Pool Time

We bought Hunter one of those kiddie pools at Target about a month ago, and as y'all can see, he loves it. Unfortunately mommy doesn't love the 100+ heat that we have to sit in to hang out in there...especially since I don't get to cool off with the water. (Just in case you were wondering, kiddie pools and 8 1/2 month pregnant women don't mix well.) Luckily, James is the best husband and father ever, and usually I go inside once I can no longer breathe because it's SO DANG HOT!!! This is usually after about 5 minutes of pool time. Seriously.

The pool we bought has a little slide and a giraffe head that sprays water so the slide can stay wet. I know. Scary. That picture above was the first time we hooked up the giraffe. About 1.5 seconds later, Hunter was doing this...

And yes, James and I were CRACKING UP at this....possibly the funniest thing I've seen all year.

Obviously my kid is not a fan of the freaky, water-spraying giraffe head, but he does love holding the water hose to fill up the pool himself...I think this makes up for the attack of the water-spewing giraffe.

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He also likes to pick blades of grass and put them in the pool only to scoop them up with a cup seconds later to clean the pool out...Cleaning is one of his favorite past-times, you know.

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This week Hunter got to go on 2 playdates with friends that have real pools. I didn't get any pictures in the big pool at Charlie's house, but I got some of the boys playing after...

Maybe they'll be b-ball teammates one day. That is the sport I'm pushing for...it's the indoor-ness of it that's so appealing to me:)

The next day we went to Jackson's house for a big playdate with Jackson, Levi, Judah, Teagan, Presley, Kayden and Keeley. (Crystal, I hijacked pictures off of your blog since I didn't take any that day:))...

We had so much fun with all of y'all this week! Hopefully we can go swimming again soon!

Happy Birthday, Volume 3...Grandee

James's mom is exactly 40 years and 1 day older than me, so we always celebrate our birthdays together. Since we both love Mexican food, we went out for some tonight.

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Hunter has followed in his mommy and grandee's footsteps with his love for Mexican food...especially salsa. Tonight he was eating his chips and salsa (which was REALLY spicy, even for me) and some random employee walked by, put a tortilla on the table in front of him and said, "Here's a tortilla for him. That stuff is dangerous for him to eat."

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I was highly offended.

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I felt like telling her, "My kid likes salsa. I promise you it's better that I let him eat it and make sure he drinks lots of water then to subject you to his screaming." But I was good and kept my mouth shut. The meal was really yummy, so it made up for her unsolicited parenting tips.

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Happy (belated) Birthday Grandee! We love you!

Happy Birthday, Volume 2...America

We went out to my dad's house for the 4th, and it was hot but a lot of fun! As a general rule, I don't like to be uncomfortable, and when I am, I don't do much moving around...especially at 8+ months pregnant. So that's my excuse for only taking pictures of my kid and not all of the other cute ones that were there. Yes. I was one of those mom's yesterday. I know it's annoying.

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My dad bought this water slide for the kids to play on, and they loved it...
Our sweet boy, as usual, was really unsure about the slide at first, but Cousin Vanesa convinced him it would be okay...
They went down together, and then he couldn't get enough! He kept running over to me in between slides and saying, "So fun!" and then he'd quickly run back for another turn. (I'd also like to note that you can see 3 other kids in the picture above, so I really must not be as annoying as I thought.:))

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The water at the bottom of the slide eventually turned brown from all of the mud and all of the kids looked like this...

And because of the crazy heat all of the adults looked like this...
But then my dad grilled some hamburgers and hot dogs and the yummy food perked everyone up a little...

...well that and the hosing off that had to take place before those little muddy hands could touch the food:)

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I hope y'all had a great 4th too!

Happy Birthday, Volume 1...Me

July 3rd is my birthday and July 4th is my mother-in-law's (and America's!) so it's always a fun-filled couple of days at our house. Everyone made me feel so special again this year with all sorts of birthday wishes, so thanks!

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James and I had decided to not do any gifts for birthdays/holidays anymore until the job situation gets worked out, but he still did several things for me because he's such a great husband. When I got out of the shower yesterday morning he brought in donuts (which I LOVE ...definitely one of my favorite foods) that he and Hunter had gone to buy when I got into the shower. Then once I had left for work, he called my cell and told me to look in the glove box for a surprise (I also love surprises). I found 2 bags of candy - gummy strawberries and cherries and cherry sours that you can get at the mall candy stores...two more healthy treats that I lu-huv. Then when I got home from work, I found a pie that James had made me while I was at work. Yes ladies, my husband made me a pie. I know you're jealous, and I'm gonna make it worse by telling you it was a recipe that I'd cut out and put in the junk drawer because it looked so dang good. I just hadn't gotten around to making it yet. It was awesome though.

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In case you didn't notice the pattern, I obviously love sweet food, and my husband is well aware of this, so those "gifts" made me feel so special because even though he couldn't get me a diamond necklace like he usually does;), he thought of specific things to make me happy.

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Okay one more story then I'll get to the pictures. I've been telling this to everyone because it makes me feel so encouraged about the good in people. At work we have a committee that selects employee of the month every month based on staff nominations. As EOM you get several perks, one of which is a parking spot right by the ambulance entrance. So you actually get to park in the OCH lot instead of walking from down the street, which in 100+ weather sucks. The July EOM is from our therapy department and she is probably the sweetest person I've ever met. Literally. Well when I got to work yesterday (my bday) morning, she came up to me and told me she was GIVING ME HER EOM PARKING SPOT. She had already cleared it with the people in charge and everything. Since it's so hot and I'm so pregnant, she wanted me to have it. Y'all I started crying right there in the office like an idiot. I'm sure part of it is my hormones, but I felt really moved that she would think of me. Mercy (that's her name) is so selfless (always, not just with this), and I feel so encouraged by her and challenged to live the gospel, as she does, and not just to teach it.

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Okay, now that you have that happy, fuzzy feeling, here's my bday pics...

Since the LuAnn sign is probably giving it away anyway, yes, we are at Luby's. How do you not love that place?

And here's a little preview of Charlotte's room (and my belly for those of you that care...i.e., Laura and Marcy)...

I plan to take shots of the whole room soon.

Big Boy Hair

So my dream for Hunter's hair has always been for him to have long (not girly long) locks that curled up at the end. You know. The preppy boy look. Yes, although I have no desire for my son to ever actually pledge a fraternity, I am a sucker for that frat daddy look.
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But as you've all seen, God didn't give my son that gift. He gave Hunter fine, thin, straight as a board, refuses to grow past the top of his ears hair. So last week I decided it was time to give up the dream and move on to a new style.
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We went to barber James (our James's barber), and I told him to cut it off short enough for me to style. (I think the words "spike with gel or something" were actually used). Barber James looked at me kind of funny and said, "You know it's going to be a lot different?" It's like he knew about all of the tears I've cried over the years from bad haircuts resulting from spontaneous, poorly thought out decisions. (I assure y'all, though, this man has never been near my head. I prefer stylists of the female type.)
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Here's the picture story from the day.

This is my before shot. Barber James had to do some coaxing before Hunter would let him near his head with the scissors, and heaven forbid!, the clipper-razor thingy...
(I think that picture is so precious by the way. How cute is my son?...and my hubby:))

The aforementioned, clipper-razor thingy in action...
The final product...

Hunter's not sure how he feels about the new look. Either that or he's frustrated that he didn't get his sucker yet...especially since he told us, "I wanna sucker" over and over for the entirety of the hair cutting process.

We did get that sucker to him asap though...
...and boy was it good...
This one's for you Marcy...

(That's the gun I told you about Hunter playing with in the barber shop. It looks like it is just inherent in boys to play with weapons from a young age. Luckily Will and Hunter don't get much opportunity to use their weapons against each other.:))

And this one's just so y'all can really see what his hair looks like. I feel like since it's blonde, it didn't show up well in the lighting at the barber shop...

Gratitude

Most of you know that James's office was closed at the end of March, and like many others are experiencing right now, the job hunt has been a bit of a struggle up to this point. It's been a humbling experience to say the least.

I am so proud of my husband and all that he has accomplished. Unfortunately, I don't do a good enough job of letting him know this, but likely add more stress onto him during my (near daily) questioning of why this whole job thing isn't working out. James is hard working, intelligent, well spoken, has his Master's degree, a professional certification in his field (that isn't required) and years of experience. So why aren't these companies beating down our door begging him to work for them? It's honestly perplexing to me.

The only explanation possible is that, for right now at least, it's not God's will for James to have a job. For whatever reason His plan is for me to work and James to stay home. The thought that there's a high chance this scenario could continue after my maternity leave is over, is a hard one to accept...and believe me, there are days that I don't do a good job of accepting it. But when I sit and am still and listen to God, really listen to Him, He helps me to accept, embrace even, His will...and I am overwhelmed to tears. Not tears of anger or frustration or resentment or disappointment - the kind that so easly overtake me when I try to carry the burden alone, but tears of humility and appreciation and unbelievably, tears of gratitude.

This is my 200th post, and like my 100th, I wanted it to mean something. And although I could write (and read!) all day long about the cute things Hunter does, my true role while I'm living in this temporary home is to glorify God. So, hopefully, this small, insignificant post, will do just that.

Every morning after I drop off Hunter at school and turn the corner to start heading to work, I start this song. It brings me to tears every single time. No exceptions. It is the best reminder I've found - other than scripture - that God's plan is the one that I need to accept. And although He longs to fulfill the requests I make to Him, He may not do it today. But at the very least, He will conform my heart and will to His, if I trust in Him. For His way is perfect and He has a plan for my family that He will reveal to us in His perfect timing.

I hope you can take the time to listen to the entire song. (Don't forget to pause the music I have going on my blog. It's on the bottom now.) I encourage you to close your eyes (because I feel like the pictures actually take away from the song) and really listen to the lyrics and their meaning...and then start really listening to God and the plans He has for your life...

James

Top ten reasons he's the best father EVER (in no particular order)...

He watches Hunter the entire time I'm getting ready in the morning...which on days like today can be a really long time. As you can see, this morning was a shoe dilemma kind of a day...

(Here's my shout out to all of the pregnant women who've endured the swollen feet phenomenon. It's really hard to find shoes that work with your church attire when you have feet swollen to 50 times their normal size!)
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He teaches Hunter to have good manners. I love that James has great manners...this is one of the things I listed at my lingerie shower for my on-the-spot reasons I love James list. I think I actually said, "I love that James takes his cap off at dinner."

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He gets Hunter ready for school everysinglemorning while I get ready for work in our peaceful, quiet bathroom:)

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He feeds Hunter breakfast everysinglemorning while I get ready for work in our peaceful, quiet bathroom:)
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He plays outside with Hunter anytime he wants...and this weekend he even put on his swim shorts and sat in the kiddie pool with H in our backyard. Totally wish I had a picture of that one.

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He plays fun, silly games that any 2 year old would love like ride em horsie and Hunter's favorite Brooks Family game creation..."bonk head".

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He models the love of a husband. James greets me with a hug and kiss everyday when he (or I) gets home or leaves for work. And as I've said before, that man serves me like no other. He definitely keeps his promises. I know Hunter is going to be the best husband to one lucky woman one day after watching his daddy for 18 years.

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He spends hours...days even...slaving over putting toys together for our son.

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He loves changing diapers:) Okay not really, but he never complains about doing it!

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He passes down some awesome genes. Everyone says Hunter looks just like James, and even though I don't see it as clearly as them, they both are pretty dang good looking.

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Happy Father's Day James, Dad and Frank! I'm so thankful for all of you...and so is little H!