Our Little Flower...

Last week, I decided to take Sarah outside by the barn and get some photos of her in our wildflowers! She had a great time and even our friend, Willy came over from next door. He is our neighbor's adorable Jack Russell Terrier and he LOVES Sarah! She loves him, too! They are buddies, as you can see in the perfectly posed photo of her with him! I love these photos of her. She looks like an angel to me! (but I am biased!)

Willy heard her from a long way away and came running as usual! Sarah was so happy!

Jason's First Gig...

Jason got invited to the VFW Memorial Day Celebration this year to play his guitar for the first time on a real stage! It was great! Our friends were in for the weekend to visit and a lot of family showed up to cheer him on! He did a great job. We are so proud of him and his constant practice and devotion to his guitar playing! He even gave out a few "autographs!" We were so proud to be his parents and everyone was telling us how talented he was! I was on cloud nine!

Total strangers were running up to the front to video and photograph him! He thought that was really cool! (so did we!)

Jason with his Uncle Michael who GOT him the "gig"! He loves his Uncle Mike!

He even had to "talk" and announce the songs he played!

On stage.....Jason rocks out!

Waiting for Jason to perform!

LOL

Jason is TEN!!!!!!!!!!!

Jason turned ten on May 22nd! For his birthday, I invited a few of his friends to spend the day with us at our house! That's what he wanted to do. He wanted to play video games and hang out all day. He also wanted a yellow cake with chocolate icing. A round one. And breakfast. Bacon, eggs and toast. Then in the evening, swimming at Mimi & Pop's house. And Pizza.

These were his requests.....and that's exactly what he got!

He had a great day! I let Sarah and his friend wake him up first thing Friday morning! I had their breakfast all set up! Then, a few hours later, his other friend, Riley showed up and we all played games. We played Pictionary, Connect Four, Hyperdash....you name it...we played it! I had fun getting to just chill out all day with Jason and watch him have a great day with his friends!

I still cannot believe my "baby" is ten, though. He is growing up soooooo fast. He's becoming the person he will be when he's a grown man and so far...I'm liking what I see. He is a great Christian! He prays for people in his life and loves God with all his heart! He is caring and compassionate. He loves his family. He would rather be with his friends and family doing nothing than to be doing something exciting all by himself. He loves church. He enjoys playing the guitar but he realizes that it is a hobby and he still longs to do something great with his life other than be a "rock star" ! LOL He is an artist. He is a good student and a wonderful child to be around. He gets along well with others and treats people with respect. He opens doors for people in public and is always willing to lend a hand to someone in need. He would give his last dollar bill to anyone who needed it. I am enjoying watching him grow and become a strong person.

He is truly a blessing to our family and I can't imagine the last ten years of my life without his smiley little face every day! I know he will read this and turn red in the face with embarrassment, but I don't CARE! LOL Jason....I love you. You are a gift that God gave me and I thank Him for you every single day of my life.

Love, Mom

I tried to have it all ready by the time he woke up!

What an adorable smiley face so early in the morning!

Jason gets woke up by Sarah & Keagan! They couldn't WAIT to wake him! We had fun playing games all day! Pictionary was their FAVORITE!
This was his request for a cake! He got a decorated one at his party, but THIS is what he wanted ON his birthday! :)

Summertime is HERE!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, SCHOOOOOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yea!
We made it through another year!
This was a little tougher of a year for Jason. Fourth grade is a big change of pace but even more because we moved in the middle of the school year from one town to another and he had to play "catch up" to get ready for Fifth Grade!
It was quite a challenge..........but he DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our school participated in a "10 day early out" program where if they passed their grade level, missed less than 10 days of school and passed all three TAKS tests, they get out 10 school days early! (which is a full 2 weeks!)

We didn't know until the LAST day of school if Jason had passed even though we felt pretty confident that he had. You just never REALLY know until you get the scores back!

Not only did he pass, he was COMMENDED. On all three! Writing, Reading & Math!
Then, a few days ago, the actual SCORES came in the mail. Jason missed 1 problem on the Reading test! That's it! Out of THREE days of testing! 1 little problem! He got a perfect 100 on Math and a 4 on his writing! (highest grade possible for writing!)

We are so proud of him! To celebrate and start the summer out right....Todd took him to the Dodge dealership to take a test drive in a car that he's ALWAYS wanted to ride in! The new Dodge Challenger! Todd knows the head guy there and he told him he could take it out for a "test drive"! (Which was really as much for Todd as it was for Jason! LOL)

Jason had a blast!

We are so glad summer is here! Time for swimming, snowcones, movies, trips to the library, traveling, you name it! We are READY! We love summer! Here are a few pics of how our summer is getting started...

Jason in front of his dream car! 2009 Dodge Challenger


Jason's Field Day! His friends showing off how strong they are!

Me & My soon to be 5th grader at his field day! I had fun hanging out with him!

Sarah having her first snowcone of the summer!!!

And another little something that happens quite often at our house....Sarah with some mysterious gel smeared all over her face! Yes............it is red glitter hair gel! Fun! Turns out...that stuff is PRETTY sticky! LOL But this was too cute not to take a photo of!

A Day at the Lake...Happy Mother's Day!!!

Yesterday, we got invited to go with our great friends, the Whitfields to the lake! We had a wonderful time! (as you can see!) What is really nice to think about is when I look at these pictures, I look at them in they eyes that our kids will see them with someday. Someday, they may or may not remember this day until they see the photos. That's why I ALWAYS carry my camera. Every day has SOMETHING worth remembering. I see photos from my childhood and it strikes a memory, a feeling, a sense of who I am in this world. I want the same for my children. They are so precious to me and I love them so much! I think Mother's Day is the perfect time to think about their future and how they will remember their past. I hope that when Sarah sees this photo of her with her arms in the air enjoying the ride, that it sticks with her. She has a long road ahead of her and it will not always be fun. I plan on framing this photo and putting it in her room as she recovers from heart surgery soon. I want her to think about how when life is rough and flips you around like a rollercoaster, the best thing to do is raise your arms and go along for the ride. Even better, smile through it. God will get you through! God is like our lifejacket. I am sure that she would have been a little more nervous if she didn't have on her pink barbie life jacket. Probably clinging to mommy or the boat or whatever she could grasp onto. But, she had already been in the deep water and guess what.....the life jacket held her up! She learned to depend on that life jacket to keep her afloat in unknown waters! Then, when it was time to "go fast" and go for the ride....she was no longer nervous! She had her life jacket! So....in true trusting fashion, she raised her arms in the air, put a smile on her face and went for it! Sometimes, it was bumpy, but she enjoyed it anyway! Now, if we could all just learn to think about God that way...think of how much more fun we would have in life! I am truly thankful today, Mother's Day, for my family and the gifts I am blessed with! Todd, Jason & Sarah mean the world to me and I am so proud to celebrate today as their wife & mom! Every day is "Mother's Day" at my house. I find something every single day that makes me feel special to be their mommy! Sometimes, it is hanging out in Jason's room watching him play his guitar or helping Sarah dress her baby dolls or curling her hair. Sometimes, it's helping with that ridiculously long boring book that Jason has to read and finish writing summaries for or even washing Sharpie from every surface in the house and Sarah's face...............but still.............I am thankful and more blessed than I ever imagined I would be! Happy Mother's Day, friends! Enjoy it and find the importance of this day in EVERY day of your lives!


Mommy & Sarah hanging together on the boat!

Jeff & Kim.....who I repeatedly thank for "setting me and Todd up" 14 years ago! Without them, we'd have probably never seen each other again after the first time we met!

Me & Todd! Love you!!!!

The brat pack!

Love this photo of Jason jumping off the boat! SO funny! My little comedian!

Sarah loved riding "up high" where she could see everything!

Me & Kim hanging on for dear life! LOL

I think he MAY look like his daddy!

My cool man!

Love this boy!

And this one!

Having a BLAST!

Mommy's Girl!

Sarah's "Mommy Date"

This week was Sarah's turn for her "Mommy Date!" She got so excited. I asked her what she wanted to do and she said "Let's go for a tea party!" So, she got it. She wanted to pick out her dress, have me curl her hair, etc. She was so cute! It was a blast! We invited Shanna & Kaylin to come with us and we all went to Mar Teres' Tea Room! (For those of you who haven't gone, you SHOULD! It is FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!) We had a wonderful girly time sipping tea together! Sarah got her own little teapot to pour and she did pretty great. She also cracked me up by sticking her pinkie out while sipping tea. Toooooo cute! That's my GIRL! We had a wonderful time!

Jason & Mom Date...

Every so often, I try to take my kids on a "mommy date" in which I have the other one doing something else and I spend one on one time with each of my precious kiddos! This month, I managed to have Jason's one week, and Sarah's the next. I did invite Jason to let his best buddy, Keagan come with us and his mom. They had early release from school, so I picked them up right before lunch. Then, we went to Pizza Hut and had a wonderful time. Afterwards, we went bowling and we played boys against moms! (The moms won! Woohoo!) But not by much!

I had a great time spending time with Jason doing something HE wanted to do. So often, we get caught up in every day details that we forget to make memories. Even though we had friends with us and it wasn't JUST me and Jason, I spent quality time with him. He told me he would remember this day always! I thought that was so sweet. All it involved is pizza and bowling which is not a big deal. It was just the fact that I set that day aside to do what he wanted that made an impression. (and that we did it without Sarah who tends to take the stage when in the room! LOL) We love Sarah and we do lots of stuff with her, too....but sometimes, Jason needs to remember what it was like to be my only kiddo before little sister showed up. I try so hard to make him and Sarah both feel like they have my undivided attention as often as possible.

It was a great day! I love this kid!

Jason gets a STRIKE and does a victory dance! LOL

Me & My Little Guy!

Acting tough! LOL