Guess who's back...back again.....

Well, after almost 2 years (what!), I've decided I want back in the blogging world. I love looking back on posts about the boys and really love that it's a smaller community to share things with that I don't want hundreds of people to see. If you've forgiven me and are letting me back in your blogging world, I thank you :) If this is your first exposure to "Phili's mom" (oops time to update), I hope this serves as a place for you to catch up on our life, maybe have a laugh and hopefully be encouraged by some of my future posts that have been stirring up in my heart. I love writing, I love encouraging people and it's been too long since I've done both. Thanks for stopping by!!

Content

Wow....I am almost ashamed to even blog, it has been so long! Life is good. It is really good. I am very happy to be home with the boys and am honestly trying to cherish these days because as every old woman in the grocery store checkout line tells me....they go by so fast!

We have been very busy in the Lockwood home chasing Wesley around and making sure he doesn't destroy anything too valuable. The kid is busy! He is so much fun though and so incredibly happy. He can frustrate the heck out of me and make me laugh hysterically all in a matter of seconds.

Phili is coming around to him. It was a struggle for a while every time Wesley was, well, in the same room as him. Lego tower? Knocked over. Coloring? Crayons eaten. Puzzles? Hurricane. Books? Ripped. You get the point ;)

Oh! And we added to our family last weekend by getting a dog. I went to the Farmer's Market to get some Gluten Free bread and came home with a dog. And the bread. But most importantly-the dog. The Humane Society had a special event going on and the minute I saw "Lucky" I was in love. Seriously. I don't even recognize this person typing. I am not a dog lover. I love my brother's dogs and that's about it. It sounds cheesy but the minute I laid eyes on him, I knew he had to be a part of our clan. Ha. That is super cheesy! He is a mutt. An "All-American" dog if you ask Phili. They think he has a lot of rat terrier in him. He's very sweet, timid, cuddly. We let Phili name him. Richie & I love the name Jethro for a dog but something about a 10 pound mutt just doesn't scream Jethro. So we tried to talk Phili into Jett. But, being the avid Beatles fan that he is, he named him after his favorite Beatles song-Jude.

I have been working very pt at the Y with kid's since August, not sure if I have blogged about that...ha, probably not since I've only blogged once since then! I enjoy working in the Kid's gym with kids ages 3-7. Phili gets to come to work with me and it's really fun to see him interact with kids. He's at a really fun age right now. Just when I thought I was going to rip my hair out, he turned three and his behavior became so much better. He is like a mini Richie. He loves animals, nature, planets, books, and most importantly, Jesus! He loves to talk about Jesus and it warms my heart. I could write a book about all the funny things that come out of his mouth but I will save that for another time. You know, in like 4 months ;)

I recently finished a training program called "Couch to 5K". It's a 9 week running program which consists of running 3 times a week for people that aren't runners but aspire to be. I can't say I love running while I'm running, but I love it afterwards! I liked it enough to start another program to train for a 10k so I'm training for that right now. My good friend and I are going to split a half marathon this summer. Maybe next year, I'll do the whole half....we'll see!

Richie still likes his job and enjoys being challenged and is learning a lot. In my eyes, he is the bast dad in the world and I am so proud that he's ours ;)

Wow, this is starting to sound like a Christmas letter, so I deem it appropriate to end it with well wishes that this blog post finds you all well and healthy! Haha.....

Here are a few photos. Auntie Abby snapped a photo of Wesley taking some of his first steps. He is all walker now. Oh boy! Enjoy.

Poor excuse for a blogger

Wow-it's been 2 months since my last post!? I am not sure if anyone will still even check this but kudos to you if you do and thank you for still checking after I have so sadly neglected you for so long. I have a silly monkey boy crawling all over me but I just wanted to assure you that we're all still kicking in our house! I will leave you with a cute pic of the boys in hopes of forgiveness!?

I can't think of a title :)

Let's see....I love having two little boys. I really do. They are starting to interact and it makes the days that much more enjoyable. Wesley is a super easy baby. He laughs and screeches and smiles and laughs some more. They are both super easy to bring places too so I can go to the store, walks, park, Y, etc and they are both usually happy just to be out and about. They are social butterflies! I wonder where they get that? =)

Phili is doing great at school. (He's in a pre-school room at a daycare 2 mornings a week but he likes to call it school). He gets "report cards" when he goes for the whole day and so far he's received all smiley faces on them....which to be quite honest, shocked me at first. I pretty much made his teacher look me straight in the eyes and tell me that he truly is a good boy at school. Come to find out, he really is! Makes Mama proud! He has been so fun to just have conversations with and hear what comes out of his little mind. He turns 3 in September and he is dead set on having an Owl themed birthday party. Hasn't changed his mind in months. We shall see what September brings!

I have been doing a Beth Moore Bible study at our church and also helping out when I can. I really like the study. I feel like I am trying to better myself in corners of my life that I never would have thought about before. The whole study is about moving to a higher level in our walk with God. I am so ready for that! I am really trying to not let any complaining, negativity or badmouthing come out of my mouth. It's amazing when you set a goal like that, so many opportunities arise that will tempt you!

I'm nowhere near where I would like to be but I am really trying. And thankfully, God sees my heart and not all my failures. I look back on how I used to be and it amazes me that I could criticize and bad mouth others so freely. What a sad way to live! I am so thankful that God has been working in my heart the last few years to get rid of that junk and just love others freely....the way He does.

Which brings me back to my favorite Joyce Meyer quote, "I'm not where I need to be, but thank God I'm not where I was!" God has been doing a lot of neat things in my life. Not all of them are joyful and exciting. Some are really hard and I need to practice discipline and obedience (and keeping my mouth shut!) but regardless, they all need to be done and I am thankful for the healing and the closeness it has brought me to God.

Wow, I was just going to quickly write about the boys! But in all honesty, I can't give you and update about my life without talking about my faith because thankfully, the two are so closely intertwined that I am not one without the other.

I have been having loads of fun taking Zumba (latin dance classes...think Shakira!) 3 times a week. They have it at the Y and I just love it. They boys do really well at the daycare there and I get to shake it and have an awesome work out for an hour!

Richie is still on shift schedule at work so he has some really good weeks and some challenging weeks. I am thankful for the challenging ones because they make the good ones that much better.

I hope you are all having an enjoyable summer. Having two little one doesn't allow me to catch up on blogs as much as I would like but I trust you're all doing great. Lots of Love always~

Life

Ok so I was giving my sister in law a hard time about not updating her blog and here I sit....one month later :)

Life is great. Wesley is off all meds (yay!). Phili is loving having a little brother. Wesley's face fills with delight when he sees his big brother. Richie has had a nice schedule this summer so that's been really enjoyable.

To be honest, I have just really been focusing my time on being the best mom, wife, Christian, etc. that I can be. I'm making it a goal when I wake up in the morning to not let any negative comments come out of my mouth. I haven't succeeded yet but I am still trying! It's amazing when you start to monitor more closely what you are allowing to fill your mind with throughout the day. Garbage in-garbage out! It's nice to be in a place where things (filth) start to bother you more on television. Do you know what I mean? I have lots I can write about this but for now, Phili is dressing me up like Mr. Potato head so I will have to end. But I hope you are all having a blessed summer!

3 months

Wesley is 3 months today. I feel like I have finally emerged from that foggy newborn, sleep deprived stage. I am pretty much madly in love with the little dude. He is just so darn sweet, I can hardly stand it. He is smiley and giggly and curious and just so chubby and lovable. I am at my parent's house so I don't have any recent pictures but I will post one soon.

He is getting a pretty consistent sleep schedule at night and when he does wake up once a night to feed, I actually get excited to go in his room and nurse him. I always thought moms that said that were crazy or slightly annoying but now I am one of them!

I am working really hard on balancing out my affection between Phili and Wesley (and Richie!). Phili is getting better with Wesley. He just has a really intense way of showing his love for him that is a little tough to handle. I have a very spirited 2 year old and I need to figure out how I can allow him to be all that he can be without squashing his spirit by getting upset with him over petty things. Parenting is tough stuff! But I feel very blessed to be where I'm at in life and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Hope life is treating you all well. Much love.

Down time?

I think that is what I am experiencing right now but it's been a while so it feels quite strange! I am up at my parent's house with the two little dudes. Life is settling back to normal. The outage ended this past weekend, so Richie is working 40 hours this week and it is lovely. (I had to come home for a funeral otherwise I would be thoroughly enjoying the family time at home). Richie is getting some alone time to work on the yard and such which he so deserves so it's all good.

Since my last post, Wesley went from being up every two hours to only waking up once in the middle of the night to feed. He was put on a medication for Thrush along with his acid reflux meds and that was the first night he slept like a champ. He must have been so uncomfortable until then :( He's usually a pretty happy baby. The meds make his tummy upset though so that always breaks my heart!

Phili is doing much better. It is amazing what spending time with Richie does for his soul. He's a different child when he doesn't get to spend time with him but when he gets daddy time, he is happier than can be. It's been this way his whole life. They have a pretty special bond. Since Welsey has come into our lives, I haven't blogged much about Phili but I want to share some things so that I don't forget and also for those of you who don't see him (or only see him at his worst!)

He is very imaginative and creative. He has a box full of toys that rarely gets opened. His favorite toys are kitchen utensils and anything that resembles a stick. He loves being out and about. He loves animals as much as his daddy. He loves to be read to. He LOVES our families. He is really good with numbers and letters, except when he wants to know how old another kid is, he asks me what letter he is? :) Richie doesn't like when I say this about him, but he is clumsy like me. I can't tell you how many times he trips over nothing or runs into a wall. He is one tough cookie though! He is just really excited about life and always in a hurry to move on to the next adventure. He's been going to "school" two mornings a week. His teachers say he does wonderful and he is always happy when I pick him up. He loves to sing. He always asks to see the scars on my forehead and elbow so he can kiss them. He is a really sweet boy (when he isn't tired!). I don't give him enough credit for what a good boy he usually is but I am working on that. Here is a picture of him with our neighbor friend Piper. One of his favorite things to do is go for rides with her on her Gator.