Caleb's 3rd Birthday & Easter

How fun has my life been lately!!! I mean, it's always busy and there's never a moment of reprieve from the go-go-go, but sometimes I view it more as just "life" then as "what I fun and exciting life the Lord has blessed me with"!  And I am so blessed.  Here's a little recap of the last month:

March 15th-19th: 

Nate had meetings in Arizona and I got to go with him!  Oh what a wonderful, QUIET time I had.  I don't think Nate had that great of a time, seeing how he had required meetings from 7am until sometimes 9pm, but we did get a couple nights to go to dinner and hang out. We stayed at the Arizona Biltmore and I spent my days lounging by the gardens and researching whole/raw foods (a new passion~ check out http://www.anneandjen.blogspot.com/), sipping water and relishing in the fact that I had no bottoms to wipe or clothes to launder.  Some wonderful friends watched the boys for us and my mom and dad stayed at the house with them every night.  They did great away from us (the first time we've left them for 4 nights in a row).  The last time Nate and I got away by ourselves was in July 2005 (I was pregnant with Matthew!).  It truly was a wonderful time.

April 4th~ Caleb's 3rd Birthday & Easter:

Happy 3rd Birthday to our Caleb Joseph! 

Why is my youngest child 3 already?!  It just doesn't seem possible.  He is such a big boy, always cracking us and his brothers up and more times then not causing 70% of the havic in our home.  ;)  He has triple the amount of personality as the rest of us (well, he and Nate are about even).  He is his father, complete with the looks, charm and ornery-ness that his daddy possesses.  Seriously, sometimes he is "so Nate" it blows me away!  He has been such a wonderful blessing in our lives. 

Here is Caleb & Daddy opening gifts.  He got some Thomas trains and books, a very cool 3-wheel scooter, some clothes, books, a foam bowling lane, pins & ball... lots of great stuff!! 

Ha! I love this picture of Caleb and his adorable cousin Paige helping themselves to leftover cake.  =)

Now on to Easter... time to hunt eggs!  I think we ended up hiding 16 dozen plus 4 eggs!! What in the world.  Caleb and Paige got to go out first since they were the youngest.  Paige was cracking me up~ she would only pick up the purple and pink eggs and put them in her basket. =) She would spot and yellow egg, point to it with a huge smile, and move right on past it.  She is the cutest girl!

And then it was the big kids turn.  Luke, Matt, Claire, Kole, Keller, and Jared ran out the door and stuffed their baskets with eggs, regardless of color. ;)  Grandma and Papa's house proves to be the best place to hide/hunt easter eggs~ mom's wrap-around flower beds boast great hiding places.

Not the greatest family photo, but a family photo nonetheless.  Hope everyone had a great Easter! 

He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!!!

What in the world was Caleb thinking?

I mean, we only left him alone for 5 minutes. He was supposed to be eating dinner, but found the temptation to eat the Nesquick too much to take. Caleb has definitely been a big fan of chocolate milk for the majority of his life, but eating it straight out of the can~ come on! It was everywhere~ in his eyes, on the floor, down his pants, under his fingernails, and, as is clearly shown in the pictures, on his face. It is going to be a miracle if this one is not shipped off to military school. =)

Here he is showing us that the chocolate is "stuck" to his hand.

I mean, it's everywhere.

And of course, the proud look.

We have a ball player

Today Matthew started his Tot Tee-Ball league. He is an official "Cub", along with about 6 other 4 year old boys. I can't even tell you how much fun it was to go out there and watch my little man have the time of his life! =) He practiced his throwing, catching, and base-running for 45 minutes under the only patch of sunshine we got all day- it was as if the Lord opened up the skies just for Matthew. Nate has been practicing with him all week and he has really gotten good at catching with his glove and stepping forward with his left leg as he throws. And apparently he bats left-handed (even though he is right-handed & throws with his right) which Nate has assured me will earn him a baseball scholarship to an Ivy League school. =) Well, scholarship or not, he is definitely going to be a ball player! Here are some fun pictures from his practice.

Getting warmed up with some jumping jacks...

...and some leg stretches.

Look at his form! =)

"Thanks dad, I really love to play baseball." -Matt

Annnnnnnd...

BREAK!

Worms!

A few weeks ago Luke found a worm while playing in the dirt. He immediately ran inside and asked Nate to go pick it up. Before he could answer, Matthew runs past him and yells "I'll do it!!". Historically, Matthew has been the "brave" boy when it comes to touching and picking up the wild animals in our backyard. From frogs to ladybugs, it's always been Matt who was fearless. And as much as Matt is fearless, Luke is full of fear. =) Here is Luke barely touching the worm.

I love the grin on Luke's face here. He is so proud of his single-finger touch.

Just Because...

My camera's home!

11 days without it while it was being fixed was way too long. Praise the Lord it is back and working beautifully. Here are just some pics I snapped the night we got it home.

Happy October 31st!

We had a great time on halloween, spending time with our friends, the Woodwards, and then ending the night at the annual Hoe Down. Luke dressed up as a ninja, Matthew was a race car driver and Caleb was the UPS man =). Matthew, Luke, Reese, Hudson & Caleb

Matthew won this gigantic cupcake during the cake walk at the hoe down. He was VERY excited!

Luke participated in the potato sack race... and came in last. But he had a great time!

P90X for the Family

Oh man. Nate and I have started a new, pretty intense work-out program called P90X. There's no logical reason why I should be attempting this workout since (1) I am in horrible shape and haven't even stepped foot in a gym for 3 months and (2) I've always nurtured this hatred for working out which I have convinced myself is totally healthy. It is only because of my love for my husband that I have committed to this work-out. And I HAVE committed to it(notice the need to reinforce that in my own mind). Luke and Matt think it's great when they see us move the coffee table and get out our free weights and they have decided to join in the workout. This proceeds to crack me up and forces me to herd them back into the playroom. CJ's resolve is to, as seen below, sabotage any and all efforts we make towards getting in better shape. It is quite a situation at our house...