Party Pictures

Ezekiel had a great time at his party. He got to slide down the big slide. He enjoyed hanging out in the ball pit at the bottom. It was almost warm enough that day to make it a waterslide. We'll add water for Malachi's birthday in July. Z had one friend from school and several friends from church who came to join our celebration. He ended up with some great presents and a nice, long nap from being so tired.

Happy Birthday, Ezekiel!

Ezekiel-isms

• "Sponge-quob" - sponge bob
• "hook" - hood
• "ga-boon" - baloon
• "Zach-uh-why-wee" - Zack and Riley (big boys from church)
• "Why-kweem" - Lightning McQueen
• "Al-bee-yuh" - Albuterol (one of his breathing medicines)
• "sem-noles" - cinnamon roles
• "skinny pig" - guinea pig
  

The Frustration

Ezekiel hasn't been sleeping well for about 3 weeks now. He normally gets up in the middle of the night and expects to get in bed with us. Part of that is my fault, again, but I can't help that I go to bed exhausted each night and have a hard time dealing with being up in the middle of the night. I've been struggling with a nasty cold for about 2 weeks now, too. His sleeping patterns left my body with no defenses. Every time I think I feel better, it hits me hard. I've been working through it. Z has been ok, but he still has to have 2 breathing treatments a day in order to be able to survive each day and night.

I'm frustrated that the kid cannot get well. I'm frustrated that the kid now thinks he can get in bed with me in the middle of the night. I have prayed and prayed for his healing. I am still trusting that the Lord will answer that prayer. I am just frustrated that we are still struggling with a "sick" child. I want to sleep through the night. I want Z to sleep through the night. He is sleeping ok, but he refuses to stay in his bed at night or go back to his bed when asked. I feel like I have an infant again. Not fun.

Epcot & the Magic Kingdom

Yesterday, I was off of school, so we went to Disney. We started at Epcot. It was the only park we hadn't been to yet. We went into the Innovention center for a few minutes then did the Nemo experience and looked at fish. We wanted to get lunch there but couldn't sit down anywhere. Reservations were full. The boys didn't want to do anything there and were quite whiny, so we walked around, exited the park and went to the Magic Kingdom. It started raining a little after 3pm, but we were able to eat lunch, watch the Country Bears show, have front-row seats to a parade and watch the Hall of Presidents show. While in with the presidents, it began raining, and the stroller got soaked. No more riding for Malachi or Ezekiel to keep the booties dry. We got quite wet walking around, but we were able to ride a lot of things with little wait. Ezekiel really liked It's a Small World. We had to ride that twice. We did the Carousel, the Winnie the Pooh ride, the Tomorrow Land cars. We walked through Minnie & Mickey's houses and made the boys ride their first roller-coaster (Goofy's Barnstormer). They both liked it.

Malachi whines everytime we go to Disney. He ends up having a good time but has an intense fear about anything new that he whines and cries through most of the journey. Since we didn't have ponchos, we got wet, but we didn't have to wait long in any line. I think this helped Malachi who didn't have time to worry about the ride or what would happen next. Ezekiel was just barely tall enough to ride Goofy's coaster. He was a little scared through the ride but enjoyed it afterward. Ezekiel kept talking about what he wanted to ride again or for the first time when Grammy & Grandpa come back. They went with us at Christmas (which we will never do again---way too crazy). Z even told us last week that he just wanted Grandpa to take him to Disney and not Grammy, just Grandpa.

Now that the boys are finally having fun at Disney. We have to get more of the family down here to go with us. I want the whole family to be able to enjoy the "happiest place on earth" (ok, not really, but it is fun) with their favorite little boys. So, all you family reading this, start to make your plans. We've got plenty of room here at the house. Plus it only takes 1 hour to get to any of the parks from our house. It makes for plenty of fun day trips!

Haircuts at Home

Tuesday night Daniel cut the boys' hair. We need to get some more clippers, so it can be neater. It was decided that we have to pay way too much money now to get their haircut. I miss my hair lady who always did the boys' hair for really cheap (and cut mine the way I wanted it). So, in order to save at least $25 each month, Daniel will begin to cut their hair. Here are some pictures...

Dear Ezekiel,

This last week has almost broken me. I haven't gotten a lot of sleep. Your asthma flared up for some reason. I was up every work night for at least 30 minutes and usually around 2am giving you a breathing treatment. I was ok until Friday when all the missing sleep and no REM sleep finally caught up with me. I was a walking zombie. I haven't been that tired since you were a newborn. I didn't have your dad get up with you because it was easier for me. I am fairly even tempered when tired, your daddy, not so much. I am so thankful that the Lord blessed you with good sleep last night. I got some good sleep, too. Plus, we both got good naps today! I am hoping to feel normal by tomorrow. Being so tired, wore down my immune system, and I started to contract a cold, too. That is unusual for me, but I am thankful that you are finally feeling better.

We've been also going through a rough time with learning how to tell you no and sticking to it. I realized how inconsistent we were with you. I wondered how it happened for awhile. Then, I was reminded of how sick you have been for the last year or 2. It is really hard to reinforce rules when you go through weeks without sleeping well and just feel rotten all the time. Now, I've just realized that we have to be consistent and teach you that even though you may feel bad, you still have to behave normally and work through it.

You are so precious on most days, though. About a week after school started back, and we got back into a routine, you began to come around. You don't really need routine as your older brother does, but it still does help keep you calm when you are sick. You have the sweetest smile. Your laughter sets the room on fire (in a good way). You say things that are so incredibly cute. You are like your mom and dad in the fact that you are stubborn (and don't give up easily) and always like to be right, even if we point out that you are wrong.

Lately, you have been talking about wanting a baby. Now would be a good time for you to have a little brother or sister, but your mom and dad are not ready just yet. You know you are the baby and have your daddy wrapped around your little finger (sounds a lot like a mom and grandpa I know quite well ;) You need to be broken of "being the baby" stuff. Mom and Dad are hoping to try for a baby in about a year. I can't have horrible weeks like this with you being so sick AND have a newborn. I think you will make a good big brother like Malachi is to you, but you need some more time to grow and get better.

We enjoy our family of 4. You bring a lot more joy and laughter to the house. I'm looking forward to seeing you turn 3 and grow even more. I am so thankful that you were potty trained much earlier than Malachi. I don't think I could have taken much more of diapers. It is nice just to have to buy pull-ups for night. Saving money is good! Your personality is 10 times bigger than your size. You are resilient and do handle pain well. I am continuing to pray that the Lord heals you of your asthma. It is not fair that you should have such a hard time breathing.

I love you, Ezekiel Luke! You are everybody's baby, and that is ok, for now. God has blessed us so much by giving us you. You were quite the unexpected blessing. I wouldn't want to have life without you. God knew just what we needed when he loaned you to us. You are a wonderful son! Keep singing and dancing to the tune God plays for your life.

-Momma


A few Ezekiel-isms for the road...

• "My legs is skinny." - My legs are dry (I don't get that one)
• "bur-tay" - birthday
• "zee-kee-ole" - Ezekiel
• "say-same" - same (still one of my favorites)
• "week" - Wii
• "Passer Ranny" - Pastor Randy
• "Miss Ronica" - Mrs. Veronica
  

Day at Hollywood Studios

We enjoyed a wonderful day at Disney's Hollywood Studios today. My birthday being Wednesday and schools being off today for MLK, Jr. Day, we decided to take the day and explore another park. There was barely any wait time and very few people (compared to Christmas). We walked right back and sat down to watch the Playhouse Disney show. Mickey, Handy Manny, Little Einsteins, and Tigger & Pooh wowed our boys and captured their attention. As we were leaving the show, Malachi saw the life-sized Handy Manny. He RAN over to where he was walking and waved furiously. That boy was excited!

We took the backlot tour. Malachi enjoyed watching the stunt show with rain, fire and a "flood." Lunch was decent. It was worth the money for the boys' kids' meals, not so much for the adults. I think their favorite part would be the "Lights, Motors, Action!" which was an awesome display of stunt effects and awesome driving in a little space. The boys kept talking about it.

There was a "block party" parade that the boys refused to participate in, but Ezekiel thought it would be fun to dance to the music AFTER the parade left. We bought them Pirate Mickey fork, spoon, and bowl from one of the shops. It was nice to get a discount from our passes.

I would unanimously say that Indiana Jones was NOT the boys' favorite. They were without nap and getting tired, but Daniel enjoyed it.

There was very little whining. Ezekiel walked a lot, so did Malachi. There was only fearful tears from Malachi when we first arrived. We're working on his fear of everything new. He's getting better. It was an awesome day for us to spend as a family! We really wanted to ride the Tower of Terror but swapping kids to ride alone was not my idea of fun. We'll go some other time when we can have some other adults with us.

I'm glad I could "celebrate" my birthday early with my family! I love them all so much!

Dear Malachi,

You are growing up quickly. I don't know how well I am handling it. About 2 weeks ago, you told me, "I hate you." I know you didn't mean it, but it made me sad. I hadn't done anything to truly upset you to make you say that. It took some time for me to realize that you had learned that from someone at daycare who is usually acting bad and is probably no properly punished for it. We have had a discussion or 2 about that, as well as other behaviors, and you seem to understand. We need to work more with you and teach you how to handle your feelings better---something I wish I could do with every child who is not properly cared for at home.

It also made me think about how much I want to be able to stay home with you. I've had that desire for the past 2 years when I realized that other people were not teaching and guiding you the way I wanted. It is not that anyone is failing, but I like to be in control of the situation. The only other person that I trust to raise you right is your father. I love you so much and want you to grow up to be a respectful young man with a desire to serve the Lord. I feel we are doing all right, but I just want to know what goes in your ear and what you see, all the time.

In November, you brought home a paper with your name written by you, for the first time. It is still on the fridge. I will probably keep that forever. You are so smart and catch on to so much. You can count to twenty now and are excellent with your letters and numbers, as a whole. The VPK program at daycare has been wonderful and just what you needed to "catch up" academically. I have no doubt you will be ready for Kindergarten next year. You LOVE structure and consistency, which, I believe, will make you extremely successful in school. You love to learn. I hope we can keep this learning ingrained in you.

I love the way you run to meet me when I get home and throw your arms around me. Sometimes I don't like when you ask so many questions that don't always make sense to me, or talk to hear yourself talk; but I am so thankful that you can talk normally and have absolutely no speech problems from being tongue-tied and having your tongue clipped. I love to hear your sing, especially worship songs. You love church and learning your verse each week. It makes me so proud. I know we have a LOOOOOOOOONG way to go until we are out of the woods, and you know exactly who you are in Christ, but I am so grateful.

I love you, Malachi James! You are becoming a wonderful young man.

-Momma

Welcoming in 2010!

Last night we picked up some "fireworks" from Publix along with some "bubbly" (sparkling cider and grape juice). Daniel set off the few on the ground one. Ezekiel loved the sparklers. Malachi refused to come outside most of the time until the end. Then, he still wouldn't hold one, but at least he came outside. We had spent about 2 1/2 hours at Outback to use our gift card and have a nice dinner that we didn't have to cook or clean up. We enjoyed it but had to wait WAAAAAAAAY too long. We enjoyed our lazy day of rest.

Christmas Presents

but first...

a few "Ezekiel-isms"

• "ki-muss lites" - Christmas lights (I mis-posted last time)
• "jus-jus" - just
• "say-same" - same; as in, "we have the say-same drink"
• "Mah-kies hit me" - Malachi hit me
• "He's a she" - that dog/cat/person is a she/girl
  • 
  • Our house on Christmas morning
    
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From their Grandpa Honeycutt, they received Jeeps. Yes, our children are the proud owners of PowerWheels. It is just nice that we have the space for them to drive them. I think that is Ezekiel's favorite present.

From friends at the daycre, they got 1 bike with training wheels (no brakes) and 2 scooters. They really were brand-new looking. We were told that they were only used outside once. Malachi loves have a "real" bike now! (and over an acre of land to do so).

From their Grandparents (Rieder), they got a transformer, viewmaster thing with extra pictures, ornaments with their names on it, books, and a few other odds and ends, not to mention time spent together at our new house in FL and at Disney.

From their parents, a mini-recliner (little boy sized), Potato head accessories, and a few other Lightning McQueen odds and ends in their stockings.


I know there are a few others that are working on sending their presents, but, of course, we don't mind if they don't send anything at all. You may notice that the parent list is the shortest. We know our boys don't need a whole lot. They have just about everything. Plus, we try not to make Christmas about presents. We buy gifts for our children all year long when they need something. I'll try to post some Disney and Christmas pics soon.

Daycare Christmas Program

Monday, December 21st, the boys' daycare held a Christmas play for the parents to enjoy. Our boys got a little stage fright but made us proud. This was their 2nd performance with their first ever daycare. How cute!The Nativity Scene (Malachi's head is to the left of "Mary")

"Mary & Joseph"

Sheep

Sheep Ezekiel

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer

Z singing with his class

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

(from Disney)

We live

We finally have internet at our house, as of last night. We are working on getting settled in our new house. We moved in about 6 weeks ago. The boys room is now set. They like their bunkbeds and have plenty of room to play.

About 3 weeks ago, Ezekiel got pneumonia. He had recovered well until this past Saturday. He started out by complaining about his ear hurting in the morning. Nothing major after that until about lunch. He then just whined and wanted to be held. I took him to urgent care. He had a middle ear infection in the ear that still had a tube. His other ear was healthy and had no tube in it. He had no cold symptoms whatsoever. I don't ever remember him getting an ear infection without any other symptoms of a cold. I'm just glad there is a wonderful urgent care for children about 10 min. away in Tampa. They have taken good care of him twice without much waiting.

Malachi is really excited about their Christmas play next week at the daycare. I'll share more after it happens. He ate like a horse today, not sure why. I guess, maybe, he is growing. Poor boy is not skinny like his brother but short like his Daddy :)

I'm looking forward to posting more and posting pics, too.

October Daycare Photo

Yes, they really did pose like this! I am so impressed with them!

Ezekiel-isms 2.8

"Pu-gu-licks" - Publix
"baby" - very (as in, "its baby cold")
"Mommy see it" - let me see it
"moose-kick" - music
"Mah-ky" - Malachi
"ah-uh" - I want
"ah-uhn" - I don't want (as in, "ah-uhn milk")
"jep-py-his" - Zephyrhills
"Hammy Hammy" - Handy Manny (still one of my faves)
"kwi-mus" - Christmas
"ah-weh-come" - your welcome
"gwan-pa" - grandpa

He will be three before too long. I can understand him 90% of the time. Sometimes I have to translate, but if people know him at all, they understand most of what he is saying.


One Malachi-ism and a funny story.
"Pug-lix" - Publix

In the car last night, someone said something about Urine. Malachi (immediate reaction) said, "[person's name], your WHAT?!?

It came out of his mouth so funny that I just could stop laughing.

Random note: We have joined the Wii-nation and loving it!

We are homeowners again!!!

Friday, October 30th, we closed on our house! We are the owners of a 3bed, 2 bath, 2100 sq.ft. home, over 1 acre house. It is totally not our style, but is the biggest, and we are loving it already. All of our stuff is in the house. Thankfully, there is plenty of room for all our stuff, but I have no clue where anything is. I'm going to work on that tomorrow.

Here are the pics of our 800 sq.ft. trailer that we rented for 3 months. Daniel and I slept in the extended living room area ;)

the kitchen table we used as a filing system

the boys ate here and we ate on tv trays

playing with trains in the living room b/c the play room was too small

the tiny kitchen (stove, sink, refrig., no dishwasher)

the hallway

the boys room (yes, they shared a twin bed)

the one teeny, tiny, itsy, bitsy bathroom

the "master" bedroom (used for our clothes and the boys' toys)

I guess I forgot to put a pic of our bed in the extended living room. I'll work on that for later.

More pics to come of the beach and other fun things we have been doing.

The Whirlwind is Almost Over!

So, here is where we are right now...

We just finished helping coordinate, feed, and photograph my sister-in-law's wedding in NC. We left on Thursday evening for NC around 5pm. We arrived at my parents house at 2:30am on Friday. The boys were up at 7am! We did some finishing touches on our leftover stuff back in NC from our move. We leave tomorrow morning around 7am in order to be back in FL for the 6pm service and dinner.

I was able to get a job in Tampa (the next county over). I drive around 30min. one way to get there, but it is not bad. I teach all 3 grade levels in Reading. Most of my classes are students who did not achieve well on the FCAT (similar to EOGs). I have enjoyed it thus far. I was hired on a Monday afternoon (teacher's first day) and was a work the next day. I was "official" on Wednesday. Students began on Tuesday, the next week.

The boys LOVE their daycare, which is at the church where Daniel works. Malachi is in VPK (pre-kindergarten). He is enjoying learning. Ezekiel was put in the 3 year old room since he is advanced. He loves it, too.

We accepted an offer on our house of Monday this week. We should close in September 20-something. We now have 2 months left to find a house in the Z-hills area. We are happy for the temporary housing with no lease but ready for a house with room for all of us and our stuff. We will be looking at some homes next week.

The boys were ringbearers in the wedding today. We bought them suits. Ezekiel called it his "soup." When he says bathing suit, it is "baby soup." He was so exhausted from today's festivities and no nap and little sleep that he was in bed by 7:30pm and should sleep until we wake him up in the morning.

We don't have internet or cable/satellite at our temporary house, so I will try to do better about updating later. That's why these are a little far and few between.

Pictures!!!

Last week we were at General Council in Orlando. We had a great time.

Bibleman (Malachi)

My friends Tigger & Pooh (Downtown Disney)

Rainforest Cafe - very scary for the boys - in Downtown Disney

Playing outside at the house

More Playing outside

Maw-Maw Carol (plus Grammy & Grandpa) came down with us to help us move. This is from a recliner in our furnished temporary house.

We're "settled" in.

We arrived with our U-haul with car-in-tow and Durango at our "rental" temporary housing (for 3 months max) on Thursday morning around 1:30AM. We had planned to leave NC around 6am, but we didn't get to leave until 1:30pm. I love how plans work out :) Anyways, we would have made it sooner, except we were stuck on a stretch on I-95 in SC for about an hour. A tractor trailor must have jack-knifed in the rain, so we got to STOP! It was nice to take Ezekiel pee on the side of the road and share mom's snack of friendship bread with Daniel, Maw-maw Carol, and Malachi (while stopped). We also inched along interstate 95 to 295 as Jacksonville decided to route all traffic for 95 & 295 into ONE LANE! How wonderful!

Well, we made it without any excitement on our part that day. We were able to sleep until 8 or 9am. Then, we began to sweat more than any human should ever have to sweat! The humidity is horrible. Thankfully, we got some help to unload most of the stuff into a storage unit (our rental is furnished). The head pastor and great man, J, came out to assist while Maw-maw and Grammy watched the boys nap and unpack kitchen boxes.

Friday, Daniel went into work for a few hours. I took the boys to the local spraygrounds/splashpad. Malachi wanted Ezekiel to play, but Z would have none of it. It ended in a double meltdown. I'm glad I had to other "mothers" along that day. Malachi had a "talk" with Ezekiel about being his buddy next time and playing. It is so funny how Malachi is a splashpad man, and Ezekiel is a swimming boy. Z hates the splashpad, and Malachi is finally warming up to the pool. He used to be terrified of water.

Saturday, we went out to breakfast, toured Lakeland and saw Southeastern, then ended the day with CiCi's and swimming at the pool at Grammy & Grandpa's hotel.

Sunday was church. Malachi did great, once we got to church. I had to wrestle his clothes on him at home, then throw him in the car. Once there, he calmed and actually sat in his seat the whole time! I was so proud of him. Ezekiel did fine in nursery, too. Grandpa, Grammy, and Maw-maw headed for home right after church. We went to a little Italian/Greek restaurant and home for naps. Church at 6pm, then warm-up the taco meat we bought in the microwave b/c the oven pilot hasn't been lit yet.

Monday, I did laundry and clipped coupons. Afternoon we ate lunch at the house then went to a local bank to start a new account. Then, we ran home and packed, so we could get in the car to head to Orlando for General Council.

We've had a fun time at the Liki Tiki resort in Orlando and a great time at General Council.

We hope to sell our house soon. It was viewed on its 2nd day on the market. Then, we can seriously buy a house. I'm looking forward to more space than a hotel and little 2 bedroom can provide. It's been a whirlwind.

Please pray that I can find a job. School starts in a few weeks. I am believing and praying that God would provide that.

Love ya.