A small vacation

We went to Mountain View to visit Josh's parents last week. Our first official vacation of the summer! We like to go just to relax and to let the kids run around outside--gather eggs, feed the cats and dog, ride the lawn tractor and motorcycle, and other "country" things.


We got to see lots of family and friends including the kids' special cousins, Ethan and Connor. After a good day of playing, the boys were ready for a bath! Aidan and Ethan always have a good time in the bathtub.



The ole homestead is surrounded by wheat fields and they are beautiful at this time of year--ready to be harvested next week. The long reeds rippling in the breeze sure brought to mind the line from "Oklahoma." "Oklahoma, Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain, And the waving wheat can sure smell sweet..."


The land is very peaceful and always makes me contemplate the creativity of God. We saw numerous wildflowers, an opossum, white azure butterflies, scissor-tailed flycatchers, along with the standard country sights of cows, horses, chickens, and of course, mosquitoes!!

We made it past the 7-year itch!

Wednesday, Josh and I celebrated our 8th anniversary! I can't believe it's been that long, but then I look around at our three kiddos and wonder how it hasn't been longer than that! On the day, Nathan and Tiffany came down to Mountain View with their boys and we were able to share the day with them and Josh's parents. The next evening we left the kids with grandma and grandpa and went out on the town--alone!! We went to Carnegie, a town about 9 miles away and hit a really fancy joint. Maybe you've heard of it...Sonic! I splurged and got a LARGE blue coconut cream slush. We sat for a while and talked about the latest books we're reading and then drove around a little bit. It was really nice! Josh gave me a card and the new Hillsong United CD. I gave him a book that he's wanted for a while: The Story of Christianity Volume 2. Two observations about our anniversaries: 1. Our anniversary cards have fewer and fewer words every year because it seems the more we're together, the less it can be described in words--how wonderful! 2. Our gifts get more and more "boring" each year--yet we seem to enjoy them more. We're so predictable. You can bet that one or both of us will be giving a book for each gift-giving holiday!
I joked to Josh that we made it past the seven-year itch and I never even had to scratch all year. Raise your glasses, ya'll! Here's to eight years of being married to the absolute best man I've ever met--the best eight years of my life!!!

Someone's got a new 'do!

Josh has been bugging me for months now to cut Aidan's hair. I haven't wanted to because I think he looks so cute in his long hair--and it took a long time to grow out, with many months of serious Alfalfa action going on. I mean, that hair on top would NOT stay down!



So why would I want to go and cut it now? Well, today the poor little guy's head was so hot underneath all that hair even though it was comfortable in the house that I caved. AND I had a curious idea...i wonder what he would look like with a mohawk? So, I asked Aidan if he wanted to surprise his daddy when he got home and of course he was game, so off we went to the bathroom. And half an hour later, he emerged a new man...



Woah! We need another view of that...!



He thought he was really something with that new haircut. He was SO proud of it this evening as we ran our errands around Stillwater. And it definitely goes with his personality, I realized tonight, as he was head-banging in Arby's! :)

The last day of school

Today was Elyse's last day of Pre-K, and likely her last day of school...ever! I thought I would post a couple of pictures that Josh took in her classroom at the end of the day. Here is a picture of her with her buddies.


And here is Elyse with her friend Jasmine, surrounded by her amazing teacher Mrs. Casey on the right and her wonderful classroom aide on the left, Mrs. Schreiber. We were blessed for Elyse to have been in their classroom.



She had a fun year, but is excited about staying home with mom next year. She's already making plans about how she's going to be my little helper. "I'll help you with the baby and with Aidan, and help you cook lunch, and help with the dishes..."...Wow, I guess I won't have anything to do!! ;)

My Beautiful Cornstalks

I decided to take a few pictures of my cornstalks, which I think are so cool because they look just like miniature versions of full-grown cornstalks.















I go out and walk around the garden every evening, just marveling in the wonder of everything. There is true beauty and creativity all around us, if we only open our eyes!




















I keep thinking, "Wow! What would happen if I actually did everything RIGHT?" At this point, I'm happy just looking at the plants. I don't even care if I get vegetables or not! Which is obvious from my overgrown lettuce plants...I just can't bear to pick them!

There's a new "Hock" in town

Josh and I always joke about the fact that he and I had the same nickname growing up. Well, kind of. His nickname, given to him by classmates and used mostly during high school when he was playing sports, was "Hawk," obviously a play on his last name. MY nickname when I was a young tot was "Hock," a shortened version of "Hamhock," lovingly given to me by my dad. Unfortunately, it picked up steam within the remainder of my extended family as well. Where did I get that name, you may ask. Well, believe it or not, I was a chunk! My thighs were a little on the thick side and I continued to be a chunk up until I was about 3 or 4. (I have pictures to prove it and if I find any, I'll post them :) ).


However, I think a new "Hock" has taken my place. Our little princess Aislinn inherited her mother's thighs! And, at her recent 6-month appointment, we discovered that she is in the 97% in height and 90% in head circumference. She is honestly about as long and has as big a head as Aidan does!! And judging by this picture, I think she likes her new nickname...in fact, I think she's proud of it!!




But she's a cutie...I'll think we'll keep her!! ;)

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em

Elyse bemoaned her being a girl all evening Tuesday, even though we kept telling her that girls can play in the mud, too. "I played in the mud when I was younger," I said. "You did?!?" She was shocked. "When?" "Uhhh, I can't remember WHEN, but I know that I did SOMEtime."
The next afternoon upon arriving home from school, Josh informed me that she was still saying, "Man, I wish I could play in the mud." So, we gave the O.K. and as soon as Aidan awoke from his nap off they went in their swimming suits. Oh, to be a kid again!!













Aislinn even got in on the fun!!















And if the end result is any indication, I think the adventure was a hit!!

It's raining, it's pouring

Rain, rain go away
Come again some other day

Don't get me wrong, I love the rain.
After living in Ireland, I guess it kind of grows on you. I laugh now when I see people running from their cars into Walmart with an umbrella, and there's only a light sprinkling of water coming down. Often, people will save their errands for "another day" when it won't be raining. If we had decided on that tactic while in Ireland, we would have gone hungry, since we had to replenish our dishwasher-sized refrigerator daily. So, now we not only tolerate the rain--we relish it. We were even blessed with a full rainbow outside of our back door last week--an often occurrence around our former little cottage on a hill.
But now I say rain, rain go away.
My vegetables are drowning!!
One third of my lawn is a literal lake!!
And seriously...enough with the ear-shattering lightning strikes!!
I prefer to sleep in my bed with only my husband, cat, and baby. All six of us in a queen-sized bed just doesn't work with the amount of beauty sleep I need.
BUT, while it IS raining, we might as well enjoy it, right?
That's what Aidan thought this evening anyway.



















I think he had a good time!! :) Elyse said, as she's standing in the driveway watching the ensuing mayhem in her little pink ballet leotard with white pantyhose and delicate ballet shoes. "I wish I was a boy, so I could play in the mud!"
Josh encouraged her to change out of her ballet clothes and play, too, but she chose instead to sit quietly on the floor in the living room and play with her dress-up doll.

Now, the kids are sleeping in their beds, the dishwasher's running, Josh is eating his nightly snack, (and the baby JUST woke up), and I hear thunder in the distance. Josh just informed me: "There's storms comin'" So, off I go to bed, not to MY bed, because tonight, with the storms, I have the feeling it will be another FAMILY bed night. The rain, rain won't go away...

April Showers bring May vegetables

We've gotten a lot of rain this spring. A lot. So much so, that I haven't even been able to get out into my garden to pull weeds or add compost. But, I think the veggies have really liked the rain because while we were gone this weekend, things have sprung up!! I can see everything growing except my parsnips, which were sitting in a low spot in the garden and were saturated with water. Yesterday, we got out while the kids were sleeping and worked in the garden for about 3 hours. We pulled weeds and cultivated the soil a little in between rows, but mostly I just walked around and looked at everything.

I just continue to be amazed at the neat little rows of green and the big, beautiful looseleaf lettuce, and the sturdiness of the pepper and tomato plants. And how can a bean plant grow so quickly? It is really awe-inspiring to me! Now, what may not be so awe-inspiring is when I start having to pick slugs and other bugs off of my precious plants. They will have wished they'd found another garden to ravage.

OCHEC Homeschooling Convention

This weekend Josh, Aislinn and I attended the OCHEC 2007 Homeschool Convention. It was our first homeschool conference--two full days of speakers, workshops and a curriculum fair. People were wheeling around rolling carts full of curriculum purchases and we went home with...nothing. It's really hard to even know where to begin! But, I think we did come away with a better understanding of a number of things: developing a philosophy of education (AHHH...my Foundations of Education class is all coming scarily back to me!!), keeping records, deciding on curriculum, and how homeschooling is a complete lifestyle that doesn't end at 3:00. We're excited. We think our kids will really benefit, and we know that this is the way we want to go for our whole family. We will be a stronger unit because of it.
The best part of the whole convention had to be the nursing mothers room. It was a great place to get to know other moms with kids my kids' age (especially when all 8 chairs were filled up!). Also, there was free water and snacks!!

Elyse and Aidan were spoiled with a weekend spent with Grandma and Grandpa Hawkins, Aunt Mary, and great grandma Denny. Saturday they even got to go to the zoo. I don't think they even missed us too much!

So Proud

This past weekend Josh ran the OKC Memorial Marathon. My friend, Mandy, came from Tulsa to watch and to help out with the kids. Early Sunday morning, we met Josh's mom and Mary's husband, Ben, at Ben and Mary's house then walked over to Edgemere Park. We were able to catch Josh and Rachel (the marathoners) and Toby and Mary (the half-marathoners). It was very exciting as we were there when the first runners ran by. It was a beautiful, quiet spot with just enough spectators to make it exciting. I had my camera out ready to take a picture of Josh and Rachel, but I couldn't get it snapped quick enough, so I had to take off sprinting (if you can call what I do sprinting, that is) up the hill to get in front of them so that I could actually get a picture of them coming towards me instead of away. Yeah, that was my marathon for the day.


Then we drove up to Lake Hefner and found a spot along the track just in time to greet Josh as he ran by. This was about the 17th mile marker spot. Rachel then ran by a bit later. It was great to see them both again. Then, once again, we loaded up and drove downtown to meet them at the finish line.



It was a wonderful and emotional experience. Fourteen thousand runners and 14,000 different reasons for running--a man in a wheelchair: 26.2 miles; a blind man tethered to a seeing guide: 26.2 miles; a soldier in full uniform, complete with boots and a backpack: 26.2 miles; young, old, men, women...and my husband: 26.2 miles. It takes more than the physical ability. It takes a strong mental drive, a determination, a resolve within you that will NOT allow you to give up. Twenty-six point two miles of pavement is a lot, but it's much more than that. It's the hundreds of training miles ran for months before the gun even goes off on race day. It's the hours spent listening to the sound of your breathing, your heartbeat, your shoes slapping the road beneath you. It's the running through mud puddles, down dirt roads, in the dark, in 40 mph winds, in the hot sun, in the bitter cold, in the wee hours of the morning, startling a large bull that had gotten out of his fence, running from unleashed dogs yipping at your heels--running when you'd rather be doing anything else. It takes a "reason" that echoes in your head every step of the way. You're running toward something--a goal you've set for yourself, the inspiration you desire to be for your children, a dream you've always envisioned, a victory that proves to yourself that you are a strong person--in every way. It's running to win. Yet, winning does not mean coming in first. In this case, winning is crossing the finish line knowing that your reason, your one out of the 14,000, has been fulfilled.


I know all this about running, because I ran this race too. Not physically, but emotionally. I know, because Josh has shared his thoughts and fears and hopes along his journey of the past four months. For him, running is intensely personal. Yet, at the same time, myself and the kids were intricately entwined in his act of running. And so, seeing Josh run toward the finish line, physically exhausted, was a victory not just for him--but for our family, because I knew that he had accomplished one of his life dreams. I was, and am, so proud.