Where to begin? The boys, ofcourse!

It's been months since a blog & I only have about 20 mins to throw this down so ofcourse my first update will be - J&J!

I am in love with my two little guys!! They can definitely frustrate the heck out of me but oh my gosh I love them! They crack me up and light up Jon's& my days like nothing else can!

Jude:
Age: 2 1/2... the half part is very important to him. When you ask him how old he'll be at his next birthday he'll respond "3 1/2"
Favorite Book: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and The Little Blue Truck series
Favorite Toy: A Truck, trailor and boat set that his aunt Pam bought for him at a garage sale :)
Favorite Food: Any kind of orange (cuties, reg, mandarin...), watermelon and pizza
Favorite Animal: Tiger. But he really LOVES dinosaurs!!
Favorite activity: Anything outdoors...pools, the zoo, playgrounds...ANYTHING as long as it's outside. He can run forever, too! Wears me out! haha.
Phrase: "Hey mommy (or Daddy or Joel), look! Watch this! Do this!"
Potty Training: Check! He's doing so great! Still has accidents (mainly #2) but I'm so proud of him! He wears "underoos" all day and we still do pull-ups at night"
Daycare: He does great! Very friendly and interactive. He takes after me in this area...doesn't meet a stranger and he loves to learn!
Favorite Song: Old McDonald had a Farm
Coloring: Still a blondie but his eyes have turned very brown, like mine. He's so handsome! He is a mirror image of Jon's pics at Jude's age (minus the eye color).

Other things...
Give the kid a guitar and he's in Heaven on earth! We want to get him in lessons in a year or so.
He loves trains, trucks, tractors...the construction around town doesn't bother him one bit! ;-) Fire trucks, police cars and ambulances are a hit! And airplanes and helicopters...be still his heart! A true boy!
So verbal! He'll talk anyone's ear off! I love it!!! I also love that he can tell me things that go on at school, etc now. If I have a question, he'll get me an answer! VERY helpful! Not hard to know who's biting him at daycare these days! (ugh, drives me crazy btw)
He's getting into dressing himself. I still get to pick out his clothes but he wants to do it himself!
Bedtime is usually a beating! The kid doesn't want to sleep! Naptime is brutal as well! If we start bedtime at 7:30, he'll be asleep by 8:30 if we're lucky!! It's a process... AND he wakes up grumpy :( It takes a pop tart and a good 10 mins before the smile comes out in the mornings.
Mr. Independant! "I'll do it" or "Let me" should have probably been included in his favorite phrases...

Joel:
Age: 16 mos
Favorite Book: Busy Bear the Builder
Favorite Toy: Anything that Jude has ;-)
Favorite Food: Hot dog weenies cut up, bananas, mandarin oranges, grapes, watermelon, green beans...yeah, he's definitely my lil' eater (if you can't tell by pics alone)
Favorite Animal: Monkey
Favorite activity: Again, Anything outdoors...pools, the zoo, playgrounds...ANYTHING as long as it's outside.
Phrase: "woah" and "ought oh"
Daycare: Has always done great. No tears when we drop him off but it is always refreshing to see that huge smile and baby run towards us when we pick him up.
Favorite Song: 5 little monkeys & Jesus loves me
Coloring: Blondie with hazel eyes :) precious!! He is my little doll face!

Other things:
SO SWEET! If you need a cuddle, he's your boy!
Loves socks and shoes!
Has started talking!! Words - momma, daddy, doggie, animal sounds, mine, no, ought oh, milk, eat, "i wuv youuuuu" (ofcourse my favorite), sock, shoe, house... The vocab is growing!
Still in a crib and will be for(ever) a while. After our experience with Jude, we're keeping Joel in as long as we can. Haha. Goes to bed fairly easy and always wakes up happy!
Completely on table foods and sippy cups...has been a while but that update is probably not in any blog I posted.
Wants to be JUST like big brother! Monkey see, Monkey do!

I know there's tons more but these are the basics. Hope to find some more time this month for blogging! Here's some summer pics of the boys...

At G-dad & Gigi's playing in the backyard...a boy's Heaven! 

 Joel watching Jude's every move...

 Just took this last week...Joel is looking more like big bro everyday!

 J3...my heart!

 Who knew you could have so much fun in 1' of water! LOL

 Best Buds!

Joel's 18 mos dr appt

Ice cream date with G-dad & Gigi...Mmmm! 

XIT reunion in Dalhart 

PLAYGROUND!!

At the lake...Who's cool?!

Jude wants to be just like daddy!

Both boys LOVE corn on the cob! 

Sea World!

 Rocky Mountains in Colorado

 Driving the train up Pike's Peak in CO

Look! A pine cone!

"Super Baby" Joel :)

Happy 84th Birthday, Papa!

We helped my Papa celebrate his 84th birthday last week, June 14, 2012. It was such a great time!! My Grandma and Aunt Pam had friends come set up & play bluegrass and Papa got to visit with friends and family he hasn't seen in a while! Jude had more fun than anyone performing for all! Haha.

 Pics say a thousand words...

Grandma made a German Chocolate Cake for Papa and a vanilla cake for others. Both were delish! Yes, I had both! :-P

Jude greeting the guests and offering them balloons as they wait for Papa

My monkey :)

My sweet Grandma Box

The guest of honor, PAPA!! Happy Birthday!!

Love this picture of Uncle Tim and baby Timothy! So sweet!

Papa enjoying the festivities!

Yummy!

Yes, the banner says "Happy Dirthday" - Dollar Store purchase...you get what you pay for I suppose?! Haha

Group shot at the party! :)

The awesome Band

 Uncle Tim is great with the lil' ones!

Papa with Grandma and Aunt Pam

Happy 84th, Papa! We love you so much!!

2 videos of Jude "performing" -

He's not shy...

Jude stole a cane and made it his guitar

Transitions for all!

OUR FIRST HOME (SOLD!):

We locked the door to 4645 Daisy Leaf Dr for the last time on May 20, 2012. With all the chaos that goes with moving, we didn't have much "reflection time" but as we drove away that night...my heart couldn't help but be drawn back to thoughts of all the sweet memories we made in our first home, and it truly was a wonderful one! We bought the house together, made it a "home" together, adopted our first dog there, brought our baby boys home to join our family there...so many blessings!

OUR TEMPORARY HOME:

We spent our first night at Grandma Box's house May 20th. We were SO thankful for my Grandma's gracious offer to host us as long-term guests and even more, I prayed she was prepared for the amount of energy that was about to be living in her home! Haha. We've been here a month now and have learned daily schedules and adapted quite well! My grandma is one of the sweetest most laid back women around, thankfully for us! The boys adore having the time with her and I believe that to be a mutual feeling. I've certainly enjoyed the time, too! Garage sales on Sat morning is one of my fondest memories of weekends spent with my Grandma when I was little...and now I have new experiences of going with her, my Aunt Pam and J&J as an adult!

OUR FUTURE HOME:

We're very excited to move into our new home in Live Oak Creek! Our closing date is September 30, 2012. We meet with our builder tomorrow to go over final plan details and from there, things should progress quickly! I'm sure there will be pictures posted weekly on here/Facebook! I'm glad we can monitor and enjoy the building process!

I'm enjoying every day...no matter what home we're in! It's an adventure I know we'll not experience again for a VERY long time, if ever!

Not a fan of Blogspot going fancy...can't blog at work!

I loved being able to blog at work on my lunch break...it made it so easy to stay caught up with posts! Ever since Google blogspot updated their site, I can't access at work. It's too fancy now for my work computer's settings apparently. Boo :( I'm attempting to catch things up today...

Stand by for blog posts...
XO,
Brooke

Update: 11965 Drummond Ln

We drove by the lot yesterday where our new home is being built. There's not much to look at yet but it's definitely STARTED!  We meet with the builder tomorrow on our lunch break to go over final details of the plans and from there, things should start going pretty quickly! Our close date is September 30, 2012...103 days from now if you include today. Excited to start following the visual progress!

Here's some pics...

 

Temporary electricity up and framing started for cement slab to be poured soon...

I'm taking the picture from where our front door will be...Love the view!

View from East to West

View from where our BACK door will be - SO PRETTY! This is why we picked this lot!

Most of the backyard...property line goes a little further behind me (to the east)

Happy 1st Birthday to my cuddle monkey, Joel!

I cannot believe my lil’ cuddle monkey is already ONE!! I hate to sound cliché but…where did the time go?! I really do feel like it was such a short time ago that I was still pregnant worrying how I could possibly love another little boy as much as I already loved my Jude bug! Ofcourse, the fear disappeared completely as soon as Joel was born and placed in my arms! I can’t imagine my life without any of my sweet J’s, Jon included! They’re so different in personality and they bless my every day!

As most were reading headlines about the 1st Royal anniversary celebration between Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Howerton household was celebrating Joel’s 1st birthday w/cinnamon rolls before church! :) Last year I was watching the wedding on television at 5am in a hospital room of Baylor Grapevine waiting to be induced for labor! Joel arrived at 10:47am, 6 pounds and 3 ounces and 19 ¾’ long! He was perfect!

Grandma Judy stayed with Jude at our house during the labor but they both came up in the afternoon to meet baby Joel Philip! It was so sweet watching Jude meet his younger brother! He was so curious and wanted to touch and hold Joel non-stop! I remember not sleeping much the first night in the hospital but I didn’t mind…I couldn’t get enough of just holding and looking at Joel! How did I get so lucky to have such a wonderful family?!

A year later, Joel is still perfect! Here’s some highlights…

• He’s walking everywhere!! He started taking onesie twosie steps here and there up to a month ago but in the past 2 weeks he’s taken off! He’s fast too!!
• He says “momma”, “dada”, “bye bye”,“dog”, “no”, and “uh-oh” is his favorite!
• He eats anything and everything! Haha.
• We’re off formula! He still takes a milk bottle before bed most nights but we are doing great with sippy cups during the day and we have been off formula 2 weeks now with no problem.
• He loves animals! He wants to pet every puppy and kitty cat he sees.
• He loves his big bro! Nothing cheers Joel up more than a little attention from Jude! It melts my heart!
• Sleeping thru the night – Has been for a while. He goes to be b/t 8-8:30 and will sleep til atleast 7am. PRAISE GOD for this!! :)
• TEETHING!! He has 4 teeth on bottom and 4 on top and more coming! We don’t leave the house w/o a bib or his shirt will be soaked w/in an hour!
• Social butterfly, check! Joel loves people and attention!
• He’s my cuddle monkey! He loves to be close and is so sweet to cuddle with! I’m soaking it in as I know it won’t last. *sigh*
• He loves to be outdoors! Zoo trips are still a favorite activity for us!
• He’s a wiggle butt…and a strong one! It’s no fun trying to dress/change him!
• All around happy baby :) Not much upsets him…for long atleast. :)

We visited Dr Wineriter’s office today for Joel’s one year appt. He had to get 3 vaccines (Hep A, MMR and Chicken Pox) as well as a finger blood prick. HATE these visits! :( The vaccines brought some tears but all in all, He was a total champ and did great! I did have to go home afterwards and change my shirt due to a bloody finger encounter (ouch!) but he didn’t seem to be in pain more than the initial stick. *sigh* Breaks my heart every time!

Stats:

Weight – 24 pounds, 10 ounces (75%)
Height – 30 ¾” (75-90%)
Head Circ – 48 ¾” (95%)

We had a wonderful 1st birthday party to celebrate Joel’s big day but I’ll have to blog about that and share pics in another entry soon! Too much to add it to this one!

Dearest JP – I love you so very much and I feel such happiness from your smile and loving personality! Big big Xs & O’s!! Love, Mommy

Godward Thoughts on Earthly Suffering…

Why does the Lord allow such heart breaking suffering? This question will forever linger unanswered this side of Heaven I suppose. If we ever watch the news, we are reminded that we live in a world of suffering. I have definitely been through my share of trials and whole heartedly believe that God does offer hard life “seasons” as a stronghold discipline to draw us closer to him and re-center our faith. It seems harsh and relentless while going thru the trial(s) but it provides such a shaping! I also confidently believe that Satan is readily waiting these trial periods and he attacks hard when we are most vulnerable!

“It is doubtful whether God can use a man greatly, until first He wounds him deeply." A.W. Tozer.

As thoughts overtook my productivity today, I gave into reading my bible trying to find some reassuring scripture(s) to offer support to much of my family that is currently experiencing turmoil. Overwhelmed, I decided to just start writing…
I’m learning that when trials come, I can push through it and resolve it in my heart when I keep in the forefront of my mind (& heart) that no matter what happens, God is the one who controls it. The constant battle of my human nature is to control the situation! When I forget and leave the mindset that God has control, it’s crazy how quickly things turn chaotic and the feeling of defeat sets in! Once I give up the control and regain a healthy spiritual focus, it’s amazing how I’ll finally get that good night of sleep or lose the fear or stress I had been clinging too.
We all have been wounded in our lives, and those wounds are how we will be used greatly for God. Sometimes our wounds are so deep that we wonder if we can even survive it and our hearts hurt so bad it seems like it will never heal. I have definitely been there & thank God, I survived! :). His promise to us is that the good work that He started in us, long before we even realiz, He will complete in us.

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. - Philippians 1:6

Ofcourse one of the hardest things about a trial, is praising God for it and knowing that it is God's way of using you for Him!

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. - Psalm 27:13

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from the nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. - Galations 6:7-9

I can’t express in easy words how incredibly thankful, undeserving and blessed I feel to be where I am in life! I treasure my family and relationships and KNOW they are a gracious gift from God to help me through my earthly days/trials. The trials that I have personally faced I feel have provided such a strong knowledge, compassion and faith and with every new one, I become a better and more Christ filled disciple! Ofcourse, not near where I want to be still! One of the pastors in our church delivered a message this past Sunday to the youth about living a life DIRECTED by honesty. My husband, Jon, brought up the discussion again a couple days later and we discussed how it is such a hard, but rewarding, thing to do! I have come to enjoy being transparent and honest in so many ways but I still find myself sometimes dwelling too much on other’s opinions after I have divulged and as a result, holding back truth I should share in future conversations. I need to work on acknowledging the fine line on when to speak and what to say to those facing and/or enduring trial(s) but NOT holding back at the same time. *sigh* Such a hard thing! ;-)

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -his good, pleasing and perfect will. - Romans 12:2

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.- Mark 10:45

Ultimately…
Every detail of my future is in God’s wise and loving hands (Eph 1:11). I have nothing to fear, ever. I think I need to post this in every room of my house to remind myself!
Every trial has a wise and loving purpose.(Exo 4:11, Acts 14:22)
Every trial is a gift from God planned to bring me great good! (2 Cor 12:9-10)
The grief, the pain, the sorrow are all worth it, because He is worth it! I could ramble forever and I know my thoughts are already weaving to a point where I won’t know what to title this entry! Haha.

I’ll close with a short prayer…

Dear Lord, I pray your hand of grace be on those heavy on my heart today! I ask that you continue to shape my heart and guide my actions and words to be for your glory and that you provide the support that they are deeply in need of right now. I also pray that the truth be revealed and a life of honesty is lived out so that hearts are able to begin the healing process. I thank you for the blessings and for the trials and I pray for understand that both are for your glory! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Joel is walking!!

After my post on Tuesday, I did leave work just after noon to knock out some of my ever growing to-do list. I felt the 1/2 day of vacation proved a fairly successful amount of productivity and I headed for home around 3:00 with a 4Runner full of groceries to unload. It was such a gorgeous day and I was thrilled to be home early to give some special attention and play with J&J! PERFECT TIMING!! Joel has taken onesie twosie steps here and there lately but this video says it all! If you can stand to listen to my high pitched (annoying) tone, you can tell how over the moon I was to catch his first true WALK on video!! Joel looks unsure if he should smile or cry at one point but it has since become a fun new game! :)

Jacqueline had texted me this pic around 9:00am Tuesday and I KNEW more was coming very soon! It may have subconsciously helped prompt the 1/2 day off...? I'm so so happy I was able to be there to witness it! Since the first steps in the kitchen Tuesday, Joel has taken off! Last night he walked from the dining table in the kitchen all the way to the back door without reaching for anything! I'm definitely not completely ready for the "baby Joel" chapter to close but it would appear he has decided being a toddler isn't so bad! *sigh* I told Jude last night that he better watch out b/c Joel was going to be up to his speed before long! Jude's reply: "no no mommy. Joel not walk!" ;-) I love these boys oh so much!!

Too Many To-Do's!!

Seriously?! How is it already April 17?! This is a self directed blog entry to help me stay organized and focused. Writing things down always seems to help me!

With 12 days til' Joel's first birthday and only 5 til' his birthday party (if you include today), I'm starting to freak a bit! Here's the to-do list:

· Finish hot glue-ing cupcake toppers
· Fabric streamers for Joel's high chair
· Punch holes in paper mustaches for straws
· Wal Mart Run: cupcake mix, icing, sprinkles, waters, kid sized milk cartons/capri suns, straws, paper bags for favors, chocolate for pretzel "cigars"
· FAVORS: paper bags, die-cut-out ties for closure and cutesy manly stuff to fill
· Hobby Lobby: wooden J & #1 for wreath, glass containers
· paint letters and hang on wreath
· Make check out for cake/cookies and have ready to deliver to Alicia at party
· Secure bounce house
· Mustache bash onesie and shirt(s)
· Mow yard (pooper scoop first) & Clean

The house is under contract. Option period is up! PRAISE GOD!! There are still a couple major things that have to happen... Moving prep to-do list:

· Roofers come Wed: make sure money is transferred to ckng acct
· A/C tune up scheduled for Wed from 8-12
· work with Nikki to move cleanings to Grandma's
· Coordinate with PODS for storage
· PACK!
· Appts wed 4/25 with Sandlin people for design and electrical - make sure Jon is off to come with.

And sewing for Brooke's...
· 5 orders that I need to finish, not including Joel's birthday stuff

My solution is...I'm taking half a day of vacation and leaving work at noon. I need it for sanity. Gotta get these lists under control! I'll be better for all if I can knock some of these things off my brain! :)

A day in the life of my text conversations with Jacqueline, J&J's Nanny

This is just a tiny snapshot of a typical conversation I daily have with Jacqueline, the boy's sweet nanny. Jacqueline happens to also be my cousin's wife and therefore, family. Thank God! I think by that connection, she's required to still love me thru all of J&J's wonderful trials....right?! :-)

A few others for your entertainment...

"Have you any ideas where Jude's other shoe is?"

(referring to Joel) "He has managed to find the one spot in the yard where he can get stuck under the fence!"

"Jude just used his toy barn and climbed into Joel's crib"

"If Jude says "dammit" it's totally my fault and I am sooooo sorry! Joel spilled my water bottle and it just slipped out!"

AND MY FAVORITE STILL...

"Hey, how many stickers for poop in the potty?"

Love you Jacqueline!! Hehe. Thanks for making my days! :-)

Easter 2012

We started off our Easter with the fun tradition of Easter baskets from the Easter Bunny! Joel had no clue what was happening but enjoyed his monkey basket of goodies. Jude did seem to grasp the concept a little more this year which made things really fun for Jon and me! :)

After starting the brisket in the oven and checking out all of the boy's Easter goodies, we got dressed and headed to ROOTS church in Fort Worth to support one of our good friend, Tom's baptism! What a wonderful day to publicly commit your heart and life to God! Tom gave a very touching testimony and we really enjoyed the church and service!
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. - John 3:5

After the service was over we headed home to check on the brisket that had been cooking since 7am and let the boys take naps before the family started arriving. Impressively, J&J both took great naps and the meal was ready on time! It rained most of the morning and into the afternoon which worried me the egg hunt wasn't going to happen but alas, the sun made it's perfectly timed appearance around 3:00ish. YAY! The cousins were thrilled!

Little Peakers!

Daddy helping Jude bug with the hunt!

Jude was more interested in what was IN the eggs rather than finding more...

Kathryn found the first "GOLDEN EGG" :)

Kathryn is so sweet with J&J! Jude LOVES her so much!!

Shannon and Joel watched from the porch :)

Tom and Joel :)

Slam dunk?! My sweet BFF, Shannon
The cousins :)
XO for Joel!
Another pic with my bestie :)