Little Things

Wesley told me the other night, after I finished massaging his legs and arms with lotion because they hurt (growing pains), "Mother, you are a really good doctor!"
Thank you Wesley. Sometimes I wonder if the little things I do every day really matter to anyone. But they do.......:)
Be it rubbing lotion on a growing boys legs, calling a friend just to check on them, or whatever you do, remember it all makes life better. Better for the person on the receiving end, and for you, the giver, because you feel good when you do good.


UNTITLED

Today I wondered if I'd done any good
Then night came
and bed time drew nearer
And just as he was drifting
He looked at me and whispered
"Mother, I love you.
Mother, you're my friend."
What a beautiful way
to have my day end.

Last Week....

Last week was long for the mommy at our house. But, I think life is pretty good for us all, for the most part. Wesley and Aubrey are troopers for putting up with a cranky mommy. So is the daddy of the house. He does A LOT to keep things clean and some what orderly so that the mommy of the house doesn't turn into a fire breathing dragon, which Wesley says he would not like at all. Brady always tells me, "Your almost done! Just a couple more weeks!!". I think he needs to tell himself that too so he doesn't go crazy.

We finally made it to a near by park that I have heard many good things about from friends. It was a nice day. It was nice to get out of the house and breath some fresh air.

I slept the entire morning today. It was nice. Brady took the kids and went to church without me. My body is still falling apart, but my mind feels refreshed. Ahhhhhhhh

Enjoy the pics!!! I am certain I have two of the most adorable children in the world!!!

Isn't she so pretty in pink?? Thank you Grandma Tingey for the pretty dresses:)

Our son. I asked him what I was gonna do with him today and he replied, "I don't know mom. Are you gonna sell me to the gypsies?". LOL. I told him NO WAY! I would never really sell him to the gypsies (although I admit I have told him that a few times). I told him I need him around to keep me laughing, that he is a very nice big brother, that I would miss my helpful little man, and that I love him to much to sell him to anybody. LOL He does keep us laughing. We love his sense of humor, most of the time.

Daddy chillin' at the park.

Yes, that is me. I have been waddling for some time now. It is hard to move, hard to stand, hard to sit etc.......And my maternity clothes don't fit me right anymore. *sigh* I waddled over to a little lake with the kids, it really wasn't far from the playground at all. Then I waddled over to the restrooms with Aubrey. By the time we got home, I felt like I had climbed a huge mountain. Except, without the euphoric feeling of having accomplished something great.

The kids had a great time playing in the sand. Aubrey even enjoyed it. I was surprised because she usually steers clear of the sand. I remember being at Galveston with her last April and she was not impressed with walking on the sandy beach. Then, we inherited a sand box and she wouldn't have anything to do with it. But she was all over the sand this day; laying down in it, running it through her hands etc. She really enjoyed herself.

Valentine Fun

We all received a really great Valentines Day gift; The kids got a new cousin and Brady and I, a new nephew. Malan Joshua Hopkins was born yesterday and we are sooo excited to meet him!! Congratulations Michelle and Josh!!


Brady got up early to help the kids make me this poster.....

You can't see Aubrey's hand as well as Wesley's, but it's there.


They brought it to me while I was still peacefully slumbering, so I didn't even know they were in the room until they were right next to the bed. And then Wesley said, "Here mom" and threw it on top of me. Brady said they walked into the room each holding one end of the poster and that they looked very cute. I believe him.

We took the kids to dinner one night last week for their Valentines Day treat. It was a great idea that came to me when I was wondering what in the world to do for dinner. They actually wanted to hit Sonic, but I said no way to that. I talked them into Chili's. We all enjoyed the Chocolate Molten Cake! MMMMM... We have a friend that can make this cake and it is sooo good! Brady made the comment while we were there that he would always think of the Hatch's whenever he eats that cake and that Ryan makes it better than Chili's. So, Jenn, make sure you pass the compliment on to Ryan:)

It was the red slushes that finally convinced the kids that Chili's was the place to go.

Mom and Aubrey.

Wesley. He either has to have his mouth open and tongue out, or look like he is frusterated about something.

Isn't she lovely?? The bump on her head is almost gone now. Wesley has one to match it now. I am not sure what he did. We went into Target on Friday and his head looked fine; we walked back out of Target and he had two small gashes on the top right side of his head???

This is the night we helped the kids make valentines for their grandparents. They had fun making them. Mostly because they got to use glue. What is it about glue that is so intriguing to kids anyway???

Learning to Spell

I haven't been as dedicated as I normally am, at working with Wesley and writing his letters. So, you can imagine my surprise when he made this valentine heart for his dad, all on his own mind you, and brought it to me saying, "Look mom! Look what I made dad!". Yes, his D's are backward; but I was amazed that he spelled the word all on his own!! We've been working on sounding out small words etc. Still, I am amazed. I guess I shouldn't be. He is a smart boy.
He was so proud of this valentine, that he asked if he could wrap it up for a present for his dad. I gave him the go ahead, and he ran into my closet, grabbed the Christmas wrap that I still haven't put up for the year, and wrapped up the valentine heart in Christmas wrap with a bright blue ribbon tied around it. I should have gotten a picture of that too. Anyway, we are so proud of Wesley!

Fun, Fun, Fun!! (for mom anyway)

Wesley made this cute fish puppet stage with sticky, foam fish on Popsicle sticks the other day. He was/is so excited about it. We have not been privileged, yet, with a show; but he is anxious to do one. Not only did he have fun putting this all together, he also had fun cutting up some of the fish and scrap paper, and anything else he could find. He even attempted to cut one of my kitchen towels; but I scared the tar out of him when I screamed, "Don't you dare!!". He looked at me like he was going to cry and then was a bit confused at why that would be a problem. *sigh* The joys..... Needless to say, we had a very fun mess to clean up afterward. But at least he had fun, right?? This was during Aubrey's nap time, just in case you were wondering where she was.

While Wesley worked on his puppet stage and puppets, mom worked on her fun projects........


I just finished these tonight. What do you call these things?? Hanger -upper thingies for your "stuff" (i.e. jackets, backpacks or purses, or whatever....) LOL. They are to hang up in the kids rooms.

And my favorite, these cute letters:) I have been anxious to get these done for a couple of weeks. Wesely picked out the paper and embellishments for his, and then he told me he wants one with fish, after I finished. Once we hung it up on his wall, he did tell me he liked it though. Aubrey helped picked out the paper for her and Cali. She was happy as long as there was pink involved. She loves pink these days. Everything must be pink. Her letter actually has more blue on it; but she didn't seem to mind because she has a nice pink flower on hers and Cali has purple. These were really fun to do and didn't take much time.

Camping and Other Funny Stories....

A couple of weekends ago, Brady took the kids and went camping. Yes, and mom stayed home. There were a few other families from church that went, and from what I hear, the kids all had a great time. It did get a bit cold.........everyone was back home by nine o'clock the next morning. Aubrey was thrilled that she got to go. It is usually just daddy and Wesley. Wesley's favorite thing about camping is marshmallows. He was so anxious to get up to their camp site so he could cook marshmallows over the fire and eat them with crackers and chocolate. mmmmmm......yummy:) I would have gone too if I could have had a nice soft mattress to take along. The picture above is Wesley and Aubrey with a couple of their camping buddies.

This past weekend was full of things to do......mostly for Brady. In the mix of helping people move, he got a little yard work done. Wesley and Aubrey were out "helping" him edge the yard and Wesley came in sighing in exhaustion and got a drink of water and then plopped himself down on the couch and asked me, "Is that what mans do?". And I, of course not on the same track he was, asked, "What???" to which he replied, "Do a lot of work, and then take a rest?". I had to smile. I said to him, "Yes. Men work very hard, and then they need to rest." and he said, "Like daddy?" And I said, "Yes, like daddy." Sooooo cute and wonderful that he recognizes that his daddy is a hard worker.

Aubrey had been asking all day Saturday to go to the park. Of course, she wanted to go swing. I need to just invest in a swing set for that girl. Anyway, finally in the late afternoon while Brady was helping move, we set off for the park. I decided to drive, even though the park is just down the road from us. As I was buckling Aubrey into her car seat, she looked up at me with a very cute and very cheesey grin and said to me, "Mom, I so proud of you!". It was so cute. I started to laugh and asked if she was proud of me because I was FINALLY taking her to the park to swing and she smiled that cute smile of hers again and patted my cheek and said, "Yeessss!" She told me about 3 or 4 more times on the way to the park she was proud of me. It was very sweet.
Well, then we got to the park and somebody had moved one of the benches from off the grass up onto the playground area, right in front of the swings. Wesley saw that and said, "Hey! Who moved that mom bench there??". I was cracking up. A "mom bench". It will forever more be known as a 'mom bench' in our family.

I love these kids! There is never a dull moment. I love the things they do and say and their perspectives on how things are. I am really excited for Aubrey's vocabulary to start ringing through a little clearer.............she sure has a lot to say but I am not always sure what exactly it is because she gets to goin' so fast in her stories.