How could I forget?

I have been frequenting an awesome scrappy community over at www.feelingscrappy.com, and I have found a great place to call an online home. If you're looking for inspiration, ideas, awesome layouts, a place to take some scrappy classes, or just a place to connect and talk with some great gals, check them out.

The thing I forgot to mention is that that host a "Member of the Month" challenge, and I was given the great honor of being named Feeling Scrappy's August's Member of the Month! Woohoo! I even posted a scrapping challenge on the message board, and if you participate, I am entering you in a drawing to win a scrap package from me! So, head on over and check out my challenge as well as some other great challenges for your scrappy habit!

I'm a mommy of a 5 year old!

Gabe turned the big 5 on August 16th! How can my little guy be 5 already? Oh, I want time to stand still. It just amazes me that he is 5. He is an amazing boy, and I know that he is going to be such an even more amazing man. He is so sweet, tenderhearted, and just an all around good kid.

He wanted a "dinosaur bone-hunting" party. So, being a mom that wants to give her boys what they want for their birthday, I obliged. Here are some shots from his big day. My mom and I made him a T-Rex birhtday cake. We had a dinosaur dig with sand and fossils. All the kids had tools to excavate their fossils. I think this was my fave part of the day. We also had dinosaur eggs that I made out of paper mache and a balloon. I filled them with the treats for the kids to take home. They cracked them open to discover their fun treat bag. Then after a few of the games, we went inside for cake and ice cream and presents. I think that was Gabe's favorite part of the day. It was a really fun party!




Here are 5 things that I am loving about my newly 5 year old little boy!

1. I love how when I cough, or anyone coughs for that matter, you always say "goodness."
2. You are such a caring big brother. No matter how mean Graedon can be to you, you will still, out of the blue talk about how you love him. You have more patience than I thought you would.
3. You are a daddy's boy. It is okay with me that daddy is your favorite at the moment. I just love that your favorite person is a parent, and I only hope we can stay close to you as you get older.
4. I love that your favorite meal is breakfast. In fact, I think eggs are your favorite food. You want eggs for breakfast, lunch and even snacks at times. You would have eggs, sausage, bacon and toast everyday for every meal if I allowed you to.
5. You will talk to just talk. You are non stop. My favorite filler you do is "Mom?" I reply with "What?" You always respond, "I love you."

Well, I love you Gabe! Happy 5th!

A Need to Share This

We are home, but a recap of our trip will have to wait. I have something I would like for you to check out, and if you feel compelled to spread the word about it, please do so.

I have been reminded at how precious life is, and how lucky I am to have such an amazing life. God is in control, and it is in his timing that all things happen, and life on this Earth can change in an instant. I came across a beautiful family's blog through reading about a tragic accident the family is currently facing. Stephanie (Nie) and Christian Nielson, parents of 4 beautiful children, living in Arizona, were in a private airplane crash on August 16th. They are both being treated for serious burn injuries, and the doctors are saying they are in for months of recovery. The family is requesting prayers, and I am so happy to lift them up, and I hope you can lift them in your prayers as well. You can find updates on Nie's sister's personal blog http://blog.cjanerun.com/ You can also read about Nie and her beautiful family and amazing spirit for life on her blog http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/

I hope you will take a few moments of your time and pray for this family and for God's healing hand be laid upon them.

~In Him~

Safe and sound

We made it to Chicago safe and sound Sunday evening. It took us a little under 4 hours to arrive at our hotel, and we really didn't hit any heavy traffic until about 30 miles from the hotel. The boys were great in the car; thanks to Graedon taking a 2 hour nap, and for Gabe having his hand-held VSmile that Grandma got him for his birthday on Saturday. (Thanks Grandma!)

Chad is in training from about 9:30-5:30pm Eastern time right here in the hotel. He gets up, showers and gets ready, then he hangs out with us before heading downstairs to his class. The boys and I eat breakfast here in the room. I packed some breakfast foods that could be fixed here with the microwave, and I have some snacks for us to munch on. All-in-all, hotel living hasn't been that bad. We are going to head down to the pool after Graedon wakes up from his nap, so that will be nice for us to do.

The boys and I have been explorers already. Yesterday, we explored just West of us, and there is a Target, Wal-Mart, Michaels, JoAnns, Toys R Us, Carters, Ulta, and a bunch of other stores that I can't remember just 5 minutes from us. There is also several restaurants as well. I think we may try North of us tonight where there is a Dave and Busters. I think the boys would like that.

My biggest excitement so far has been going to Archiver's. We went there earlier today, and for all you scrappers, you know what I mean when I say WOW! I could've spent hours there! I was in scrappers paradise. I loved it, and I am hoping to go back before we leave. I would be in trouble if I had one only 5 minutes away from me at home. Luckily for our bank account, the closest one is over an hour away.

So, that is just a little bit of our mini vacation to Chicago so far. As I said earlier, I think we will go to Dave and Busters tonight, and tomorrow we are heading to Navy Pier for dinner, rides and fireworks, and I think on Thursday we are going to the new Discovery Legoland in Schaumburg. Gabe is most excited about that because there is a dragon type roller coaster ride there.

I will post some pics when I get a little more time, and don't think I forgot to update on Gabe's 5th Birthday shindig! It was awesome, and I had a great time. That will be a separate longer post! Happy Tuesday everyone!

Are you ready to PARTAY?

Gabe's big shindig is tomorrow, and we are just busy getting things ready. I love having birthday parties for my boys. This will be my 6th party that I have gotten to plan (5 for Gabe, and 1 for Graedon). I think that birthdays are so important. It is the one day of the year that is strictly in celebration of you. I grew up with that mindset. My mom always made our days just about us, and whatever we wanted to do. My dad always starts our day with a 5:00am singing telephone call. Obviously, it is on the answering machine because I don't answer the phone at 5:00am, but it is a tradition I know happens every year now. My mom used to give us the option to stay home from school if we wanted to for our birthdays. How awesome is that? Birthdays are just a big deal for me, and I want my boys to grow up remembering that I put love into every detail for them and only them on their BIG day! So, I know some people think big parties for children to young to remember is a crazy waste of time and money, I am one that thinks it is awesome to celebrate the day that the people we love became a part of this world!!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Wow, it's been such a busy week already, and it is only Tuesday! We have so many changes going on at the moment, that I haven't even had time to share them with everyone.

Gabe is turing 5 on Saturday! Can you believe it? I am going to be the mommy of a 5 year old. Where does the time go? And then Graedon will be turning 2 on September 6th. I am just not ready for all of this just yet. I just told Chad this weekend, that I want time to stand still in this moment. I want to be the mom of a 4 year old and an almost 2 year old. I don't want them to get any older. Heck, I don't even want to grow up, let alone my boys. It's times like right now, this very moment, that I feel truly blessed. That I feel humbled that God chose me to raise these precious little boys into godly men.

The other change is that Chad is changing jobs. He will be finished as the IT Director at WTHI (a local CBS affiliate station here). He will now be a software and voice engineer with Joink, LLC. Now, some of you know he worked for Joink previously, and you're probably questioning why he is going back. Well, it is a different company now, and he will be working in a completely separate building with different people. It's definitely a nice pay increase as well. We are really excited. He has to become certified in a few areas, and his first training is next week in Chicago (Aug. 18-22). So being the stay-at-home mom that I am, me and the boys are able to travel with him, so it will be a nice little mini vacation for all of us. Of course, Chad will be tied up from 8-5, but I am looking forward to touring Chicago with the boys during the day, and with Chad and the boys at night. We leave Sunday, Aug. 17th.

So, there you have it; my busy schedule with all of our big changes. I am excited, nervous, scared and overwhelmed, but I know that God will provide, and that these changes are where he is leading us at this moment in time. Please keep us in your prayers if you feel led to do so!

Hit the Books online crop at Feeling Scrappy!

I hope you can join us for Feeling Scrappy's online crop, "Hit the Books!" I can't wait!!

Holiday World Fun

We took a little mini vacation to Holiday World with Chad's family. His parents went, his brother and our 2 nephews, Bryce and Isaiah as well as his Aunt Judi and Uncle Ron. It was a great little trip for the boys, and we had a great time. It was a very crowded and hot day, but I think we survived at the water park. I hope we can continue to do little vacations together and continue to make such fun memories. Gabe keeps talking about what rides we are going to ride when we go back. I love that they enjoy what we do!

Gabe and Papaw racing down the water slides. Gabe still says that he won.












Graedon loved running around in the water play areas. He is a little water bug. Later in the afternoon we had a break to get something to snack on. He LOVED the pizza. He ate the whole piece. He would raise his arms in the air and pump them and say "eeza, eeza!" Too cute!





















Graedon loved the little airplane ride and Gabe loved the "Reindeer Games" ride. It would take you up about 25 feet and drop-bounce you down. I think they both rode these rides about 5 times each in about 30 minutes. They are such happy boys.