Sunday, November 30, 2008

We're done!

Having kids that is. Yes, I know....I know, I've said it before. And, yes, this is coming from the person who canceled her tubal at the last minute after Deacon and Truman were born and after Sawyer was born but it feels different this time. For the first time I feel like I am ready to be done being pregnant, done giving birth and ready to move on with just raising my family. As scared and freaked out as I am about having a little girl, I feel like she is the perfect way to complete our family. 4 amazing sons and 1 beautiful daughter. It sounds perfect to me. And you know what, I'm not going to lie, kids cost a lot!! And the older they get the more they are going to cost. I'm ready to just enjoy my kids. I am ready to move on from child bearing to child rearing and I'm actually really excited about. I've cried a couple of times knowing this is the last time I'm going to have a baby growing inside of me, the last time I'm going to feel those kicks and those hiccups, the last time I'm going to experience the amazingness of birth but it's time....it's time for us to move on.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Thanksgiving!

Hard to believe we are less than a week away from Thanksgiving! I really love this holiday because it lets you take a look at your life and see all the blessings you have. Here are a few of mine:
Brodie: my sweet, first born,the one who first made me a mommy. 2nd in command after daddy.
Deacon: my little one who always has a song on his lips and a dance for anyone who care to watch
Truman: my biggins who goes against the stream & does his own thing (this will be a good thing!)
Sawyer: my littlest guy and the one who can put a smile on my face no matter what
My baby girl: God has finally given you to me
Jason: the man who has given me these blessing, puts up with my crap on a daily basis, can make me laugh all the time, and who has my heart.

This is just the very surface of a list that could go on and on. I'm going to take this next week to really think about how thankful I am....

Saturday, November 15, 2008

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

This morning on my way home, it was flurrying (is that even a word?!?) and it really got me in the mood for Christmas! I LOVE this time of year! Not only are we celebrating the biggest event in the history of time but it is a time rich with family traditions that I love. Here are some of my favorite family Chistmas traditions:

*On Christmas Eve you get to open 1 gift and it is your new Christmas jammies to wear that night. My brother and I got to do this growing up and it is something we have done with our kids since Brodie's first Christmas.
*Breakfast on Christmas morning is always cinnamon rolls. Again, this is a tradition from my childhood that we have carried on with our sons.
*In your stocking you always get money and new underwear! Even on Brodie's first Christmas, we got him a little tiny pair of boxers for his stocking. My boys really look forward to this because they LOVE underwear for some weird reason.
*Sometime before Christmas, we go and drive through Krug Park to look at all the pretty lights.
*Anytime if would snow and my mom would see it before my brother and I she would leave a note on the table that said "look outside!" and we knew that meant it was snowing! Even today, she will still call or e-mail us to say "look outside!" when it is snowing.

I think a lot of people get really caught up in the material side of Christmas, they try to get the most gifts they can and spend the most money. We try very hard to NOT make Christmas about that in our home.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Marriage Retreat

This past weekend, Jason and I had a fun time at a marriage retreat with several other couples from our church. It was all day Friday, Saturday, and half a day on Sunday. It was nice to get away form the business of life and just be with each other. We got to go to several different workshops of different topics about marriage and family, I won't bore you with the details!! We just felt like we came back renewed and refreshed and more committed to our marriage and our family. We have some things we are working on with the boys and so far so good! Even Jason has said that it was a life changing experience and if you know my husband he hardly takes anything seriously (which is one of the things I truly love about him). the fact that he had a good time this weekend and really got some things out of it meant the world to me! We are already making plans to go back next year!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

It takes a village.

I'm sure you've heard that old saying that it takes a village to raise a child, right? I'm coming to realize more recently that this is true. I have always been the kind of mom who does everything for myself and my kids and I have always felt that I do not need any help and even the idea of asking for help obviously means that I have no clue what I'm doing and cannot handle my family. This is really not true! I am blessed enough to have a wonderful large extended family who is more than willing to help out even when I don't ask them to. I'm to the point now where I don't see this as a weakness, but as a strength. How many people are lucky enough to be surrounded by a huge extended family that loves them and would do anything for them? What a gift I am giving my children by allowing my family to be involved in their lives. This country has really gotten away from the importance of family in my opinion, and to me there is nothing more important. Could I do everything on my own, sure I could and a lot of times I do! But it is also nice to know that I have that amazing support system behind me every step of the way.

Monday, November 3, 2008

So glad to be home

Last week was a rough week for me. I had to be in Liberty every day for training for my new job and I was gone from about 7am-6pm every day (well, I got home early on Friday,but STILL!!). I am so stoked about my new job and I learned so much from training, but it was so hard to do. My heart just broke every morning as I walked out the door and left my boys behind. Even though my grandma was watching them, I still felt bad for leaving them all day every day. It really made me realize that there us no way I will ever work full time again, I just don't think I could do it without making myself sick. I thought about them the whole time I was gone and wished I was home with them and wished I was the one running them around where they needed to be. I'm just glad it is all behind me now and I can move forward with my new job and not have to leave my boys anymore!