blessed beyond measure

We live in the boonies. Lots of cows and barns around, open fields, old rusty trucks... It takes us almost 30 minutes to reach the nearest small town. Many of the things I love most about our home are related to being in the country. We have gorgeous views of mountians all around. The sunsets are amazing. I love sitting outside on the swing in the evening and hearing fluttering leaves, cows mooing, a distant train whistle, and echoes of church bells. Nighttime is very dark, and you could sit out all night, counting millions of stars, listening to an enchanting soundtrack of crickets and tree frogs. We wouldn't trade living here for anything. But it is still the country, and you have to deal with things like snakes in the basement, tractors (and occasionally cows) in the road, being an hour from emergency medical care, and...the accent. We don't live far south enough for the accent to be endearing. Nope, it's your stereotypical backwoods, slow-living speech. Some thi...

Tonight, my darling hubby will lead his boys varsity basketball team to the school's first ever appearance in the regional tournament. Congratulations, babe. We wish you the best and are so proud of how God has used you in this new role, no matter the outcome. Trey says, "Go Eagles Boys!" And tomorrow, my darling hubby will celebrate his 36th birthday. He's quite a bit younger than that in his mind. Must be from being around teenagers so much. Happy Birthday, babe. The years do nothing but improve you. We love you so much!

During church this past Sunday, the nursery kids all came together and joined Children's Church for a puppet show. A helper with the three-year-olds was holding a little girl from her class. The little girl pointed out Trey and said, "Isn't he the most handsome thing you ever saw?"

As a bit of background to this story, I must confess that I am totally dropping the ball on potty training. Trey is now over 30 months old and we still don't have a concrete plan of attack. If he mentions the potty, which he does maybe once or twice a week, we help him use it. Otherwise, it's usually just less trouble to keep working with the diapers. Sad, I know. But anyway. The three of us went out to eat for Valentine's Day on Saturday night with my mom. (Dad/Poppop is in not-so-warm Florida "to see the race cars go around and around and around and...") Trey ate a. ton. of. food. Ate for almost an hour straight. As the time wore on, I was more and more certain that when we finally got around to changing his diaper, it would be soaked through. When only crumbs remained on the plate, I took him to the bathroom. His diaper was not very wet at all. Hmm. Opportunity knocks. So we tried the potty. And he went bigtime . We did our little excited dance and...

Whenever we sit down together for a meal, just after the blessing... Trey: We eat and we talk. When asked anything about his baby brother... Trey: His name is DOLPHIN! On Wheat Thins Multigrain... Trey: I want lots of crackers. I eat crackers all day. Trey: (praying) Please help Daddy teach the boys to play ball, and please help Daddy when he hears the buzzer. Trey: Can I have a spoon? Mama: What do you need a spoon for? Trey: I need a spoon everywhere we go. Trey: We wait for eleven o'clock. Mama: What happens at eleven o'clock? Trey: Come on down! You (mumble, mumble) The Price is Price!

We are emerging from our third snowstorm of this winter. While, as my husband has cautioned me, I will not complain, I believe I have changed sides a bit this year. Maybe it's age, maybe it's the impatience and orneriness of pregnancy. But I'm not sure if I'll be rooting as hard for snow in future years. It has been neat to watch it snow, and just beautiful. But when the all-white landscape becomes normal, and you start to feel as if you live in northern Ohio instead of Virginia, it loses its luster a bit. But it's been interesting anyway. The storms really don't bother me too much unless they cause church to be cancelled. And the basement to flood, as in the first two storms. Or until they come with ice. And the loss of electricity. Which is what this weekend's storm brought us. Power went out as we were going to bed Friday night and stayed off until midday Saturday. But every trial can teach you something, right? Here are a few things we have learned to ap...

We are nearing the end of Brandon's first basketball season as head coach. Hard to believe it's that time already. Trey really enjoys going to the games. For at least a quarter, and sometimes two quarters, he will sit and watch the game. We've tried to teach him to cheer, and lately he has become quite vocal. His favorite expression to yell is "GO EAGLES BOYS!" We keep a close eye on the game clock, watching for the one-minute countdown so Trey knows when the buzzer is coming. He also knows that buzzers often follow free throws and time outs. If he senses a buzzer is on the way, he covers his ears so it won't scare him. A buzzer that sounds while his ears are covered is deemed a "good buzzer". Since the beginning of the season, Trey has a renewed interest in shooting in his goal at home. He is very methodical. Bounce, bounce, bounce. (His "bouncing" involves pounding the ball on the floor with both hands - hasn't learned to dr...

It's a boy!! We are over the moon, so, so, so excited to have a second son. I had a feeling it was a boy, but wasn't sure if it was because that's all I have ever known, especially since this pregnancy is different from Trey's. But the visual evidence was very clear. He was squirmy, apparently choosing the ultrasound appointment time for practicing his kickboxing. Hmm. Active. He moved his mouth almost the whole time we were looking at his face. Hmm. Talkative. All boy already. Anyway, we are thrilled. He will just fit right in. We have all the boy stuff, may never settle on a name (and no, it won't be Dolphin), and I'll get to use the expression, "the boys". Oh, I can think of nothing better. My cup runneth over. Again. Still. Always.