January 3rd, 2013

January 3rd holds a very special place in my heart. This is the day that my dear husband was born...at 29 weeks old. He weighed 2lbs, 11oz & doctors told his parents that "if" he lived, he would be a vegetable his entire life. His mom went in for a regular checkup that day & doctors told her that they needed to take the baby because her kidneys were shutting down. She's had kidney problems ever since she was a little girl. Wow! What a miracle Caleb is today!! Thirty years later...he has been very involved in 4-H his entire life, became State 4-H President, received a college degree, married his lovely wife(lol!!), maintained a job that he loves & has 2(almost 3)ornery sons of his own:-)

Okay, now fast forward to today, January 3rd, 2013. Not only is it my husband's dirty 30 birthday, BUT his mother received her kidney transplant today(in surgery as I type)!!!!!!! Prayers have been answered!! Caleb's mom started dialysis 3 times per week right after Caleb & I married 8 years ago. She has ALWAYS kept a positive spirit & attitude about everything she's gone through, including her breast cancer days. God definitely made her an inspiration to SO MANY people:-) We love you, Nana!!! Here's a picture of her on her way to the OR!

Rescue Mission

Every Friday, on Caleb's lunch break, he'll go to Shawnee Rescue Mission & help in whatever way he can. Sometimes, he'll help serve lunch, unload boxes, clean, organize...whatever they need done for the day. On the second & fourth Friday of every month, the mission hands out bags/boxes of food in the evening to those in need :-) One Friday he decided to take a little 5 year old helper with him, by the name of Corban :-) What a perfect night for Corban to help because he got to organize ALL the chocolate syrup! Mmmmm!




Corban even helped carry bags of food to people's cars:-)



I just love his sweet, giving heart :-) He makes his mommy & daddy proud!

Battle of the door=Cruz's 1st ER trip

I hope this was the one & ONLY ER trip for little man, but being an ornery & rambunctious boy, we'll probably see more! The battle of the sliding door got ahold of his pinky & the door won.




Cruz's little pinky got caught in between the sliding door & the stationary window & he lost his nail because of it. What a trooper though!! The ONLY time he cried during the ENTIRE ordeal was when he had to stop watching cartoons on Daddy's phone so the doctor could look at his pinky.
The ER doctor said that he had been his best patient all day! I think he's a bit proud of his injury;-) He gets to wear a really cool blue wrap on it & he tells everyone he sees, "I hurt my finger in da door" with giant puppy dog eyes:-)

Cruz proudly showing off his blue-wrapped pinky;-)

Holidays 2011

We had such a wonderful holiday season! I'm so blessed to have my family :-) For the second year in a row, Santa woke up both boys on Christmas Eve night! Corban just stared in awe and Cruz cried...because he was either tired(my guess) or he was frightened by the holly jolly man!






Then, five days later, we loaded up & headed cross-country to Phoenix, Arizona for the OSU bowl game...like any loyal fan would;-) *Warning...brag moment!! Both boys did SO well on our road trip!! We left Friday morning & headed to Albuquerque to stay the night, making a pit stop in Hereford, TX to see Caleb's old work & friends:-) After our stay in Albuquerque, we rose & shone & made way to the biggest hole in the Earth, better known as The Grand Canyon. Being the over protective mom that I am, I was secretly worrying about taking the boys there & the edge of the canyon...you catch my drift!! But we made it in & OUT & the boys loved it!!















We then made our way to stay with Caleb's Uncle Chris & Aunt Patty in Prescott, AZ. Fun!! Fun!! They have the most beautiful & modern house I've ever seen!! And, it was high up in the mountains:-) Breathtakingly gorgeous!! We spent New Year's Eve with Aunt Patty(poor Uncle Chris was sick that night) & had 3 celebrations(eastern time, central time & mountain time)!! Complete with "party favors." Poor Cruz wasn't impressed!


The next morning, we hiked 1 mile up Thumb Butte(that's some butte!! For you, Aunt Patty!)and 1 mile down! I definitely didn't need to use my thigh master that day;-)

Just starting out...



Lucky kid! Caleb wouldn't carry me on his shoulders:-(



Ahhhh! Finally made it to the top!




This kid would NOT let go of "his" rock!




The thinkers of the family;-)




After all the fun in Prescott, we headed to Phoenix Monday morning for game day. We made it to the hotel just in time for the Cowboy pep rally...and...TO SWIM!!! Swimming outside in January :-)




Corban loving the waterfall!







Cruz...not so much!! "Daddy! That's close enough!"
















Thank goodness for the swimming pool because it wore them BOTH out! :-) After baths & In-N-Out burgers(delish!), we picked Daddy up from the game & headed home! The boys slept from Phoenix until Amarillo...10 hours!! Awesome:-) Good thing I downloaded a ton of "peppy" songs on my phone, because mommy drove until sunrise...only having to slam on the brakes once for a herd of elk...yes, elk...in the road! It was a fast, but very fun trip :-)

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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!