Happenings

September is a busy month in the Sharp house. Here's some of the recent happenings:

My birthday!
I always love when my birthday, September 5th, falls on Labor Day. I get to have my whole family home with me. I was born on Labor Day in 1977, which gave that day a whole new meaning to my mom! Well, this year, my birthday started off by sleeping in, which is amazing in and of itself. Then we had breakfast, or, lunch (it was 11:30). Ethan made waffles (with a little help from daddy). They were delicious topped with homemade maple syrup and peaches. Yum! Then, because I knew no one else would do it, I cleaned. It really is a compulsion sometimes. Birthday or not, I like to have a clean house. After scrubbing the kitchen and the boys' bathroom (a frightful experience at times), I realized I should just relax and enjoy doing nothing. Dustin graciously took all three kids with him on a shopping trip to Walmart. I knew they could spend hours there, so I had a quiet house all to myself! I just chilled on the couch and watched Hulu.com. That night, Dustin and Ethan made me a two layer brownie cake with dark chocolate peanut M&M's inside. Talk about chocolate overload. It was a great day!


Our 10th Anniversary!
Ten years ago, on September 8th, Dustin and I were married in the Baton Rouge Louisiana LDS Temple! I really can't believe it's been that long. Earlier in the year, I asked Dustin if we could do something really big for our anniversary, like go on a short trip without the kids. Then he said, "We are doing something big...we're building a house." Oh yeah... So this year, in lieu of a big expensive trip, we hung out with the kids on our anniversary. Dustin and I have given up trying to get out by ourselves (at least for the time being). I took the kids to the park after school. Dustin met us there when he got off of work. The park has a great playground and a free mini golf course. So we just enjoyed letting the kids play and swing, then played a little round of golf. Then we went out to dinner at our favorite pizza place. It was really just a relaxed night with the family. It was a great way to celebrate ten years of marriage...with each other and our three kiddos!


Ethan's Birthday!
On September 15th, Ethan turned 8! Grandma and Grandpa Sharp drove to our house from Baton Rouge the day before his birthday. And his birthday also happened to be Grandparent's Day at the boys' school. What good timing! So Margaret and Jerry went to school to eat lunch with Ethan, and then with Owen. That night, Ethan chose to eat dinner at Olive Garden, one of his favorite restaurants. It was delicious! We ordered the celebration cake and everyone sang to him.


Ethan's Baptism!


September 17th was cause for another celebration. Ethan became an official member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He was baptized by his dad on Saturday morning. We had a short program: I played the piano, Jerry gave the talk on baptism, and Margaret gave the talk on the Holy Ghost. Ethan and Owen sang "I Am a Child of God" together in front of everyone! They did so great. Our neighbors, and several members of the ward came to support Ethan. Afterward, we had fruit, veggies, cookies and brownies. It was such a wonderful morning. I am so proud of Ethan for making good decisions in his life. I can already see how strong his testimony is growing. During church the next day, he told his primary teacher that he didn't have any sins yet! :)

Ethan with his brand new scriptures!

Saturday night, we had his real birthday cake with our family and a couple of our neighbors. It was a lot of fun having everyone over, eating cake and ice cream and then watching the kids play with the boys' new toys.

I have to say, the last couple of weeks were busy and stressful at times, but so much fun! I love being with family, especially those we don't get to see very often. I wish more than anything to be able to see the rest of my family sometime soon! Keep in touch everyone! I miss you!