Parkes' Preschool Graduation

I can't believe it, but Parkes is no longer a preschooler. It is crazy how fast these 5 years have gone and yet I hardly remember day to day life before I became a mom. Parkes has brought so much joy into our lives and taught us a lot as well. Parkes was suppose to have two graduations since he goes to two preschools, but one school was not a good fit for him and it all kinda escalated with graduation practice so we ended school there a little early and he just had one graduation so that explains his lack of enthusiasm in the pictures (I was really proud of him for being up there even if he didn't participate in all of it). He has been fortunate to have two wonderful teachers who have taught him so much through play. If you listen to the video at the end you will hear what he chose to be when he grows up which actually goes along with his disheveled appearance which in my defense I thought he would have a gown (I should of known though he would not want to wear it if he had) and we had had a crazy week of driving back and forth from west tennessee starting on wednesday with Brandon's nana's funeral then friday night was Brandon's sister's high school graduation where we left the boys and drove home so we could go out and volunteer with church on saturday to turn around after church to get the boys and drive to graduation. After graduation he enjoyed his special dinner of a brownie sundae with grami, grandad, aunt hayley, uncle brad, texas granny and texas grandpa.

Spring has come and is almost gone...

and I feel like we have been in overdrive the whole time. We started out Spring with Tee Ball starting. Brandon was helping our neighbor coach Parkes' team, however, lately he has been not able to do a lot of helping so it's a good thing our neighbor is such a good coach. Parkes has really enjoyed it and it has really clicked for him. He is doing really well at playing. Cash wishes that he was on the team and is quite the athlete already showing off his skills on the sideline as he cheers for everyone on the team. And look what has grown. Cash's hair has really started growing and to my amazement it is curling. I still don't think his is going to be like Parkes so I'm holding off on a haircut so I can enjoy how cute he looks with his baby curls. With the Nashville Flood has come a lot of long hours for Brandon. Me and the boys were out of school for a whole week due to damage at the school, roads around the school and some of the families at the school who lost everything. Brandon and his partner, Chris, spent the week after the flood leading teams of volunteers from our church out into the affected areas helping to get the houses demoed so they will not have mold growing while continuing the jobs he already had going and jobs coming in (they worked 80 hours last week). The stories that he has told and the pictures he has are both devastating and uplifting. I got to join him out on Saturday and it was such a wonderful experience to see Brandon and Chris working with such love for the people that have been affected and amazing to see the hope in the people that have lost all their possessions. In a tragedy to this extreme it would be so easy to crumble, but that is not the feeling out in these neighborhoods and I hope that volunteer help and spirit continues as people start getting back to life as normal. This picture above is nothing compared to what is seen on these streets. Below is Chris and his family taking a break from working in Green Hills. Enjoy the rest of Spring. We are looking forward to the end of school.

We Survived the Flood

This post is for Jennifer. We are safe...I didn't know how quick i would get pics up or post not because we have any damage but just because crazy boys so wanted to make sure all our family (yes Jennifer and John you know you are family) knew we were good. We were so fortunate to live on an area where there was so much devastation with the creeks and rivers we only had a flooded back and front yard which I am hoping has flooded out our mole problem that doesn't seem to go away. I am devasted for those that I work with that have been evacuated from there homes and Brandon is meeting up at our church's Bellevue campus tomorrow to see what all they can do to help.