we're home, and does it feel good!!!! We had a special time with

family,
friends,
family,
more friends,
and then some more family. . .

If you thought this was cute,
this comparison tops that!

Silas has the tiniest pair of Crocs

I could find.

I have been suffering from a terrible case of DBS (Disappearing Blogger Syndrome). With my lapse in posting, you'd think I was pregnant and nauseated again. Blame it on the computer! It has been nauseated (Wish it were pregnant!), and time spent on the contraption was becoming increasingly frustrating due to its slowness. Thankfully, Troy has made some progress in righting this dilemma, so I have more incentive to get online.

While our technology was giving us fits, we were spending time -

with friends. (Okay - I know this is not the best quality photo, but you can't expect too much from a five year old photographer.)
The boys and I are enjoying having Troy around for more hours of the day. (I am starting to have less disdain toward those infamous Honey Do lists you are warned of in pre-marriage years. :-) During two busy years of grad school, I came to realize there are some things I just cannot do! Sigh. . .I am not Superwoman! Had a sweet Mother's Day. Can't take a sweet picture for the life of us!!! I hope Brenda Herring has blessed success when she faces us with a camera next week! (Say a prayer for her.) Silas and I attended a wedding where Troy was a groomsman for some of his BJ friends. Would any woman in her right mind turn down the opportunity of seeing her husband in a tux?! Little lad's noises were not ceremony worthy, so I reluctantly left with bag in hand only to find a beautiful room with a Hi-Def screen and audio. Baby and I enjoyed the wedding in style! He got to eat, and I was able to sniff and wipe tears (Yes, I cry at everyone's wedding!) in solitude.
The boys and I went strawberry picking. Actually, one boy and I were picking. The other was having a grand time walking between the rows, building sand castles, playing in the dirt, pulling up grass and "giving it to the bugs so they won't eat the strawberries," and eating what we were gathering. Nothin' like eating them straight off the vine! The other boy was carefully combing the plants fot the perfect specimens. I leave you to figure who was doing what! :-)
The outdoors has been calling our names, and one job was to replace the mailbox. The boys thought it was grand to remove the old and stick their arms waaaaay down in the "hole in the ground where the green grass grew all around." We now have a charming new mail system, and I dare any kid to ride their bike into this post and break it in two as happened to the last one.
Since the sun lives outdoors, we found out how up and personal it can be in this far, far away land. The poor legs in this picture belong to the oldest lad. I slathered sunscreen on his upper body, but bless his heart, I did not think his legs were so exposed. I also scoffed at the idea of sunscreen the other day, and my famous last words were, "I do not get sunburns." Well, this sun is different than the Northern sun I have loved all my life. It is mean, nasty and gives me terrible burns down here!!! Ha. I think I'll be a bit more careful next time I am out for so many hours!
Ah, yes - - - the flowers. Love, love, love flowers. The boys and I have been planting, planting, planting.
And more are sitting on the front porch calling our names, so I had best let them meet the soil.

As of May 3, 2008, Troy won the Grace Levinson Voice Award and possesses a diploma stating he has obtained the degree of Master of Music! I, on the other hand, stood with thousands of others representing parents and spouses that helped put the approximately 900 graduates through school and received a round of applause. Hmmmm. . .I'm thinking I deserved some type of honorary doctorate in something! :-) Enjoy a few pics from the big day.