A whole hand...PART II

Brayden is five. Its still crazy to me. He's growing up so quickly and I don't like it one bit! What a blessing our boy is to us. A few things that I love about him before I share pictures in no particular order: his eyes, the compassion he has for others, his love of helicopters, airplanes, shuttles, satellites, and trains, how he glows after spending the day working with his dad, his love for family, his love for anything camo or army related, his innate and unending curiosity about everything, his HUGE child-like faith, the sincerity of his prayers, his conversations on the phone, his vocabulary, his love for reading, his unbelievable driving abilities, his love for building things, that sweet face of his that melts my heart, his creativity, the amazing playdoh sculptures he creates, his love for me, the love he has for his sisters, that he's a great big brother and takes his role seriously, hearing him and his sisters laughing their heads off together, his silly faces when I'm taking pictures, the blessing of being his mom, his abhorrence to carrots, his love of anything chocolate and how it gears him up, his ability to tell a great story, his love for scaring people and loving to be scared in return, how hard he laughs when you do manage to scare him or he scares you, how he starts laughing for no apparent reason--only to tell you he's thinking about when he scared you or you scared him, how he serves (with his sisters) as a reminder to enjoy the small things in life and take in each and every moment...its gone all too quickly! I could go on forever, but now without further ado...

HIS FAMILY CELEBRATION

The cake that he LOVED (Please note there are four men on each hill battling for control):




Suddenly, Commander Mom left the post to tend to other matters at hand (AKA guests) and the troops called in for reinforcements...LOTS of reinforcements:



Unbeknowst to Mom, it must've gotten ugly 'cause the reinforcements (AKA Sgts. Becca, Brayden & Logan) kept delivering...






Hard to believe our boy is five!


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HIS SCHOOL CELEBRATION

The beloved Birthday Chair:

My only thought: why don't I have a Birthday Chair?? Life (especially birthdays) would be even more fun with one of these around! Daryl just may return home to all our chairs being painted like this. Even funnier is that I honestly don't think he'd be surprised!


Leapin' Leader duties:

Holding the flag for The Pledge


Being the Line Leader

A funny story about Brayden being the leader. The leader gets to pick how the kids will line up by four categories: boys, girls, colors, or tables. The first time Brayden chose colors. He would say a color and if you were wearing that color you line up. This repeated until all the kids were in line. Well the boys just behind him were, well, boys and started running, pushing, and jumping in front of Brayden as they walked to the new Reading Rug--which is super cool by the way. I could tell by his face that he wasn't all that pleased with the outcome. So, knowing my boy, the next time it was time to line up he shocked everyone. Including the teacher. He chose girls! The teacher said that had never been done yet. It was hysterical...and I knew he would do it. You know why? The 5 little girls in his class lined up quietly and stayed in line perfectly behind him. No pushing, no cutting in line, no jumping around, just doing as they were told. Everything was calm and orderly--just as my boy likes it. It was classic. A memory I won't soon forget :)

There was also a little girl in his class who made him a special birthday card. It was so sweet. She kept trying to slide it to him during reading time and he was too enamored in the book to take it. I think that he thought she was just trying to agitate him as Savannah often does :) At the end of reading time the little girl mentioned her card to the teacher and Brayden went over so she could give it to him! Sooo funny!!


Waiting for directions during Art. (Hey, is that Leight sitting next to Brayden?!)

The class singing Happy Birthday to Brayden at the end of the day (he's in the center of the circle). They also sang to him at the beginning of the day!

Enjoying the Friendship Circle as they say goodbye for the day.


And I must say that it was so cool to spend the day with Brayden at school (thanks to Aunt Krystal for keeping the girls). Brayden's snack was a hit--ice cream cone cupcakes, string cheese, and juice boxes! It was great to see what he does each class and to have more insight into what he's speaking of when telling me about his time there. Needless to say, I could work there in a heartbeat...I guess because it is what I practically do everyday anyways and usually love it :)

A WHOLE HAND!

Happy 5th birthday, Brayden boy!!! I cannot believe my first born is five. A whole hand. He is all smiles today as everyone calls and sings and celebrates his day. He is most excited, however, about being the Leaping Leader at school today and also getting to sit in the Birthday Chair...talk about excitement! It doesn't get much better than this for a five year old!!

We had a little party for him on Saturday. He wanted a helicopters and camo theme. So that we did! The party store had NOTHING camo or even anything remotely related so I improvised...got tablecloths in camo colors, balloons in shades of green and brown, and made a battle scene cake. He LOVED it!

We're off to celebrate his day at school and I'm the special guest :) Many more pictures to follow of all the events for our FIVE YEAR OLD!!

Sept. 4th: Becca's 4th birthday!

Our sweet Becca-boo (nickname Brayden gave her when they were oh so little) turned four September 4th. The kids had so much fun picking out some special things just for her from them and we headed over to her house to play & celebrate! Krystal kept the troops while I went for my monthly torture treatment a.k.a. orthodontic appointment. I didn't get any pics of the day or of our Saturday evening family celebration that followed...but I do have some dear ones of years gone by. These kids are growing up way too fast!

Sept. 3rd: Brayden's First Day of School!

It was a BIG day...Brayden anticipated going to school since last year when we attended Reading Group at our local library. I was the one fighting tears! Daryl was away redoing a water tank so I videotaped the day thus allowing him to experience it as well! He's such a big boy now. His class is M-W-F from 12-2:30. Needless to say, he LOVED every second of his 2 1/2 hour "schooltime". Savannah struggled a bit with her "Bayden" not being around. That's all she's known her entire life so it was an adjustment for her, too. Its so fun to talk with him about the poems and activities they did. His teacher posts the week's lessons in advance so I recite the rhymes with him as we drive home. We're all really enjoying it now...well, Brayden has always enjoyed it...I just had to have my first-day-of-school-mom-meltdown. So, yeah, now its all good. But honestly I still get choked up every time he comes running at me with his papers in hand and smile large enough to light up all of PA. But I'm sensitive like that. And that's okay. Right?!

Loaded up and ready to go!

Standing outside the church by his school sign.

He jumped right in and began playing with classmates.

One of the teacher's aides building a puzzle with Brayden.

Our big boy!

Savannah telling Brayden bu-bye when we left...and my heart started breaking at the sweetness of the moment!

Hugging his teachers at the end of the day!

Our first day of school coming to a close...and BIG smiles all around!

Commander Brayden has landed

Once again Granny & Pap have stolen the show. Granny called yesterday at 1:30 to check about an outfit for Brayden's birthday in October. She ordered it...and it arrived TODAY!

Needless to say, he put it on right away and still has it on...maybe even to bed!

That's one small step for man....one GIANT leap for the future of American aeronautics!

Just like Daddy

If there's one thing that makes me smile, it is the sound of my husband's truck rumble into our driveway. Diesels are like that. The only thing that makes me smile bigger is the sound of our three kids squealing and scampering to the door to greet him. It truly makes my heart swell.

I remember when Daryl and I were dating, I was moved to tears one day thinking of how blessed our kids would one day be because of having him as their dad. It was something that I was keenly tuned into--especially if we would one day have girls (which, by the way, I thought I would never have--but God has a great sense of humor that way).


And while I know that dads are equally important in their son's life, there is nothing that a girl on this earth needs more than her daddy. I was a Daddy's Girl. And when my dad was in his car accident it turned my life upside down. Thankfully, I also have some great uncles. And I became an Uncle's Girl. It's great for me to see this all coming full circle.



And when I was little, the best pajamas were my Uncle's work shirts. I loved them almost as much as I loved him! I felt so special and important in them. That shirt was like a badge of honor. It embodied what I saw in my Uncle. I saw how hard he worked, what a loyal and faithful worker he was, how the shirt would bear a salt-line at the end of the day from his sweat, how he used everyday job scenarios to witness to his buddies, how he helped friends & family in need after a long day's work. That shirt, when worn by my uncle, taught me lessons in life--hard work, faith, family, sacrifice, love, honesty.

My older sister and I still talk about those shirts.

So the other night when Brayden and Savannah came into our room and asked Daryl if they could wear one of his Jayco shirts to bed, my heart melted all over again. I knew exactly what they were feeling and exactly how wearing that shirt made them feel. I saw the pride and admiration in their eyes as Daryl helped them put on their shirts. I pray that they, too, may see the same life lessons I did in a shirt. Because their Daddy embodies those same qualities--hard work, faith, family, sacrifice, love, honesty--qualities that my kids relate with a shirt and, more importantly, the man wearing the shirt.


You see, my kids adore and admire their Daddy...and rightly so. They get it from their Momma :)

Say what?

SETTING: Livingroom/hallway/bathroom in home, mid-afternoon
SCENE: Mom is in the bathroom cleaning the sink. Brayden, Savannah and Sophia are playing in the livingroom.
~~~~~
SAVANNAH:(running down the hallway towards bathroom, crying) Mom! Mom! Bayden hit me with the pillow!
MOM: Brayden?
BRAYDEN:(running just behind her, weapon/pillow in hand) Yes?
MOM: Brayden, did you hit Savannah with the pillow?
BRAYDEN: Yes, Mom. It was a askident. I didn't mean to do it. I told her I was sorry. I was swinging the pillow like this (demonstrating) and Savannah walked into it.
(Pause) Askident?
MOM: Accident.
BRAYDEN: Askident? (Shaking his head)Tsst, askident! I know I don't say that right...but when I get bigger I will. Okay?
MOM(smiling, holding in chuckles): I love the way you talk, Brayden. Yes, you will. And thank you for being honest.
~~~~~

Is this kid a riot or what?!

Budding Photographer??

Brayden often confiscates my camera. He returns with a plethora of photos.

Found this photo while uploading more July shots to the computer.

Entitled: Our dinner table on the screened-in porch from Brayden's perspective-through-the-lens.

Love seeing things from his point of view!

The beauty of Fall

WE LOVE FALL !

Its amazing to think that God created all of this for His glory and our pleasure. He speaks to me so vividly through His creation. I am always humbled and in awe of Him when I'm outside...especially in Fall. He could have just made the leaves fall off in one day, but instead He paints them all different colors, gets the lighting at sunset just right, and scents the air with that crisp, fresh smell so that I'm standing there in utter amazement at the beauty of it all...and of Him.

The kids and I have been having a blast in the leaves. Brayden & Savannah ( and me, too!) love seeing all of the pumpkins and watching all of the farmers around us harvesting their final crops for the season. We're drinking up all of the local homemade apple cider that we can because, like everything in life, this too will pass. Truly, to quote one of my favorites, This is My Father's World!