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.

More Memorable Mom Moments

For the past few days I have had the wonderful pleasure of keeping our nephew Ethan. He is only 6 months younger then Kaden and they are the best playmates. I love to just sit and listen to them talk about their firetrucks and cars. They say the funniest things! They also like to plan things. This morning I heard them planning their next visit to Papa and Grammy's house and how they would take turns driving the oh so loved white truck. They have entertained each other so well that I have even gotten a few things done!

This morning I was thinking to myself...wow, this is not that hard, three kids is no big deal, I can handle this....Until the arguing started! As the boys got more and more worn out from our day at the park and playing at a friends house they both got more irritable. They started arguing about who was best friends with who and who would get to do this or that. I realized quickly that it was time for a nap. I put them down and went about doing my bible study and some laundry. About an hour later I realized that they had never gone to sleep...they were still playing! Needless to say by bath time tonight I had 1 cranky baby and two totally worn out pre-schoolers...and so the craziness began.

Kaden started crying because I could not get the blue ink off that he had stamped all over his body earlier in the day. Ethan was crying because he didn't like the sound of the water. I quickly washed the boys and started getting the big boys out because Karter was still enjoying the bath. As I was drying Kaden I heard the dreaded grunt...yep, that's right Karter was pooping in the bath tub!! At that point all three boys were crying!

By the time I got all of them in bed and cleaned up the bath tub I looked like a mad woman!

As crazy as it was I have so enjoyed this chance to spend time with Ethan. He is such a sweet little boy with the best little laid back attitude. It was truly a pleasure to watch the boys play together.


As for baby number 3...we might wait a while!!:)

Here are some pictures of our fun times with Ethan.

Two cute boys going to church

Three boys in the car...what a task!

Fun at the park...they love to "drive" things

Playing in the golf cart

Thanks for coming to play with us Ethan!

We're Back....

Let me start by saying that if you have not read Angie Smith's post called "Blink" from the Bring the Rain blog...you need to. She talked about saving life's little moments in pictures in her mind.

Nathan often gives me a hard time about how much I like to take pictures. I have the boys pictures made about every 4 months, I take pictures at birthdays and all holidays, I dress the boys the same for pictures, I dress our family in matching shirts for the 4th of July for pictures...all in hopes of capturing moments... so I will always remember Karter's chubby little legs or Kaden's new obsession with having his fingers in his mouth when he is nervous. I never want to forget these precious moments.

Our trip was filled with great moments...some them I was able to catch with my camera, but others will have to remain etched in my mind.

Our first memorable moment was when we turned around to see Kaden singing and dancing in his seat to the new Sugarland song "All I Want to Do". It became our favorite song for the week and every time it played we all sang and danced!

Here are a few of the memorable moments that we were able to capture with the camera...(Let me warn you now...there are tons of pictures...sorry...It is hard to pick my favorites!)

So thankful to be a family of 4

Brothers

The "huge" crab that Nathan and Kaden caught

Karter crawling like crazy

Sand Castles

My 3 favorite guys

Bowling on a rainy evening

The giant whole...Kaden's favorite place to play

Karter loved the water

Karter in the tent

Family

Our trip ended with a bang...literally. As we were pulling into Shreveport something hit our window and shattered it...here is a picture of how we had to drive home!

A Driving We Will Go!

"And Jesus, we're going to the beach...amen" where the words that Kaden added to his prayer last night.
So here we go off to Panama City Beach, Florida. We will be leaving tonight after church in hopes that the boys will sleep. However, if this trip is anything like my trip to Tyler last week then we are headed for major trouble!!

After a long morning of screaming (Karter, not me silly) on Thursday, I finally decided to take Karter to the Dr. Nathan is always making fun of me...saying that I always think he has an ear infection. But this particular morning I blocked him out and decided it was time to take Karter in...( I was secretly hoping that he at least had a cold so Nathan wouldn't laugh when I got home).
The trip was pretty uneventful until an old college friend called. We began talking and everything was going smoothly. Right as I started to pull into Tyler traffic Karter started screaming. I quickly got off the phone with my friend and turned to see what was wrong. When I turned around I was shocked to see that Kaden had gum all over his face, his car seat, and even in his hair (now I understand the no gum in the car rule Flo!). There was nothing I could do. I continued to the Dr.'s office with a screaming baby and a gummy 4 year old. By the time we arrived the gum was already hard and there was no way I could get it out of his hair. I managed to get the gum off of his face and ears and we went into the Dr.'s office where I saw a friend who immediately noticed the purple gum in Kaden's hair.
After a long wait the Dr. took one look in Karter's ears and said that they were both infected...ugh...poor little guy. We got some meds and were on our way...without gum this time!
Nathan had to shave most of Kaden's head when we got home!

Needless to say, we will not be taking any gum on our trip and we are praying that the boys will have a blast!!

See you next week!!

My little swimmer boy!!

Last week Kaden learned how to swim without his floaties....now he is swimming like a little fish! I am so proud of him and can't believe how fast he is growing up. Here are some pictures from our swimming adventure today. Kaden even jumped off the diving board!

Go Kaden Go!

Karter has enjoyed our swimming fun...but it sure does make him sleepy!

Light bulb moment!!

I love bible studies. I have not had the opportunity to do one in a while and I realized this week how much I have missed it. Like I mentioned in my previous post, God has just met me right where I am. He is really speaking to me and that little problem I have with worrying about who I "should be". I love that verses I have read before are some how new to me and say things that I never heard them saying to me before.

This week my light bulb moment came when I was reading Psalm 23.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even thought I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil...

I will admit that I have always been fond of the beginning of this verse...you know the green pastures and restoring of my soul. It is the valley of death part that has never been my favorite...until this week.

In the bible study Angela Thomas talked about being in a "valley" and how one of her friends said to her..."I don't think you know your bible very well. God says we walk through the valley of death."

There it is, my light bulb moment. God does not just put us in a valley and leave us there...we walk through the valley. We will not be in the valley forever! Isn't that just the greatest news! Just that one word that I had always just skimmed past has literally changed my life and how I intend to view my "valleys" in the future.