BOYS!! Take Two

Well, just when I thought this boy couldn't look any worse...its gets worse.
Big D's nose was healing up just nicely- when yesterday I caught him throwing bricks in the back yard. I made him put the bricks down..I came back in to finish sweeping the kitchen and I immediately hear a shriek and crying!
Evidently, he threw up a brick in the air- and it landed on his eye! It became swollen and his sockets turned blue.
Today its looking much better, but he still looks like a poor battered little boy! I promise we dont beat him!!

10 miles- accomplished!!

Look at our fabulous riders! Their faces are beaming with accomplishment! Of course- they all just finished the 10 mile ride! WOO-HOO!
Really, it was a piece of cake for all three. They were finished a little over an hour and a half. GO TEAM STRICKLAND!
((Jon and Ashley- you were TRULY missed!!))



















Here are some pics of their journey. Papa and I would sort of run ahead of them throughout town to get pictures.

















Riding downtown (their favorite part of the ride)































This is the three crossing the finish line!

BOYS!

I took this picture this morning because boys are just something else!

Big D is recovering from a black eye (his left eye) and now he has a lump on his forehead and a scratched up nose.

Let alone all the scrapes and bruises that trail down his legs. It looks like we beat this boy.

What intrigues me the most is- he just doesnt care. He will stop for only a moment to recognize a boo-boo, but moves on quickly to the next thing!

BOYS will be boys!

CHANGES

Like the blog change?

One of my dear friends has used these templates from a site called "The Cutest Blog On The Block". I thought her blog looks so good I thought I would try it out for myself.

I like the look for sure, I'm not sure if I like the little square to the top left hand corner that stays on the blog. I'm also a 3 column blogger.

So, we will make some adjustments and work on a new header too! FUN!

GEARING UP-ONE WEEK!!

In just one week we will be on our way to Washington DC for a 5 day getaway!

We are soooo excited that the Lord has presented us with such an amazing opportunity. If you remember, we won free airline miles last year and were able to get our family round trip tickets to and from DC. We also are blessed to know an amazing couple who are willing to let us stay at their home and use their vehicle during our stay. GOD IS GOOD! We are also excited our Nana will be joining us!

We have studied DC and planned out our agenda during our time there. We plan to see the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, will check out the Smithsonian, shop at the Eastern Market, visit the National Arboretum, take a day trip to Colonial Williamsburg, see the city lights at night, and lots more.

IF anyone has been to Washington DC and has some wisdom, or any pointers or favorite places to eat- please share! We want to get the most out of this trip as possible!!

More DC posts to come!!



And when we say "gearing up" we mean it! We have suitcases, and laundry, and all kinds of stuff to be packed!!

Training bikers!

These three have been training like crazy for the upcoming Wild West Century Bike Ride. This will be our dad's 3rd year to participate. And his first year without Jon- you will be missed!! :(

So our dad decided this year was the girls year to ride. They will ride 10 miles! (Easy for him, he has riden the 65 mile, and the 100 mile.) Its going to be a fun ride for the girls.

In this picture, last Saturday they went for an 8 mile ride. We were shocked when the girls were still full of energy. There were some complaints later that day of sore thighs, but other than that- our girls are bike warriors! We have practiced a bit, all 6 Stricklands went on a five mile ride too a few weeks ago.
We love to ride, and all ride at least twice a week for a least a mile. Its a great way to enjoy eachother and get some exercise!
Will post pics of the bike ride on Saturday!

BLESSED!!

We are so undeserving- yet we continue to be abundantly blessed.

Joel and I were going to nix doing anything "special" for our anniversary today because we are saving for a big trip to Washington in a few weeks. (Woo-hoo) We even had offers to keep our kiddos. (You know who you are--Thank you!)

Well Friday evening, Joel had a conversation with my mother in law, and at the last minute plans were made for them to come stay with the kiddos for a few hours while we spent some time out together-alone.

ALL day we wrestled if we should continue on with these plans. After lunch, we had finally settled on going out to celebrate- even if it wasnt big. We had a coupon for a free burrito and thought we'd go share a burrito and chill for a few hours.

To our surprise--God had bigger plans.

Today, a dear friend (who I might say her and her husband are the most compassionate, kindest, giving, and humble people we know) decided to bless us with a gift card to Logan's Steak House. I just cried when Joel told me what had been dropped off. Oh yeah, we were now celebrating big!!

Well, just in case you may or may not know, Logan's is one of our favorite places to eat at to celebrate special occasions. We never go there unless its a birthday or anniversary. (Ate there for my bday in June, ate there last years anniversary)

SO not only were we blessed with dinner, it was dinner at our favorite place for such the occasion. God is so good!! He knows the desires of our hearts and He wants to bless us all more than we could ever have asked for.

We are so grateful. Thank you friends for letting God use you to bless us beyond imaginable. And thank you Willie and Kathy for making it possible. We are so BLESSED!!!

11 Years!!

Eleven is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12.











Today Joel and I celebrate our eleven year anniversary. WOW! It seems like we were just celebrating our ten year mark! Before we know it- we will be celebrating twelve!

We are both so thankful for God who brought us together. He has blessed us richly with such a powerful mutual love for eachother. We value our friendship and are grateful to have a partnership in this business of life.

Here is to another year!!
Another year to create precious memories together. Another year to discover new things to enjoy about each other. Another year to build a life rich in love and laughter. Another year to strengthen a marriage that defines "forever." By Joanna Fuchs

Tator Tot!

Our little man has been up to a lot lately.

We finally got his first haircut. Doesn't he look so handsome?

He is such an active guy! He really enjoys his preschool and playing with his friends. At home he insists on playing outside- he'd rather be out than in.















Since the girls and I have been practicing alot on the piano, he has taken up an interest as well.























It still seems like he needs a bath after each meal- he is soooo messy. This is where we do a quick cleanup.

















We sure are enjoying our little tator tot!


Recently, I was digging in all of our old photos the other day(25-50 year old pictures) And I found this picture. (I took a picture of it with our camera) This is Cindy, Joels biological mother who passed away from cancer when Joel was a young boy.



















I was SHOCKED! I showed it to Joel and he was SHOCKED! Can anyone guess who this looks like? Taylor! I wish I could find a picture of him with this same expression on his face (mouth open). And before we cut his hair- it flipped just like Cindy's. Taylor even has the same exact eyes!! I always- ALWAYS thought Taylor looked like our Pawpaw Barnes (Cindy's father). This is a picture of the two over the summer. Theres no denying it- he is a true Barnes boy!!

DISCIPLINE---ouch it hurts!!

Spelling List and Poop Progress!

3RD GRADE SPELLING

I was shocked when I saw the spelling list the girls brought home. We have to be so proactive at home with studying, reiterating, memorizing, and practicing. The list isnt too bad, but they throw in some tough words everytime!

So here is the girls list this week.
pond
crumb
sock
raise
luck
hunt
breeze
drop
crop
paper
lot
shut
cream
rub
front
correct
does
dodge
drum
embarrass-- the hardest one!

We do all kinds of things to make learning spelling words fun and learnable. You have to get creative! Maybe I will post later a few fun things we do. (Pretend spelling bees, posting words all over the house, playing games, etc) Im so proud of these girls, such hard workers!


POOP PROGRESS!

Each day for the past five days, Big D has worn the same pair of underwear all day long. No accidents! WOO-HOOOO!! He is starting to get so excited when its time to go, he will say "My poo poo's coming, its coming!!" Im super proud of our big man!

How we made this happen:
~LOTS OF CONSISTENCY, no slacking! We put underwear on him, even when we knew there might be a mess ahead. Be alert knowing his poop times and store up on patience!!
~Honestly, Big D was completely aware of his bowels, it was time to be strict on the training. So everytime he pooped in his pants, we cleaned him up in a cold shower. It made the cleanup less fun and really motivated him to not poop his pants!! He would say at times in a whiney voice "No Cold Shower!!" It was finally working.
~After lots of times trying and trying, sitting and sitting, he finally did it. I had shown him a small piece of chocolate he could have when he pooped in the potty. I think he was more excited about the candy he won than the fact that he pooped, there was a CELEBRATION in our house!
~Now, when his "poo poo is coming" and he goes on his own, we reward him with a hershey kiss. Once they run out, we will stop rewarding him, ang by then, it will be a normal occurance!

Please PRAY!

PLEASE, on behalf of my friend Licia and her family and friends at the RHFH Rescue Center in Haiti, please be praying!

There has been much destruction from hurricane Ike that passed through. Read more here on Licia's blog.

Preschoolers!!

Big D and Tator Tot with their backpacks on- ready to go to school! Priceless!




























Both boys started preschool this last Tuesday. Which also meant this momma started back to work too. (Its not easy trying to organize a "Back To School" pic with both boys- this was the best we could get.)






















We really value the Kids' Kingdom program and have since our girls were preschoolers. Our mom even worked in the program back then too!

Its nice that we can all be at the same place during the day. (Momma is the Preschool Music Teacher) This is how we transport all our goods back and forth!

















Both boys have excellent teachers! We could not have prayed in for better! Both boys werent thrilled when it was time to go in.















We also just love the school shirts this year. The "Get To Noah Child" graphic was designed by the one and only Natalie Ward. Then the shirts were made by Color By The Sun.
Its really cool, when the shirt gets out into the sun, the graphic turns to color. I cannot tell you how many times Big D has worn his shirt and constantly goes outside for "color". Momma even has a shirt too! You can see, we were out for a moment, and his shirt had changed a little bit in this picture.




























We pray this year will be a great one, filled with lots of experiences that will help our boys learn and grow.