Gardening Party

A couple of weeks ago my grandma and her friend, Carolyn, came over from Arkansas to do some landscaping in our yard. That's right. My grandma, who is about to be 78 (we think...she's not actually sure how old she is - there was a bit of a birth certificate mistake, so she could be 80), and her friend came in a non-air-conditioned mini-van completely packed to the brim with plants, trees, dirt, etc. all the way from Arkansas. They got here on a Sunday night around 5:30, immediately started working, and didn't even come in the house until 8:30. Then they got up and started working by 6:30 the next morning and didn't stop except to eat until 8pm. They finished up Tuesday morning, and hopped in the van to drive home. These women put my work ethic to complete and utter shame. I have seriously never seen anything like it. We're talking about 85 degree days of non-stop work. So, although I doubt they'll ever see this, I want them to know just how much we appreciate their incredibly hard work. They planted 200+ plants of 50+ varieties in the front and back yards. It already looks great, but in a year or two it will be amazing. I also have to thank my dad, who was here with my mom before he went to Together for the Gospel in Louisville. He spent all day Monday digging and pick-axing and then came back Friday in time to do some mulching.


A

Sophie "helping"

Taking a break to put George down for a nap (which apparently requires surgical gloves)

They planted multiple plants all along the inside of the fence

This is about as much work as I did - they said it was because I was pregnant and I wasn't allowed to help, but it could also have had something to do with my being horticulturally challenged.

Carolyn brought several things that will climb our fence, which I'm really excited about

Our gorgeous knockout rose bush - when they planted it it wasn't blooming at all

Unfortunately you can't get a great idea of the amount of plants in our front bed, but believe me - it's amazing. And just ignore the boxwoods that we need to trim.

My herb / vegetable garden

There are hostas and hydrangeas in the back. And a cute little blue picnic table that Erik and I made last weekend. I have been obsessing over this blog, Knock Off Wood, and on it the creator has plans for a preschool picnic table. I've never built anything, but have wanted to learn carpentry since high school. So my parents bought me a drill for my birthday and I bought the wood and had it cut at Lowe's and Erik and I went to work last Sat. The table was super easy to make, with one caveat. If you're going to do this, don't rely on your amazingly strong husband to cut your angles with a hand saw. Poor Erik sawed for 2 hours for me, and the next day we found out that pretty much everyone we know has a skill saw we could have borrowed. But it's done, it's cute, and Sophie loves it!

P.S. - If anyone is interested in making one of these, the wood probably only cost about $18, and I have at least 3/4 quart of paint leftover for someone else to use.

Easter

Our Easter was a little unusual because Sophie was a bit sick. We took her to church because we both had responsibilities that Sunday, but had to keep her with us. She was very sad not to see her friends. We have no pictures of her in her Easter dress (which was mine when I was little - made by my mom) because the instant we walked in the door after church she started pulling it over her head and crying for me to take it off.

We did manage a little Easter egg fun in the afternoon. She enjoyed dyeing them and then really loved searching for the ones Daddy hid in the backyard.

It was really neat celebrating Easter with Sophie this year. Erik's mom gave me some Resurrection Eggs to use with her, and she loved opening them each day and talking about the different parts of Holy Week. What a joy to be able to teach our girl about God's amazing love for her - and Christ's substitutionary atonement for us.

Don't worry about what she's wearing here

The day after Easter started our Spring Break from Bible Study and Mother's Day Out, so I decided to potty train that week. Mind you, Sophie was still sick on Monday, so this was not the wisest decision. However, she caught on really quickly and did a great job with it. So I'm glad to say she's officially a big girl :)

It's a BOY!

Today Erik and I got to see our little baby boy in an ultrasound and it was just so amazing. It's so neat how finding out the gender instantly creates a bond between you and your child. Obviously you can still love your baby if you don't know (although why would anyone not want to find out, Amber and Nita?). But with Sophie and this baby the second we found out the gender I teared up and just felt such a love for them that was different than just knowing there was a baby in my womb. So praise God for the technology of the ultrasound (and for all that it does to assist in crisis pregnancy centers - what an amazing tool to show women their unborn children). As a side note, I'm so excited to hear what my crazy friends are having and can't imagine the excitement of finding out when you're giving birth.

Anyway, we are thrilled that we're going to have a little boy, and are praising God that everything looked good and he is healthy and growing appropriately. I'm feeling good, my heart is strong, and I finally have some good energy to get things done around here.

In other news, it's potty training week and Sophie has been doing great. I'm starting to feel a little trapped in my own home, but thankfully my parents are coming in this weekend (and incidentally, my mom is bringing her professional grade carpet cleaner at just the right time).

We appreciate your prayers for our family - all four of us - and are thankful for your friendship. Here are a couple of pics of the kiddo - he looks like he has Sophie's nose :)

March

March was a month of travel for Sophie and me. In February my mom had surgery for thyroid cancer, so Sophie and I made a "get well" house call to VA to see my parents for a week. It was a beautiful week and Sophie had a great time with Gran and Papa. She played with lots of my old toys, and we spent some time outside (including two trips to Carl's for the best ice cream in the world). We also got to celebrate Papa's birthday. Although I was supposed to be helping out, it was a really nice break for me as well. I'm blessed to have a mom that doesn't just spoil her grandchild, but her grandchild's mommy as well. And thanks to all who have been praying for her - she's doing well and recovering like a champ.



A few days after we returned from VA, Sophie and I drove down to AL to see Erik's parents. Amber and Ava rode with us as Amber's parents recently moved less than an hour north of Erik's folks, so that made the road trip a lot more fun for all of us. Erik's mom had surgery in February as well, so we made another house call, and it was so fun. I'm seriously blessed to have amazing in-laws, and I'm not just writing this because my birthday is coming up :). It would probably be awkward for a lot of daughters-in-law to go to their in-laws' house w/o their husbands, but it was a no-brainer for me. They are amazing, encouraging, loving people and it was such a nice, relaxing time to be with them.

Sophie going for a ride

Smiles with Gigi at the Bass Pro Shop, which Sophie loves (as any good southern child should, apparently). Roger kept showing me camouflage toddler dresses and hats and shirts. Erik would die.

We've also had some fun at home this past month. It's been nice to work outside and Sophie has been my planting and weeding helper. She loves to play with dirt, much to her father's chagrin.

A couple of weeks ago we went to a park with Amber and Ava and our friends Angela and Maddie. It's fun to see these girls get bigger and get over some of their fears. Sophie is a typical first-born - very cautious. She likes to try new things, but wants someone there with her the whole time. It's hard for me not to be a pushy mom, but I know she has to do some things at her own speed. Luckily Ava doesn't seem to have many fears on the playground, so Sophie likes watching and following her.

Ava

A concerned Sophie

Madison

February

Here's what we were up to a couple of months ago:

Sophie is becoming more and more of a Daddy's girl.

Hanging out at home - in an infant pool toy

Gigi's birthday

Fun time with Ava

There is a lot of affection between these two. Of course, there's also a lot of fighting, hitting, pinching and crying. Ahh...2 year olds. Mostly they just really love each other.

Sophie is getting more into dress up and trying to do things like Mommy does them. Hence the awesome pink flower sunglasses.

Playing her oatmeal can drum.

Kyle and Liesl came to visit one weekend and we went to a nearby park. I love this picture of Sophie and Erik running into each others arms...so precious.

Looking at a little turtle with Uncle Kyle.

It is amazing how quickly Sophie is changing and the things she's doing. She is a really big talker and nothing gets by her. She's just a very verbal child, which means I'm in trouble :). But I love having her constant company. She loves to sing and we frequently hear her in bed at night singing about Jesus (although the other night she woke up at 3 am and started singing "Jingle Bells"). We love our sweet girl!