The Suite Life of Brent & Jody

We are huge Dave Matthews Band fans.  Earlier this month we attended our 8th concert.  DMB is known for their big summer concert tours - which are usually outdoors and very hot.  Lucky for us the band is not widely known in the UK so we jumped at the opportunity to sit in box seats.  It was dreamy!  There were no lines and plenty of toilet paper in the "clean" bathrooms.  No fools bumping into us and spilling drinks.  I was a little sad to see all the empty boxes - such a waste.  The concert was excellent.  And best of all...I did not sweat one drop!!!

This & That of Malta

Welcome to Hollywood...what's your dream?

Fans up...

Brent liked the national drink:  Kinnie.  (Yucky to the rest of us).

Our big girl reading on the balcony. 

They loved to sit on these around town...

My walking buddy...

Where he would have liked to stay all day...

Clever Boy

What is this? 

Oh rice cake!  I like those.  If only I could get this pincher grasp to work...

Forget it...I'll get it this way...

I'm Dreaming Tonight...

Something about Easter makes me homesick.  Thanksgiving and Christmas did not phase me.  But Easter...what is it?  Spring here is a beautiful season - loads of blooms and green.  The renewal and remembrance of Christ at Easter is the same no matter my location.  The jar of daffodils makes me think of Arkansas.  The smell of boxwoods warm in the sun takes me to my Grandma's house.   My little girls in matching pale dresses and white shoes reminds me of myself and my sisters in matching dresses.  I guess it is a combination of homesickness and nostalgia.  Two weeks from today it will not only be in my dreams.   

Several Daysbook

Outside my window... could it be Spring?

I am thinking…this daybook has been a work in progress for several weeks. 

I am thankful for... 10 years later I still really like Brent. 

From the children’s rooms…the oldest one was up, dressed and bed made when I came down to say rise and shine this morning!  What a sensible girl! 

From the kitchen... leftovers.    If the girls give me any trouble today they will have to eat the nasty 10 bean soup and I get the yummy chicken noodle soup.  (Update…they WANTED to eat the bean soup). 

I am wearing... a sweatshirt I’ve owned for 20 years! 

I am creating (ed)... see below…   

I am going.... on a walk today…if the sun holds. 

I am reading... The Master Tax Guide. 

I am hoping... the girls stay healthy and I do not receive a your-daughter-is-in-the-sick-bay call. 

I am hearing...birds chirping.  Nice now but not so much at 5 am. 

Around the house... we are Georgie-proofing. 

One of my favorite things... when Retained Earnings roll!     

A few plans for the rest of the week... applying the Master Tax Guide. 

A picture thought...

The Girls

8 Months

Georgie is on the move!  Not sure exactly how he gets around but he does not stay in the same spot for long.  His greatest and favorite accomplishment is getting his hands on a phone or remote.  He really likes food and cries when the bowl is empty.  He now has mangos, peas and dried plums on his menu.  He plays peek a boo and is trying to clap.  He still hates the stroller and restaurants.  He gives kisses and pats.  I have to be fast snapping his picture...

 

First Signs

The first signs of Spring are popping up everywhere!  These appeared between the morning school run and chapel...

(The picture does not show they are miniature daffodils.)  

Daybook

Outside my window...the second day of CLEAR BLUE SUNNY SKIES!!!

I am thinking…how it is amazing how babies instinctively know to get on all fours. 

I am thankful for... school lunch being a requirement.    

From the children’s rooms…all of Caroline’s school shirts are on her bed and I do not know why. 

From the kitchen... fajitas with homemade tortillas - tortillas are not homemade by choice but necessity. 

I am wearing... same as last week for the same reason…I went to the girl’s chapel service this morning.

I am creating... shadow boxes for George’s room.     

I am going....to bed early.      
 

I am reading... The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery – book club read. 

I am hoping... Spring will arrive as gentle as a lamb and not the part of the saying about a lion. 

I am hearing...the girls in the shower.       

Around the house... I bit the bullet and ordered a mamma jamma food processor.  I know we will be very happy together.  I should have done it when we moved a year ago. 

One of my favorite things... a baby on my hip. 

A few plans for the rest of the week...celebrating 10 years of wedded bliss, our 8^th Dave Matthews Band concert and getting the busy season party started! 

A lingering thought...

Your family is your family.  We do not choose them but rather God chose them for us.  If one believes God is indeed in control of our lives then why was he not in control when he chose our family?  As with many things in life the sooner we accept people or things for what they are the sooner we will find contentment.  We seem to find it acceptable to change our family to meet our expectations.  Whereas we would never try to change a friend in the way we see fit.  At the end of our lives, friends will have come and gone and a few of them may still be around but your family will be there to celebrate you.

  

The Boats of Malta

Harbor at Marsaxlokk

Malta is an group of islands in the Mediterranean off the southernmost coast of Italy. Honestly I did not know it existed until we decided to visit. We booked this trip because we wanted to use Starwood points.  I wish it was a more exotic story or fulfilling a lifelong dream.  They have many colorful boats...