Thanks for the BDay wishes!!

I just wanted to thank everyone for making my 39th (yep--I'm THAT old!) BDay so special. Noah greeted me this morning with a beautiful rendition of "Happy Birthday"--I wish I could have recorded his sweet, little voice. He sang in tune--definitely inherited his singing voice from his G'ma Joan and NOT from his Mom. The boys handed me my birthday card upside down, so it read "WOW"--boy was I momentarily confused. And, since I said "wow" instead of "mom"--well you can just imagine the laughter--at least I provide entertainment for my family. The day was a "typical Sunday"-morning walk, church, grocery shopping (I know--the wrong thing to do on a BDay, but it had to be done) and other errands, dinner and an evening walk. Trey made 14 Carat Cupcakes from my new HG cookbook--while I LOVE carrot cake (BTW, my Mom makes the best carrot cake EVER)I knew I couldn't "afford the points". The cupcakes were a decadent substitute and very enjoyable--thanks Trey for being so thoughtful!! I had a wonderful weekend--again, thanks for making it so special!

I love all of you!!

The Easter Bunny hopped by Papa and Grammy's house leaving behind 3 tickets to the Ohio State Spring Game. The Easter Bunny was already aware that Noah would be attending the game with friends for a birthday celebration.

Trey, his Dad and Alexander left yesterday morning before 10am and spent 6 hours enjoying Ohio State sports. The tickets were also good for the Ohio State Men's Lacrosse match against Notre Dame which was played prior to the start of the football spring game.

Both Alexander and Noah are considering playing lacrosse next spring, so it was great that they were able to watch a game.

Scarlet VS Gray--Go Bucks!

Larry, Alexander and Trey enjoying a warm, spring Ohio day in "The Shoe" with 95,000 of their closest Ohio State friends!

Serving Families in Need

To protect the privacy of those served last night, pictures will not accompany this post. Last night, our family served meals to the homeless through a mission associated with the church we've recently started attending. The boys have never served in this capacity and were uncertain what to expect. I assure you that the experience touched all of our hearts in ways we never thought possible.

We arrived in downtown Columbus around 6:45pm. After accidentally arriving at the wrong church--in the navigator's defense, I had the right parking lot, but didn't realize two churches shared the same space--we walked the back alley and finally located our proper destination. All the while Trey was carrying two, large containers of steaming, hot cheesy potatoes. Needless to say, his weary arms were quite relieved when we finally appeared in the "right spot".

Our individual assignments varied last night--Alexander served rolls, I cut and placed cake pieces on plates and Trey and Noah served the desserts to families seated enjoying their meals. Both boys smiled throughout our time serving the homeless. Noah took his job very seriously and managed to serve EVERY cookie (dozens) and EVERY piece of cake. He even boxed some leftover pieces and happily gave them to a gentleman he befriended. The boys were the only two children helping and both received numerous compliments on their behavior and their willingness to serve. Noah, because of his young age and enthusiasm, was the hit of the evening. He never once took a break in the 1 1/2 hours we served dinner. He made sure that everyone had a dessert. He had a tray that held 6 plates and he was constantly refilling his tray and back out amongst the tables serving, making new friends along the way.

For the boys, serving the homeless last night was a realization that everyone doesn't live as comfortably as we do. We take SO much for granted and often forget how many blessings we enjoy--down to the littlest details. And while material items are "nice", sometimes the gifts given and received from the heart are the ones that touch each of us much more.

Through the Eyes of the Beholder

"It's all in the eyes of the beholder" echoes through my mind as I listened to Noah's excitement and enthusiasm over the "blanket of yellow" in the green space behind our yard. It rained for three days earlier this week and on Thursday, when the sun finally reappeared, so did the "blanket of yellow". To us, the yellow "flowers", as they're affectionately called by Noah, are a weed and one of the biggest annoyances to Trey when caring for our lawn. But to Noah, he saw the dandelions as another flower blooming during the Spring season. When I paused for a moment and tried to see the beauty that Noah sees, the yellow truly is a bright and cheerful color and does look stunning against the green grass. He was eager to pick flowers and couldn't wait to share them with our neighbors. He even picked some for Mom. The flowers were forgotten for a while until Noah and I were returning from our afternoon bike ride. He again commented on the yellow flowers and told me, with the most serious tone, that boys should definitely come behind our home and pick the beautiful yellow flowers for their girlfriends. Noah has a sweet, caring heart and for just a moment I was able to see the dandelions more from his perspective than from my own. Ahhh--to be youthful and possess that sweet innocence...

My friend Kathie shared this poem with me and I thought it was fitting to add to this post...

A DANDELION IS A LOVELY
THING;
A GIFT ONLY A CHILD WOULD
BRING;
GROWN WHERE TINY FEET CAN
TROD;
SYMBOLS OF LOVE PLACED THERE
BY GOD.

Happy Easter 2009

Happy belated Easter from our family to yours!

We spent the holiday weekend in Lima, Ohio, visiting Trey's parents. The boys have a holiday tradition of baking cookies with Grammy. Easter weekend was no exception. We arrived Saturday afternoon by Saturday night the smell of baking cookies filled the kitchen...mmmm.

The boys roll out their own dough, cut out cookies, place the cookies on the stone and finally decorate their hardwork.

I don't know who enjoys the tradition more--Grammy or the boys!

I have no idea what Noah is doing, but he looked adorable doing it!

The "masterpieces", as they're affectionately termed, look appetizing this year!

Way to go boys!!

After returning from a wonderful Easter service at church, Trey, Larry and I hid Easter Eggs for the boys. You're never too old for this tradition--especially when money is involved! Just before the boys began their search, Haiden and Chris arrived just in time for all of the fun!

The cousins searching for eggs in Papa and Grammy's backyard.

I found one!!

Good thing Alexander is tall enough to reach the eggs on top of the lattice.

Haiden was a pro at finding Easter Eggs

The cousins taking a break after all their hard work searching eggs

Grammy and the boys coloring eggs--just enough time for this activity before

Easter dinner was ready!

We hope all of you had a wonderful Easter celebration too!

All In Stride

This Spring, Alexander decided to join the Middle School Boys' Track Team. Due to his height and speed, coach decided to have Alexander practice running hurdles. He ran his first track meet last night and did a great job! He admits that he was a little nervous about running the hurdles, but really did well. His form needs a little improvement and with a little practice he'll be sailing over the hurdles with ease.

Alexander uses his right hand to write, but has ALWAYS played sports with his left side. It's quite strange that the tradition continues with is lead leg being his left over the hurdle. In addition to batting and golfing left, we now add hurdling--he says that it's just more natural for him to bat, golf and hurdle lefty.

Alexander's two events were the 100M hurdles and the 100M dash. He's quite quick and appeared to really enjoy his events.

A TALL Alexander enjoying (hee, hee) another picture with Mom and Dad!

Papa and Grammy attended Alexander's first meet--thanks for meeting us at

Alexander's first away meet!

The First Kick of the Season

Our defender, keeping the soccer ball away from the goal!
Anticipating his teammate's sideline throw in
Preventing the opponent from stealing the ball


Noah's spring soccer season began Tuesday night with a BIG kick! The Lightning Bolts have been practicing for the past several weeks and Noah was very eager for the season to officially begin. I have to admit that I absolutely LOVE watching the boys play their respective sports--I look forward to each and every game and almost feel depressed when a season concludes. We didn't have much of a break between basketball and the spring seasons beginning--in fact, Alexander's track practices and BBall practices overlapped for a night, but I'm ready! I can remember the first season Noah played soccer with his best friend, Evan (Atlanta). The boys were so little and both teams chased the ball up and down the field. They were absolutey exhausted by the time the 1st period ended! As the years passed, Noah's skill level has drastically changed. He has a keen knowledge of the sport and is fully aware of all the positions and where each player can be on the field during play. Unfortunately, try as I might, I'm still clueless!! Typically, Noah defends the goal. I know at times he's disappointed because he doesn't have an opportunity to try to score, but I think the defense is just as important as the offense and of course, tell him that regularly. We thoroughly enjoyed the first game and look forward to many more throughout the season.

Way to go #12!!