Our 1st Van & The Babies That Go In It

The lord has provided us with our first Van. We are so thankful to have a reliable vehicle to transport our family in!

We got it this tuesday on Family day. Luke and I test drove it with the boys in the back. Leighton tested all the buttons and seats and McCabe tested its nap-friendliness by taking a short nap in it for the test drive. The salesman said that though it is 7 years old, it has never seen snow because it was owned by snowbirds. Boy is this Van in for a big suprise in a few months!

We are so thankful for the VAN but even more thankful that we have a need for one. We are thankful for our children that get to ride in it! They are such a blessing.

Baby 1: Leighton - 2.5 years old

Baby 2: McCabe - 15 months

Baby 3: Secret Name - 39 weeks Gestation & Due any day now!

(Please excuse the quality of the picture. I am taking the picture myself by using my front door reflection!)

We are so excited so have a van and so excited to welcome home our third boy in it!

Visiting the Fire Station

For the past several months, Leighton has loved seeing fire trucks. He was very intrigued at the fourth of July parade, he likes seeing them on the road, and he always requests to drive by the firestation just to see if the garages are open so he can see the trucks as we drive by. Because I love seeing him happy, I have entertained a few side trips to the garages, we have looked at fire truck pictures on the internet, we have bought fire truck stickers, and we always pick out at least one book about fire trucks and fire fighters on every trip to the library. Today, we got to get a little more hands on...



We got to go to the Windsor Heights Fire Station with about 10 other moms and about 20 other kids! The whole morning I was so excited for Leighton but a part of me just knew that when we got there, Leighton would be shy, scared and not really enjoy the fire truck experience. I was right! For the first 45 minutes, while my camera battery was still charged, he was scared, wouldn't leave my side and had his fingers in his mouth. For the last 15 minutes, after my camera battery died, he finally warmed up to the big trucks a little bit. I had my video camera with me so I did get some documentation of my little guy with a smile on his face!



Leighton and McCabe sitting on the back of the truck...

Inside the garages we got to see two fire trucks, an ambulance, and all of their gear...

We got to see all of the lockers with their boots, jackets, pants, helmets, etc. All of his firetrucks books talk about these things! The books also talk about sliding down the fire pole and some have the traditional dalmation dog as a helping hand! This fire station had neither of those things, but the staples were fun to see. I couldn't believe how heavy all of the equipment was.

They eventually pulled one of the trucks outside and sounded the horn/siren. Aside from axes and actual water shooting from the hose, it really was quite the well rounded fire station experience.

Oh my sweet McCabe. He enjoyed his time but I don't think he realized how special this day was. I think he had fun, but no more fun that a trip to the grocery store or park. It was just another day for McCabe! He was not very scared of the trucks. In fact, he crawled right underone! Praise the Lord I cought him in time to drag him out by the foot instead of try to fit my 38 week pregnant self under it!

And the big tires were a fun new toy!

And who wouldn't like the bright lights blinking on and off right in your face ...McCabe and Leighton even got to sit in the big driver seat!

And they got to play in the ambulance ...

And play in the fire truck ...

This morning before we went to the fire station, Leighton was pretty convinced that the reason for the trip was to go pick up the fire truck and bring it home with us. He was very detailed, chronological and thorough in explaining that he wanted me to hold him up so he could push the button to open the garage door, then go to the fire station in our car, then put the car seats into the fire truck, and then drive it home and put it in our garage. I am not sure if our recent expereinces test driving vans confused him or if he just really wanted to bring the fire truck home with him, but it sure was cute.

We did NOT end up driving the firetruck home, but we did decide that we would go back and see the trucks again! Leighton really wants to bring Daddy back next time!

I am so thankful that I get to witness such awesome expereinces in my kids lives and be so invovled. I am so glad that I get to be involved in every 'field trip'. I wouldn't have wanted to miss this day for anything! I Love these boys sooooooooooo much!

Josh & Sean McDowell

This past weekend Josh McDowell and his son Sean were in Des Moines. They spoke at our church 6 different times on a variety of topics. It was a great encouragement to our church and specifically to Luke and I. We learned so much. It is amazing to see a Father and Son, with totally different upbringings serving Christ together in this way and giving a vision to us of raising our children to fear the Lord!

Deuteronomy 6:2-9
".. and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life. Listen closely, Israel, and be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. 'Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.'"

Sadly, this is the best picture I got of Josh McDowell the whole weekend! I could have taken more, but I might have lost one of my kids in the process or missed a great opportunity to take notes!

Josh McDowell said Leighton was handsome AND he touched my baby belly! That was fun because I view him as such an awesome and well know person, not in a celebrity-type way, but in a Godly man/hero of the faith way. His personability and humilty are very transparent and I was glad that he had time to talk to little ole me!

This was Josh's third trip to our church and this time he brought along his son, Sean! He was a blessing to us as well. He was very wise and relatable!
Luke and I got to the listen to the messages on Friday evening at Drake's Campus. The boys enjoyed the sand!

It was a great weekend and we are excited and challenged to implement all that we learned.

Snack Time

Leighton and McCabe enjoyed their eveing snack and some milk together on the couch. It is so sweet when they want to cuddle up to one another!

Dalmation Watching Baseball

I have been taking the scenic route to and from various locations, hoping that I will see a Van for sale in someone's driveway, since we are on the hunt for one! Today I drove past a house that usually has a dalmation playing in the side yard. He wasn't outside today when we passed the house which prompted Leighton to say, in a very serious tone, "Dalmation must be inside watching baseball."

I enjoy hearing Leighton's sentances and using his imagination! Children are soooooo precious and an incredibly sweet gift from God. How amazing that he has given us Leighton, McCabe and a third little boy that we get to meet in just a few more weeks. I'm due in 18 days!

Sunday Football

What an enjoyable sight for me to see. All 3 boys took naps this Sunday! As Leighton and McCabe slowly woke up and came out, they snuggled next to Luke on the big chair to watch football. It was so sweet.

Dining at PF Changs

Luke and I always brag about how coordinated our sweet Leighton is. Usually when we make this statement we are speaking in terms of athleticism. Today I am making this statement in terms of eating with chopsticks!

While my parents, Phil and Nancy, were in town, they treated us to dinner at PF Changs. As we waited for the food, we got to witness the music talents of our Leighton drumming on the table with drumsticks. And after the food arrived, we got to witness him pick up the chopsticks like he saw everyone else doing and start using them. He ate his entire meal without using his fingers or an american utensil. His first try at chopsticks, with no coaching whatsoever, was much more successful than my first try at chopsticks just a few years ago! I will say that most of the chicken only made it to his mouth because he skewered it with a stick, but none-the-less, he was holding them correctly most of the time and using them pretty well.

Here you can see him eyeing his sweet and sour chicken and fried rice... Here he has a chicken skewered onto the end of his chopstick ...

Here he is enjoying the great taste of his food ... along side grandpa doing the same!

Here you get to enjoy his proud pose after completing a successful try with the chopsticks.

Here, papa helped him get a good bite in after several rounds of only getting 2 small pieces of rice to his mouth and several pieces into his lap, or my lap, or anywhere else.


Lastly, cought on video, are the amazing chopstick talents of Leighton, still shy of 2 and half years old. Plus there are some cute portions with McCabe as well! McCabe ate a lot of food and proved he liked chinese food. However, once he was full, the rice was not a good thing to have around since he starting throwing it around everywhere. I felt really bad for the pick up crew but thoroughly enjoyed not having to pick up after the boys for the first time in hundreds of meals!

The picture below was not taken at PF Changs, but since it involves eating, it seemed suitable for this post. McCabe has really taken a liking to food. He loves spaghetti. It stains his face, sends clothes to the laundry, messes up his hair and most importantly fills his belly. If the spaghetti has meatballs in it, it is all the better!

McCabe enjoying his spaghetti sans utensils ...

Hog Roast

Last night we had our 3rd annual DTC Hog Roast. This year it was also a block party and was on our church grounds. My parents were here for the weekend so they enjoyed some pork, many fixings and a plethora of desserts! Leighton and McCabe were happy enjoying the sand in the parking lot, a real train that went through town, basketballs, and cookies courtesy of grandpa.

McCabe really wishes that he could shoot the basketball all the way into the hoop! He gets really happy just to give it a try. Grandma did a good job making sure he didn't get hit by any other stray basketballs.
Papa and McCabe laughing!
Leighton loves any sort of push toy. He would have pushed this around for the whole time. We made him share it with some of his friends who wanted to take turns, but he was ready to get it back after they took a lap! He likes ride on toys as well but he usually just pushes those too since he doesn't like to use peddals. Hopefully he eventually learns to use peddals so that he can learn to ride a bike! And hopefully he continues to learn to share because McCabe is growing more and more fond of the push toys too.

It was a beautiful evening. We were glad to fellowship with so many friends and welcome my parents to Des Moines for the weekend.

September

This september has been beautiful! The humidity left, the breeze came in, the leaves are slowly changing color, we are enjoying long sleeves in the evenings, open windows in our home, and we are excited about football season.

Leighton and McCabe are brothers for sure! Leighton likes to wrestle McCabe and McCabe cried everytime. I don't think McCabe is actually hurt, he just doesn't like being tackled to the ground. Leighton hasn't quite picked up on the rule that when McCabe starts crying he needs to stop. We will have to work on that.

Leighton and McCabe can be found playing well together sometimes! As long as they each have the toy they want, they enjoy racing them up and down the driveway and all around the neighborhood. We have two huge walnut trees that are droping a lot of walnuts. They dent our cars, threaten to injure us and create quite the mess in the yard. Luke and the boys picked up several the other day. They more than filled a 5 pound bucket. We are still thankful that the boys haven't figured out the difference between work and play. They absolutely LOVE to help do yard work. Leighton would pick up sticks and walnuts all day! If Leighton isn't constructively picking up walnuts to pu tthem in the bucket, he is atleast successfully getting them out of our yard by picking them up, putting them in the driveway, kicking them down the driveway and then watching them roll all the way down the big hill. It there is a car parked in the driveway, he gets really excited to watch the walnuts roll under the car and come out the back.For every walnut Leighton removes from the yard, McCabe adds a rock! McCabe loves rocks. He always has to have something in his hand. He either carries the same rock around for the whole time we are outside, or he throws them around and goes to get more. If our landscaping didn't already look a little undwewhelming and patchworked, it sure does now.

Notice the rock in his hand while pushing his toy!If there is something McCabe is great at, it is staying hydrated. He is always stealing my water and drinking it.

Yesterday we went to Colby Park. It was the first day it had been open in over a month because it was underwater from the flooding. They boys were very happy that the park was cleaned up. I like watching them be so happy at the park. The swings provided a lot of giggles to us ...

I must admit that there are a few ways we are still holding on to summer very tightly: ice cream trips, evening drives, and those delicious BLT's!

Proud of Luke

I am so proud of my husband! I have been near teary-eyed most of the afternoon just thinking about all that God has accomplished in his life and all the ways God is using him.

Close

I really want to meet my new baby!

Sunday Snooze

McCabe only takes a morning nap on Sundays during the message at church. This means one of two things: the message is boring (which is NOT the case) or he wants me to be able to sit and listen! This sunday morning he snoozed on my belly, with baby brother kicking him from my belly the whole time.

BLTs

Luke and I had BLT's for the first time this summer about a month ago. We have had them before, but it was the first time this summer. We had forgotten about them I guess. Anyway, we fell in LOVE with them. We now have them at least once if not twice a week. Everytime we sit there in amazement and ask each other, "Why are these sooooo good!" There really isn't much to them, but they are delicious and we cannot get enough!

Luke is our Bacon-maker. I don't like the spattering greece, so Luke is the masetmind behind this delicious meal. Isn't his apron CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was one of those days where ...

The title of this post made you think I was going to complain or tell you nothing went right, didn't it? That is entirely not the case.

Today was one of those days where I wanted to keep peering into my boys room, just to watch them sleep, because they are such a blessing to me. I look at them laying there and never want to leave. It is so wonderful to stand over them and praise God for their lives. These boys have changed my life in so many ways and I am grateful that the good Lord has entrusted them to Luke and I. I am the most blessed woman in the whole world!