Our Very Own Derby Jockey!

So it is Derby Weekend! I have said for several years now that Pierce has the perfect body-type to be a jockey. Light a a feather. Yesterday he had his first chance.

                                                  Check out the attire. Saggy bottom pants!

                   
                                                                          The boots.
                                                                     

                                                                     The jockey hat.

Receiving instructions about the race.

The jockey's were encouraged to talk to their horses to calm them down :)

                                                             Pierce is ready to go!

                                                      His eye is on the finish line ahead!

And...they're off! (check out the false start that throws Pierce off - and then, in fine Piersen fashion, laid back and easy going, he saunters across the finish line. No speed, but hey, he has the most authentic stride out of his whole class!) So. Cute!


 


                                                           Admiring his horses ribbon.

       

                                                                    All the jockeys.

What a super fun morning.  Our little jockey is a first prize winner to all of us!

They Clean Up Real Nice!

I am posting a long series of pictures of my four handsome boys because it is a rare occasion to see them in something other than sweatpants, sports uniforms or shorts. We got 'em all dressed up for church one Sunday (pics for the church directory) and I snapped a few pics.

Hudson was not the most co-operative about sitting still and smiling - he would force a strong 'cheeessseeee' and then run off of the bench (see photo below!) He also refused to wear the tie for very long.

Pierce was likely the most natural - flinging his sport coat over his shoulder. What a cutie! One of our friends told us they had not realized we sent Pierce to British boarding school :)

Chase was the most enthusiastic.  He loved it! He was insistent on wearing, as he initially called it - a "scarf" around his neck.  I told you, we don't dress up much - he confused "tie" with "scarf" but loved looking like his Daddy.

And Reece looks waaayyyy older than we can even believe! I promise, these are NOT his senior pictures.

In the end, they all endured and I have some great pictures as a result. Every girl is crazy about a sharp dressed man...

Easter Sunday

We enjoyed a wonderful day together as a family on Easter Sunday. We went to church in the morning and then headed out to Cave City, KY to visit the Mammoth Caverns. What a wonderful experience - very much a "boy family" kind of trip. Hiking, throwing rocks, caves, darkness, bats. We waited until we got home from our trip to hunt for Easter eggs - it was dark already - (we had intentionally planned it that way) - so we could have a "flashlight egg hunt" under the stars.

It is the simple things that bring big smiles to their faces.

I took a truck load of pictures to capture the day. The pictures will keep bringing a smile to my face for years!

Hiking in the beautiful forest. Checking out the trees and the birds singing.

The entrance to the massive cave (the largest in the world, they say)

Down in the cave.

Hudson!

Pierce.

Chase.

Reece.

My favorite crew of men.

Us.

Hudson, like his big brothers, loved throwing rocks into the valley. We

could have stayed there doing that activity all afternoon.

These 2 trailed way behind on the hike home. Good buddies.

A strong kid!!

Now back at home for the egg hunt. I will say, for the fun they had, it did require some photographic sacrifice on my part. You aren't going to capture great pictures in the dark.

See what I mean? :)

Baskets full. And the great thing was the next morning they dashed outside to find what their flashlights didn't spot...and they collected 17 more! The gift that keeps on giving!

Happy Easter! Thankful for this special day to be together as a family, and

to remember that we serve a Risen Redeemer!

A Little Hard Work Never Hurt Anyone

So our new home has a lot of yard to it. A lot of grass. And we have had rain and spring and that grass is growing.

We got the mower going and Benjy set out to tackle the job. It did not take long for me to notice that the grass had grown so long it was leaving a swath behind. So I did what any farm girl would do and got the farmhands out there to do some old-fashioned farm work.

We started with a rake and then realized there was a lot to do - a lot more than one little rake could handle alone. So we got creative and pulled out the snow shovel, and the hockey sticks and we began gathering all of the loose grass into piles. Every one played a part and worked hard for hours as we loaded up our piles into boxes and hauled them off to the neighboring fence to feed the cows. I have great childhood memories of doing that as a kid so it made me smile extra big when Reece said, "wow, this is a lot of work but it actually feels good to work like this."

I captured a few pictures of these hard working boys! What a fun afternoon.

Would You Like Some Gum?

This is the scene I stumbled upon a few days ago. I could not believe my eyes. The Costco bulk package of Benjy's favorite gum - Blue Trident, was.....no more. A certain somebody whose name begins with an H was caught red handed. At first, he thought he was sweet to offer to share...



And then he seemed a little hurt at my not so equally happy response.



There were hundreds of pieces of gum disassembled from the box, the package and some even from the wrapper and then ripped into small pieces. I wonder if his Daddy will notice...



He did, at least, try to correct his error :)

Red, Not Blue

Well, this is a big weekend in basketball for the state of Kentucky. U of L Cardinals and the UK Wildcats in the final four.

Everything and everyone is buzzing - either in blue or in red.

We are new on the scene and actually didn't go to either school :) so last year, as we were settling into our new life we asked the kids who we should root for . In a simple answer Reece said, "well, we do live in Louisville now" and so Louisville it has become. That was enough logical reason for us and also that my husband, by nature, likes to go for the underdog - he is caring and sensitive that way.

The boys are into it. It has been fun to watch their interest in basketball grow over these past weeks. Helps too that we finally assembled the basketball goal that they received for...ummm... Christmas (whatever that the self assembly takes only 2 hours!) Anyway - they are loving it. Huds asks for his shoes the second he wakes up because he wants to "pay baketball". I think the height factor has made him one of the best dribblers in the family so far :)

The other night as I was tucking in the boys we were talking about prayer. I asked them if they talk to God throughout the day and what do they talk to Him about. Chase was quick to answer that he does. When I asked if he would like to share an example, this is what came out of his mouth:

"well, for example, the other day when the game was on...I went out to the swing and asked God to let Baylor beat UK" :)

I am pretty sure that tomorrow he, and many others, will be praying for the Cards!

God's Band-aid

From the earliest years of being a Mom I would comfort my little ones after a scrape on his knee or a scratch with the explanation that God would put a band-aid on it to help it heal and feel better. So they have grown up referring to scabs as God's band-aids.

Yesterday Chase took a dive on the street with his scooter, sliding with his chest and elbows (just minutes, of course, after I told him to be careful and he said he never ever falls). He was tough and didn't cry, however, he did cover his scrapes with neon bandages. These war wounds apparently initiated a discussion at school today between Chase and his good friend Christian.

Chase was telling me about it this afternoon and it made me smile.

Chase: Mom, explain to me what God's band-aid actually is. (as he is sticking more neon band-aids on his chest)

Me: well, it is a covering He places there to cover up the cut or scrape so it can heal from inside. It protects the opening. It is also called a scab.

Chase: well, Christian says its just skin growing over top of it and I told him it is God's band-aid.

Me: well, Christian is right and so are you.

Chase: ya. (pause). Christian is kind of right and I am totally right. (big smile and confident self assured nod)

HA!