Loves

Luke & Joshua with Honey Bear & Mr. Lovey Dovey Guy

Dear Joshua and Luke,

     Valentine's Day is always a treat with you two.  You both LOVE making valentine's.  And you also love receiving them.  Daddy and I have always liked Valentine's Day, too which is why our wedding anniversary is just a few days from the actual day.  Valentine's Day is always a good day to remind friends and loved ones how much you love them.  We all enjoyed making valentine cards for each other.  And we took you to make your own stuffed bear and cheetah for Valentine's Day.  It was so exciting to put a wish inside your stuffie before you finally "filled" him up.

Levi, Ashton, Joshua & Luke

We also enjoyed watching some eagles up the River Road with some friends.  This is an annual trip for us, but it was extra cool taking good friends with us.  It always makes it so special to have a friend along.  We stopped to see the Piasa bird, and we took the ferry across the Mississippi River.  We even walked the trails at Pere Marquette.  It was a windy, but beautiful day.  A great day for a walk.  You both found a cave with Daddy on your walk down a new trail.  It looked like an old abandoned house from many years ago, but it was a great cave to explore.  You called it the Litteken cave just in case it had not been discovered before.  :) 

Inside the Litteken cave.

Joshua taking the ball down the court. 

Joshua seems to love playing basketball.  So far, he says it is his favorite sport!  At this time, I kinda think it is his favorite.  At least until soccer starts again! 

Luke following the ball down the court.

Luke likes basketball, but I can not say that he loves it just yet.  He loves going and seeing Avery, one of his sweet teammates.  He also loved practicing "Avatar" moves at the players.  He is keeping his eye one the ball for the most part, and keeps up with the other players. 

Joshua, Luke & Ashton making Easter sun catchers.

We were very blessed to spend the afternoon with Ashton. He is a very nice young man that Joshua (and Luke) adore and love spending time with. It is always fun to have him at our house. Today they played robbers, made Easter sun catchers and door know hangers. These boys love crafts, and it is a lot of fun doing it with them.

I love you both more today than I did yesterday.

Love,

Mama

Thoughts on Our 23 Years Together

Dear Joshua and Luke,

Daddy and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary this weekend.  You both had a valentine sleepover at Grammy and Papa's house.  Dad and I had a quiet weekend together.  After going to church with both of you and Grammy, we went out to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants from way back ~ Sweet Tomatoes.  The best salads and soups anywhere!  We talked a lot about you guys and our last twenty-three years together.  You will be glad to know that it was unanimous that you two are the best things that have come out of our marriage.  You both are gifts and miracles at the same time.  We went to the movies, went shopping, slept in late, and drove around in the afternoon looking for houses.  We used to drive around to look at houses and things all the time.  It was a great way to spend the day.  You both had a great day, too.  After watching a movie at Grammy and Papa's house, you played and played with toys that Grandma has picked out special for you.  Then, she took you shopping at the book store, to a movie, then out to eat at Steak 'N Shake.  It was a great time for both of you!

As I have blogged to you before, marriage is really hard sometimes, but the payoff outweighs the hard work.  I am sure you know the cliche' ~  Nothing good is ever easy.  Here are a few things that Dad and I find very important on our marriage.  First of all, keep God as a central part of your relationship.  Pray together every day.  I honestly believe that this is one of the essential parts of a relationship, especially a long term one.  You might have heard another saying, "The family that prays together, stays together."  Communicate, communicate, and communicate some more.  Respectfully of course.  Really listen to each other.  I do not claim to be experts at either of these things, but I know they are important to us and our relationship.  Knowing how to say you are sorry has been important to us.  And saying it sincerely.  Now I know you will not need this marriage advice until you are at least thirty, but that's OK.  You can save this blog for use much later on.   

You both had your first basketball game this week.  Luke's team is called Little Chiefs.  Luke was excited to play.  When he first got to the gym, he sat down and talked to his friend, Avery.  Luke loves that part of basketball.  But we were really proud of you. Luke stayed on the court in his spot for defense.  He ran down the court, and kept his eye on the ball most of the time.  Joshua's team is called the Blue Sharks.  Joshua has a lot of speed going up and down the court.  He can dribble and run fast.  He really knows how to move the ball.  You both worked hard with your team, and we are very proud of you. 

I love you more today than yesterday.

Love,
Mama

You Are Always In My Heart

Luke, Daddy, Mama, and Joshua with
the proud graduate.

Dearest Joshua and Luke,

Onyx has been with us for about six weeks now.  She is about seven months old, give or take a few weeks.  She enjoys playing outside and exploring every inch of our yard. She loves walks, fetching any one of her toys, and petting of any kind.  She just graduated from obedience class; however, she still has a lot to learn ~ like it is not OK to jump on both of you even if she thinks you are puppies, too and she should not chase or bite you either.  She is learning......

You both began basketball practice this week.  You both have the  most awesome coaches.  It is obvious that this is Joshua's second year playing basketball.  He is so fast at dribbling the ball down the court, and he can make some baskets!  Luke is very serious about learning everything he can about basketball.  He listens so intently to his coach in order to pick up every detail that he can.  He is working hard, too!  Daddy and I are so proud of you both for working so hard and doing your best to learn everything you can. 

We spent Saturday morning at Soulard Market.  It was so much fun!  This is the first time we have been there in the winter.  It was as busy as ever.  Dad and I are making a BIG effort to eat a lot more fruit and vegetables lately so this was the perfect place to go. You two scored big.  Not only did we leave with a tone of fruit and veggies, but you both left with a new animal hat that is just adorable.  The hat is super warm, and there is a scarf and mittens attached.  You both also wanted some fresh flowers to bring home, so of course you got that, too.  It was a great way to spend a wintery Saturday morning. 

Luke at school practicing for his concert.

Luke decided this week that he needed to play his recorder at school for his classmates.  The children have been studying the instruments in the orchestra so this seemed fitting.  After getting permission from Miss Vicki, he planned is day.  He announced that he wanted to wear a tie (just like Joshua did).  Since Luke did not have his own tie, Joshua quickly volunteered his tie to Luke.  He even told Luke that he could wear his shirt that goes with the tie.  The next morning, Joshua woke up and immediately went to Luke's bedroom to get Luke ready for school.  It was so cute watching Joshua button Luke's shirt and put on his tie.  This was one of the many brotherly love moments that was awesome to watch.  Luke went to school and proudly played, "Jingle Bells," and "Mary Had a Little Lamb."  I think we have two musicians on our hands!

So by now you have figured it out......Onyx, basketball, Soulard Market, and a recorder were all a part of our week.  Strange combination when you look at it as a list, but it really amounted to a lot of fun and good memories for our family!

Cute story of the week from Luke: Luke gets a coy grin on his face, looks at me and says, "Mama, I always know where you are."  I replied, "Luke, how do you always know where I am?"  Luke smiles so sweetly and says, "Because you are always in my heart!"  Talk about melting my heart. 

Just in case I have not told you both, I always know where you are because you are always in my heart. too.  I love you both so dearly.

Love,
Mama