Where do I begin?

I have not posted on this blog in several years. My last post was when Jace turned 9 months old and he is now 3 years old! I think Facebook took over my computer time. Facebook is great for keeping up with people, but I have certainly missed documenting life events. I want to give a synopsis of the boys lives right now so that I can read this in the years to come.

Oh my goodness! The years have flown and the boys have grown.

Easton:
Easton is 7 (almost 8) and is finishing up his 1st grade year. He is such a smart little boy. I mean, really, he's smart. He was reading before he even started Kindergarten. His amazing school allowed him to go to first grade for reading during his Kindergarten year which helped him to continue to learn and be challenged. It was wonderful! His 1st grade teacher has been equally wonderful. They have a high level reading group where they have been learning upper level reading skills all year. I am so incredibly thankful for his school and his amazing teachers. Easton loves school and has lots of friends. When he's home, his favorite spot in either on the wii, X-Box, or on the computer. I know, I know- too much "screen time." I realize this is something I need to limit more. We do have him involved in sports which is keeping us all very busy and limiting the "screen time" all on its own. : ) Easton has played soccer since he was 3. He played T-Ball at 5, skipped a year and is now playing baseball again. His soccer team (U8 division) won the championship this year, coached by his daddy!! It was a very exciting day. The team had been undefeated all year. Easton had his first 2 baseball games of the season last week and he got 2 hits during his second game. We were so proud of him. He was able to score a run with his first hit and when he got back to the dugout he said, "That was Amazing!" He was so excited. Easton has the sweetest personality. He is very caring, very tender-hearted and such an easy child to parent. He wants to please. He wants to do what is right and he does most all of the time. His teachers love him and I know why. God smiled on me when he gave me Easton. Easton loves the Lord and gave his heart to him over a year ago. He also loves his family. He loves his cousins. East is always asking when is the next time that we can get together with Isaiah, Grant and Abby. I am so thankful they are all like brothers and sisters. What a special bond! Easton is also so helpful with the other boys. I can always count on him.

Lawson:
Lawson is 5 and is finishing up his Pre-K year at Harding Academy. I just went last week and registered him for Kindergarten!! Oh my goodness! I am not ready for him to go to big school, but I know it is time. I think he is excited about going to Kindergarten, but I know he will not like going to school everyday. Right now he just goes Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He loves his days of being at home playing with Jace. Lawson has come a long way academically this year and I know he is going to do just fine in Kindergarten. I expect him to really enjoy school - especially the social part. ; ) Lawson has also been playing soccer for the last 2 years. His age level doesn't keep score, but he has had a good little team this year and Lawson loves every minute of it. He literally smiles and jumps around (and dances) the entire time he is out on the field. Lawson loves sports!! He is also really good at them. He just has that natural talent, I think. He is playing T-Ball this year for the first time. His first game is tomorrow night and I can not wait to see him all dressed out in that precious baseball uniform. Oh my - he is such a precious little boy. His big brown eyes can melt my heart. Lawson is so loving. I was walking him to the bathroom today at Chili's and the he said, "Thank you, mom, for walking with me to the bathroom. And thank you for being such a good mom." Then he reached up to kiss me on the cheek. That is just Lawson. He is soo sweet. He is a hugger and a kisser and I love every bit of it. He still, at 5 years old, wants me to hold his hand while he goes to sleep. Even though sometimes I try to make him go to sleep alone - because I know he needs to learn - I cherish every little kiss on my hand as he pulls it up to his face to cuddle to go to sleep. Words cannot describe how my heart overflows. One other thing I have to mention about Lawson. He is a character! He loves to goof around and he still has dance moves that we don't know how he learned. ; ) His fun-loving personality keeps us all on our toes.

Jace:
Jace turned 3 almost 2 month ago. He goes to an in-home daycare 2 days a week where he gets to play with his best friend, Lane. Lane is my good friend, Bridget's, little boy who was born one month before Jace. They have grown up together and I hope they can be life long friends. Although I hate to not spend every minute with Jace - those 2 days give me time to volunteer at Easton's school - which I do often, work at the office, if needed, go to the grocery store, appointments or anything else that I need to do without children. I started putting Jace in the in-home daycare with Lawson while I was still working with the business and as I have let go of those responsibilities, I have kept Jace there. It has been something I have struggled with feeling guilt of being away, but also knowing that he loves it there and it gives me the opportunity to be involved with the other boy's activities as well. Jace has been a very easy baby. The Lord blessed me with Jace. He started sleeping through the night I guess around a year old and has been wonderful ever since. Unlike the other boys that required rocking, bouncing galore to go to sleep, Jace can simply just lay down wide awake and go to sleep on his own. Wow! I have been amazed. I didn't think it was possible for one of my babies to do that. ha ha! I still like to rock him and sing to him but that is all quickly coming to a stop. Before I get into all his growing up, let mention the songs he liked to sing while we rock. He makes his own requests every night. ; ) He used to like the "Bible song" B-I-B-L-E, which we would sing a million times over. It is a very short song by the way. ha ha! Now he likes the "farm song" Old McDonald. He also likes "Wheels on the Bus". I have held on to Jace being a baby much, much longer than I should have. He is my last and I have literally tried to savor every moment of him. I did finally potty train him a few weeks after his 3rd birthday. I was worried because he had shown no interest at all beforehand, but he was a pro. He was almost fully trained in less than a week. We are over a month into it and he is doing great! This week we made 2 other huge steps. I have allowed Jace to have a pacifier at bedtime. I know he is incredibly too old, but it was one of the last baby things to go. He loves his passy but now they are gone. On Thursday, he was helping me in the kitchen and I was bragging about what a big boy his was and he said, "I'm a big boy - I don't need passys anymore." I said "You don't?? Do you want to throw them away?" He said, "Uh-huh" and I said "Ok-go get them". I knew that this could be a fluke thing, but I also knew it was too good of an opportunity to let it pass me by. He threw them away with no problem but later on that night and the next night, we had one sad little boy. He told me one night regarding the trash man taking them away, "That not a good idea." I felt so bad for him. But on a happier note- and one that I do think helped him feel better - we also moved him into a toddler bed that same night. We went outside and spray painted the toddler bed "pirate-ship red" in Jace's words and moved it in his room that night. He was so excited to sleep in his new big boy bed. I know I have rambled on more about Jace but he is the one still going through the most transitions. These were all things the other boys did when they were turning 2 but since we have not had anymore babies on the way, Jace has had the pleasure of staying a baby longer. : ) Jace definitely has my heart just like the other boys. I think everything he does and says is the cutest thing ever. I am so in love with that little boy. His dimples are still very prominent and he gets comments on them all the time when he smiles. He has lots of "faces". He can look so mean and mad and then turn into a huge smile the next second. He is really funny.  He is talking more and more grown up which is sometimes really sweet and funnyand sometimes makes me want to cry. I think he is going to be a smart little boy. He is really attached to me because we are together most all the time. : ) He also loves his daddy, brothers and nanny and papa too. Jace gave my mom the name Nanny. None of the other kids call her that -only him. He calls the older boys -"the bubbas". He loves loves loves Mickey Mouse - who we are going to see in 5 weeks. Yippee! Jace really loves tv. His favorite shows are Mickey Mouse, Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Thomas the Train. Although he would actually rather play with his trains than watch Thomas on tv. He loves trains and horses!

I feel like the luckiest mom in the world to have these precious boys as my children. What a privilege to be their mother. They make me laugh, make me cry, make me mad, make me proud, and make me soo happy!! I know that I have many flaws as a mother and that I don't do everything right. Some days I feel like I am doing more wrong than right. It's hard to stay patient. It's hard to know the right way to discipline, the right way to teach them to respect authority, to respect each other and to respect themselves. I want them to love the Lord. I want them to know that I love the Lord. I want them to love to worship Him. I want them to be compassionate towards others who are less fortunate. I want them to mature at a healthy pace - to be sheltered from this awful world as long as possible, but at the same time knowing that there is a reason we must trust in the Lord at all times. I want them to have fun, to play and laugh and sing. I want them to feel safe. I want them to one day grow into strong, well-adjusted, smart Christian men and be blessed with Christian wives who will love them with their whole hearts. I pray for these things everyday. I pray that I can somehow in all my weaknesses train these precious little boys in the way they should go so that they will never depart from it. I cannot do that alone. I need the Lord's help and guidance everyday. Oh Lord, help me to take care of what you have blessed me with. Thank You, Lord, a million times over for my precious children and for blessing me with an amazing man to walk beside.

Easton's 1st Day of KIndergarten

This post was written in August of 2011. I never published it until now.

So, I just got back from dropping off Easton at his first day of Kindergarten. I absolutely cannot believe that he is old enough to be gone everyday to school. I remember the day he was born, the moment I heard him cry for the first time. I praised the Lord for a healthy baby and I have fallen more in love with him everyday since.

We got up this morning and he seemed a little nervous. I know that he was trying to be brave and excited, but I could tell that he was nervous. He ate Trix and apples for breakfast and finished getting ready early enough to get in a little Wii time before we left. : ) He loves that Wii.

We went outside and took the usual before school pictures and he asked, "Why do we have to take all these pictures before I go to school?" Not really understanding the magnitude of today. ; )

We drove to school (a minute from our house). East had already said this morning that he was glad it wouldn't take a long time to get there because we lived close. The traffic was terrible! We had to park in the grass. As we were parking, East didn't realize that we were all getting out to walk him in. He started to tell Lawson bye and said, "Lawson, play the wii for me today, okay?" Such a sweet big brother. He had been talking to Lawson about the wii all morning and telling him what to do if he played certain games. They are used to playing together all the time.

Last night, Easton was worried about not having anyone to play with. I told him that I was sure there would be little boys in his class that liked Batman, Spiderman, Star Wars and all the same things as him. I told him that they may even see his Batman backpack and like it. We walked up to the school this morning and saw a little boy standing on the sidewalk. He saw Easton's batman backpack and told him that it was "awesome". As we walked away, Easton said to me, "Your right, momma, people do like my backpack." ha ha! Hopefully, spending a fortune on the Batman backpack was worth it. I think it was! : )

We walked around to the black top and saw Mrs. Rupard. She put a name tag on him and then told us we could go in and put up his stuff. So, we walked in and he went right to his cubby. I helped him hang up his things and then he sat down for a minute. Lawson started exploring the room.

I took a few more pictures and then told Easton bye. He looked so sad and nervous as I was leaving. I absolutely hated leaving him but I knew it was what we had to do. I know he will be fine, but I am sure that 3:00 cannot come fast enough today. Please Lord, take care of my sweet boy.

Funny Easton

We were on our way home from school and Lawson would not buckle up his seat belt. Easton told him that if he didn't buckle up, he would not let him play the wii when we got home. I told Easton that he was not in charge of the wii. He stopped and looked at me with a blank stare. I said, "I am in charge of the wii." He paused again and said, "Why do you have to be in charge of everything?" I laughed really really hard and said, "Because I'm the momma." I love him! He's so honest.

Jace - 9 months old

On December 4th, Jace turned 9 months old. I am a few weeks late is writing this post, but Christmas is soon approaching and life is very, very busy. I feel guilty that I have not written much about Jace's life, but I guess I just need to be thankful for what I have written down. Right now, I am working 3 days a week with Jace at home with me. That means that really I only get to work when he is napping, but I am thankful to have the opportunity to work and help out the business and be at home with him, too. Easton is in Pre-K 3 days a week and Lawson goes to an in-home daycare on those same days. I have struggled with not having Lawson here with me as well, but it is just so hard to concentrate and get work done if all the kids are here. Jace typically takes a long morning nap and that is when I get most of my work done. So now on to baby Jace...

- We all tend to call him "Baby Jace". In fact, sometimes Lawson just shortens it to "Bay Jace". ; ) I also call him "Jace-a-roo." I don't know where I got that, but I just said it one day and it has stuck. : ) Occasionally, we will call him "Jacer." I love all his many nicknames.

- At Jace's 9 month doctor's appointment, he weighed 19 pounds 4 ounces and was 29 inches long. He is in the 75-90% for his height, but has dropped down between 25-50% for his weight. He is by far my skinniest baby and he is not small. : ) The others had lots of rolls, but Jace just has a few. I think he is just perfect though. I might try to fatten him up a bit before his 1 yr appointment. I think Dr. Moore would like it if he was closer to 50% for his weight since he is so tall.

-Jace is wearing 12-18 month clothes right now. : )

- Jace is still on Enfamil Premium formula and drink 6 ounces with each bottle. He drinks 3 to 4 bottles a day and still wakes up in the night to drink one. We are working on transferring from baby food to table food. He is a great eater when it comes to baby food. He will pretty much eat whatever I feed him. He loves to snack on Gerber Puffs. As far as table food goes, we have worked really hard the past 2 weeks. He has eaten bananas, lasagna, spaghetti, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, small bites of turkey, cooked carrots, and pears. There may be more, but that's all I can think of now. He is not solely on table food, but we are transitioning. : )

- Jace has a really sweet personality. He has the biggest smile. When he smiles, his whole face lights up and he has really deep dimples. Everyone always comments on his big dimples. They are pretty cute, I must say. He has always smiled very easily. Overall, he is a very happy baby. The older he gets, the more demanding he is becoming though. He definitely will let you know if he is not happy that you took a toy away or if you leave a room without taking him with you.

- He is extremely ticklish! Especially on his back, neck and feet. ; )

- He loves his big brothers and loves for them to talk and play with him. They are so good with him and I know that he will do everything he can to keep him with them.

- Jace does not like to get his diaper changed. He is constantly turning over making diaper and clothes changes very difficult. I think I remember this with the others and I know it is just his independence starting to come out as he gets older. It is so sad - they don't stay babies long enough.

- Jace can clap his hands, raise his hands to "praise the Lord" (something we have taught all the boys at a young age), wave to you ( but not on demand), crawl, pull up to standing, and cruise along a sturdy surface. He has not stood alone yet, but seems to be very close.

- Speaking of crawling, Jace can crawl so fast!! It is really funny if he has something he knows you don't want him to have or if he thinks you are gonna pick him up before he can get to something. He will start crawling really fast and I almost have to run to catch him. He is usually laughing or smiling really big when I do catch him.

- Jace also crawls exactly like Lawson did. He uses his left knee and his right foot. I think this technique aids to his extreme fast crawling. : ) I could not believe it when I saw that he started to crawl like that. I thought it was so unusual with Lawson, but I guess not. ; ) It runs in the family. ha ha!

- Jace can hold his own bottle, but only when he is in his car seat. If I am holding him, he still wants me to hold it for him - and I don't mind a bit. He is my sweet baby and I love holding it for him. ; )

- Jace also loves music. He bounces to music and waves his arm in the air when he hears music. He kinda looks like he is directing the music. ; ) He loves for me to sit him on the piano bench and let him bang around. I pray that he will have a love and talent for music. I know that is something God-given and I pray that God gave that gift to all my boys. Music has meant so much in my life. I don't consider myself to be extremely gifted in music, but it has always been a huge interest and I believe helped me in life.

- Jace is babbling a lot now. He says Mamama, Dadada, Bybyby, Bababa. He has also babbled with the letter "g". I don't think he has tried to intentionally say much except maybe "bybyby" for "bite". He has seemed to use that more while we are feeding him. Jace's babbling is a huge answer to prayer. Right before he turned 8 months old, I started getting very concerned because he had not tried to babble at all. In fact, he was not making many sounds at all. Just crying and laughing and an occasional "ahhh". I knew he was supposed to be much further along that that at 8 months old. We started praying and started working with him a lot. The weekend he turned 8 months old, he started using "guh guh" some. We were so excited and praising the Lord for answering prayer. He is progressing so well now and I am so thankful that he seems to be on track now.

- Jace doesn't have any teeth that have come through yet. I have been able to see at least two on the bottom front for a couple of months now, but they have not pushed through yet. It's okay though because the doctor has always told me that their teeth will be healthier if they come in later. We'll see...

- Jace's Schedule: Well, this is not exact because it changes a little each day, but....He usually wakes up between 7:30 and 8:00. He takes a 2 t 2 1/2 hr nap in the morning sometime around 10-10:30. He is usually up for 3 or so hours and then goes back down for a shorter nap. This afternoon nap really varies on how long. Sometimes it's only 30-34 minutes and sometimes it is as long as 1 1/2 hrs. He is usually up then until he goes to bed at night around 9:00. Unfortunately, Jace is not sleeping through the night. He usually wakes up at least once to have a bottle and sometimes even twice if he goes to bed early. I know I should not give him a bottle the second time but I have been to get him back to sleep. My goal for the next month or so is to stop the second time all together and hopefully get him to sleep all night long. I will need the Lord's help with this because I just hate to make him "cry it out". It's funny - it was hard for me to do that with Easton because he was my first baby, a little easier for Lawson because I knew he would be okay and now harder again because this is my last baby.... Ha ha!

- I think I am "babying" Jace a little more because I feel he is my last. I love him so much and I love being his momma. I love to hold him and rock him and snuggle with him. He will lean his head into mine and we will rub our foreheads together. This is our special "lovin". I am getting teary thinking about how quickly this time will pass and I will wish for it back. I am really trying to enjoy every minute, but they just seem to be slipping through my fingers. Life is so busy and even though I want it to slow down - I don't see a way.

Jace is such a sweet little baby. I cannot imagine life without him. 3 is a great number. God has blessed me with 3 special little boys. They are all so different and unique and my heart overflows with love for each of them. My prayer is that I can be the kind of mom that each of them needs and that ultimately they will grow up loving the Lord and living their life for Him.

Lawson is 3!!

Lawson showing off his cake. He wanted to put his hand out like that. Ha ha!!

I cannot believe that my baby boy, Lawson, is 3!! For some reason this birthday has really hit me emotionally. Maybe it's because Easton is 5 and I know how fast time goes by or maybe it's because Jace is just 8 months and I remember it wasn't that long ago that Lawson was that age. For whatever reason, Lawson turning 3 has been fun and a little sad that my baby boy is growing up. I have tried to treasure every minute of this birthday and him running around saying, "I the bird-day boy!"

I do love the 3rd birthday the best of all (although I only have 5 birthdays to compare to at this point). : ) At 3, they are old enough to understand the "fun" of birthdays and the excitement leading up to it....all the presents, and the cake, and the party theme. At the same time, they are still young and very much a baby in lots of ways. I especially love the way they talk at this age. I love the funny things they say and the improper ways they say their words. For example, Lawson says "beary" for the word "very". I absolutely love that!! He told me he wanted Buzz and Woody on his birthday cake and when I told him I had ordered the cake and they were both going to be on there, he said "Ah, that is beary cool!!" It made me smile.

Lawson is quite the individual. He is his own person in every way. He is not a follower although he wants to do all the things his big brother does. Lawson is so funny. He has been that way since he was a baby. He would make faces and do things as a baby that we had no idea where he got it from. We thought he was too young to know how to act that way. : ) Come to find out, that was just the sweet, fun-loving personality that the Lord gave him.

That boy can dance!! Let me tell you...he has the moves! He can shake that little hind-end like nobody's business. ha ha! Not that I am encouraging him to do that, but it sure is cute at age 3. : ) It doesn't matter what music is playing, he will find the rhythm and dance to it. He also claps on beat and stays with it for a long time. I know these are silly things, but as a musical person, I love to see evidences of music in my kiddos. : )

He is also very coordinated. We think he is going to be a great ball player of some sort when he gets older. He loves to play soccer, he is great a hitting a ball with a baseball bat, and can really throw a ball! Who knows what he will end up doing, but I feel pretty sure he'll be playing something!

He loves to play outside riding his bike, riding scooters, playing in the dirt, swinging, sliding, blowing bubbles (which helped to potty train him), playing with sidewalk chalk and just being an all around boy! My prayer is that someday we will live somewhere with lots of land for all the boys to romp and roam. : )

Along with all these precious characteristics, comes Lawson's very determined strong will. It is this attribute that gets him into lots of trouble and many tangles with his momma. He has had his share (and then some) of time-outs, spankings, lectures, and just good talkin' to's. : ) He tries my patience and pushes the limit on most things just to see how much he can get away with. I have to choose my battles with him, but I try to win most of the time. lol! He has learned to say "I'm sorry" and "I'll be good - I'll obey you." It's hard not to give in to those beautiful big brown eyes looking up at you. I have cried many tears and prayed many prayers to ask the Lord to help me and Mat as we try to mold this determined little person to be a man of God. I know that his strong will can help him as he grows up if it is turned in the right direction. But for now, I feel like at 3, we are doing okay.

Lawson is also a GREAT big and little brother. He loves Jace and Easton so much. He and Easton are typical brothers, I think. They play together and go on adventures, hunts, Batman and Robin stake-outs, Karate Kid fights, and the list goes on and on. They also have their bad times and fight a lot over toys. I grew up with a brother so I remember sibling fighting. You fight and fight, but you still love each other unconditionally and want nothing more than to just play together again. Lawson is so sweet with Jace. I wondered a lot about how he would act with Jace when he was born. Lawson has always been the rough one so I was scared he might try to pick him up or hit him or something, but he has been the complete opposite. He talks sweet to him and makes him laugh. He and Easton will go and climb into Jace's crib when Jace wakes up and play with him until I go and get Jace. It's so sweet. Lawson is a big helper and will go and get things for me if I need them. I can tell the more mobile Jace gets, Lawson may not be too excited about Jace getting his toys, but we all have to learn to share.... : )

When Lawson is gets in the right mood, he is the best "cleaner". He can pick up and clean up toys fast! He also is the best about putting away his shoes. I am thankful both boys are trained to take off their shoes as soon as they come inside and Lawson is so good about taking them straight to his closet. Lawson will also put up his plate in the sink for me after meals.

Speaking of sharing...all three boys are in the living room right now playing with toys and with Mat. I just heard Easton tell Lawson, "I know that's your toy, but sometimes babies want to play too. " Good job, big brother Easton!! He is so sweet - but that's a different blog entry. : )

One of my favorite things about Lawson is that he loves to snuggle. He has been that way since birth. When I pick him up, he plays with my hair and always wants to be touching in some way. Lawson is going through a stage right now where he wants me to lay down with him at night while he goes to sleep. How can you turn down an offer when it sounds like.."Momma, you sweep whiff me?" I mean, come on! When I lay down with him, he will put his little arm around my neck and always end up holding my hand. He LOVES to hold hands!! And I LOVE to hold that little hand.

Lawson doesn't have a lot of interest in learning educational things like shapes, letters, numbers, colors, etc. This is completely opposite from his older brother at this age. He is getting better, but sometimes he still just guesses and goes on. He can count to 10 and knows some colors and what a circle is and of course the number 3. Beyond that, it is just hit and miss. I'm not worried because I know he will pick up on things when he gets more interested and when I work with him more. I plan to send him to a Pre-Pre-K next year 2 days/week. I think that will be great for him. He wanted to go to school this year when Easton went. He loves being with other kids and feeling like a "big boy". He moved up from the nursery to the Children's Church at church last Sunday. He was so excited to be in class with Easton and Abby.

I love Lawson so much and I am so incredibly thankful to be his momma. As much as I thought I wanted a baby girl when I was pregnant with him - I am so glad God didn't give me a girl and that he gave me Lawson instead. Our lives are all better because he is with us.

Finally, getting to his party. He wanted a Toy Story party and that's exactly what he got. I think it was one of my favorite themes we have done. It was precious and the kids all had so much fun. We took them outside for a kid-sized hayride after opening presents and they had a ball. We even saw 3 deer while Papa pulled us around our side yard and our neighbors. Here are a few pictures from the big event....

The kids table.

Blowing out his candles. He blew them out first before we even sang so he got to do it twice. : )

Lawson LOVES birthday hats! Eating his birthday cake.

All the kids getting ready to watch Lawson open presents. After this picture, Lawson said, "I did a good job holding Baby Jace, momma?" I said, "Yes you did, baby!"

The scooter!!!

Lawson on his hayride with his glow necklace. ; ) He had so much fun!!

Oh, I love that little boy! It brings tears to my eyes!!

Easton's 1st Day of Pre-K (2)

I haven't updated my blog in over a year and I have missed it so much. I really used this as a diary and documentation of the kids milestones and events. I don't think there is any way to update the entire last year, so I am just gonna jump back in.

Yesterday was Easton's 2nd First Day of Pre-K. Instead of sending him to Kindergarten this year, we are gonna do Pre-K again. I have had a really hard time with this decision, but I think in the long run it will be good for him to be one of the older ones in his class instead of one of the younger ones. He just turned 5 in June so he would be very young starting Kindergarten.

So, the entire family got up and around for Easton's first day. We were really a little behind, as usual, and I felt terrible about it. We got the boys in bed really early the night before, but they were still dragging at 7 a.m. Easton looked so cute in his new shirt and looked so grown up. He is carrying the same backpack this year, so I now have 3 "first day of school" pictures with him and that backpack.

Lawson wants to do everything Easton does so he wanted to wear a new shirt, get his backpack, and picture taken as well. I tried to tell him that he was not going to school but unfortunately he did not comprehend that and was terribly upset when it came time to leave Easton's school. Every classroom we past he said, "Dat my room?". He even found a cubby in Easton's classroom for his backpack and wanted to sit down and color. Bless his heart. I felt soo bad for him. He was devastated. Thankfully, I took him to McDonald's afterward and that seemed to help a little. That was a big treat because we don't inside there often.

On the walk from the car to the school, Easton took a little tumble and scrapped up his knee. Being the dramatic that he is, he was pretty upset and needed a band-aid. It was bleeding and it was just not the morning we were hoping for. All that being said, we made it inside, got his band-aid and he was off to chapel. No tears about me leaving, he was a big boy and completely familiar with the routine from last year.

I picked him up around 3:30 and he was outside playing. He teachers both said he had a good day and his new assistant teacher said "He is really smart and really good." I was so pleased to hear about his day and that he had a good time. He said that he got to be the Lunch Server and he was pumped about that. Also, his best friend from last year is in his class and they have cubbies beside each other.

I am so thankful he had a great day and I am looking forward to this year. I feel really good about it and know East will love Pre-K...again. : )

Ice Cream Master Piece

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to go along with this post, but it was so funny that I have to post about it.

We were eating at Western Sizzlin tonight and I was helping the boys with dessert. Easton wanted ice cream and I thought Lawson wanted cookies. I was holding Lawson with one hand and got Easton a small bowl of soft serve ice cream with the other. I put the bowl down and started to get Lawson some cookies in another bowl. I heard Easton quietly saying, "Momma? momma? Look Momma." I guess I was only half listening but finally listened enough to turn around and look. I looked at Easton and he was standing perfectly still staring and pointing at the ice cream machine still quietly saying, "Momma?". To my great amazement and shock, I saw the largest pile of ice cream I have ever seen. Apparently, I did not quite push the ice cream lever all the way up and the ice cream was still coming out piling higher and higher - in perfect circles I might add!

I quickly put Lawson down and begged him not to run off while I shut off the machine and started grabbing bowls and spoons and scraping ice cream into the bowls. I could only get 2 bowls when I was laughing so hard that I just had to get back to the table.

I told Mat and he went up to inspect my damage. He got his own bowl of ice cream from my master piece as well. He said he saw several people with very intriguing looks on their faces. He just told them, "Well, I don't want it to go to waste." : )

Needless to say, we were all very full of ice cream when we got home tonight and I will never fail to push the lever all the way up again!!!

July and August Recap

I am getting worse and worse about posting. I think about it everytime I check my email and I even read other blogs but can't seem to ever find the time to post myself. I thought I would recap the last few months with a few pictures.

This post is way over-due. My 29th birthday was June 26th and our 9th anniversary was July 1st. Mat took me on a surprise trip and told me it was for our anniversary. We got all dressed up and I didn't know where we were going. He took me to Hot Springs to the Hot Springs Belle where we went on our 1st anniversary. When I walked on the boat, I was greeted by my family and three of my very best friends and their husbands. It was a surprise belated birthday party. Mat decided he would do a big surprise for my 29th instead of my 30th - that way I wouldn't be expecting anything. It was so sweet of all my friends and family to make that trip for me. Jeff and Bridget stayed over with us and Bridget and I had a day of shopping and the spa the next day. It was lots of fun. The sweetest part though was on the boat when Mat had a song played for me. He wrote and recorded the song. It was all about our life together. Oh my- too sweet. Thank you honey, for a wonderful surprise and trip. I love you!!

Me and my oldest. He still talks about momma's party on the big boat.

The whole party.

We drove back on the Fourth of July just in time to get baths, jammies, and go watch the annual Harding display of fireworks. I just love fireworks! Easton covered his ears the whole time but loved to watch and name all the colors with me.

My grandpa had probably his biggest garden ever this year. He worked so hard on it and we all have enjoyed the fresh veggies. He had one very large area of just tomatoes. He let the boys go out one day and pick tomatoes. They loved it!

Pa taught them which ones were ready for picking and which ones still needed to ripen.

This was one day before we went up to Nana's to play outside. I thought they looked so cute in their muscle shirts and hats turned around backwards.

We took a spur of the moment trip to Memphis one Saturday and took the boys to the zoo and to see a baseball game. Unfortunately it rained really hard while we were at the zoo and we could only stay for a couple of hours. They had fun though and we were able to see all the main animals. We all got Zoo Ponchos.

Checking out the elephants.

After the zoo, we ate lunch and went to our hotel and everyone took a nap. How wonderful!! We were fully rested and thankful for the great weather to go the baseball game. The game was lots of fun. The boys thought it was really cool to see the baseball players and the big Redbird Mascot. Although Easton wanted the other team to win because they were wearing blue - and..."blue is my favorite color." They both were so good and we made it all the way to the 7th inning.

Lawson loves to ride the mower with his daddy. Pretty much he will do anything with his daddy, but this day, he had watched him out the window the whole time Mat was mowing saying, "I ide dat." (I ride that.) He was thrilled when I finally let him go outside and ride with daddy.

Ahh.... Easton's first day of Pre-K at Harding. He is going Tuesday/Thursday all day. He has been very excited about going to "big school." He did wonderful! He walked right in to his classroom, found his seat and starting playing. He didn't even blink an eye when I said I was leaving, he just said, "okay, bye." My big boy. He is such an easy, sweet boy. I praise the Lord for him.

Lawson fell asleep on the living room floor. We have been getting up earlier since school started and everyone has been taking good naps. I felt bad this day because he was just watching tv and I looked over and he laid down in this position and didn't move a muscle. Needless to say, he didn't even know when I moved him to his bed.

My little cowboys!! Easton's little children's church had a western day this past Sunday. He looked so cute! Saturday night we were dressing Easton up trying to decide what he should wear. Lawson, "Mr. Monkey See-Monkey Do", said he wanted to be a "ow-boy" too. Even though Lawson was just going to the nursery, we had two little cowboys. They looked so cute!

Thanks for checking in on us. We are doing good - staying very busy but doing good. We are loving the cooler weather the Lord has given us and it is giving me an inching for fall, hay, and football. Easton will start soccer soon. Mat is going to coach his little team. That should be another fun adventure. Lawson is growing up more and more. He is really trying hard to talk and doing very well. He is putting lots of words together and saying new things all the time. He also keeps us all laughing. He is such a ham!! We praise the Lord for our wonderful growing family.

I Believe I Can - Swim!!

Last week, we had some swim teachers come to mom and dad's pool for private swim lessons for Isaiah, Grant, and Easton. They were so sweet. Easton had never had swim lessons before and evidently it was the perfect timing for him. He did so good. I was such a proud momma watching him. He wasn't scared and he tried his best to do what they asked him to. While he didn't actually learn how to swim by the end of the week, he learned how to blow bubbles, make arm circles in the water, kick with a kickboard, go under the water by himself, jump off the side of the pool and jump off the diving board!!!! He is so proud of his new found talent!!

Learning how to blow bubbles

Going under to get the underwater toys.

Kicking with the "Batman" kickboards.

Jumping off the side of the pool! Yeah, Easton!! He didn't hesitate at all. And, yes, I do feed my child although he doesn't look like it. : )

He was getting very brave and having a little fun. Without saying a word, he started doing a "super-hero" jump. It looked like this and then in the air he changed his arms the other direction. It was absolutley precious. I couldn't be there the last day of the lessons, but they said he was doing the robot before he jumped. I just thought it was halirious that he was coming up with all this on his own. He was having loads of fun!

This is him jumping off the diving board! Way to go, Easton! I am so proud of you.

Easton's 4th Birthday

On June 24th, Easton turned 4. I can't believe my baby is 4 years old!! He has to be the sweetest little boy that God has ever made. I love him to pieces!! Thank you Lord for letting me be his momma. What a precious gift! I will tell the story of his birthday through the pictures. I can remember it better that way.

We had Easton's party the day after his actual birthday, so we let him open the present his Gammy and Papa Todd sent him from Florida on the morning of his birthday.

Then, we took him to McDonald's for his favorite - pancakes!! He asks for "Nick-Donald's" pancakes all the time. It was also a special treat to get to go inside and play. Daddy left work for a little bit to eat breakfast with us.

Momma and the birthday boy!

After breakfast, we went up to Nana's house to play on the "Rocky Mountain River Race" - Nana and Papa's newest addition to the backyard playground. : ) It is probably the best thing you could buy for kids - especially if you have several children that will play on it. This picture doesn't show how cool it is - Easton had just slid down the slide on his tummy when I took this picture.


The next evening we had Easton's birthday party up at Nana and Papa's house. Easton was so cute while we were setting up for the party. He kept asking
"When are my guests going to get here?"
Easton wanted a Batman Water Birthday party this year. That comes as no surprise because he is absolutely obsessed with Batman. We bought a Batman Wii game for him a month or so and he wants to play it 24-7. That has turned into a complete Batman love affair for him. I have to say he has gotten very good at the wii game - especially for a 4 yr old.

This was the most children we have invited to a birthday party. We had the family, of course, and several of Easton's friends from his Bible Class at church and a few of my friend's kids as well. There were 11 kids total.

This was the best family picture we could get. The cake was really cool. We asked a friend from church who does cakes to make it for us. She did a great job!

Here is Easton with his pick of the cake - the Batman symbol. He was very proud. Shortly after this picture was taken, the cake fell off his plate - almost leading to an extremely upset birthday boy. Thankfully, Daddy was able to cut off the dirty parts and salvage the treasured Batman symbol piece of cake. : )

This is Easton's favorite present. It was the only thing he really asked for. Nana and Papa got him a Bat Cave. Several other people got him the other peices to go with it and he loves it. He has played with it almost everyday since his birthday.

Weeee!!!!!

All the kiddos had lots of fun on the big slide. Mat stood gaurd to make sure no one got hurt.
It was a really fun birthday party. Easton turned 4 in style!!

I love you my precious boy!!!