Mercer Tree Mystery Solved

On our last couple of walks, Leighton will all of the sudden say, with an excited tone, "Mercer Tree". I ask him over and again what he said and he points and says, "Mercer Tree". I asked him who taught him that and he never responds. I have no idea where this came from. Then I thought to myself, Ive never heard of a mercer tree, but perhaps my 2 year old is smarter than me. So after one walk, I decided to google 'Mercer Tree'. There is no such thing as a mercer tree. I was excited that I was still smarter than my baby boy, but still confused about the Mercer Tree.

This continued on for a couple weeks. Luke even experienced it on our last walk. Hmmmmm.

Today, while packing for our vacation, I thought I'd keep Leighton entertained by turning on Thomas the Tank Engine show. Though it is almost August and still the dead middle of summer, the specific show was about a Christmas Tree. Every time Thomas said Christmas Tree, Leighton would say, with the same excited tone, "Mercer Tree." Ah Ha! Mystery solved. When Leighton says Mercer Tree, he is trying to say Christmas Tree.

72 Days Left

72 days left until baby #3 is due. Hopefully he comes a little before that - but not too much sooner than that! We are getting so excited.

Please join us in praying for a Van or any vehicle that will fit three car seats (and allow for travel). Also pray for a twin bed. (I would LOVE two matching twin beds for Leighton and McCabe to use, or a twin over full bunk bed - from pottery barn, or a twin over twin bunk bed - from pottery barn, but this isn't technically a need! Obviously I'm dreaming a little here!!!)

Hannah McGargill's 2nd Birthday

Tonight we got to celebrate Hannah McGargill's 2nd Birthday. A pizza and swimming party is just perfect for these kids. Here are some of the kids eating their cookie monster cup cakes. Leighton at the M&M eyes but wouldn't eat anything else. I don't think he likes cake very much. He especially doesn't like cupcakes - I think it is because you eat them with your fingers and they tend to be messier. He kept commenting on how dirty everyone else was. Silly boy. The other kids sure enjoyed them and us parents enjoyed their blue faces! This was our first party with a pinata! Each of the kids got to try to break it open with a baseball bat. The challenge was making sure no kids broke any other kids by swinging at them. Leighton is very strong and quiet the baseball player at home. But as usual, his shyness came out and he wouldn't swing hard and he wanted daddy to stand right beside him.

I think we all got a little impatient, so Hannah's dad Joe, took a blindfolded swing at it and it finally broke!

Luke and McCabe McCabe hatted the little dog they have. He was so scared of it and just cried and cried when he would come near him. Once we let him try the pizza he was winning for, he seemed forget about the dog. McCabe wont eat much for us here at home, but today he ate a little peanut butter sandwhich at our picnic and he ate a whoel piece of pizza at Hannah's party. I was impressed by his eating today! Check out how cute this little guy is ...
We had a very busy day with the splash park and Hannah's birthday. I suppose that explains why I am having contractions! Yikes. I am almost 29.5 weeks, so I really don't like having them already. The Midwives and trusty friend Anna gave me some tips. Hopefully they calm down now that we are home and I can sit ... and sleep!

Here is a picture of Anna and I. She is about 2 weeks behind me with her third child as well. We both have very similar pregnancies and she is a wealth of knowledge so we are glad that we have her wisdom!

At The Park Again

We had a great morning at the splash park. Lots of splashing, a good picnic, and playing on the playground.

In addition to a few others moms, Kate Altmaier joined us. We are so excited she moved to Des Moines! It reminds me of my big choice to move to Des Moines 5 years ago! What a great decision that was! I've been so blessed by the fellowship here at church, loyal friends, spiritual growth, and starting my wonderful and beautiful family in the middle of it all.
Leighton enjoying jumping and being noisy with Quinn Rude.

My little man loved swinging! McCabe is so fearless. He tried climbing out of the swing while I was taking pictures of Leighton. You should see him climb around our house. He has no fear. Leighton is very cautious. Hopefully they will balance each other a little bit. Its exciting to see them grow up and to expereince their differences.

Broken Cars

On Wednesday, Luke tried to drive the Jetta and it broke down on him at the bottom of our big hill. It did start up again, but it's a little risky to drive and since there isn't air conditioning, Luke decided to use an alternatice means of transportation. Luke started using his brothers Jetta, a few years newer, since he is out of town for a few weeks.

On Thursday, I got a call from Luke that he needed to be picked up at a coffee shop because his brothers Jetta wouldn't start. This ended with AAA towing it to Orlando's and there is still no word on the well being of this Jetta.

On Friday, Luke did NOT break any cars. (Though our Altima's Air Conditioning has droped from a 80% working percentage, to a near 50% working rate.)

On Saturday, Luke did NOT break any cars again. Two days in a row!

On Sunday, Luke and I got the kids into the altima at his parents house after lunch. It was hot and the kids were over due on their nap 30 minutes already. Luke turning the key and guess what? It didn't start! It really is so out of this world crazy that 3 cars stopped working in 5 days! So after several attemps to jump it, we took home one of his parents cars (Since the Jetta doesn't fit the car seats and doesn't have Air Conditioning). AAA will tow the Altima this afternoon to join his brother's Jetta at Orlando's Garage.

I don't write this to complain. I seriously think that this is really funny. I mean sure it isn't convenient, but its funny!

Bible Study Working at the Camp

A few Mondays ago, our bible study did some cabin demolition at our churches 33 acre camp. This Monday, some people got to help build a second volleyball court, some got to chainsaw a huge tree that fell during the big strom, and some (me and boys) got to play in the sand!

It will be so nice to have the second court completed for the volleyball league to start up. It is incredible how unifying volleyball can be and it is a great opportunity to reach out to non-beleivers too. Our bible study alone has 3 different volleyball teams!

Working ...
Playing ...


Working and Playing ...

I knew McCabe would get all dirty, so I took his clothes off right away. Leighton hates getting dirty and more importantly hates taking his shirt off! So I didn't think I it was neccessary to take his clothes off. However, tonight, he asked for his clothes off too. He was shy the whole time and he still managed to stay clean! Haley put some mud on his tummy and he asked nicely for it to be washed off! Of course his feet and hands were dirty but everything else on my big guy was spotless! McCabe was a mess. He had sand and mud everywhere! The wet sand and his sweaty skin was a bad combination. Washing him off at a cold water spout was fun too!

A 'tractor' for the boys to stare at ...

A bobcat for the boys to stare at ...

It is encouraging to see our bible study members serve together! Though the boys and I aren't much help in manual labor, we enjoying being a part of it just the same. We always leave encouraged ... and dirty! :)

The Perfect Storm ... and The Not-So-Perfect Storm

The Perfect Storm

Last night was one of those nights were you love sleeping. We had soft storms all night. McCabe woke up at 6:15 am, but was clearly still very tired. So he and I went back up to my bed. Since he would roll off the bed unattended, I had the perfect excuse to sleep in!!!! McCabe and I slept in until 8:15, and Leighton woke up soon after at 8:30. I loved sleeping in a little bit too much!

The Not-So-Perfect Storm

The night before last night was a loud and more violent storm. Apparently there were a few spotted tornados that never touched down. 30,000 poeople lost power (not us!). There were 70 mile an hour winds. And there was a lot of tree damage. Leighton and McCabes play house outside have traveled several feet in the yard and was tipped over. There were 3 large tree limbs down (Luke got to take an Ax to them to break them down), and several hundred smaller sticks and limbs (Leighton did a really good job at helping Luke). For the second week in a row, Luke got two back to back bee stings from doing yard work. I am so thankful that the kiddos haven't gotten stung yet. Below are some pictures from Luke and Leighton's yard clean-up.