Arkansas

A year ago, when we were at the expo for the Cleveland half marathon, Emily suggested we do a run in Arkansas. I told her I was not going to drive 14hrs to run in Arkansas, but she guilted me into it. Not only would we get a break from the cold, but we would get to see Holland Chapel, our sending church. She only ended up being half right.

We dropped the boys off with my parents and the dog off with some friends. We drove into Kentucky and decided to stop for the night. The next day wasn't bad. We were on the road by 8am and at our friends in Arkansas by 5pm. Jon and I stayed with Jeremy and his family. The house was beautiful, the people were nice, but after a long dinner and some chit chat, we were pooped.

A treat on the way down!

Emily and Courtney were flying in Saturday. Unfortunately, they had a delay and didn't get in until early afternoon. That gave us plenty of time to experience Arkansas donuts. A friend of mine always complains about how donuts in the north don't compare to the south, and I always ignore her. Not anymore though---they were delicious! They are soft, sweet and melt in your mouth. Imagine Krispy Kreme donuts right after they are cooked, but about 1,000 times better!
Once the gals got in, we headed to the one and only sight we were interested in seeing, Central High School, sight of the Little Rock Nine. The school is amazing. Its big and beautiful. They opened a small museum and have preserved the gas station across the street where the reporters would call in their story. It was really exciting to experience the history, but sad to know that happened.
After the school, we headed to the race expo to pick up our bib #'s, shirts and look around. Once we figured out how the relay would work, we drove to the hand off points and through Emilys section of the race. Emily, took the longest stretch, which was also the most difficult. It was one hill after another. We were a bit concerned for her.
After another home cooked dinner this time by Leeannes (the 4th member of our relay team) mom, we headed home.
We were up at 5:30am race day. We somehow managed to find the Calaway brothers in the crowd and got our pre race Crosspoint (and Dan) picture. Jon and I started the race. All the races started together and on the same track so Jon got to run my whole leg with me. I was nauseous and it was cold. It was in the low 30's when the race started, but we made it. Jon finished his race in about 2.5hrs. He was sore, but he did it. Courtney flew through her section, Emily did an amazing job with the hills and Leanne finished us strong. we finished at 4:45:19--just a few minutes behind Todd and Dan.

The start/finish line before the race.

The gang.

Jon crossing the finish line (in the middle).

We did it!!!

Church was Sunday night at Holland Chapel. Todds other brother, Nick preached. The church is amazing. The southerners refer to it as a campus, and it is. We got a tour, met a lot of wonderful people and then headed to dinner with all of our Arkansas friends. It was great to not have to worry about the race anymore and just relax with friends. After dinner, and a nerts lesson (we're coming for you Ami), it was off to bed. We were back on the road before 6am on Monday and made it home by 9:30pm to see three kids awake and waiting for us!
Its great to be home. We had a lot of fun experiencing something new, but I'm glad we're home.

Ellie

I know I'm a bit behind on posts. Between getting over the shock of finding out we're pregnant, our mini-vacation (which I'll write about next time) and increasingly worse nausea, its been rough finding time to sit down at the computer.

Ellie had a doctor appointment last week. She is growing.....slowly. She is up to 8.5lbs (5%) and 22 1/8" (10%). Unfortunately, she had to get shots, so she had a rough afternoon, but she was a trooper. She is still sleeping well. We get 6-8hrs each night, feed her then she goes back to sleep for anywhere from 1-4hrs! I can't complain too much.

She is smiling all the time, "talking", following us with her eyes and she hates to be alone in a room. She is right where she should be.

Surprise!

Have you heard the news? If not, go here.

Snowed in

Jon and I were up early this morning watching the news and listening to them tell us to stay inside if we can. Jon took their advice and worked from home today. While he was on a call, the kids and I went up to the play room and tore the place apart. We did crafts, had a dance party, did some magic, built towers, played trains, cars and dinosaurs and took a few minutes to "chat" with Ellie before she fell asleep.

All that before noon!

Knit

Another aunt Corrie creation. Its cute, soft.....completely adorable!

Busted

"I didn't eat any chocolate!"

Holiday

Jon told Ben a couple weeks ago that he didn't have to work on Presidents Day and he would be able to spend an extra day at home with us. Since then, Ben has been counting down the days till today. We decided to venture out in the ice and head to the Natural History Museum (along with A LOT of other people).

The boys loved seeing the dinosaurs, but had the most fun pushing buttons.

Baby Blue Devil

Jon was so excited (insert A LOT of sarcasm here) to come home yesterday and find a bag full of Duke paraphernalia for Ellie. You might remember that I am a huge Duke/Coach K fan and Jon is a fan of a silly little team called Kentucky (boooo!) My brother and future sister in law live in North Carolina and have great jobs resulting in AWESOME Duke attire for the kids (and me). I think Duke blue is her color!

Thank you Tony and Marie. You guys rock!!!

Girly girl

Ellie got a dress from a friend of ours as a welcome home present. Of course, it was too big for her at the time, but she is finally starting to fit into her 0-3month clothes so we dressed her up Sunday.

She is becoming more alert and starting to give lots of smiles! She has also slept 6hrs straight for 3 out of 4 nights!

Ellie chillin' with the binky:

Daddy and the kids:

Jameson Cash

I found a text on my phone this morning from Corrie informing me Prasti was in labor....1 month early. A short time later, Jameson Cash was born. 8lbs 21inches and a Gibson look a like. I sure hope they got the due date wrong. I can't imagine what a beast he'd be if he cooked for another month!

Congrats A and P. He's perfect!

Siblings

I was worried that once Ellie had been around for a couple weeks, the "fascination" with her would wind down for the boys. Fortunately, it hasn't. They still want to give her kisses all day long. They want to know where she is at all times and if she makes the smallest sound, they are letting us know. Sam has even taken on the role of protector. A toddler at church wanted to see her, but Sam pushed him back and told him, "No touch sister!" Ben also let me know he would like another sister. I think he is tired of sharing Ellie with Sam so he would like us to go out and get another baby girl....now!

The boys love playing with dads toys. Sam thinks its absolutely hilarious when Mario dies!

Big date

Ben and I went out on our first official date this weekend. We've been out just the two of us plenty of times, but never on a date. It started with flowers from Ben. We went out to lunch at Panera. Ben opened doors and even paid for us. After we ate, we sat by the fire and "read" the paper and played a card game. It was nice to have some one on one time with him and I love that he is learning how to be a gentleman. I see many more dates in our future.

In other news, we headed to my parents for dinner and a birthday celebration. We had a great meal and desserts. I don't know what Jon would have done with out Ben!

The boys are as silly as ever:

Ellie loves being swaddled and is sleeping a little better in the car seats on her fussy nights.

AND....Sam went poo poo in the potty this weekend. It was a total accident, it completely freaked him out and he has not wanted to spend more than a minute or two on the potty since it happened. At least he hasn't given up on it completely.

Happy Birthday

Today is Jons birthday. We took advantage of Ben not having school today and we headed up to the mall for some play time and lunch with dad. Ellie slept through the entire morning:
After Jon got off work, we headed out to one of his favorites for dinner, Red Lobster. He got a gift card for Christmas and its been burning a hole in his pocket! The food was amazing and we ate too much. We realized it was our first time at a sit down restaurant as a family of 5, and our first time out in a long while together.

After dinner we headed home for goodies. Jon requested chocolate chip cookies for his birthday, but Ben couldn't comprehend a birthday without a cake (or cupcakes) so we did both. We had singing, candles, presents and silliness.

Happy birthday baby. I hope you had a great day. We love you!