Halloween Decorations

I was thinking about getting out my Fall/Halloween Decorations soon, but I don't think there is much need. I woke up the other morning, walked on to the front porch and realized that Decorations had already been put up. Here is what I found!

He was about 4 - 5 inches long and I say "was" because thanks to my favorite shoes and a brave husband, this little guy is no longer with us. I guess this means that I still need to get out the decorations! Happy Fall!

School pix

These are way late - the kids have been in school for over a month now but I am finally getting around to posting thier first day of school pictures. They are both loving the new school and I have been impressed with it as well. All is good!

Feeling loved...

Catch up pictures!

So, about 3 weeks ago (only 2 weeks after moving into the new house) we had a total of 10 house guests come to visit for the exciting occasion of Jason's baptism. Sean's oldest brother along with his wife and 5 kids, Sean's youngest brother and Sean's parents made the journey. My parents were also here but they stayed in a hotel! It was a fun weekend and I have been meaning to post the pictures for a while now. Here they are, enjoy!

And just incase you were wondering, here is what I did the day everyone left!!

It was time.....

I woke up this morning to this.......

and promptly decided it was time to face the fact that my baby is no longer my baby.... he will be 3 in two weeks and it was time to finally cut his hair. I don't think I ever let my other boys get quite this long, but I just loved the mop on his head!

Here is a picture of the half way point. I was temped to leave it here, he could have had a great Mohawk......

And here is the final result. He suddenly looks like a little boy which is appropriate considering that is exactly what he is.

Affected

So, seeing as how music was such a huge part of my life and now the only people that ever hear me sing anymore are my children, (and occasionaly people at church)I sing to them everynight. I usually let each kid pick one song and each of them have their favorites. Jason usually sings along with me, Jackson just listens with a big old smile on his face and Tyler shouts the song along with me. (I will have to get a video of Tyler doing this - it is pretty hilarious!) It is one of those times when all the whinning and back talk of the day is forgotten and I really love being a mom to 3 crazy boys. But, my story today is about Jason. A few nights ago while I was singing, Jason stopped me and said, "Mom, when you sing I get really affected." I was a little taken aback. I mean, seriously, I wasn't sure if he even knew what affected meant! So, I inquired further, "what do you mean?". He went on to tell me that after I would sing him a song, he would have it in his head the following day and that it would affect the way he acted and the decisions he made. When I sang a song about following Jesus and being kind to everyone, he would have a hard time ignoring or not liking someone at school. I was really touched and grateful to have a son that has realized the powerful influence music can have in our lives. Here are the lyrics to his two favorite songs at the moment...

1. I’m trying to be like Jesus;
I’m following in his ways.
I’m trying to love as he did, in all that I do and say.
At times I am tempted to make a wrong choice,
But I try to listen as the still small voice whispers,

Chorus
“Love one another as Jesus loves you.
Try to show kindness in all that you do.
Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,
For these are the things Jesus taught.”

2. I’m trying to love my neighbor;
I’m learning to serve my friends.
I watch for the day of gladness when Jesus will come again.
I try to remember the lessons he taught.
Then the Holy Spirit enters into my thoughts, saying:

Chorus
“Love one another as Jesus loves you.
Try to show kindness in all that you do.
Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,
For these are the things Jesus taught.”

And....

Heavenly Father, are you really there?
And do you hear and answer every child’s prayer?
Some say that heaven is far away,
but I feel it close around me as I pray.

Heavenly Father, I remember now,
something that Jesus told disciples long ago:
“Suffer the children to come to me.”
Father, in prayer I’m coming now to thee.

Pray he is there.
Speak, he is listening.
You are his child; His love now surrounds you.
He hears your prayer; He loves the children.
Of such is the kingdom, the kingdom of heaven.

If you were going to be "affected" by the words of a song - I don't think I could have picked two better songs for my 8 year old who is trying to figure things out in the confusion of the world today.

I don't know how I ended up with such great kids but I am thankful for them everyday!

My Jason

So last week in frantic preparation for Jason's baptism I threw his suit on him and went outside for 10 minutes to desperately try to get a good picture of him. I wanted something to display and of course, like everything else in my life I had procrastinated it until the very last minute. After taking them I had to rush around trying to find someone to print them in an hour! It was stressful but I think I must work well under pressure - it all worked out and I loved the results. Here were my favorite 2 that we framed. I can't belive my baby has gotten so big. I feel like I blinked and suddenly this miniture Sean is standing before me!

The new house

So, everytime I talk to anyone it seems they ask why I haven't posted pictures of the new house. So...

I love it! I will take pictures of the inside soon - we are almost unpacked completely. Once I buy a few bookshelves and a new desk most of the boxes will be able to be unpacked. It is so nice to feel settled in a home again after all the chaos!

Hallmark failed me.....

So, I know that I haven't posted in a while, and I do promise that there will be multiple posts coming soon (maybe even later today if I can get my act together) but in the meantime....I am feeling really cynical. This probably wont be the most positive post and truthfully there is a lot that I would love to vent that I will leave out of this. The one thing I can tell you is that for the first time in my life - Hallmark has completely and utterly failed me. You see, I have this friend (who will remain nameless) who's life is basically falling apart right now. I feel helpless to do anything to ease her pain and in my helplessness I decided the least I could do was send a card of encouragement and love. Off I headed to Hallmark and to my surprise, I couldn't find the section on "So sorry your husband is a lying idiot" (There are a lot of other words that I could probably come up with but I am trying to keep this post as PG as possible) Anyways, my point is that in today's times I thought Hallmark would have this covered - I think they are missing a huge market share. Maybe I should contact them - I have had a list of possible card saying running through my head all night. But....like I said, I am keeping it PG so I will keep all my brilliant sayings to my self. But for all of you reading this - the myth has been busted - Hallmark does NOT have a card for every occasion.