HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUKIE!!!

Oh I cannot believe this day has come! It cannot be real that at exactly 1:15 pm three years ago today my little man came into the world!! So many amazing awesome moments in the last three years....it just blows me away to think that he is actually three! (Although he keeps saying he is two)

Luke woke up this morning and came to see me and Baby Caleb. We sang Happy Bday to him (only the funny zoo version) He is so excited that it is his bday! We got to go to the Flip Shop and jump on trampolines and play on all the equipment! Then we ate lunch and played with our neighbors, Kendra and Connor! Kendra even made special birthday cupcakes for Luke! He liked them so much...he even ate Connor's!

Then tonight we have pizza and cake at MeeMaw and PaPa's then were going for ice cream with Grandma Ginger and PaPa! WHat a day! Then a Curious George bday on Saturday! What a fun time!!

After reading Julie and Christi's blogs the reminisced on the birth of Avery and Josiah...I thought I should include some special pics of Lukie too! So hope you enjoy them! I can't believe he was ever that little!

It seems so long ago. Especially because of Caleb, so now the freshest memories I have of baby times are of my littlest man instead. But I'll still never forget the moment when they put him in my arms...The love that grew inside of me that I never even knew was there. It was and is so amazing. Who knew that was deep within there, just waiting to escape. I heard a quote the other day that said that a baby feels a void you never even knew was there...how true!!! And in an instant the world no longer had anything to do with me and everything to do with taking care of my little bundle and teaching him everything he needed to know. Part of my heart was torn away and put inside this little guy so that I felt everything he felt and anything that hurt or upset him also did the same thing to me. Also a new joy overflowed as I saw his joy and happiness in the tiniest things!! It is so incredible to watch life through the eyes of a child! Beauty is everywhere and even the most mundane thing is new and fresh in their view!

Ok so I'm all misty eyed now, so I'll go...but I want to leave you with the words to a song that came out around the same time as Luke was born that I would sing to him all the time...

"Come here and cry on my shoulder,

I'll hold you till it's over,

I'll rescue you tonight.

Let my arms be your shelter,

your hiding place forever,

I'll love you more than life."

Long time....

Ok so it has officially been a very long time since I have blogged. As I listen to my sweet little angel screaming his head off in the next room (as he is supposed to be taking a nap) I am reminded of why it has been so long. I have been working a lot more than usual recently and when I am actually home, I have been having a hard time getting my kids to nap at the same time!!

Above are some pics from Easter. Luke is making a funny face in the first one. Those ones are from my Dad's egg hunt. It was cold out there!! Gotta love Easter in the four states. Next is Luke and Caleb getting their Easter baskets. Thankfully we hadn't said anything about the bunny because I made up the baskets and set them out around 10 pm thinking my kids were asleep but apparently Luke wasn't because he came out and started messing with his! So much for surprises! Caleb got these new little paints that fit baby hands and a Veggie Tales cd and Luke got a new train (of course) and a VeggieTales too. They seemed pretty excited about it! THen they hunted eggs at my grandparents and then again at Eric's parents. (Clay Michael, our nephew, is the other little boy in that pic)

Last is a pic of Eric with Caleb at the Flip Shop on the trampoline! Eric got to take his lunch break early to come play with the boys and they all had lots of fun!

Luke will be three a week and I cannot believe it! He is doing so many cool things now and I can't believe how much he has changed since he was two! He has just now started counting things...(like really counting things instead of just rattling off one, two, three and not comprehending that the numbers represent something.) And he is doing so good with his letters, and he loves to read all the time! I'm so proud of him (if you can't tell!)

Baby Caleb has definitely perfected the art of crawling very quickly. I can put him down and I swear he beats me to wherever I was heading. He has also started cruising all around the coffee table and anywhere else the he can hold on a walk. He ate baby food spaghetti today (which looked disgusting) and is just getting too big too fast! It makes me sad! Oh and by the way, Amy, we cut his hair finally a couple of weeks ago..and he does look a million times better!!

Lukie Duke is having a Curious George birthday party so hopefully that will be fun! I'm going to attempt to make his cake. It is George's face, so we'll see how that goes!

Eric and I are going to Table Rock Lake for an overnight trip at the end of this month for our anniversary. We are so excited! We are going to stay in some really nice looking cabins, complete with a double jaccuzi! I think we are also going to go golfing and biking while we are there. Eric is funny because when we first got married every time we went anywhere we had to go and do things every moment of our trip. Now when I was trying to plan what all we should do he was like "I just wanna lay around a lot and not do anything!" It's funny that the longer we are married he becomes more like me and I more like him! Does that mean we will eventually be just a like? I just hope he doesn't get my ditziness because we need some brain cells in this family!

OH! I forgot.. LUke and Eric are going to take a train ride around Pittsburg this Saturday! It's some fund raiser and I think Luke will be in Heaven! I haven't told him yet, just in case something happens and he can't go, but I'm so excited for him! Also we are going to take the boys to Silver Dollar City at the end of this month too! So that should be fun! And we are having a rummage sale the last Saturday of the month! So this month is going to be crazy busy and also hopefully a lot of fun!!

Also, I did forget one other thing. Eric played Jesus at church on Easter and did a great job! THey led him up to the stage and "hammered" him on the cross and hoisted him up in the air. He looked kinda scary in his little toga and covered in fake blood. He had to hang there for about 20 minutes during communion and then he came out later in white and walked back out. He did a great job and I was really proud of him. Actually I teared up immediately when he came out and forgot that he was my hubby and just thought of Jesus and all he endured for us. It was very touching and an awesome reminder that He allowed them to beat and crucify Him all out of His amazing love for us and in obedience to His Father!!! How amazing!!!!!

Well that is a ton of info for now! I promise I'll write again later...For now I think I have to go put a toddler back in his bed for the 23rd time!

Bye!