Blessed by a shower of LOVE

Last night, 7-28, my best friend, Becky, threw a "mommy shower" for me. All of my closest friends were there and showered me with love and goodies. This being my third child, and third boy at that, they decided to shower me rather than the baby. What a neat idea. Becky did this for Sandy last year as she was expecting her third boy as well (must be something in the water! Ha.) but it was really neat. I feel pretty undeserving but so humbled by everyone's love and generosity. I made out like a bandit! (as my father-in-law would say). I received gift cards, lotions, bath gels, soaps, pajamas, jewelry and even a snack basket with movie rental gift card! I also received gift certificates for a pedicure and manicure which I've never had before. I'm really looking forward to that!

Our church family is such a blessing to me and I'm sure these girls do not know what they mean to me. They are truly servants and live such godly lives. They are an inspiration and encouragement to me. I often wonder how they have the time to do all the things that they do. But it occurred to me tonight that they DON'T have the time--they MAKE the time. I wish I could be more like that. Thank you girls for all you have done and continue to me. Thank you for the wonderful atmosphere you provide for me and the encouragement you are to me. I love you all dearly!
Becky gave me a ready made scrapbook to put pictures of Rhett in. I have tried to keep a scrapbook for each child's first year. Jagger's is not even half-way done. The ready made scrapbook is a BIG hit with me as it takes some of the pressure off having to make one! :)

I realized as I was looking through pictures that I failed to get a picture of me and Becky. I am so sad! :( Thanks, Becky for all your hard work and for EVERYTHING you do for me!

By the way, the food was INCREDIBLE at the shower! Chicken salad, bread, watermelon, cantaloupe, and baby rattle cupcakes that were unbelievably cute! Becky blogged about this on her page and you can read about it here as well as snag the recipes! Very much worth writing down!

One crazy week!

We have partied for a solid week around our house! It started Wednesday at lunch. Grandma and Papa were here for the day so we did Lawson's birthday party with them while they were here. Thanks to Papa and Grandma the boys were excited to open cowboy hats and Lawson got a hunting rifle! They were pleased as punch!
The boys in their new cowboy hats.

Saturday we had Lawson's big party and let him invite friends. It turned out to be a pretty big gathering as we had friends of our own over for our monthly bible class get-together. Lawson enjoyed every bit of the night with all of his company. It was a very large day!

Lawson and his friends at the picnic supper. The weather was around 100 degrees but I do not think one child cared!

Most of the kids gathered around the cake.

Lawson opening some of his presents. He was so funny! With each gift he would open he would shout, "Just what I've wanted my WHOLE life!"

The girls took a rare opportunity to get together for a picture. Some had already gone home but as hard as it is to get everyone gathered in the same place at the same time we took advantage. We were so blessed to have Cory and Laura Beth, along with the newest addition, Harrison home from the Dominican to spend time with them!

Me and Sally do not get to see each other as often as we used to. I always cherish the times I am able to see her and spend time with her!

Brittany and I are due only days apart. I would actually be due after her if I wasn't scheduled for a c-section. We are hoping our little boys will grow up to be great friends! :)

Thanks to the Welch's, Lawson is set for baseball! They gave him a baseball glove, baseball pants, and baseball belt. Nana and Grandaddy got him the Better Batter Baseball as well. Sunday we had to gear up and go out. I was informed that he didn't have a baseball shirt to wear. Guess we have already started our Christmas list! Ha. Welches and Uncle Jordan, you will be glad to know that he has chosen a Braves shirt!

Lawson and Jagger trying out the Better Batter Baseball.

We had to take this picture for Ms. Becky showing off the pants, belt and glove!

Last is the sweetest little picture Brandon snapped of Jagger and baby Harrison. We were so blessed with their company and are so glad they stayed with us no matter how short the visit. Jagger was intrigued with Harrison and was so sad when he found out he was leaving. I think we have a great brother in the making here!

Looking back over the weekend makes me realize how blessed we are. We are blessed with great family who helps out constantly no matter how near or far. We are also blessed with great extended family through church. What would we do without you all??? Thanks for blessing our lives so richly!

FIVE years ago!

First time seeing our new baby.

Some of Lawson and mommy's first one on one time.

Five years ago. It hardly seems possible. Can my baby really be FIVE? In ways I can't remember my life without my Lawson but in other ways it seems like just yesterday that I was bringing my 9 lb. bundle of joy home from the hospital.

The day Lawson came into this world is very much a blur to me. I have a few vivid memories. One of my strongest memories would be when everyone had gone home to shower. We had been at the hospital all night and day before Lawson finally arrived and everyone was exhausted. I'm not sure what the nurse was thinking but she rolled Lawson into my room in his little cart and turned and walked away. I was stuck hoping he wouldn't cry as I was still hooked up to machines and IVs and could not get up to get him! Everyone was gone. Lawson was so bright-eyed and looked right at me through his glass crib. He just studied me and I studied him. He was so special! And BIG!

Lawson has brought a spark to our lives. We are so blessed by him. So loving and animated. He does have a flair for the dramatic but that lets me know he's mine. Otherwise, I might not believe it since he looks nothing like me or my side of the family. :)

Today Lawson got to eat at his favorite place for lunch--"rice" or more properly called Los Portales. Afterwards we all went to my dr visit which happened to be with the dr that delivered Lawson. We got them to pose for a picture since it was exactly 5 years to the day that he handed over my little bundle of joy to us. It was a very neat day.

Lawson and Dr. Welsch, who delivered him five years ago today.

We plan to celebrate Lawson's birthday tomorrow when he will have friends and family over. We are looking forward to tomorrow and you can't imagine how much Lawson is looking forward to it! He kept telling everyone at the dr office "No more long days until my birthday!"

I am thankful for each day with my children. They are so special. But today I am extra thankful for my sugar bear. Happy birthday sweet Lawson!

Friends...

I love these kids! Yesterday we were blessed with their company for the afternoon. Although it was due to sad circumstances (the death of their great-grandmother) we had such an enjoyable time with them. These kids have grown up together and are more like brothers and sisters than you can imagine. From the time Lawson was 3 months old, he stayed with my good friend Becky during the afternoons. Jagger followed a couple of short years later. They are all about the same age so they quite literally have known each other since birth.

We had a big afternoon that included one hot baseball game (I think the temperature was around 96 yesterday afternoon), popcorn, movie, a concert, and even pretend swimming since we have no real pool.

I'm attaching some of the pictures from the afternoon. My kids so enjoyed them being there. We had a house full of entertainment and giggles. What a sweet sound!
Some of our musical entertainment.

Who wouldn't pay money to see these precious faces in concert?

They were pretending to be asleep the whole five minutes they "rested" in the chair.

Laura Beth wanted to take their picture herself with the PowerRanger camera. I thought she might later like to have a backup. :)

They all played really well together today. As I said earlier they are so much like brothers and sisters that along with that sometimes comes some arguing, but not today. And, as a side note, I was informed last night at church by Laura Beth that she and Lawson were getting married. Someone asked them if they were a little young for that and she said very confidently, "Well, I'm six and Lawson is ALMOST five!" Guess that's old enough! :)

We are thankful for good friends for our kids to grow up around. We are also very thankful for their parents who just happen to be great friends of ours as well. Please keep the Whittle, Willis, Welch, and McKnight families in your prayers as they deal with the loss of a very special lady in their lives.

Man, I missed her!

Well mom and dad took a much deserved vacation last week and for the first time in a LONG time I was on my own again. I don't think it's been that way since before Jagger was born! You know, I always knew I heavily relied on my parents (what a help they are with two very active little ones--not to mention one on the way!) but I guess I don't take the time to appreciate just how much I rely on them.

Believe it or not, I do worry about taking advantage of them but I SO appreciate all that my parents do for me and my kids! While they were gone even though there was NEVER a quiet moment in my house I felt lonely at times. Along with being such great help, they are great company. I missed them terribly while they were gone I'm so glad they were able to enjoy a little relaxation... but am so glad that they are home!

Why I'm blessed with little boys! :)

Look at these faces! One would say these are faces only a mother would love. Well, that cliche is so true for me (except that I'm probably NOT the only one that loves these faces!). My boys have a new love and her name is MUD! There is a big dirt patch in our back yard--right next to their pool. What happens when dirt and water from the pool mix? Ask my two boys. They would exclaim FUN!

Much to their father's dismay the love getting dirty. Dirt? Doesn't bother me one bit but it KILLS their daddy. He wants them to stay neat and clean. I have recently learned after 8 years of marriage that Brandon does not want his hands dirty and therefore, cannot understand our boys voluntarily getting theirs dirty! This is so funny to me. Who says you don't learn something new about your spouse even after so many years?

The first time he watched them playing in the dirt he tried his hardest to make them stop or make them WANT to stop. Nope. Not going to happen. The love it. Since they weren't hurting anything or anyone and were playing so good together, why fight it? I wish everyone could have seen the look on Brandon's face as they played and played and played. I think he could hardly bear to watch. That was only the first time in the mud.

 

They have since gotten much better. Better as in learning to get dirtier! Yesterday I was home with them and we went outside. We started out watering flowers and planting a few new ones. I later looked up to notice my help was "missing" and found them nowhere else but the mud hole. They were covered! Looked like they had on war paint! All I could do is laugh and think to myself how adorable those smiling faces were even under all the muck. They probably played for two hours in it, happy as pigs in (literal) mud! :) I LOVE raising boys! I smiled yesterday and thought to myself that this is one of the very many reasons I am blessed with only BOYS! Maybe it was dad that needed the girls. Ha.

Lawson hard at work.

Filling up the Cozy Coupe with...MUD!

Boys hard at work.

Here's the damage! :)

After the damage was done we took a walk to the water hose and stripped them down. Clothes went into the washer, boys were hosed off and sent straight to the bathtub and all was well with the world. Incidentally, as a side note, I wanted to add that these shoes are worth their weight in gold--especially in times like these! A quick run under the water hose and voila! Good as new! There were well worth the whole $1 I gave for them at a consignment sale! I highly recommend them--especially to moms of boys! :)

Happy belated 4th!

Well, once again, it has taken me a while to get the pics moved off of my camera. I think we stay on the go 24-7. Here are a few pics from the 4th. We were blessed with family visits from Uncle J, Papa and Grandma. We all enjoyed fireworks and some good grillin'. Although they were short visits we were glad to spend some time with them. I'm attaching a few pictures we took out by our new flag.

Our family sporting the red, white and blue.

Me and my sweet brother!

We laughed so hard at their classic "prom pose". :)

We all enjoyed the fireworks that Brandon got for our viewing pleasure. He did a great job. There were so many firework displays in our neighborhood. We've decided that next year we should have a neighborhood party and combine all fireworks for one big show! Jess and Nicole even came out to visit for a while.

Dad teaching how to be careful with sparklers. I got reprimanded by my family for telling the boys if they weren't careful they would get burned and have to go to the hospital. I think that's when Brandon stepped in for the lessons and I got demoted to camera duty only. Ha.

Jess and Nicole

The boys waiting for dad's big firework show.

Brandon showing off his fireworks skills.

We had a great weekend but it took its toll on me. I am still VERY tired and trying to recover. But, it was well worth it!

What fun!

This weekend, we spent some MUCH needed family time together. Our lives have become so busy that we haven't stopped long enough to enjoy the time we get to spend together. With Brandon and I working such different schedules, we have few opportunities to go out as a family. So many things have kept us occupied recently and we just had to step back and MAKE the time to do some things together.

Over the weekend, we took in a Diamond Jaxx game, complete with Fireworks show afterwards. The boys LOVED it. They were getting tired during the game but were GREAT. When the fireworks started, they were glad they stuck it out and hung around for that part!

The boys enjoying the baseball game.

Amazed by the fireworks!

Lawson and dad taking in the game.

Sunday afternoon we did nothing but hang around the house all day. We had no schedule to keep and just did as we wanted to do. Sunday evening brought absolutely BEAUTIFUL weather so we headed outside to enjoy it. Lawson and Jagger wanted to put on their soccer shirts (souvenirs from dad on his trip to Brazil) and practice soccer. That didn't last very long, however, they played outside until it was dark and the bugs started to bite. Brandon enjoyed a relaxing drink of kool-aid (beautifully displayed with fancy glass and crazy straw) in the swing under the shade. Me? I took pictures of everything going on around us. Even Lucy got out and enjoyed our family time. I even got a few good pics of her.

We, as a family, needed a little downtime. I have always felt it was important to MAKE time to do things together even if you really don't always HAVE the time. What a fun weekend it was!

Brandon and his fancy drink.:)

The boys playing outside in their soccer shirts.

Nana even got water-gunned down! :)

Pretty Lucy. I just realized that she never gets any "blog" time.

Just as a side note, I was able to add a slide show to my blog, but it is located beneath all of the posts. It was the only way you could see the whole pictures. It is just a slide show of some of our favorite pics over time. If you have a chance you should check it out.