Wordless Wednesday

Cole Is An Orange Belt!!

It has been 6 weeks since Cole first began attending Karate classes.  I do believe his love for karate has only grown.  He loves to attend classes and loves to practice his moves at home on his "off" days.  This past Monday Cole (and Jackson) were given the opportunity to test for their next belt....their orange belt.  In karate the level of skill you have achieved and the amount of time you have put in is measured in the color belt you have so it is a huge deal to move up in belt color.  Both Cole and Jackson passed their belt test and graduated to Orange belt!  We are so very proud!  It was so awesome to see how proud both Cole and Jackson were as well.  They have worked very hard to graduate up a belt and they knew it was a very big deal!  I am so glad that Cole has chosen this sport and really loves it....it has been great for him in so many ways thus far and I know it will continue to be wonderful for him in the future.

Boys' Weekend

Rhonald and Cole went on their 2nd annual boys' trip this past weekend and they had a blast!  They spent the weekend at Rhonald's parents' cabin on the Little Red River.  They fished and rode 4 wheelers and played in the woods....all of the things boy love.  Cole caught 7 fish over the weekend completely on his own...he casted his pole, caught the fish and reeled them in without any help.  So proud of our big fisherman!

Wordless Wednesday

My Sweet Three Year Old

Dear Lily Bean,
How is that you are already 3 years old?  I remember the first seconds that I held you three years ago in that hospital room and I swear it feels like it was just last week.  From the second you were born you have been a whirlwind of fun, love and frustration.  You have such a strong and determined personality.  It is so cool to watch you as you grow...you take the world by storm and you live each day to the fullest.  You challenge us in every single way possible and while it can, at times, be so frustrating, I admire you for that.  Lily, you love deeply and once someone wins your heart they have it forever.  While you are still a mama's girl you have developed a very sweet and wonderful relationship with your daddy.  And oh how you have him wrapped around your little finger.  I would say your favorite person in the world is Cole.  You adore that boy and, even though you drive him bonkers, he adores you too.  You have really started to come out of your shell this year and while you are still very shy in new situations you have made many friends.  This past January I took you in to see a Speech Pathologist because you would not talk....oh the worry....and oh the relief when she looked at me and said, "yeah, I think she just doesn't feel like talking."  And was she ever right, because when you decided to talk to us, you never stopped!  You say the funniest things in the world....and you know it.  You love being outside at all times of the day, you love exploring and playing pretend.  Your favorite thing to do is take care of your babies.  You are such a good little mama to them.  You are in school 2 days a week and you love it there - you sing all day long and you love to do any kind of craft project that I can think of.  Lily, you give the biggest hugs in the entire world and I have caught myself wanting to sneak in your room after bedtime just to get another one.  You are full of life and full of personality - and you can change personalities a million times in every day.  You love to read and snuggle one minute and the next minute we are finding you climbing up the furniture.  You love your Little Gym class and that you are so big that you get to go in without me.  You ask questions about everything and anything and you do not except "I don't know" as an answer.  I hope you always are that way.  When I think about your future I am so excited!  While I love these days with you my sweet girl, I know you, like Cole, will do something amazing.  You will change the world in some way and I cannot wait to see how God uses you.  You shock us when you wrap your arms around a hurt friend, or kiss a boo boo on your brother's knee...you care deeply for others and I see that trait becoming stronger every day.  I pray you always guard your heart and that you seek to find the good in others.  Girls can be so mean sometimes and I pray that you see past that, that you rise above that, and just be yourself.  That you love deeply and fully and that you care for those around you.  Lily, you have brought so much good to our family over these three years.  You have helped us loosen up and learn to go with the flow which we all needed so badly.  You have helped us laugh at ourselves when we find we are being too serious.  You have rocked our world and we adore you for that.  Happy 3rd birthday sweet sis....we love you!

Love,
Mama

Our Pumpkin Picking Adventure

 

Yesterday we made our annual family trip to the pumpkin patch,  For many reasons we needed to find a patch that was open on weekday afternoons and guess what?  There is only one in our area!  So, after school we headed out to a new to us pumpkin patch and we were beyond glad that we did!  There was only one other family there so we basically had the run of the patch.  And oh the pumpkins!  I have never seen so many interesting and pretty pumpkins.  Seriously, Rhonald had to limit my pumpkin picking because I would have picked a thousand.  There is something so fun and fall like to walk in the middle of a pumpkin patch, located at the end of a scary and long dirt road, with a pair of shears and cut your own pumpkin off of the vine.  We had so much fun choosing the perfect pumpkins for our porch and we will definitely be making future trips out to this very spot. 

Lily Kate's 3rd Birthday Party

This past weekend we gathered together, with many friends, to celebrate Lily Kate's 3rd birthday!  We had her party at Jumpzone, one of her favorite places, and it was a total blast!  It is probably the hardest place to take good pictures because the kids are in constant movement but we did the best we could.  Rhonald and I were shocked at how many people made it to the party to celebrate the life of our sweet daughter!  We had so much fun visiting and hanging out with friends.  Lily was overwhelmed and a bit tired from all of the excitement but she had the time of her life!  It is so hard to believe that she is 3!