so it begins...

just to let everyone know, we have arrived at the training for our new job. we'll be here until june 18th and i don't expect to be able to post much at all, due to the limited time and internet access.

but just know that we're here, we're very busy, we're very excited, we're very scared, we're very blessed.

hopefully i'll be able to pop in here from time to time, but don't hold your breath. give me a few months and i'll be back with all kinds of whacky pictures and stories. i'll do my best to knock your socks off.

bubbs

bubbs is 14 months old today.

i honestly have no idea where his babyhood went. i feel like i can hardly remember rachel's babyhood even though she was my first child. i remember poor lucas's even less.

yesterday, he decided to become a full-time walker.

he'd been toying with the idea for about 3 weeks now, but still crawling most of the time. he is one darn fast crawler. who wants to slow down long enough to learn something new?

you may be wondering where his nic-name "the bubbs" came from.

i came up with it. and to tell you the truth, i don't know what it means or where it came from exactly. i just called him "bubbs" one day. now, i may not know exactly what a "bubbs" is, but have you ever seen a face that looks more "bubbs"-like? i think not.

i also have two other names for him that i use from time to time.

the first is another word i made up to describe my son (something about this child inspires me to expand the english language): boughes, pronounced "boo-ges" (the g has a "j" sound). why don't i just spell it booges? because that's not my word. i know in my heart of hearts the correct spelling is "boughes."

again, i don't know what it means, but i have narrowed it down to having something to do with how much his cheeks jiggle when he crawls fast (and now walks fast).

"boughes" is a very versatile word. it can be used as a noun or a verb depending on the context. here are some examples:

noun usage: He has boughes.

verb usage: He boughes a lot.

his other name he's grown accustomed to answering to is "moobs." moobs is short for man boobs. enough said.

the last two nic-names mentioned are often used together to create a delightful ditty for bubbs-entertaining (and big sister-entertaining) purposes. it has many variations, but here is a basic example:

he boughes, he boughes,

he boughes a lot.

he's got boughes

and he's got 'em a lot.

he's got boughes

and moobs a lot.

he boughes and moobs

and he boughes a lot.

how can he NOT grow up to be creative when he is already inspiring such creativity in every day life? he sure does make me proud.

4 days til the move to richmond...

...in the mean time, for your enjoyment...

glimpses of Truth

after returning from our final MOPS meeting, i asked rachel what she learned in her class.

rachel: "i don't know."

me: "well, did you hear any stories?"

r: "yes."

me: "what was the story about?"

r: "Jesus."

me: "what did Jesus do in the story?"

r: "He died on the cross and went like this." *holds her hands out to the sides to look like Jesus on the cross*

me: "oh, then what happened?"

r: *in her pretend scared/sad voice... she's very dramatic, don't know where she got that* "they put Him in a scary cave."

me: "they put Him in the tomb?"

r: *scared/sad voice* "yeah."

me: "well then what happened?"

r: *back to normal voice* "then He got up and had to put bandaids on His hands."

me: "He had boo-boos on His hands?"

r: "yeah."

me: "but He was all better, right? He rose from the grave."

r: "yeah!"

me: "that's such good news! He saved us from our sins!"

r: "i want Him in my heart. i want Jesus in my heart."

me: *stunned into awed silence. there might have been a tear. there's no way to tell for sure.*

******much later that day******

rachel: "i want to go to Jesus... and i want lucas to come, too."

(now i'm not doing a jig up and down the street proclaiming that my 3 year old accepted Christ, but i'm pretty excited she at least seems to be on the right path to one day understanding... if she doesn't already... but i'm truly assuming she doesn't. i mean, she's 3. but man, what a great kid.)

virginia is for lovers...

today we find ourselves in suffolk, virginia, our pseudo-home for the next 2 1/2 weeks. all of our worldly possessions fit into 2 carloads. of course, we still have a long way to go before we're down to a simple 8 suitcases... but i'm dealing with that another day.

so here, for your enjoyment, are some pictures of my most favorite guy in all the land, my husband. he's an amazing father and treats me way better than i ever deserved. our 5th anniversary is coming up in june. he gave me the two most beautiful babies ever. i am the luckiest.

i might have a crush on that guy.