the stove

{the long version}

The other morning I was the only one up, so I decided to cook some breakfast (something besides the usual cereal.) I sliced up some potatoes and put them on to cook. Meanwhile, I was tidying up the kitchen and only giving the potatoes an occasional stir. Suddenly I heard a LOUD popping sound, looked over my shoulder and jumped. The burner was on FIRE! Yikes! I quickly removed the skillet and turned off the burner (all in one movement.) Then I ran for Jonathan and ran back to the kitchen...and couldn't think what to do next. I knew water was not an option, but also thought flour or baking soda might be bad too. Good thing Jonathan had the right instincts...he blew it out.  Thankfully that worked and it stayed out.  We only lost the one burner/wiring. I knew it could  have been worse....much much worse. 

{the short version}

The other morning we had a scary, but thankfully, minor fire in the kitchen. One of the burners caught fire while cooking. 

{the rest of the story}

So, we figured out that the fire was started by an electrical short where the wires connect to the burner. All we had to replace was the burner (which is much better than an entire stove...or more.)

Anyway, Jonathan was able fix it, with some help, of course! 

Jonathan had to make a quick run to the store to change out some parts. 

First Jonah said "but, he didn't take the stove with him" 

then it was, "I wish Daddy could stay home all night!" 

and finally, there was a melt down. 

This is my new favorite picture of our little guy. 

A Guitar

One day Jonah was asking to play on the guitar. Jonathan has one that he rarely plays and Jonah thinks it is great. Well, one day when I was on my own with the kids he wanted to play the guitar. I didn't have the ability to supervise him so I suggested we MAKE a guitar. He thought it sounded exciting. 

We created this:

Nice, huh. I was proud of our 15 minute effort. Jonah liked it!

(it looked a little nicer the first day)

Well, then, my amazing husband had another idea.

Did I mention the word AMAZING?!

it's solid wood.

 I came up with the strap for this one...other than that, this is completely an original Jonathan Atkins creation. He sketched it free-hand & everything. 

 While the boys were working on the guitar I was trying to get myself ready to go somewhere. Elizabeth was screaming, so I took her outside (to give myself a break). When I came back out Jonah was singing to her!!!

When I came back home later the guitar was finished and Jonah was giving a concert.

Family Day:Legoland

I recently heard that Branson was host to a temporary Legoland. So, today we went as a family to investigate! 

WE FOUND IT!!
(it is at the Branson Landing...free fun for everyone)

 When we walked in we were greeted by a very friendly guy...and Jonah was given a lego pirate hat. He is wearing it over his ball cap, so it's hard to see in most of the photos. 

 here he is with a lego guy that is as tall as he is. 

 building with Daddy

They constructed vehicles that they raced down this ramp. 

While the boys were playing Elizabeth and I just hung out...

The Day for Fathers

We sure are blessed to have great fathers in our family! 

I found that shirt for Jonah a couple of months ago. I'm glad I remembered to dig it out of hiding for him to wear on Sunday!  

We are very thankful for all these wonderful men!! 

Anniversary Getaway

I posted about it being our five-year wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago. We went on a little weekend trip to St. Louis while my mom and dad came to stay with Jonah. We had a blast, but didn't take very many photos. Or, at least not any with much variety.  

We hit up a couple of our favorite restaurants...Canyon Cafe & Cheesecake Factory (our vacations are always centered around the food). 

We took in an afternoon movie. 

We visited the Botanical Gardens. 

(it was a beautiful morning!)

This is one of my favorite spots in the entire place...near the Japanese Gardens. 

(30 weeks pregnant)

They were setting up for a lantern festival which was set to kick off the following weekend. this was a neat fountain display. 

Can you tell the dragons are made from dishes? 

The long skinny parts are teacups back-to-back and wrapped in plastic. 

 Most of the decorations were lighted. I bet it was really pretty at night. 

 (whimsical cherry blossoms?)

 I thought the globes were neat (also lighted for night viewing) so I made Jonathan pose near them. 

And then he struck a pose of his own in this wagon near the kiddie park. 

 Do you see the geckos that came out to say hi?! When I spotted the first one I thought it was planted there for ambiance...but then his friend came out to say hello as well. 

This was some kind of fruit that grows directly on the tree trunk. I thought it was photo worthy. 

"self-portrait"

Five Years!

This print is hanging in our bathroom. I just love it. 

I can't believe it's been five years. (tomorrow)

I love our love, that's all. 

Playing at the Ballpark

Jonathan is playing on our church softball team this year. Jonah and I like to tag along to the games. The ball field just so happens to be at a park with a nice playground, so we take full advantage. Jonathan likes to get there early to warm up, so Jonah and I play at the playground until game time. 

The slide is his favorite. 

But, watching the game is not torture for him:

Last week he was the BEST little cheerer in the stands. He was cheering at the top of his lungs for each and every member of the team when they got up to bat. This week, he had a little buddy to play with and got distracted, but he was still very cute and had a great time. 

After we got home and ate a bite of supper Jonah wanted to watch a little Veggie Tales. He very lovingly invited Jonathan to watch with him, and then lovingly commanded Daddy to lay on his tummy like Jonah was. 

They are my favorite duo.

New Driver!

Well, the day has come much more quickly than I anticipated....my little guy is a new driver! Granted, he does have a few more skills to learn (umm, steering), he sure is cute behind the wheel! 

We had a sticker chart (that came in a package of pull ups) that Jonah got to fill in each day that he was "all clean all day" while potty training. At bath time each evening, if he had not had an accident, he got to place a sticker on that chart. We told him when it was full he'd be getting a big truck...he just had no idea how BIG it was! 

By Good Friday he had earned his last sticker...but he wasn't home that night, so we waited until Easter Sunday. It was getting dark when we got back home, but not quite as dark as it seems on the video. We let him "play" with it that night, but didn't charge the battery until after....so I took more video the next day. 

The things my kid says.

these quotes may not interest people all that much, but I want them recorded permanently....

In the car last night Jonah dropped the toy he'd been playing with. He said something like "oh no! what gonna do?" I commented back to him "Are you asking what Mommy's going to do?" To which he said: "No, not Mama. Oh nooo! What JONAH going to do?"

Yesterday afternoon he was playing golf in his room while I swept the other floors in the house. He was armed with two golf balls and a plastic bat that he was using for a club. All of the sudden he (very proudly) exclaimed:  "I got A DOUBLE BOGEY, Mama!" That's what comes of watching golf on tv and watching Jonathan play Tiger Woods Golf on our Wii.

And many of you may have seen my recent Facebook post, but some of you may not have. A couple of weeks ago Jonah was in a phase of calling me "babe." This followed spring break when Jonathan was home more than usual (since there were no schools needing substitutes). One specific example was when the two of them were on the couch. Jonah called to me in the kitchen saying: "please, may I have a drink, Babe?" We were in stitches! 

The next week he had one instance of calling me "Amy." I didn't react much and he hasn't done it since. He wasn't being disrespectful...I guess he's just making some observations/learning how his little world works.

Flooring Makeover: Part 1

As I mentioned the other day, we recently tackled the living/dining room with laminate wood flooring. Jonathan's parents came up on a Thursday and helped out. I don't have the final "after" pictures taken yet. I was going to wait to take those after we got all the last bits of trim installed. Those bits of trim haven't come in yet, so I might just go for the pictures without. Anyway. Today I'd like to share pictures of Jonah helping out! 

Playing with some toy cars. He had to keep changing locations because of our  moving things around.

Daddy's little helper. I just love this photo!!

We Jonathan had to scrape up the backer board from where the linoleum was in the foyer. It was a rough yucky mess.  

Here we see our faithful helper lounging on the oddly arranged furniture.

All of the above are pictures that involve removing the nasty carpet. It took 2 1/2 days to get it all out. Then we got to move on to the exciting part. There was a LOT of measuring and RE-measuring. (that's the part they don't show you on those home improvement shows).  This last photo shows a bit of the finished product. Jonah was helping hammer the baseboard back in place.

And....the best little video....Jonah "measuring and marking" like his Daddy!

Push-em-ups

Jonathan does push-ups every day. Sometimes Jonah joins him. Sometimes Jonah tries to "help." And sometimes he is just stinking CUTE:

Five for Friday: hodgepodge edition

disclaimer: i do not have any cohesive thoughts today.  next week isn't looking so hot either.

1.Well, Friday has rolled around again. Have you reached a point in the week where you could use a good laugh? I am not one to love tattoos...but this one is pretty clever and made me chuckle. 

2.I might need to chuckle a bit more to burn off the calories from this new recipe I tried out yesterday. Unfortunately I didn't have any toffee bits nor pecans to add. We ate it on graham crackers. It wasn't the best thing I've eaten in my life, but that doesn't mean I walked away from the bowl quickly...at all! 

3.Fact: We do not own Horton Hears a Who on DVD. (gasp)

 Jonah saw part of it for the first time today. 

 He really likes Horton's silly moves. Every time Horton did something funny, Jonah said "adin (again)" to the t.v.

4.Oh, and a little BIG, flashy update for the Man of the House. 

Jonathan registered today for the American Board of Certification for Teacher Excellence.

That probably deserves an entire post. I'll work on that, but you can pray for him to study hard and pass the test at the end!! I think he will make a swell teacher!

5.Next week's Five for Friday post will be all about this guy:

since he will be turning TWO!! 

That's right...this coming Sunday kicks off BIRTHDAY WEEK. 

stay tuned.

(aren't you glad I didn't commit to a top ten list on Friday's...I know I sure am!)

Dr. Pepper Remake

Remember the Dr. Pepper Photo Contest (that we didn't win)?

Well, Dr. Pepper has a new product.

it's the "manly" diet drink

So, I'm thinking, what better product could there be for the "cute boys and dr. pepper" photo contest. 

I know I just entered and I don't know if there are rules about re-entering. But, there's no harm in asking is there?

I'm trying a different angle this time.  This time I'm including Jonathan. 

But I need your input. I don't know which photo to enter. 

#1

#2

#3

Keep in mind this is for the Dr. Pepper calendar. We're looking for the complete package here. I am trying to best feature the product AND the cuteness. If the one on the right were better of Jonah, it would be my pick. 

What do YOU think?

oooh. Do you think she'd accept a collage?? You know how I love to make a good collage!