Vacation

We had such a great time! And although we just got back this past Sunday, it feels like forever ago. I realize that no one is going to look at all of these photos except for grandparents, but I suppose that is who I created this site for, huh? The crazy thing is that I weeded out about 80 other photos to get to this "edited" version. Mama was a bit camera-happy on this first family vacation.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Now bring on fall!

Some Pics for Grandma

All right...I know you haven't seen the boys for a while (Grandma Marlow). So here are a few pics to hold you over until we get back from vacation. Love you! And Happy Birthday to Grandma Frerichs! Hope you have a fabulous birthday, Debbie! See you tonight.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A Time To Pray

Our church is doing a month-long, 24/7 prayer "marathon". Basically, members have signed up to come to the church for a half hour time slot around the clock and pray for the church and the upcoming school year. Troy and I took the boys yesterday. We knew it would be interesting with both boys, but a teachable moment, too.

We found our way through the dark auditorium to the cross, where over the past month, people have been putting their prayer requests on post-its and placing them by the cross.

We prayed for the church, for a specific prayer request that we read from a post-it and for safe travel on our vacation.

Then Big Brother prayed. It was pretty cool. And somewhere in the midst of his prayer he asked that God give him a present.

Then he had to go potty.

So, our prayer time was short-lived as Troy took him to the bathroom. The little guy and I held back for a bit, and I read through some of the hundreds of prayer requests. It reminded me of the scene from Bruce Almighty where he is reading all of the prayer requests by email. It was strange to feel as though you were peeking into someone's inner-most personal thoughts, but then comforting to know we're all in the same boat with hopes and struggles.

As the little guy and I made our way out to the atrium, the big guy had found a super bouncy ball under one of the tables and was playing catch with Troy.

Prayer answered, and almost immediately.

As a side note, I happened to turn on "Toddlers & Tiaras" for a brief second yesterday afternoon. An overly-made up little girl was doing her routine on stage. Big brother mentioned that he wanted to dance like that.

So you can be praying for that desire as well! :)

Pee, Poop, Puke, Etc...

No, this is not a post dedicated to the Crawford cousins' favorite words.

Or a post recapping the little guy's first 10 months.

It is, sadly, just a few of the wonderful things that have come to give our living room couch & chair such character. Add in spilt soda, beer, juice, milk, formula, breast milk, tomato soup, dog slobber (we don't even have a dog) and most likely the occasional little kid booger, and you can practically envision our current seating arrangements.

Uncomfortable. Stained. On its last leg. Literally.

Troy and I bought our living room furniture 7+ years ago. It was the kind of furniture that was meant to last only 2-3 years. The frame is made of plywood and toothpicks. The covering is some type of stain-attracting and enhancing canvas that is most likely manufactured solely for army tents or ship sails.

We've already had the love seat cave in on us...which is why it has been banished to the basement. The couch and chair have held up somewhat strong against jumping, plopping and wallering...although the seat cushions are now as flat as pancakes. And somehow, the back pillows (which also double as great fort-building material on the living room floor) have somehow doubled in size and continue to fatten up at an alarming rate.

I bring all of this up because last night, we finally ordered new living room furniture. Oh, glorious day. We've spent the past two months searching through every furniture store in the tri-state area, hoping to find the perfect kid-friendly-yet-stylish pieces. And last night, our searching came to an end as we placed our order.

And now the waiting begins. 6-8 weeks. Oh...the longing.

So in the meantime, if you'd like to come over and spill a few drinks on our furniture, or possibly drop a casserole dish on the cushions - be our guest! We won't mind. We probably won't even notice.

Asleep at the Stove

So I sprayed Pier 1 Harvest Spice Cake room spray in the pan today instead of Pam when getting ready to fix scrambled eggs for the boys. Luckily I realized my mistake before cooking. The little guy is not sleeping at all due to his upper teeth taking weeks to finally break through the gums. He seems to have my large-n-lovely front teeth, so I'm sure that makes it even more painful. Anyway, no sleep = some major absentmindedness. That will teach me to keep my cooking spray in the same cabinet as my candles & room sprays.

On the bright side, our cooking pan smelled nice & fall-ish this morning!