Sunday, January 8, 2012

Labor Day - Part 2

Colson starting early with mowing

helping BB move fallen branches

Hudson praying after getting in trouble :)

Landon with his sand dune filled with sticks that are supposed to be guns getting the bad guys

in the Newsroom at the Discovery Science Museum

BB and her boys

Labor Day at BB's - Part 1

playing Trouble with BB

The Villages indoor waterpark

Landon enjoying the water slide

BB, Colson and Landon in the wave pool


The boys and I made an impromptu trip to Tyler for Labor Day weekend.  Mom (aka BB) treated us to the waterpark at the Villages Tyler and we had so much fun!  I even got to enjoy a "big kid" water slide.  Hudson loved the lazy river, but Landon couldn't get enough of the kiddie water slides.

A New School Year

Hudson at Back to School Night

1st day of 1st grade

saying good bye to big brother

Landon and Colson

Colson's backpack and lunchbox
Hudson is in 1st grade at Veritas Christian Academy.  Landon goes 3 days a week and Colson started school this year and goes 2 days.  All 3 boys love school and I enjoy the quiet!

Nine Staples - YIKES!!

Before staples

9 staples
It was the last Friday before school started and the day was going well.  We were enjoying our Friday and hadn't even put on clothes yet, except for Hudson, who had changed "characters" several times.  He was a spy, knight, and finally he put on his long sleeve Lego Star Wars shirt.  Remember it was August and the heat was intense this summer. :)  Anyways, I had just put Colson down for a nap and turned on a show for the boys and I was heading down the stairs to get a shower.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Landon get on the end table that is right beside the couch.  Remember my earlier post about having high spirited kids, well they are also like monkeys and love to climb!  Instead of just sitting on the couch, he was going to stand on the end table and jump into the couch - much more fun that way. :)  Our end table has 2 pieces.  The top comes off so that you can store things in it.  We keep blankets in it and the boys are constantly taking them out to build forts.  Earlier in the day, Hudson had made a fort and when putting the blankets up he didn't get the top of the end table back on correctly.  So Landon steps on it and the top flips off and hits him in the back of his head.  I run back up the stairs and try to console him when I realize I am covered in blood.  I immediately call Ben, a little hysterical I might add, and we decide I needed to get to Urgent Care.  Remember none of us are dressed appropriately!!  I get a handful of paper towels to hold Landon's head with and carefully put him in his car seat and tell him to be very still.  I was concerned about his neck being injured.  I throw on clothes and then remember that Landon and Colson just have on their pajama tops but no shorts.  Thankfully I grab some shorts, but I was so frantic I forgot shoes for the boys.  I wake up Colson and quickly get everyone in the car.

Thankfully Urgent Care is right up the road, except they just put in all these medians so you can't make left hand turns.  I found a place I could make a U turn, turned on my hazards, and bypassed a stream of cars.  I first took in Landon, because I couldn't hold him and sleepy Colson at the same time.  I entered the double doors with blood soaked paper towels in my hand and they immediately took him.  I go back and get the other two boys and told Hudson to hold Colson and I would be right back.  Thankfully, Ben left work and headed to the Urgent Care to help.  Landon had calmed down and there was a room next door with a tv for the other 2 boys to watch cartoons.  Landon kept wanting us to take pictures of his wound and then show them to him.  He is a doctor in the making!  He then played doctor and pretended that I was sick.  

Hudson had 2 staples on his head when he was about 3 and it went pretty well.  When it is just a few staples, they don't numb the area.  The doctor thought that they could close the wound up in 4 staples which would mean no numbing.  They brought out a kid stretcher that looked like an Indian Papoose.  They layed him on his stomach and then velcroed these strips of fabric around him.  At that point, he lost it.  I left the room to check on the other boys and Ben stayed right by Landon's side.  He was screaming loudly and then turned to Ben and said, "Am I going to turn green because I'm angry right now?"  Hudson and Landon had just gotten interested in super heroes and learned about the Hulk.  Ben assured him that he would not turn green.  After working for awhile, the doctor realizes that there needs to be more staples.  So now he has to get a shot and then get a total of 9 staples.  It was quite an ordeal!  Of course it was all made better by getting milkshakes from Chick Fil A. :)


A Day at Galveston Beach


Road Trip to Kansas and Nebraska

Hudson, Carson, Landon and Bella



Ben and the boys outside the tepee

Papas and his boys

Landon and I on the ferris wheel in Scheel's Sporting Goods store

MoMo and the big boys

We went on a road trip to see friends and Uncle JoJo in Kansas City and then drove on up to Omaha to see Papas and MoMo.  We left right after our VBS finale and drove for several hours and then continued the next morning.  It was so fun to visit our friends back in Kansas.  One of the families we saw were the Wolf's.  Their oldest son, Carson, is 2 weeks older than Hudson and the boys have been friends since they were babies.  When the boys were young, Kara and I would go to storytime at the library then lunch at Chick Fil A, we did a Bible Study together, and lots of playdates!  It was so fun to hang out with them.  We also got to go back to Cabela's and the DeAnna Rose Farmstead which is another place I would take Hudson.  

Right before we headed to Cabela's, I was with all 3 boys in the hotel.  Ben was out with his dad(Joy and Charles were in KC for a wedding) and brother and I was hanging out with the boys.  I think I was tired from traveling, but I had completely lost patience with the kids.  My kids are all very high spirited!  A friend of mine recently said, "You don't usually see all of the kids in one family have such personalities." Yes, the Lord chose to give me 3 boys that are ACTIVE, passionate, and strong willed.  This makes for a fun, but exhausting household.  On this specific day I was at my wit's end.  No one was obeying, kids were jumping from bed to couch in the hotel room and I needed more coffee!!!  Ben got back and we loaded up and headed to Cabela's.  My emotions got the best of me that morning and I was sitting in the car trying to hold back tears.  We got to the place and I kept my sunglasses on so no one would notice my tear filled eyes.  I waved to Ben and made a bee line for the bathroom.  What was wrong with me?  I couldn't keep the tears from coming.  I sat in the stall and the next song that played was some Carrie Underwood song about dad's and daughters. Now I was weeping!  It didn't help that Cabela's was one of the my Daddy's favorite stores and now this song was playing.  I took several deep breaths and prayed for strength.  I eventually emerged from the bathroom and was able to collect my thoughts on the 3 hour drive up to Omaha.  

Part of my problem, is that I want to be the perfect mom with the perfect kids.  Guess what - that is not going to happen this side of Heaven!!  We live in a fallen world and I am suppose to rely on a perfect God not myself.  This issue with perfection has really shone itself in raising kids.  I pray that the Lord will help me to rest in Him and realize that it is ok to not have it altogether.  Sorry for the digression from the happy vacation to deep thoughts... now back to the trip. :)    

After KC, we headed up to Omaha and really enjoyed our time with the grandparents.  After only being there a few minutes, all 3 boys were on their stick horses running through the long hallway of their apartment.  Papas would take the boys out for a walk in the wooded area around their place.  Ben and I even got to go out for an ice cream date!

VBS 2011


This year our VBS theme was "On Your Mark".  Mark 9:35 was the theme verse and during the week they talked about Servanthood.  Each day during corporate worship the kids would receive wristbands with the verse of the day on them.  Each verse went to a song that they would sing.  The songs came from a group called Seeds Family Worship.  It is basically scripture set to music and it is Awesome!!  At the end of the week, each family got a CD of the songs we sang and our kids love to listen to it.