Braydens Soccer

Brayden has been playing soccer and having a blast! He has scored 2 goals! We are so proud of him!

happy birthday mom!

Today is my moms birthday.

So for her day- Brayden sent a birthday balloon up to her.

its was so sweet- as he let go- he yelled - love you, happy birthday, sorry you missed MY party!!

love you mom, i miss you everyday.

Happy Birthday Riley!

Happy 4th birthday to Riley!

we love you!

Braydens week long 5th Birthday

I cannot believe, our baby is 5!!

Brayden had a birthday party at our house on Saturday- most of our friends were able to make it.

His cake and theme was train the dragon. Here he is with his 2 tier cake!

Here is everyone singing Happy Birthday- it was a little hectic with 60 people, but we did it!!

We had: the bounce house, train your dragon playing on TV, a dragon pinata (a "anatta" as Brayden would say), playdough play,

 2 sandboxes, the trampoline, the see saw.......and lots to eat!

And the big Highlight- was Brayden - at age 5, getting his HOUSE!!!! It has a mailbox, lights, a doorbell, a loft, 2 sky lights, a lego table, blender, chaulkboard, drawing table....a vacumn and microwave (thanks to aunt minnie).

Doesn' every 5 year old have a house? 

I had a really good time painting it blue, hanging curtains and making it all an airplane theme.  

The kids had alot of fun in it, i hope they have many happy play times in it!

When Brayden woke up, we had a train your dragon Tshirt out for him to wear to his party. When he went to go to bed, we had train your dragon PJ's for him.....He loved them!

On Wed, I went to his class to celebrate his Bday. He was so cute when his teacher called him up. We sung to him and passed out his bday treats. I read his favorite book to the class, the Hungry Catepillar.

After, we handed out treat bags to each of his friends, Brayden was so excited to pass them out, he was dancing!!!

That night, we got to have dinner with Matthew (& Ben) , it was his 6th Birthday. It was alot of fun and really special.

Here is a picture of Matt balancing the kids...

When we got home, we had the more cake- we wanted to have our final celebration as a family.

I made Brayden Memory Cards (his favorite game) out of all of our disney pictures....and Chandler got him a batman toy he has wanted for awhile- heres a picture:

 so, our week long celebration is over! i am in tears, knowing brayden is now 5. He is such a beautiful, kind, and loving spirited boy. we are so blessed to be his parents. chandler adores his brother too!

we love you buddy, thank you for a special week!

my birthday in october?

with our crazy lives- i didnt get to celebrate my birthday with Laura and Rose. a couple of weeks ago, we got to! they picked me up and surprised me with a massage! next, we went to this amazing restaraunt. we all had a really good time, soaking up eachothers company, feeling like we were separated from this busy world for awhile.

i love these girls. i love who they are to me in my life. when god put them in my life, he granted a blessing to me. i cannot tell you how much all of my friends mean to me, i cry thinking of all their beautiful faces and beaming spirits....thank you rose and laura for being one of them. you inspire and make me feel loved daily, thank you....sistas! love you.

We have certainly had an eventful summer.....coming to an end, with a fire at Chads restaurant. The worse damage was the water. He had to replace booths, menus, food, floors, walls, pictures, TV's, computers, paint everything......etc.

I feel like during the 2 weeks of trying to reopen and now, God is revealing Himself daily. Though this situation has been very tough, Chad and I both know that God's hand is in this, and He doesn't do anything by accident.

The biggest way He has been evident to us, is through our friends. They have been AMAZING, truly. The countless meals & snacks, watching the kids for 11 days, painting, cleaning and repairing the restaurant (even on your wedding anniversary!), bringing us clothes, cleaning our house, doing our laundry, caring for the animals, the cards, numerous calls, meeting us at Church for support.....even bringing us linens for the booths we were sleeping on....etc. These are things that gave us strength, kept us going and reassured us the God hears everything. It also brought us to tears, often.- I felt so unworthy of your kindness.

We are truly humbled by the kindness of our friends....who are like family. We love you all and can NOT thank you enough- you have imprinted our hearts and lives, always.

Friends-Thanks for your continuous prayers, financially we still have a long road. Nothing but love and gratitude for ya!!

Justin and Lindsey- thank you for your help and support, love you.

Chad- you are my rock. I saw you as I never have before....overwhelmed, sad, scared, awestruck, humbled and grateful. We said one the first day, still in shock, that the Lord has us in his hand. He did then, does now and will, in the end. With you (and Him!) I am sure, we will be okay. This has really shown me (again) how life can change, so quickly. i am so thankful my life, is with you. Not sure if I could love you anymore, I love you so much.

Boys- you were such troopers, going from home to home. We know you were shook up from seeing the restaurant and worrying about us- confused. I hope you know today and always- that God knows what He is doing, its in His plan and it all happens for a reason- some are already evident. Love you.

Love to all- so much my heart hurts-

week with the cousins!

My sister and Brother in law went to Mexico for a week...so we got to keep the kids. We all had a really great time.

Here we are at a local play area.

Here we are after dancing...making our own lipgloss!

Here we are at a ski resort that has a water park.....

This is us before we went in, at dinner above the park.

Brayden was so excited, because he was tall enough to ride ALL the rides...which he did, even the big scary slides!

Here is all of the kids (plus one more) outside of a childrens hands on museum we went to, the kids had a blast!

Here they are at our pool....

after, Brayden, the girls and I had dinner and played at a local coffee shop...while the big boys hung out at the skate park.

Here are some pictures of the kids at the amusement park. We all had alot of fun. Everyone stepped up and rode rides they normally wouldn't....we were so proud of them!

Right before they littler kids got on the snoopy ride...Brayden swatted a bee, to get it off his shirt- and smooched it- so the entire stinger went into his hand.

We got it out, and he handled it like a big boy!

On our way home, we realized it was almost midnight (so it would be Chads Bday) So we got milkshakes and toasted him, in the car.

I think Chad enjoyed the ice cream, not our toast and singing! Happy Bday Chad!

We all had a fun week together. I am sad to take them back home. They are all amazing kids and truly enjoy their time together. I wish we all lived closer. But, we made alot of fun memories that we will all always cherish!

(so the girls and I made really fun scrapbooks of our week, they came out adorable!)

Love you all!

Happy Birthday Chandler

We cannot believe that Chandler is 12. Our last year, before he is a teenager! Time has flown so fast. I truly wish, we could pause time....

I cry seeing this picture, from 12 years ago. Having no idea, what this little baby boy would do to/for us....

He has taught us so much.

The power of love, the necessity of prayer, the importance of patience, what life is, how to laugh, how bright He and this world is & can be, how to persevere, that God chose us to be his parents and that our plan/picture- may not be His, that you never know what tomorrow will hold, the importance of days and time that you can't get back....and most of all unconditional love, no matter what.

Chandler- We love you buddy, for who you are. Thanks for being you. love, Mom and Dad

ps...Brayden thanks you for being an amazing big brudder!

Here is a picture of my grandfather (who is about to turn 90) Holding Noah and Chandler (they are about 6 months old)

What a precious picture.

And here they are now, at a teenage skate park...Chandler 12 and Noah, will be in 2 weeks. Time, where has it gone?

We love them both so much!

happy birthday Chandler!

Chandler Birthday Weekend

The day started with Chandlers lacrosse game. His grandpa Monte was there....and some of our friends. That meant alot to Chandler. He is really enjoying lacrosse.

Next we met a bunch of his friends at the restaurant....

and My dad, Noah, Gianna and Mara made it just in time!

There we had lunch, cake and opened gifts!

Noah got Chandler.......an Air Soft Gun!! He has been wanting one for a long time (because EVERYONE else has one of course!) - we keep saying NOPE!! But, we broke down. He is 12 now, and starting to show his (a little!) responsible.

This is a cute picture of the boys:

Next all the kids went fishing..all 11 of them!

So, this party is shooting party..yeap that's it. and yeap, we have loosened up a bit!

We set up the back yard with lots of targets, barricades and hideouts....there were more, but here are some!

Here are some of the boys, ready to go!

after, they went on the 4wheeler, did fire crackers, made smores in the fire pit....

Here is a picture of the them all doing a toast in the hot tub, "to Chandler on his 12th Birthday"

right after, one of my nephews threw a FROG in!!

It was hilarious!

Picture the next morning...after going to bed at 5am and lots of pranks!

You should have seen Chad and I- we were on No Sleep!

But everyone had a good time.