Blessings

Nothing much going on this week. We have had a lot of rain since last Sunday. It is still amazing to me how hard it rains here. It will rain for a few minutes and puddles begin to form and then after an hour or so there are lakes in the yard and driveway but almost as soon as it stops and sun comes out the lakes disappear and then after another hour you can't even tell it has rained. It is so beautifully here I don't think I will ever get tired of the green like my brother said he did. We had a visitor earlier in the week. It had just got done raining pretty good and I was washing dishes where the window over the sink looks into the back yard. Something caught my eye so I looked at what i thought was a big rock that grew out of the grass, then I realized it was a turtle. Most people think turtles are slow movers....not in Florida. These guys can crawl. The kids were taking a nap at the time but me and Josh had to investigate. They are such strange looking creatures. They walk on their tiptoes (claws). I have some video of it on my phone but don't know how to put that on here. We have seen quite a few turtles around here but that's the first to make in our yard without Josh's help. I still don't know where It came from or where it was going but it sure acted like it was on a mission. Did quite a bit of mowing this week in between rain storms. We have started trimming all the hedges that surround the property. What a job that is. We're hoping we can get away with trimming them twice a year or so but would like to get them looking nice for this winter when our families come visit. Cody is growing up so fast lately. He is into pretending now. How fun is that. He is always driving some kind of vehicle around...sometimes a motorcycle or a firetruck, and sometimes a lawn mower or boat. He gets so into it I love it. he opens the door and climbs in and shuts it and then has to turn the key on. When he stops he opens and shuts the door again. He is learning his letters and the sounds they make...don't ask me how.....thank Nick Jr. I hope he can continue to pretend and dream and doesn't lose that imagination with age. Tanner is full of I dunno what lately. That boy can throw a temper tantrum better than anybody. Sometimes I have to laugh because he will throw himself down anywhere.....the bathtub for example and dang near drown himself. Or on the porch outside and the dog tackles him. Both of my boys are so forgiving though they don't hold a grudge for long and I hope they can keep that ability forever. I am loving being a mom of two crazy boys and love being able to spend time with them doing fun things. It is so sad to know that soon they will be to busy to hang out with mom so until then I will take all I can get.

We have had a sad week. Rory (Josh's cousin) lost his battle with cancer early Friday morning. He has three little girls that always remember how great their daddy was. It will be a hard time for the family and we wish we could be with them, but our hearts and prayers will be. We know that Rory is in a better place doing Heavenly Fathers work and will be with his family again. What a blessing to have a testimony of Eternal Families.