Happy 2nd Birthday Hudson!

*these are just the pictures off of my phone*

At 8:02 a.m. on June 14, 2011 a 5 pound 5 oz blue eyed boy joined our family. The last 2 years he has brought so many smiles, laughs and pure joy to our family. I cannot imagine our family without our little blonde haired blue eyed boy. I feel so blessed to be given the opportunity to be his mom and to watch him grow. I love you Hudson!

it's a....

 

 

our little family will be complete in august! we found out today that our surprise baby #4 is a girl.  we are all so excited. i was up all night with my stomach in knots, braden has been praying for a sister since we told him we were expecting #4.  he told me last night "mom, my heart is filled with so much love for a baby sister...i just can't wait."  thank you Lord for blessing me with my 3 handsome sons and this precious little girl. our family is complete!

Instagram photo dump

a few photos from my Instagram feed, enjoy!

we must be doing something right...

Last wednesday I had a doctors appointment to check up on the baby.  Braden is so excited about the baby and asked if he could go so he could hear the heartbeat, so I obliged and took him with me.  When I picked him up from school he was so excited and had told his teacher and all of his classmates where he was going.  We headed off to the doctor and he was questioning everything that was going on, wanting to know why they were checking my blood pressure, weighing me, etc... Once we got into the room and the doctor came in he let Braden stand up next to the exam table so he could really hear. The look on Braden's face was -priceless- he LOVED it and was so proud that he was able to hear the baby. We scheduled an ultrasound for March 5th and he is anxiously awaiting to find out if he is having a baby sister or another baby brother.

After the appointment Braden wanted to eat lunch but it was still 10:20 in the morning, so I told him I would get his book-it pizza and come have lunch with him in his classroom. While I was there his teacher, Mrs. Wingfield, let him show me how they do their "math facts in a flash." He passed his test and moved on to the next level! He was so excited. After school I picked him up and me, him & hudson went to CherryBerry before we went out to Mema's to pick up Kasen.

 -book-it pizza lunch in the classroom-

 -math facts in a flash pro-

-cherryberry dates-

While we were out at Mema's Braden came to me with an idea: he wants to make Easter baskets full of eggs with candy and colored pictures and cards to take to the children that are sick that have to spend Easter in the hospital.  He came up with this all his own and has made all of the plans so he can give back.  It brings tears to my eyes to know that we have raised him to think of others without being prompted or asked. He has such a huge caring, loving heart.

It was such a great day, reminds me of all of the blessings in my life: a new baby growing inside of me, an intelligent 1st grader who loves his younger siblings and is extremely excited about the new baby, and knowing that we are doing something right when he comes to me and says he wants to give back to those kids who are unable to spend Easter they way him and his brothers will. 
We are blessed...truly blessed.

letting go, living life

things don't always go as planned. God has different ideas and plans for our life and sometimes its hard to see what the BIG plan is.  i have learned that this week.  i read a blog called hands free momma and she posted today about less worry, more life. we all need less worry, more life. today i need to let go, i need to live life with my 3 boys and my husband and not worry about tomorrow or what the big plan is. i want to etch all of these fleeting memories that are made everyday in my head and NEVER forget them. i want to remember the way hudson calls me "ma" and how happy he is after he wakes from his nap and he sees me, how he hugs me tight and gives me the most beautiful smile. i want to remember "super-kasen" and all of the crazy super faces he makes, thw way he says "te-tar" for guitar and wants to be just like his big brother. i want to remember all of braden's titanic and train stories and his amazing imagination and the way he loves school, how he wants to grow up and be a train engineer...and how he can't go to sleep at night without our long list of "i love you more than's....". those are the things that are most important, not jobs, not money, not cars....memories....those are the most important and you can't get those moments back. so i'm making the vow to let go and live life....and to cherish all of these moments with my kids and my husband.

head over to hands free mamma and maybe you will find less worry and more life:
http://www.handsfreemama.com/2012/10/23/less-worry-more-life/

Braden's Baptism

One day after school as we *me & the 3 kids* were waiting our turn in line at the "new car wash", Braden was rambling on and on about school and telling his tall tales, Kasen was acting like Spiderman or Hulk or some superhero, Hudson was sleeping and I was lost in my own thoughts.  Braden and I have this conversation:

Braden: "MOM - I'm ready to be baptized and I want Dewey to do it, okay?"
Me (completely caught off guard): "okay, do you know what it means to be baptized?" Braden: "yes, it means that I know Jesus and he lives in my heart, he loves me and I love him and I want to live with him forever in Heaven."
Me: "okay, we will call Dewey tonight!"

This whole conversation completely caught me off guard but it made my day! We have been taking the kids to church every Sunday & every Wednesday. It made me so proud and happy to know that he felt moved and that he made this decision and commitment on his own terms. We called Dewey that evening and the plans were made and Braden was baptised a few short weeks later on March 25, 2012. Dewey preached an awesome sermon that Sunday, he made Braden's special day even more special. I'm so thankful that we have him and his family in our lives. Our kids love Dewey & Norene, they are a blessing to us, our church and our community! We had a lot of family there to support Braden on his decision and then we all celebrated afterwards with pizza and cupcakes. Here are a few pictures from that special day.

 Braden being baptized

 Braden getting lots of love after the ceremony

 Braden & Dewey

 this is the best family photo we got that day!

the cupcake cross

very proud of his new bible