Braden turns 5!

My sweet Braden turned 5 a few weeks ago and I'm still trying to figure out how this is possible.  He has my heart and is such a delight and we are so very proud of him.  At five, I love him for his sweet, caring heart which is full of compassion and genuine concern for others.  I love Braden for his childlike faith that I see so often throughout almost everyday as he calls on God and stops to pray or tells me truth about Jesus and how big He is and how much He loves us.  I love him for the way he loves and cares for his brother.  Asher truly is his best friend and for that I am so thankful.  I love Braden for his crazy big imagination and for the ways he shows me how to be a child again myself.  I love him for the way he is still so affectionate and cuddly, still climbing in my lap almost daily.  I love Braden for the gift of encouragement that I know God has given him.  He is forever saying, "momma you're so pretty," or telling Asher that he is proud of him or that Asher is doing a good job doing something.  I love the little boy that he is becoming and I can see how God is shaping and refining him to be more like Christ.  I just wish I could slow it all down and take it in deeper. 

Anyway, if you know Braden, then you know that he is super into dressing up in costume and imagining that he is everything from a fighter pilot to an army guy to an astronaut to a police man.  I love it and I love his imagination!  So after much deliberation he decided on an army party.  Here are some pictures of his birthday weekend with friends and family.  Wish I had gotten some better pictures, but I realize that photography is not one of my best skills...maybe one day!!!

Braden eating his pancakes in the shape of a 5...our annual birthday morning tradition...

I took the boys to the Science Museum to spend the day on Braden's actual birthday.  It was his choice of places to go and we had such a good time playing together.  Here he is pretending to be a fisherman -

For dinner we went out to his favorite Mexican restaurant and ate quesadillas as he requested.  They came out and sang to him and gave him the sombrero to wear.  He got really embarrassed when the waiters came to sing Happy Birthday to him and wipe cake on his face, but he warmed up for a smile for the camera -

 Eating cake with his brother.  Braden's actually not a big fan of cake or anything sweet for that matter, but his brother sure is -

Probably the only decent picture I got of Braden at his birthday party.  Am I the only one who has a hard time getting their kids to sit still for a picture -

Asher thoroughly enjoyed himself on the water slide, this child has no fear -

 Let the games begin...
Throwing water balloon grenades at the bad guys...apparently Asher thought this game was hilarious-

  

 

Water gun fight with Daddy -

Blowing the candles out of the cake which Braden helped to decorate  -

And remember when thirsty at a party, one must know where to go for juice boxes -

All in all, we had a great party.  It was such a fun day celebrating Braden.  I love that little boy so much and I'm so thankful that God chose him for me.

Room Mates...

So it seems to me that these little friends...

have become even better friends because now they are room mates and bunkmates and they can have late night discussions about hotdogs and peanut butter and money and fighter pilots (all of which has been discussed after we shut the door and say goodnight). 

Sometimes Austin and I stand outside and listen and laugh at the conversations that are had.  I'm praying that these memories for them will last a lifetime and that they will become even bigger buddies and each other's best friend. 

Beach Trip

As usual, I'm late posting pictures, but we headed to Rosemary Beach, Florida a few weeks ago for our first ever family beach trip.  By family, I mean the four of us.  We've been to the beach with my family and with friends in years past, but we've never taken a beach trip by ourselves with the boys.  We felt so grown up taking our family on a trip!  We had a fabulous time despite the fact that a tropical storm dumped crazy amounts of rain on us the first few days we were there.  I think the best thing about the whole week was the intentional time we got with the boys.  I feel like so often when we are home that we get caught up in the ho hum of everyday life.  We are easily distracted by cell phones and internet and laundry and dishes and emails and decluttering and bed making and all the unimportant things that we fill our days with.  On vacation, there was none of that, the only thing there was to do was spend time together with no schedule or agenda, and it was amazing!!!!    We kept the boys up way later then bedtime several nights to eat snow cones or watch the sunset on the beach or watch movies on the Rosemary Beach lawn under the stars.  We biked to the donut truck for breakfast several mornings and had ice cream for lunch sometimes and stayed on the beach all day instead of going in for naps.  We just spent time together and were flexible and enjoyed each day and whatever it held.  It was awesome! 

The boys loved the beach.  I was shocked at how much they loved it.  Braden would literally wallow in the sand...for hours and then run and jump waves...for hours.  Asher would dig in the sand, eat lots and lots of snacks and then sit in the chair and listen to the ipod...for hours.  It was so relaxing.  I actually couldn't believe how much we could just sit and relax.  Anyway, a wonderful memory for Austin and I, one that I hope we can recreate every year from here on out.  Here are a few pictures from our trip!

Asher ready for a dip in the pool - 

 Braden loved being buried in the sand -

 After a good sand wallow, notice the sand caked on the side of his face -

Asher's favorite spot, sitting in the chair, eating snacks -

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 Of course we pay for beach chairs and the boys want to sit on me while I'm laying out -

 Watching the sunset on the beach...such a sweet moment as Austin and I sat back and took in the beauty of the sun setting behind us and the joy of watching our boys play together in the sand. 

 Family Beach picture

 Braden and Asher's pirate face on a VERY HOT pirate cruise we took the boys on -

 Riding to the beach in style -

Perhaps one of my favorite memories from the whole trip...Asher fell asleep on me one afternoon on the beach and I got to hold him and cuddle him for way longer then I normally do -

 The lighting on this day was incredible....my beach bums -

 Asher loves to cup his hands under his chin...this picture makes me smile b/c I caught him pensively thinking on the beach one afternoon -

On our way back home we stopped at the Huntsville Space Museum since Braden is obsessed with space and astronauts these days.  It was a fun break in the long drive home! 

 And when we got home, this is the really large zucchini we found growing in our garden.  Braden thought it was hilarious how big the zucchini was -  

A sad day...

So this guy had a big day today....he gave up his paci!  We have been talking about being a big boy all week and so today we took him to Toys R'Us and let him buy any toy he wanted with his paci.  He picked out a batman toy and as we were walking up to the counter to hand the clerk his paci to pay for the toy, he took it out of the bag, looked at me and said "I have it one more time."  Then he put the paci in his mouth and sucked it, smiled and put it back in his bag and said, "Bye bye paci."  So that was all fun and cute and we were so proud of him and he was so proud of himself, however now the tough stuff begins because he is crying and crying for his paci and it is breaking this momma's heart.  I didn't know a little guy could grieve something so much.  So if you read this, say a little prayer for my little guy and for us :)

If your boys are totally quiet for 45 straight minutes, be aware, be very aware....

Because they may just decide to "go camping," and by camping I mean they pile every conceivable thing from both of their bedrooms in a large pile -

 A convenient place to find all of your books though -

At least they had fun making such a mess and I was able to get lots of stuff done around the house while they camped!  Now for the clean-up...

Graduation Day is here...

 So last week, my little Braden had his preschool graduation.  It was such a bittersweet day for this momma.  I'm so proud of him and he is growing so fast and has turned into such a sweet, kind, caring, compassionate, imaginative, funny little boy and yet, I still feel like he is my baby, even though he turns 5 in just a few weeks!!!  So this Graduation Day was indeed hard for me as I realized this is the first of hopefully many other graduation ceremonies we will attend for him over the next 18 plus years.  As he walked down the aisle in his cap and gown with this huge smile on his face, so proud of himself, my heart too was so proud of him.  I also wanted to scoop him up and make this parenting process slow down just for a bit.  I mean aren't we all grooming our babies to eventually let them fly on their own someday?  So isn't this the first step????  I'm just not sure I was ready for all of it to pass so quickly.  As I've said before, for us stay-at-home momma, the days sometimes seem to pass so slowly and the years seem to fly.  Today was one of those moments that I realized how quickly time is flying.   So thankful to have the slow summer days ahead to spend some time with these two little boys...

The Graduate - 

Brothers -

Proud Grandparents-

 And proud parents -

So thankful for Ms. Julie and Ms. Lisa who were willing to pour into Braden's life this year and grow his heart -

Braden and his best buddies, some of these little boys have been with Braden since they were 2.  They are forever fighting bad guys and wrestling together. Love the imagination and innocence of four year olds -

 My sweet boys on their last day of mother's-day-out -

Mother's Day...

When Braden was just six days old, I sat in the pediatricians office, holding this tiny baby  and the nurse looked at me and said "being a mother is the hardest job you will ever love."  Almost 5 years later, I have reflected back on that moment countless times and I am amazed at how true those words are...this job is hard, really, really hard, but I have never loved like I do now that I know the joys of being a mother!  And I certainly appreciate my own mother so much more now that I have walked in her shoes.  I love you Braden and Asher! I am so thankful that I get to call myself "mommy" thanks to these two!  What an amazing blessing this journey has been for me...one that has grown my faith, brought me to my knees, caused many a tear, and exceeded my every joy!