{iPhone Rewind} :: August

Haircut day with my girl :)

"Helping" Daddy get settled in his new office

I hope I always get sweet notes from my sweet boy {Aiden} 

Mike was able to get away on the pastor's retreat again this year. I'm so glad he is able to have this time with these guys.

Aiden was so excited to finally lose another tooth! We're not exactly sure where it went...he woke up one morning and it was gone haha.

We went to Sam's, and they had this skeleton "driving" around! The kids kept trying to figure out how it was possible haha

National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day! :)

Yay for $1 summer movies! We got to see Despicable Me 4

The kids got a fun coupon book from the library for completing their summer reading program. First up on their list of prizes: a free Italian ice from Rita's!

I'm not exactly sure what's going on here, but it doesn't look good...

The boys have started helping make breakfast :)

Remnants of summer...

Flowers from my love :)

It's a panda bear!

After all of his hard work, this sweet boy has had to start patching again. To say that he was disappointed is an understatement, but he has dug in and had a fantastic attitude the past 3 months. He hasn't complained once, and I have not had to remind him once to patch. We had a follow up with the eye doctor, and his hard work has paid off! We're not out of the woods yet, but I am so, SO proud of this boy!

We're prepping for our fall Bible study!

A sweet church member heard that Aiden was having a Star Wars birthday and gave him a LEGO!

May the Force Be With You

This year's birthday theme was Star Wars! :)

The funny thing is that the kids haven't seen a single Star Wars movie yet, but Aiden has read multiple Star Wars books from the library, and he has fallen in love with the characters. And not seeing the movies did not diminish the fun one bit!

It was fun to decorate for him, though I managed to choose some sort of boot-leg version from Amazon, so if you looked too closely at some of the characters, you'd realize they were slightly off haha. But Aiden didn't seem to mind, and it still made the house festive :)

After a yummy breakfast, we opened presents. There was no shortage of Star Wars-themed gifts, but he has received a fun Pooh Bear hat, a fun new game, and some GI Joes! I love that the kids make cards for each other; it's such a sweet little tradition. And I love how they hide them, and how excited they get to give them to each other.

Of course, no Star Wars birthday would be complete without epic light saber battles! Aiden was excited to receive a hood {to dress up as a Jedi, of course, but he has also wanted a hood for other dress up needs as well haha}, and the light sabers he received light up and make the official sounds and everything. Every little boy's dream! :)

The rest of the day, we played at the park, played our new game {SkyJo}, played with GI Joes, brushed up on our Star Wars knowledge, and had more epic light saber battles. We got to chat with family in Texas, and even received a special message from Darth Vader {Uncle Bryan}!

And, of course, there was cake! Happy Birthday, Aiden...may the force be with you!

Aiden :: 8 Years

Happy 8th Birthday, my sweet boy!

My Dearest Aiden,

You have been talking for months about your birthday. Counting down the days, talking about themes, adding to your wishlist...to say that you are excited about your birthday is an understatement :)

Yesterday, when you woke up, I gave you a super long hug and said I was just going to have to hold you all day, since it was your last day of being 7 years old. You laughed, and pulled away, and said, "Mo-om" in that annoyed little boy way, and my heart knew that I couldn't keep you little forever. I have known that for many years now. But because you are my Aiden, you still came back for an extra hug anyway, and my heart was just so grateful for your heart. How you love big and fully. 

You are in that unique transition of being a little boy, wanting to play and be silly and still needing your Mama, but also wanting to grow up and be a big kid and do big kid things. You are still into battles and sports and wrestling and building forts and playing in the dirt. Pooh is still by your side. You say the wildest things sometimes, and make me laugh on a regular basis. I love watching you build your relationship with your brother and your sister. 

I love you, sweet boy, and I have loved celebrating YOU on your birthday! I love your hugs and snuggles, and I am so grateful you are my 8 year old boy!

Love,

Mom

{iPhone Rewind} :: February

The men's ministry hosted a chili cook-off, and Mike was excited to submit an entry!

I don't know how he's comfortable, but he sits like this ALL the time...

41: birthday signs, cookie cake, homemade cards, vouchers for mommy getaways, brunch with sweet ministry women, lunch at McAlister's, ice cream samplers, birthday messages, adorable handmade gifts from talented friends

Family game night started with Jenga :)

The girl is obsessed with bacon

Enjoying the warm up before another round of snow

Celebrating Chinese New Year!

We had the good kind of snow- enough to build a giant snowman!

{iPhone Rewind} :: November

Aiden lost another tooth! He was so relieved because he actually swallowed this one {on accident}, but he didn't have to worry about it anymore!

Maddie studies our family calendar all the time. She has progressed to the point of pulling up a chair and taking notes haha.

Playing soccer on a beautiful fall day!

Bedtime reading of The Wingfeather Saga

Maddie asked to take a photo of the beautiful sunset :)

It's comfy weather!

Eli got to pick a prize in Sunday School, and he picked a Butterfinger for Papa. He asked if we could put it in "Papa's stash for when he comes to visit." Sweet boy :)

Science experiments are fun- yay! {except when they don't work- boo!}

We had a game night with some friends from church and the kids were introduced to Carcassonne.

Reading silly stories from Granny :)

We found a praying mantis in our neighbor's yard!

When the Christmas blow-ups reach the rafters, and the Grinch dances and sings...the errands Mom makes you run aren't quite as bad ;)

Diving into the world of The Wingfeather Saga

We celebrated Mike's birthday with fun cards and presents. We ordered pizza for dinner, since we were prepping for Thanksgiving, but you would have thought it was Aiden's birthday ha!