Fun at the Pool!!!

Carsen and Presley both used this water float!!! I love t0 see my third little baby in the same float!!

We have kicked the summer off with fun at the pool with our friends. We finally put Camden in the pool and even though he cried a little at first he was loving it my the end. I have no doubt that he is going to be a little "fish" like our other two!! My kids just love the water so much that once we get to the pool it is really hard to get them out!!! They are already starting to get little tans and they pretty much live in their swim suits!! I told Tom you know that is has been a fun day when you eat dinner in your swim suit and return back to the pool when you are done!!! I love making sweet summer memories with my children!!

Memorial Day Fun!!!

Our church does the cutest Memorial Day Parade and of course the kids want to be part of the action!! My mom joined us this year as we watched all of the floats and kids in the parade and of course caught lots of candy!! This is such a fun thing to do in the morning and a great way to kick off the day remembering all of those that fight for our freedom and have lost their lives in order for us to be free. This parade also brings up a lot of conversation with our kids about their Papa who is now in heaven but while he was here on earth there was nothing he was more proud of than serving his country. This is where Camden received his middle name Leo!! My kids miss him so much and this is a wonderful day to remember him. He wouldn't want it any other way!!! We love and miss you so much Papa Leo!!!

Camden and his new toy!!

Big brother and sissy are never far away!!!

We got down the exersaucer today and let Camden get in it. He is five months old so I figured that he would like it. I was right. He loves looking at all of the fish and trying to get everything into his mouth. I will admit that I forget to get some of this stuff out of him to play with because in my mind he is not big enough but as you can see he proves me wrong. Not only does he love to play in this but he can turn the seat by himself to get to whatever toy he wants. I guess in my mind if I don't offer the toys to him he won't grow big enough to use them!!

Carsen's End of School Party!!

WOW!!! I can't believe that first grade is already over!! My how time flies!! Carsen has had such a great year this year. His first Grade teacher Mrs. Walker was such a wonderful teacher. She and Carsen fit so well together. She runs a tight ship in her classroom and Carsen loves that!!! The thing I loved the most about first grade was watching Carsen totally transformed into a "Big Kid". By the end of the year he was writing full paragraphs, reading chapter books, and doing word problems in math. You really get a chance to see your children develop in the first grade. It is like nothing I have seen before. The mommy in me looks at him and still sees a baby and I think that is God's little gift just for mommies because I know that he is no longer a baby. He is growing into a little gentleman. At his party the teacher gave out awards to the children for what she remembers about them throughout the year. Carsen got the Creative Genius award for all of the little projects he put together at Creative Station center!! As you can see by his plaque in the picture above he is "creative". The party was lots of fun the kids got aprons to paint with and made ice cream sundaes to eat. Overall, first grade was a hugh success!! Carsen, Mommy and Daddy are so proud of the little boy that you have grown into. You keep a smile on our faces daily. I know that God has such great plans for you and Daddy and I are so grateful to be your parents. We love you!!!

Camden's Baby Dedication

On May 17, 2009 we dedicated Camden at our Church. This is such a special time for the whole family. It is our promise as parents to raise Camden in a Godly home and to teach him God's word so that one day he will know Jesus Christ as his personal savior!! For me personally this time is so special because it is a reminder of how important it is for Tom and I to be Godly parents and the responsibility that comes with that. I praise God everyday for the blessings of all my children. I know that God has a special plan for each one of them and I cannot even put into to words how special I feel to get to be a part of that plan. After each one of my children's dedications we always come back to our house to celebrate with cake!!! The verse I chose for Camden's cake is Isiah 43:1 He has called you by name; you are his. What I great reminder that we all belong to our Heavenly Father.

Baseball Party!!

Coach Bowdie giving Carsen his letter and trophy!!

What a great Baseball year we had this year!! Carsen grew leaps and bounds and is really enjoying the game of baseball!! His coach this year is a friend of ours from church Mr. Bowdie. The end of the year party was at his house and the boys fished, played baseball, and just had fun being boys!! One of the neatest things to me was that Mr. Bowdie wrote each one the boys a letter from him to tell them how proud he was of them and to remind them how much they have grown this year. Of course, the letter also had bible verses for the kids as a reminder to them of how proud God is of them as well. I am not sure if Bowdie knew just how special this was. It is such a comfort to know that there are men out there that are coaching our boys who will not take God out of their daily living!! That is setting such a Godly example that most coaches wouldn't think of doing in order not to offend someone. I know that this will not be the norm every year at baseball but Tom and I were so glad that Carsen was on this team and had such a great experience with baseball this year.

Camden is rolling over and trying Biter Biscuits

Camden is five months old now and is finally starting to roll over from his belly to his back!! He is a little behind schedule I think but that is mostly because I never put him down!!! I am willing to take full responsibility for that!!! How cute is this kid!!! I mean could he look anymore like his Daddy!!! We gave him one of those biter biscuits because he is trying to get a tooth and is chewing on everything. He liked it but of course the mess makes Daddy crazy!! I have tried to give him cereal but he is not taking to it so I will try that again later!! No need to rush this little one growing up!!!

What a Silly Boy!!

Well as you can see Carsen no longer has to sleep with his little pillow over his eyes!! His Aunt Donna found him a sleep mask that is black and as you can imagine he LOVES it!! I have no idea why he wants to sleep with on of these I think he saw it on t.v. but he wouldn't be Carsen if he didn't!! Every morning when he makes his bed he puts his little mask under his pillow so he knows where to find it!! What can I say this little one keeps us laughing daily!!

Presley Graduates from Preschool!!

Could these two look anymore alike!!! My sweet babies!!

Mrs. Lacy and Presley

Mrs. Beth and Presley and her school party!!

Mr. Duke and Presley at her school Party!!

WHAT IN THE WORLD!!! Is the only thing that comes to mind when I am looking at these pictures!! How can my sweet little girl be graduating from preschool. As I look back over this year I cannot say enough sweet things about the school and the teachers that loved on Presley and how blessed I am as a mother to experience this kind of love!!! Presley had the best year and even though my mind knows that it is time for her to move on and go to Kindergarten my heart is having a little trouble following it!! I would think that once you have a child in BIG school it wouldn't seem so hard for the rest to follow but I am here to say that it is!! Don't get me wrong I love to watch my children grow and see what God has in store for them but I just can't believe that it all goes by so quickly!! It seems like I just brought her home from the hospital yesterday. Presley, Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you and love you so much. We know that you are going to have a great year at Kindergarten and that God has special plans for you. We are so thankful that God picked us to be your parents!! You bless our lives daily with your big brown eyes and sweet little smile. You will always be our LITTLE girl!!

Carsen's Field Day!!

Field Day at school is such a BIG event!! It is one of the best times for me as a parent. I love to see all of the kids get so excited about all of the events. This year Carsen was in the potato sack race and the long dash. For those of you that know Carsen well know that his height and weight keep him from being the most coordinated thing around so I was a little nervous about the potato sack race. He did great!! He came in second place and was so happy to get the ribbon. As you can see from the picture above he made sure that I brought is cleats and baseball gloves for tug a war and he promised me that the gym teacher told them that they were allowed to do that. If I have learned one thing over the years it is that Carsen usually knows what he is talking about when it comes to school rules!! I know that doesn't surprise anyone either!!! He came in third in the long dash and his class did not place in the tug a war but overall it was a great day. I am always so thankful that I am able to take place in these school events with my kids. It is a blessing that I thank God for on a daily basis!!

Mothers Day!!

My favorite thing about Mothers Day is the homemade gifts that you get from your kids!! Presley made me the picture of the rainbow with the flowers and it is hanging on the refrigerator with a magnet that Carsen bought me at school that has a big green lizard on it!! The other two cards are from Carsen he made them at school in the one on the bottom that is me with a big spider on me yelling for help and Carsen is saying "I am on the way to help you"!! My knight and shining armor!! Carsen also brought home one of those lists that the kids answer questions about their Mommies. One of Carsen's questions was What makes your Mommy laugh? His answer: When I dance naked in front of my bedroom window!!! Truth is I did catch him dancing naked in front of his window after a shower one night and told him that he needed to stop before someone saw him!! What his teacher must think goes on in this house or our neighbors for that matter!! One thing is for sure I wouldn't change my life as a mother for anything in the world!!

Joey visits from the ARMY

Our nephew Joey came to visit us from the Army over Mother's Day weekend. Carsen loved his uniform (especially his hat!!!) notice the ring pop on his hand. We are so proud of Joey and his decision to join the army. It was so sweet to have him at our house while he was on his leave. We loved hearing stories about his daily routine and the kids loved having their cousin here to play games with them.

Market Day at Carsen's School

Presley showing off all of the cute things Carsen got for her at Market Day!!! Of course, that headband is right up her alley!!!

Carsen's school had a Market Day for all of the first grade classes. The kids had to make 20 items at home to sell at Market Day and they earned paper money at school for good behavior to shop with!!! Carsen was so excited about doing this!! Of course, I had a ton of cute ideas of things to make all of which got vetoed by Daddy and Carsen because they included "pom pom balls or rick rack" and were too girly. So we ended up making note holders out of foam and clothes pins and shooting stars out of Popsicle sticks and glitter. Carsen got to make his own sign to sell his items. He is a sales man just like his daddy because when time was running out he started cutting his prices to move his items!!! Needless to say they all sold and he was very happy!! When it was time for him to shop he ended up buying more things for other people than himself. He bought Presley a headband, bracelet, a heart, and a book mark. He is such a sweet boy with a big heart always thinking of others before himself!! We are so proud of you Carsen!!!