bittersweet

Today is full of emotions for me. We have a contract on our house and close in less then TWO weeks! That brings so much excitement and happy anticipation for the future. But also as I pack up our things, I pack up memories of bringing home two babies from the hospital.

~Countless nights of being pregnant and so so sick which would result in a trip to the OB unit.
~Anniversaries celebrated.
~Birthday parties had.
~Learning patience as our growing family cramped into less and less space. This was SOOOO hard for me!
~Making meals and sweets for family and friends.
~Hearing the laughter of sweet babes echo throughout our home
~Rocking my babies late into the night.
~Being rocked to my core in my professional life as well as my personal life and spending many nights on my knees in my bedroom, before my heavenly father and drawing closer to Him in a way I've never experienced as a christian of 20 years
just to name a few...

I know these memories will be made in our new home. And I'm sooooo excited for almost three times the amount of space! And to paint and decorate! But wasn't prepared for the flood of emotions to come with the move!

When we move into our new home and get settled I'll post pictures as soon as possible!

one

one month

 six months

 one year

 birthday hugs from sis

 crawling race!

Happy Birthday sweet boy! My heart is crying that you're one today, but, 

I'm also so excited to see how much you developed since you were born. At one year you:

are sleeping through the night most of the time 

(although this didn't start until about a month ago)

taking 1-2 steps

crawling SUPER fast

have EIGHT teeth

weigh 30 pounds

have an extremely infectious smile and contagious laugh!

LOVE bath time!

get smothered to death from your sister with love

are still a snuggler (which I LOVE!)

love to play outside

love to eat!

say: mama, dada, papa, nah nah (no-no), 

moe-moe (more), hi, bye-bye, juju, and thank you

the above you speak but only when you want to :-)

You have developed such a fun loving personality and we don't remember 

what it was like before you were born. 

How blessed we are by God choosing you for us Jaxon! 

things in strange places

What do you find when lifting the diaper genie to throw a dirty diaper away?

oranges of course!

gross.

And it's very important for a little boy to make sure there is a race car in

 the strainers for mama the next time she makes spaghetti

and bath time sweetness of my babes. love them SO much!

third birthday party

I know this is really late but better late then never right?!

Birthday Theme: Hello Kitty

Juju's Favorite Colors: Pink, Purple and Green

Favorite Song: Jesus Loves Me and singing at the top of her lungs!

Favorite Activities: swimming, playing outside, mothering her babies, loving up her brother, playing with cousins and shopping with mom.

 Trying to get a "normal" picture from this kid...I wasn't too successful.

Some of the little girlies eating their "cupcapes" together

Squeezes for my boy!

first day...

...of preschool for this girl started the end of August.

To say she LOVES it would be an understatement.

She walked in on the first day and dropped her bag at her teachers feet and headed right for the toys. We immediately had an etiquette discussion as to how we are to behave and hang up our own bag!

To get this girl to stand still for a picture was like nailing jello to the wall!

She's a sweet (and sometimes sassy) bundle of energy!

Super excited about her new "for preschool only" hello kitty backpack and asked me to take a picture of her wearing it.

Pretty sure this girl will be one that loves staying busy with school activities from the looks of it!

little home

has gotten an update!

new roof, paint and shutters all within about 3 months this summer.



LOVE IT!

Too bad we didn't have it painted over four years ago when we first moved in and could enjoy it all this time. Ryan Dirks painted it and it looks AWESOME!!! He did such a great job!

For those of you that don't know, we listed our house on the market back in July and it's still on the market. The housing market is horrible right now and we're busting at the seams with four people in a two bedroom home! We are continually learning to trust God through this and it will sell if that's what He wants for us!

three

THREE

Don't talk to strangers,

You must comprehend;

I give you a warning,

Not all grown-ups are friends.

I teach you about manners,

And when to be polite,

But I also enlighten you

When saying "no" is alright.

You discover responsibility,

You master a first chore;

You learn to put your toys away

That are left on the floor.

When a bad mood

comes into play,

Mr. Grouch is invented

so you can throw it away.

Once in a while

You are out of control,

Three minutes of solitude

Takes on a role.

Your personality blossoms

More and more each day;

I like who you are

And all that you say.

from: I Liked You at Ten, I'll Like You Again

~Taylor Copeland

one, two

Your heart is so big and overflowing for your brother Julia,

You get so excited you can't contain yourself but you don't know what to do with all that excitement!

~You are an awesome big sis to Jax and such a good job helping mom and dad care for him.

~Your personality has blossomed the past year and your love for Jesus has grown deeper.

~You sing "Happy bird-day dear Dod-Desus (God-Jesus)" almost on a weekly basis and burst into songs about Jesus and his love for us.

~Your child-like faith is a reminder to me, my faith and relationship with God.

~You always have a baby with you calling her sweetheart, honey, darling and giving many loves and kisses on a daily basis.

~You are always so active and busy.

~You like to know how things work and are beyond estatic to start pre-school in a few weeks and go to cubbies this fall.

Praying you continue to develop a love for life and a heart after God's.

Love you lots sweet girl!