Tennessee Showers Bring Big Puddles

We've been having a LOT of severe weather this week.  In fact, today is the only day that hasn't seen at least some rain.  Yesterday there was a severe storm (which we had to drive through, of course) which included high winds, pretty sizable hail, rain so hard we couldn't see, and lightning every couple of seconds.  There was a tree down at one point, so we had to turn around and go a different way.  Luckily we had the GPS to re-route us (I heart my TomTom).  Then we saw a power line down, which was pretty freaky.  And, of course, our power was out when we arrived home.  This makes the second time in the two weeks we've lived here.  Only yesterday it was out for about 5 hours (the first time was only an hour or so).  I was starting to get worried that all of our newly purchased grocery items would spoil.  But they didn't, and we managed fine.  

Chris was working for most of the day (except for when we had to pick up our van from the shop and return the rental car, which was when we went through the storm), and once he dropped us off the storm cleared and it started getting sunny out.  And hot.  

Our front section of property slopes down, and the bottom part kind of serves as a retention pond.  As such, it had collected quite a bit of rain water, and the boys saw it and asked if they could play in it after lunch.  So when the baby went down for his nap, I took the big boys out to frolic in our new redneck pool.  Observe:

And then the baby got up from his nap...

So I have concluded that the boys' new favorite toys are: sticks, rocks, dirt, mud puddles, and bugs.  Good thing we have plenty of all of them!

The Dinner Table

It is so great being a family again. Having us all in close proximity much of the time is so bonding and...familial. I think my favorite thing now is having all of our meals together at the table. Granted, we need a bigger table (or at least a couple more chairs - our table does have a leaf). But it is so awesome just dialoguing with the kids at every meal. They are learning patience, manners, good eating habits, and we just laugh a lot at the silliness.

My wonderful husband always makes sure to thank me for preparing the meal and makes sure the boys thank me too - what a wonderful display of affection and consideration for my efforts! He has also starting requiring that the big boys ask (nicely) to be excused from the table when they are finished. They ask a lot, and it gives us teaching opportunities when we explain why sometimes they must remain at the table. Blake has started trying (and eating, in some cases) different foods, because he sees the rest of us eating them with relish.

Tonight we had dinner by candlelight, because we had a storm pass through and it blew a transformer nearby. It was actually fun - the boys loved all of the candles (they had baths by candlelight too), and we talked about all of the things we could not do with the power out (like COOK - we had turkey sandwiches). The interaction we have been having this past week has been sorely missed. I can't even tell you how many times George has said - "I'm so glad to be back with you. We were apart for a long, LONG time." It melts my heart. And to see the boys with their daddy again...it is worth more than gold.

So I need to get on the ball now and start taking pictures. That is one area in which I have severely slacked! But I know how fast the time goes, and I need to be diligent about documenting as much as I can, because my brain is just not reliable about remembering. So check back soon and often, and hopefully you will get to see something fun soon. Now back to the many boxes, bags, and tubs waiting for me...