blessed beyond measure

When not mid-tantrum, two is actually a really cute age. Here are some of Trey's latest ramblings. The ever-popular crib mattress has become stuffed-animal transportation. Everything from a tractor to a school bus to a "gee two" (seadoo). Here, it's an airplane. One by one, Trey says to all of his animals, "Come on, [animal name]! Get on hair-pain!" Trey and I were reading a new book and turned to a page with a white cow with small brown spots. Trey cracks up. (There are not a lot of spotted cows in our area.) Mid-laugh: "It's got poo-poo on it!" While Trey and Brandon are wrestling, Trey is trying to break free of Brandon's foot-choker hold. Trey repeatedly shouts, "W X! W X!!" Maybe the latest way to say uncle? Sitting down to dinner, Trey says to his food, "You ready to go to my tummy??" Lastly, this is less funny but one of those moments you remember forever. Trey went to bed late last night on account of ...

Tomorrow my sister Whitney (Nene to Trey) will be leaving to go across the state for a new job. This puts her more than a couple of hours away from us, and though we are so glad she was able to find a good job, we will miss her so much! Trey and I took a few hours today to spend some time with Whitney before she left, at one of their favorite aunt-nephew quality-time spots, the playground. We love you so much Nene and wish you all the best in your new job and home. We'll be praying for you nonstop. See you again soon!!

The only thing I have cooked this week is a pan of roasted potatoes. Don't get me wrong, I love to cook. Maybe a little less in the summer, with it being so hot and being tired from work, garden, and Trey. But every once in a while it's nice to have a break. This past weekend, a dear friend came over an brought us dinner - completely without reason and totally unexpected. As God's grace would have it, He has seen fit to surround us with friends who are fabulous cooks. Anyway, the surprise meal just made my day. Especially since there was macaroni and cheese involved. Don't get much of that anymore because of Trey's allergy. So here's what we had/are having this week: Saturday - friend meal: beef roast, mac & cheese (cucumbers for Trey), green beans Sunday - leftovers from taco roll-up last week (hot dog and sliced tomatoes for Trey) Monday - dinner at Brandon's folks' house Tuesday - grilled pork chops & chicken, roasted potatoes, sliced t...

Not having anything to compare it to, potty training seems to be going well. Slow, but well. Trey knows exactly what to do. He knows that when he wakes up in the morning or from his nap, and after every meal we go "date to a potty" (straight to the potty). And after meals the pee is named after whatever we just ate - toast pee, cucumber pee, etc. That seems to keep things lighthearted. Trey insists on using the big potty, which is fine. He has to watch the entire flush. He still adamantly refuses to go number two on the potty. Not sure how to break through on that one. And he loves wearing pull-ups. Tuesday of last week, as of 11AM he had gone to the potty several times and hadn't wetted once in his pull-up. That was pretty nice. So we are taking it very slowly - probably not the best way to go, but whatever. Sometimes I forget to offer the potty, sometimes we're too busy to bother with it. Again, probably not how it's supposed to be done. But he like...

Or vegetable-ful in this case. ' All this from one rotted pumpkin, and still more to come. If only they had grown later or slower, and this influx had come in October. We'd have the most festive, harvesty house in the community. Right now it's just strange.

Last Thursday, we took off for a long weekend with my parents and grandparents at the beach. It was a short trip, but great to be away for a little while. There was rain in the forecast for each day, but the showers didn't last all day, so we were able to get out some and enjoy the ocean and pool. Plus it was overcast, and not all that hot. Very nice! Trey was not as fearless this year, and had to be coaxed into the water. The tide was pretty strong, and most times once the waves hit his feet and started pulling back out, Trey would yell, "Or not!" and run back up on the shore. He was content to pick up seashells, dig in the sand, and go get water to build a river. Of course the river never became a river, since every time Trey insisted on dumping the bucket of water, he poured it down his front. And then there was time to build sandcastles with Daddy and Giga, and we all know that what goes up must come down. Sometimes in dramatic fashion, as Trey would scoop up p...

Little things make me happy. Here's what I've smiled over this week: - Amid some brutal days at work, picking up the phone and hearing "Hey Mama!". - In the middle of the night, being too hot under the covers, kicking free and being instantly cooled by our brand new ceiling fan. - Picking grapes. I've never seen a grapevine before, and the one at Brandon's folks' house was just loaded Monday night. We picked from about half the vine and got enough for a few batches of homemade jelly. Yum. - Bringing home so many free or almost-free groceries for my husband to tell me I'm part of the reason the economy is bad. - Walking through the grocery store with Trey in the cart, singing at the top of his lungs, "God made me! God made me! In my Bible book it says that God made me!" Usually I try to quiet him when he's loud in the grocery store. Not this time. We should all sing praises so loudly.

- Trey has gotten pretty good with using the potty. Depending on the day, he'll even tell us when he needs to go. We haven't really gotten serious with it yet. Still not really sure where to go from here. Our biggest challenge at this point is that Trey really likes to watch the pee come out. This probably has something to do with the potty seat we have, but sometimes when he arches his back to watch, if we're not quick to point the "fire hose" (as Brandon calls it) down into the potty, we get squirted. Oh well, not like that hasn't happened before. - One of Trey's new favorite activities is sitting in the driver's seat of a car (not turned on) and playing with the keys and buttons, and pretending to drive. This can entertain him for a loooong time. He also likes to take flying leaps off the landing from the stairs coming down to the basement, diving sometimes head-first onto a pile of pillows. Sometimes he scares me. I've not been around l...

Mama: Did you know today is Mama's birthday? Trey: Eat cupcakes?? Mama: Hmm. I don't have any cake mix. No cupcakes for this birthday, sorry buddy. Trey: Fix dinner. Eat chicken nuggets, turkey sandwich, jello, beans, cookies, corn, soup, and CUPCAKES!!

1. It is at least moderately important to specifically know what you are planting in your garden. The cucumber-pumpkin ordeal has produced for us a lush, healthy, huge pumpkin patch. While this makes me very happy - don't ask, pumpkins just make me smile - we have absolutely no use for these guys. I've done a little research on freezing pumpkin, but honestly it's more trouble than it is worth, as little pumpkin as we eat. So I guess they are just going to be used for decor. Which is odd, considering it's the beginning of August. I'll try to remember where I let these things rot for next year. 2. It is pretty important to be specific in your prayers. This past weekend, we had 28 people over to our not-large house for a cookout. We prayed for good weather. Well, since He created all weather, God obviously thinks storms are good. It rained. Multiple times. All the cleaning we had done in the days before went flying out the window. This mess was duplicated i...