The Early Bird

  I am so tired.  All day I have been listing things I need to be doing...putting up Christmas decorations, cleaning, doing laundry, putting away toys, even making the bed.  It's days like this I feel like we've got 20 children.  The culprit...

...THIS guy.  Rhys William Woodfill.

  

  Today he woke up at 5 AM...and this picture was taken at 5:15.  Hmmm.  Lately, this is a late day.  Greg and I take turns in the mornings to get up with him and Greg has the magic to get him to "sleep in" until 6.  However, with me, he screams and screams in the rocker until I give in to go downstairs with him.  We sit on the couch, we draw, he plays with his tools, he even looks at magazines with me as I drink my coffee.  I try to bore him to death with adult talk, but I think he enjoys it.  

  So as you wake up at a normal hour of the morning if you have little ones that actually sleep, your little ones are all grown up, or you don't have all the craziness of little ones, think of us and be thankful of your sleep.  We've already been awake for hours! 

  

Brotherly Love

  It has been a great month, and what a wonderful time to be so THANKFUL for our boys to get along.  We've witnessed more laughing than crying together these days and it makes us so happy!  Here are some adorable examples...

Holden is helping Rhys put on his shoes to go to school.  

"Reading" magazines together behind the kitchen table.

Enjoying bath time together!

Headed to preschool together!

Starting early morning rock bands together!

Sharing rain boots, a current favorite activity!

Sneaking dad's scrub hats together!

Rhys - 23 months

Holden- 3 yrs 8 mos.

  

 * Driving to preschool yesterday, Holden told me, "I like Rhys, Mom."  I told them how wonderful it was that they had each other and that they will likely be best friends as they grow up.  Rhys leans around the side of his car seat and lovingly says to Holden, "I love you, Holden."  Holden looked down acting shy.  After a minute, he said, "I love you, too, Rhys."  My heart was so big that morning and I keep going over those few minutes so I can memorize it forever.  Too soon, I will be looking in the rear view mirror at two teenage boys.  Time goes by so fast.  I am so thankful for these moments, all of them, the crazy and the calm, as these wild and crazy boys make us want to pull our hair out and eat them up from their infectious adorableness at the exact. same. time.  I am so thankful to be their mom.*

Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween 2011

   

  We had a great time getting dressed up and going trick or treating!  Two months ago (Yes...2 months ago...) Holden decided he wanted to go as Obi Wan Kenobi during his Star Wars craze.  And after we dressed up as a family last year, he didn't even question if we were going to be participants this year.  He decided Greg was going to be Darth Vader, I was going to be Princess Leia, and Rhys was going to be Yoda.  It's amazing how fast we agreed to the idea!  

 I was able to bribe Rhys with a sucker to get his costume on, but the Yoda ears were a no go. 

  

We went to our friend's house for a cookout beforehand and I was able to capture this...

It didn't take long for Greg to get into character.  He looks like a natural...minutes earlier, he was driving home from work!  Just the look in his eyes scream he's, "good gone bad!" Scary. 

 It didn't take long for the boys to catch on to the process!  Holden was especially good at running up to the doors yelling Trick or Treat, which was so cute!

This house was a scary one and Holden ran up past the older kids who had stopped feet ahead of him and wasn't afraid at all.  He laughed at their masks and skeletons and played with their fake hand.  Rhys didn't like the idea, but quickly warmed up when he saw they had suckers!

Now don't we all look so naturally happy to be dressed up?  Greg's seriousness about his role was really the treat of the night and I needed a reward for wearing those darn buns of hair for hours- they were so terribly uncomfortable- but it was fun!  And we tell ourselves it's all for the  kids!  Holden and Rhys are pretty lucky to have such willing parents!  They had a great night getting lots of candy and seeing other people's outfits!  

I'm guessing this is the last year we'll be dressing up in themed costumes all together because as Rhys gets older and starts to get his own ideas, I'm sure he's not going to agree to Holden's ideas for Halloween, even if he likes them!  I'm sure one of us will be dressing up like a nail or a hammer as Rhys dresses up as a carpenter...just a guess!  = )

Hope y'all had a great Halloween!

ALL Things Boys...and Libby

  "Having children of your own is joyous, but when you are trusted and chosen to be Godparents... it is joy of a different kind."  

  It is such a high honor that Greg and I were asked by our dear friends, Kray and Mark, to be the Godparents of their daughter, Elizabeth (Libby) Davis Luxbacher.  Another friend, Emily Sarver, is also a Godmother, who we had the pleasure of meeting at her christening this past weekend in Blacksburg, VA.

Mom, Kray, (Mark was upstairs in the church at the time), Emily holding Libby, me, and Greg

Kray and Libby

 * I met Kray when my family moved to Bluefield, WV in 1989.  Prior to meeting her at school, I remember seeing a little girl with a big bow in her hair watching us move in from the hedges of her Granma's backyard and wondering who she was.  Little did I know that that little girl would be my best friend and the longest friend I would ever have.  We were inseparable growing up from 5th grade through graduation in high school and maintained our friendship through college, medical school, and grad school.  Now Kray, an engineering professor at Virginia Tech, and her husband Mark, also a mining engineer, have settled in Blacksburg with their adorable little boy, Will, who is Holden's age, and now beautiful Libby, who is 4 months old. It is so amazing to be able to watch our kids play together and start a new generation of friendships.  Greg and I are so thankful to have such wonderful friends.*

  It was such a beautiful christening and Libby is the most amazing little baby girl!  We are so lucky and thrilled to be her Godparents...to love and support her throughout her life.  What a wonderful gift.

A Parent's Dream

  This weekend, we went to Target to search for some fun Halloween decorations.  Well, whoever invented Pumpkin Push Ins is brilliant!  I could honestly be a spokesperson for these things!  You have no clue how much happiness (from both parties) a few pieces of plastic stuck into a pumpkin can create until you experience this awesome purchase!  Naturally, Holden chose Ironman and Rhys unexpectedly chose Cookie Monster, calling him Elmo.  Maybe we need to watch more Sesame Street...

  

  Here is what took us 2 clean minutes to create 10 days of pure JOY!

Halloween Countdown...9 days!!!

Sprint to the Finish!

Today, we got up early, ate breakfast, chugged some coffee, packed some snacks, pumped up the double Bob's tires, then loaded the boys in the car to head to the First Bank Oktoberfest 5K run that was to be held at Brunswick Forest in Leland, NC (we decided on that one instead of the Ocean Isle Fun Run). It was a gorgeous morning, a crisp 46 degrees when we got in the car, with the sun rising bright as we drove. 45 minutes later, we checked in and got at the rear of the runners with our wide load, ready to run! Chase was really excited! This would be our second race in a month and he was ready to try to beat his time at the Poplar Grove Race- 44 minutes 15 seconds. Holden and Rhys were excited, too, to participate this time!

Greg gives a pep talk to Holden and Rhys...the Coaches!

Ready to Run!!

Starting out strong...

Reaching a stride...

Looks like Holden is ready to jump out! Really, he was dying to run the whole time!

Only a mile to go!...

Even the beginning of the race was better for Chase than the last. His confidence had grown from last time as he knew what to expect. He reached a good stride, then ran the majority of the way only walking less than 100 yards to catch his breath! Greg and I knew he had beat his time already from the last race and we commented throughout the race, how GREAT he was doing! And really, he was loving it, which was so fun to see!

Greg ran ahead and I made a landmark that was 100 yards away from the finish line! When we reached the mark, we sprinted as fast as we could!! Greg got this great picture of us finishing!

32:30 was on the timer. 11 minutes 45 seconds better than the Poplar Grove race! Wow!

Adorable Rhys watching people finish.

And Holden, the future runner!!

Feeling good afterwards, we waited for the awards to be announced.

And...as he had hoped, Chase won his first running award! With a huge age group of competitors (Ages 1-15), Chase won 5th place!!! He won a mug stating that he was a 5K Award Winner! We all are SO PROUD!

Mike's Farm

This past weekend, Greg and I took the boys to Mike's Farm! We had such a good time on the 1/2 mile hayride to the pumpkin patch! We intended to try to eat at the restaurant that we have heard great things about, but it was pretty busy so we settled for ice cream! Here are some pictures of our fun trip...

Waiting in line for the hayride, Rhys and Holden found a cute tractor!

After the farm, we got ice cream!

Rhys insisted on the kiddie table!

Rhys and his hippo. He was so tired from trip, he fell asleep immediately after the ice cream. Funny how he sleeps with Hippo clenched in his teeth!

Attaining the Impossible

It's never been too much of a challenge for me to reach for my dreams.

College...Check

Medical school...Check

Getting married...Check

Having children...Check

Raising children...Check

And there's more to come, I'm sure.

I've done a lot of things in my life.

To begin, I've climbed aboard a Japanese school bus full of children I couldn't understand when I was 6 years old, promising to take me to a trusted place unknown to me...

I've went to camp for several summers growing up bravely learning to rock climb, rappel, and kayak...

I've gone away to college and joined the crew team that taught me the discipline and grueling nature of competitive sports by doing 5 am, 2 hour, workouts every morning with afternoons as well...

I applied to medical school 2 years in a row knowing I would continue to work towards my goal of being a doctor...

I made the careful and thoughtful decision to not continue with residency so I could be home with our boys...

All of these things have taken courage, self esteem, and the belief I have in myself to attain these dreams and desires.

I mark yesterday, October 10, 2011 as very, very important. Because at this age, after being told for years and years that I could and I didn't believe it...I for some reason, after being told again...I made my Papaw and Mawmaw Stella's English Muffin Bread. And I made it well!

I don't know if other people do this- accomplish many things in life, but never dream of trying to recreate their grandparents recipes until they feel a different kind of confidence. I've kind of graduated a very internal, special kind of graduation. In a way I feel more grown up and I believe in myself in more ways than I used to. Not only did I go and find the most wonderful husband and have the most beautiful kids, I am caring to take care of them and me...well. It's a kind of "settling in", a comfort that bonds us deeper as a family.

Bread can do this. At least this English Muffin Bread can. Everyone in my family knows it. Knows it's smell, it's texture, the way butter melts right into it. They know the comfort it gives you when you see it on the table. It makes us think of family. A full table of family. And...mostly...a wonderful memory of Papaw.

I am so happy, because unbeknownst to them, our boys will have a taste of what I always have loved so much about being at Papaw and Stella's house and maybe they, too, can make it one day for their kids.

WonderFall

The humidity is gone and in it's place are cool fall mornings. There are pumpkins for sale, decorating stores and restaurants, and adorned with mums and pansies. Plans of Halloween are starting to be made and kids are gearing up for Trick or Treating...

As I've already stated, we love this season. With the boys in school, I have had the pleasure of planting pots and our window boxes with fall flowers.

In celebration of the season, I've also become addicted to making pumpkin butter and spoiled us with Pumpkin Lattes. Really- these are such simple and wonderful recipes...

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/10/pumpkin-butter.html

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/10/skinny-pumpkin-spiced-latte.html

I've blogged about the pumpkin patch already, but the other day I was able to get more pictures before I got the boys from school. They have really loved coming here almost every day after school! It's a magical place here among the large oak trees.

And here...Holden begged me to rake our front yard leaves into a pile so he and Rhys could jump into them! Ha! This is the saddest, most pathetic pile of leaves ever, but they LOVED it! That's what we get for living in North Carolina! As you can see, our trees' leaves went straight from green to brown! We can't wait for our trip to Blacksburg, VA at the end of the month to hopefully spot some colorful leaves!

Hope you're having as great of a fall season as we are!!