First Tournament Game

Astros won last night, 15-6...which would make you think it was an easy game. Weirdly enough, the D-backs gave a bit of fight (they have the worst record in the league) but our team pulled it together for a win.

Here's a video of Harrison hitting a triple...he's so cute I can hardly stand it. :)

Comfortable?

I think so. :)

(Please excuse the disaster that is my craft room in the background...it's Open House week, and I've been a busy girl.)

The Pre-Game Show

H1's first playoff game was canceled due to rain tonight (I know, bummer, huh?), but I caught him on video before to talk about the game tonight...he makes me smile. :)

Dinosaur Valley State Park

We took a quick day trip to Dinosaur Valley today, and had a great time.

Can you believe how big that dinosaur is? Here are some of my favorite pics from the day...
My littlest monkey LOVED climbing in the trees!

How very much I love my boys!

And I love that big guy too...

And H1 insisted on taking one of big B and me with H2...

The best part of the day was playing in the river. The boys LOVED walking around on the rocks, looking for dinosaur tracks. It really was pretty cool...

...we had a great time, and are home, showered, and getting ready for dinner.

Happy Memorial Day!

Haven't blogged about my oldest "H" in awhile...so here's an update:

~ last week, he lost another tooth, which he pulled out himself

~ he will finish the 2nd grade in less than two weeks (yay!)

~his baseball team, the Astros, finished 1st in their league! Playoffs start next week.

~ he has hit FIVE homeruns (lots of doubles, triples too) this season!

(they don't call him "Homerun Harrison" for nothin')

~he has made straight A's ALL YEAR LONG

~ he's is such a huge help with his brothers, and they think he's the greatest.

As always, we are so proud of him...

I'm very ready to have him out of school and home for the summer.

It's time for a break, time for some fun. :)

I'm starting to believe...

that this baby is never gonna give up that paci.

Overheard at our house tonight

H2, tonight at the dinner table: "Do I have to drink my milk?" Brian: "Yes, it will make you have big, strong muscles." H2: "Can I just have little muscles instead?"

H3, while sitting on the potty: "Pee pee, COME OUT! COME OUT NOW!"

Me, to H2: "Unless you want to pay the water bill, please turn off the shower now." H2: "I'll pay the water bill, Mom." H1, to H2: "Dude, you're broke." H2 to H1: "I NOT broken!"

Overseen by me at our dinner tonight: all four of my boys high-fiving after burping. Yes, even Brian (my mature, minister husband) took part in the grossness. I'm definitely having one of those "I'm SO outnumbered." kind of days. :)

The Wedding

Beth (my sister) and Todd got married on my parents' farm this weekend, and it was beautiful, fun, perfect! Well, except for the rain...it was a little wet, but thankfully the rain cleared out and we were still able to have a great time!
H2, the super cute ring bearer did AWESOME! He cracked us up during the wedding when he asked his Papa to "wake up!" My dad had closed his eyes in effort to keep from getting upset, and H2 thought he had fallen asleep. Priceless.

The original "Hovis" family...now all three girls are happily married off!

Nana was a lifesaver during the wedding...she kept H3 (who had missed his nap~ not good) happy and busy. Can't thank her enough for that!

A sweet moment between me and my very sleepy H3

My cousin-in-law Ashley, H2 and H1 enjoying Mimi's YUMMO cookies!

The happy couple at cake time

Reagan and I were the designated "cake cutters"....we definitely didn't miss our calling. :)

It was truly a great weekend! So much fun having ALL of our family together~ I hate that it went by so quickly. Brian did a wonderful job with the ceremony, H2 rocked as ringbearer, Beth looked absolutely beautiful, and my mom and dad worked so hard to make it all possible by getting the farm ready and all the cooking, cleaning, and preparing. It was a perfect day, even with the rain, and I'm so glad to see my baby sister happily married to her "McDreamy."

The Graduate

Our middle man officially graduated from Pre-K today! He still has a week of parties and fun next week, but the big ceremony was today, and it went great!

And really, could he be any cuter? I don't think so, either. ;)
He told me last night that he was really nervous about singing in front of everybody, and we had a good long talk about it. Apparently all of my wisdom (ha!) worked, or he just got over it (more likely) because he got up there and sang and danced his little heart out!

Couldn't help but get teary when he accepted his diploma.
How is it possible that he can look so big, yet so little at the same time?

Can you tell we are super proud of this guy? :)

His Aunt Reagan was there, and he was so happy to see her!

I LOVE this one of him with his Mimi too!

And here he is with "his girl" (according to them), Paige. They are pretty cute, I have to say.

And last, with his teachers, Mrs. Becca and Miss Abby. We have all LOVED these two so much! They have been great with our H2, and have gone above and beyond to make his Pre-K year so special! For that we are so very thankful, and will miss them next year!

This sweet boy has grown up and changed SO MUCH this year, it is hard to believe. It seems impossible that he will start kindergarten in the fall...not sure what to think about that, so I'm just not. Summer, here we come!

Another Baseballer in the Making

H3's Papa brought him this plastic bat and a ball on Monday, and it has been all baseball, all the time in our house ever since. I know I'm a proud mom and all, but it's pretty amazing watching him actually hit the ball when we toss it to him more often than he misses.

He is only two, after all.

Thankful

This Mother's Day, I am thankful...and this year, reflective.

I'm thankful because I get to be the mommy to these three little monkeys. I lovingly refer to them as monkeys b/c honestly, some days they truly seem to fit the description. I'm thankful that everyday (and not just Mother's Day) that these three (and their Daddy) are sure to remind me how loved I am.

And that alone makes all the "monkey business" pale in comparison.

I'm reflective because I know I have two other little ones in Heaven, and every Mother's Day I think about them too, and can be thankful for what God has taught me through their little, way-too-short lives. I know someday I will see them, and that is amazing all in itself.

I'm reflective because there are a couple of very special people in my life who aren't moms, but desperately want to be. So I know this day is a really hard day for them, and I wish there was something I could do to fix it. And it's really hard for me to understand why things work the way they do, but right now I am praying and trusting that God knows the desire of their hearts...and I can't wait to see just how this amazingly creative God we serve is going to answer our prayers.

The Forgotten Commandment?

A couple weeks ago H2 was watching SpongeBob on tv, and Brian came and sat down to watch a little tv. As he started to change the channel, H2 looked at him with all seriousness and said, "Daddy, the Bible says you're not supposed to change the channel when someone else is watching SpongeBob."

Looks like my minister hubby got schooled by a four-year-old. Hee hee! :)

A Hymn

I am a big fan of music. All kinds of music...people are usually a little surprised by my wide range of favorites~ Everything from MercyMe to Brad Paisley to Bon Jovi (I heart a lot of the big hair bands actually...Def Leopard, Guns 'N Roses, Poison..I know, shocking, huh?) :) I love Kelly Clarkson and Miley Cyrus (yes, I do), Chris Tomlin and Christy Nockels, The Fray and Alan Jackson. Big Daddy Weave and Good Charlotte. I could go on all day, but for your sake, I won't.

If I had to pick my favorite type of music, I would easily say Praise and Worship, simply because
that is my favorite way to spend time with God. It amazes me that no matter how bad my day is going, all have to do is turn on my i-pod to one of my favorites, and within seconds...I'm okay again. And not just okay, but renewed, at peace, and reminded that my Lord is right here with me. All the time. And that will never cease to humble and amaze me.

Last Sunday we were headed to church, and it had been the usual mad dash trying to get everyone ready and out the door on time so that we weren't late. And I was crabby because we were running late anyway (those of you who know me well shouldn't be surprised by this). Before we had even left our street, I turned up the radio, and Chris Rice's version of The Old Rugged Cross (which I HIGHLY recommend, but wasn't available on playlist.com, or you would be hearing it right now) was playing. Instead, you are listening to Brad Paisley's version, which is amazing in itself. And I almost had to pull the car over because that hymn grabs me by the heart every time I hear it. And apparently, it had been awhile since I've heard it because wow. It was a struggle to pull myself together and safely drive us to church.

I've always preferred the newer, more upbeat praise and worship songs, but there are a few hymns (this one being my favorite) that speak to me on a level I can't explain. And it was at that moment that I was reminded of the importance of keeping some of my old favorites around. They remind me of my childhood. They remind me of my grandparents. They remind me of my first Pastor, who was so passionate about his favorite hymns, and was faithful to share that passion with us. They remind me of the beginning of my walk with God. And all of that equals one remarkable legacy that I plan to pass on to my three H's beginning now.

Persistance is His Middle Name

SO...last night I came home from Bunco (love those girls!) and went in to check on my boys. Brian~ snoring, H1 and H2~ out cold.

Then, as I headed for H3's room, I quickly realized that I didn't have to go far. I found him like this. So very asleep on the cold hardwood floor. Isn't that pitiful?

I quickly scooped him up (after taking a quick pic, of course!) and laid him in his bed, where he stayed asleep until about 3 am...the usual time he joins us in our bed. :)

To say it hasn't been easygetting H3 used to sleeping in his big boy bed would be a huge understatement. He would rather sleep anywhere else, which apparently,

includes the floor. God bless that sweet baby.

New Creative Outlet

Those of you, my faithful blog readers, know that H3 REALLY likes to color. A lot. On anything...walls, doors, car windows...we are working on understanding (and obeying) the rule that we ONLY color on paper. I might have just completely undone all efforts at enforcing this rule when today he and I chose some fabulous bathtub crayons. Not sure who had more fun, him or me! So glad my baby loves to color.