Where's My SD Card?

We rushed to get to the beach at sunset (sun already set as we walked the steps down to the sand)...but the lighting was still fair so we continued to rush to get the picture.Nathan quickly grabbed my camera, we got posed, and away he shot...over and over, leaving me thinking "we at least got ONE that will do"...
Then as darkness set in, I grabbed back the camera to realize there was no memory card.
I put the card in (major rush now) and gathered back the fam for round 2.
After round 2 (by which Lincoln clearly made known there would be NO round 3), I grabbed back the camera to realize it had been on the total WRONG setting the whole time.
By the time I got everything right, the lighting was gone, Lincoln would have nothing to do with the camera, and well, the moment had just passed.
So, here's to bad lighting, wrong settings, and independence. :)

Que the "Tapping"

We're going on a trip.

And the boys are freaking out with excitement it's both humorous and challenge to try and contain.

Consider our last night sleeping in our house:
Jason and I packed the car until the wee hours of the morning so we could be ready to leave the next day after Jason's golf tourney. (Translate: we went to bed LATE).

Then what seemed like on 19.5 minutes of sleeping, Jason gets a light [TAP] [TAP] [TAP] on his forehead (I wake up to the sound of a sucking pacy) and there is our 2-year-old toddler standing in our room, so excited, ready to GET UP!!

It was 5:00am, folks...the "pitch-dark-kind" of 5:00am.

I carried him back to bed, the whole way explaining that it was "dark outside and we don't get up when it's dark!".

Tucked him in, tucked myself back in, and fell right back to sleep.

Then, at 6:00am precisely, another [TAP] [TAP] [TAP] on Jason's forehead. Jason's eyes abruptly open to the same toddler standing over our faces with a big smile:

"Hey guys - it's not dark no more! It's not dark no more guys!"

Don't you remember those days when you were too excited to sleep?? :)

Staying in Shape

Lately I've been back into running and am at about 20 miles/week. I love it again...it's easy again...it energizes me, and it's easy to do on a daily basis now that my husband's schedule has been less demanding. I love every benefit of running. It's good for the body obviously, but it's even better as a re-charger for me on an emotional level.

Enter another love of mine: Music.

I think one the things that gets me addicted to running is the half hour I get to fully dedicate to music. I get giddy about new playlists I put together to get me through the runs. They usually last a month or 2 before I switch it up again. Usually on the playlist there are a few songs that I reserve for when I don't quite "feel it" and need a little extra push. It's crazy but I can totally get lost in music when I run. I have many "daydreams" I play out to various songs...I have dances made up in my head that I do (in my head) while running to certain songs (did I mention I'm a nerd?)...if I'm alone, sometimes the dances leak outside of my head (triple embarrassing, I know).

With the exception of the past 2 years, I have been a regular runner since I was 15 (I am currently 29) and I have only ONE time run without music...and it was about 3 months ago.

Currently I have my 2 fav songs to listen to on my playlist. One's fairly new, one's pretty old, both are pretty substance-less, but for some reason the rhythms of both give a boost.

What are your songs that get you motivated while working out??? I'm always looking for new ones. :)

His Own Take on Scripture

We try and teach Lincoln new Scriptures about every few weeks or so. At first we used the ones that he worked on in Sunday School, but here more recent, Jason and I use them as we see fitting in his personal development and things he struggles with.For instance, obedience has been a big one lately. My little guy is pretty cunning because he's actually a fairly "obedient" kid, but has recently been super SLOW to obey (which is not obedience for him).
So a few weeks ago, we learned "Children obey mommy and daddy in the Lord for this is right!".

He's got that verse down perfectly and understands what the word "obey" means very clearly. So when he struggles, we remind him of what Jesus said and he recites it back to us. And we do struggle with this obeying thing. :) We have one strong-willed rascal.

Here recently I've heard "I can't!". It's been in the last week r s but he says it a handful of times a day - about a wide variety of things! This is a big shift for him (from the absolutely fearless monster he was!).

So today Jason and I worked on "I can do ALL things through Jesus who gives me strength!"

He knows by heart, about 6 verses now that he can recite ff his head.

And today when learning the new one, he goes:

"I can do ALL things through Jesus and obey mommy!!"

Yes. I like where he's going with that :)

A New Leaf

This week Lincoln has turned a new leaf...he LOVES to read. I used to always read other's blogs/FB posts about how their baby would constantly bring books and could sit in mommy's lap to end end reading, reading, reading...then reading some more.
Then I would look down at my "go-go-go!!" tot and wonder how ever in the WORLD mom's got their kids to sit still in their laps for 5 seconds!!
When Lincoln turned 2, he was able to sit through more books (and enjoy them) but still, always at my initiative.

Fast forward  to 5 days ago.

It started with one book in particular that Lincoln wanted to read over and over and over for an entire day. This continued to day 2 (by which I happily obliged) and by day 3, he can now read me the book. And this book was the only one he was interested in. So the other day I moved all his books to the book shelf in the living room and it was like Christmas when he saw it. And since then, the books are constantly scattered in the floor, him looking for ones he has not yet read to bring to me.

Now, scattered through all those "new books" we still read the one that started it all about 5 times a day - at least.

So this is super fun for us and I'm glad to announce I can now join the "My toddler can sit still and enjoy book after book" Club. :)

Happy You Day!

Lincoln gets super excited on holidays and birthdays. To him it means 3 things: parties, presents, and cake. So when he found out yesterday was "Daddy's Day", he - of course - assumed the above three things were in order for that day, which meant crazy excitement from my little man.
He ran to daddy when he woke up and goes "Happy Daddy Day!!" followed quickly by "Lets party!!!!".

He understood it was a man's day from the start, and when he saw my dad and Nathan at church later, he ran to them with a big hug and excited eyes to exclaim: "Happy you Day!!!"

Pretty sweet.

We celebrated at my parents that night, and his sweet Mimi knows the path to his heart - she had cupcakes made just for him. :)

On a serious note, we studied Psalm 112 in church that morning and I am so grateful both my dad and my husband exemplify the Psalm 112 man in my life and in my kids' lives. Behind God saving me from utter sin and destruction and choosing to love me, I am most grateful in life for my husband and his dedication to fearing the Lord and following His commandments.

Almost Here!

Since 2007, my parents have taken all of us to Destin every other year. The trip total lasts about 10 days with 7 of them reserved for the beach alone. The first year we went, my sister and I had just gotten back from the Ukraine (literally) and were at my parents having dinner the night before they were to leave (alone) for Destin. They said, "we have a really big condo if y'all wanna come" and we took them up on it - with about 10 hours notice. Jason and I had just gotten married a few months ago, and Amy and Nathan weren't even dating, but it was us four that tagged along.

It then became tradition (planned tradition - not last minute!) from then on...

Only the last trip, Lincoln was the new, distinguished guest at 8 months old...

And this trip, we add two more toddlers to the bunch: Tucker & Noah.

(Mom and Dad, I hope these trips don't stop if we continue having kids!!!!)

The trips have marked some significant milestones for us:

                         - 1st trip: We had just gotten married

                         - 2nd trip: We had a baby with us,

                                          Jason had just gotten a big new job

                                          We had also just found out we were pregnant with Noah

                                          Amy & Nate had just gotten engaged

                         - 3rd trip:  We just sold our house!

Yeah so looks like the even number trips have the most news...I should be geering up for 2013 apparently. :)

                        

The trip isn't just Destin, however. We all meet in Biloxi at the Beau Rivage for one/two nights prior to rolling in to Destin. The first trip, Jason, Amy, and I (Nate stayed in his parents room...remember? not even dating yet?) crashed in my parents room at Biloxi (though Jason and I went to bed at 6:00am); the trip 2 years ago, us + Lincoln crashed my parents room (Amy & Nate were actually engaged on this trip!), and this year, we've pondered this crash scenario: Me, Jason, Amy, Nate, 3 babies, Kristen, Devin, and my parents - all in one hotel room in Biloxi...

Then we decided it's worth it for us and my sister's fam to split our own room this year. Sorry mom and dad - I know you're devastated. :)

Jason and I are extending this year even further though as we are stopping in Crossett before Biloxi (before Destin) to spend 2 days with his family!

So fun times coming up ahead! Lincoln has been praying for the beach in his prayers for the past 2 weeks now. Here are a few pics from our last trip...It's hard for me to even recognize Lincoln! So funny. And you can bet I won't be shy in the picture taking department with my new camera this year.