Spring break 2014

Spring break 2014 was the bomb! Each year, as the boys get older, we just keep having more and more fun! The only thing missing was my sweet hubby...he was in Chicago and NYC for the first part of the week for work and then in Vegas the last part of the week for his annual guys trip. He had fun but we sure missed him!

This little wanted to do his hair like Jackson's.












My bestie Addie and I loaded up our kids on Tuesday and drove to Great Wolf Lodge in Dallas. Crazy? Brave? All of the above?











We stayed in one hotel room but at Great Wolf the rooms are so big and so fun! These kiddos could not wait to go swimming!











I was really impressed with the place. Lots of things to do and lots of choices on restaurants! They even had healthy options which totally surprised me.











They had story time the night we stayed there....these sweet boys just loved the characters that read the books!











We only stayed at Great Wolf one night because, let's be honest, no one needs more than one day there. :) the boys and I loaded up and headed to the lake for the rest of the week and weekend.











We had so much fun playing outside, fishing, swinging, playing basketball, exploring and just being together.

Walker loves the view.











I mean....seriously??? These boys are just too cute.











Loved spending great quality time with my little loves!

The Terrible Two's

Full on temper tantrum at Target today.


The 2's have begun.....

Walker Stone is 2!

My little love muffin is 2!



I love this little rascal to pieces. He keeps me on my toes, but he makes me feel so loved every moment of every day.

He is strong. He is stubborn. He is beautiful. He is LOUD! He loves his big brother. He loves Jesus. He loves to pray. Sometimes we have to say the prayer five or six times during dinner. So cute. He loves to put on Jackson's shoes and run around the house and say, "I JJ! I JJ!"


He loves pizza. And Pirate Booty. And Apples. He loves his Daddy. He loves to say, "Tank you!" He loves our dog. And he loves Pirate Booty.



He loves to sing, "Happy Birthday!" and will sing it all day long. He loves to tell me, "More Milt peese momma." even when he doesn't need anymore. He loves his school and his teachers. He loves to "Cowor." and only with markers. If you give him crayons, he throws them across the room. (Lovely.)

He loves "Choo Choo Twains!" and "Toy Story, (TT as he calls it.)." He loves playing, "OU SIDE NOW MOMMA!" and when it snows he say, "Oh No! SNOW!"


He loves his beloved Woody doll from Toy Story. He takes him everywhere and even holds him like a baby and pats his back. He puts Woody to bed everynight next to his crib and tucks him in with a blanket and says, "Night Night. I WUV YOU!"



He loves suckers. And Cookie Cake. And wrestling with anyone who will wrestle with him. He loves to "shoot the hoop!" And he loves Gymboree.


He is my little daredevil and I wonder most days how we haven't ended up in the ER yet. He will jump off of any surface, but MOST of the time he actually lands on his feet.


I can't get enough of him. He always is running up to me and hugging me and saying, "I WUV YOU Momma!" Melts my  heart every single time.



I can't imagine my life without him and I am so thankful every day that we decided to have another baby. He truly makes my life complete. (as do these other cuties in this pic).


I pray that I can be the best mommy for him always. I want to teach him patience, perseverance, how to work hard, how his faith in God will always bring him to where he needs to be. I want to teach him to love with all of his heart and to never give up on his dreams.

I want to teach him respect, how to treat a lady, and that no matter what you will always have your family.



I want to teach him to always smile and find the good in others. That the answers to all you need are in the Bible. That when you are down, you sometimes have to fight your way back, but you will always come back.

I want him to feel and know always how much I love him. How much I will always love him. How I will always be here for him no matter what.

I always tell Jackson this and I want to make sure Walker knows this as well, "You will never get in trouble for telling the truth."


Happy 2nd Birthday Walker Seth Stone. You light me up in ways I never knew possible. Thank you for letting me be your mommy. I am forever grateful and forever yours!
Love,
Mommy

A surprise visitor. In my bed.

I woke up this morning to this little love next to me in my bed. Assuming that Renzi brought him in early this morning I relished in the snuggles. This kiddo has maybe slept in our bed 2 times ever. He just likes his bed and is kind of a thrasher when he sleeps so it's best no one is in bed with him or you may get an elbow in your eye.


Turns out....Renzi did not bring him to our bed. Walker climbed out of his crib, opened his door, walked to our room, climbed in our bed, got himself under the covers and went to sleep. All while I snoozed away not suspecting a thing.

Pretty sure our days in the crib are numbered with this one. Big boy bed...here we come!

Change.

I've been thinking a lot lately about change.

What can we change?

What would we even really want to change?

I would, of course if I could, change what happened when we lost Isaiah. But change, I believe is about a choice. We can choose how we react to something. How we deal.

We can choose whether we get on with life or root ourselves in the past.

My approach to most situations in my life is to deal and move on. No reason to dwell on something and relive it over and over again. I try to take this approach most when it comes to disagreements or disapointments. Talk to the person I have an issue with, work it out, move on.

I want to try to enjoy every moment. I know it's basic pop psychology, but it works for me.

Sometimes facing the worst can teach you how to be your best.

I am forever changed because I lost a son. I am forever changed because of the choices I make daily. I am forever changed because I have Jesus in my heart.

There are other moments in life that scream at you with change.

My beloved grandfather passed away 9 months ago. I was in the room with him when he took his last breath on this earth.

Watching someone die is something I can not even begin to be able to put into words. It's something that has forever changed me. I'm not quite sure how it couldn't.

When the hospice nurse came in to tell us the time was close when he would go, my dad pulled my brother and I out of the room and asked us if being in the room when he died would be something we could handle. I was almost panicked with the thought of being there but almost pulled by a magnetic force that I couldn't miss the moment.

You see, I wasn't with my son when he died. This was a way I felt I could "make it up to him," by being with someone and surrounding them with love as they took their last breath on this earth. I felt I owed it to Isaiah because I would have given anything to be there for him if I could have.

The moment he took his last breath, he was surrounded by my grandmother, my father, my stepmother and my brother. We all held on to him not knowing what to expect. We all said over and over how much we loved him, how much we admired him, how loved he was. I leaned in and told him to make sure to hug Isaiah when he saw him in Heaven and a tear slipped out of his closed eye. Another one came when we told him we would take care of grandma for him.

And then he was gone.

No beeping monitors.

No flatlining sounds.

Just silence.

Peace.

In that moment there it was.

Change.

When I gave birth to my sons, I experienced a love that was deeper than any I could imagine. Death was similar-but the opposite. It was a feeling of loss I never knew existed-a deep painful emptiness that I had to find my way through.

I think a lot about what I like to call my Shirley MacLaine moment. Have you ever seen the movie, "Terms of Endearment?" When Shirley MacLaine's daughter is dying of cancer and she is in pain and Shirley goes out to the nurse's station and is screaming at everyone to help her daughter while they all stand there and just look at her and then they move on to their next task.

 It's in all of the movies when someone dies. The moment when you understand. When you get it. This is all just a charade. The doctors have moved on to other patients and you are left screaming at the nurses station. It's how you choose to deal with it that defines you. You can scream all you want. But you can't change what happened. All you can do is deal with the change that is happening around you. Deal with your emotions. Deal with the change.

Change.

Moving on.

Dealing.

People move on. And sometimes you are left there...still mourning and waiting for someone to recognize that you are still there.

Change. You can choose to embrace it or not.

This post may not make a whole lot of sense, but it's something I want to remember about this time in my life. With growing kiddos and a busy life there is always some sort of change happening.

Constant change.

Stillness.

Contentment.

This Valentine's Day I find myself in a much more content place than I have been in a long time. I have embraced the change that my life has brought me and I am truly happy with where I am spiritually, emotionally, and physically. I have dealt with life's punches and I feel I have conquered a lot.

These boys of mine and my husband make my life so complete and I thank God for blessing me with all of them. I pray that as life goes on that I can handle the changes life brings in good ways and always grow from it.

My loves.

Could not love these two little munchkins more.


Happy Valentine's Day!

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First time EVER.

Today was a day for the record books.

This munchkin.



For the first time ever.......

DID NOT TAKE A NAP. AT ALL. NOT ONE WINK.

AND. He woke up FOR THE DAY.... at 4:45 a.m.

Let's all take a moment and think about what that must have been like.

For his momma.

Cause it was awful.

By 4:45 p.m. the crankiness and tiredness had set in. For the both of us. I had been putting off and putting off taking him to the doctor because he has had a cough for a few weeks but no fever. And he generally didn't seem like he felt bad. But if there is one thing I know about my Walk man....This kiddo loves his sleep (must take after his fab momma.!)

It is the rarest of rare that he doesn't sleep 12 hours each night with a 2-3 hour nap during the day.

So I followed my gut and called our amazeballs pediatrician at 4:45 p.m. today and he said he would see us at 5 p.m. (isn't Dr. V the greatest of all greatest!?), and lo and behold, Walkie has a sinus infection. Poor baby!

Just goes to show all you mommas....FOLLOW your instinct! You know your kiddos better than anyone else and if something feels "off" go with it!

He is now on antibiotics and this momma is headed to bed.

Night Night!