At Christmas, All Roads Lead Home

Okay, I definitely hadn't planned the lengthy hiatus from blogging that I have taken, but it happened.
To catch up...we spent all of August & September trying to adjust to our new life as a kindergartener. Homework & soccer practice took all of our time. Braden had to start going to bed @ 8 p.m. instead of 9 or later. In fact some nights he was asleep by 7 p.m. Life without naps was hard at first! K5 has been fun too though. Braden reads so much already and is learning at a lightening fast rate. He's doing wonderful!
October was our on our first school field trip, to McWane Science Center. That was a blast! Running around playing with his friend Hunter most of the day...you can't beat that. Then the very next day we went with our Papaw to Talladega where we watched the cars qualifying and the trucks racing. Since Braden is in love with anything that has an engine, the whole NASCAR experience was wonderful for him. So, it's no surprise that Braden was a racecar driver for Halloween the very next night.

November flew by in a rush. Josh was given the honor of walking with his unit in the nation's oldest Veteran's Day parade! The Birmingham parade is something that has quickly become a family tradition every year and watching my husband march in the parade made me very proud. Of course...the last half of the month was spent thinking of Christmas. Missing Kendall everyday...wishing we could see her again...but that's another long story. We actually missed Thanksgiving with the family because Braden had strep throat. He had it once at the end of August and then again almost the entire week of Thanksgiving! His trip to the doctor with his daddy at the end of August was when we first realized that Braden doesn't get a fever on his forehead. He gets it under his arms and on his scalp. He had a fever and we never realized it since we'd just put our hands on his forehead. Of course, he hadn't been sick in almost 3 years so it was almost a new experience to us anyway.

Now that December is here we are doing an official countdown to Santa Claus! 17 days! We've already seen Santa and told him what we'd like for Christmas and got our picture made. We even got a video from St. Nick. I love Christmas, it's so exciting...especially with a 5 year old!

K5 and other adventures

So, it’s been a little while since I blogged. I was doing good for a little bit there, but life had to get in the way and slow me down. In the last couple of weeks even more has changed. I turned 30 (boo) and Brady has started kindergarten. He’s doing really well and so far he LOVES his new daycare and school. His teacher is Mrs. Langston and she’s young and soft spoken and sweet. With any luck Brady will continue to like school for many years. I’d be grateful if he did enjoy school because he’s got a LOT of it left. I remember thinking about it when I was in elementary school and thinking that I would be so old when I finally finished. 30 was like a make believe thought that would never happen. I wonder sometimes if Braden has ever considered things like that.

Well, we’re officially dog foster parents! To a 2 year old Tibetan Spaniel named Autumn. She’s the sweetest little angel! I think this gives me the opportunity to love a new animal without the decade or more of responsibility that comes with animal ownership. We’re fostering her through Peace Love & Dog Paws http://www.peacelovedogpawsrescue.com/ here in Birmingham. They’re a great group that’s saving a lot of needy animals. It’s an organization that my friend Diana is closely associated with through her volunteer work with them and her mission of love has become something that’s rubbed off on her closest friends. Love Diana, love her fur babies. Here’s a picture of sweet Autumn, who was recently spayed, she’s got all her shots, & crate trained (so far she seems to be house broken. No accidents!):

And the other news we have is that Brady starts his 2nd season of soccer next week. Yay! Fall soccer will be fun I’m sure. There are 6 kids on his team, Braden & 3 others were all on the same team last season so I’m sure that’ll make him happy. Of course he’s got the same coach too which is wonderful. Coach Jordan is great with the kids. I’m definitely looking forward to soccer! Of course football season is about to start, so with any luck Braden will get to go to his first football game this year. There is so much to look forward to! I can’t wait!!

The Best Things in Life ARE Free

Crashing markets, falling economies, lay-offs and foreclosures... Almost everyone I know has something financially to worry about, including me. Lately I've let the stress and worries of potential lay-offs & unexpected bills truly bring me down. It's not enough to have a roof over your head and a healthy family on the days where you have no idea where the money is going to come from to buy tires and replace the washing machine. That's what the last two or three weeks of my life has been like. It dawned on me this morning driving to work (aka: mommy's quiet time part 1) that there are so many things that I have to be thankful for that there's no reason I shouldn't be on my knees saying my thanks to God all day long. The list started to build and build in my head until I finally made my way to work. Something about pulling into the parking lot at my job makes my thoughts go from life, family, money, God & friends to W-O-R-K. Of course that could be a whole new blog entry... So, my 9 hrs of servitude pass by and as I drive to Wal-mart & daycare this afternoon (aka: mommy's quiet time part 2) I think again about my list from this morning and it finally hits me; I should blog about this. I don't know anyone that couldn't use a quick reminder about the best things in life that are free. 100% totally, wonderfully, FREE.
So here's my list so far:
fresh air & sunshine - There's some days that I honestly open my door and step outside and take a huge deep breath and it feels so good to have the sun hit me in the face. This does not include the days where the heat index is 115 and the humidity is 98%.
a trip to the park - fresh air & sunshine made me think of our family trips to the park right up the road from our house. Tennis courts, huge playground, batting cages, walking track, picnic tables & basketball courts...that's a lot of options for zero money.
going to church - okay, to some people this seems silly, but it's the truth. They don't MAKE you tithe & they don't look down on you if you don't have 20 dollars to stick in the plates they pass down the aisles....but free a/c (or heat), great company, a wealth of Christian knowledge & a feeling of closeness to God you can't get many other places so close to home and it doesn't cost you anything. Church has something to offer everyone if you open your heart.
Cuddle time with family - whether it's just you and your spouse or your kids & grandkids have curled up in your lap; sometimes there's just nothing better than having someone you love physically close to you. I genuinely hurt for those lonely people in the world that have no one to share these basic physical comforts with. I believe that it's a necessity to living a healthy life.
riding a bike/taking a walk - I will say that Josh has taught me the value of exercise. Not just his hardcore "gotta sweat and run until you can't walk" style of exercise, but just getting up and moving away from the t.v. or computer. I feel better physically & mentally.

Obviously there's a bunch more, but these are just the few that I really thought about this morning. My other favorite freebies are HUGS & KISSES. Yeah, laugh if you want, but I love getting hugs from everyone and I especially love kisses from my kids & hubby. I don't know if this blog will make anyone else feel better, but I hope so, because it honestly made me feel better just to type it up.

I'll get a blog entry together tomorrow that includes pictures of Brady's birthday party.

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!