Lil Vols

We are back home after a great trip to Tennessee. Andrew is starting them early at Neyland Stadium (Home of the Vol's football team for those of you that are not from TN). I know Drew looks like a thug here with his hat and band aide. I leave him alone with Daddy for 2 days and look what happens. Actually they both have bumps and bruises from learning how to walk-that is all they want to do now!

We had a great time with friends and family. It was a great trip. We got home and I realized this was the only picture we (Andrew) took.

We are finally back into the swing of things now and back on this time zone. Now we are wondering what are we going to do now that the Olympics are over. Well, the boys have answered that. They are everywhere. Drew has figured out that he can climb up on the couch now and get into things that I didn't think he could reach. Gavin loves pushing things. I don't know how many times he has re-arranged the chairs and bar stools in the kitchen. He also loves to push the stroller, we got some great footage of this with Michelle at the park but it takes so much memory to put video on I could put it on if I get enough requests, but I won't if I don't.

Anyway, I hear Gavin stirring upstairs so I guess I better get him a snack after his nap. I will try to take some more recent pictures, it seems like they are changing everyday! Thanks for reading!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa

We are walking! Well, kind of. We look like we have had a couple too many but we are doing it! We started on Grandpa Bean's birthday. Happy birthday, Grandpa. Wish we could show off in person but this will have to do. Thank you for watching. I will have to get some more footage of Gavin. They are walking just in time for our trip to TN!

Dog Days of Summer!

When Sandee (Grandma) was here a couple of weeks ago, we heard a strange noise upstairs while the boys were playing. I called for Harper and I heard a commotion and he would not come. I called again and I heard more noise, so I went up and investigated. This is what I found.

Needless to say he got caught in the "cookie jar". He loves paper towels and Kleenexes and apparently he got more than he bargained for. He was very confused because whenever he moved it would sway and he could not figure out how to get through the door.. Now that I think about it he has not tried to get anything out of that trashcan since this escapade.

Drew has had this fascination with getting in things lately. I have missed a couple of good photo opportunities of him getting in clothes baskets, laundry baskets, drawers, and boxes. One of his favorite places to get in is the drawer on the bottom of the oven. Well, he invited his buddy yesterday.

I don't know what it was yesterday, but they were everywhere together.

Yes, this is Gavin pushing his brother in the Hippo. Drew was sitting down and riding, but when I went to get the camera he stood up and rode it like a scooter.

Through the view finder of the camera I realized the gate was not up and they were playing with this right by the stairs. Rest assured the gate went up right after I snapped the photo. Their socks also came off for better traction.

I have two exciting pieces of news!

#1) The boys are walking or trying to walk. They love to hold on to our fingers and walk everywhere, but recently have let go. Drew has taken as many as 10 steps (well, running steps) and Gavin has decided he wants to learn to stand before he takes off. So he can get up without holding onto anything and then when he goes to take off he falls and then gets back up and does the whole routine again. So, I have a feeling they will be walking very soon and just in time for the other piece of news.

#2) The Greenes are heading to Tennessee! We will be arriving in Knoxville on Sat. the 9th of Aug. and driving to JC for a long weekend. So, we would love to see as many people as possible so email me if you would like to see us so we can set up a time and place. We are really excited to show off our handsome young men and see some friends we haven't seen the past year.

I think that about does it for now, if I figure out how to put videos on here, I will put on some great footage of the boys walking. Hope to hear from you soon!

Sleepless in Seattle

We made our first adventure to Seattle this past weekend. We had a really good time during the day, but two one year olds in a hotel room is not the most enjoyable in a getaway weekend. The boys were great during the day, they just didn't want to sleep because they were afraid they might miss something. It was sure nice to have Grandma with us for the extra set of hands.







I guess Gavin did a lot of sleeping when we were out and about so he ended up missing a lot. He slept at pretty much everywhere we went. So, most of our pictures are of Drew and then Gavin sleeping. Needless to say Drew has been pretty grumpy these past few days trying to catch up on sleep, but he got to see a lot. You can see the Space Needle in the background of the picture of Drew and I and the one of Andrew and I. We did get this one shot of Gavin awake and having fun with Daddy. This one is Drew practicing his walking with Grandma on the Pier. We were hoping the boys would start walking while she was here.

We walked a lot on Saturday. We walked along the waterfront. We walked to the Space Needle and then walked back and did some shopping along the way. We stopped at the Adidas store and the boys got a new soccer ball and I got a running skort. We headed back to the hotel for some swimming on the 26th story of our hotel, what a view!

On Sunday, we walked to the Pike Place Market and saw them throw some fish. The flowers were amazing! Drew liked the bronze pig that we took a picture with. He kept eyeing it every time we passed it. At least we did not have an Easter bunny incident. You can even see the fish in the background.Here is a picture of Andrew and the boys. Can you tell Gav just woke up? If you look closely you can see some of the beautiful bouquets.

We then went back to the hotel and packed up and drove to ride the Ducks. The boys and I had never been on one. It was a neat way to see the city and all that was on the water. Gavin slept, of course, but Drew had fun. We even saw the house that they filmed Sleepless in Seattle. It could be yours for only a couple million dollars, it just went on the market. This is another Duck we passed on the water.

- The Greenes, Grandma even got in this do-it-yourself photo. Of course Gavin is asleep. Drew just has his eyes closed.

We then went to a Trader Joe's and then headed home. I had to keep telling myself we live here- this is only 3 and a half hours away. It was a great weekend filled with a lot of memories.

Thank you!

Thank you to all of you who commented on the last post. It is so nice to know who is reading. It was nice to hear from people I had not heard from in a while and some that I had no idea were reading. Thank you for taking the time to check in on us because sometimes it can be pretty lonely out here and it is nice to hear from a familiar face.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the boys. They were so happy that day and we had so many good pictures to choose from. That is not usually the case for those of you that have ever tried to photograph twins. Thank goodness for digital photography! They are growing and learning so fast.

I was a bad mom and have no pictures from the 4th. We went to a church picnic and had a neighborhood party so I did not have time to grab a camera. Thankfully, Grandma was here so I was actually able to grab some food and talk to some people. We did find out that Drew does not like fireworks, but Gavin slept with them literally right outside his window.

Since I have no 4th pictures and still no pictures of the backyard, I will post some that I forgot on the last post. I guess I didn't really forget them, I finished the first one the day I blogged and the other I did forget and when I remembered the boys were asleep so I could not take a picture.

I love this verse and I love to have a reminder of it. I was sure using it when I was running the half marathon! Right now it is in our guest room eventually it will be in my craffice. (What is a craffice? It is a word I made up for my craft room/ office. I should wickepedia it see if I am the first.) I originally painted the canvas and Andrew thought it needed something so he tweaked it. It is the first thing he has painted for me since we have been married. (He used to paint and draw a lot and he is very talented.) I take it back he did a clock tower once in Charleston on the paper tablecloth while we were waiting in a restaurant. Which is a great reminder that I am still trying to figure out how to frame it. Okay, enough of that rabbit trail.

This other picture is of the canvases in the boys' room. The ones of the circles and stripes I did a long time ago and thought I would touch some places up. I should have left them alone because I had semi gloss paint this time-same color just a different finish. Whoops- I don't know how long it will be until I get to fix that mistake. The other canvas is a constant reminder of how blessed we are. I have people tell us all the time "double trouble" and I respond that we prefer to say, "doubly blessed."

Is Anyone out there?

I am not really doing this blog to get more and more people to read it, but it would be nice to sometimes know that it is being read. I get people that tell me all the time, "well, I read on your blog . . " It is not a lot of work to keep this up, and I would probably still do it if no one was reading but sometimes just a "thank you for the recent pictures" or "they are growing so fast," would be nice. If you want to correct my spelling or grammar that would be fine too, although you may have to remind me that I asked for that. It is really simple to do, all that you have to do is click on comments and then type what you want to say and you can click on anonymous if you don't have a sign in (but be sure to leave your name in the comments). This goes for you too, Grandparents. It would just be nice to get some feedback. You don't have to comment every time you read but once in a while would be nice.

Okay, enough of that, I will stop criticizing my readers because I do appreciate you reading.

There is not much going on here. We are getting ready for Grandma Greene to come this weekend. I have been taking some time for myself which means doing things that I think are fun around the house. Like sewing, painting and decorating. so I will post some of my recent projects.

This is some of the Uppercase Living lettering that I got at my party. The "Faith, Hope and Love" is on what I call our dust catcher. The "One day at a time", is a phrase that I had to have because it was something we said a lot with Mom's illness. I hope to paint that hutch black soon. I made the curtains a couple of months ago for the sliding doors. The pillow was something I did while messing around with some cloth napkins and my sewing machine. I made another one just like it (I had 4 napkins) and I made the pillow behind the embroidered pillow a couple of months ago. I have one more thing that is not quite finished. Andrew finished it last night and the paint has to dry really well before I put the lettering on. It is nice to have the boys taking decent naps and I can't clean all the time! I still have not taken pictures of the back yard yet because we are not finished and it is so stinkin' hot here-105 degrees today! So, hopefully soon we will finish and get some pictures taken!

I will close with a picture of Drew and then one of both of the boys. Drew loves to climb. Of course he had to take everything out before he could get in. They tend to do this a lot lately. We are ready for the phase that Jett and Bray are going through when they like to clean.

Anxious!

Our church has been doing a series on anxiety. I don't know why I have felt so anxious since we have moved here. I know it is something that is a true temptation for me. Last Sunday pastor Dave pointed out that the Bible specifically says, "BE ANXIOUS ABOUT NOTHING". That is pretty clear on top of being a command. What he also pointed out was that anxiety and worry is a lack of faith. Jesus says a couple of times in the Bible, "O you of little faith." The times he said that was because the people he was talking to were showing their lack of faith by worrying and not trusting in Jesus. Peter walking on the water, when the disciples thought they had nothing to eat, and the disciples again during the storm while Jesus was asleep on the boat. All of those times were examples of not trusting in Him to take care of their basic needs. Everyone knows the verse about not worrying because he even cares for the birds and the grass. He even knows the number of hairs on our head. He is going to take care of our bodies and our minds. I have never really worried about my body as much as I have started being worried about the boys'. I have worried about their bodies and minds. Are they getting enough sleep, tummy time, nutrition? (the list goes on) Sunday was a great reminder that God created them and I need not worry, He is going to take care of them. That does not mean I am going to let them fend for themselves right now, but he has entrusted me to do what I think is best for them. Worrying is not going to help any of us. In fact, me worrying is not a good example to them or for them. I took this picture because I thought it was cute but then I started wondering if I am projecting my anxiousness on them?

Anyway, I think truly they just liked the light in the oven. The same verse that talks about being anxious about nothing also says-GIVE THANKS IN EVERYTHING. So, I want to give thanks for these beautiful boys and the chocolate chip cookies we enjoyed. Also, for an oven that does not get hot on the outside while it is baking.

I wanted to post a picture of our back yard which is being worked on even at this moment, but I will wait until it is finished. There I go again being anxious. So, you will just have to stay tuned to see that.

On a lighter note, I have been pretty serious on that last 2 posts. When I was pregnant those of you who were around me or that I talked to often knew that I could not get enough mac-n-cheese. Sometimes I would have it 3 times a day. I craved the stuff. Andrew thinks that is why Gavin has red hair. Seriously, I could not get enough if I would have been swimming in it. Well, I wondered if the boys would have a strong like or dislike because of all that I ate. Well, it turns out they have a strong LIKE for it. It is their favorite meal. I used to make it with sauteed squash and zucchini when I was spoon feeding them and they would eat so much it would almost make them sick. Well now that they are picking up their own food. . . Well, I think they picture says enough.

I could not decide which picture to use. I especially like the thumbs up in the one, but the cheese in the eyebrows is great in the other one. Now that I have shown 2 pictures of Gavin, let me tell a story about Drew. Drew has been waving for a while now, but it would take some coaxing. Yesterday as we were walking through Costco, Drew started waving at everyone. Most of you have heard me say that the one thing I was not prepared for when I has twins even though I was warned was how it takes longer to get anywhere when you are out in public. People are always asking you questions or wanting to tell you about twins they know. Well, now Drew -I guess has come to like the attention because now he is bringing it on. I don't know how many times I heard, "look, he is waving -oh look there are two. They are so cute!" Apparently, Drew would catch some one's eye and then start waving. I do have to admit, they are cute! I think Drew is going to be like his uncle Greg and be able to talk to a wall or like his Grandpa Garvin and go up to strangers and ask for a bite of what is on their plate. I guess I am just going to have to plan for even more extra time on our outings.