Bedtime Battles Continue...

If you follow me on Facebook then you may have read about our struggle with bedtime...well, the battle is still going strong with this strong-willed little guy.  He just will not stay in bed, and from the time we first put him in his bed until he actually stays in bed and falls asleep is well over an hour...anyways, it's frustrating to say the least and I dread bedtime now... :-/

Last night he was especially mischievous, and even after falling asleep he woke up, got out of bed and then fell asleep again in the hallway.  He was so cute that I just had to capture a few photos before taking him back to bed.  What a little angel, haha!  (Only when sleeping, lol!)

Loving my rambunctious, crazy little dudes!

*Grace*

P.S. I didn't let them nap today, so hopefully a normal bedtime will be more attainable!

Water-y Wednesday! ;-)

Today has been a day full of water-y fun.  We hit the splash park with my sister and her sweet lil' boy "Baby Cold" as my boys refer to him as, cute! heehee! (his name is Cole) and we had a grand ol' time.  All the boys thoroughly enjoyed the water, and us mamas didn't melt like we normally do during our hot, Texas afternoons.  The temps were just right to enjoy the water and the sunshine!

We got home and played for a bit before having to say good-bye to Cole, and I decided to let the boys skip their afternoon naps so they'd be good and tired and ready for an early bedtime...haha, that completely backfired on me as you will see! ;-)

Aaron got home around 6 and after saying welcome home I went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.  After a few minutes I hear "Grace, what is this?!"...Eli was jumping in a big puddle-y wet spot on the carpet, enjoying the splish-splash sound he was making, right inside our bedroom door.  At first I thought he had spilled a cup of water or gone and dumped his bath toy tub of water on the floor, but nope, the water heater (right adjacent to our bedroom door) had busted.  More water-y "fun!"

Our great landlord came to the house and helped us to sop up the mess.  Our wonderful neighbor came over with her wet vac and dehumidifier to let us borrow in order to get things back to ship shape while we waited on the plumber to show up.  Our neighbor also noticed how rambunctious our little dudes were getting (already past their regular bedtime and way past their "early" bedtime I had hoped for), so she ran back home and back & brought over this awesome small trampoline for the boys to use that has a fun jump bar on it that you can hold while you jump so you don't fall off.  Those boys jumped, and jumped, and jumped, and jumped!  Thanks Miss Katherine!

After most of the craziness had stopped I put the boys to bed...a couple hours past their original planned bedtime.  Due to all the swimming, playing, no nap & jumping they were asleep quick!  Yay!  While I did that Aaron talked to the plumber who finally showed up.  Unfortunately the water heater doesn't have a cut-off valve, so all the house water has to be turned off so it doesn't keep leaking and it the water heater will have to be replaced.  That will hopefully happen tomorrow...that's what the plumber said and I'm going to hold him to it!  Right now I still smell like sunscreen and sweat...yuck!..and my hair is a day past due with washing...that was going to be my plan to do tonight, but alas it will have to wait!

Luckily for me I've been reading the Boxcar Children series to Johnathan, and even though it's fictional, reading about how those 4 kids made the most of what they had makes not having water for a day almost an adventure, haha!  The boys enjoyed their sponge bath earlier, and now Aaron is off on a water run so we can at least have something to drink/cook with...and can fill up the toilets with after we flush!  That is a must!  

So yes, it's been a water-y Wednesday, and we're making the best of it!

*Grace*

Easy-Peasy "Texas Chili"

So I'm not really a cooking enthusiast, it takes way too much time to make something fancy that is just going to be inhaled in like 30 seconds (my boys, all 3 of them, eat fast and lots...and sometimes forget to thank the cook!), so I like to make it easy-peasy on myself.  I know it's not really chili weather yet, but this Monday called for something in the aforementioned "easy-peasy" category...plus I had some stew meat in the freezer that needed to be eaten.  So, here's my recipe for slow cooker Texas Chili..."Texas" because I used big ol' chunks of beef stew meat, and if you live in Texas beef is an essential part to any meal!  ;-)

Grace's Easy Peasy Texas Chili

2 lb. Beef Stew Meat, seasoned with salt/pepper/garlic
2 cans Chili Beans (I used the Great Value brand, more bang for your buck!)
1 can of Red Beans (again, GV brand)
1 can of Pinto Beans
1 can of Zesty Chili Style Diced Tomatoes
Seasonings of your choice...sometimes I'll add some cumin, sometimes I just leave as is
 
Dump everything into your slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours, stirring every hour or so if desired.  Reduce to low for 2 hours.  Done!  Serve with Fritos & Shredded Cheese...for an extra healthy treat add sliced avocados on top!  This dish takes basically zero work, tastes great, is budget friendly!  See, easy-peasy!

So that's what's on the menu for tonight...I've already had a bowl and I'm going back for seconds!  Mmm!  

*Grace*

Missing His Big Brothers

The last couple of weeks have made me very contemplative.  I've had my sweet Johnathan on my mind especially.  Several times during the last month he has expressed to me how he is sad about his big brothers, Gideon & Daniel, dying.  It warms my heart to know that he thinks of them, but also causes something inside of me to ache...that deep, soul ache that is always there, behind the happy smiles and good times, still there in the secret part of our hearts...a reminder of who we've lost.  

During our family vacation Johnathan's apprehensiveness about trying new things became very apparent.  He didn't want to try anything which made for a lot of frustration.  Eli on the other hand is a little dare-devil, and he'll try anything...he has a big brother to look up to and to try to out-do.  So I can't help but think that Johnathan is missing something, someone, two someones...Gideon & Daniel.  Two big brothers that would have undoubtedly had a positive impact on his little life, encouraged him in all things boy and would have pushed him to try to do new things, if only to out-do them!  Yet, even though our sweet Heaven babies will never meet their siblings here on this earth, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt they will still impact their brothers' lives...isn't it already evident with Johnathan's missing them?

I remember thinking and praying after Gideon passed away that someday, when we'd tell his siblings about him, that his story would open up a way for us to explain Heaven to our children in a tangible way.  And it really has, I've had numerous conversations with Johnathan about where his brothers are, Who is with them and how someday we'll be able to see them again with Jesus.  I am very thankful for that, but it doesn't stop the ache.  I still miss them. 

Next month marks Daniel's 8th Heaven birthday...there were days following his death that I didn't think I could last another day, and here it is, almost eight years later.  It is really hard to believe that we've lasted this long.  The power of Hope is a wonderful thing.  It is only because of Jesus that we've been able to make it through the toughest years of our lives...and what blessings He has now given us to take care of!  Johnathan & Eli are definitely the joys of our lives after such extreme sorrow.  Thank you, Jesus, for them!

Our Sweet Blessings!

  
Have a great Friday, y'all!
*Grace*

Movie Night on Daddy & Mommy's Bed!

Today's been a rough day...Eli's a bit sick, but as rambunctious as ever which equals a too-tired baby who can't seem to wind down enough to sleep. So, it seemed like a great night for a movie night on our new bed! We had an early dinner, did baths and then cozied up on our bed for some snuggle/movie time. 

 Here are my little boogers...

*Grace*

Our Interesting, Challenging & Not-So-Fun Family Vacation! :-)

Last week we went on our "first official" family vacation to Branson, MO...it was interesting to say the least.  It turned out to be one of those times where one thing led to another, tension was high, emotions were out of control and it was pretty challenging to try to keep everybody's spirits up and emotions in check!  Branson itself was great, no doubt about it, but without going into too many details here on the WWW I'll just say that we won't be going back until our little dudes are a little bit older and we're more prepared parenting-wise!  ;-)


So, that being said, here are a few pics of the "fun times" we had during the trip!

 

Thank the Lord for times (even during vacations) that allow you to grow and see changes that need to happen within and for your children!  

*Grace*