Ava Elizabeth Simmons

We are so blessed to have a new niece!  Ava Elizabeth was born on Monday morning.  She and Briggs are just 24 days apart in age.  How fun to have a little cousin so close to your own age!

Clayton & Lindsey have a beautiful little girl!  We cannot believe all her hair...

3 little boys in the mountains

Last weekend we took all three boys to Boone to get a Christmas tree.  This was something we had hoped to do for a few years, but I am not sure we should have kicked off this tradition with a 3 week old, 3.5 year old, and 2.5 year old.  Eli & Knox had a great time, but J and I were exhausted by the time we got back to Greensboro.  I was humbly reminded that we need to slow down for a little while, adjust to being a family of 5, and get a handle on zone defense rather than man-to-man.  I think Jerrold had his doubts about us surviving the day, but he didn't discourage my plans...he has way to much confidence in me!  All in all, it was a nice day.....

Briggs-2 weeks old

Their Adventures...

Eli & Knox are two of the most imaginative, creative little boys.  The games and adventures they create in their minds always amaze me.  They are at home full-time this year and I have been able to witness everyday how much they are ever-changing.  These pictures are from a morning that I was so surprised at how well and how long they played together in the yard.  Their friendship is so sweet.  They really are best buddies.

Briggs Mitchell Simmons

Our sweet little boy is finally here.  Briggs Mitchell Simmons joined our family at 4:36 on Friday afternoon, November 4th.  Considering the difficulties of my pregnancy we expected a big baby.  I am not sure any of us expected him to weigh 10 lbs, 11 oz!  We are already completely in love with this little boy.  As we drove home on Saturday evening we marveled at how much love God gives us for our children even when we have only known them a few hours.  It is unimaginable to me that this love pales in comparison to God's love for us.

Eli & Knox will be coming home this afternoon, but have already spent some good time with their little brother.  Knox appropriately calls him, "Biggs", and Eli begs us to whisper around him.  The next few days and weeks will be full of much joy and some difficulties, but we choose to focus on this tremendous blessing God has bestowed on our family. 

Made for the Country

These little boys had a really big weekend with Papa and Gigi. Papa took them riding all over the farm, climbing deer stands, and spreading deer corn. They also picked their MaMa a lot of greens from Papa's garden and were so proud to give them to her on Sunday night. We are so thankful they get a taste of the country life in Ruffin...

Getting Ready...

These little boys are helping their Daddy get ready for hunting season, but we are obviously doing our best to get ready for baby brother too! There is a lot of excitement around here as we wait to see if he will come on his own in the next few days or weeks...Either way we should have a new baby by the end of the month!

Me too, little boy...

Eli has a headache...I can totally understand. Today is one of the busiest days of the year in our children's ministry. Tonight is our first night of Awana! We are all so excited to get started and delve into a year of studying God's Word. This is how our day went:

9:45-We leave for church and head by the dry cleaners on the way. I ran over something leaving the dry cleaners and we limped all the way to the church.

10:00-We arrive at the church and the entire car leans forward. You could hear the air pouring out of my front left tire.

11:00-Jerrold comes to change the tire...

12:00-we drop the car off at the tire shop and they promise a 45 minute wait...Jerrold leaves me at the shopping center to wait for the car...

12:15-We head to Barnes and Noble to eat lunch with our new lunch boxes (thanks Papa and GG)...This didn't last long because Papa and GG have introduced our children to the treats of Starbucks and Knox proceeds to yell at me over and over, "Mommy, you going to buy us a Stabucks! A Stabucks, Mommy, Yi-Yi and me want a Stabucks!"

12:20-Barnes and Noble field trip comes to an end...

12:45-We waddle our way to return to tire shop for our car.

1:00-Everyone waiting with us decides that it is a beautiful day and they would rather wait outside...

1:30-Still waiting...Knox has used the restroom in every store we visit. I think the tire shop broke him though, he walked in and said, "Oh my goodness, dis is messy."

2:00-Arrive home to find that the washer has flooded and the water has reached more than 10 feet from said washer. Another, "oh my goodness" from both my little helpers.

Eli decided he needed a head and back massage to recover...I'm not sure what I need.

Page Pirates

We took the boys to a Page Pirates football game this past Friday night. They loved it! Knox asks to go to some sort of sporting event everyday. Eli's first question when we walked in the gates was, "Why are there girls on the field?" His Daddy told him that one day it wouldn't bother him at all if there were girls at a football game....

Still here...

These little boys are keeping us very busy these days! We are constantly intriqued by their ever-changing personalities. Knox is a constant chatter-box, talking ALL. THE. TIME. He never stops and still asks, "why", after every word we say to him. He is also fiercely independent, telling me all the time, "I not need any helps." Eli is still his biggest hero, and the feeling has become more mutual in recent weeks. They rely on each other for a lot and are a bit thrown off if not together. We are making a greater effort to spend individual time with them, especially before the baby comes in a few weeks.

Eli loves to learn, practice writing, and even reading. He has learned a few sight words and is very proud of the little books he can "read". We are working through the alphabet and he amazes me at how well he retains all we do together.

They keep us laughing!

Eli is known to say some of the most hilarious statements. Today at church I combined his and Knox's class and sat down to sing with them. I told them we were going to sing, "My God is so Big". Eli raises his hand and says, "Mom, how bout some Chris Tomlin?"

Recently I put a new pair of sandals on Eli. He had never worn strappy sandals before and he stood up, looked down at his feet, and proclaimed, "Well my goodness Mommy, I wook just like Jesus Christ the Lord." Jerrold and I were dying laughing.

Eli also says very interesting comments that are way out of his age range. We joke that he is an old man stuck in a little body. We co-hosted an event for our Karen refugee teenagers at church. As we stood on the field watching them all run around and play games Eli looked at me and said, "Mommy, isn't it beautiful to see all dese peoples enjoying demselves." Whew, not a 3 year old comment.

Knox on the other hand is not nearly as insightful or deep. He does say funny things, but more often asks questions that relate directly to himself. Typical 2 year old behavior. He strongly prefers for me to put him to bed at night, more often than not, he will pitch a fit if his Daddy does the routine. We have been practicing having Daddy put him to bed, and the last several nights he has begun to ask me at 5:00, "Mommy, you put me to bed tonight?" My Mom reports that I started asking every afternoon about the same time if she was going to rock me at night....Tonight as I tiptoed by his room, assuming he was asleep, I sneezed. I immediately heard the sweetest little high-pitched voice, "Bess you, Mommy", "Mommy, you hear me, I say bess you". He. is. a. mess.

Sleeping on the job...

Eli and I have been working through some awesome Answers in Genesis curriculum each day while Knox naps. He loves the worksheets and special attention. This past week I told him he could go to his room for a few minutes of quiet time and he chose his animal flash cards to study. I think he might have "studied" for about 3 minutes. This little boy cannot get near his room and hold his eyelids open...

Aunt Na's Wedding Day!

We had so much fun at Aunt Na's wedding! Anna looked beautiful and so did MaMa & Paas! The wedding was outside and the weather was perfect!

Our little boys were completely full of themselves. They danced the night away, entertained the guests, and flirted with bridesmaids. We were a little surprised at how excited they were and how long they lasted into the night. They had looked forward to the wedding cake all day and as you can see, it did not disappoint! What a fun night with our family!

His idea of fun...

This little boy is so unpredictable. This was the scene last week when I walked in to get him up for breakfast. He had completely stripped his clothes and diaper. I'm not sure Eli could get his shirt off if it was on fire, but Knox can do anything that he pleases.

He is talking to us all the time, literally non-stop. He has begun to call Eli, E-Wi, rather than the Yi-Yi we have been used to for the last 9-10 months. He is definitely more interested in the baby than Eli. He asks about him daily, usually several times, and even cradles his toys like babies. He really can be a sweet little boy. We love him dearly and are amazed at his ever-emerging personality!