Project Life 2012 - Week 19

May 6-12, 2012

Brad came home on Sunday and we were happy to have him home! Of course, it was right back to work for him, so we got right back into the old routines pretty quick :)

On Tuesday I went to Bennett's class and took pictures of the kids for a little project for his teacher. Bennett is always so happy to have me at the school - which makes me happy in return! I'm so glad that he doesn't shrink away and try to pretend that he doesn't know me (at least not yet, anyway ;)  He assures me that he'll never do that... we'll see!

Here is Bennett's picture for the book. (more on the book in a later post :)

On Saturday, Bennett bought me a cake for Mother's Day from Publix. We couldn't wait until Sunday to eat it (in fact, a strawberry got eaten before I could even take the picture!!)

 I love his 'extra touches'.

 He's so cute!

So, after eating cake, we had a baseball game and guess what... Bennett got ANOTHER game ball!!

 Way to go! 

(I'm not sure, but I think that this must be a 'game ball' record of some sort!)

And finally, on Saturday, I finished this puzzle.

Sure, it may look easy enough, but it took months (no joke - literally MONTHS!!) to get this puzzle done. Kim and I worked on it a bunch and then I was just determined to get it  completed - one piece at a time!  

Word to the wise: Dollar Store puzzles may be cheap, but they are HARD!!

Now, what do I do with this puzzle? I can't bear to tear it up, so it will sit like this under a bed for a while :)

Project Life 2012 - Week 18

April 29-May 5, 2012

This week, Brad went on a diving trip, leaving Bennett and me to fend for ourselves (for the 2nd week in a row, I might add :)

While he was gone, I cleaned out his closet. Look!! There is carpet in there! 

And Bennett drank grape juice out of a wine glass

(since Brad was eating fancy meals on his vacation, we decided to be fancy here too!)

On the 30th, I finally remembered to take a picture of Bennett's birthday wish on the marquee outside the school!

And, on Saturday, we had another baseball game!

 We didn't win this one, but we still played a pretty good game :)

We miss Brad, but Bennett and I did pretty good on our own. Bennett took his 'man of the house' duties seriously, taking care of any bugs and helping me take the garbage down the hill ;)

Project Life 2012 - Week 17

April 22-28 was a good week. A little bit calmer week, which was really needed!

We had to say good-bye to Bennett's baseball lesson coaches because they were heading off to play for the season.

 PItching Coach, Todd is headed to the New England Barnstormers

 Hitting Coach, Jeff is headed to the Michgan Beach Bums. 

We are really going to miss these guys - they have helped Bennett SO much over the past 6 months! They make him work hard, but are very kind in the process (which is not the norm, I am learning...)  We hope that they have great seasons and can't wait to see them again in the Fall!

On Tuesday I hosted a PTO luncheon at my house. Simona came and helped me make sure that the house was in tip-top shape (thanks Simona!) and I had everything ready in plenty of time. I think that the meeting was a success! Too bad I waited until we were about to graduate from the elementary school to have everyone over :)

Finally, on the 26th... 

although it is blurry and not a good picture...

Bennett got to play 3rd base!!

He was super excited and did a great job!

Way to go, buddy!

Project Life 2012 - Week 16

Coach Kevin had a great idea for after practice on April 15...

let's hit water balloons!!

Can you tell how much fun this is??

Sure, you get a little wet.

The boys were ALL smiles :)

We couldn't convince Bennett that opening his eyes would be the easiest way to hit.

Good swing!!

On Wednesday night (the 18th) the Cardinals played Bennett's first coach's team and we won!! Just at the end - just one run - and guess who made the winning run? 

Bennett did!!  Yippee!!

Another game ball! Way to go!!

On Friday, April 20, I took Bennett to his first concert!!

We saw Chris Tomlin at Samford. It was awesome! Loud. But still awesome. (and who is the smartest mom ever that brought earplugs? Me, of course ;)

There really aren't words to express how happy my heart was to be able to praise God with Bennett at the concert. Seeing my baby with is hands raised - well, there really is nothing better.

What a busy, fun week! We are so lucky to be surrounded by so many loving, talented, creative people!

Project Life 2012 Week 15 part 2

Have a mentioned that it is baseball season??

Well, it certainly is! We are about half way through the season and it has been great! Not all wins, but certainly not all losses!! After our 2nd win, Bennett said 'Well, now we've doubled our wins from last year!' :)

We've enjoyed having Mooma and Poopa at every game!

And we've enjoyed having Nana and Pa at most games (Pa has been an excellent addition to our regular cheering section this season!)

Anyway, on April 12 I brought my camera and asked if I could stand on the field to take pictures. It is something that I like to do once a season to really get the boys in action. I don't do it every game, because to be honest, it is really hard to watch the game through the camera lens (which is something I have learned through the years, but I won't get sidetracked!)

Bennett made a great hit (twice!) and made a great run!

Our 1st base coach is very animated and fun to watch... there is no doubting what he wants the boys to do!

After celebrating at first base (Bennett has had a hard time hitting this season for some reason - he does great at his lessons, but has been choking at the plate), it was time to make it around the bases. He slid into second, rounded 3rd (and I missed the run to home plate, but he did it!) You can see Coach Kevin celebrating in front of the dugout below :)

 He's so handsome, don't you think?

Guess who got the game ball!! His coaches were so impressed with his hitting and his batting slump has officially been declared OVER! :) 

Way to go Bennett!

Go Cards!!

Project Life 2012 Week 15 part 1

This week had a couple of picture-heavy events, so I'm breaking the week up into 2 posts. Please don't complain too much... I'm not one to be skimpy on pictures :)

Easter morning - April 8, 2012

With all of the birthday celebrations, the Easter basket/bunny didn't really cross Bennett's mind until Saturday night! We managed to get the basket out and ready, though!

 The bunny always leaves a trail of jelly beans from Bennett's room to the basket - and our most patient son stops to pick up EACH and EVERY bean along the way! love it!

 The bunny did great this year! Ninjago and candy. Perfect!

 We grabbed a few family pictures outside of the church. 

And then had fun with Evie (and Gigi, Bubba, and Nana too!) at Nana's house. Nana fixed the best lunch (complete with mac & cheese!!). It was a great day of celebrating Jesus' resurrection! As Bennett reminded me 'This is the MOST important day!' 

Happy Easter (or Happy Resurrection Sunday as Brad likes to say :)

Project Life 2012 - Week 14

Hooray for Bennett's Birthday Week!! 

It started on Sunday and lasted alllllll week long, which is just the way birthdays should be, right? 
Here's the week in pictures...


Sunday, April 1, 2012

 We were so lucky to have Aunt Cork here with us during Bennett's birthday week! It was sort of a surprise trip (for her!) and we were so glad to have her here! 
We started celebrating at Shane's on Sunday night with Mooma, Poopa, and Aunt Cork. We even had an Edgar's cake! Yum!


Tuesday, April 3

Ok, not birthday related, but Bennett's art work was chosen for an art show!! He was one of only 2 or 3 boys whose art was chosen!! He did a great job :)

Ok, back to the birthday stuff.
THE BIG DAY! 
April 4, 2012... 9 years old!

 Opening presents! Mostly Lego, of course :)  He did get that shirt and shorts in the morning before school. New outfits for your birthday are fun!

 Nana came over after school to help open presents and celebrate. Bennett chose Zaxby's for dinner (carry out!) so we relaxed at home until baseball practice...

I really can't think of anywhere Bennett would rather be on his birthday than on the field! We brought cupcakes and drinks for after practice (but the pictures didn't turn out great -too dark!) I love the look on his face when people sing to him, though :)

Friday, April 6, 2012
Party day!
We planned Bennett's party right after school, so Brad and I took both cars and picked up 8 boys to bring to the party! Talk about fun! I thought no one would want to ride with Brad (since they would not be with the rest of the boys) but boy was I wrong!! The Porsche has some high attraction with the boys!! We stopped at the gas station on the way for snacks, then on to the party!  

They played tough football and whiffle ball.  

Then we celebrated with cupcakes :) Bennett requested homemade cupcakes again this year - love it!

And, just in case you didn't know that he makes me proud, Bennett chose to give all of the toys that he got from his friends for his birthday to the Children's Hospital! We noted it on the birthday invitation, asking his friends to bring lego sets for the Hospital... look at all that he collected! I'm so proud of his giving spirit!

Sunday, April 8
On Easter (real Easter pictures in the next post!) we celebrated his birthday one last time with my family. 

Evie helped open presents...

We managed to save the cookie cake from Bubba (who has been known to try it before we even get to sing!)

And he made one last wish :)

It is so hard to believe that 9 years have passed since Bennett's birth day! There really aren't words to say how special this boy is... he is kind, smart, funny, creative, and always keeps us on our toes. We are blessed to have him in our lives and excited to see how God is moving through his life.
Happy Birthday buddy!!