My Handyman and his helper

One thing I love about my husband is that he is a great "handyman". He can build just about anything, fix just about anything ("Dada fix it" is one of Andrew's most common phrases), and to top it off, he enjoys a project! After Christmas, Wilson decided to build a deck in the backyard. He and Andrew worked hard and finished it in a few days. They had a great time working - as you can see. I love these boys!

Buddies

I love seeing the boys play together. They are great buddies! Wilson and I often wonder what they would do without having the other to play with. :) Here are a few recent pictures of them having a good time together...

And Baby makes five!

Here is the first little picture of Baby Shirley #3, due in August! This picture was taken at 8 weeks. I'm 12 weeks now, and we are just now sharing the news with everyone.

God certainly surprised us with this precious one, but we completely trust in His timing and His perfect plan for our family. I will honestly say that it's a bit (okay, a lot!) overwhelming to think of having 3 under the age of 3, but we also know that God will give us the grace to make it thru the busy, busy days ahead. In fact, this has been my easiest 1st trimester out of all 3 pregnancies. To me, this is just the Lord demonstrating how He does and will provide for all our needs.

We look at Andrew and Forrest now and how much joy they have brought into our lives.... how could we not be thrilled at this new life and addition to our family! We feel extremely blessed.

So, I'm sure you are wondering about the ages... Andrew will turn 3 on September 11th, Forrest will be 1 on April 8th. They are 19 months apart. The baby is due August 26th and will be 17 months younger than Forrest. Wilson and I have always agreed that we'd both like to have at least 3 children. Even though this is a little closer than what we had planned, we are still very excited!

We'd love your prayers for this new little one.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

What sweet, sweet valentines I have!

Precious boys!

May May came over to bring a valentine happy. The boys loved them!

Andrew was so cute about Valentines Day. He loved making valentines for his friends and teachers to take to school for his Valentine Party on Thursday. When I picked him up after the party, he ran to me saying "Valentines, Momma!" He is still toting around his bag with the valentines and candy! The picture above is him spreading out his goodies after lunch Thursday.

He came and gave me a kiss in the bed this morning saying "Momma, Valentine's Day!" He and Wilson brought me beautiful tulips and he was so proud. My boys, little and big, have a special place in my heart! :)
Wilson did good this year, too... he made us reservations for dinner about 2 weeks ago and even lined up the babysitter! A very sweet hubby! :)
I love my boys!!

10 months!

Our baby boy is 10 months old! What a blessing to see how he is growing and developing! I'm amazed at God's workmanship in his design of our little ones and how they grow. It's truly a testimony of an almighty Creator who knows and cares for details and a Heavenly Father who loves his children.

Forrest is standing for longer periods of time by himself, cruising more, and taking steps while holding onto our hands. He's loving big food and really starting to make it clear to us that he's not such a fan of baby food anymore! He wants the real stuff! Of course, I'm a little paranoid with food allergies (mainly due to my husband's allergic tendencies - sorry about that honey), and I'm very careful about the foods I offer him. It's a little tricky finding things that I feel OK with giving him and things that meet his standards. :) Any good ideas from anyone about finger foods? I feel like I've already forgotten this from when Andrew was this age.

Forrest is waving bye-bye and is holding his own bottle. He has a new-found love for books and will sit and flip through them repeatedly. He's also begun pushing Andrew's cars and trains around - too cute! His big brother still gets his constant attention, but he'll share a hug and quick cuddle with anyone (that is before he's off to the races again.)! He's a busy boy!

One of the most fun new developments in the past couple of weeks is hearing Forrest say a few words. He says "cracker", "bottle" and "Daisy" (the dog), and he names these things when he sees them. He also says "bye-bye" when he waves. He has said "Da-da" for awhile, but Wilson and I both agree that cracker is really his first word. It's the cutest thing to hear him ask for a cracker! I guess watching and listening to Andrew has just made him learn things a lot quicker.

He's still the sweetest thing and such a joy!

Looking like a big boy in his overalls... Loving his wagon ride!

A beautiful day... a fun time swinging!

This precious boy brings a smile to my face!