A Visit from the Turners

God gave us special neighbors when we lived in Michigan that we still miss dearly. Without a family close by, they became like a family to us. We had the priviledge of spending time with them this weekend as they passed through our home on the way back to theirs. The last time they had seen Graham he had just turned one. He quickly warmed up to them.

On Saturday night, we ate at a yummy pizza place that give the kids dough to play with while we waited for our food.

Graham and Will

Will got to spend the day with us on Saturday while Tim and Kimberly moved into their new home. The boys had lots of fun together and played very well together. They are very good buddies!
silly boys-they came up with the poses on their own

A Little Imagination

I love watching Graham's imagination grow. This morning, he decided to line up all the books to make a train. He came up with a fun game outside last week that he likes to play. He's the fireman, and I'm the "firegirl". We get on the castle which is our truck and drive to the burning building. Of course, he gets to drive and I hold on in the back.

After we get to the building in need of our help, he climbs down and grabs the bucket.
He puts water in the bucket from the creek behind our house...
and then pours it on the burning building. We hope back on the truck to fight the next fire. What an adventure!!

Wrestling Match

Here's a picture of Graham around nine months. The older Wesley gets, the more I think he looks like Graham. They are their own little people and have plenty of differences, too.

My three boys enjoying a little afternoon wrestle before naptime.

Who's winning?

We never would have imagined...

When we left Michigan and said goodbye to our dear friends, we had no idea we would get to share our lives together in Tennessee. We are so thankful God brought the Fulks here. We love every minute we spend with them.

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50th percentile

So, Wesley isn't as chunky as I thought he was. Today at his nine month check-up, he weighed 20lb. 9oz. and was in the 50th percentile for weight and height. He's not that chubby-just average. :) After carrying him around all day, he feels a lot heavier than average. Thankfully, he didn't have to get any shots today-just a finger prick. The doctor said he looks great. I'm thankful for a healthy little boy.

He is not mine.

He is not mine. The idea of it is really hard to accept. I do everything I can to protect him, shelter him, love him, and keep him from harm. I try to feed him healthy foods, I limit what he can watch on TV, I decide what friends to invite over, where he goes, what clothes he wears, what time he goes to bed, what books we check out from the library. I feel that I have so much control over his little life...but I don't really. And the older he gets, the more I am learning this. I'm not in control. As I listen to one of my best friends talk about the struggle she feels as she will watch her first born get on the bus and go to school for the first time, I'm reminded...I'm not in control. As I listen to more mature women tell of the heartache of watching their children struggle with poor choices involving drugs, sex, or peer pressure, I'm reminded...I'm not in control. My little boy has his own mind, will make his own choices, and will face struggles and trials from which I cannot protect him. He will go off to school and away from the safe bubble I try to place around him. He will face decisions and obstacles, and I won't be there to tell him what to do.

I'm not in control. There's One so much greater, so much stronger, so much wiser, who loves him so much more than I do. My son is in His hands, and I am so thankful. I must release my desire to control, my grip that can squeeze the life out of my son, my efforts to protect that can rob me of peace and joy.

God, remind me that he is Yours. Thank you that he is Yours. He's in a much safer place when he rests in Your arms than in my feeble grip.

I love him so much, but You love him even more.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10

Wesley is nine months old!

Our little guy is getting so big. He's starting to scoot backwards some and can turn in a circle when he's on his tummy. He's still happy to sit and play with toys-unless he's hungry or tired. He's a sweetie and we are so thankful for him!

We stopped at a state park close to the interstate on the way home from Memphis yesterday to eat a quick dinner. It gave Graham a chance to run around a little bit, and we were getting a little tired of fast food. I think we'll do that more often on roadtrips.

Go Tigers!

This past weekend we went to Memphis to celebrate Tim's birthday with his mom. We had lots of fun watching the Memphis/UCLA game with her on Saturday night. She and Tim's dad taught at the University of Memphis, so she was thrilled to see them win. She got Graham this shirt so he could show his support. He's proudly wearing it today. Go Tigers!

Wesley adores his big brother and is always watching him and laughing at what Graham does.

We enjoyed the Spring weather today after lunch. Graham loves to playing in the creek behind our backyard, and Wesley is happy to sit on a blanket and pull up grass. Things will get a little more challenging when he starts crawling.

Cousins

Happy Birthday, Tim!

My sweet husband spent his birthday at home today. Unfortunately, the reason for missing work was rather unexciting-he got a stomach virus. It hit him hard yesterday while he was at work. He felt so horrible he asked a coworker to drive him home from work. Once in the car, he felt even worse and ended up in the ER. It was a little scary for all of us and a little challenging with two little ones in the waiting room at the ER. After some X-rays and an IV, he was feeling better and got to go home around 3pm yesterday. (Thanks to Heidi for keeping the boys so I could spend the afternoon with him in the hospital.) Today has been rather uneventful with him trying to avoid too much contact with Graham and Wesley and eating rice for dinner. Graham wanted to continue with our plans to make a cake, and Tim got to enjoy a little bit of it after his feast of rice. Pardon the picture...it was taken on a timer because we didn't want to have our friends over for dinner lest we spread the germs. We're glad you are feeling better, Tim. We love you and are so thankful for you. You are a wonderful husband and great daddy!

A slideshow

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