Spring Night -

Sunday evening was a beautiful spring night.

The Beloved designed our own little make-shift fire pit, perfect for smores making.

Little C falling over in his chair, due to the fact that I kept telling them to get closer for the picture :)

Ruckus and the Lou-dog

 After smores all the men went camping in the backyard - Me and the baby on the other hand declined. I know, party pooper. All about it in the woods but when I'm just a few feet from my own comfortable bed of love - I had to say no.

 Sorry guys! :)

The beloved and the boys prepping for the backyard camp out.

But look at those little cuties!

Love 'em!

While the boys got comfy in the tent, The Beloved and I sat around the fire for a bit waiting for the coals to burn out. It was such a comfortable evening, just sitting there next to my best pal talking about life, plans for the future, laughing at each others jokes, etc.

I really feel like I have it all. I love my husband, love my kids.

 I'm so very blessed.

Can't Believe He's One!

Happy Birthday!

Our bright eyed baby turned One!

Photo shoot on b-day morn



Getting ready to unwrap presents. Hurray!

 I think Fisher-Price stole a photo of our baby!

The Beloved bought this toy car specifically for the baby because the picture on the back resembled him so much.



Anxiously devouring his b-day brownie

 So, I'm a list maker, like my mom - and now that The Baby is one his brothers want him to also receive a weekend chores list.

Here's The Baby's chore list his brother's came up with

The Baby received sesame street toy cars from Grandma and Grandpa for his b-day, a singing counting ball, toy cars, and clothes from Mom and Dad, a cute outfit and a little teething toy from Buckabu and Papa.

Dear Baby,

You're still a baby in so many ways but toddler-esq in so many others. Oh, be a baby longer - you're growing up too fast for this mother of yours. :( 

You only have two bottom teeth you developed about a month ago but devour anything and everything we put in front of you.

You eat the same portion sizes as your brothers and could probably best them with a few extra portions if we allowed.

You'll howl between bites if we don't get it in their fast enough

Seriously. You're an animal. :)

You share a room with Ruckus and sometimes we hear him making you giggle while you should be sleeping.

You have a smile for EVERYONE but when you're paying attention to something specific your face becomes very focused and intense.

You're not crawling quite yet but the desire is strong. You army crawl and do the inch worm quite amazingly on your back. You can also roll pretty swiftly if you feel the urgency.

You are so very happy when you wake in the mornings and a glorious smile streams across your face when we enter your room. You are always, always on the move and don't like to sit and cuddle too long, unless it's the last hour of church with Daddy when you fall asleep against his chest. Ohhhh... precious. (I'm jealous a bit, not gonna lie) :)

You love music and can really shake it to some Latino songs when we're out eating Mexican food. When I do the dishes throughout the day we turn on our UB40 Pandora station and your little head begins to bob naturally to that sweet reggae beat.

Oh, I'm in love with it.

You're content with the world as long as someone you're familiar with is in the room with you.

You learned Daddy's name first but Mama's wasn't too long coming.  Recently you've picked up on hi and bye and will even compliment it with a wave now and again.

You love to be outside; whether we're on a walk or you're chillen' in your jump-er-roo watching us garden, your eyes explore it all.

You get attention non-stop from your affectionate brothers who think you rule the world.

Because you do!

At least that's what you've convinced us of :) we love you - we are so glad Heavenly Father sent your happy self to our home!

Love,

Mama

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!



Ruckus turns 3!

Happy Birthday!



This year Ruckus wanted a Mater cake for his birthday...

say what...?

Had his heart set on it - talked about it everyday - told family and friends he would get one.

Shoot dog.

So, with prayers being said every 5 minutes, and a little elbow grease -

these hands of mine busted one out.

The Lord is good. :)

We had some family in town for Cousin M's graduation so they were able to jump on in for the festivities.

Ruckus wearing  this cool little b-day card Papa and Buckabu gave him.

 Now introducing who Ruckus' was truly meant to be:

HULK SMASH!

down goes cousin M

and Great Uncle R

Great Aunt C wants in on the action.  Papa's afraid, but Great Uncle R is up for the fight. :)

 ... for the more peaceful part of the party:

Papa pushing Lou and Little C on the swings.

The Beloved manipulating the Bumblebee transformer back into a car.

Ruckus' monster face - that I had to promise to take in order to get the first smiling picture of him featured at the top. :)

For his b-day Ruckus received:

Hulk Smash gloves,  a Sonic shirt, cars, and doctor kit from Mom and Dad -Bumblebee transformer from Brothers  - An extremely cool Pokeman from Grandma and Grandpa - A Batting set and socks from Papa and Buckabu - and a Curious George book from Great Aunt C and Family.

Oh the Ruckster - where to begin my fine little friend,

You are H.I.L.A.R.I.O.U.S, naughty and sweet all wrapped into one.

You are attracted to anything gross - boogers, pooping, peeing, spitting, farting, burping - these things bring you infinite joy in life.

You have quite the vocabulary and people are always surprised to find out how young you are. You are super shy and get anxiety when in large groups of people whom you are unfamiliar with, but once you warm up the party is on.

You love carrying around anything you can put stuff in - backpack, doctor kit, "little people" lunchbox container. You are also in love with your monkey pillow pet and blue blanket. When you go to bed you must have Choc LATE Milllllk (you say this in a deep slow voice to make us laugh) and since you share a room with the Baby and he's usually asleep before you, we help you "sneak" into your bed so as not to wake him up. You'll say, "let's sneak" in a whisper.

Truly adorable.

Your brother's are your pals and you love to be included, but you also aren't going to be pestered into anything you aren't fond of. Which is good and a little disappointing for them.

You are obsessed with the Baby and when I pick him up off the ground you get sad and say,

Put him down,

he's my best friend or

he's my baby.

We're not sure how the Baby feels :)

Just kidding.

He loves you and grabs your head to give you a big hug.

You don't really have an inside voice which can cause complications during church but with your long eyelashes and big eyes - we are quick to forgive.

You are anti-potty training.

When I change your diaper you sing a little song to me,

"No poop, just PEE"

over and over again. :)

You surprise me on how much you truly take in during our "learning times" a couple days a week.

(hopefully a couple days a week)

Sometimes during the activity you don't seem motivated at all to learn but when reviewing the lesson at the end you haven't missed a thing. You try writing your letters over and over again to get them perfectly, which is hard for a toddler, and won't let up until you are satisfied. I'll say, "it looks great buddy" and you'll respond, "no it doesn't, that's not right." Sounding  absolutely devastated.

You are a carnivore and have a sweet tooth that can beat out all the rest.

Your older brothers aren't huge candy eaters but watch out world when the Ruckus comes to town.

Amidst all the pure "BOY-NESS" in you, there's a tenderness and sensitivity that makes you irresistible. You love to give your brothers kisses before you go to bed and if Mommy or Daddy forgets to come in and say we love you, goodnight, you feel a little miffed and shout for us until we appear.

We love you my little sweetheart!

Love,

Mama



A Little Bit of Chaos -

But a-lot-a-bit of FUN!

Pictures from the weekend of Uncle Fultray's arrival:

The boys diggin' My Little Ponies - the girl cousin thinks it's great!
(notice the artwork on the walls... done by The Beloved himself)



Sisters in the FAM

The Ladies

Uncle Fultray being constantly swarmed by adoring nieces and nephews

So tired... after long drive, 5 kids, and.... life

But they woke up for the picture :)

Grandma reading  - precious

Look at those cuties



Adorable. :)

Thanks Grandpa for always playing with the grand kids! They sure love you!

 And all those kids.... all because two people fell in love :)

The Whole Fam Damily

The Ladies - once again.

The Men

All the grand kiddos

Grandma and Grandpa

Mother's Day

Me and My Boys

          I can’t even keep plants alive. That was the thought tunneling around in my head over and over again. Cradling my newborn baby in my arms, preparing to leave the hospital for home, my emotions over feeling inadequate yet overjoyed mulled together in my mind. Are they truly going to let me take this perfect, beautiful, little creature home when I have no idea what I am doing? Nine years down the road and three children later (with no healthy foliage in sight) those feelings of joy/inadequacy are still very present in my mind. Luckily for me, motherhood is finding joy amidst being a delightfully hot-mess. 

When I was growing up I never imagined I'd be a stay-at-home mom. If  I was going to have children I'd maybe have one or two. I wasn't a born nurturer and the idea of being stuck in a home with a bunch of children sounded like a pretty limited future.

Wasn't for me.

Much to my surprise, when I became a mother  - the opposite happened - I found myself. 

I was hired on for the most humbling, joyous, pull your hair out, put on your game face, character building job alive.

A couple weeks ago, while traveling for spring break, we stopped at a small restaurant for a bite and to stretch our legs. I used the restroom quickly and then hurried out to help my family order. My four year-old kept patting my bottom, smiling at me curiously. I finally spoke softly in his ear, “Honey, don’t touch Mama’s bottom”.  He replied, “There’s a napkin on you.” Looking over my shoulder toward my behind I sadly noticed he was right. Somehow I’d latched the toilet paper I had placed on the toilet seat to my pants while pulling them back up. Lovely. My son gave me a funny, understanding smile, recognizing his mother’s mistake. He hugged my leg as I snatched the paper and, as nonchalantly as possible, threw it in the garbage.  If I wasn’t a mother I probably would have taken my time in the restroom. I would have looked twice in the mirror noticing the toilet paper streaming from the waistband of my pants. The last thing I’d be worried about would be helping the four, travel worn children anxiously awaiting their meal. But, I would have missed out on the appropriate, priceless expression streamed across my four-year old boy’s face when he realized exactly why his mother had a “napkin” on her bottom.

Outwardly, this mother of four doesn’t have everything together. My eldest son is consistently five minutes late for school, shoving the remainder of his pop-tart breakfast down his throat while opening the school’s front door. My three year old recently gave up his Binky after desperately holding on to it for years, carrying it with him wherever he went. My 12 month old still wakes up once or twice a night, leaving me without a full night’s rest since who knows when. I look like a mother who is begging for a donation of a parenting book or two.

What people don’t see is during that rushed, five miles over the speed limit trip to school my nine year old has learned to say a prayer for his day and prays for those around him. My three year old had a Binky for so long because he was so adorable with it displayed in his mouth and I grew to love the little lisp leaking out with every word. I could let my twelve month old cry it out but my arms are dying to hold him close and comfort his perfect baby self.

I still can’t keep plants alive, be on time for things, or not attract embarrassing moments etc... and the list goes on and on. But I can be successful at being a mother. I can love my children fiercely and teach them as much as I know, not being ashamed in the areas where I publicly seem to fall short. 

I am a mother. I am a delightfully hot-mess.  

 
The Beloved,

thanks for these wonderful children you help me raise and encourage me to keep having :)

I love you FAMILY!

You are my world.

Eligible

All the single ladies -

All the single ladies -

All the single ladies -

(who are virtuous, lovely, and of good report -

plus cute :)

you have a new eligible bachelor in your midst:

My brilliant brother-in-law recently returned home from his mission and we are SO ready to set him up on some dates.

Because that is what we do.

What we LOVE to do.

But we also want to share with you the excitement of his return from Orlando, FL - because that's important too. :)

For some reason I can't upload the video of his arrival at the airport but you can follow this link if you love:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rwsKIg3VH4&feature=youtu.be

More fun pictures of reunion randomness to come!

Welcome home Fultray!

(ladies, not his real name. so, no worries.)

 We love ya dog!