Thankful for my guys!

This is long over due but in the spirit of thankfulness I just wanted to say something special about the precious guys in my life.

Nathan...what can I say? It is a blessing beyond words to be married to your best friend. I am so thankful for you. Thankful for the big things like you love the Lord, and take care of our family. But I am also thankful for the small things...the way you laugh at all my silly jokes, or my attempts at dancing. The fact that you go to the gas station late at night just to satisfy my chocolate cravings. I am so looking forward to all of the adventures the Lord has planned for us in the future.
Kaden, our first born. You are such a light in my life. Your energy seems endless but so does your kindness. I pray that I never forget those moments when out of the blue you say "mommy, I love you", or "mommy, you're pretty". Time is going by so fast. It seems like yesterday that we were picking out your crib and warming up bottles. Next year you will go to kindergarten. God has great plans for you...I believe!

Konner...born sleeping October 24, 2005. You taught me so much. Without you I would not know our precious Lord the way I do. I never knew what it meant to have Jesus carry me until you. As much as I would love to have you here with us, I know that God's plans are perfect and I am resting in the fact that Jesus was the first face you were able to see. Looking forward to holding you someday!Karter...our little miracle. You will never know all the people that prayed for you. You are a living testimony of the power there is in prayer. You keep me on my toes! Your smile is contagious and I love when you just need a hug. Did I mention your eyes? I can't wait to see what God has for your life.

And last but not least....

Baby Boy #4! Get ready for the ride of your life. You have two big brothers who can't wait to show you all there is to do in this house. I promise there will not be a dull moment. We are excited about your arrival and can't wait to meet you this May. Praying for you!

Just a little proof that it is a boy!:)

Boys will be boys

This last weekend Kaden and Nathan went on their first hunting trip together! This is an event that Nathan has been waiting for since Kaden was born, so they went the whole nine yards. They had a camp fire with smores, slept in a camper, rode 4-wheelers, and even woke up 5:30 am in hopes of spotting a deer (the things guys will do just to see a deer). There were also some very interesting bathroom stories, since the camper does not have a restroom, BUT I will spare you those details!:) The trip was extra special because Papa was able to join them. Three generations of Lorick boys living it up in the wild!

Although they did not see a deer, Kaden came back a deer hunting fan and cannot wait for another trip to the deer "yease" as he calls it.

Here are some pictures of their manly weekend.

Better Late than Never

So I know it is a little late, but here are some shots from this years family fall festival. The boys had a blast and by the end of the night we were all completely worn out. Thank goodness Halloween fell on a weekend this year! I will have a much better plan of action for next year!:)

Family Picture

Kaden was a Ninja Turtle

Our little cave man (Bam-bam)

Kaden's favorite game was bowling!

Karter and Daddy

I can't express how blessed I feel as I look at these pictures. God is so good in spite of the person that I am. He has blessed me with a husband that loves the Lord, me, and our boys with all of his heart. I have two of the cutest little boys ever. Not to mention the fact that we have the opportunity to serve on staff at such an amazing church. This may be a crazy, busy life, but it is my life and I know I am blessed. Thank you Jesus...your love is amazing!

Fun Giveaways!

I ran across two really neat blogs that are doing giveaways this week. Go visit and see if you can win!

http://www.kkskreations.blogspot.com/

http://www.walkwithmebyfaith.blogspot.com/

Fall Fun!

The last few weeks have been a whirl wind...sick boys, well child check-ups with LOTS of shots, people to visit in the hospitals, a birthday party, and just the normal day to day stuff. Last week we were in serious need of a homebody night.

In honor of fall and my strange need to buy a pumpkin we sat as a family and painted 2 pumpkins with the boys. It wasn't anything extravagant, but the boys had a blast and we just enjoyed hanging out as a family.

Here are some pictures of my little Picasso's!

Happy Birthday Karter!!

Last Wednesday our little miracle baby turned 1! We celebrated on Saturday when Nonnie and Pawpaw came into town.

Time flies! Here are some pictures of our celebration for Karter.

Karter on the day he was born

Thanks for such a cute cake Julie

Karter and Mommy enjoying cake

Kaden and Nonnie having cake

Nonnie and Pawpaw loved seeing Karter walk

Karter playing his new basketball game

Thanks for my new car Nonnie and Pawpaw

Kaden enjoyed the car too!

More Milestones!

I am continually amazed at how quickly time goes by.

It's funny...the minutes seem to drag but then all of a sudden you turn around and those minutes have turned into months, even years.

The boys are growing and changing everyday. Kaden is enjoying his year at school and even learned to walk himself to class last week. Kaden's school had a Celebrate Freedom Parade last Friday. Kaden was decked out in red, white, and blue. I am so proud of him!

Karter is such a joy with his big brown eyes and infectious smile. He learned how to walk this last week!! I love seeing those first wobbly steps. Sometimes he gets so excited he claps for himself as he walks.

Here are some pictures of their latest milestones.

The Inside

Have you ever noticed how concerned we get about the outside of things? I will be the first to admit that I have a problem with neglecting the inside of things just so the outside will look better.

Take for example my house...I want the outside appearance of my kitchen to be neat and tidy so I spend most of time cleaning and organizing what can be seen. Take a look at the inside of my cabinets...


Obviously I have neglected the inside!

I started thinking about all of this when I read part of our Life group lesson from last week. In Isaiah 53:2 says that Christ came with no beauty or majesty to attract us to him. Nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
Our life group lesson said that God did this so that our trust would not rely on the outward appearance of our savior.

This got me to thinking about how much time I spend on the outside of things. I will be honest...there are lots of mornings when I wake up later then I had planned and I push my time with Lord to the side in order to get my outside ready. Now I will tell you that my Principal loves the Lord, but I am sure that even he would not appreciate me showing up in pjs every morning because I woke up late and chose to spend my time with the Lord instead of getting dressed.

However, all of this is causing me to reflect...why do I spend so much time on what is not important? Why am I concerned about what other people think of me when my heart, the place that is supposed to be my Lord's home, is a wreck?

So, if the next time you see me I look a little less then presentable...just chalk it up to me working on my inside!:)

Christmas in September!

My sweet husband surprised me with a Christmas present yesterday! After going on and on about how much I loved my sister-in-laws camera, he went out and bought one for me! I have not yet figured out what all the little gadgets and gizmos do but I did get a little practice in on a couple of my favorite subjects. Thanks babe!

Bunco Anyone?

Ok so I should be grading papers but it is my off day for recess and I had a few seconds. So I was purusing the blog world I ran across a post from Kelly's Korner about Bunco.
I have played once with my mom. She has a group that meets 1 time per month to eat, talk, and play bunco. It was a great way to get to know some of the ladies in her group and something fun to invite friends to. They end each night by sharing prayer requests and of course drawing numbers for prizes that the host home provides.
So girls...anyone interested in starting our own bunco group??? It might help with planning our oh so needed girls nights each month. Just a thought.

Hope you are all having a great Tuesday! :)

We Survived!!

Two weeks down... only 38 more to go!

Our first two weeks where just a little bumpy with a trip to the ER for Karter and a stomach bug for Nathan and Kaden. Other than that everyone made through and many less tears then I thought!

By Saturday we were all ready for some quality family time in Tyler. We spent some time playing at the Brookshire's park and museum. Here are some pictures of our first two weeks.

Kaden Ready for his first day of school

The Brookshire Museum with huge animals

Kaden and Daddy with a Kodiak Bear

Karter loved the swing

We met our friends and their little girl, Bella.

Karter and Bella really enjoyed swinging together!

A Heart Divided

School starts tomorrow! I am so excited about the kids God has placed in my care for the year. This year I will be teaching reading instead of math so it should be interesting as once again I find myself learning right along with the kiddos. I work with the most wonderful, and I mean the most wonderful, people. I truly believe that my school has got to be one of the best places to work in the world. I am excited about the opportunity I have to allow God to make himself known to these kids through me and I am praying that I allow him to do that daily.

However, while I am busy training and instructing the leaders of tomorrow, someone else is watching Karter's first steps. While I am busy with lesson plans and bus duty, Nathan will walk Kaden to his class on his very first day of school.

I guess that this is all so hard because it doesn't fit into "my plan". You know...my plan to be a super mom! I just always imagined being there for those moments, the way that my mom was there for all of them with me.

Several months ago we felt the call to get "gazelle intense" (Dave Ramsey) and get totally out of debt except for our house. Don't get me wrong, the idea of having everything paid off and having money in the bank to have fun as a family and to give to others in need sounds great. I am just having trouble deciding if it is all worth it.

As I sat with Kaden in "big church" tonight I couldn't help but wonder...where did the time go? He has just grown up so fast. I keeping wondering if my time with Karter will go by even faster since I am not staying home with him like I did with Kaden.

I guess no matter what I do my heart will always be divided on this issue. I am just praying that God will work through me to make the best mom and the best teacher I can be.

Pollution

Pollution can be defined as an undesirable state of the natural environment being contaminated with harmful substances as a consequence of human activities.

To be honest I do not think about pollution very much. I would not be described as someone who is very green. However, after reading this verse this week I began to think about another kind of pollution. A kind of pollution contaminates lives and families and is the direct consequence of our (my) human mouths.

" Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word, nor unwholesome or worthless talk ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace to those who hear it." Ephesians 4:29 AMP

I have never read this verse in this version, but it really struck me. How many times have I polluted a conversation with gossip, or negativity, or even just spent time talking about things that are worthless? How many times have I polluted Kaden by just the tone of my voice? I am praying that the Lord will give me his power to speak only things that are good and beneficial. I pray that he will speak through me and use my mouth to be a blessing to others...not something that contaminates!

Our latest pet attempt...

Let me start by giving you a little history.

Attempt #1- Rowdy...aka "rockin" he is a cute little Yorkie that Nathan bought for me before we were married. We actually kept Rowdy for a few years but, after Kaden's arrival we graciously allowed my parents to adopt little Rowdy...they still have him today.
Attempt #2- Princess. A cute little pug (Nathan's idea) that only lasted for 3 weeks before we discovered she had health problems and our vet gave her to another family who had more time for her.
Attempt # 3- Macy. A black and white bunny that Nathan surprised me with. She was cute but boy did she stink! Once again she lasted about 3 weeks.
Attempt #4- Jackson. A black labmaraner that Kaden picked out. He was so cute while he was little...then he got big and so did his poop! He jumped all over us and chewed up EVERYTHING in the backyard. He lasted several months but we decided to give him away before moving to Malakoff last summer. Kaden still asks if we can get a "nice" Jackson.
That brings me to our latest attempt...#5- Mittens and Lucy. Two sweet little kittens who will be living in backyard. Although Kaden thinks of them as his pet, Nathan thinks of them as snake guards.
Here is a picture of our new little furry friends (Bet you can't guess which one is which:)

Simple Pleasures and a new phone...

As some of you know, my phone was stolen this week during my visit to San Antonio.

My mom and I decided to take the boys to the new Target :) down the road from her house to get Kaden a backpack for school. We had a great time looking through the store and even stopped for and ICEE on the way out. We made it home with two very sleepy boys. I decide to nap with Kaden.

Shortly after laying down my mom came in to tell me that my phone had just called the house. Weirdo! So I called it back and a man answered the phone. He told me that he had found the phone in the parking lot of Target and did not want to take it back into the store so he wanted to meet me some where. Immediately I started thinking...PHYSCO!! I handed the phone to my mom in a panic and she arranged for George (as he called himself) to leave the phone at a local grocery store for us to pick up after the boys were done with their nap. Needless to say he never turned the phone in and I would hate to think what he might have done to us if we had decided to meet him. Talk about creepy! So $100 later I have a new phone and can safely travel back home!

Now about the simple pleasures....Now that we are blessed with two beautiful little boys I seldom get to spend time with them just one on one.

Several weeks ago Nathan's parents took Kaden to their house for a few days and I got to enjoy some sweet alone time with Karter....although, he really missed all of Kaden's entertainment. But it was sweet to just hold him and spend time just playing on the floor with him. He is such a little miracle!

This week my mom kept Karter while Kaden and I enjoyed a movie together. He was so excited about the popcorn and candy. I love just watching his eyes light up. He is so full of zest for life. My prayer is that he will be full of that same zeal and passion for Jesus as he grows. He decided half way through the movie to sit in my lap and I cherished the moment to just hold him close.

I never want to get so busy that I miss out on the simple pleasure of just loving my family. Playing in the backyard, or going on golf cart rides...watching their eyes light up when they learn something new. It is a blessing, a pleasure, and an honor to be a wife and mom...I never want to forget that.