It's a Little Girl!!

It's a first. A little girl Huck. We are all so excited! She's looking healthy and is growing well. The official due date is August 20. Since God has answered my girl prayer (Thank You, Lord!) , now I'm asking him that she not be born on either boys' birthday...

Shenandoah National Park

Clayton had been asking to climb a mountain and last weekend's weather was so great, we decided to take a day and go to Shenandoah National Park. Clayton was such a trooper. He hiked over a mile and a half. We saw deer, turkey, squirrels, a whirlwind and all kinds of rocks and leaves and plants that the kids pointed out along the way. We had a great time!

All the riding really wore Levi out!

After lunch, Clayton wanted to be our captain.
After much consultation with the map, he lead us on our way!

We've bought an annual pass and can't wait to go back!

Happy Spring!!

Sprinkle, sprinkle drops of rain
Making puddles in the lane
Clap our hands and stomp our feet
Puddle fun is such a treat
Sprinkle, sprinkle splash and play
How I love a rainy day!

I know it's been awhile since I've updated the blog, but I've given up most of my computer time for Lent and now I have to share what little time I've got with Cyle. I'm barely getting e-mailed checked in the evenings. But I've spent more time with kids and gotten a lot done around my house, so I can't complain too much! We've also had a lot going on. First, we're expecting a third child in August. We find out this week if it's a boy or a girl! We're really excited and the kids (Clayton) are warming up to the idea. Secondly, Cyle has applied for a job in St. Louis. Our landlords want to sell our house this summer, so we've decided that it's time to move back to Missouri. We have spent a lot of time virtually house hunting, packing and trying to make major decisions about our lives. We've really enjoyed our time overseas and in Culpeper, but it's time to get closer to family.

Clayton finally earned enough stickers on his sticker chart to get the caps for his pop guns. Of course, he needed eye and ear protection.

Levi is talking all the time now and has learned much of his vocabulary from Clayton. Yesterday he was being really ornery to Clayton and I so I moved him to a different part of the room. After he got done crying a little, he looked at me and said, "Fine!"

We're laughing at him all the time, too, because instead of saying "yes" he says "sure." So he'll ask for something and we'll say, "You want a drink?" He'll say, "Sure," like we asked him in the first place.

Clayton's quote of the blog: One morning he asked me what the word modify meant. So I explained it to him and gave a few examples. Later that afternoon he was pretending he had a magic wand. He walked up to Levi and said, "I'm going to modify you into a real person!" I asked Clayton, "What is Levi now? Don't you think he is a real person?" He replied, "No. He's just a baby. But don't worry. I'm going to modify him and he'll he be okay!"

We've had some gorgeously warm, sunny days over the past couple of weeks. Clayton is ready for summer and swimming - he picked out their outfits. Both boys love being outside and enjoying the great weather.

Happy Spring!!

Lenten Prayers

We have been saying a Lenten prayer that I cut out of the church bulletin every night at supper. Today at lunch, Clayton stopped me from saying prayers and said he was going to say the lunch prayer. He grabbed the little piece of paper, held it up like he was reading and then said, "A hunting prayer. Dear Lord, please don't let us get lost in the woods. Please let there be lots of deer to kill. And if we do get lost, please let the police men find us."

On Ash Wednesday, I was trying to explain the season of Lent to Clayton. I told him that I was going to try to give up yelling at him. (I'm also giving up the computer during the day and unnecessary phone calls while the kids are awake...) Later, we were talking about almsgiving. Clayton is familiar with us donating things to Goodwill, so I used that as an example. After a moment or two, he looked up at me and asked, "Are you giving your yelling to Goodwill, too?" Just for the record, Clayton is supposed to be giving up being ornery to Levi and disobeying. That should make the yelling a lot easier.

My New Camera!

Yesterday evening I got the Amazon package I had been waiting for. Inside was my brand new Canon Rebel DSLR camera. Of course, I had to spend today testing it out. What better subjects than the kids?! Clearly, it is much more fun to watercolor themselves than the paper.

Super Snow 2010

Clayton is helping Cyle shovel our driveway the weekend before we got the big snow. We only got a few inches then...

While our power was out, Levi decided he needed to wear his hat inside to keep warm!

Clayton is trying to figure out how he's going to get inside...

This past weekend we got hit with snow. Depending on where it was measured, we got between 20 and 30 inches. Our power was out from about midnight Friday to midnight Saturday. I'm so glad we have a gas stove, a generator and a fireplace. The kids were up early on Saturday and thought is was so much fun to play with flashlights. I fried homemade doughnuts for breakfast and we ate by candlelight. Cyle lit a fire in the fireplace in the afternoon and we all sat around (as much as the kids can) soaking up it's warmth watching the snow fall. By the evening it was 54 degrees in our house. After Cyle put the kids to bed (with two layers of pjs on under 3 or 4 blankets), I prayed that our power would come back on so they wouldn't get cold throughout the night. And it did!
The Canadian weather channel reported that Washington DC has gotten more snow this year than Toronto or Ottawa. Last night we got another couple of inches. Compared to Saturday, it's not too bad. The schools have been closed all week and so has the Federal Government. Cyle's gotten a mini-vacation and we've loved it! Although, he's spent a lot of that time shoveling snow...We are truly blessed to have great neighbors that have cleared our driveway for us and let us hang out at their house to break-up the time.

Catch Up!

Because of the "Blizzard of 2009," Clayton's school Christmas pageant got rescheduled to January 6, Feast of the Epiphany. The 3 year-old class were the Heavenly Choir. I didn't get any good pictures in church because it was too dark, but I did get a few in the hall. It was a very sweet pageant and Clayton did really well standing up front and not crying. Did he sing the songs? Well, kind of.

Two tired boys at the supper table!

For Christmas, I made the boys matching robes. This the the only time that both have actually worn them. Clayton loves his and wears it nearly every night after his bath. Levi hates his.

On December 19, we got just about 18 inches of snow. It was really pretty, though everything was shut down. It stayed cool enough for us to play in it for a long, long time and was even around so that we could enjoy a white Christmas!
We've had a quiet January. We're getting back into the school routine and have actually had quite a few nice days to play outside. Today it's 52 and sunny - couldn't ask for better weather in January! Levi's vocabulary is steadily growing and Clayton gets so excited when Levi says a new word. It's great because it really encourages Levi to say it again. Clayton is growing more and more independent and thinks he can do all things, "by his ownself." Levi thinks he can do whatever Clayton does. As Levi is getting older and bigger, he's starting to hold his own against Clayton, which has resulted in a lot of screaming and crying from both boys. This past week, for the first time, Levi took a toy from Clayton and said, "Mine!" It didn't go over so well with Clayton, though he go no sympathy from Mom. That's what happens after 17 months of taking toys from Levi. But, as Levi is getting older, they are starting to play together more and more. Last week they spent over 30 minutes quietly sitting on our balcony with various Nerf weaponry hunting "mouses." (No, we do not have a mice problem.) I have to say, I love that they can play together, if only in short bursts of time.
Happy (belated) New Year!