Jesus is the light

Sweet story about my oldest son. 

We were talking about his birthday being on a Sunday and he asked me why it was called "Sunday". I told him I wasn't sure and his reply left me speechless. He said, "Maybe because Jesus is the light. Like the sun is the light for the day." 

He amazes me. 

Birthday Boys

It's that time of year! Birthday time. Things were a little different this year, but we still had a great time. 

Beckett turned four on Saturday and since Taydens birthday was on a Sunday, we did a combined birthday activity. One of the boys favorite places in pocatello is Randy's gym. We went with the Mennear family over the summer and they've been begging to go back ever since. They ran, jumped and flipped until they were all funned out. Scott even got in on the fun and jumped off the big platform... Twice. It was a great birthday bash! 

When I asked Beckett what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, he insisted upon a lion castle cake. I tried and tried to show him different kinds of cakes we could make, but he refused to be persuaded. So I made him his cake per his request. 

He woke up the next morning livid I had put chocolate frosting on his cupcakes. He wanted normal cupcakes, apparently not chocolate. Which is normally his favorite. But after he got some breakfast In his belly, he was happy with it. Though he wanted to play with his castle, so we ended up taking it down 30 minutes into the morning. 

Beckett is one of a kind. He is strong willed and marches to his own beat. He knows exactly who he is and the way he likes things done. He is incredibley kind and loving and has a heart of gold. Beckett loves sandwiches, bananas and oranges. His favorite color is orange and his favorite toy is his lion castle. He hates to draw and write, but loves to build and tinker with his hands. His imagination is amazing. And he can spin a story like no other. And funny. He is so dang funny. I love my Beckett boy and could not be more grateful that he is ours. 

Tayden asked for a shark cake. He had a shark cake last year, but I upped my game this year. I was pretty happy with how it turned out and he was too. 

I still cannot believe I have a six year old. It's crazy! Tayden is caring, loving, nurturing and protective of his little brothers. Though he picks on them and can be relentless, he loves them with a deep fierce love that warms my heart. He is witty, and smart...and logical to a fault. He loves pancakes and chocolate granola bars. He has an major interest in all things ocean related, especially sharks. It's a love that started at 2 and has never gone away. He likes to draw and create and is getting better at reading. We love Tayden. And I could not be more grateful he is mine!

Happy birthday, boys! 

Pregnancy updates

I just realized that I'm 28 weeks pregnant and haven't done a real update outside of the fact that we are having a baby boy. So here it is. Things are great!! The ultrasound looked wonderful and they didn't have any concerns. I actually didn't believe it until my doctor handed me the paper work and told me things were good. So there isn't much to report, which I am grateful for. 

As for me. Ugh. I'm huge and uncomfortable. I have an awful vericose vein that is constantly throbbing and makes even simple tasks almost unbearable. And my heartburn...there's that too. But honestly, there is nothing so horrible that could make this pregnancy awful. I am so happy to be carrying this baby. I wasn't sure I'd ever get the chance again, so I vowed I'd love this pregnancy no matter what. And I am doing just that. My favorite thing is feeling baby boy four move. He doesn't move much through the day, or I'm too busy to notice, but he moves every night as I fall asleep and first thing when I wake up. He's fairly predictable and I love it. 

I can't believe I only have 12 weeks left. Considering I went early with my last two, my doctor said he wouldn't be surprised if I delivered at 38 weeks. Which is TEN weeks away. That freaks me out. I am not nearly prepared as I'd like to be. But on the flip side, I can't wait to kiss his face. I can't wait to snuggle him and learn his little quirks. Ten weeks feel entirely too far away. 

Progression of my pregnancy thus far.

22 weeks

25 weeks

28 weeks 

Can't wait for baby boy. Who still remains nameless because his daddy is naming him. Yes, Scott is naming him and I have full confidence in him to give baby a wonderful name. I think it's going to be really special for Scott to name him and will create a really unique bond to his youngest son. 

Over all, I am feeling so grateful and excited. 

Sunbeams

After three weeks of sickies, we finally made it back to church. Beckett survived his first day of sunbeams. He didn't want to go because, "all that singing gives me headaches." And he insisted it was just too boring for him. He had moments of excitement, but they faded quickly. He relucktently decided to go, however I had to sit with him during opening exercises. Which was fun for me because Tayden got to say the prayer and said how thankful he was that Beckett could be there with him. After I left he must have been fine because I didn't see him again until after church was over. When I picked him up his teacher said he did great and he told us it was a good day. 

How he feels about photo shoots.

How he feels when I tell him how big and handsome he looks and I need a good picture to send to his Texas cousins. 

All in all it was a successful Sunday! 

Loose Tooth

Tayden lost his first tooth yesterday. It's been wiggling for about 2 months and he was more than excited when it came out. He bit a piece of candy and it ripped half the tooth up. Then I finished pulling it out for him. All day he kept saying, "I can't believe today was the day it finally fell out!"

Embrace

My fabulous friend Melissa, whom I look up to immensely, did the one little word challenge for 2015. Its basically picking one word and working on that through out the year. I thought it was a great idea and decided to take the challenge my self. The word I chose for the year is EMBRACE.

I find this word especially fitting for me this year. With the job change, relocation, new baby, and housing circumstance I think it would be easy to fall into the trap of merely surviving and accepting my current situation. I don't want to just get by this year. I want to take all the challenges and learn to embrace them and grow from them. And fill my days with genuine happiness.

This also includes embracing daily challenges. Messy faces, non stop ninja moves, the laundry that piles up and so on and so forth. I am ready to face them head on with a good attitude.

Not only do I want embrace the bad, but the good too. All to often to I make the mistake by rushing through the good. I want to slow down and take in the happy moments with my family. Enjoy the little moments and focus on embracing the memory.

Four days into this challenge and its already been just that…a challenge. I caught a major case of the stomach flu and was out for about a day and a half. Then passed it on to my kids, who were just getting over a yucky cold. And I mean just getting over, they were healthy for about a day. Its hard to embrace being sick or even worse, having sick kids.  I do feel I seceded in one case though.

Tayden woke up last night with an ear ache from his cold... he got the stomach bug today. Not even a day of health for him. Poor guy. It was about 9:45 when he came to Scott and I complaining that he couldn't sleep. I pulled out the tylenol and put a few drops of olive oil in his ear. I could have very easily sent him back to bed and finished enjoyed the rest of the evening with Scott. But instead, I pulled him up on lap and let him watch a movie with us for awhile. I'm a major time/schedule/sleep keeper, so this went against my grain to keep him up. But it was so great to sit and cuddle him and embrace that moment. I was proud of myself and glad we got to share that hour together. Plus, he slept in and took a nap this afternoon, so it all worked out fine. Sometimes I need those reminders to let loose and enjoy those small moments. 

I'm excited to embrace this year and hope by focusing on one small word that I'll be able to stick too it and truly make a change.  

Looking Back and Looking Forward

Boy oh boy, what a year! Its been simulatenously wonderful and heartbreaking. We've had lots of ups and our fair share of downs. If I have taken one thing away from the past year, it is complete and total faith. More than once I mentioned how my home in Las Vegas was the most at home I had ever felt. And I wasn't lying. Yet, here I am living in Idaho waiting for the next part of our journey. We were convinced we were done having babies. Yet, here I sit with a baby in my belly. Both of these events took a huge amount of faith. Faith that I didn't know could be so hard and faith I didn't know I had. But even on a day to day basis, we lived on faith. The way we taught our kids, or got through a tough day. All boiled down to faith. What an amazing blessing to feel my life in my Fathers hands. 

Here are a few highlights from each month of the year.

JANUARY:

Scott and I went on a helicopter tour. 

Tayden and Beckett celebrated their 5th and 3rd birthdays.

FEBRUARY:

We enjoyed our first color run as a family.

MARCH:

Tayden started his first season of T-Ball.

Beckett started speech.

APRIL:

We had our first General Conference as a particpating family. Everyone sat through the sessions and stayed quiet and busy. 

MAY:

I enjoyed a Mothers Day Brunch with Tayden and his preschool. 

Scott and I won free tickets to see A Great Big World in a private vendor concert.

JUNE:

Scott started his new job at DRS.

We enjoyed national doughnut day at Krispie Kreme.

JULY:

Our annual summer Idaho vacation.

AUGUST:

I celebrated my 28th birthday.

Tayden started kindergarten.

SEPTEMBER:

Scott and I had our 8th anniversary.

We excepted the INL job.

OCTOBER:

Cache turned two.

We carved our first ever pumpkins.

The family learned the baby was a boy.

NOVEMBER:

We made the move to Idaho.

Tayden started Idaho Kindergarten.

DECEMBER:

Boys experienced their first real snow.

Cache learn to potty in the toilet. 

We had Christmas with family.

Its been a humble year. And I couldn't be happier about it. Looking back makes me realize how much I love Las Vegas and how badly I miss it. My heart hurts thinking about the life I am missing there. But I know, because of my faith, that things will be great here too. I am looking forward to our new adventure in 2015. Namely, this new baby and our move to Idaho Falls. I am grateful for this past year and the life we are so blessed with.