Date night....

I took my boys out on a date to dinner and a play the week before Christmas. We went to the Mt Baker Theatre and saw "We danced our best for Him". It was a wonderful play based on the nativity story through dance and music. Ben and Brayden surprised me with 3 roses at the play that they bought themselves. The are so thoughtful and do such wonderful things for me! I've never had two boys fighting for who gets to open my door for me! I will keep the flowers forever so I can always remember our wonderful night together.

So I caved....

I know, I know she won the battle of the earrings! But really after two boys I was pretty excited myself :) I thought she would back out once we got there but she was SO brave. I told her she could pick out which ones she wanted but she went right for the biggest rock! I told her we had to go smaller so they are small sparkly flowers. She never even flinched when they pierced them all she said was "can I see a mirror?" No tears just thrilled to have her earrings!!
I have to say she looks adorable and so grown up!!! :)

Makenna....

So after my post about her getting kick out of Sunday school I thought I better write about how stinkin' cute she is too!!
She is talking so well it is really unbelievable. She went from a few words put together to full on sentences. So she is saying the funniest and cutest stuff right now.
At night after we are done with praying and singing she wants to "talk" and she says "Mommy talk about my babies" which means she wants to talk about the pretend babies we saw in store that she wants for Christmas. And she'll talk about how they like to play ring around the rosy, hide and seek, and they like to sing and dance. And she says, "I'm a good mommy". She could go on and on about babies! The other topic is "Mommy talk about my earrings" my little Makenna wants her ears pierced! Everytime I tell her we have to go shopping she asks, "for my earrings?" I would get them pierced if I didn't think after one she would be dead set against getting the other one! And then until age 5 she only has one earring!
So what promted me to write all this is what she said yesterday when I was walking out of her room at nap time. She said "Mom guess what?" and I said, "what Makenna" and she said, "I'm just so proud of you" How cute is that? She is growing and changing so much it is unreal to me. I'm so thankful for her and all she adds to our family and Makenna I'm so proud of you too!!

Our family tree....

So the picking of the family Christmas tree this year took place where we went last year. Where you walk around pick your tree and then they cut it down for you! Simple concept except for when it was as cold as it was! I'm pretty sure we picked the first tree we saw that wasn't too big!! Brandon pointed to one and I said "Yep, that's perfect!" I can't even tell you with words how cold it was!! Here I am trying to create this memory with the kids that they will remember forever in sub zero weather and about 2 minutes into the tree hunt Brayden says, "Mom this family time is so over! When can we go get the donuts?" Yeah so the highlight for Brayden is when we went into the warm restaurant to eat!! I don't blame him :)

The excitement on her face says it all....

Ben, Brayden, and Grace hiding amoung the trees :)......

We are thankful....

Our thankful tree! I started this last year where every day we each have to write something we are thankful for on a leaf and add it to the tree. And anyone who comes over before they leave I ask them to write on a leaf too! So here are just a few of my favorite leaves this year

"I am thankful that Jesus gave me a great brother" Brayden
"I am thankful for the house that You provided for us" Ben
"I am thankful for Brayden and his sincere, silly, and spunky spirit that enriches my life each day" Mom
"I am thankful for how much of a blessing my children are" Dad
"I am thankful for my brothers talents that You gave him" Ben
"I am thankful for our parents that are always so willing to help us" Nicole
"I am thankful to have such a wonderful and giving family to spend this day with" Jessa
"I am thankful to have such a great teacher" Brayden (just had to include this one :) )
"I am thankful for Ben and his kind, compassionate, and giving heart that blesses me
daily" Mom
"I am thankful for my beautiful wife Nicole" Brandon (just had to include this one too!)


This is just a little art project that turned out cute. They traced their hands and then in each finger wrote something they are thankful God created them to be.
I am thankful God.....
1. made me smart
2. made me good at football
3. made me kind
4. made me loving
5. made me good at baseball
Ben age 8

1. made me good at math
2. made me nice to others
3. made me a good basketball player
4. made me a good receiver
Brayden age 5

1. made me playful
2. made me a good listener
3. made me helpful
4. made me beautiful
Makenna age 2

Thanksgiving 07

Thanksgiving this year was spent with our good friends Justin and Hannah and their adorable girls. Jessa drove up from Seattle which was so wonderful to have some family here. Hannah is an amazing cook so I felt blessed to have such great food!! This is the "adult" table :)

My boys....Ben got dressed after he saw what Brandon was wearing which I thought was adorable!

The kids table.....

Jessa and me. I'm so thankful God brought Jessa to live so close to us. After so many years apart I feel incredibly blessed to have her a part of days like today and creating memories together!

Jessa has always had a few moves up her sleeve and today was no exception :)))

It was freezing outside while the boys fried our turkey so I served them up some of a frozen creation to help out a little , the straws were extra :)))

Kicked out of Sunday School...

Yep, that's right this cute fairy princess was officially kicked out of her Sunday school class. Ok I'm being a tad harsh but I was told she was kind-of a "bully" to the crawlers and being a "typical 2-year-old" and just needed a little more "structure". Looking at this picture you'd have no idea she was a bully but I wasn't too shocked. I definately have my hands full now and in the years to come! But she is SO cute! I just had to share so that I could remember these fun things motherhood gives you :)

Ben's football career :)

Ok so time for me to brag! Ben had a great football season!! He played QB, safety, and running back. He made 8 interceptions and ran 2 of those for a touchdown!! He had so many great plays that I can't even list them all.... But I do know that he made is mom and dad VERY proud!

He is so focused and in the "zone" that it really was amazing to watch! His coach always said that he loved watching Ben play because when he was safety Ben was pretty much just awaiting the interception and that he could hear him saying, "I dare you to make the pass!"

Brandon and I are SO looking forward to sitting in the stands in our blankets watching our kids play in high school! I know it is a little bit down the road but it is never too early to start wearing a matching jersey is it???

10 year anniversary....

Brandon, I look back at our wedding pictures and see two young kids who's love was definitely there but there is a "depth" that hadn't been discovered yet. We've grown and matured so much in the last 10 years, we are no longer those young kids (I guess my gray hair and your disappearing hair are enough proof of that!) Our love has endured much heart ache and hard ship and life definitely hasn't been handed to us on a silver platter. But isn't that what makes love, defines it, molds and shapes it, and eventually makes it beautiful? Just as our individual lives must be tried so must our lives together. We've stood with the Lord and with Him we continue to climb the mountain He has set before us. Each step and each turn is not like the one before. Each step gets us closer toward His ultimate vision for our marriage. As we travel together lets not get caught up in the upward climb but take time to enjoy the scenery around us and always keep our eyes fixed on the prize. And one of these years after traveling long and hard we will get to the top of the mountain and we will sit and enjoy the beautiful sunset. Thank you for standing by me, guiding me, and sometimes following me because that that truly is an example of the "depth" of our love that we once did not have 10 years ago. To my best friend, thank you for the last 10 years and for the many more that are to come. I love you and I'll see you at the top! xoxoxox

family pic

While Shannon was here we were able to get a family picture! Now family members if you see this same picture in a frame at Christmas still act surprised ;)

Aunt Shannon and Jack

What do you get when you have 2 best friends that love taking pictures??? Well lets just say we took over 600 pictures of our kids together! So I narrowed down the bunch to just a few! Thank goodness for digital cameras. :)

We had such a great visit with Shannon and Jack. It was so great to have all our kids together, most days :))) Makenna and Jack could be so wonderful and cute with each other and then completely wanting to hurt each other the next. It is definitely a love hate relationship!! This was a cute moment until Jack wanted out of the stroller and makenna wouldn't get off of him :)

These boys couldn't be better friends. I can't wait to see what God does in their relationship as they get older.

Such a gentleman! And what great taste in shoes she has!!!

Our precious Jack! Not only do you get chocolate cake at Aunt "Cole's" but he also got his first smore :)

2 stylin' chicks....

A definite cute moment! Probably because the play ground wasn't Makenna's or Jack's personal play ground. So no "mine" was taking place :)

The clan! They all love each other so much :)

Makenna turns 2

The hat was the theme for the day :) Our little princess turned 2!! She was all about the presents this year which was so fun. She picked going to the park and then getting pizza. The park was way fun because it had water fountains and she loved that! Shannon and Jack were here to celebrate with us so it made the day even more special!

Loves, loves, loves the grocery cart!! Her babies always go along with her on her grocery trips. Funny her babies are much better shoppers than mine are!!

My birthday girl in her birthday outfit! Oh how I love having a girl :)))

These would be her shopping shoes. She obviously doesn't dress for comfort! They must be worn while she pretend shops :)

This is what she eventually decided worked best to open presents, when all else fails use your teeth!! I may borrow this tactic come January :)

Happy Birthday our sweet Makenna. Our lives would not be complete without you. You add so much joy to your dads and my life. You completed a part of my heart that I didn't even know wasn't filled yet. The moment I looked into your eyes I knew my life and heart was changed forever. Having a daughter has enriched our lives forever and we will forever be thankful to the Lord for the gift He gave us when He gave us you. We love you sweetheart xoxoxox

Ichiro or Brayden???

And Ichiro steps up to the plate....

Have to say this is one cute Ichiro!! These were just too cute not to put on here :)

The Fair

So this ride I got suckered into somehow. I underestimated the intensity of this ride from the ground. Years of therapy and the boys should be fine ;)

She absolutely loved this ride with daddy!

This is a must have picture at any fair :)

The boys took a step down and decided to head to kiddy land after I scarred them for life on the 'ring of death' LOL. Puff the magic dragon was a much better choice :)

Canada air show

This turned out to be a Dad's day with his boys. They had such a great time and talked about it for days! Apparently it is really cool when air planes are so loud that you have to wear ear plugs, I had no idea!!

I definately think this will be a tradition each year for Brandon with his boys! I guess I'll just never truly understand the wonder of the speed of sound ;)

The BIG 5!!!

Brayden's birthday started with him singing to himself as he came to wake me up. We were then onto presents, lunch with daddy, sprinklers, and swimming all before dad got home from work! It was a day that much caffeine was required to keep up with Brayden!!

Pirates swim shorts bring out the muscles you never knew you had!

Mariners jersey with his favorite Ichiro number 51. Along with matching shorts and hat!! Brayden was in heaven!!!

New bike since mom hit his other one while backing up! It was too small for him anyways now that he is riding without training wheels! He loved that it is red, his favorite color, and has lightening bolts.

Brayden we love you and love all that you add to our family. You brighten our days and always put a smile on our face. You have such a great sense of humor! I love your cuddles on the couch and when you sing songs in the car. You have such enthusiasm in ALL that you do. Thank you for all that you are and I pray God will continue to teach and guide you in His ways.

Happy Birthday Sweetie!! xoxoxox