Scott's big catch

We are all very proud of our daddy for catching his biggest fish ever on Saturday. If it wasn't so ugly, we might have tried to mount it. It broke our nets, weighing in at around 25 to 30 lbs and 2 1/2 to 3 feet. rough guesstimates.

Danny thought it was trying to eat him and refused to come close for the photo opportunity.

But Scott was proud and posed with it. He has found ways to bring it up in conversation over the past day..."hey, remember yesterday when I caught that HUGE fish?"







next up: beach photos!

Wow, he's one!

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to Joshie,

Happy Birthday to you!

nicknames

We are fascinated with names lately. When people ask Danny his name, he replies "DanielRobertGaskill" People are usually surprised. I guess they don't expect so many words to come out of this little boy. And they think he is at least four years old with his vast vocabulary...yes. He does talk alot. (I answer that question multiple times a week!)
Today he has started calling me Momma. cute. And definitely lifting my spirits on an otherwise gloomy day. It is pouring rain(yeah for the grass and new blueberry bush!) and we just got back from a visit to the doctor. Poor Joshie has an ear infection that has kept him and his parents up most of the night. My family will agree that mommy is one of those people that function much better on at least 7 hours of sleep. Translation: No sleep = grouchy mommy. And on top of all that we are missing our favorite activity of the week: Playgroup! Sad. So to hear a little boy call out momma and want to snuggle just warms a heart. Sometimes I'm Mommy. Sometimes I'm Mom. Sometimes I'm Anne(we have to quickly correct that one!) He is also interested in stranger's names. He keeps asking them their name until they tell their full name. Danny is not shy.
Now, as promised, some photos from our trip to Maryland. We had fun at the Boyd Bear Factory, shopping, playing, going to Nana and Max's church, hiding and finding sports eggs, coloring eggs, baking cookies, hunting eggs at the Giant, etc. Scott and I even went on a "day-long" date to D.C. It is always nice visiting Nana and Max!

Happy Easter

What a joy it has been to celebrate holidays and important times in our faith with a little boy. Repeatedly telling the truth of the bible has been a blessing as we are reminded of why we have these holidays. Christmas was so joyful and Easter has also been special. I love the fact that Danny really gets it. He had us cracking up as he waved a palm he made at church and yelled "Jesus is King" to our neighbors. Maybe we have a future missionary? The neighbor girls looked at him with curious faces. Oh, by the way....they are Jewish. Not so much believing the whole Jesus thing. Fortunately, we have a very open conversation about faith with them and they respect and appreciate our differences. Looking forward to the Backyard Bible Club this summer!
Here are some favorite photos from Sunday....

I think this shows how hard it is to catch them sitting nice....And it is funny b/c Josh is yelling and being loud.


Here is some brother love!!


If only I had taken away the ball before this photo.


Our fam!


Coming up soon: Pictures from our trip to Nana and Max's house!

snow day

Our little snow baby!


So, it was like a month ago, but we did get some photos of the "big snow storm"! Pollack loved it, Danny loved it, and Josh was cold. School was canceled for three full days and one half day. Despite the fact that we live 8 hours north of Atlanta, Richmond is not ready for huge doses of cold icy wetness anymore than our former home. It was a nice break from the busyness, but we are ready for the WARM BREEZY SPRING that Richmond is known for! I love the seasons here!

Joshie is checking out the snow and waiting!


Yeah...that's about 6-7 inches. Pollack is loving it!


We had some trouble opening the door!


Happy dog with a stick in the snow.


I found these boots for about $4 at the thrift store. love it!

Grandpa

Did you know that Grandpa is Max's daddy?

Cause Danny sure does. He talks about it. A lot.

I think Grandpa got about 30 minutes alone the whole time he was here and that was only when he closed the door to the bathroom. Of course, he got to sleep alone, but Danny tried to change that too. He asked me if he could snuggle Grandpa. Even Josh was loving some Grandpa time. He has discovered how fun it is to scramble up the steps and make sure someone is chasing you. And Grandpa is the best rescuer!

Not sure if Grandpa reads this blog, so I will have to pass this on to him later, but he got some compliments from our neighbors. They couldn't believe how young and active he was. I guess that is what happens when you walk 3 miles and bike 10 miles everyday. Man, I hope I have those genes in me!!!

Danny doesn't like to sit still for pictures!


But Joshua is a ham!


Let me walk!!!


Next post....snow pictures!

once again, he amazes us!

I think I could just turn this blog into daily stories about Danny. Everyday he says hilarious things and proves to us how smart he is...I know, I know...here I go again talking about how smart my little boy is. But it's true.

We have been having some trouble occasionally getting Danny to eat certain things I fix. For some reason he won't eat Chinese stir fry. I think he got the same Gaskill gene that Aunt Michelle has where he doesn't like his food to touch. Chicken pot pie, stir fry, most casseroles are not usually gobbled up like other meals. too much mixing!
So, we were having stir fry. Here is how it went:
Daddy: Danny, you need to eat your food.
Danny: Why?
Daddy: Because there are people in Africa that are hungry and don't have any food(yes, we know that is such a cliche, but it was a last resort)
Mommy: Yeah, Danny, people are hungry with out food and they are sad. You need to eat your food.
Danny: Hungry like the boy and the fish?
Daddy: What's that Danny?
Danny: You know the fish and the people and the bread. They were hungry and the boy gave his fish. They were sad with no food. Jesus made fish and bread for the people.
Mommy: (speechless) uh yeah
Daddy: (also speechless) Danny, you are so smart.

AND this morning Danny did the cutest thing. I was hoping out of the shower and Scott was getting dressed when Danny woke up. He came wondering in and was chatting about our plans to have Caroline play with us for the day. He looked up at Scott and said "You are the best Daddy, Daddy!" My heart melted!

Got to go and figure out why there is lots of giggling coming from Danny's room!

echo echo echo....

It is amazing how much our children hear and repeat. Like a little echo following us around the house. I have never been someone who typically used bad language, but having a little echo makes you realize how even nice words can have an angry tone. Sometimes when I get angry I get loud. Scott would say I am always loud, but that's another story. When I get upset I tend to grunt and growl around the house. And now my little echo does the same thing.
He is a loud little boy!
Fortunately, he repeats the good stuff too. I have gotten into the habit of trying ask Scott lots of questions when he comes home. I really love to hear his stories from work and it is nice to talk to an adult...sometimes for the first time that day! I guess I always say "How was your day?", because the first thing Danny says now to his Daddy in the afternoon is "How was your day, Daddy?" He is so proud of himself, especially since we told him what a nice boy he is to ask that. And our meal time prayer has become a family affair. We have never pushed Danny to pray with us. We just ask him if he wants to pray and proceed to hold hands. Sometimes he joins in, but sometimes he is too excited about what is on his plate. I never want him to feel like talking to God is a chore or a requirement-"or else" kind of thing. When he is older, we can go into more detail about why we thank God at meal times. But just a few weeks ago, he started asking to be the one to talk to God. I think tears came to my eyes when he said his prayer.
Mommy: Do you want to pray?
Danny: Sure...open shut them open shut them(little rhyme we do at church to get our hands in a prayer position)
Mommy: You can talk to God...
Danny: ok..(And this was not prompted)
Dear God
Thank you for our blessing.
Amen

wow.

And I also love that he enjoys praying at night and reading his little bible. He is napping right now, so I can't get the book to tell you the title, but it is a great easy bible to start with. It is a hard back small book with flip up flaps on each story. There are maybe 20 stories and they include actual bible verses that relate to each story. His favorite stories....Jonah and the Big Fish, The Big Lunch(Jesus feeding many with small lunch), and Jericho.

I pray that my children will have a deeper relationship with Jesus than I could ever imagine. I also pray that God will use their life experiences to mold and grow them into Godly men. I just never thought that I would see the fruit of that at such an early age. And I also see with great clarity how important my example is in this stage of life. Maybe in every stage. But I know for sure that right now he is watching Scott and I and deciding what kind of person he wants to become. And that scares me silly! I have nothing good to offer and it is only through God's power that I am trying to live obediently and faithfully. And I fail a lot!! But I pray that God would help us to grow as a family and that someday I will be looking to my boys for Godly counsel and truth!

And for now, I watch what I say!

photo sites?

I love our smug mug site for storing pics, but I realize that it is nice to have something to physically show people and for my boys to look at later. I have come up with a new plan. Gone are the days of scrapbooking!! I am a pretty fast scrapbooker and can knock out a year's worth in a couple of days, but who has a couple of days to work on pasting and cutting. Not to mention the fact that Danny likes to "help" with the pasting and cutting!
So, my new plan is to do a hardback book every year with the BEST photos. I am still going to hand make the baby books...working on that...but our family books will be smaller and not handmade. I have a list of a few online options, but I want YOUR input. Does anyone have a site that they absolutely LOVE? Important stats would include: inexpensive, easy to upload, easy to save and continue to work, easy to organize....I guess the keyword is EASY!
Anxiously waiting for your input!

Time flies when you are having fun?

I am so sorry. I have been a horrible blogger lately.

The boys have been sick. That means LOTS of hugging and holding snugly babies. It seems like we will start feeling better, but it takes a while to get past the bad habits we develop during sick times. Like the excessive hugging and snuggling. Of course, snuggling isn't bad, but it can't go on all day. At some point I have to shower and put on real clothes and do house work(or blog). Also, we have had some busy days with the cable guy here and playgroup and bible study and laundry. I know, I know, you are jealous of my exciting day, so I better stop bragging.

I think I also haven't been blogging lately, because I feel a little frazzled. This past few weeks has been a hard time to be a parent and I feel like I haven't been very joyful about my daily events. Normally I have so many funny things to share and photos to upload, but the past few weeks have been about surviving.
Maybe it is the weather...cold and gloomy.
Maybe it is the lack of fresh air and exercise due to the weather.
Maybe it is the fact that we have had so many sick days and it is hard to recover from that.
Maybe it is the new stage that Danny has entered...why? why? why? That's what I hear all day long. What a blessing it is to have a child who is curious and creative and full of wonder. But sometimes I just don't feel very patient and willing to answer the whys. I know this is a normal thing to feel as a parent, but I feel guilty. I want to be a patient and kind parent.
I really do have the sweetest, most wonderful kids in the world. I love them dearly and I love our family. I have a wonderful husband. Scott is my best friend and he is an amazing daddy. Every year is better than the last. BUT....
How is it possible that I can be experiencing the best time of my life and the hardest all at the same time?

hmmmm.

Did I mentioned that I have the cutest kids ever? I can't remember if I posted these photos already. man, I AM frazzled.









I took a few photos of the snow this week and will write about it soon. We had at least 9 inches and it is still on the ground! Pollack loves it!