Matt's Music :: Afganistan Album, Track 3, "Titus' Song"

Matt wrote a song of each of the boys, and this is for Titus, our almost 3 year old.  He's our little tiny ray of sunshine!  

Grateful for Matt's talent.  His music soothes our souls as we ride around jamming to his tunes.  The boys especially love each of their tracks.

Starting to Clear

Hey guys,
So I'm back, and I'm blogging about it.  Thanks Melissa for the your words!  Helping me get a jump start on things.


Tonight I painted and hung art up.

This little mountain art piece is now up in the living room.  Happy mountains!

Then I printed off some owls, put them in frames, and hung them up. 

Okay, now I just need to figure out what to do with these walls.  Do you think the clock is in the right area?  Should I flank the main entry-way with two matching art pieces?  (Like the where the temple pic is... know what I'm saying??  Is it late?  I think so.  Brain no work.)

And then this is the tv/window side of the room... Is it done??  

Okay, passion is coming back!  And I'm being held accountable by the blog!  Love you guys!

... it's a little foggy...

About 80% clear, with 20% haze.
That's how I feel like life is right now.  Everything is meeting expectations, but nothing is standing out.

My room is really clean, but the bed isn't made.
The livingroom is picked up, except for the pile of toys in the chair.
The kitchen is wiped down, expect for the oven range.

I'm getting errands completed, but it's taking a lot longer than I want.
I want to blog, but I'm not feeling very inspired.
I'm pretty good with parenting, expect for those few impatient moments that seem to ruin the whole day.


Grr... We're into 6 weeks with Matt being gone.  I'm in a rut.  I keep thinking that I need to get more "things," that the "things" are going to help me be more motivated--to help me and the boys be better.  It's not true.
I need to sit down, list what I need to accomplish, and do them!!  Work with what I have!!  Live life to the fullest!!  Passion, I need PASSION, for crying out loud!!






I also watch "The Great Gatsby" 1970 version with Robert Redford.  Brad Pitt has to be his clone.  The end.

Celebratin' on Eli's Bday

Eli's been stressing about his birthday theme for the last 3 months.  And not that we were planning on doing a big party any.  Whatever got in his mind about his birthday it totally took over his world.  Should he have a "white birthday," a "hulk man birthday," or a "star was Captain Rex birthday."  There were tears shed, not even kidding.  I put my foot down: It's a Hulk cake.  He also decided on a white cake batter.  Perfect.   This is my first attempt to really decorate a cake.  Turned out fine.  And the buttercream was fabulous!!  And I'm not a frosting person.

I decorated the house with streamers all over.  And balloons all over the ground.  Eli LOVED waking up to it.  "It's my birthday!"  he screamed after he opened the door.  Super cute. 

So the boys got up at 7am.  We had cereal, played Wii a bit, then we were off to doughnuts!  Hooray for Doughnuts!  Then we got some sunglasses and hats for everyone for their tball practice.  

At tball practice Isaac and Eli had a pretty good time... Kinda got eaten by bugs.  Ek.  Me and Titus played ball on the side (man is he talented), and watched helicopters fly by.  Fun! 

Okay, then get this: we went to a pool and played for 3 hours!  Yeah, it April!  Love living in coastal GA, for this reason alone.  Eli loved it, despite all the cold water (it was pretty cold!).  Isaac and Titus shook like crazy, came out some, and wanted to go home at different times.  Eli--no way!  He stayed in all he could.   Our friends have this pool, and they let us come and swim.  Pretty sure it's our favorite pool.  In fact Isaac said that when we drove up, "Oh, this pool!  It's my favorite!" We cut the cake, and everyone enjoyed it.  

 Then we came home in the mid-afternoon, FaceTimed with Nana and Mume on my iPhone and Matt on the computer.  It was a juggling at with the electronics!!  We blew candles out again, sang happy birthday, and opened presents.
Presents included: LEGOs, Star Wars Figures, a play gun, and a LEGO carrying case.

And the boys were shirtless, since we just came home from the pool... And Eli still has his black eye. 

 Happy 4th Birthday, Eli!  

Love you so much, bud.  

Isaac's 2 Front Teeth... GONE!

In all this is making 4 teeth missing from this boy's mouth.  

The two bottom adult teeth are already coming in, and I'd like to think that the top teeth are coming, but nope.  Still naked gums! 

He looked at me Sunday night, eyes wide, saying, "I think my tooth is ready!"  And it was!  All bloody and wiggly and ready to be pulled.  It took a few tries, but I was able to get it out.  He was super pumped!  He's a big fan of losing teeth, for there's treasure to be had... Luckily our Tooth Fairy had some quarters around, or she would have had to leave a 5 dollar bill.  

Glad we were able to get this out at home.  He pulled his first front tooth out in school, crazy boy!  Came home with a tooth necklace, with his tooth inside.  

Also, Eli's eyes (from the big bump on his forehead, and the blood drained into his face) are looking fabulous!  He's my little raccoon. 

Matt's Music :: Afganistan Album, Track 2, "You Are My Sunshine" Vocal

This is the song that we sing to the boys every night.  It seems this is the only family tradition that we've been able to be consistent with!  Though it's a bit lonely to sing it by myself now, without Matt's awesome cords... But the boys have started to sing with me.  I'm sure when Matt gets home he'll record their version.

This song was sung to me by my Grandma Judy many, many times.  It has always stuck with me!  Grateful to pass down this heirloom to my boys.

Eli "SMASH" Birthday

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Oh, Home.  You smell funny.  And the only candle I have to rid the stench is a Christmas one.  Tis the season!  So yes, we are home.  Made it in today.  Boy, what a drive.  We were able to listen to some conference talks on the way, which the boys just loved... um... or loved that the talks helped them fall asleep?  I thoroughly enjoyed, though.  





Eli isn't 4 yet, but that didn't stop us from having an early birthday celebration!  With Grammie and Gramps!  And a bonfire!  With a really fun neighbor kid!  It was a fun filled Saturday, guys, for not only did we have a birthday celebration at our house for lunch, but the neighbor kid had his birthday celebration that evening at his house.  Holy smokes.

I'm not sure how Eli feels about his birthday.  It's a lot of pressure for him to pick a theme--which has resulted in many tears on many different occasions.  But I think he was pretty happy with The Avengers, and super excited for his gift.  Thanks Grammie and Gramps!  Another b-day celebration will be happening soon, but for now let's enjoy these photos:

Wood a bit wet from the rainy days during the week.  Can't get it really started.
Probably should throw some gasoline on it!   It was an awesome show ;) 

 4 years old!
(And yes, those are many different kinds of candles.  It's called "fun," okay?)

Must put on costumes!  (Which we take with us when we go visit, of course.)

Titus is joining in on the costume fun. 

We were all a little shocked to see Titus naked, including Titus.  It's a tricky thing getting shorts off without taking undies off too.