Grayson's first trip to Duncan

Playing on the floor with his brothers

With his Granddad - my wonderful father-in-law who taught me a lot about being meek and humble while still being a strong leader at the same time this weekend. (See the resemblance - even their hairline looks the same to me in this picture - sorry Buzz:)

With Daddy out on the back porch - just checking it out

Grayson did pretty well on the trip.  If you consider that the kid was in the middle of "crying it out" (I'm so over nursing in the middle of the night), is cutting a new tooth and didn't get close to his normal nap schedule - I think he did just fine.  Of course I had to abandon the crying it out thing for everyone else's sanity, thus abandoning 9 nights under our belt, but I think he should bounce back pretty quick.  No tooth yet but I can see his top left tooth coming close to the gums.  He seemed to enjoy all the time outside and he loves being held and attended to by all the family.  I figured I should also mention what this kid is up to these days since I forget to do that often.  I could pretty much copy the Saylor blog (no they are not the same age - Hugh is just an over achiever and Grayson doesn't seem to care too much about such things).  He is just now in the last week sitting up pretty well to play with his toys.  He has also just recently mastered rolling all over the place and not just the random roll.  He can roll and scrunch himself around on the floor pretty well.  This has created the drama of rolling over in his crib and crying about it but I haven't been rolling him back and he is sleeping on his belly half of the time now.  I love this kid.  I think he is just the sweetest thing - even when he is in a rough patch.  He would get so tired and done on this trip and just bury his head in to me.  Ugh - melt my heart.  

Parker in Duncan

Parker and chocolate chip pancakes - he also had sausage with biscuits and gravy for breakfast this day - quite the feast.  It didn't take him long to learn that there is some tasty food served at Gram Boyd's house.

Parker LOVED the animals - He fed the sheep pretty much all day long which I'm sure Hayden and Brad wouldn't have appreciated if they would have realized how often those sheep were getting hay from Parker as often as they were - He also loved the chickens.  I'm sure the chickens didn't love Parker as much as he loved them however since he spent most of the time pestering or chasing them around.

Parker and Davis also shared a room on this trip.  I want them to share a room eventually at home too but this was our first try at putting them together inches away from one another.  I think it went pretty good.  It did take them about an hour the first night - they played, laughed and pestered each other before going to sleep.  The next night they just went right to sleep - exhaustion helped out there I'm sure.  On the first night I went back in their room b/c Davis was crying and Parker was just sitting in his bed laughing.  Parker realized that he could make Davis cry just by saying his name because Davis wanted him to be quiet.  He thought this was quite amusing.  

Davis in Duncan

We didn't tell the boys why we were making the trip to Duncan this past weekend.  They were really completely shielded from the hard parts of the weekend and were able to have a fabulous weekend with family.

Davis with the sheep in the backyard at Gram Boyd's house

Riding in the fire trucks - Uncle Brad and Hayden both work/volunteer for the local fire department so they took the boys down and opened up the firehouse to take them to ride on the different trucks - and you wonder why Davis loves this place!!

This is a cute story.  Sunday morning we went to church at the family church in Duncan.  Mark's Uncle Brad is the pastor.  It is always a time that I really enjoy when we are in Duncan.  I love the small church atmosphere and the worship with their church family is great.  Davis was very aware on this trip how different church was 'aesthetically'.  Our church meets in a gymnasium, with a band and rows and rows of folding chairs.  He noticed how different it was to be in a very small traditional looking church with piano led worship and a couple of rows of pews.  I grew up attending a church that had a more traditional church meeting place so this never strikes me as different, but it made an impression on Davis.  He also tuned in to Mark's uncle preaching from the pulpit up front.  When we got back to the house later, Davis and Parker were playing outside while we got Sunday lunch on the table.  He kept coming in an asking for weird things (a box, a paper towel holder, and finally a Bible).  He brought us outside and had assembled himself a little 'pulpit'.  The paper towel holder is his microphone.  He didn't have much to say in terms of a sermon (that is not really Davis) but he wanted to be like Brad I think - very sweet.

If you tell Davis that a trip to Duncan might be in his future, he is pretty much bouncing-off-the-walls ecstatic.  He really loves to go and had a great time.  "Duncan" to Davis is really Gram Boyd's house.  Everything about it is fabulous to him: lots of family, tractors, plenty of places to dig and run around, and animals to feed and play with.  At church on Sunday he made a little friend (Hollace) and told him "we are going to go eat lunch at Duncan (Mark's Grandma's house) you can come if you want, it is kind of far away".  I'm sure Hollace was confused since we were standing at the church IN downtown Duncan.  In the car on the way home I asked him what were his favorite parts of the trip.  He said:  the firehouse with Uncle Brad and Hayden, getting a 'fire hat' (from Aunt Brenda), and playing with his cousins.  His cousins are actually more like third cousins.  We have a great relationship with Mark's second cousins (the Robinsons) who live in New Mexico.  Davis had met their boys before but they got to play for hours yesterday and Davis had so much fun.  He told me, "Mom, I'm having so much fun, I love my new cousins, they are the best boys I have met all day" (okay so they were the ONLY kids he had been with that day).  I wish I had had my camera yesterday - they had a great time together.  

Mark's Granddad Filleman

Our family with Granddad and Jeanette in April of 2008

Last week Mark's Granddad Harold Filleman died.  This has been a sad loss for their family.  I didn't get the opportunity to spend tons of time with him in the five years I have been in their family but I know he was a very sweet man who held a very special place in my husband's heart.  He will be missed very much.

There is something about this picture that I love.  This was taken in June 2007 and was the first time that Granddad met Parker.  I think that Harold representing the 'history' of this family that I love so much and this picture of his hand in Parker's with Buzz's (Mark's dad) hand around Parker is just sweet to me - all the generations.  I think that he really liked seeing the boys.  The last time that the boys got to spend time with him he was in Phoenix for a week while Jeanette had surgery in Tucson.  I remember thinking how sweet it was for him to sit at the kitchen table at Buzz and Billie's house and interact with Parker while he colored and played with play dough.  I wish that the boys would have had more time to get to know him but I am grateful for the memories and pictures that we do have. 

Mark and his Granddad had a sometime sarcastic relationship.  It was like Mark brought his humor out just by walking in the room.  They always took playful jabs at each other when we would first start the visit. 

One 3 Photography

My cousin Kelly is a photographer and I think she does an amazing job.  She took our Christmas pictures a while back and was kind enough to take pictures of the whole Filleman clan while April and Clayton were in town.  She recently started a blog and put a slide show of our family's photo shoot on her blog.  Check it out:  One 3 Photography

Thanks Kershaws & Renee

Davis came out of Sunday school last night so excited about his story.  We talked about his lesson all the way home from church.  He told me about Jesus having "community" (communion) with his disciples and how we can have "everlasting life".  It was the best conversation we have ever had on the way home from church.  He wanted to come home and find the verses that they had read to him about communion in his own Bible.  He made a sheep in his class.  It is just a little sheep that he made out of paper and cotton balls but he loves it.  He made it a cage out of a shoebox when he got home.  He also asked me to give him one of the cleaned out baby food jars so that he could pretend to give it some water.  I think that he enjoyed the craft so much that it really helped him make a connection to the other parts of the lesson.  Thank you so much to the Kershaws and Renee for taking the time to teach last night and making God's Word come alive for him.   

Davis with his sheep and the little house he made for it

Playing the Wii

Getting ready to cross the finish line in first place!

Parker sits with him and pretends to play - he thinks he is playing

I realized in my interview post that I should make mention of how much Davis oves the Wii.  he used to want to play so bad but would quickly get frustrated if he felt like he couldn't do it well.  This was only for a little while, now he is quite the pro!  It is something I try to keep a "novel" activity so that it is something special he gets to do.  Usually he plays in the "making dinner time" hour.   Davis watches the lap counter when he is playing the racing game and calls me in when he knows he is on his last lap and about to cross the finish line.  

Interview with Davis (mommy & daddy)

A couple of weeks ago I did this "Interview with Davis" thing on Facebook and I wanted to keep a copy so I am repeating it on my blog:

1. What is something mom always says to you?

"you call me bubba"

2.  What makes mom happy?

"by obeying you"

3.  What makes mom sad?

"when I don't obey you"

4.  How does mom make you laugh?

"by tickling my arm"

5.  What did your mom like to do when she was a little girl?

"see the dinosaur song" (my mom had just taught them a dinosaur song that I sang in preschool)

6.  How old is your mom?

"give me a clue . . " (Me: "I'm twenty . . .)  Davis: "TWENTY EIGHT!!"  

7.  How tall is your mom?

"same as Daddy"

8.  What is mom's favorite thing to watch on TV?

"a baking show" (I watch a lot of Food Network)

9.  What does mom do when you are not around?

"you do some working"

10.  What is your mom really good at?

"working" (???)

11.  What is your mom not very good at?

"playing the Wii"  (this made me laugh b/c he know he is better than me)

12.  What does your mom do for her job?

"to fix stuff for people like when they are sick" (this was in the throws of weeks of sickness around here)

13.  What is your mom's favorite food?

salad and pizza

14.  What makes you proud of mom?

"when you try to play the Wii" (I tell him I am 'proud' of him a lot when he is playing so I think it was the word association.  When he first started to play he would get easily frustrated with himself so I was doing a lot of over-encouraging:)

15.  If mom was a cartoon character, who would I be?

"a little green dinosaur"

16.  What do you and mom do together?

"go somewhere"

17.  How are you and mom the same?

"by our eyes - our eyes are the same"

18.  How are you and mom different?

"our hair is different and I'm a boy"

19.  What does mom like most about dad?

"you love him"

20.  Where is your mom's favorite place to go?

"um the grocery store" (sadly not true - unless it is kidless, I used to really like wandering slowly through the grocery store)

21.  How do you know mom loves you?

"because you love me VERY much"

22.  Who is your favorite person?

"uh you silly" (shocker:)

23.  Do you have a girlfriend?

"yes, Kara" (a problem that should resolve itself)

24.  Are you going to get married?

"uh huh"

Today I asked him the same questions about Daddy (these were done 2 weeks apart):

1.  What is something Daddy always says to you?

"calls me Munchy" (Mark's nickname for Davis)

2.  What makes Dad happy?

"when I say 'yes Dad'"

3.  What makes Dad sad?

"when I don't obey him"

4.  How does Dad make you laugh?

"by making funny faces"

5.  What did Dad like to do when he was a little boy?

"go for a walk . . well when Daddy was little how did I have a Dad?  That's a good question huh mom?"  

6.  How old is your dad?

"42" (sorry babe - guess you should start reinforcing your age so he know you are still mid-thirties married to a spring chicken in her twenties :)

7.  How tall is your dad?

"tall as the ceiling"

8.  What is Dad's favorite thing to watch on t.v.?

"Tom and Jer" (pronounced "j-air" - like they are buds)

9.  What does Dad do when you aren't around?

"he probably plays hide and seek, he likes to hide"

10.  What is Dad really good at?

"playing the Wii"

11.  What is Dad not very good at?

"riding a motorcycle" (I think they recently had a conversation about why Mark doesn't have a motorcycle - Davis really wants his dad to get a motorcycle - I do not)

12.  What does Dad do for his job?

"works in his new building" (Sturgeon recently got a new office building)

13.  What is dad's favorite food?

"salad" (??? couldn't be further from the truth)

14.  What makes you proud of dad?

"when he climbs high on the ladder"

15.  If dad were a cartoon character, who would he be?

"the guy who wears a blue shirt and blue pants" (not sure who he is thinking - maybe he just realized his Dad's affection for all things blue)

16.  What do you and Daddy do together?

"go to his work and walk to lunch aaaaaaaand we read a lot"

17.  How are you and Dad the same?

"we have the same hair"

18.  How are you and Dad different?

"by having different hands" (This is a funny story:  A couple of days ago I was sitting with Davis and I told him that I thought his hands looked like Daddy's hands.  He said, "No they don't.  My hands looks like your hands.  Daddy's hands are the hairy-hairiest!"  I laughed out loud.)

19.  What does Dad like most about mom?

"giving you hugs and kisses and taking you out to eat"

20.  What is Dad's favorite place to go?

"hmmm, give me a hint . . . is it peter piper?"

21.  How do you know that Daddy loves you?

"if he gives me hugs and kisses"

Ostrich Festival

I have lived in AZ all my life, but had never heard of the Ostrich Festival.  Now that I am a Chandler rat I have been well acquainted with the function (we listened to it all night long:)  We took the boys today and had SO MUCH FUN!  It was a great afternoon.  I thought that petting zoo was the best part.  They got to pet and feed goats, antelopes, a pig, a camel, a zebra, an emu and some other crazy animals - not to mention the free sex-ed lesson they got at the buffalo cages.  I forgot to take my camera into the petting zoo so check out my sister's blog.  The other highlight for me was lunch in the grass.  It was a beautiful day and we had some tasty fair food in the grass and the boys had a great time running around.  

Icees and blue teeth on the ride home

Davis (nervous of course) on their first ride - he ended up loving it

E and Grayson in the grass

Parker and Ryan on the speed boats - they were fearless of course

Grayson and his 'evil-eye' - he loves the camera :)

All the boys on the Mater Ride

Parker and Logey in the grass

Dressed up in front of the fire truck

Eating Lunch - Check out Michael's corn on the cob!

I love this picture - they had so much fun pal-ing around together

Parker's First Day of BSF

Today Parker went with me to BSF for the first time.  I don't know who was more nervous, Parker or myself.  I am definitely going to be a piece of work on the first day of school - probably something everyone should add to their prayer request list now.  Davis acted like he was 12 -years-old telling Parker all about it in the car on the way to the church.  Parker was very sad when I dropped him off and after having to be told to leave by the teacher (I'm not kidding) I was off to class and he did great.  Of course Lana Bushman (the children's director) made what has almost become a 'trademark' comment, "I met Parker.  I saw him and I thought, no that can't be right, he can't be your son".  Right I know - we look nothing alike!  He said he had a great time.  He looked so big - it almost makes my heart hurt.  I am SO glad that he has an opportunity to go with Davis and me. God has used BSF in huge ways in both my life and in Davis' life.  The program is amazing.  I appreciate so much the way that those teachers love, care for and pray for my kids.  It gives us great opportunities to talk about God's Word and gives Davis opportunities to hear it in a different way - from someone other than his parents.  I guess that is my plug for the program.  It is really a blessing and I am so glad that Parker and Davis both have the opportunity to go with me.  (Parker wore his new "BATman shirt" for the big day.  Daddy gave it to him last night and he loves it.  He has some crazy obsession with Batman and Superman right now - which is weird b/c he has never seen a show about either one)

Finally "Well"

After almost three weeks of lock down - I think we are finally over the hump!!  We have had some serious sickness in this house.  RSV turned into many ear infections and bronchitis which even I got the privilege of fighting.  I suppose it was just a taste of what sick in a house of three boys will probably look like in our future of fighting illness - domino effect style:  one gets sick, then three days later the next one and then three days later the third finally goes down.  Either way, we seem to be over it now - thank goodness!