Birthday Boys!!

Another year has come & gone...which means big birthdays were celebrated! Corban turned the big "whole hand" on September 17th & asked for a "pajama party" for him & his friends :-) We ended up with four 5 year olds, one 4 year old & one 3 year old spending the night! They all had a blast together & behaved quite well!! The night included McDonald's chicken nuggets, a Cars 2 cookie cake(yumm!!), piñata fun & late night movies & snacks...with no potty accidents at night! Woohoo!!













Now, onto Cruz's 2nd birthday!! Cruz wanted a "Ni-ning Mayno" birthday, which translates to "Lightning & Mater" :-) Easy for mommy!! I just left the decorations up from Corban's party...sshhhh, don't tell! ;-) Our wonderful friend, Tabitha Steward, made Cruz's awesome cake!! Cruz liked his cake SO much that he didn't even bother using a fork!























I am so blessed God chose me to be their mommy!! I love my boys "to infinity & beyond!!" :-)

1st days of school

This day definitely snuck up on me. Corban started his first day of Pre-K at Bethel on Wednesday, August 10th! He's such a big boy & mommy & daddy are so proud of him :-) He loves it!! He looks forward to going everyday & playing with his new friends!







Outside of Mrs. Wade's classroom :-)




Corban wasn't the only one who started school...Cruz started his "school" the following week:-) He goes to Mother's Day Out twice a week to "socialize & play." Every time we turn into the parking lot, I hear "pay pay" (play play) from the backseat! He loves being a big boy like bubba & going to school :-)




Baby boy makes his own fun in the car while we wait on bubba to get out of school:-)







LOVE these boys of mine!!! :-)

Sally & Jessie

The newest members of our
family are Sally & Jessie, and they happen to be cows!






These baby beauties were born in November, and Corban-ized in July :-) They truly are the sweetest little heifers! They're almost like a dog...and here's why:
#1-they already give kisses:-)
#2-they will eat out of our hand.
#3-they are a low line breed(dwarf per se), and therefore eat & drink significantly less than "normal" cattle...which is fantastic in this drought!
Hmmm...how did we decide on their names? When you have a 4 year old who loves Cars(Sally) & Toy Story(Jessie), it's really a no-brainer ;-)
Growing up, I NEVER pictured myself doing "farm" things w/my children, until I married Caleb, then it was very evident :-) I did somewhat grow up on a farm...I would always help my dad count his calves...it was always fun to see if we came up w/the same number:-) I also went to pennings(mini rodeo)w/my dad when I was little & he would always let me warm up his horse! I remember being his side kick when he would "doctor" his calves...he was the doctor & I was the nurse!
Caleb, on the other hand, was 4-H King of Cattle, and pretty much knows everything about them...at least in my eyes!! When he was 8, his grandpa Winsett gave him his first heifer for his start in 4-H. Twenty years later, the tradition continues w/Corban. Grandpa Butler bought him his first 2 heifers for his start in 4-H.
Corban looks forward to every evening, so he can go feed his cows! I'm so excited about his future & Cruz's future in 4-H!

Fantastically FUN 4th of July!!

Best 4th of July yet!!  We started out at Grand Lake with extended family and blue-green algae...:o) At least Uncle Jordan had some great co-captains by his side!


Corban likes absolutely loves "driving" the boat!  Cruz seemed to enjoy the ride, too!





After our boat ride, we loaded up and went on a mini vacation to Branson(since we were already halfway there!!) The hotel we stayed at had a waterpark!!  Corban was in Heaven!! :o)  And so was mommy...because Branson had a Coach outlet!!


Before we spent the next 41 hours in the waterpark, mommy and her helper boys went outlet shopping while daddy played golf(apparently, he wasn't on top of his golf game that day he didn't play as well as Greg Norman or Payne Stewart...!) Beautiful golf course, though!!


And here comes the FUN!!!


Daddy definitely couldn't let Corban have ALL the fun...;o)


Cruz had a blast...for about an hour!



Naptime!!  Then, it was time for a chocolate malt! :o)



Such a fun trip with my 3 favorite boys!!!

BIG boy bed!!

It's official!!  Well, it's actually been official since the beginning of May when I made an Ikea trip, but Cruz is in a BIG boy bed!!  Corban(aka Bubba)got a new HUGE bed, so of course, Cruz got the hand-me-down of Bubba's bed ;o)


"Daddy, is this really happening? I can play with my toys all night long?!"



"NO DADDY!  Don't leave me!  I'm not sure I'm ready for this!!"



He was a pro the first couple of nights.  He stayed in his bed and NEVER got out!!  Then, he got a little more lackadaisical when it came to his bed, and started "exploring" his room :o)  He's only pulled ALL of his clothes out of his dresser a mere 20 times!  Haha!  And he'll tell me "Uh-Oh. No touch."  He must be mocking me! ;o)  Cruz, oh the places you'll go!!

Cruz's 1st HAIRCUT!!

I can't believe how fast time flies with the second kid!!  Cruz is getting to be such a big boy...he has a "new do" to prove it!! :o)  Cruz got his first "trim" on March 25th, 2011(18 months old), Corban was 27 months old before he got his first trim!!  We have a tradition in our family that we must uphold when it comes to haircuts!!  Caleb's parents(Nana & Papa) have an antique barber shop chair that is upholstered in soft, red velvet. Well, who's the "barber" you ask?!  It's DADDY!!!  He's pretty much a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy ;o)  Cruz did such a good job!!!  Here's his "before" crazy normal hair!!




"Okay Daddy!!  I'm ready for this!!"




"Wait!!!  I'm having second thoughts!!"




"Daddy, you're just jealous your hair can't do this!"




"Maybe if I hold my breath and count to 10, Daddy will be done!"




"Wait!  Is that a cheerio on the floor?"




"Does this new haircut make my cheeks look chubby?"

The Golden Year

*Sigh* It has finally happened. The day that seemed so far away 20 years ago, snuck up on me. Last week, on March 28th, I celebrated my GOLDEN birthday!! Whew! Only 2 more years until I hit the BIG 3-0. Not gonna lie, not looking forward to that birthday...:o/ However, my remarkable husband made my golden birthday very worthwhile! He took off work the Thursday before my birthday, while both boys' were at Mother's Day Out, and we had an entire date day...just the two of us <3 The day started out with us looking at/trekking through land for a future farmstead :o) Then, we hit Bass Pro Shop to kill time before we ate lunch at the wonderful and absolutely yummy to my tummy, The Wedge Pizzeria. After our delightful lunch, we topped off our tummies at Sara Sara Cupcakes!!!!!!! That definitely did NOT disappoint! These were ALL eaten within an 8 hour time frame ;o) I thoroughly enjoyed my peach cobbler cupcake in store! I highly recommend Sara Sara to everyone!! Even their bacon, egg & cheese cupcake was delicious :o)

Spiritual Reign

What a perfect and rainy day for this blog! His spiritual reign is pouring down on us, as he wants to fill our cup! Yesterday, was my first day back to my weekly Wednesday bible study after a 5 week lapse, due to blizzards and sickness. Oh my goodness!! My spiritual glass is back to FULL and it feels GREAT!!!!


We're doing a bible study by Angela Thomas called "Living Your Life As A Beautiful Offering." Oooohhhh...it's fantastic!! Yesterday, we talked about "when you feel empty, God is calling you to be hungry and thirsty for His rightousness." So true!

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for rightousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

Yesterday, I also picked up my copy of "The Christian Atheist" by Craig Groeschel and read a chapter in it. The chapter I read was a perfect parallel to our bible study :o) "He promised her that if she had this living water, she'd never thirst again." This was in reference to a Samaritan woman that Jesus met at a water well. She had been through five husbands and was living with the sixth man. But Jesus treated this lady the the utmost respect, regardless of what she had been through. Jesus filled her cup to the brim with His spiritual reign. She was a changed woman because she had FAITH and accepted Him into her life. Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people "Come , see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be Christ?" They came out of town and made their way toward him. John 4: 28-30

So, regardless of what we've been through this week, month, year, or our life, it's never too late to open your Bible and let His spiritual reign fill your cup with His GLORY, HOLINESS, and RIGHTOUSNESS. The best part?!! Jesus doesn't judge you by your past; He wants to live eternity with you :o) How awesome is that?!!

...snow days...

...snow days...

Disclaimer: lots of pictures!!

Yes...we have had a lot lately!! SEVEN snow days in the past TWO WEEKS! In my opinion, it was WONDERFUL! I love seeing everything covered in snow; I especially love how the snow sparkles in the sunlight :o) But most of all, I LOVE to watch ALL of my boys' play in the snow!

And...there were those days it was absolutely too freeeeeeeezing to play outside!! So, we made our fun inside!! ALL the toys were out!!

Then, we ate some delicious snow ice cream that Chef Corban helped prepare :o)

Abbee obviously thought the ice cream was yummy!! She devoured the rest! Lucky dog :o)

I had to temporarily postpone my calorie counting...for the week!! I blame Chef Corban ...he made scrumptious sugar cookies :o)

I decided to step out on the front porch to snap a couple pics of Corban, and needless to say, Cruz wanted me inside :o)

Love these boys'!!!