Landon Reese Turns 2

Happy Birthday to you....Landon!
What a fun day we have had celebrating Landon's second birthday. This morning we hopped out of bed (well, the boys did!) and got ready to go out to eat with Scott, Kristina, Konrad, Reagan, and Makenzie. After we devoured our yummy food, the dad's took the anxious boys and headed for Escapades. (Play place for kids that has tunnels and slides - fun! I did this when I was 5 months pregnant...and yes, I fit in the tunnels!) The girls took off for the mall...found some great sales!
After we shopped until the babies started needing fed, we met up with the guys. Gathered the troops together after a few more minutes of heavenly playing, we went home to take naps before the birthday party. Landon fell asleep before we arrived at our destination.
Around 7:00 p.m., family poured in...Great Grandpa and Grandma Clemens, Nana and Papaw Clemens, Uncle Scott and Aunt Kristina and cousins, Mamaw and Papaw Kuhn and Auntie. A time of blowing out candles - which we lit over and over so some of the other kids could blow out candles, too! - and undisciplined cake and icecream eating, drinking iced coffee (diet starts Monday!) and fun-filled laughter continued for hours.
Landon loved opening his gifts and playing with his cousins. Oh! The pictures of Landon and mommy trying to kiss....camera could not capture all the sweet kisses but we tried anyway!
- - - A great time was had by all - - -

Ethan Chandler

Shawn and I having a conversation with Ethan -

Shawn - "Did you go potty outside?"

Ethan - "No, I didn't pee outside."

conversation continues while Ethan keeps saying "pee" repeatedly.....

Melanie - "Say, urinate."

I repeat myself a few times because he does not obey.

Melanie - "Say, urinate."

Ethan - "I'm a ten."

Again I repeat myself...

Ethan repeats himself:
"I'm a ten."

It dawns on me that he thinks I am telling him to say he's an "eight" !!!

Urinate
Translation in Ethan's mind: You're an eight
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The other day I told the boys to stop chewing like cows.
Ethan's response: "Oh, only animals chew like that?"

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Ethan, who is used to seeing only round neck openings on shirts, was wondering about his daddy's V-neck T-shirt he was sporting.

Shawn: "It is so I can get my head in there."

Ethan: "Yeah, we have to have holes in our shirts so we can put our clothes on. If we don't have holes in our clothes, than we would have to go around naked, and that would be embarrassing!"

My Saturday Surprise

On Saturday morning, I was awakened by my cell phone ringing. My sister was almost home from her trip (with the seniors) to Florida. My parents were out of town so Em was going to stay with us for a few hours before they got home. As I was cleaning up breakfast (bacon and eggs and yummy donuts) Shawn asked me if I wanted to go shopping. Of course! He explained that he wanted to get me an Easter outfit since he knew I always got one growing up. (I was okay with not having one this year -my choice- and had told him so.)
After a few stores, we finally found a mannequin dressed with an outfit he liked! (To those of you who know Shawn, this is the way he loves to shop! He says he likes to see it on "someone" haha)
As we were walking back to the truck, he told me this was my Valentine/St. Patrick's/Easter/birthday/Christmas gift. :-) I explained to him later that the store managers are not going to put the sale items on the mannequins! :-)
Anyway, I was excited to receive a new outfit and have an outing with my hubby...and Morgan, of course.
Enjoy the pictures taken on Sunday (notice me in my new outfit...and Morgan with no tights in the bottom picture...her bowels were working and her "deposit" decided to leak out of her diaper!)

Happy Easter

Ethan and Landon helped me (yes, they really did!) with these cupcakes. We took them to church to pass out to their friends. They were really easy to make and I enjoyed making them. I found this cute idea from the Betty Crocker website. -- If Landon knows it is picture time, look what I get to put up with! And his two year picture is coming up on Tuesday! Oh no! :-))

On a serious note, I want to add how thankful I am for what Jesus did for me. My father told the story about a lady from IWU who wrote that she was grateful for her 7 year old son, and that she was also so very glad that God gave His son for us. I am sure she was thinking, "How did God give His ONLY son?" I know that has been on my mind. I can't imagine willingly giving either of my boys. God truly loves and cares for us.
My cousin, Andrew Cessna, makes tapes for the elderly, the shut-ins, or for whomever wishes to have one. He has 4 or 5 songs on each tape (one tape per month) and also puts time in gathering Scripture, a poem, or story to add interest to the tape. Anyway, the theme of this month was the cross. I believe he had Marc and Melodie Sankey singing a medley on the blood of Jesus. One of the songs mentioned that the blood of Jesus will never lose it's power. Aren't you glad that although Christ's death was so many years ago, the love of the Father and His Son is still just as powerful today as it was back then? It keeps reaching and reaching....
Here are the titles or phrases of the songs that they sang-
Nothing but the blood
The blood cleanseth and always will
Love grew where the blood fell
It will never lose it's power
My favorite lines .... "Sin died where the blood fell" ...."It (blood) will never lose it's power"
Melodie, do you remember this arrangement? :-)
~Have a joyous Easter Sunday~

Spike

I have started putting bands in Morgan's hair. Look closely at this picture and you can see a small spike! I even left hair out for "bangs". :-)

Thank you, Doctor Lugo

I had my six week checkup today, and I had to get Morgan's picture with the doctor. I have one of each of my boys with him, so of course I had to get hers, too. She had been smiling earlier, but now she wasn't as happy...oh well, at least we have the picture, smile or not. At least the doctor is smiling. :-)

He asked, I answered "yes"

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Six "long and glorious" years ago Shawn asked me to be his wife. Obviously, you know the answer to that question!
I was in my senior year of school (just switched from a school I had attended all my life to spending my last year at a new one). My parents thought that Steve Craig was a wonderful man and principal so we ended up at his school - that was also where Shawn was residing, whose father just happened to be the pastor of the church/school.
After just a few weeks at our new home, Shawn asked me out - as friends. As friends, on our 3rd date, he asked me to be his girlfriend. As his girlfriend, six months later, he asked me to be his wife. His parents had our family over for Sunday dinner (also St. Patrick's Day) and Shawn got down on his knee and proposed. Thus followed a beautiful watch (and a smooch! oh my!) Seven months later there was a wedding celebration. Now, 6 years later, I am glad he asked, and I am glad I answered, yes!

I made the cake for our St. Patrick's Day Dinner.....Chocolate Chip Cake with Chocolate Icing...anyone joining us?