Girls' Mini Weekend

One of my favorite friends came to stay with us this weekend. Lynne is by far the funniest and most loving person I know. Everyone she knows thinks that she is their best friend and she literally makes everyone feel that way when she is with them. Leslie and I found Lynne at UCA through Delta Zeta and we haven't let her go since. We LOVE her. She came up to visit many of her NW Arkansas friends this weekend including us. Leslie, Lynne and I went out to eat Saturday night at Abuelo's and then to TCBY. We covered every area of our lives and then some. Plus we laughed a lot! Lynne spent the night with the boys and I which was nice since Rodney was out of town. Sunday night we went to see Anita Renfroe and Mandisa in concert. Anita was hilarious and Mandisa was AMAZING. I have to get her new CD. It was fun to laugh, cry, and praise the Lord with some of my bestest friends EVER!!!

Haircuts and Donuts

This weekend was all about keeping the boys busy while Daddy was out of town. Friday night we went to a Soccer kick Off and McDonald's (Carter Wayne loves McDonald's and since he had a btter few days at school I let him pick). There were bouncy houses at the Kick off and these boys were worn out. Yeah!The litterally got home and laid out on the living room floor. Bed time was a breeze. Saturday morning we went to get the boys haircuts and then for donuts. They love to go in Krispy Kreme and see the donuts being made. Carter Wayne wanted to get his daddy a hat from Krispy Kreme - I am sure Rodney will be excited to sport that Fall look. :) Then I took the boys to the park to run off all that sugar. The weather was actually nice and we had a great time. My buddy Lynne was in town so I got a sitter for Saturday and Sunday night so we could go out with our buddy Leslie. The boys were pooped by the time Moday morning rolled around. I had to wake Carter Wayne up for school and that never happens. We had a fun weekend, but we are ready to see Rodney.

School Week #2

We finished our second week of school and Carter Wayne still loves it very much. In this picture he is doing his first homework assignment "All About Me". He did a great job on it. We are still working to get him to write Carter Wayne instead of Carter. He doesn't want you to call him Carter or CW, but he prefers to write them because they take less time. He may end of being Carter to the world, but he will always be Carter Wayne to me. What am I saying? He better be Carter Wayne to everyone else to! Let me vent. When I introduce Carter Wayne I always say this is Carter Wayne and he goes by both names. So if someone says that to you why would you turn around and say, "Well, hello Carter." Drives me insane! Anyway, Carter Wayne got his first "changing of the card from green to yellow". He hit a friend that beat him in a contest. :( Well, it broke his little heart to get in trouble. He did great the rest of the week, but he still didn't get to pick a prize out of the treasure box on Friday. He really took it all in stride and we are working on using our words and realizing we aren't always going to win. I asked him on Friday how he did at school and he said, "I did great, Momma. I didn't breathe at all. Not once." Well, that is one way to stay out of trouble.

Slow Weekend

We tried to relax as much as possible this past weekend. CW had a birthday party, I managed to see "The Help", and Rodney mowed the lawn. We went to dinner with a group of great friends and took a dip in the back yard. Sounds like a lot, but it was all done at a very casual and slow pace. :) We really enjoyed our down time this weekend and I am thankful for it. Because as you know Football season is RIGHT around the corner and our weekends will be packed to the brim - just the way I like it! Go Hogs!

Pretend

Lately the boys enjoy playing pretend. They really like to pretend they are putting each other down for a nap. This I find amusing because it is an epic struggle for me to get either one of them down each day, but they both do it with such ease. The difference, I know, is that I make them stay down. It really is cute because they tuck each other in and say Night Night. Sawyer always pretends to snore, which is hilarious. They try out different spots in the house. My bed, Carter Wayne's bed, and most recently the den. They make me turn off the T.V. and the lights. Plus they tell Rodney and I to be quiet. Silly boys!

Chapel Day

Wednesday is Chapel Day and the kids wear their school shirts. I never went to a private school so all this stuff is new to me, so I guess that is why I get excited about it all.

First Day of School!!!

Carter Wayne started the Bridge program this week. He was so excited. I got up super early (my new life now) and made breakfast for Carter Wayne, Rodney and myself. Sawyer refuses anything before 9am so we let him be. Carter Wayne was excited to take a few pictures with his new backpack! We got to school super early (my new thing is not to be late everywhere - I have said that before I know). Carter Wayne kept hugging and kissing Sawyer and saying "i hope you have fun today with just you and momma, Sawyer." So sweet. We were the first ones to class and Carter Wayne immediately hugged Ms.Terra! He wouldn't even talk to her last week, so that made me so happy. He went right in but Sawyer kept saying, "Bye Bubba, Bye Bubba, Bye Bubba." Cutie brothers. The time flew by and when we picked up Carter Wayne it was our first time in a car line! Carter Wayne loved seeing his name hung up in the mirror of his car. He got in and said he had fun and loved the outside playground. He also said they had pop tarts for snack and he loved them. He asked Sawyer,"Did you have fun with momma today?" And he told Sawyer he missed him. :) We went to eat at the mall then headed to the wooden train store and he got two new wooden trains. He was so tired and just hung out in front of the TV for the rest of the afternoon. He is such a big boy now. My favorite part of the day was when CW, Rodney and I ate breakfast together on the couch that morning. We even got some snuggle time in. It really was a special day.

School Supplies

The Saturday before school started I took Carter Wayne school supply shopping. He and I both love us some school supplies. Favorite purchase of the day? A Cars 2 backpack and sparkly pens. Neither of which were on the supply list. :)

Night Night

It is a phrase I hear every night and I never give in. That is just something you don't want to start. But, Carter Wayne caught me at a weak moment the weekend before he started going to school 5 days a week. I mean that is Big boy stuff and I just wanted to say yes this one time. So Rodney and I told him he could sleep in our bed Friday night but he couldn't tell Sawyer. What was the first thing that little rascal did? Tell Sawyer. So after baths Sawyer crawls his little self into our bed and announces "I sleep in momma's bed. I sleep in daddy's bed." Oh man! So we all lay down and watch some Nick Jr. show and the boys start to get quiet. (We planned to put Sawyer in his bed when he fell asleep). I guess Sawyer knew this because he started talking non-stop. Anything to stay awake I guess. Even Carter Wayne told him to be quiet. It became quite obvious that this little fella was not going to fall asleep. So we made a big production of putting both boys in their beds. Then later we let Carter Wayne come back and sleep in our bed as we promised. Some day when Sawyer reads this he is not going to be happy. :) Well, the weekend before he goes to 5 day pre-K I will let him sleep in our bed, too. That is a promise.

Meet and Greet

The Friday before school started Carter Wayne got to go by and meet his new teacher, Ms. Tera. She is so sweet and I think Carter Wayne will love her. He was so shy and wouldn't really talk, but he did sit down and play with some blocks. I am sure he will warm up to her pretty quickly. Sawyer had fun playing with blocks, too! Carter Wayne said he was excited for school after meeting his teacher. I think it is going to be a great year.

Miracles Happen Everyday

Sawyer is special - there is no doubt about that. But, just like his brother, God has used to him to remind me how powerful prayer is and that God is still in the business of doing miracles. This past year Sawyer was diagnosed with a very mild case of Mobias syndrome. I had never heard of it either. It has always been cute and unique to us since his birth how Sawyer would laugh and cry. He would never open his mouth all the way. It really just made him all the more cuter if you ask me. And it never took a genius to figure out which one he was doing. He also never smiled really big, but it really just fit with his (at the time) quiet, laid back nature. And once again, I never had a hard time figuring out if he was happy or sad. But it still bothered us a little that when he yawned he couldn't open his mouth very wide, he didn't ever show his teeth when he smiled, and he didn't open his mouth to laugh or cry. Well, our wonderful pediatrician, Brent, suggested we go to a neurologist just to have him looked at. The neurologist was wonderful and worked with Sawyer for over an hour. Her diagnosis was Mobias syndrome. It means that he is missing a nerve in his face or that nerve is damaged. It is the nerve that controls the sides of your mouth, blinking of eyes, and raising of eyebrows. In severe cases the children can't close their eyes, have trouble with speech, etc. The doctor believed it was the mildest case she had ever seen. Sawyer can close his eyes when he sleeps and if you have been around him for 5 minutes you know he has no trouble speaking. But he doesn't blink munch at all and he can't close his eyes on command. The neurologist wanted us to meet with a geneticist for a few more tests later but we didn't have to see her for another year to determine if speech therapy was needed. I walked out of the office defeated. The thing that stuck out in my mind was when she said "He just may never have a smile." It broke my heart - smiling is what I do best and I hurt to think that my sweet boy wouldn't get to do that. Also, you don't want your child to have to endue anything that makes him different from otheres or makes life harder for him. Feeling sorry for my sweet baby, I went back to my KDO job and there waiting for me was the Spring pictures of my boys I had ordered. When I looked at those two faces I was filled with joy. God spoke to my heart and reminded me that he had given me two very precious gifts in Carter Wayne and Sawyer. He knit them together in my womb and they were made perfectly in His image. I also remembered all the other precious children I saw in that waiting room with their challenges and the precious moms and dads that were loving on them. They probably would have taken Sawyer's diagnosis over theirs any day. The sweet girl that took those pictures of the boys mentioned that she would pray that God would heal Sawyer's smile "stitch by stitch". I loved that. It has been my prayer ever since. Rodney even teases me when I say, "Look, I think his smile is getting bigger." Rodney will say "stitch by stitch" :). But that weekend in Mt.View was the first time we were able to capture it on film. It really is a much bigger smile! I think it is one of the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen and it gets bigger every day. Thank you Lord for answering our prayers, big and small. Some day I pray to see the love of Christ in Sawyer and I believe it will be shown in that sweet smile - the one he received - "stitch by stitch".