Turning 39

I turned 39 yesterday and it was a good day! My family was so sweet to me and we had a lot of fun. I think I like getting older... it means I've had more time to know the Lord and learn His ways.

Shepard kept telling me he had a surprise for me and then he would sing "Happy Birthday" each time as my surprise. It always made me smile.

Yesterday afternoon, John and Josiah were working upstairs (barcoding for the Growing Kids Sale - boy, are we ever busy with that right now!) and Will was taking a nap, so I thought I'd like to lay down for a little bit myself. Shepard was going to watch a video and I suggested that he could go upstairs with the other guys, but he said, "Mom can you just stay in here with me because I like to be with 'the' mom." Trying to find a good way to still lay down, I asked him why he wanted to be with me and he said, "Because you're my best one". The way he describes things is cute, but his little comment was so heartwarming to me. Of course, this is the same boy who cried at dinner because he had to sit beside me instead of getting to sit by John. :)

Here's some pictures we got of my birthday... the boys gave me a gift parade - John got us started with the gift parade idea and it's one of my favorite traditions we have as a family. No wrapping gifts! Yes, I'm sure it came out of his desperation in getting gifts ready for me, but it's the best thing in the world. No wrapping paper... no trash... yeah! But, these sweet children come in marching like a parade and carrying gifts. It's fun! After the parade, we tried to get a picture of me with the boys... these three little wiggle worms are HARD to get a good picture with.


Josiah is definitely our budding photographer. He would have taken pictures all night if we had let him. He loved doing this close up of me and John. :)


Here's me with my birthday cake while the boys sing...


Speaking of getting older... yesterday my oldest son came over to me and put his arm around my shoulders... like a MAN would do. That was the first time I can remember that he has ever done that. He's growing up and I love watching him do it.

The Escape Artist

Recently, our family was hanging out in our favorite gathering room - the boys were playing a new game on the Wii and I was waiting for some friends to come get me for dinner. Nobody noticed that one of us was missing... until I looked out the window to see if my friends were here and was completely shocked to see our baby - 2 yr old Will David - in the middle of the street! He had donned his riding helmet - backwards of course - and he was riding his bike. If it wasn't so scary that he could get out and be so independent to get his bike and put on his helmet all by himself, it would have been funny. He was cute out there... but, ugh!

P.S. Two of my closest friends took me to dinner that same night to celebrate my upcoming birthday - what fun! They both bought me the same birthday card - I LOVED IT!!

Clothing Try-On Day

So, today worked out perfectly to be the day that all the boys try on their clothes from last fall/ winter so that we know which ones to sell at the Growing Kids Sale and which ones still fit. Nobody really looks forward to this day. :) But, we have a better system in place this time because all the fall/ winter clothes are in one closet now. So, the boys took turns youngest to oldest hanging out with me in the room with the clothes. Will was easy... nothing fits, so we sell it all! Next was Shepard and he was doing great until he started getting all goofy and then he was full of wiggles and giggles. He cracked me up with his little opinions about the clothes and this one was my favorite, "Mom, this shirt is totally inappropriate." It was funny because he doesn't really know what inappropriate means... but I think he was talking about the sleeves on that particular shirt being too short. We finally finished his session and then came Josiah and I definitely appreciated his maturity and ability to help me. He can hang up his own clothes after trying them on... amazing how the little things make a difference. :) Most of his clothes still fit from last year, so he doesn't have much to sell. What surprised me was how much he enjoyed trying on clothes this year... he has always really disliked it... but this time, he actually seemed to enjoy the clothes. So next... tagging it all! :) But, first, we still have to try on shoes and go through all the toys!

Early birthday present for me!

I got the most awesome early birthday gift from my parents today! This bucket belonged to my Grandma Willoughby and she said that they used it to fetch water from the spring for their drinking water when she was a young girl. I love it!! I love the history of it and the oldness of it. (Is oldness a word? :)) Just looking at it makes me think of simpler times and the warmth of family. This bucket is probably almost 100 years old. So cool! Thanks mom and dad for passing it on to me. Now, I need some help coming up with a neat way to display it... anyone??

Will's new bike and Heather's oops

The bike we got Will for his birthday finally came yesterday! He was SOOO excited! He wants to ride a bike so bad and this little Strider bike is perfect. There are no pedals so the idea is for the little ones to actually walk the bike. We had a hard time getting Will to sit... he wanted to stand while he moved the bike. But, he LOVED it! It was so cute to watch him... he just wanted to ride and ride and ride.

Heather's Oops... :)

First I got scammed online and gave away an important password. YIKES! Luckily, we caught it as soon as I did it and got it changed before anyone could get it and all our important info. I'm usually so careful about that sort of thing, but I was completely distracted and hurrying... uh oh... John made sure I would promise not to make that mistake again. :)

Second, I ran into a door yesterday and hit my eyebrow. (Just want to be like my kids, I guess. :)) I was walking too fast though and got a nice little goose egg and boy, does it hurt. Maybe it will make me more sympathetic for the times when the boys have injuries.

TODAY I am doing everything slower!

Will is 2!

Our precious little boy turned two today! Happy, happy birthday Will David. Thanks for all the adventure you add to our lives... we love having you as part of our family! We're excited about the plans the Lord has for your life.

Will's Shiner

More Rides at the Fair

John says, "Let me ride!" :)


Will loved waving at his brothers on the rides.

Riding the Ponies

Shepard pretends to be a cow...


Giddy up!

Ride 'em!

Gasconade County Fair

They were so excited to go down the big slide...


Yikes... this is kinda scary!


Daddy to the rescue!


Oh... this really is fun! Can I do it again?