Jackson's 1st "crawl"

Jackson is at that place where he is sort of crawling, but not like a full crawl. He leans way over...crawls about a step, and then somehow scoots a bit. It's funny to watch. But he is making some headway. If I put him down in the middle of the floor with toys, 5 minutes later I'll find him about 5 feet away!

All-American Boys

My All-American Boys---Love. Them. LOTS!

Special Visit to Terence's Fire Station #9

Our buddy, Terance, invited us to Fire Station #9 for a special tour of his fire truck tonight! Terence brought his fire truck to Noah's 3rd birthday party as a surprise, and Noah had a freak accident and fell out of the truck and hit his head on the curb. He was fine but every time I talk to Terence, he tells me how terrible he felt about the incident. So, we took him up on his special offer to come visit he and Wes Malcom at the fire station. At first when we asked Noah if he wanted to get in the truck, he said, "No thank you," and walked off. But, then he warmed out and realized it was pretty cool! They just don't do stuff like this every day! It was great to see Wes and visit with him. He lost his wife to breast cancer 2 years ago this month, and he and I have been close throughout his journey. He recently wed, and we talked about his journey. Wes' late wife, Tonya, was the reason that the Pink Fire Trucks and Turn Tyler Pink came about. It's pretty cool to see that out of trememdous pain, positive things happen. It was just a special time to visit and catch up. The perfect way to end the month of June...on a POSITIVE NOTE!

Grampa & Oma's momentos from Grandma Kreger's Farm

Today, Jackson & I traveled to Brownsboro to my Dad's house to go through some of the many items that he lovingly and painstakingly brought back from Michigan. The short story is that my dad spent several WEEKS in Michigan going through my late maternal grandmother's home so that my sisters and I would have some momento of our grandmother. We were supposed to be willed some of my grandmother's land that was supposed to have been given to my mother, but one of my aunts basically gifted her children land and made any land we were to get worthless. I could have cared less about the land, but a bunch of shady stuff came out that my aunt did, and to do this to my mother...HER CLOSEST SISTER, felt very dirty and malicious. Nevermind the fact that my grandmother had no idea about what happened to her land or finances. So there's the history. What IS important is as follows:
Dearest NOAH & JACKSON----What YOU need to know from this experience is the following: Your Grampa loved your Grandma Rogers (my mom), me, your Aunt Susie, Aunt Denise...and YOU & your cousins...SO MUCH...that he stayed in Michigan...even after he found out that your great aunt made lots of dishonest choices...because he loves us THAT MUCH! He stayed in an un-airconditioned house for 2 weeks and made sure that we at least received special momentos from Grandma Kreger's farm...like an old butter churn, white gloves, and her china cabinet. Your Grandma Rogers (Marie) mentioned before that the china cabinet was special to her, so it was special that it got to stay in our family. That wouldn't have happened if Grampa didn't stay. He and Oma bought a special scanner, and Oma spent HOURS & HOURS sifting through almost 100 years of old pictures, documents, and letters. We never would have these treasures...if not for your Grampa and Oma. Grampa even found an old newspaper clipping that featured my mom (Grandma Rogers-Marie) because she hand-made her own wedding dress. Grampa and Oma had to buy a U-Haul to bring all this home, and they did it all out of love. THAT, my sons, is LOVE. If you've ever read any of my writing, you've no doubt read, "LOVE IS A VERB." Isn't that true? Wasn't that the most loving act? My eyes fill with tears now as I feel eternally grateful to have been raised by such a wonderful father. And I am also thankful that Oma is here for all of us. She loves you very much, too!
What matters most is the LOVE & MEMORIES that we make as a family. And for each memory with you, I am surely the richest woman in the world.

Love,
Mommy

Michael & his boys Father's Day 2011

Here are some swimming pics of Michael & his boys Father's Day 2011~

Our boys really are SO blessed to have Michael as their Daddy. He is such a hands-on Dad. He knows everything there is to know about them beause he spends TIME with them. He goes to their doctors' appointments. He knows all their routines. He plays with them. He provides for them. He is such a wonderful father, and Noah & Jackson have it SO GOOD! Thank you, Michael, for being such a wonderful father. Your PRESENCE is truly the best present you could ever give them. I love you. Your boys love you too. Happy Father's Day!

My Handsome Boys

These are my handsome boys...Noah 3 years and Jackson 6 months.

Jackson's 7 month pictures

These are some pictures of my SWEET Jackson at 7 months old. He is SUCH a cutie, such a sweet-natured little honey. Love you Jackson!

Noah takes care of Jackson

This morning, I was getting ready to leave for court, and Jackson started fussing when he saw me walking away. Noah (who didn't know we were watching) walked up to Jackson and said, "It's o.k., Baby Jackson. I'm here. It's o.k." How sweet is that?!? Moments like that are priceless.

Sputta-getty Noah

Noah pronounces spaghetti, "sputta-getty." I was thrilled to see him dig into my protein-packed sputta-getty, as Noah is a picky eater like his mama. Funny boy.

More Father's Day 2011 Fun with Paw Paw

Paw Paw, Granny Meg, and Sarah came by this Father's Day for some outdoor grilling and bar-b-que. Paw Paw brought Noah a flying glider airplane and Noah had SO much fun watching it fly! Jackson got so tuckered out that he fell asleep on Granny Meg's shoulder. SO sweet. So nice to see all the boys together for Daddy's Day!

Super Noah

Noah is starting to get into super-heroes. I laughed SO HARD when he put on his Super Cape and we played Super Noah. He jumped off his bed onto me and then "flew" in the air! He's such a ham!

Father's Day 2011

Happy Father's Day 2011~ Our 1st Father's Day as a family of FOUR!
The kids and I made these fun decorations that said, "#1 Pop," and decorated the breakfast table for Daddy. We even put decorations on Daddy's beer, which Noah calls, "Daddy water." Noah and Jackson decorated cards with their hands & feet, and we had a little party when Daddy got up this morning. Noah was so cute. When Michael came downstairs, Noah said, "Happy Birthday, Daddy!" Noah's special gift to Daddy was a book that recorded Noah's voice answering different questions about he & Daddy. It was very sweet. I must say, I know that I am really blessed to have Michael as the father of my children. He is HANDS ON. He would do anything for our boys, and has given them the best gift ever...with his presence. Happy Daddy's Day!

On a sidebar note...my amazing father is STILL in Michigan. He has been there for over two weeks...He has been lovingly staying in Michigan, and going through my Grandma Kreger's home, scanning pictures and bringing home momentos for us. It has NOT been good circumstances to say the least. But I want my boys to one day know that their Grampa Rogers gave SO much of his time...so that they could one day see pictures of their Grandma Rogers, and Grampa & Grandma Kreger. He is a man of so much integrity, faith, and love. I personally, couldn't wait to get out of Michigan. But my dad staying there was a gift. There are no words to explain how humbled and blessed I am to have him for a father. He is my hero...a TRUE role model for my Noah & Jackson.