the SUPER exciting event taking place next week! My dearest husband is coming home after a 6 month deployment. He has been in South America since right after our baby was born. We talk to him frequently on the phone and on Skype (so much that 3 year old C asks, "is daddy on kype?" throughout the day). This has made is much better than it could have been but having him home will be the best thing ever. He left when D was 15 days old, so coming home to a 18 lb 6 month old is going to be quite a change. Plus, I can't wait for his help around the house. It is exhausting to have to do EVERYTHING for EVERYONE EVERYDAY! His help will be very welcomed! Plus, I miss him as my husband too. I miss holding his hand, sitting next to him in the car and at church, and certainly sleeping next to him (the pillows I prop all around me just aren't the same).  And another great thing about him coming home is that he can help me make my blog look prettier! I want to upload some pictures of us, but have no idea how. I am kind of an computer dummy - fortunately, we have a Mac and I think that it was made for dummies. It is very user friendly!

So, I need to go get C in bed. She is watching Dora and will soon need to begin the bedtime process...I usually don't look forward to the "potty, brush teeth, read book, tuck-in, close door, she gets up, back to bed, she comes to the door, back to bed....repeat several times" routine, but I completely know that one day when she is older, I will completely miss it. Right now, she wants my hugs and kisses (over and over) and she wants to snuggle with me. She also still gets excited every time she uses the bathroom, so her world is just one big ball of excitement! I love it!

Newby Blogger!

So, I have no idea what I am doing and am just hoping this actually posts! I decided to join the blogger world because I have so many thoughts and funny stories that I would love to record and share but just don't have any outlet to do it. I could call my friends and family, but they are typically at work...I could post on facebook, but people would get sick of seeing new "notes" added as frequently as I would like to write. I happen to find most of my days pretty amusing and I think that it would be fun to look back and read what I wrote and how I was feeling at the time. Plus, I can share my silly kid stories with anyone that cares to read this. Truly I suppose, this serves a dual purpose.

One thing that I have learned from a public blog is that I shouldn't give any descriptive info about myself or my family. So, I will refer to myself as "me or I" and my husband as, "B." I have two kids who I will call "C" and "D." For anyone reading this that doesn't actually know me, C is my 3 year old daughter and D is my 6 month old son.  I have heard so many terrible things about internet stalker people that I really want to be as safe as possible in doing this!

Okay, so now that I got that out of the way, I should tell you about my blog's name. B and I were trying to come up with something unique yet descriptive. We would come up with some great option and then be shot down when it wasn't available.  After sitting here for a while, we came up with Raising Them Up. Obviously, we are raising two kids, so it makes perfect sense. But we are also raising the up to the Lord. We pray for them and lift them up to Him. Realistically, He is their Father. We are blessed to be their earthly parents, but ultimately, they are His. So, Raising Them Up it is!

I am super excited about this blog so please check back frequently to see new posts and pictures. I can guarantee that many of the entries will make you laugh. C is about the funniest kid on the planet and says the funniest things almost daily and my sweet little D surprises me everyday with his adorable little personality. 

Until Later!