HUMMINGBIRD!

I have been dying to have hummingbirds in my yard. My mother-in-law and my mom have several that come to their house. I am so jealous! I tried all summer last year and got nothing! I bought new feeders, made my nectar (instead of buying it) and put the feeders in different places.

Finally, finally, finally....hummingbirds. I have two regulars. One green and brown, and one ruby-throated. I love sitting on my porch and watch them come and eat from my feeder. So fun!

I have sat and tried to capture pictures for proof however I'm not the most patient person. Plus, the one time I sat and waited for the perfect picture, my battery died on my camera. This is best shot I could get and it isn't great. I'm working at better ones. We'll see.

Do you see him? He's peeking out from behind the feeder.

Summer Job

Sydney received a $10 gift card from the library this year because of the all the books she read and all the AR points (124 total) she racked up. She was amazing! On awards day, I got the honor of presenting her with her certificate and gift card. She was thrilled.

A week later we went to Target and Sydney found what she wanted. A game for her DS called Cooking Mama.

Uh-oh! The game cost $19.99! "Oh Mom, Dad! Please! I want this game! I'll do anything if you'll help me buy this game! Puleeeze!"

Chad discussed it with her and an agreement was made (shaking hands on it and everything.) We went to the checkout and purchased the game.

The agreement?

Sydney has to spend two hours in the flowerbeds weeding them as needed until her debt is worked off.

Does she enjoy it?

Uh...NO! In fact, she whines the entire time however....a deal is a deal. No backsies! Get 'er done, girl!

Sydney doing her summer job.

Ugggh! Spam!

What is it with Chad and Noah's love of Spam?

I don't get it!

Last year, we went to North Carolina for some fun on the beach and Chad happened to mention his love for Spam (which I'm sure stands for Severely Pitiful Artificial Meat) So, because my mother L-O-V-E-S Chad so much she goes to the market and gets Chad some Spam. He was in hog heaven! Then Noah tried it and now Noah and Chad love Spam.

For those of you that have never eaten Spam here's some of my personal insights.

A. It smells like cat food from the minute you open the can until it is fully cooked. (maybe it is cat food but they market it as people food!)

B. It is a very pale pink color (resembling ham but not really)

C. It is stored in a can with this weird juice surrounding it (kind of like ham, but again, not even close)

D. Does not in the least look like real meat UNTIL you cook it in the skillet and only then does it resemble a meat-like distant cousin twice removed.

After it is served up with a side of eggs, they (Noah and Chad) sit at the table and then talk about all the fantastic properties of Spam. ("Mmmmm, this IS really good!" "It really does taste like regular meat." "I taste sausage AND ham!") Please note: Most of these comments came from our 12 year old son. Chad doesn't feel the need to discuss the attributes of said Spam. He internalizes his love for Spam with smiles and second helpings.)

I think Elijah and I will stick to real breakfast meat like ham, sausage, and bacon. Sydney is on the fence. I think she only pretends to enjoy Spam because she loves her daddy so much. *sigh*

New Bathroom Pics!

After five excruciating weeks...we are seeing the light at the end of a verrrry looong tunnel grow brighter and brighter. We went from having water damage and a HUGE hole in our floor to having the shower installed, shelves put in, paint done, and yesterday Chad laid the tile floor. Today he will grout the floor and TOMORROW after he installs the trim, we will re-install my laundry!!!! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!

I am also very proud of Chad. He has tackled one project after another in this home of ours and he always does such a fantastic job. Thanks babe, for our great bathroom! It really looks amazing!

The Before (Nice Hole!)

Chad and my Dad installing my shelves. So exciting!

Shower being installed!

Finished Shower (no those towels aren't there because we've already bathed in it...I didn't want anyone standing on it and scratching it up.)

Look at those gorgeous shelves! (Finishing touches to be added later!)

Finished ceiling and some of the lights.

Floor installed! Yahoo! (This picture is before grout.)

Haircuts!

Well, Tuesday was the big day. At least it was for Noah. In March, Noah asked to have yet another mohawk. This haircut does not bother me. We keep it short on top, the mohawk doesn't extend down the back of his head, and he looks rather adorable with it.

This year, Noah expressed his desire to have not only a mohawk but he wanted it DYED BLUE! Yes, you heard correctly. BLUE! My brother thought it was an excellent idea and bought Noah the hair dye. Now before some of my aunts begin have moderate to severe heart palpatations, I will say now that the dye is a six week washout. It will probably not last that long with as much as time as Noah spends in the pool. Regardless, we will cut it out by the first day of school since multi-colored hair is not allowed.

Here he is in all his glory!

Sydney didn't want her hair cut (she would like to sport the Repunzel "do" for you princess lovers out there) and the longer it is, the more she likes it. However, she needed the ends cut badly (we ended up cutting five inches) and then we had it layered. It looks beautiful!

Elijah is definitely to that age where he knows what he wants and you can't be involved in his decision. In the past year or so, he's gone for a longer, shaggier look which has really looked nice on him and is very stylish. His hair is so thick and curly and I love to see the curls around his forehead, ears, and on the nape of his neck. This time however, he wanted it cut short! He looks handsome and summery! I think it's a great look for him.

For those of you that give a rip...

Here are some new pics of our mess of a bathroom. As you can see, most of the drywall is in place, the laundry plumbing is done and you can visibly see the doorway to the bathroom now. It is coming along. Hopefully after this weekend, we'll see even more improvement.

A Thursday Throwback

I was looking through some old pictures and found one I couldn't resist posting. This is a picture of Elijah with one of his best friends, Evan.

Here's some history.

The first house we bought was in Eaton. We lived there for five years. It was a cute little three bedroom right in the middle of town, on a one block street. It was a great starter home.

Elijah started school at Eaton Elementary. One of his closest friends was Evan. While we loved the school we didn't exactly enjoy living in Eaton. After awhile, we sold our Eaton home and moved to Albany. Elijah and Noah started school at Albany Elementary at the beginning of the second semester. Elijah was in second grade. Noah was in first.

The boys were so sad to leave their school. They had great friends, were well liked, and loved their teachers. We assured them that even though we were leaving their school, they would see all their friends again once they got to middle school when all the elementaries would join back together. To them, middle school seemed like an eternity from then.

At the end of third grade, Elijah found out he had been accepted into the challenge program. This meant that he would go to ANOTHER elementary for his fourth and fifth grade years. This was such a difficult decision for us. After all, Elijah had just changed schools in the middle of second grade and was loving being at Albany. Could we uproot him once more and have him start from scratch?

Well, we did. It ended up being the best decision for Elijah. He loved DeSoto. AND what's more.... Evan was chosen from Eaton to participate in the challenge program as well. SO, they were together again. What's more, Elijah met tons of other kids that turned out to be his bestest friends. So, while we don't know what the future holds for us, I believe it's important to trust that God has got a plan for our lives and we just need to trust Him and know that He knows what's best for us. This is just a speck of what He's done for Elijah.

With that being said, this is Elijah with Evan when they were in fourth grade. It's so fun to look back and remember what went on then and look at what is going on now. Isn't it amazing?