About a Boy...

...who's had his mama almost all to himself for two days.

The same Mama who just got a new camera and is having way too much fun with it.

This puppy has been a part of his life since around his first birthday. She has endured two years of tail-pulling and horseback riding attempts, and loves him still.

Clearly, he loves her too. :)
A boy who is really great about sharing...even with Alvin the Chipmunk.
Maybe that comes with being the youngest brother...he's never known anything different but having to share with his big brothers and holding his own if they don't share with him. For being not quite three, he really is pretty amazing at it.

How very much I love this Cheeto-lovin' little boy.

Impossible that he will be 3 in just a few short weeks.

Have I mentioned yet....

...that I got a new camera from my parents for Christmas?

To say I'm excited about it would be a huge understatement.

Between that and my new iPod Touch from my very thoughtful hubby

I'm feeling incredibly high-tech. ;)

And you thought I blogged a lot before...

Christmas at the Farm

Wow...what a week! Don't know about you, but it's been Christmas-palooza here. We were SO HAPPY to pick Daddy up at the airport on Tuesday, and the fun began then.

On Wednesday we loaded up the car and headed to Mimi and Papa's farm.

This pic of Hud is my favorite....he looks SO MUCH like pictures of his Daddy at this age....crazy how he can look like his Dad one minute, and my Dandy the next.

He's been smiling like this all week long. :) Then again, that's pretty typical for him.

You can see that the happiness was contagious, along with the cough these two are sharing. No worries, just a cold that is not slowing either one of them down at all. :)

And the oldest H was thrilled to be celebrating too. How can you not be?

A glimpse of how Christmas exploded on Thursday morning. ;) Wish I could remember what Mimi and Reagan were talking about....

Daddy, Hud, and Hunter playing Hud's new fishing game.

Aunt Reagan and Uncle Jon playing on his phone, I think.

And Beth REALLY likes her new Ugg boots that Todd gave her, don't you think? ;)

Hunter is a BIG FAN of his Uncle Todd, if you can't tell. :)


While we were having fun inside, this was happening outside.

I have been hoping for a white Christmas since we moved here over 20 years ago.

So happy it finally happened...made it truly feel like Christmas. Couldn't believe how beautiful it was, and glad we got to see my parents' farm covered in snow.

The boys were so surprised! New bikes for them from Mimi and Papa.

Hud was thrilled ...this is the first bike he's had

that isn't a hand-me-down from his big brother. :)

We had the best time, a wonderful start to a great week.

Hated to cut it short, but we were all a little worried about the weather and the roads, so we headed home a few hours earlier than planned.


The drive home was non-slick and BEAUTIFUL.

Until next time....

The First Noel

Last Friday Hud's class performed a Nativity play.

He got to be Joseph.

So very cute...he took his role very seriously. ;)

It was obvious that the whole class had worked very hard,

and they did such a great job.

That class is just SO CUTE. Each and every one of them. They all did great with their lines and singing the songs....so sweet.

After the play we had a "Happy Birthday Jesus" party with a yummy lunch, cupcakes, party hats and all.

Hud sits in between these two little girls, Miss C and Miss R. I think they both mother him and take care of him, and he likes that a whole lot. ;)

For one of the crafts they made a Christmas tree out of an ice cream cone.

It was a huge mess, but totally worth it.

I think they preferred eating the icing and candy over making the tree,

but they all turned out cute.

Even Hunter took part in that craft, which thankfully kept him very busy.
And if you can't tell, he was super proud of that tree. :)

Weekend with Daddy

Last weekend the big boys and I hopped on a plane and headed east to spend the weekend with Brian. It was hard leaving Hunter behind here, but believe me when I say he didn't miss us one bit. He was partyin' it up with Aunt Reagan and Uncle Jon. You can also believe me when I say that

he was one spoiled rotten kiddo when we returned Sunday night. ;)

Thankful he had so much fun and was so loved and well taken care of.

The plan this weekend was mostly to show the boys where we would be moving so they can picture where their Daddy is and know a little more about what is ahead. Mostly, however, the plan was just to be together and have some fun, which was exactly what we did. Started off the weekend w/ a trip to Build-a-Bear, something we had never done before. As you can see, neither one of them built a bear~ Hud made a cat he named Furry, Harrison a dog he named Harry. Hud is way attached to that cat~ Harrison, not so much. He's probably getting a little old for this sort of thing, but b/c we have never done it I'm glad he got the chance to.
We ate out LOTS, which the boys thought was fantastic. Chili's is one of their favorite places to eat. We also hit Chic-fil-a a couple times, Domino's at the airport....needless to say, I've been eating nothing but Lean Cuisines all week. ;)

Brian and I were both very proud of how well the boys handled trying out our new church. They even wanted to go to Sunday School after service, which honestly surprised me. I thought they would be too nervous. They both said they had a great time and love their new church. Whew.

We saw the Princess and the Frog and loved it. Well, the boys and I did. :)

Daddy tolerated it with a smile on his face.

We looked at a few different neighborhoods in the town

we are planning on living in and found one we love. Still lots of looking to do though.

All in all, a really great weekend. Leaving Brian behind stunk, of course. We all four cried~ fun times. But we are adjusting to this new, temporary way of life and are making the most of the time we get together, while soaking up every bit of time with the ones we love here at home in the meantime.

The Gingerbread House that Wasn't

Look who we got to spend the weekend with! Yes, Daddy was home.

I'm so happy to report that this weekend was full of

fun, playing, shopping, laughing, and even a party with some of our favorite people.

No tummy bugs to be found. Not even a sniffle. :)

A few hours before he had to board a plane to fly back, we continued our seasonal tradition of making a gingerbread house. Crazily enough, this was our first Christmas-themed one. We're pros at spooky houses and Easter houses.

Normal, Christmas-y ones? New to us. Go figure.

We were less-than-thrilled when we opened the box and discovered that both roof pieces were broken, but pressed on,

hoping that the icing would be the glue that held it all together.

Apparently, we were wrong. :( The sad little roof collapsed.

And, as you can see, we didn't let it get us down. In fact, I think the kids were more excited because they actually got to eat the candy rather than just look at it.

Thankful?

Yes. Even after three days of what were supposed to filled with family time, loving on my husband, good eating, and a date night to see New Moon (hey, he hasn't seen it yet!) but instead were filled with way more vomit than anyone should have to deal with. Not at all what I wanted for our first visit together since he started his new job. He got it first, then me (one hour before we were supposed to leave for our date night), and then poor Hud man. So far (knock on wood) H1 and H3 haven't gotten it. I sure hope it stays that way. Not fun at all.

So I was sitting here after sending Brian off to the airport this afternoon, trying to come up with things to be thankful for. It wasn't easy at first b/c I was angry about how the past few days had gone, and sad that he had just left. But, because Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, I made myself come up with something. And it was way easier than I thought it would be. :)

1) I'm thankful that I have a husband who is also my best friend, someone who I am still crazy-mad-nuts over, 14+ years after the day I first laid eyes on him. I plan on being that way for the rest of our lives together, and don't ever want to get used to being apart.

2) I'm thankful that while he is there and we are here that I get this extra time with my family and friends. I plan to have lots of fun and spend lots of time together for as long as we are still living here.

3) I'm thankful that even though these past few days were kind of miserable, at least we were together to take care of each other. Can't imagine him being sick and alone or me being sick and trying to take care of 3 kiddos. So there's that.

4) I'm thankful that he has a new job that he loves that provides well for us, and that he has a job at all. With the economy being the way it is right now, that's not something to take lightly.

5) I'm thankful that the boys seem to totally understand that this is tough, and have been so good, sweet, and helpful.

6 and last) I'm thankful that my Love will be home in just 5 days!

Happy Thanksgiving...hope yours was full of great things to be thankful for!

And, because it's nearly impossible for me

to write a post without including a photo

(and I didn't take a single pic at Thanksgiving)...

Here is one of the boys in front of our little Charlie Brown-ish tree. It just might be my favorite tree we've ever had.

And if you notice there on the left, Eli the Elf is sitting in the tree, enjoying day 2 of keeping an eye on those 3 sitting below him. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hopefully this cute little pilgrim will make you smile...it sure did the trick for me. :)

Hudson's Thanksgiving program and feast was last Friday...

it's things like this that make Thanksgiving my favorite holiday!
Aren't they cute?

So thankful that Aunt Rae was able to be there...and super proud of Hud for singing his little heart out! Hope your day is full of things to be thankful for too!

Feeling a little creative....

Had some fun making a few layouts for Anthologies the other day...

1st Day
(used October Afternoon's "Report Card" line for this one of Hud's first day of kindergarten)

I LOVE, LOVE to scrap school pics!

And I really LOVE this new paper line from Glitz!

It's called "Olivia" and it's just the right kind of girly for this girl. :)

Not too pink, and all funky and fun!

Of course, I was dying to scrap at least one of our new family pics,

and it was fun to get to use this paper line!

And last, I scrapped this pic of my friend Amanda's little girl, Ella.

Isn't she beautiful?

It's way out of my element to scrap girly stuff, but I love a challenge. :)
Used October Afternoon's "Ducks in a Row" line, which is super sweet.

And so the obsession continues.

Went with some life-long friends to see the midnight premier of New Moon on Thursday night (or technically, Friday morning). I am definitely NOT a morning person, so staying up late is never a good idea,

but I couldn't pass this opportunity up.

And I am so happy to report that the movie was totally worth losing a night's sleep over (which is exactly what it felt like I did...went to bed @ 4 and woke up @ 6:30).

Needless to say, yesterday was a very long day.

However, totally worth it. :)

New Moon is probably my least favorite of the series, but has my favorite ending out of all the books. Even though there was way more Jacob involved than I really prefer (nothing against him, I just love watching Edward and Bella together), I loved the movie and was thrilled with how close it stayed to the book. Greatness.

AND, as a bonus, I left knowing full-well that my obsession is completely healthy. :)While waiting for the movie to start, I got to take part in the best people-watching event EVER. Between the matching (some homemade, with puff paint) shirts to the Team Edward and Team Jacob headbands, I saw it all.

Wow.

Most likely the cutest

little indian EVER.

I'm just sayin'. ;)

See this guy?

I'm kinda crazy about him.

Maybe you knew that already.

Today this guy headed east to start a new job , and is paving the way to prepare for us to join him soon. And although I hate being away from him for even a day (yeah, we're kinda sickening like that) :) I know it was what had to happen for now. And although I hate the idea of leaving our family and friends behind, there's a part of me that is really excited about our family's new adventure.

It doesn't make it any easier to leave, and it also doesn't make it any easier for our family to be separated right now.

So today I'm trusting that the God who has called us to it will see us through it.

And I feel quite certain that He will.

Because He's pretty amazing like that.

And I'm trusting that He will give me the wisdom, patience, and strength to handle these three by myself. They're pretty cute and lots of fun, so I think I'll be okay. :)
And I'm counting the days (10) until I get to do this again.

That can't come quite fast enough.

Trusting that before I know it, the five of us will all be happily under one roof again.

(Photos courtesy of Gypsy Heart Photography)

The Rockstar has a New Hairdo

I finally did it (or allowed it, I suppose).

The Hunter Man got a haircut.

Here is the "before" shot

(playing his "guitar") ;)

I really loved his hair long. Those of you who know me well

know that this is a big deal for this mama.

What I didn't love was that it was constantly in his face,

no matter what I did to try to keep it OUT of his face.

Here is the side view of his new look.

And the front view, sporting a little faux hawk.
He LOVES his new hair, every once in awhile reaching up to touch it. :)

And now he is sporting a brand new, REAL guitar (thanks to his very thoughtful Papa).

Keep on rockin', Hunter. :)