Date Night with my boys

A few weeks ago, I decided that the boys and I needed a date night. Daddy was working, so we headed out to the Braves games.  Thank you ReRe for the tickets!  It was a lot of fun to spend the evening with the 2 sweetest and handsome boys!! We had a lot of fun!!

The boys enjoyed a few of the games that they have set up, before the game!

I told the boys that I loved their pink bat!
Neither of them thought that was funny :)

 

We had good seats.  2 rows behind the visiting teams dug-out.  And we had nice people sitting around us.  The guy behind us bought the boys cotton candy! (SPOILED).  Then the same guy, along with the guy sitting beside us, helped Colton get one of the balls from the visiting teams catcher.  It took most of the game but he got it.  And he was a happy boy!!

I spoiled them with food and Dip n Dots ice cream.  The Dip n Dots was a first for the boys and they were unsure about it at first but then they realized that it was really good!! 

The Braves won which was exciting.  It was a Friday night game, which meant after the game, we got to watch fireworks.  The boys always enjoy that!! Over all, we had a great date night and I look forward to having many more of them!!! 

I'm pretty sure I have 2 of the most handsome boys there are!! (think I am biased? )

Reflections

Its amazing how as you grow up you thing that your family is a pain.  They are always telling you to do something or not to do something.  You always thing that they aren't being fair when they tell you No to something that you really want to do.  You thing that you deserve a different family or that someone else's family is "cooler" or better than yours.  Everyone is telling you to love and cherish your family and in your mind you are thinking "I don't want to", "Why", "I have the craziest family", and many other thoughts.  I am sure that most kids and teenagers think those kinds of thoughts as they are growing up.  I heard the saying "You'll appreciate your family one day", "This is the only family you have" and other things too.  And of course as a kid/teenager I was thinking whatever!

It's amazing how things change as you get older and have a family of your own! I have learned over the years and am still learning everyday just how important family is in life.  They are the very back bone to who you are and who you have become.  I am not sure where I would be without my family.  And I have also learned that family doesn't just consist of blood family.  I have a very large family both blood and not.  I have been extremely blessed with amazing people in my life that I consider family and wouldn't trade them for anything in this world.  There comes a time in your life when you realize that without family you wouldn't have anything.  I have many amazing people in my life that love me and accept me for the way I am, even with my many faults (Gosh knows I have a lot of those)! I have people that are willing to listen to me when I need to talk, vent, cry or whatever.  I have people that smile and laugh with me!  I have people that help guide me in the direction I need to go in.  I have people that are willing to help me when I need it the most or when I don't think that I need it.  These people are also more than willing to tell me to suck it up sometimes when I am having a poor pitiful me moment and want to sulk.  HAHA!! Yes, I have those days!

As I have gotten older, I have realized how important it is to spend as much time as possible with the ones that you love because none of us are promised tomorrow.  We are to cherish every moment that we have in life because we have no idea what will happen in the future.  I have had several emotional moments lately that have been hard to swallow, but at the same time, I wouldn't trade them for anything in this world.  They are moments of bonding that I will cherish for the rest of my life.  They are moments that remind me to be thankful for what I have and to live life and cherish it with everything in me.

Without my family, I would be NOTHING!!

I have an Amazing Husband that loves me unconditionally, expresses his love to me, works extremely hard to provide for his family, is am Amazing father, is dedicated, tenderhearted, has the sweetest smile with those dimples, and is everything that I could every image as my soul mate! God blessed me!! And I am thankful!

I have 2 amazing boys that make my life complete. I can't imagine life without them! Never in a million years did I think I could love like I do when it comes to my children. They are fun, loving, very energetic, trying, argumentative, squeezable, love to laugh, love to try me, love to cuddle and most of all, love me! Having 2 boys has opened my eyes to a whole new world!! Having children has changed my life and I am very thankful for.

I have amazing mother that loves me even when I tried her with everything in me! She provided for me, loved me and tried her best to steer me in the right direction no matter how hard I pushed the other way! She loved me with all of her heart and reminds me that she loves me! She reminds me that she is proud of me and is there for me when I need her. She reminds me that I can do anything I set my mind too and is there to remind me when things get tough that I can do it.  I just have to hold my head up and remember who is in control! She has encouraged me through nursing school and reminds me that even though it is tough it will be well worth it!! I am thankful!!

I have a father that loves me! Even when life threw us lemons and everything else in life. And man have we had a ride in the last 30 years! But it is amazing how God works to turn things around. He works in mysterious ways even through trials to show the love of a parent. Things weren't great or perfect but now there is hope and things have changed. He loves me and reminds me that he loves me! I am thankful!!

 I have a grandma that has been my rock all my life! She has showed me that life isn't about sitting around. It is about doing things. She has always demonstrated the need to work for what you have and want. She taught me that it is ok to get out and work with your hands, even in the lovely MS HOT weather! She has taught me that you can achieve anything that you set out to when you put everything you have into! You have to put your heart and soul into everything! I love listening to her tell stories of her life growing up ( and secretly being thankful that I didn't grow up in those times, not sure I would have survived ha!). She has am amazing memory of her life and I love listening! I only wished that I could remember them all and store them in my brain so that when she isn't hear to tell them, I can think about them and tell them to my children. I can't say enough wonderful things about this amazing woman!! I love her with all my heart and thankful to call her my grandma!

I have an amazing 2nd mother. As my mother would say, she birthed me but Aunt Reba caught me. I have been her baby since I was little. I was her first child! She gave me my love for shopping (which my husband isn't always thankful for). She is one of the most tenderhearted women I know! Even when I disappointed her, she still loved me unconditionally, like my mother and grandma! I have found over the years that there isn't anything that she won't do for me!! I am blessed to have a godly woman in my life that is willing to help me with the boys when I need her! It would be so difficult to make it through school without her to help me with the boys!  She is amazing with the boys and is a tremendous help to me!! I am Thankful!!

I have a big brother that I have always thought was here to occupy me and to entertain me, which has always drove him crazy!! I have nagged, pestered, fought with, laughed with and cried with!  I have wished I had a sister instead of him, and he wished he had a brother instead of me!  I have gotten him in trouble because he should know better cause he is the oldest! We didn't get along most of the time when we were younger, but the older we got the more that we bonded.  Even though we still don't always see eye to eye, I love him and am thankful for a protective big brother!! I am thankful!

I have an amazing extended family in cousins, in-laws, and many friends that I consider family!! I am beyond blessed! I can't think of a greater bunch of people to call family!! I am reminded everyday to be thankful for what you have because we never know what tomorrow brings.  I was blessed to be raised in a family that taught me to be affectionate and demonstrate my love!  We always tell each other that we love them, we give hugs and kisses and let each other know that we appreciate them and love them!  I can't imagine growing up in a family that doesn't do that!  And I enjoy teaching my boys to be the same way!! Love is an amazing thing!!

I thank each and every person in my life for loving me, accepting me for me and all my faults and for being in my life!! I thank God for allowing me to have such amazing people in my life to call my family!! I can't imagine having any other people in my life!! I am beyond blessed!!!

2 Treasured Gifts

10 years ago, I was given one of the most precious gifts ever, Colton Neil.  My life has never been the same and I am thankful for that!  God choose me to love, cherish and raise this amazing boy!

Then 2 1/2 years later, I was blessed with my second precious gift, Pierce Ryan! Again, I was blessed to be chosen to love, cherish and raise another son! 

I am amazed everyday, how I could love 2 boys as much as I do!!  Each one has a very special place in my heart that nothing could ever replace!  I never thought that I could love so much until I had these 2 sweet boys!! They teach me things every day!  Parenting isn't all about teaching them, a lot of times if you pay attention you can learn a lot of things from them!! It is amazing and something that I wouldn't trade for anything in this world!! There is never a dull moment in my house with these 2 goofy, wild, loud, very energetic boys in my life!! They wake up bouncing and most days go to bed bouncing!  They keep me on my toes, but I love every minute of it!

Colton and Pierce, ya'll are truly the best thing about Mother's Day!  Ya'll make this day very special for me by calling me Momma day in and day out!! Momma loves you more than you will ever know!!

Thank You for loving me and calling me Momma, it is a True Blessing!!

Seek and You Will Find

In the last several posts, I have talked about how crazy things have been and most times I said there were things going on that I didn't want to discuss yet.. Well.. I figured I'd take the time to write it all out. The first week of school this semester we were told that we had to move out of the house that we had been renting. The guy gave us a month to get moved.. Yes 1 month...crazy!!! Of course, by this point, I could already tell that this semester was going to be in a much higher gear than last semester so add the stress of packing, figuring out what we were going to do, my stress level was through the roof. Let me back up for a minute. Ryan and I had talked about buying a house and had even looked at some but nothing that we liked/suited us/could afford! So we had backed off of the house buying idea and decided when the time was right, God would let us know and we would go from there. So back to figuring out what we were going to do since we had to move out. At this point, we knew that we needed to kick our house hunting into high gear and boy did we. We spent the next Saturday looking at houses, choosing one and drawing up an offer! We were excited. It was a bigger house, closed in garage (extra play room for the boys) and a pool in the backyard, and it was in Crossgates. The asking price was extremely low (which was good for us) but it definitely needed some work. But that was something we were willing to do because we could see a lot of potential in this house!! Well after a lot of going around, we had a contract! Then the fun really began, ha! The lady seemed like one minute she wanted to sale, the next she was finding/making excuses that this wasn't going to work out. Stress level up a notch or two or three. In the process of working out the kinks of the contract, we continued our daily lives, packed and decided until the house closed we would move in with Grandma and Aunt Reba. Thank God for an amazing family!!! We thought we would be with them for a few weeks, maybe 4 weeks at the most. The progression of the contract/moving forward with closing grew slower and slower as the days went by. The excuses from the seller or delays got longer and more frequent. Finally we had to make a decision, were we willing to sit around and go back and forth with someone that didn't seem set on selling us the house, or back out of the contract and start looking again. After talking with each other, Ryan and I both agreed that it was time to move on and see what else we could find. We weren't sure we would find anything since we are on a limited budget therefore, very limited on the price we could pay for a house and be comfortable paying the mortgage. God knew what he was doing because we found another house pretty quick and we loved it. It wasn't as big as the other one but the garage was still a garage. Its 3 bedroom/2bath house on a quiet street, in the back of Crossgates and 1 street over from 2 friends of ours, score!! So the process started again. At first fast, then slow. Negotiations on things went back and forth for a while and finally a contract with what we wanted and repairs to be fixed that needed to be fixed! Now time to get the repairs started, appraisal done and a closing date set!

Well the day finally came! Ryan and I are officially homeowners again!! All of the glory goes to God! It is through his faithfulness and his promises!  It wasn't always easy to remember that he would provide and take care of things but we constantly reminded each other that this was in God's timing NOT ours!! And in the end, he showed up and showed out!  God provided like he promised!  We serve an amazing God!!

Sneak Peek at the House!

God's Promise!!

  He's reminder that if we Seek him first
that he will provide and fulfill his promises!