What I'm loving Wednesday

 Since moving back to Knoxville, we have discovered the new Market Square in downtown. We enjoy going to walk around, enjoying beautiful weather and family fun. Griffin loves spotting new things like this statue. "Can I take a picture on his arm?"

 Carter and Daddy on our stroll downtown. He lounges and props his feet up, taking it all in!

 I am still in somewhat disbelief at this picture but he has been going strong for 3 weeks now. At preschool, Carter lays in the floor for his naps. Now at home you wouldn't see this in a million years and I in fact always have to make sure he is in something to sleep or else he's all over the place. His teacher said that he is just so tired after lunch she wraps him up and down he goes... for about an hour! Oh I love it when the child proves the parent wrong in front of everyone. The first thing I said our first day was, "Oh I doubt he'll sleep like that." Ha!

 I'm loving being close to my brother and future sister in law as they plan for their wedding! I was able to go with Cara to look for her dress AND was there when she "Said YES to the dress!"

 I'm loving that we have a big enough couch for our whole family to fit!! Our favorite place in the house in on our new couch. It is roomy and comfy and Daddy and Griffin enjoy their cookies and milk there just about every night :)

And last but not least my new obsession. The ice cream says it all and needs no explanations. Unless you havent tried it yet.... and if not then you DEFINITELY SHOULD!!! Melts in your mouth good!!

1,000th post!

Holy Cow! According to my dashboard this is my 1,000th post! It is crazy to think I entered the blogging world over 5 years ago back in 2007 with this post about our first Christmas and now we have two kids and I have blogged more than I could have imagined. Blogging is one of my favorite things for many reasons. First of all I am a lover of pictures and love to always go back and look at the memories we have made. 2nd, my memory often fails me, so to be able to go back and reminisce is very special. It is also great to be able to share what God is doing with us to our friends and family. And lastly, its really a journal of sorts for me. I enjoy going back to where we were a year ago, seeing how much the boys have grown, remembering the good and the bad of motherhood & knowing that I will be able to have this record of our life for many years to come. The coolest thing is to show the boys old posts of themselves and I love hearing Griffin say, "Mommy, show me baby Griffin."

I'm grateful to all of the faithful followers, both that I know in real life and those I do not. It makes my day to hear someone say, "Yes, I saw that on your blog!"

It amazes me when I see these stats:

Pageviews today:

77

Pageviews yesterday

: 59

Pageviews last month

: 2,330

Pageviews all time history:

67,388 67,000!!! Wowzas :) Thank you google blogger for 5 great years and 1,000 memories together!

Celebrating Memorial Day on the LAKE!

We had so much fun out on the lake with our family for memorial day! It was the first time we have ALL been out together since I've had kids and it was so fun to do old memories together again AND add new ones! Both the boys rode the jetski for the first time and of course we fished, swam, rode paddle boat and had yummy watermelon. I LOVE family time on the lake :)

First dip in the pool this summer

 We had our first dip in the pool this season at Cici and Pipper's pool. Our big boy was excited to be big enough for swimmies this year!

Carter wasn't incredibly thrilled with his float

 but did enjoy Mommy holding him in the water!

We were so proud of Griffin for being brave and swimming without anyone holding him. He is still a bit apprehensive but by the end of the night he loved it!

Summer Staycation

Vacations aren't in the budget for us this year, however, I want to make this summer fun for our boys! Moving to a new city you don't know all the cool things there are to do and I know"family movie night" will get tired soon enough. Although it is the sweetest thing to hear Griffin say, "Mommy, can we watch a movie together as a famiwee?"

I ran across this list of 50 things to do on a Staycation from Simply Modern Mom and wanted to share with any other moms who need fresh ideas of new things to do this summer.

Hope you enjoy! Will be back soon with pictures from our summer fun staycation :)

I never leave Your hands

This past week I have been shaken and when I heard this song today, I knew it was just the reminder I needed.

"When my world is shaking, heaven stands. One day He will set all things right.  When my heart is breaking, I never leave Your hands. Your hands that shape the world are holding me, they hold me still."

It seems like when bad news comes it just continues to pour. Just over a week ago I got a call that one of my dear friends from high school had passed away at 29. How could that be fair? In ministering to his family, they asked JR to officiate his funeral, JR's first, and it was the hardest thing he has ever had to do. Watching a dad bury his son, my heart was breaking. Knowing that life can be over here on earth in a second, my world was shaken.

Shortly after we found out that my grandmother who has been on oxygen the past few months, not only had pneumonia but that its a very real possibility that her breast cancer is also back. She has been a survivor for over 6 years now... and she will keep on fighting!

A routine sick visit to the doctor with our boys led us to a referral for a pediatric cardiologist. "Heart murmur" was what they heard. Again my heart stopped but I kept thinking, "God you are in control!" We are so very happy to report that after meeting the cardiologist today he diagnosed it as an "innocent heart murmur," which he said is common. Nothing to worry about or change for Griffin, however a huge wake up call for his Mommy. Never will I take for granted my healthy children because I know everything could change in an instant.

Please pray for the Barnes family as they continue to grieve the loss of their son, Clay. Also add my Mamaw Ann to your prayer list.

And last but not least... thank God today that He never leaves us no matter what we are going through. After all it is His hands that shaped this world, AND isnt it amazing that its those same hands that hold each of us? This world may shake me from time to time, but one thing remains constant: God's love for His children.

First day of Preschool!

 As a Mommy, there are a handful of days that you are excited that come with your kids but deep down also sad because it means they are growing up! I was definitely feeling this when we took our boys to Mother's Day out for their first day away from me! I balanced it with making it as exciting as possible for them because I knew how good it would be for all of us.

Sure enough our big boy jumped right out of bed and couldnt wait to put on his school clothes, get his "school bag" and carry his new spiderman lunchbox!

Little brother however didn't catch on quite as quick and was just wandering why we were all up so early I think ha!

 I gave my best effort to get their picture together but sometimes it just doesn't happen!

 I was one proud Mommy when I went to get them from their classrooms and they both ran to me with big smiles! I also thought it was funny because they both immediately asked for a drink. I guess not having food/drink anytime they wanted caught up with them!!

Carter cried for probably the first 10 minutes and then settled down. He often was looking for Mommy, but is doing better getting into the school routine.

My little sister is a graduate!

This week we celebrated Rachel's graduation from high school! I am so thankful that we were able to be closeby during this exciting time. It is still hard for me to believe though....

 You see I still see my sister like this little girl.... so tiny and cute. And its simply crazy to me that she can now be graduating high school!

We had a family graduation party

 Then celebrated with her at the ceremony.

We are pretty proud of her if you cant tell!

So thankful that God gave me the little sister I always wanted. I love you Sister!!!

Visits from friends

Being back in Knoxville now, we have been so excited to have several friends stop by and visit us! Tiffany and Monica (sorority sisters) were in town for UT's graduation and came to meet our boys.

Katie and Ike came up from Chattanooga for a playdate and we had so much fun!

Jessica and JD also came up so that our boys could all play together with their sons Briggs and Cade.

And Gark and his lovely fiance Macey came over for dinner and to meet our boys!

We are so thankful to be closer to so many of these friends that we love dearly... and we hope to see many more soon too!

How did I get so lucky?

To get to be the Mommy of these two sweet boys! I am oh so thankful that God chose me for them to love :)