And then there were 2

This past week has been eventful, but not in the typical way. Josh left us on Sunday for military training at Ft. Huachuca, AZ. and since then it's just been me and Brady. I've found that when Josh is gone I get a lot of things accomplished. This week I've finished making some photo blocks for a friend, made cupcake toppers for Brady's birthday party, re-covered my kitchen chairs (and fixed one of the legs that was loose), managed to keep my kitchen clean every night, pulled the weeds out of my garden and smoothed out some more mulch. And, even bigger than all that... I finally started my new crafting blog! I officially have 2 blogs to keep up with! Check it out: http://craftymoody.blogspot.com/

Also this week Braden & I have looked forward to seeing the random pictures that Josh has been sending us. I've never been further west than Dallas, TX. so I've got no problems admitting I'm a little envious that my husband gets to see the Arizona desert. Ft. Huachuca is only about 15-20 miles from the Mexico border so of course he's getting some great authentic Mexican food too. Not. Fair.
Here's some of the pictures he's sent us. Some of these are from Tombstone, AZ. I'm impressed at how good his cell phone camera is! Much better than my BlackBerry.

5 Wonderful Years

Less than 2 weeks from now my little baby will be 5 years old. It’s so hard to believe that it’s been so long since I was dealing with swollen feet (and hands, and face, and belly) Braxton Hicks contractions and trouble breathing. I look at him now and just see all the best parts of the two people who love him the most. I see how kind hearted he can be, and generous to a fault–especially for a little boy–the joy he has about life, the stubborn set in his eyes when he doesn’t want to eat his dinner, and all the love and adoration in his arms that literally makes my world whole when he tells me he loves me and wraps his short little arms around my leg. There’s nothing I love more than laying on the couch with Braden laying against me pulling my arm around him for a big bear hug. For a little boy that is in perpetual motion at all times when he’s awake…he still loves to take time to cuddle his mommy. For the last five years he’s had me totally enthralled, and Josh and I have been totally in love with him. I speak for both of us when I say; Braden is one of the most precious gifts God has ever given us. I can’t wait to spend the next five years watching him grow and become the young man God wants him to be.
Thank you Lord for my family, my life, and all the great and wonderful things that happen every day.
Here’s the birthday party invite that my friend Jaclyn designed for me:


So, of course after I have my emotional rant I’ve got to share the weekend’s events with everyone. I had issues with my car battery this weekend, but luckily (thank you God) it was still under warranty and I got a new one for free. It did cement my belief that cars are a huge waste of time & money. I wish the neighborhood around my work was nicer, then I’d just live across the street and we’d only need to own ONE money pit. Alas, I live 25 miles from work, and I can’t get away with walking every day. But I digress… Saturday my friend Jaclyn and I took all the kids (Braden, Kendall & her son Eli) to Treetop Adventures in Chelsea for our friend Holly’s little boys second birthday. The kids had a marvelous time. They even have laser tag! We’re going to have to go back just so I can do that, since I’ve never done it before. Sunday after church I had to run all over Jefferson (& Walker) County to get my battery replaced, but after that I went and picked up Ben & Savannah. My friend Kristy is in college and working full time, I figured she needed a few hours to study without the kids. So, I brought her kids back to my house for a few hours in the little backyard pool. Ben & Braden were in heaven. Savannah was pretty happy about it too. Then the next door neighbor’s little ones came over and it just became a party. Here are a few pictures…

Brady doesn't care that my camera isn't waterproof

Ben gave me all of 2 seconds to get this picture before he ran

Kendall & Ashley trying to enjoy the pool without the boys

Savannah-just happens to be one of the sweetest little girls ever!

These Are The Days Of Our Lives

Life with children can be so very interesting sometimes. Here’s a picture of how I found Braden watching tv last night. Sitting on his sister’s bed wearing his play safety goggles.
This was also after we had a very interesting talk on the ride home from daycare. It went something like this… “Alright Mommy, here’s the deal. When we get home you’re going to take the little wheels off my bicycle. Then you and daddy are going to get in daddy’s truck and go to the motorcycle store. You and daddy are going to get a little motorcycle for me and put it in the back of daddy’s truck. Me and Kendall are going to wait on you. Then you’re going to bring it home for me to ride on when I can ride my bicycle like a big boy.” Ha! I was officially cracking up by the end of his little speech. He’s been begging for a motorcycle for several months now and I’ve told him that little boys that still need training wheels on their bikes aren’t big enough for motorcycles. Apparently though, if he learns to ride his bike without training wheels I’m going to be stuck trying to figure out how to buy him one of those little dirt bikes! He even told me what color to get. He wants a black and white one. Obviously I’m not thrilled with the idea of my 4 year old getting a dirt bike, but I’ll probably end up getting him something like that around 6 or 7. I officially understand how parents spoil their children. They want something SO bad and you want SO bad to be able to get it for them.
Quick family updates: Josh has training in AZ at the end of this month. Just for a week, but I hate it when he’s gone, so I’m not looking forward to this one. Brady’s birthday is less than 3 weeks away now. His birthday party is 3 weeks and 2 days from now. And his first day of school is less than 5 weeks away. I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself! I can’t believe my first baby is going to school. It makes me so sad to think about it. And soon Kendall will be starting sixth grade. Going into sixth grade and I think she’s already taller than me! When did that happen!? They are both getting so big, and time just seems to fly by.
Also, please keep us in your prayers. We’re constantly trying to do little things to our house so that sooner (rather than later) we’ll be able to put our house on the market. It’s long overdue and it’s been a painstakingly slow process, especially since the economy tanked. It’s definitely set us back about 2-3 years. Yeah, we definitely, definitely need prayers.

CRAFTY ME

Yes, that's ME! I've been working a lot lately on my hobbies/passions. Scrapbooking, Crafts, Card making, photography. I'm actually going to start a blog just for my crafts. I've got to get some better pictures taken so that I can showcase my work, but I wanted to give my friends & family a sneak peek. Here's a few projects I've been working on (ignore the crappier pics, they were taken on my phone, I'll have better pictures when I start my blog)












Pendants, photo boxes & picture magnets will all be available for sale with details on pricing & how to order when I start my new blog! With any luck I'll learn to make more fun stuff and start selling them too. I'm doing it for the fun of it, so I'm not going to charge much...but I have to cover my expenses.



July 1st 2010-
Questions are not scary. What is scary is when people don't have any. What is tragic is faith that has no room for them.
-Rob Bell (Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith)