As if I didn't point the camera at him ENOUGH

Heber decided he needed to do his own little photoshoot.

SOCCER

Ever since the day the radiology tech exclaimed to Ben and I that we would be welcoming a little boy to our family I have been looking forward to this. There is something to be said about "pee wee" sports and I was counting the years until Heber would be able to participate.

Tee ball was an instant hit and he is actually quite a good little ball player. He can hit better off a pitch than a tee however and loves to try to outrun the person with the ball as he rounds the bases (he finally figured out how to go from 1st to home in the right sequence after a few games).

Soccer though, as illustrated by the picture below, is a little bit of a different story. This picture may or may not have been taken while the rest of the team was packed around the ball heading toward the goal. I wish you could here him yelling "DECEPTICON MOMMY" as he peered up at the airplane coming in for a landing at the airport down the road.

Eventually he did figure out that there was a game going on and he quickly joined in. He only came off the field crying twice because nobody was sharing the ball with him. I always thought he was the aggressive kid......guess we need to work on that one.

So, here is to soccer and this new adventure in a 4-year old boys life.

And then you find yourself

The other day Ben and I were talking about where we would like to live when all of this is said and done. We could both agree that we wanted to be somewhere closer to "home" to which Heber added, "we are home."

This got me thinking a little about what it means to be HOME. Ben and I call Idaho home. Ohio is the only home Heber has ever known.

We miss the mountains, and blue sky, and dry heat. We miss the sound of the train running through town several times throughout the day and night. We miss a good ride on the 4-wheeler or a day on north beach.

Home however, is more than the familiar walls you grow up in; more than the climate and the landscape around you. Home is being with the people you love.

We miss our family the most. I often find myself feeling bad that Heber can't play with his cousins every day or go to grandpas house for a popcicle or to the drug store to visit grandma. But then I watch his eyes light up as he spots his buddies on the way to primary. I see one of the older men in the ward get down and give him a handshake and a "how are you today buddy." I feel a warm arm wrap around my shoulders and see the smiling faces of those around me, and I realize that Heber is right, we are home. For right now, we are home.

"My best friends"

Tyler, Heber, and Kaleb

Massillon Ward Campout 2009

The day we pulled out of Bear Lake in the U-haul Ben promised me we wouldn't go any further east than Missouri. I was not surprised 2-years later when we loaded up and moved to Ohio.

I am sure we would have had a great experience and made great friends in any place we decided to venture to. I am grateful however that he did not keep that promise to me. This has been a great place to call HOME.

Hey Batter Batter

Take me out to the ball game, take me out with the crowd.

Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks, I don't know if I never get back

Let me root, root, root for the BLUE JAYS (don't know how they ended up with green shirts)

if they don't win its a shame. For its one, two, three strikes you're out at the Old Ball Game.

When the coach first put the helmet on his head we thought he looked like

chicken little...it amazed us to see how small he is next to the majority of his team.

You should have seen all the little green shirts scrambling for the ball each time it was hit off the tee....it looked a little bit more like a wrestling match then a baseball game. Heber watched for the first few hits but he caught on soon enough. After a few catches himself, he pouted and tattled on the kid who caught the ball if it wasn't him. Way to be a good sport Hebe

I was one proud mamma to say the least. Since the time we found out we were having a boy I have been looking forward to this day.

Daddy seemed to enjoy it as well, even if "baseball is lame."

As I was pushing Heber on the swing in the back yard after the game he said to me,

"I had a great time mom.......I did a great job huh"

Yes babe, you did!

How do I love thee

So, today in primary, Heber's name was finally pulled from the helper jar and he got to find one of the 7 pictures in the room that the chorister had hidden. Because he found the picture that coincided with the first line of the song we were learning, he got to go up first. After about the 5th picture came up, little Hebe's arms started wearing out. Being the genius child that he is, he used the tape stuck on the back to attach the picture of Jesus with the children to his face. It looked so dang funny. You couldn't see his face at all, just his body sticking out from under it standing perfectly still with his hands resting reverently at his sides.

Luckily, none of the other kids in the room noticed right away or there would have been complete pandemonium. I could not compose myself long enough to go up there and encourage him to remove the picture from his face. All I could think of, as I tried like crazy to stifle my laughter, was the expression that must covereing his face behind the picture.

He reminded me today of one of the many reasons I love being his mom. After he finally decided to cooperate and hold his picture up high for all to see, I sat there and marveled at how big he is getting and felt that lump forming in my throat that sneaks up on me once in a while during one of these mommy moments.

I love you Heber. Thank you for always finding a way to put a smile on my face.

At the beach.....or something like that!

Heber kept telling us that he "lubs going to the beach" as he played in the water table. I don't know for sure if he has been to the beach so few times that he really has no idea what it is, or if he was dropping some serious hints as he tried to cool off in the backyard.I am sure that there is a lake or two near northeast Ohio (ha ha) but we would much rather take a trip to Bear Lake. Oh how we miss you Idaho!

And were outta here

Heber's last day of preschool was last Thursday. I really wish this picture would have turned out a little better. I could tell the second I took it that it was blurry but Hebe just couln't be bothered with standing still for one more minute while his friends were building the ultimate block tower across the room.

These 3 ladies were phenominal and I am so happy that Heber got to share his first school experience with them. We will sure miss Mrs. Sliman, Mrs. Whal, and Mrs. Bickart, and all our friends from room 5 this summer. We hope we can steal a hug or twenty as we walk by to our new classroom and new teachers next fall.