Proud Parents

Jason and I are the proud parents of three kiddos who received some incredible end-of-year awards...

Cameron receieved THREE awards at his middle school this year:

"Honor Roll"

"President's Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence"

"Honor's Reading Citizenship Award"

Colton received a medal for a great year in Karate! We also celebrated his PreK graduation with family and friends.

Courtnie received these end-of-year awards:

"A Honor Roll"

"Perfect Attendance"

"Computer Award"

"Reading Achievement"

"Math Achievement"

"AR Star ALL Year"

"AR Star Student"

How proud are we????

School Garden

Cameron has the best Science teacher this year. He has this massive garden outside his class window that the kids plant and tend to. They have planted trees, bushes and ground crops and have tended to them as seeds until picking time. The kids really seem to have enjoyed the fruits of their labor and it has definitely peaked Cameron's interest in Science this year.

Here is a look of the garden area itself....

A look at the garden....
Potatoes....

Red potatoes not quite ready to have been pulled....

Some sort of peas or beans....

Lettuce.....

Cabbage....

Tomatoes....

I'm guessing squash buy the looks of the flowers....

Here are the blueberry bushes:

Blueberries....

And the blackberry bushes....

Blackberries.....

Peach trees.....

Apple trees....

There were also quite a bit more fruit trees planted, they just didn't have the fruit growing yet. We will definitely be back out there for Cameron to show us the progress! Great job Mr. Reyna! Thank you for all you do for these kiddos!

A Helmet for My Child

It's dinner time, Daddy is working late and Mommy has been packing and cleaning all day long. No one really wants to go outside in the heat and fire up the grill. So I tell the kids to quickly grab their shoes and get in the car, that we were eating out. We arrive a bit before Jason does and when we get out of the car, I see Colton sporting this:

I mean, really? How hilarious is this?!?! I ask him to take it off, he quickly refuses, I give up. Easy as that. I mean, it IS funny! And I didn't specify "no helmets". So before Jason gets there and before the kids tease him enough to take it off I snap this picture (his pose btw). Courtnie is just oblivious to his antics while Cameron and I find the humor in them (most times). Jason can sometimes find the humor but if it involves being in public, he's out. So Daddy arrives and tries to coax the helmet off. With little success in convincing Colton how goofy he looks, he smoothly walks over and takes it off. Luckily, Colton is preoccupied and isn't interested in this battle although I must say, I am curious to know if Colton or Daddy would have won.

Dear sweet Colton of mine... I LOVE YOU! Everyday is an adventure and you give me a reason every day to smile. Not just because I adore you and enjoy my time with you, but because you do and say the funniest things ever. Your spirit and desire to live life to it's fullest is just incredible. I absolutely love this about you! Don't ever let anyone hold you down from 'being you'.

Wordless Wednesday

Courtnie and her Daddy driving down the road singing "God makes beautiful things, He makes beautiful things out of us...." I had to snap the picture to capture the moment.

Intentional Marriage

Since we started visiting and joined Lake Pointe Church, Jason and I have walked away from every sermon learning something and hearing the scripture come alive. We always walk away with a new message and a way to improve our lives but sometimes the message jumps out at me and feels like it was written just for me. When this happens, I feel the need to blog it so I can remember it, come back to it, and make those changes in my life.

Intentional Marriage - Piers of Marriage
If the home is the foundation of faith, then marriage is the foundation of the home. There are five piers to hold the bond of marriage together and make the home stronger for the family. Those piers are Love, Acceptance, Communication, Forgiveness and Intimacy.

Genesis 2:22-25

LOVE - Love is not a feeling, it is a choice. It is a choice to meet the needs of others. If you don't feel like working, can you just not go in to work? No. The same is true for marriage. You love, even when you don't feel like loving. Our choices create our feelings. We should treat others nicely even when we don't feel like it. This is obedience to God. Remember, God choose to love us even despite our sins and failures. It is through obedience that we choose to love.

ACCEPTANCE - We need to release unrealistic expectations. Intimacy causes conflict and conflict is going to be a part of any intimate relationship. People will not do what we want them to do; we cannot change them. God is our happiness and He will meet our needs. We are all in the process and will always be in the process.

COMMUNICATION - Make your your needs or requests known. They need to be clear, calm, current and constructive. Speak the truth in love! Speak to those who are not clear, speak your needs, and speak to resolve conflict. We all have to express our needs. No one can read our minds and we shouldn't expect others to read our minds. We must also resolve conflict! We need to resolve conflict in a reasonable time - select an appropriate time to discuss matters. Do not hold your hurt in. A good home strategy: "We do not take complaints, only requests!"

FORGIVENESS - Forgiveness is a choice. We can choose to forgive but it is humanly impossible to forget. Putting up walls may avoid others from hurting us but it may also keep others from loving us. Do not keep a record of wrongs. Choose not to retaliate.

INTIMACY -
* Spiritual Intimacy - worship, study and pray together.
* Emotional Intimacy - true intimacy of the heart; share things together, do things together (friends, hobbies), spend time together, even quiet time.
* Physical Intimacy - this needs to be a regular part of every healthy marriage with the only exception being if one is physically unable.

Happy Mother's Day

How lucky am I to have slept in and been woken up to four smiling faces eager to feed me? And they were bearing gifts! I was served french toast (defintiely Jason's specialty because I cannot make this), eggs (the kids' specialty), turkey bacon and chocolate milk. Yum!

Courtnie made me the placemat and bookmark at school and Jason and Cameron put some thought into the "card" they made as well. I do have a special gift coming soon which I am very excited about. We are going to pick out a new tree to plant in the new backyard!

I do want to share Courtnie's bookmark with you. She really put thought into this and knowing I love to read, she couldn't have made a more perfect gift:

B - Brilliant

R - Really Cute

A - Awesome

N - Nice

D - Delightful

I - Intelligent

E - Everlasting Love

Seriously, I don't need a special day for these four to remind me they love me. Although it is nice, I do appreciate the thought and time they have put into making this day so special. I love you all more than words can say. Thank you for making this Mother's Day so special.

First Pedicure

Courtnie and I had our first pedicure of the season. Actually, this was Courtnie's first pedicure ever. We were glad to have Nanie and Aunt B joining us as well. Courtnie wasn't too sure about someone massaging her legs and feet but she stuck it out! We all walked away with the same toes - pink with zebra and silver glitter stripes. They are definitely cute!

Mother's Day Tea

The PreK class at Colton's school prepared a wonderful Mother's Day Tea this year. They sang songs to us, read a story that is likely to make you cry and showered us with their love. They walked on the stage to sing us a few songs and Colton just was not having it. My heart was literally breaking watching him so scared up there. He just stared at me and with each passing moment tears just sat in my eyelids waiting to spill over. I was trying to convince him, without going TO him on stage to come see but he just sat there frozen. It was really, really sad. After the first song, he literally FLEW off the stage (missing every single step down) and leaped into my lap. As he clung to me his tears just ran down my arm which in turn made me tears overflow with him. He clearly does not like to be in the spotlight (wonder where he gets this from... me!).

Here he is on stage terrified....

Clinging for life to me, digging his nails into my arm determined to never let go...

Starting to come around some......
He'll smile now, but he isn't about to leave my chair!
There's my sweet boy! The class sang "You Are My Sunshine" and then walked the flowers to their Mommies.

Now they sang "If You're Happy and You Know It" with the versus changed to 'hold my hands' and 'dance with me'.... Happy Mother's Day Nanie!
Happy Mother's Day Aunt B!
Happy Mother's Day Grannie!
And Colton and Keira, both are determined to marry each other. They even talk about it with each other! Their Momma's have nothing to do with this conversation other than remembering it and trying to document their plans to remember their love for each other.
These are Colton's special gifts he made me at school - a placemat and a magnet.

Wordless Wednesday

You know you have kids in your house when your decorations are "decorated" with toys. Courtnie made a "The early bird gets the worm" sign and Colton must have lost a lego at some point. Not quite sure when the lego made it into the decoration, maybe around the same time the wick of the candle was cut off. Hmm...

Do Not Be Afraid

Life has come at me in full force lately. My plate is literally overflowing. My mind is constantly working; it never seems to stop. My heart is broken. Tears flow nonstop. I am very lost.

I took Cameron to youth tonight and on my way home I just cried. I literally cried out to God asking "why?" and wondering how to get through this valley in life. My friends have heard my frustrations, my Mom and sister have seen my tears and my poor husband has held me close through this season in life. I love you all =) This hasn't been a small valley. But you've each stayed close by and continued to pray with me and for me. You've provided words of encouragement, a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen. Thank you.

I crawled in bed tonight to read Chapter 2 of The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace. This is what I read:

"Because God is gracious and compassionate, He cares about your struggles and the hurts that you feel. As is His gracious ways, God will walk with you through whatever circumstance you encounter. He will listen to you when you cry out to Him. He will shower you with His care. Because God is holy, His care over you will always be good and righteous. You can completely trust Him..... Because God's strength and understanding are unlimited, He knows what you want, feel, desire and need. He considers all the possible ramifications. There is no limit in His understanding. This enables Him to determine what is best for you and how you may glorify Him the most. There is no limit in His strength to care for you. He can heal you heart even if it is broken...... God promises to use all of your life experiences, including any evil that has been done to you, for your good. One example of good that comes from adversity is changes in your character as you become more like the Lord Jesus Christ. Another example of good that comes from adversity is that God is tremendously honored (glorified) if you respond biblically. God promises to use all things for your good if you love God. You love God by being an obedient Christian (John 14:15)."

I am sitting here crying happy tears. I'm at peace. I've put my book aside for the night to soak this all in. I need His arms wrapped around me and holding me tight. I can sleep tonight knowing He is with me and working these situations for my good. I have to trust Him. I am casting my fears and relying on Him. I will be forever grateful for His unending love. How awesome is it when you feel so down that you wonder how to move forward and there He is providing words to provide an overwhelming sense of peace and love. Thank you God. Thank you.