Happy Halloween (Eve)!

For the past week we've been celebrating this silly and scary holiday called Halloween!! Our days have been filled with costume changes, sticky fingers, late nights, Halloween games, movies, and books, and so much fun! I'll catch up with you all later- for now, here's one of the sweetest Halloween photos I've ever seen!!



So, while I've got 590 photos that I just uploaded onto my computer, this photo will have to do....I've got some decorating to do for our fun day tomorrow!!

Happy Halloween (Eve)!!

Requests

You may recall my post in August about this family that I know. This sweet baby boy passed away on Saturday and now this family needs us to pray for them that they have the strength to greive and continue to go on in life without their youngest son. Please do this with me.

We also recently found out that our favorite story time teacher's youngest son (who is only two years old) has a tumor on his brain (they've now removed most of it) and it was found to be stage 3 cancer. Please join me in praying for our friends so that their son's body has the strength to fight this awful cancer and pray for this family, their doctors, and nurses, so that they will continue to have the knowledge and ability to help this young boy fight the cancer that has invaded his young body.

As I said in my post in August- our family went through this (on a much smaller scale), when Andrew was born. For 10 days we lived through what these families will live through for months and years. And, it was hard. This is why I continue to ask you, as our family and friends, to help me in praying for these friends. I ask you to also hug your babies tight today and be extremely thankful for the blessings that you have in your healthy children. Thank you.

Seven Years

Today Brandon and I celebrate seven years of marriage. And, as all young, married couples can relate, the past seven years have been magical, amazing, memorable, always changing, and extremely fun...they've also been super crazy, full of sleep deprivation, arguments, make-ups, hiccups, wrong turns, and most importantly....love! Yes, our marriage is normal, and on October 23rd, 2004, I married the man that I want to be completely normal with!

When Brandon and I were dating, we would always make these silly lists that spelled out all of the reasons that we were perfect for each other. And, the other day, I was looking through some VERY old emails and I found one that I thought would be perfect for this day and one that I thought would make Brandon smile. This is the result of a 'love test' that Brandon took...way back in 2003!

Here it is:

You've made a good decision in choosing your mate. Let's face it, for the most part, you have always wanted that storybook romance, and your definitely on the right path with your love. It may have been love at first sight for you, but you can bet that your mate didn't choose you in haste. After all, she never likes to rush into making any decisions before they absolutely have to. Good news for you, your girl will over look those temper tantrums of your and quietly wait for you to return to your senses. Your partner will always remain faithful and fair to you, even in the toughest of times. Once you see what your mate has to offer you in the way of love and devotion, you might find your independent personality spirit fading as you'll be wanting to spend more time at home alone with your mate.

And, while this love test has proven to be true (although, I think I may be the one that throws more temper tantrums), who would've known WAAAAAY back in 2003, that we would be where we are today?! We have the sweetest family and such a faithful love for each other, that those little temper tantrums, don't even matter!

We've been through a lot with each other in seven years and I can't wait to spend eternity with my Brandon!

We started out here (2004)...



Then we were here (2005)...



And here (2006)...



And the year Parker joined our family (2007)...



And this year (2008)...



Another year (2009)...



And last year - as we eagerly awaited our sweet Andrew (2010)...



And now!- with our sweet boys!

Disclaimer

No....that is not a giant boogie on Andrew's face in the video.

It's so sad. The other day (last Sunday) we had some family photos taken...well, you know how it goes...family picture day = one of the kids falls down and gets a big boo boo on their face day.

Luckily, it was on the last set of photos that Andrew decided to jump out of the chair and eat some gravel. Unluckily, he had a huge strawberry on his forehead, a busted lip, and a HUGE gash across his nose.

But man, is my little guy tough! He had tears for probably a minute and from then on...he was just fine! And, isn't it amazing how fast these little guys heal?

Just thought I'd fill you in...so you're not wondering why I didn't wipe his face...

Monday Movies

Andrew's new word for the week is "Ugh Oh!" He says this when he throws a ball that no one catches, when he drops food off of his highchair, when he bonks you in the head, and anytime he just wants to be silly and say something!



And, as you can see, Parker is having fun with his brothers new words!

Andrew now knows how to say: Momma, Da Da, Bubba (Brother), Bel - la, Ugh oh, Up (although it's more of just a P sound), Ball (sounds like a really low growl), he can act like a puppy, and he absolutely adores all cats! He is growing up so fast and he is soaking up everything around him!!

I love this video...these two brothers have so much fun together! Yesterday, I walked into the boy's computer room (that they share with their Dad) to find them like this.



Yes, Andrew has his own keyboard....that isn't really attached to anything. Would you expect anything less from Brandon?

What a fun weekend we had! We spent the ENTIRE weekend together and most of it was spent at home! That rarely happens to us this time of year...I am so thankful for it!

As the fall weather starts to cool off, I can't help but think about Andrew's first birthday, that is just around the corner (or 4 weeks and 6 days away) and I get butterflies in my tummy. I have this bittersweet taste in my mouth about this huge milestone my son is about to reach. Just one yeat ago I was super, duper pregnant....so excited and eagerly awaiting the arrival of our sweet Andrew. Now look at him...talking, almost walking, eating big person food....what happened to the year!

I know everyone feels this way about their kids...how do you cope with time running away from you?

Loosing My Wits

I've written this before....this time of year is crazy for us! And, it seems to be that every fall we just get busier and busier. And it seems that this fall will go down in the history books as the craziest one yet!

As a Mom, I am always trying to balance everything...I believe this is something that men have the priviledge of not worrying about. I'm trying to balance work life, our extra-curricular activities, social life, school life, finances, service work, and most importantly, our daily family life! And, sometimes, just sometimes, I can't quite balance all of it and it seems like in an instant everything that I'm trying to balance, comes crashing down in one big bang!

Now don't get me wrong. I count all of this craziness as a blessing...but, more often than not, these blessings come in the disguise of stress, worries, and always wanting to be able to do MORE.

So, this past weekend, when it seemed like one thing after another kept going, in my opinion, 'wrong'. I felt myself starting to loose it. I was actually loosing my wits. I felt myself snapping at everything the kids and Brandon said and did. I was mad at the dogs and our house guest for the messes they were making, and worst of all, I felt myself dreading our super fun weekend that was full of all of the things I loved...all because I had lost my wits.

THANKFULLY, I remembered something. We all do this sometimes. As mothers we want to constantly be ahead of the game. We want to be super moms and have super powers to make everything perfect for our families. We want to do it all, have it all, be it all....and, when I started to really think about loosing my wits this past weekend, I decided to really take a look at what I was so crazy about.

Here's where my thoughts ended up:

Motherhood requires much of us. Life requires much of us. If everything in motherhood and in life were easy, where would we be? We'd be lazy, we wouldn't have learned anything, we wouldn't be passionate about anything and we wouldn't be GRATEFUL for all of the GOOD that happens around us. I remembered that the key to getting my equilibrium back is to take a deep breath, smile, and get over it! Yes, that's right, just get over it! Which I did...I thought about EVERY good detail of our crazy world and it made me feel better...it gave me peace of mind...and I got my wits back.

Afterall, if I hadn't gotten my wits back, I wouldn't have enjoyed these moments...

My Soccer Star getting his medal for doing so well!




Andrew...loving his brother's medal!


Our trip to Pome on the Range...




Our Fall visit to the farm...


Grandma Elaine (finally) being able to go to the 'camping spot' at the farm!


Andrew loves the farm!


Painting our toast...


And Andrew's VERY sweet smile!

House Guest

For the past week or so we've had a sweet blond girl staying with us.



Yep, that's right, Miss Emmy has been staying with us while her mom and dad made their way to the Boston area for vacation. This was Miss Emmy's first stay away from her parents.

And, while I'd like to say that this houseguest was perfect, we had one big moment where Emmy almost made her way to the doggy farm...



But, in the end, Parker and I decided that Emmy can come stay with us anytime! She has to be the sweetest, kindest, caring pet we've ever met (Yes, I think she may have Bella beat)! Emmy has the best snuggles and the best tail wags, she is gentle but also silly. She loves my boys and she is one big baby when it comes to which side of the bed she's going to sleep on. So...John and Julie, we LOVED having Emmy stay with us. We loved her so much that Parker and I decided we wanted to keep her...and, while we know this won't happen...we were wondering if we could borrow her every now and then?



We love Miss Emmy!

The Perfect Pumpkin

Every year we head out to Pome on the Range to celebrate this wonderful season!



We enjoy the food, feed the ducks, jump on the moon bounce, drink apple cidar slushes, eat delicious sugar cookies, feed the ducks again, and then we climb aboard the hay wagon to be pulled out to the pumpkin patch by the horse drawn wagon.



This year was so much fun! Not only was it little Bubba's first trip to the pumpkin patch, but we also met up with a friend of ours from our days in Pittsburg, Meghann and her son Wyatt.



When we got out to the pumpkin patch, Parker looked up at Brandon and said, "I am going to find the perfect pumpkin!"



Two seconds later he exclaimed, "Found it!"



Little Bubba absolutely loved the pumpkins! He wanted to touch all of them and climb around in the vines (I was thankful that I decided to dress everyone in jeans, even though it was 86 degrees outside). I loved watching him explore the pumpkin patch...I think he may have been searching for his perfect pumpkin too!



And, although it was super hot and very windy...we enjoyed our day at the pumpkin patch. We enjoyed the company of my friend Meghann and our new friend Wyatt, we enjoyed the crisp fall air, we enjoyed the laughs of all of the kids running around that day, we enjoyed the apple cidar and cookies, we enjoyed the ducks, the slide, and all of the pumpkins, the mums, the leaves, and the horse-drawn hay wagons (Actually, I think they were being pulled by over-sized mules...but, horse sounds better).



But, the true sign of a fun fall day....a fall day with little boys...is the tangles in my hair from being windblown all afternoon, the dirt on my shoes as I climbed out of the car, the stickiness on my fingers from the apples and cookies, the soreness in my legs from walking through the pumpkin patch and chasing after my crazy boys, the grass that I found in Andrew's diaper as I got him ready for his bath, dirt caked into Parker's finger nails, the bits of food I found in Andrew's hair, the super long nap all of the boys took in the car, and the best part of the day...Parker and Andrew standing back and admiring their 'perfect pumpkins' as we put them on the front porch for everyone to see, smiling and giggling about all of the fun we had at the pumpkin patch!

I wish I knew what I know now...

...when I was younger. Do you ever sing this song to yourself? Have you ever thought this on your birthday?

There comes a time when we all 'grow up.' We become our own person. Or maybe that's not quite right. I think it's more of a 'growing into ourselves' time in our life.

As I celebrated my 31st birthday today, I couldn't help but feel like I've finally figured this out. That I've finally 'grown into myself'. The thing about it is this: All day today, I found myself singing these words..."I wish I knew what I know now, when I was younger..."

So, on my birthday today, I want to share with you what I now know to be true....the things I wish I had known when I was younger:

1) Family is my number one priority.

2) I have a lot of true friends...so don't waste your time with the ones that aren't really all that friendly.

3) Time passes too quickly- make the most of EVERY moment.

4) Take more time to enjoy the simple things in life.

5) Don't take people for granted.

6) Love what you do in life.

7) Don't do things only to please those around you....refer to #6.

8) Dieting is not healthy...eat what you want, exercise, and don't let others influence your behavior.

9) Money doesn't matter (well, only a little bit).

10) Credit cards are not worth it.

11) Nap when someone tells you to.

12) Be silly with your kids, give them kisses every day, tell them how much you love them....time passes too quickly!


Yeah for becomming older and wiser! I had a great birthday- my boys spoiled me and I loved every minute of it (well...except for the gift that the dogs left for us this morning. More about that later....when we see if my home remedy carpet cleaner works)!!

We ate yummy food, I received the greatest gifts....my favorite was the card that Parker picked out for me, and we even had time for a trip to the Toy Store in Lawrence. We have so much fun together!





Thank you for all of the cards, phone calls, text messages, and Facebook posts (do you think we'll still be sending FB posts when we're all turning 90?)! Thank you for making me feel so special!

October!!

You all may recall my theory on October....well it's actually called Brooketober and it's a month that's all about Brooke! I love this month- I love the weather (who doesn't?), I love all of our activities, I love my birthday (I'm turning 25 for the 6th year!), I love celebrating my anniversary and recalling my feelings and thoughts of this time 7 years ago, I love fall smells, I love pumpkins, I love playing outside in the cooler evenings, I love knowing that one of my boy's has just turned another year older and that one is right around the corner, I love Halloween parties and treats, and I love the way I feel in this month of October.

And, although I'd love to take this time to go through all of the fun things we've been up to, I just don't have time right now!! So, briefly, here's what Brooketober has been like so far...

On the first day of Brooketober, I spent the morning with my boys and then pulled off the first sponsored football game at OU.

On the second day of Brooketober, Brandon and I cleaned out the garage (something we've needed to do for a long time). There's nothing I love more than cleaning and organizing!!!

On the third day of Brooketober, we played outside ALL evening and shared caramel apples with the neighbors!

And, on the fourth day of Brooketober, all of us went to story time together. I also got a little reminder of just how wonderful my husband is!!

Here's a photo from story time...it was pirate night!



I hope you're all having a beautiful October! What are you doing with your family to celebrate October?