Nine Years Later

To my dear sweet husband,
Today we celebrate nine years of marriage.  Would I do it again if I had known the trials we would face that first year, the loss we would experience, the illness we would face, the stress that would follow?  Would I do it again if I would have known the hurt we would cause each other and the pain that would follow? 
Yes.  Over and over again.  Yes.

Because over nine years this happy, blissful (somewhat naive) couple...

...has turned into this amazing, happy, loving family.

I'm not the same girl I was nine years ago and you're not the same boy.  I no longer think that marriage was made to make me happy.  I know that it was made to bring glory to God and to show the world His love.  I'm so thankful for His mercy and grace that brought us through those hard years into the place we are now.  A place where you lead our family with a godly heart and you long for the world to see what God is doing in us.  A place where I trust your guidance and know that your devotion to our family doesn't waiver.  A place where I'm trying to be a godly wife and mother and no longer think of myself first.  A place where I know that God's plan for our lives is coming true.

Because I know that God created this little girl....

...for this little boy.

So that the world would see His love and His grace and His mercy and His glory through our love for each other.  

Getting to theTop

Sometimes you work so hard

to get to the top.

That when you finally get there,

there is no way

you're ever coming back down.

Pine Cove Camp, thanks for the awesome day of family fun.

Flying High

We've been enjoying the windy weather and flying kites! Jerad bought a new spool of kite string that had 200 feet of string and we got it all the way out. It took forever to get it back in, but it was so fun and the boys thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Wyatt is 7!!!

Life has been busy and I haven't taken the time to blog. Time to get back to it!
While I was away from blogland Wyatt turned 7!!! How did this happen? How did 7 years fly by in the blink of an eye? He's gone from my precious little blonde baby to a smart, adventurous 7 year old boy. We had a great time celebrating him. His birthday was on a Saturday and he asked to go to IHOP for breakfast and then we gave him a new "big boy" bike. He was so excited! We spent the afternoon at the movie theater watching Mars Needs Moms (in 3-D) and then headed to the bike park for Wyatt to test out his new wheels. We closed out the day with pizza and cupcakes.

From this...

to this...in 7 short years.

Yes, he wore his 3-D glasses the rest of the day.

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Eli

Dear Eli,
Oh my goodness. How is it that you are already 1 year old? This year has flown by.
Sweet boy, you are so precious. You have been such a blessing to our family. One day I will tell you the impact you've had on me in this your first year of life. How you made me realize that I could do the baby thing all over again even though I thought I couldn't. Not only could I do it, but I could enjoy it. How your smile this last year has brightened my days. How I cherish every moment that you stay a baby and don't grow up. I didn't get to enjoy the baby time with your older brothers because they were so close together and I was so overwhelmed. God gave me a second chance when He gave me the gift of you. Eli, you are a joy. You make everyone around you smile. Your daddy says you were put on this earth to bring joy and you do. Oh how you do.
You already have your quirks. Your favorite toy is an empty milk carton. You squell with delight when we get a new one out of the fridge and scream with anger when we put it away. You are so shy, but will smile at anyone. I'm interested to see what it's like to have a shy child. you love your brothers and get so excited when they play with you. You love your daddy and his hats. I know you love me and you love to cuddle in my arms.
Happy First Birthday Sweet Son. I love you more than you know. I'm so glad I'm your mom. (Now if you would just say "mama" that would be the best).

How have you gone from such a tiny little baby to such a big boy, so quickly?

Jump!!

Two days after Thanksgiving we got a trampoline for the boys. It couldn't have been more perfect timing. We had been planning on getting them one since March, but Jerad wanted to do a lot of work in the backyard before we got it. Finally the yard was ready and we were able to order it online and get free shipping. We had no idea when we ordered it just how much our family would need it when it arrived.
Thanksgiving night Jerad's grandmother suffered a stroke and she passed away a few days later. He has some cousins that are much younger than he is and they came here to be with her before she died. The trampoline was such a great escape for them and for us. We would all just get outside and have some fun when we needed a break from the hospital. It was a great bonding time for our kids and Jerad's cousins.
I am so thankful for God's perfect timing. Even with trampolines.

Crawling around on the trampoline causes crazy hair!

So much fun!

Fun for big kids too!

Jump!!

Pictures under the Christmas Tree

We tried to get some good pictures under the Christmas Tree this year, but...

it just

didn't

work.

Jerad however, did manage to get some nice pictures of the tree after the boys went to bed.

What?! I haven't blogged since August?!

Seriously, how has so much time passed since I last blogged? Oh wait. I remember. We started homeschooling, the new baby still is not sleeping through the night, the big boys were playing sports. Oh and did I mention that we've had strep not once, not twice, but 12 times among the 6 of us and two rounds with staph infection. Yes it's been a crazy (somewhat nasty) past few months.
I love to blog and my sweet husband has challenged me to do it on a regular basis. When I asked him what to focus on he just told me to write. He said it doesn't matter what I focus on, but I just need to write. So, diving back in and starting back again. I think you'll be hearing lots more from me on a much more regular basis.
And since I know you have no desire to see boys with strep or staph infections here are some photos from our last family pictures sitting.

My handsome boys...

just

keep

getting

bigger.

*photos by the amazing and talented Scott Wade*

Ten on Ten

I am joining the Ten on Ten group for the first time. If you're unfamiliar with it just head on over to the blog and read all about it. Basically, on the the tenth of each month you take ten pictures (1 an hour) and then post them on your blog. I love this idea because I've been really slack on taking pictures and hence posting on my blog for the past few months. Yesterday I took 89 pictures and it was great. I think this was just just the inspiration I needed to get back into picture taking and blogging. Enjoy my ten photos from our day.

Good morning!

Eli loves his swing

The boys built a super hero hideout and played for quite a while together with no major fights

Doing some morning school work

Lunch!

Fun brother time on the bed with Reece and Eli

Reece loves to paint and requests to do it almost every day

Painting can sure tire you out

Eli is learning to crawl and loves playing on the floor

Just before bed Eli enjoys time with daddy

Hiking--Not for the Faint of Heart

The other day we took the boys hiking around Lake Georgetown. We've been several times before, but this time we took a different route. The other times that we've gone we have been able to get to the water fairly easily, but this time we weren't able to. We just kept getting stuck trying to get down to it. However, Jerad did manage to find the largest group of Daddy Long Leg Spiders ever! Jerad walked a little further than rest of us (while we sat and cooled off with some water), then he came back and got the boys to take them to see the spiders. I stayed behind and I am so glad I did. I really think I might have completely come undone if I had seen what he was showing them. There is a picture at the bottom.


Yep, those are thousands of little spiders and there were three groups like this. Jerad threw a rock at them (of course) and they began to scurry towards the boys and which point they ran back to me and we left.

Father's Day and First Swim

We celebrated Father's Day by going to church and then taking Jerad to lunch. The boys gave him a new stainless steel coffee mug because his other ones are old and broken. Then we took Eli for his first swim. He loved it! He loves being in the water with his brothers splashing and playing. I got him a rash guard at Target for $6 and it's great because I don't have to put sunscreen all over him. I've been looking for ones for the other boys, but can't find them in their size. It would be nice to worry about sunscreen on their back and stomachs as well. The hunt continues...

Seth's 5th Birthday

We just celebrated Seth's 5th Birthday (okay, not just...it's been a couple of weeks, but I'm just now getting around to blogging about it. : )
We started the morning with a trip to Round Rock Donuts. The boys love Man Vs. Food and he made a trip there on one of his shows. We got the GIANT donut and shared it (by the way, it's only $6!! A great deal for 5 people for breakfast). I'm thinking this is going to become a birthday morning tradition.
Then we met some friends and went to Cameron Park Zoo in Waco. It was soooo hot, but we had a great time. They've added a new exhibit since the last time we were there and the boys really enjoyed it.
The weekend after his birthday we celebrated with a big pool party at my parents. It was a Star Wars themed party and I made light sabors for all the kids using foam pipe insulation and duct tape. They had fun swimming and playing with the light sabors.