Luke David is 3

That's right my baby Luke David is three. I suppose he is not a baby anymore, but he will always be my Little Lukey! It seems like yesterday that he was born, but he has been on this earth for three whole years. Three years of blessings, three years of sweetness, and three years of getting to know this tender hearted little boy. Jeff and I feel so very blessed that God has entrusted these beautiful children to us.

We had a wonderful time celebrating, complete with presents and a Chicken Little cake. Luke received an exciting surprise in the mail from Great Grandmother Gibbs in Arkansas. The big yellow envelope was full of colors and coloring books, which he absolutely loved. He also got a LeapFrog (just like his big brother) from MaeMae and Grandad, as well as a LeapFrog game, DVD's, and books from MiMi and BigDad. He was so very excited about all of his presents and would like to thank everyone for thinking of him on his special day!

!!!!!!ROCK ON!!!!!!!!

Just a quick little post about guitars!!!! Lane got a guitar for his birthday b/c his cool cousins in Houston TX had one. Come to find out his little brother Luke really likes to play as well!!! Before this last weekend we only had one-but MiMi was able to score another one! Now we have 2 little guitar players!!!! It is so cute to watch them shake their rear and bob their head while playing. Anyway daddy got the camera out on Saturday and took some pics!!!

(Oh and it just hit me that I forgot to spell check last night before I posted about Lanes b-day) Sorry!

Lane Jeffrey Gibbs is 4!!

Can you believe it-this handsome young man is already FOUR YEARS OLD-as of September 23. (So I dont quite post things in a timely manner) I can believe it, but it is hard and makes me want to tear up a little, or a lot! I remember the day that this character was born-Lord Mercy did my life ever change. He kind of had a hard time getting here (thanks to the Doctor, but lets not go there cause I gave that to God) and there were many prayers said before and during his birth. Let me also say that there were many prayers said after his birth-and you know what-I have realized that the prayer for both my children will never cease. Even though sometimes I have days where I feel like "Calgon Take Me Away" is my motto-nothing compares to the love for a child or the blessings that they bring. I would have to say one of the biggest and best blessings that I have recieved would be a better understanding of God's love for me, as HIS child.

You might be asking (and I am sure you are), "What was the party theme this year?" Well, we had round 2 of a baseball party! That's right, we had baseball for year 3 and for year 4. It is kind of endearing, isnt it? Let me tell you, it made things quite easy: same balloons, same wrapping ideas, and even some of the same presents. MiMi and Big Dad cooked yummy hot dogs, hamburgers, and nachos; just like at the baseball park. But we did have a differnt cake-thanks to Mae Mae- we had an adorable group of cupcakes all decorated together to look like a baseball glove with a ball. It was absolutely adorable and delicious! I think that it was very cute that Lane asked for a baseball party the second year in a row and he was very adament about getting a baseball glove, ball, bat, bike, guitar (thanks to cousin Jax and Brooks), and a whistle (shout out again to cousin Jax and Brooks). Come to think of it-I have not seen the whistle since the party....hmmmmm! All in all we had a wonderful time and I was so very glad that my parents could be here this year for the fun! My life is so full of blessings, I really cant even express it. God is Good!!!!

Brotherly Love

Angels? Don't they look like angels, like they just absolutely love each other and get along perfectly all the time? Doesn't it look like there is so much brotherly love between the two of them, that they just cant stand it? Well don't be fooled-they are very smart!!

I decided that it was time to have some pictures taken since it has been a little over a year since I had some made. My moms birthday and Fathers day both fall in June so I decided that I would do something that I thought they would both really like. One evening my mother-in-law and I took the boys downtown Tampa to snap a couple of pictures. My mother-in-law has a friend that lives in an absolutely beautiful house on the bay and her lawn provided a wonderful setting. Needless to say it was a little stressful, but we were able to get some great snapshots! My parents are now retired in Arizona and very far away from us-so I thought a new set of updated pictures of the boys would be a great surprise! I really could not decide which pictures I liked best, so I copied almost all the pics I had taken of the boys their whole life (including the new ones) onto a disc to send in the mail. I added the birthday and Fathers days cards along with drawings from the boys. Mom and dad were very happy to receive their package, and I was excited that they would be able to enjoy it anytime!

The pictures posted here are just a few, but they are some of my favorites. I absolutely love pictures of my boys and I get very sentimental looking at ones taken in the past. Now that I am able to stay at home with them I try to cherish every day because I know in the back of my mind that I will turn around and they will be driving, graduating, getting married, having kids of their own. I really cant hardly think about it without getting teary eyed! I love them so much and I am so blessed!

**Flaunt It If you Got It**

At least this was the motto of my three and a half year old, Lane, while we visited the YMCA Water Park today. There were quite a few moments that offered up some laughs (most of which I have pics of) but none quite like the one that inspired this post title. And sadly, I don't have a picture of it :(, but oh do I have the memory and it will be forever journaled here so that when he turns 14 or 15, I can use it to my benefit! :)

You may ask yourself, "What can be so funny that would cause a mother to blog about an ordinary YMCA visit?" Well, let me tell you. While leisurely laying in the wonderful sunshine with my husband enjoying the fact that my children were playing by themselves, I look up to see a little boys WHITE BARE REAR shining in the afternoon sun. At first I thought "oh my, glad that is not..." and then it struck me, "THAT IS MINE". I then proceeded to gasp (which caused my husband to think something was wrong), jump up and ran over to where my oldest had decided to FLAUNT IT. While running I could hear faint chuckling in the background and I thought to myself, "Oh Lord please let him lay down in the water." Upon arriving I yelled "What are you thinking", noticing that my youngest also had his swimming trunks down around his ankles, and at that moment I thanked the Lord above for Little Swimmers. I finally got to my naked child and gave him the speech about no one wants to see that and we don't take our clothes off in public, while the lady life guard was simultaneously saying "Honey we have to keep our shorts on or we can swim in the pool". After apologizing to her I headed back to my seat where I got a little scolding from my husband for overreacting. Overreacting, (are you kidding me?), I was a little embarrassed as this was the first time my kids voluntarily took of their clothes in a public place! He really did not care much for my excuses, but I was in shock. After it was all said and done, I thought to myself, at least I have a blog post! :) Good Times!!!!

Well that is the funniest moment from today, but here were some others that were caught on film, let me narrate for you-

Here is Lane and Luke breaking the rule that you are not to jump off of the top step:

And here are some of my boys recruiting some other boys to break the rules:

And here are some where the lifeguard and daddy tell them not to jump off the top step:

And finally we have the "naughty mat" moments that resulted from jumping off the top step:

But after it was all said and done, we had a great time and the boys loved getting out of the house! This is absolutely one of their favorite things to do, and I have to admit that I like it too!!!

PROCRASTINATION

Yes, that is quite an ugly name for a blog post about the "life and times of Lane and Luke", but it pretty much sums up why I have not posted since APRIL! I am sorry, I really am (for all 5 of you who read this blog) ;) A lot has been going on lately-personally, mentally, spiritually and so on. I really have not felt like sharing much with anyone-even in the house I live in. But is that not how life is, phases, processes, ups, downs-we change so much in life. One thing seems to be constant with me-my personal bad habit for PROCRASTINATION. Yes I wish that I did not have this stupid characteristic and could overcome it completely-but honestly I still struggle with it but am working on it. So again, I apologize and will post some pics of the boys since it has been a really long time.

We joined the YMCA a while back and really enjoy it. They have 2 facilities that are really close to where we live. (By the word close I mean about 10 min, this is close in a city like Tampa) One facility has a huge work out room, spinning, aerobic room, junior Olympic pool, gymnastics room, game room, and so forth. The best thing is that they will keep your kids for 2 hours a day while you work out!!!!! SIGN ME UP! That is AWESOME! There is also another facility that has a huge basketball court, Olympic pool, and small little water park for young kids. The boys and I have been going there a lot. They absolutely love it-and so do I. The water is not deep and they are able to run and play while I can lay in the sun and watch! It is great!!!!! Sometimes when I get baby fever I think about laying in the sun while the kids play BY THEMSELVES and the baby fever goes away. ;)

My BABY Luke also turned 2 on March 20th! We had an Elmo themed b-day party for him (per his request of the last 6 months) and he loved it. We got him a bunch of sports stuff and a Big Wheels-he was very happy. And yes we got 2 of them so there would be no fights-but turns out even if you buy 2 of something the kids still fight over the one that the other has. Tell me, does the madness stop? Thank God my brother and sister were so much older than me. The only time I fought with my brother was when he would take my blankets! My little boy Luke is such a blessing and God knew exactly what I needed when he sent Luke to me. His name means "Light of God" and I think it fits perfectly!

Well-I am truly sorry that it has been so long (please forgive me) and promise it will not be this long until the next post. Enjoy the pics! Love you all!

****Happy Birthday Jeff****

Today is April 9th, 2009 and it is a special day! My wonderful husband is 31 today, but he does not look a day over 21! ;) I wanted to write a little something so that everyone could know just how special he is and how blessed that we are to have him as a part of our little family! There are so many things that I would like to say that might convey how much you are loved and hopefully you will have a better understanding once you read this.

I knew from right around the time we started dating that you were the one God made for me, although I cannot really explain why. There were things that I knew I loved about you and then there were things that I sensed in you that were just perfect for me. I certainly had my standards and thoughts about the characteristics I wanted in a husband, but you have fully come to surpass all of them. I am so glad that God has blessed me with you!
On the subject of being a father-you strive to be a Godly one. Thank you so much for being a loving, patient, kind, and true role model for our precious boys. I know without a shadow of a doubt that the will be great men because of the love their father has for them. By the way, they also say "HAPPY BIRTHDAY".

On the subject of being a husband to me-you also strive to be a Godly one. I have never had anyone in my life love me so unconditionally, besides my parents. I know that there are personal flaws that I have to work on and I am so thankful that you are able to love me in spite of them. One of the things that I love about you most would be your thoughtfulness. It is so inspirational how you seem to always think about others before yourself. I know I say it a lot, but I am so blessed and thankful to God that you are my husband. There is no way that I can really express how I feel, and I certainly dont show or tell you enough, but this is truly my heart. Thank you for being the man that you are today, you are so important to our family. We love you and Happy Birthday! Jami, Lane, and Luke