Dad Blessings

A Belated Happy Father's Day post for the Dad's in my life.....

I am SO happy and thrilled to have another Father's Day with my Daddy (David).
It is great to see him finally feeling healthy again!
Such a sweet blessing.



We had the rare opportunity for a 4 generation photo with the O Daddies. (Lloyd, Terry and Craig) Or.....would that be the Daddy O's! LOL
What a blessing!



This photo is from when Nathan was born and you can't see his face, but I want to also mention Craig's sweet step-dad (Dennis).
He is certainly a blessing to us.



We LOVE all of you!! Thank you for being blessings in our lives.

Dr. Andrew

So the other day...we're sitting at the table eating supper...

Andrew tells us when he grows up he's going to be a doctor.

He then proceeds to describe this contraption that he would invent for people who are not able to bend their knee. (He thought of this because Josh had a deep cut on his knee and couldn't bend it because of his band-aid.)

Then Craig says: Will you be a farmer on the side?

Andrew: On the side of what?

(laughter)

Me: Will you be a farmer in your spare time?

Andrew: I won't HAVE any spare time!!

(more laughter)



You go for it Little Man!

You will make an excellent Doctor. (Or whatever else you decide to be...)

Summer Reading

We have been to the library a couple of times for the summer reading program. They always have an activity or guest speaker and it's a lot of fun for the boys. After the program, they choose several books to check out.

The first day we went, Josh chose a book titled SHEEP. It is about a Border Collie dog and is probably the longest book Josh has read from cover to cover...at least up to that point. He read it in half a day and his reading comprehension was impressive to say the least.

Josh totally let himself be drawn into this book.

So much so, that when it didn't end the way he had hoped......

He was CRUSHED!

And seeing him crushed, crushed me.

So what did I do?

I read it too. (That's how I know he has good reading comprehension...)

I was confused as to why he was sad, because the book has a happy ending.

But, it wasn't the happy ending Josh wanted.....

So we don't talk about it anymore.

He's been a tad less enthusiastic with reading since....but hopefully he'll be able to once again let his imagination be drawn in by good reading very soon.

Bucket Seat

Can you guess what this is?



Give up?

Try it from this angle...



Why yes, that IS a 5 gallon bucket strapped with a seat belt, with a baby tucked inside.

And no....it never goes on the road.

This little invention was created by my dad (aka Grandpa) when Josh was a baby. Josh loved looking all around on the farm, so Grandpa rigged up this bucket (actually not this bucket, but one like it)....buckled in for safety! He could spin around and around and see out in all directions.

So....the other day, it was Nathan's turn to try out the "bucket seat" and well....

Let's just say he didn't last long enough to see anything before falling asleep.



Maybe next time...

Just Josh

Today marks the day Craig and I became parents.



It's been a full 8 years.

In some ways it has flown by.

In other ways, it feels like an eternity.

I barely remember the days of being childless, footloose and fancy free.

But really this isn't about me.

It stopped being about me 8 years ago...

Three months before the whole world changed forever. {9-11}

June 6, 2001 : D-Day

We went to the hospital to induce labor and meet our baby girl.

An uneventful day suddenly became one of the most defining of our lives.

Her head had dropped on the umbilical cord, and her heart rate was dropping fast.

I was rushed to the O.R. and quickly put under.

Hours later...

I wake and ask where my baby is.

Your baby boy is in the nursery.

Boy?

I was supposed to have a girl.

No, you had a boy.

A boy....huh! I have a boy....

Joshua Reed came into this world quickly, screaming loud and perfectly pink.



Praise God.

That BOY with dimples and piercing blue eyes changed our lives forever.

So who is Josh today?



Where do I begin?

Active. Energetic. Cautious. Loving. Caring. Smart. Creative. Artistic. Enthusiastic. Tenacious. Eager. Imaginative. Compassionate.

I know there are so many other words that could describe Josh.

And I'll be honest...

Some things about Josh are downright frustrating.

But, we love him.

We joke that one day he'll be famous for the very thing that drives us the craziest.

Josh likes to make noises!



All KINDS of noises!!

It's what he gets in trouble for the very most.

But, we love him.

There are so many wonderful qualities we can see in Josh.

He's a devoted brother.



A caring friend.



A tender son.



Sometimes we get a glimpse of the man he will become.

I particularly remember the watchful care he took of me during my pregnancy with Nathan.






I thought...what a sweet, compassionate husband he will be one day.

I watch him as he takes Nathan from my lap, just to play with him.



Or how he patiently handles his crying until I can get free to take him.



And I think....what a patient, playful and loving daddy he will be.

Then there are the times when we kneel as a family in our living room floor to pray.

And I hear him begin to echo the things he's being taught about Christ.

And my heart smiles.

And hopes.

That one day...

He'll be a great man of God whose LOVE knows no limits.

HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY sweet Joshua!




We LOVE you!


A look through the years......

1 year old - 2002


2 years old - 2003


3 years old - 2004


4 years old - 2005


5 years old - 2006














6 years old - 2007


7 years old -2008


8 years old - 2009


MY.... how you've grown!

Grandma?

*Another multi-post day!

Some may call me crazy...but there is something about this picture that reminds me of my Momma.

The eyes?

Summer's a Startin'

Howdy there all...

Can you still say all when there's probably only two? And one of those is your Mom!

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a super popular blog where hundreds of strangers hang on your every word. Of course, if I were to have a blog that popular, I'd have to write about something more than my kids and do it more than once a month...oh well...maybe someday I'll think of something profound to say.

In the meantime, I'll just continue to keep a scattered journal for my kids to enjoy one day.

So what's been going on? Really not much I guess...

Why don't I blog more often? I don't know...

Is your house immaculately clean? NO!

Why? Ummm...I can't figure it out either.

But this might be one reason.......



Who could resist that grin?

Except it isn't usually the grins that keep me from doing things.

It's this....



But hey....I can't blame it ALL on him now can I?

It's also due to that fact that I have some other people begging to do things like this....



After all, it is summer.

And summer is for having fun. Right?

Why not let them paint?



At least then, they won't be getting out EVERY cotton pickin' toy they own!

Like this.....



And lest you think it's all about the indoors....

There has also been a lot of bike riding, calf bottling, garden digging and hopefully soon there will be swimming going on too. Not to mention turtle racing at the library! (Except it was inside due to rain...)

But I admit.

I must start getting us all OUT a little more.

But all it takes is a look like this one to make it all worth it!



Don't you think?