The 5 year plan

Sometime when I was younger (maybe around junior high?) I devoloped seasonal allergies. You all know what they're like...runny nose, scratchy throat, itchy eyes...lots of fun! It really takes some of the fun out of my favorite time of year!

Well, when I moved from Washington to Montana--my allergies went away!!! It was hard to believe, but I just thanked God for that extra little blessing. All was great for a time. Then after living there about five years, my allergies came back. It was all of a sudden, and they came back with a vengence! I'm not a big fan of allergy medications because of some of their side effects, but I would faithfully take them when needed; after all, they do take care of the symptoms!

Last year we moved to Texas at the beginning of summer. No allergies for me! I was pleasantly surprised, and naturally assumed that I was on the five year plan again.

How wrong I was!!!

This week, my allergies came back once again! I can't quit sneezing, I can hardly wear eye make-up because my eyes are so puffy, and there aren't a lot of allergy medicines that I can use while I'm pregnant! I want the five year plan back!

a sad day...

My sister-in-law lost her mom today. For those who don't know these people, her mom was young and healthy until this weekend. She had an aneurism in her brain and has been on a roller coaster of ups and downs since Saturday. (For details on her earlier progress, you can visit here.)

There will be a funeral for her Monday morning. Please pray for this family--this all happened so suddenly, and Kelly was so very close to her wonderful mom.

Breadsticks

The picture has nothing to do with today's post. I can do that since it's my blog! :) It's from our Detroit trip--the boys were very excited to ride on the train!

I'm making breadsticks today, and I thought I would share the recipe for anyone who might like it! These are as good (or better!) than the breadsticks that you get at the Olive Garden (my FAVORITE place to eat out!). And they're really pretty easy to throw together. Hope you enjoy!

Soft Garlic Breadsticks

1 1/4 cups warm water

2 Tbl olive oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbl grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2-2 tsp italian seasoning

3 cups flour

2 Tbl sugar

2 tsp active dry yeast

Put all ingredients in bread machine in the order listed. Select dough setting. When the cycle is complete, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 20 pieces. Shape each into a ball and roll into a 9" rope. Place on greased cookie sheets. Cover and let rise 40 minutes or so until doubled in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove to wire racks. Brush warm breadsticks with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with garlic salt.

april 23

The boys are really into puzzles right now. I don't have anything much to say, so I thought I'd just put up a picture of the boys and their current project!

On a more serious note, my heart is heavy for a family member who is dealing with something out of our control. It's hard to ask you to pray when I'm not going into details, but if you feel so led....this family could use extra prayer. If you know them, know that they are okay, but please do lift them up in prayer.

This is not the best picture, but it's the most recent one that I have! :)

Carpenters

The boys and I were at a friend's house for lunch today, and then we stayed a while so the kids could play and we could talk. We were in the middle of some discussion when I was completely distracted by a banging sound coming from the room where the boys were playing.

WHAM!! WHAM-WHAM-WHAM!!

My friend seemed undisturbed, and I have to say that I'm not usually one to rush in (kids will be kids and I don't let mine destroy things, but I do let them play!) but I had to check it out. Turns out it wasn't my boys, but her son. He had a foam sword and was whacking it on the wall in his bedroom. No harm done.

At my house, that sound usually means that the "carpenters" have decided my house needs a little "fixing" and they're taking care of things for me. While I appreciate the help, I sometimes have to intervene in the interest of saving my house!

Here's where they were working this week. :)

Detroit

The boys and I flew to Detroit over the weekend to meet up with Sam (who had been there since Monday!) and also to see the Acquire the Fire (Battle Cry) event. It was a great trip! We didn't see all of the show, as it's too long to hold the boy's attention, but what we saw was incredible. The bands were awesome, and the kids attending it were so excited.

Every time we ask Henry what his favorite part of the trip was, he has a different answer. The airplane ride, pulling his pack-pack everywhere we went, riding on a bus, riding on a train (sort of a mono-rail type thing in downtown Detroit), sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor in a hotel, walking home in the snow. . . . . and the list goes on!

He really did take his back pack everywhere we went. He packed it with some toys and his "Buddy" and just thought it was SO COOL to have it along all the time.

The boys thought that the steam rising up from the sidewalks was pretty neat too. We had to have pictures, of course! If you look around Jonah you can see it coming up behind him.

The show ended around 10pm Saturday night, and when we stepped outside to walk the four blocks to the hotel, we saw SNOW!!! The boys were slightly more excited than I was! Not that I don't like snow, but I had planned ahead and brought their jackets, hats and gloves, and all I had for myself was a light-weight sweatshirt with a hood. And I was wearing crocs. (You know, the shoes with all the HOLES in them? I'm a smart girl!) But carrying Jonah most of the way definitely warmed me up! Henry had fun splashing in all the puddles. Our hotel was right in the middle of Greektown--very fun, and Kelly and I took pictures along the way--even though you can't see it, it was dumping snow on us! :)

It was a great time, and even though Ginger couldn't make it to Detroit to see us, we had so much fun! :) It's always good to get away for even just a few days. I feel completely renewed and refreshed (even though I haven't caught up on the laundry yet!).

Pray that we find the blanket! :)

Now this is what I call a bad hair day! :) I was a new mom, and didn't want my baby's head to burn. He wouldn't wear a hat, so I sprayed some sun block over his hair. I'm not sure it was the best idea I ever had, but it worked! (Henry at 11 months.)

I didn't post this for any particular reason. Maybe because I've been having a significant number of bad hair days lately? And I'd never post a picture of that!

The boys and I are taking a weekend trip to Detroit, where Sam has been this whole week. I'm getting really excited about it, but as we were getting everything ready this morning, Henry's blanket went missing.

I've turned the house upside-down looking for it. I know it's here because he was playing with it this morning. The funny thing is that he was never a "blanket baby." His little brother is a "blanket addict," so Henry decided it might be fun to claim an attachment to a blanket too. And now he's devestated, thinking about flying on an airplane without his blanket.

We still have Buddy, so all is not lost. If Buddy was the one missing, we probably wouldn't even go on the trip until we found him! :) (If you're not familiar with Buddy, he's the used-to-be-yellow giraffe that is never far from Henry's side! He may not be a "blanket baby," but he definitely still has his own addiction!)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Easter Pictures....a little late!

So I guess I'm a little behind. But just in case anyone still wants to see them....here are some pictures from Easter!

Saturday morning we took the boys to an Easter egg hunt that was sponsered by Sam's parent's church. It was a fun time, but we didn't stay too long because of all the SNOW!!! It was VERY cold--we couldn't believe it. In Montana we expected snow on Easter, but in Texas??? It was just strange.

This picture is the boys with their cousin Cole right after the egg hunt.

Sunday morning we went to church with Sam's parents, and then went back to their house for brunch. MaryBeth served the most amazing strawberry french toast! I got the recipe, of course, but we'll have to see if I ever get a chance to make it!

The boys had play clothes to change into, but they so enjoyed their "nice" clothes that I couldn't convince them to change all day! They picked out their own suits, and the boots were their choice too! :)

Henry wanted to get in on the action, so we let him take a picture too. He's getting better, but he still wants to drop the camera down before it's quite finished taking the picture! We forgot to get a family picture, so at least Sam and I are both (mostly) in this one!

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter surrounded by friends and family!!!

More from Sam-I-am...

It's hard to get a picture of this guy . . . . at least it's hard to catch him not making a silly face! Anyway, he has left some insight into our lives (or at least some cute pictures!) over at his blog, Lazy by Nature .
{Hey look, I FINALLY figured out how to create a link! :) Took me long enough, huh?}

Things you don't EVER want to hear . . . .

"Umm, Mommy? There's a poopy on the floor in our room."

'Nuff said.

Stormy

Do you ever wake up in the morning feeling like this???

Yesterday was one of those days for me. I think all I really needed was a good night's sleep, but sometimes that just isn't in the cards! I tried to make up for it with a nap, and I was unpleasantly surprised to find that I hadn't turned the phone off like I thought I had done. Then last night we had an AMAZING storm (bigger, of course--because this is Texas!), thunder (SO LOUD!) and lightning (so, so bright!) and then pouring rain. It was really a great storm to watch--the only problem was that it started around 1:30 am. About the time that I decided I could sleep through it, my boys came in to join in the fun! They both said they were "scared" of the storm, but really they were just wide awake and wanting to watch it from our room!

Here's hoping tonight will be a better night's sleep! :) For ALL of us!

One way or another.....

I have a Dyson vacuum (http://dyson.com) which I LOVE, but it's giving me trouble lately. I haven't had it long, so I have been planning on returning/exchanging it at the store where I bought it.

But after reading Ginger's post tonight about the 5 minutes for mom Dyson slim vacuum giveaway (http://www.5minutesformom.com/1343/dyson/), I think I'd better wait and see if they're going to send me a free one first! :) One way or another, I'm getting a new vacuum!

The contest ends tomorrow, so you can still sign up too! Good luck....but I really hope I win!

Playing soccer

On Sunday afternoon Sam and I took the boys to the park to play soccer. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun kicking the ball around. After a while, Sam decided that it was time the boys learned an important part of the game . . . bouncing the ball off their heads.

Henry went first. He was actually pretty good at it! He wanted to keep practicing over and over!

Jonah went next. I'm not sure he realized the ball was even coming!

Lots of fun! Next summer Henry will be old enough for an organized soccer team, and he is already talking about it! To be honest, I can't wait too! :)