8 years of marriage and a preschool graduate!

Well, this week has been somewhat emotional for me. It's the last week of preschool. Next year, Brayton will be going into the big world of PUBLIC ALL DAY BIG BOY SCHOOL! I will have a kindergartner. Old Fort has been so good to us. I'm going to miss those Tuesday and Thursdays. I am going to miss my mommy friends that I have had the pleasure of meeting over the past 3 years. I will miss walking him in and hugging him good bye every morning. There's a lot I am going to miss. It's hard to believe that he started out there in the 2 year old class with Mrs. Belinda....seems like yesterday. I am NOT looking forward to kindergarten at all...but we'll keep that a secret from Brayton. I am definitely hyping it up for him! Where has the time gone? I remember signing him up for Childs Day Out. It was such a huge decision for me...I didn't think I was ready to let my baby go. We've definitely had our ups and downs with it, but mostly ups :-)

So today was his end of the school year program and GRADUATION! It was so precious. I'll try to get a video on here. Of course I was a bit emotional. Thank goodness Aunt Tasha watched Brinlee for us. It made it easier to sit back and enjoy the program without trying to entertain her. She's a great baby, but I didn't want to take any chances!!! Thank you, Aunt Tasha!! They had THE sweetest slideshow with baby pictures of all the kids, plus pictures from all that they have done through out the year. It was a tear jerker! We had a pizza party tonight for the graduate. I think I'm making a bigger deal of this whole thing than he is! ha!

"Kindergarten here I come, here I come".....it was so cute, but totally brought tears to my eyes!

"Pledge of Allegiance"

We're missing Daddy in this picture :-(

Brayton's PAR-TAY!

AND....I have been married 8 years TODAY! I am convinced that I am the luckiest woman alive. I am so in love with my husband and he is truly my best friend. I am such a better person because of him. He is the BEST. Period. He is the best at everything he does. He is a wonderful husband, father, son and friend. He is a hard worker and has a heart of gold. He meets no strangers and he is a good 'ol boy! He's a great cook and a great soccer player. He is a handy man and a jack of all trades. He is a giver. He is not a fighter. He is tough, yet sensitive. He is the man of my dreams and I thank God everyday for him....Happy Anniversary, Frank.......I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Good morning, babies!

This is how my mornings start...it's the best and I love it!

Brinlee awakes with smiles, hugs and kisses and is ready to start the day.

Shortly after, Brayton wakes up and requests that Brinlee and I come in his room for "snuggle time" and "tickling". These two wrestle around and eat each other up for about 15 minutes.

On the weekends, this ritual includes Daddy as well. I love these little moments soooo much! We are in for a rude awakening next year with kindergarten.....agh, it breaks my heart to think about it....sniff, sniff...

berrylicious!

It's that time again!!! We were so ready this year to pick strawberries! Brinlee slept thru the whole thing but Brayton was on a mission to find the biggest, reddest, juiciest strawberries in the field.

It wasn't hard either...they were EVERYWHERE! Not picked over at all...beautiful and perfect!

he did a little "taste testing", too!

It was Brayton's turn to have Mr. Sniffles. Each week a different child from his class takes Mr. Sniffles home. Mr. Sniffles comes with a book you must read to him every night, a tooth brush, and a journal. Each child gets to journal about their visit (and of course we take pictures, too :-) Brayton insisted that Mr. Sniffles ride in his own booster seat, thank goodness we have extra :-) They picked strawberries together, had a play date with Jeremy at his pool, and had a lemonade stand during our yard sale.

I've already made my favorite strawberry dessert! I'm not sure what you call it, but it consists of angel food cake, sliced strawberries, crushed pineapple and whip cream...layered up and yum! yum! GOOD!!!

Grandpa came to help!

sleeping peacefully! She does love her some strawberries, though ;-P

what am I going to do when she outgrows this infant car seat? It makes things so much easier when she's sleeping, and she seems to do a lot of that when we get in the car!

My Farmer

I love spring time and all that it brings....longer days, the smell of fresh cut grass, cook outs, the sounds of birds and crickets chirping, sprinklers and Popsicles, gardening and yard work!! We did a garden last year and Brayton really enjoyed it. He was excited and ready to get started this year, too! I think the boy will end up living in the country on lots of property...maybe he'll be a farmer...it does run in his blood. It was hard to wait until Good Friday to plant, but we did. Can't wait for some fresh fruits and veggies!

hard at work, he takes this gardening business very serious!

The next day after planting we found an unwanted visitor in our garden.....

YUCK! Brayton officially can no longer play in the woods!!

11 month cruiser!

WOW time flies! I am pretty slack with stayin' up with this blog business, too! Julie...I don't know how you do it...anyhow, I'll try to catch you up...


First off, baby girl is 11 MONTHS OLD! Seems like I just posted her 10 month picture.

11 months
My grandma can't stand those big bows in her hair...so I took one with out it, too :-)

I know she doesn't NEED them, she's beautiful either way...but they are FUN, and she doesn't seem to mind them, either ;-)


Her birthday plans are officially in place...I can't believe our baby will be ONE YEAR OLD, has 8 teeth and is WALKING!!! That's right...baby girl is cruisin' around the house now! And she gets into EVERYTHING!!! She loves to climb, loves to eat paper and loves to scream, fun stuff! She's been taking "steps" the entire month of April, but by the end of the month she had it down pat! She's is so precious...I want to just eat her up!


She claps her little hands and is so proud of herself. She likes to play "spit", too...well, you know....with her tongue and stuff. It's cute, not gross! She doesn't eat baby food anymore and it's actually kind of tough to find things to feed her that she likes. Everything is new to her so at first she is just unsure and spits it out. She loves turkey and cheese! And let me just tell you....she is a MESS when she eats!! I forgot all about that stage. She rubs her little grubby hands all in her hair and everything.


Brayton has been enjoying this weather and is practically living outside. He has two new friends that moved in across the street and he thinks he needs to be with them all day. If a sprinkler is on...he is going to get WET!

He LIVES!

Happy Easter!

We have had a very eventful and busy weekend!

We had company Friday night (grandma, Amber and Daniel) and Saturday our festivities began....

We started with Breakfast with the Bunny (Eggstravaganza at The Ponds) on Saturday morning. Can you believe Brinlee wasn't even afraid to sit on that bunny's lap? Poor Brayton only got 2 or 3 eggs and with all the running he was doing they fell out...he was NOT happy, and I felt so bad for him. Luckily a nice lady passing by overheard our conversation and offered up a few eggs :-)

Then, Saturday evening we had a wedding. Congratulations Jenny and Andrew! They are so cute and I wish them all the happiness in the world. I did the pictures for her, and let me tell you...it wore me out!! I completely understand why photographers charge so much to do weddings now! Although it doesn't help that I'm out of shape, ha! ha!
Anyways, here are just a few of my favorites...





Brinlee stayed with mom and stayed away from me for 6 hours!!! That is a LONG time for my little peanut! She did great, but she did bully her cousin around.

Check this out...





poor Haven! Brinlee tried to take a chunk out of her forehead! That little Brinlee, she LOVES to bite... and the bad part is, she laughs about it. She thinks its a game...and to make matters worse, you've got Brayton laughing, too. He thinks it's just hilarious! I really don't think she understands what she's doing, at least I chose to believe that ;-)
We are working on "no biting"!

On Saturday night when we got home, Brayton was lying in bed and full of Easter Bunny questions.

- Is he a REAL bunny or a character?

- Is he a man dressed up?

- Is he BIG?

- Does his mouth move like ours?

- Does he watch me like Santa?

- Where does he live?

The list goes on... Anyway, I decided to avoid this topic and direct our conversation to the TRUE meaning of Easter. He knows all about the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, but I thought it'd be a good time to remind him of the story. After a deep conversation and story telling, I tucked him in and told him to say his prayers.

He wanted me to leave the room, so I did. He NEVER does this....

I stood outside his bedroom door and the most AMAZING thing happened.

My precious, tender hearted 5yr old prayed to Jesus, and as he did, he cried. It was as if he truly got it...he took everything I had told him in and he was thankful. My heart felt so good.... It was a moment I will NEVER forget! I pray that my children will always live with Jesus in their hearts!

Sunday we got up, checked out our basket goodies and headed for church. Grandpa went to church with us, too. We had a big, nice dinner at our house and the family came over. We did a little egg hunt for the kids, but instead of Brayton hunting, he wanted to hide them from the little kids. He was the "coach" of the egg hunt. Ha! Ha! Let me just say that I have the best family and in laws ever!! I feel so blessed to have the life I have and especially the people in it. I love them all so much and they all mean so much to me. I am truly a lucky girl!!

Brinlee's favorite Easter basket goody is her "Praise Baby" DVD (I love it, too!) and Brayton's is his Star War man and peeps.

We sang "He Lives" in church this morning and I can not get it out of my head. I love it! We use to sing it in the church I grew up in...so it brings back lots of memories, and it's just so appropriate for today!

He Lives

I serve a risen Saviour; He's in the world today.
I know that He is living, whatever men may say.
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him He's always near.

Chorus
He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way.
He lives! He lives! Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.

In all the world around me I see His loving care,
And though my heart grows weary I never will despair.
I know that He is leading, thro' all the stormy blast;
The day of His appearing will come at last.

Chorus:

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian! Lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ, the King!
The Hope of all who seek Him, the Help of all who find,
None other is so loving, so good and kind.

Good Friday....

This day means so much to me....I am so thankful that God sent His son to die for our sins and to give us everlasting life...what a sacrifice He made for us!

Matthew 20:19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.

Bunny Time for Brinlee!

She wasn't too sure about all this bunny business! It took her a while to warm up and actually touch him! She did GREAT, and so did that bunny!

Visitor!

We have a visitor staying with us that the kids just love! He's soft, furry and very cuddly! His name is "bunny"...at least that's what we call him!

(yes, that IS yellow marker on his hand....he was pretending to be "Captain Squash" today...what on earth?!?)

We did have a motive for borrowing bunny......... good Spring photos :-)

We practiced on our kids,

next were my first customers...

cute, don't ya think?

I still need to edit them and adjust the color on some...

And speaking of our kids...here they are...ALL of them TOGETHER...LOOKING AT THE CAMERA! This is gonna make GeGe one happy Grandma!

We have Bunny just a little longer... and we have more work lined up for tomorrow!

Brinlee was asleep and Brayton had issues with a marker, so I'll get bunny pictures with them tomorrow!

Here's a picture of my little doll anyway....