May 2009

While I was recovering from my Rt. knee surgery done 3/26, we needed to have someone around M-F to help with getting the boys to school, Dr's appt, PT appts., grocery shopping, keeping up with the house, helping to care for Baylor etc, etc.... We were blessed to have met De, and have her help us out over a 7 week course. We spent nearly 300 hrs. together!!! She was an answer to prayer and we were both blessed with one another. The boys absolutely LOVED her, and I can say she just brought so much joy and happiness to our lives. May 14th was her last day with us, and it was such a bittersweet day. It was a day I had looked forward to for 7 long weeks, and when the time came, I was so sad to see her go. The boys still ask me each morning if Mrs. De is coming, especially Brayden.

This picture is a bit out of place, but the last week of January Grandad and Martha came to visit us. One of their last days here, we went to the World Wildlife Zoo for the day. It was so much fun, and we are hoping next year they will spend the month of January with us!

This is Baylor having his very first doughnut! It looked as big as a car tire in his mouth! Ha....

A cute picture of Baylor.

Friday May 8th I was invited to Chapel and a Mother's Day tea in Brayden pre-school class. We enjoyed pastries, fruit, cheese, and vegetables. The children performed a couple of songs, and presented their mommies with a picture and sentence of why their mommy was special. It was such a nice morning with just Brayden and I. There was a cute moment in Chapel where the kids were singing a song, and Brayden was singing at the top of his lungs. It was so cute and all the moms we so tickled by him :o).

As soon as Brayden's tea was over, I was invited to a tea in Bennett's class. They made us a bonnet with silk flowers, they gave us their chair to sit in, had a menu for us to look at, written us a book called, "My Mom can...", read out loud why they loved their mom, sung us a song, and served us our food and tea. It was so nice to spend some sweet one on one time with Bennett and hear his affirmation of his love for me.

They had asked us to send in a shoe that they had outgrown, so after bleaching his old sneaker, his teacher had sprayed it with bronze paint and they had a potted marigold in it for us to take home. The kids also iced our cupcake and topped it with a little flower pick! Bennett had made a heart shaped bowl as well in art class for me too!

It happened to be Hawaiian day at school so that's why he was dressed with a Hawaiian shirt and not his uniform shirt that day. I snapped this picture on the playground just after our tea. I thought this was a sweet picture of him.

Close up of the bronzed sneaker and plant from Bennett!

Later on that afternoon, we went to see the Arizona Diamondbacks take on the Washington Nationals. It was Faith and Family night and we went with our Community Church of Joy family. This is the boys waiting on the light rail. It costs us only $6.25 round trip to get to the game. They loved riding the train :o).

Brayden at the game.

Bennett at the game still sporting his lei from school:o).

We left Baylor home with Maxine his babysitter, since it was a late night. Having fun at the ballgame!

April 23rd, Bennett school had a play The Tale of Three Trees and had their art on display. This is Bennett just before his performance. He played the part of a cow. This is Brayden and Katie at the play. They are in the same pre-school class, and she came to visit us during the play. Don't ask why Brayden was making this funny face, I think he was so excited to see Katie.

Mother's Day May 10th, with my 3 boys. Baylor was not in the picture taking mood, so this is what I got! Ha.

I opted for individual pictures, since the group shot was not happening. Me and my Brady Bear!

Baylor thought this was o.k., so he decided to laugh for this one! Such a stinker.

Me and my sweet Bennett. It was such a nice day, they cooked breakfast, we went to church, spent time in the pool, and went to dinner at Black Angus. They got me sweet cards, Gerber daisy potted plant, some clothes from my favorite store, and lots of hugs and kisses. Thanks for a great day guys!!!!

A Mother's Love

Mother's Day 2008 My boys and me just prior to church on Mother's Day. I told each of them how special they are to me and that the three of them plus daddy gave me the best Mother's Day so far. They hand made me several cards and gifts from school, picked out the perfect cards at the store, showered me in very thoughtful gifts: necklace, bullet blender, Hello Sugar lotions and bath gels from Bath and Body Works(my new favorite), made me a girly Build-A-Bear workshop bear dressed so cute named Bella, and took me to lunch at Paradise Bakery Cafe'. We also went for a get together in the evening with our small group, and the men cooked us Italian themed foods as well.

A funny picture of the four of us. Look at the expression on Baylor's face. He's like, "Oh my, these brothers of mine have lost their minds!!!"

Brayden and Bennett looking like they are having a stand off or something. These two are BEST friends and they will stick up for each other like you would not believe, and then turn around and let the other have it.

Mommy and Bennett. You are my first born and the leader of all the little boys. You have such a giving and loving heart and delight in making others happy. You are so creative and don't give up very easily. You are also very curious and have been since day one. You are my little shopping buddy, I can always count on you to go store hopping and deal finding. You are about to finish pre-school in a few days and move on to formal school. My heart is so happy in some ways and yet very sad in others to see you move on and be away from me all day 5 days a week. I wish I could have you here with me for a few more years. You are so excited about all the new things you will be learning and all the new friends you will be making. You will always be my baby and I love you so much with every ounce of my being. Thank you for being such a wonderful son!

Mommy and Brayden. You are my feisty second born baby boy. You are the middle child and fill that roll very well. You make your presence know each and every day and make me bring my "A" game. For that I thank you. You keep my on my toes :o). You are such a funny little monkey and have us laughing at your funny ways. You are also very creative and enjoy building little creations with legos and are very good at coloring. You have a great imagination and love to play pretend. You have recently become comfortable with going off and playing with friends and having little conversations with them, it's so cute to watch you interact. You are very friendly and make friends pretty easily. You will be entering into pre-school this fall 3 days a week and it will be so fun to watch you mature into an independent little boy. Brayden you are my second baby boy and I love you so much from your head to your toes, I could not imagine my life without you in it. Your hugs and cuddles are my favorite.

Mommy and Baylor. You are my third born baby boy. Wow I never imagined I could continue to love each of you my precious children with the same amount of intensity, but yet I continue to have yet more love. You are my lover baby affectionately called, "Big Sexy." You have the most easy going laid back personality. You are my little flirt and love to make eye contact. You have the warmest smile that just melts my heart. I know all you will have to do it flash those big eyes and grin and it will be hard for me to say no. You will always be the "baby" no matter how big you get and I thank you for all the joy you bring my heart. Thank you for making me a Mother of Three boys!

Needless to say I am the mother I am today because of the role model of my own mother. She was the rock of our family and taught me so many valuable things. This was my 6th Mother's Day with out her physical presence, but not a day goes by without her in my thoughts. I miss her so much and so desperately wish she could have been here to see my kids. I know she knows them, and is their gauarding angel, but I still miss her.