A Day of Relaxation

Today was a busy, busy day!

Hudson and I dropped Madison off at school. Then, we went and ran some errands until my nail appointment. Hudson was amazing...he sat in his stroller like a perfect little angel for the entire time while I got a deluxe pedicure, manicure and my eyebrows waxed. :) I definitely was pampered this morning! It felt wonderful! And ladies, if you've never tried gel nail polish, man oh man...you have to try it! I don't know where I've been this whole time, but it's revolutionized getting manicures for me. There is no chance of smudging or chipping (which I always do within the first 24 hours, thus the reason I never get manicures). Anyway, it's a little bit more expensive, but it's worth it to me since it's suppose to last 2-3 weeks :)

After getting my nails done, Hudson and I headed home so that he could play for a little bit before having to pick up Madison (it was her early day). He ran around and got all of his energy out! After picking up Madison, I rushed home to get Hudson down for his nap, since the house cleaner was suppose to arrive around 1:30. I wasn't sure how long he'd sleep with all of that going on. Thankfully he got a good solid two and a half hour nap and then we all picked up and went to the mall and walked around for a couple of hours.

By the time we arrived home, we had about a half an hour until bed time, so we played. Madison did some art. Hudson and I read some books. Then, the kids went to bed! It's been a run around type of day, but it's be a wonderful day!

Hope you guys had a beautiful Thursday!

***Please keep praying for Tori, however God leads you!!! Thank you!!!***

Another Full Day...

Today was another full day!

After dropping Madison off at school, I rushed to the Y. I only had about 25-30 minutes until I needed to be back on the road again to Trader Joe's. I set the treadmill for 25 minutes and I ran 3.2 miles in 25 minutes! I was super excited. I am aiming to get to 22:00, which I believe is the perfect score for the 3 mile run in the PFT...ladies, do I have that right? Anyway, today's Trader Joe's shopping trip was extra fun because all of the meals I was shopping for were for once Alex is home! :) Yahoo!!!! After Trader Joe's I had to rush home because our housing area is updating all of our home alarms and I needed to be here by 9:30. I was here at 9:25! Perfect timing!

I had a little bit of a chance to facebook message Alex while Hudson was napping. So much fun getting to message with him and to be so close to actually talking in person! What a concept! :) I miss that man so much! I am so thankful that my days leading up to his arrival are full and will keep me occupied because I am getting a tad antsy. Every day this week, I've been waking up earlier than the day before!

Once we were home from picking up Madison, I finished prepping for bible study...just had a few things left on my "to do" list for the day! Tonight for Bible Study, I made an Apple Fritter Cake. I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought it looked rather tasty! This cake was a huge hit with my Life Group, so if you like apple fritters, it's a winner.

Our topic this week for Bible Study was prayer! We had a great in depth look at The Lord's Prayer and then we had a great time of praying with and for each other. Afterwards we broke up into our accountability groups! It was a wonderful evening!

***Please keep praying for Tori. They took her Trach out!!! Praise the Lord. I am including the LINK to her Caring Bridge Page, because today there were a lot of updated prayer requests. Thank you to all of you who have been faithfully praying! God is so mighty and He can heal sweet Tori!!!***

Oh Happy Day!!!

I received some of the best news ever today: Alex is officially out of Afghanistan!!!!!

We are getting so close! Every day brings us one day closer to having him back home with us! What a glorious day that will be!!!

Today was a fun day! I had a good workout today. I pushed myself hard! One of the trainers there came up to me after I was done and asked me if I'd been a runner all of my life because he thought I was flying on the treadmill....now that always makes a girl feel good! It sure was fun! I like to race myself and what I did the day before. Anyway, all that to say, it's nice to know that a trainer thought I was running well! :)

After the Y, Hudson had his 2 year check-up. Everything went well and he only had to have one shot, plus I was able to see Devan and give her, her baby shower gift that I wasn't able to give her over the weekend!  At 2 years old, Hudson weighs 29lbs (68%) and is 34 inches long (50%). I sure do love my little boy. I love how everyone in our doctor's office (not sure my friend and our nurse) know him and talk to him from the moment we arrive to the moment we leave. He's already such a little people person!

When we arrived back home, Hudson was more than ready for his morning nap. Later, when we went to pick up Madison, Kristyle and I had "volunteered" to help our kids' teacher man the silent auction table at school. This week there is a fundraiser going on where the parents can bid on different teachers and the winners get to go on a special outing with the teacher. The kindergarten teachers are taking the kids to Islands and then to see the new movie The Croods.

After school, we headed to gymnastics. As always, Madison was super excited. Today in addition to practicing the things they've been learning, they started learning the basics of a head stand! It was super cute to watch Madison get down on her head and practice balancing her knees on her elbows! I wasn't able to get a picture of it, but you can trust me...it was pretty stinking cute! :)

Well, I am off to go make some yummy popcorn and relax a bit! Hope you all had a lovely Tuesday!!!!

***Please keep praying for Tori! Thank you for your faithfulness to this beautiful girl!!!!***

Happy 2nd Birthday Little Monkey!!!!

Today was a very special day!!!!

Today my little monkey turned 2 years old! These past two years have added so much love and laughter to our home. It was no secret that when we found out I was pregnant for the 2nd time that I really wanted another little girl and that I was more than disappointed when we found out we were having a boy. Oh man, how I think back to that time and laugh now, because I wouldn't have it any other way. The love I have for my baby boy is so special. I know that he was the missing component to our family, that I didn't know was missing until the day he was born. This was definitely a time where God knew best (as He always does) and I was happy to be proven wrong. I am blessed by the sweet relationship Hudson and I have. There is a bond there that I just can't explain. I am also very blessed by the sweet friendship Madison and Hudson share. Those two bring me so much joy, especially when I see them interacting and playing together. Oh, the love this little guy has for his daddy!!! It's priceless. At least once a day, he walks around our house and points out every picture, blanket and doll with his daddy's picture. Any time my phone rings, he starts saying, "Hi Dada!" Hudson may not have been talking much when Alex left, but that hasn't stopped him from expressing now, just how very fond of him he is! I can't wait to see those two back together.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of my sweet boy:

This morning, Madison and I woke Hudson up by walking into his room singing Happy Birthday to him. He was all smiles!!! Hudson went and ate breakfast, while Madison finished getting ready for school. Then, while Madison was eating breakfast, Hudson started opening his presents. He had so much fun. Thank you to everyone who mailed gifts to our sweet boy and to those of you who dropped them off at our house today! I think Hudson was overjoyed by how many people called, sent video messages, and just showed him they loved him today! 

Here is a video of Hudson (bed head and all) telling me how old he is now:

After dropping Madison off at school, Hudson and I went to the Y. All of the workers in the child care center were so sweet. They knew it was his birthday and they sang him Happy Birthday and made a big deal out of it! It was super sweet. Once I had finished my workout, we went to Jamba Juice for a little mommy/son date. We both had smooties (although Hudson quickly finished his so he finished the rest of mine). Then, we went across the street and hand selected a dozen buntinis from Nothing Bundt Cakes for his little evening celebration. 

Once we had finished getting our buntinis (and Hudson was done with all of his yummy samples), we headed home so that He could take a nap.

We went and picked up Madison and then came home. The kids played with Hudson's new toys for a little while and then went into their quiet time. After quiet time the kids played together once again until dinner was ready. Hudson's favorite dinner right now is pretty much anything pasta, but he really loves elbow macaroni pasta with just a little butter, salt and pepper, so that was what we had tonight. After dinner, our sweet friends Seth and April came over to help us celebrate Hudson. We sang Happy Birthday to Hudson and enjoyed some of the little buntinis. The kids each had two...whoa, talk about a sugar high before bed! Seth was so sweet and got down on the floor and played with the kids for about an hour and helped to wear them out!

It was a very special day! Again, thank you to all of you who contributed to that! It means the world! Hope you all had a very special Monday as well!

***Please continue to pray for sweet Tori! Thank you!!!***

My Favorite Picture To Date

Today was a fantastic day!!!!

For starters, Hudson was completely back to himself! :) Also, I figured out how to take apart the stroller (it ended up being a very involved process) and was able to wash the entire cover...yay!!!!

Here is the stroller all stripped down:

This morning, we were all ready early, so I treated myself to a little Coffee Bean (I still had money left on a gift card from my parents). Then, we headed off to church. The sermon was phenomenal this morning. Pastor Mike really nailed it today!

After church, we headed to Lowe's for some flowers and a few other things to decorate our home for homecoming (that I can't post just yet b/c it's a surprise for Alex, but pictures will come later). Here are our beautiful new flowers...here's to hoping I can keep them alive. :)

After Lowe's, we came home and had some lunch. The kids went to quiet time and I was able to talk to Alex for a little bit through FaceBook Messenger. While chatting with him, he sent me my favorite picture from the whole deployment thus far! (Oh and I apologize to all of you who keep asking on FaceBook what day Alex is coming home, I am not able to share that information for security purposes. I am not trying to be rude. But no worries, there will be plenty of pictures on that very special day. Thank you all for your prayers)!

When I received this picture, I couldn't help but smile and it hasn't left my face since! I have just been one big ball of energy. After I dropped the kids off at AWANAS tonight, I zipped over to the Dollar Store and picked up some festive balloons for Hudson's birthday. I can't believe he's going to be two tomorrow! He's getting so big! 

After Hudson went to bed, Madison helped me decorate the kitchen and bring out his presents to the table. She even made him her very own special card!

Tomorrow after we drop Madison off at school. I have a fun little date planned for me and my little monkey, but that will be for tomorrow!

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend! 

***Please continue praying for Tori. Thank you!!!***

Not Exactly How I'd Pictured the Day Going

Well, today definitely took a different direction than how I'd planned it.

I woke up early this morning, did my quiet time and then took a shower to get ready for the day before the kids were up....or so I thought. Once I was dressed, I heard Hudson sort of fussing (which is unusual for him in the morning, he's usually just talking away). I walked in and could instantly smell the problem, but had no idea just how bad it was. He was in his Christmas footie pajamas, which are quite thick. Well, when I went to lay him down on the changing pad to clean him up, as I unzipped his jammies I could see that the poor guy had had a MAJOR blowout and part of it had pooled at the bottom of his right foot. :/ I felt awful that I didn't know that before I'd taken my shower...I have no idea how long he'd been stuck like that. I cleaned him up the best that I could and then I plunked him in the tub. While he was soaking in the tub, I stripped his bed and started the laundry.

After Hudson was all cleaned up, he had some breakfast and Madison took her shower. We then all finished getting ready and we ran some errands. We went to Costco and to Berean...we were suppose to go to a few other places, but we ended up heading home. While at Berean, as I was checking out, I started to smell something funky. I figured Hudson had a dirty diaper, so I planned to change him when we got to the car before finishing the rest of our errands. Well, when we got to the car, sure enough...Hudson not only had a dirty diaper, but he once gain he had a major blow out. We're talking up his back, all over his stroller (which I can't for the life of me figure out how to take off of the frame so I had to clean it attached), down his legs, etc. It was a mess. So, here I am standing in the parking lot (with about 6-8 old ladies, who were having a bake sale outside of the store, staring at me) and me trying to figure out what in the world I was going to do...there was poop everywhere. Well, thankfully I had those disposable diaper bags (think what people use when they take their dog for a walk). So, first things first. I took Hudson's shirt off and threw it in one of the bags. Then, I used wipes and wiped down his back, neck, and arms and used another one of those bags as a trash bag. Then I took Hudson's shoes off and stood him up in the street (thankfully it's not a very busy parking lot) and stripped him and put his socks and pants in the dirty clothes bag. Then, I once again used wipes and wiped him down until he was clean enough to pick up and lay on my changing pad to put a new diaper on him. Once he was fresh and clean I put him in his car seat, but then there was still the issue of what in the world to do about my stroller. I couldn't just close it up all nasty like that, so I grabbed my wipes and just began cleaning the seat, the belts, the back rest, and the buckles until they were "clean" enough to at least be folded up and taken home. Once home I had to spray the stroller down with my all-purpose anti-bacterial spray and used a rag soaked in hot water to continue to clean this darn stroller and then I sprayed it with Lysol.

I gave Hudson a squeezie yogurt (only thing he wanted at the time...but now he won't touch them) and then I put him to bed. He slept from 11:45 until about 3:30. I think he would have slept longer, but alas, he had another blowout. :/ Thankfully this one wasn't nearly as bad. I think I caught it shortly after it had happened, so it was manageable. Anyway, he's not acting like he doesn't feel well. He doesn't have a fever or anything, but after his nap, he pretty much just wanted water and crackers, which is definitely uncharacteristic of him. He has been fine though in the diaper department, so that's good. Now praying for a good evening and that it was just something funny that he ate yesterday that didn't sit well in his tummy.

Needless to say, I am not at my sweet friend's baby shower tonight. I desperately wanted to be there. :/ I am hoping and praying that she feels very blessed and "showered" tonight. Thankfully though, I will see her on Tuesday, when we go in for Hudson's 2 year check-up, so I can give her her present and hear all about how the shower was.

I think tonight I will read a book and finish up my 5th load of laundry today (I had to change Hudson's sheets 3 times today, plus all of our regular laundry).

Days like today remind me how precious and wonderful it is to be a mother. I could tell Hudson was embarrassed by his blowouts, but I could also tell, how much he appreciated me cleaning him up, giving him baths, changing his sheets, and letting him snuggle with me when he wanted to. God gave me grace and patience today as I dealt with my sweet boy, especially in the parking lot of Berean. I love how God always meets us where we're at.

So, today didn't go as I had planned, but God's plan is always so much more grand than anything I could ever dream up. Today, while I was excited to go to the baby shower and spend an evening with my friend and other adults, God needed my son and I to bond in a way that only blow out, after blow out could do. God uses all circumstances as opportunities for us to bring Him glory. So, I am thankful for being elbow deep in poop today because it allowed Hudson and I to grow in our relationship as he has one more day before his birthday and now one more memory of how I was able to help him in his time of need. Time will never slow down, but we can slow down and enjoy the time we're given, no matter what the circumstances.

I hope today, you can find the joy in whatever circumstances were thrown at you!

***Please continue to pray for Tori. Thank you!!!***

One More Friday Down

Today was filled with more errands and wonderful conversations.

Hudson and I dropped Madison off at school and then went to Target and to the Post Office. If you have a little girl, Target's dollar section is filled (as in it was just stocked) with amazing fun Disney items. There was enough stuff for little boys too, but it's definitely heavy on items for girls....I very easily bought and filled both of the kids Easter Baskets today and most of the items came from that dollar section. I didn't buy any candy. It was all fun art stuff, stickers, cute socks, bubbles, books, etc...

Anyway, I had a wonderful talk with our Family Readiness Officer and received even more details about Alex's homecoming today. I also had a phone date with Renee and we actually were able to talk for a long time with minimal interruptions. It was wonderful! I love and miss Renee so very much, but always am so encouraged by our conversations!

Back during the Super Bowl, we had won a free pizza from Papa John's, which I took advantage of tonight for our movie night. The kids and I picked the non-animated 101 Dalmatians for our movie. Madison had never seen it and was never really scared during it, but her sweet, tender heart definitely was worried about what would happen to those cute little puppies when they were stolen. Love her little heart. Hudson was constantly pointing to the TV and saying, "Dog, mom, Dog." It was too cute!

Well, another day down and another day closer to having my man back in my arms! I am so glad that I have very full days ahead of me because it will help the time to go by quicker. It will be here before I know it! Eeeeeekkkk!!!!! Just the thought of it, gets me all excited again!

I was very excited about something I discovered today. While talking to the Family Readiness Officer, she did tell me that the homecoming would be indoors, which is different than she had told me before. This means I don't need to stress about quickly finding new outfits or really cute layers for the kids to stay warm. They'll just need something to keep them warm from the car into the building! :) It's the little things, right?!?

Hope you all had or are having a wonderful Friday!!!!!

***Please continue your prayers for Tori! Thank you friends!!!***