My First Born

My first born, sweet, baby boy turned 13 recently. We officially have a teenager living in our house. It has been a true pleasure to be blessed with the job of raising this young man.

 

 

He is so gifted and talented, full of humor, full of love.

 

I did not know what to expect when he joined our lives. He was our first. We learned as we grew together. He taught me a lot of things about unconditional love and patience.

 

He still calls me mummzie and hugs me regularly. He still seeks me for advice and conversation. He is still and will always be my little baby boy.

Micahsaurus ~ The Big 2!

     

My sweet, busy, crazy, wild nephew turned 2 this weekend. How is that possible? My sister is the mother of a 2-year-old. It is crazy!

 Little Micah is in love with dinosaurs. He growls at everything and will tell you tons of dinosaur stories.

 

He also loves cars and trucks, dirt and grime. The boy is all boy and tons of fun!

 

 

He so loved having so many people there to celebrate with him. He loves playing with other kids, loving on babies, getting loves by all the adults in his life, and snacking on yummy treats!

 

Happy birthday, little man!

 

 

Glad we could be there to celebrate with you!

 

They Call Him "My Mommy's Dad"

 

This is my dad. I love my dad. I do. He was a decent father growing up. I know he loved me even though we were not close at all. My parents were divorced and he lived with his new wife and their two sons. I visited when I could. We didn't do father-daughter dances. We didn't do lunch dates alone. He didn't tuck me in at night or read me any stories, ever. He paid his child support and had me over for dinner where we chatted here and there with the rest of the family.

 

{This is the one and only picture of my father with all of his grandkids together.}

But my kids don't really know him. The girls call him 'my mommy's dad.' 

 

My son calls him by his name.

  

 

I have a wall built pretty thick and high for very specific reasons. 

 

 

I wonder if healing will come. I wonder if a bond can even be formed.

 

Honestly, I am not sure if I truly want healing, bonding, or nothing at all.

 

*I keep editing this post. It never seems right. I want to share details but feel like it is just not the right place or time.*

That Mother of Mine

That mother of mine sure loves us. She drapes my children with kisses, hugs, and love galore.

 

 

 She was never the play-barbies-with-us, cook-from-scratch, read-to-us, or discipline-gently kind of mama. But, she poured on the love. She held me tight and told me things would be okay. She told me I was beautiful, smart, and kind. She told me I was such a special person repeatedly. She worked hard to build me up and fill my bucket.

 

 

 She is proving to be an amazing nana. She is more gentle, patient. She adores these children with her whole heart. She carves time for them, plays board games with them, and fills their buckets.

 

 

She does a great job of filling mine and my sister's buckets too! :) It is nice to know she appreciates the way we are raising her grandkids.

 

 

She and my dad are not together but it was so nice to get a picture of them with all their grandchildren together. Putting differences aside for the love of kids. Sweet.

 

A Fun Day {Adore These 5}



We spent the day at a local children's farm recently. It was so nice. The weather was a bit wet and chilly but that meant the farm was almost empty! We are not fans of crowded or too hot places. 

 

 We walked this nice little trail checking out all the trees and greenery. This is one of my favorite pics of them. I loved watching them all walk together. Dax was trying so hard to get up there with them!

My girls love the horses! I think it is their favorite part of the farm. They get a very short ride but it sure makes them smile. They love going home to tell their nana and Aunt Jenn all about it.

 

 

 

This is classic Chaz! Cracks me up! He was standing by that fence pretending to fall over, cause he is a jokester and full of laughs. He always pulls his jacket up over his head like that and texts on his phone all the time. He will even text me from just a few feet away. LOL

 

 

Classic Ainzley! She climbs on anything and everything she can! She is such a monkey!

 

Dax is so happy when we are out. He LOVES being out of the house. Loves watching other people and kids. Loves seeing animals. Loves being carried by mommy and daddy taking turns. Loves when people, anyone, come up to him and talk. He reaches for others and smiles so big at them. He watches everything with such wonder and glee. He absolutely loved the swing.

 



 

Classic Brijet! She puts her water handprint where ever she can. Any place that has water has seen her handprint. If she is shoeless, her foot print gets put there as well!

 

If I want a picture of me to prove I was with the family, I have to take a self portrait or force the camera into someone else's hands! Good thing I love self portraits of myself. :)

 

 

My Wen. His smile makes my breath catch and heart flutter. He is such a fun, joking person and keeps me smiling daily. He loves to help out and carry his little Dax around in the Moby but Dax is having trouble getting comfy in this shot. Maybe he already misses bottle feeding the goats they just walked away from. The day was truly something to cherish.

Everyday Life

 

Life is so busy. Four kids can do that.

 

I love seeing everyday moments in lives so I love sharing the same.

 

My four bring me so much joy and make my heart sing.

 

I am savoring it but lacking in keeping record of it.

 

I so want to bottle it up and savor it all so I can relive it when I am old.

 

One day my memory will be gone, my kids will be grown, my life will be slow.

 

I will want my journals to read through, to relive, to share with my grands.

 

Finding time to keep record is proving to be harder than I thought!

 

I don't want it to slow down so I just try to keep up!

 

My life is blessed.

 

{I am loved}