Faith Through a Cowboy Hat!

Today is Rodeo Day at Aidan's school and he was allowed to dress up in his best rodeo getup! He has been talking about this day all week... how he can't wait to be a cowboy.
So... this morning he got on his best rodeo diggs and was ready to go except we could not find his cowboy hat ANYWHERE. I knew I had just recently seen it so I knew it had to be somewhere around the house, but after looking for about 10 minutes it was time to call off the search and finish getting ready for school.
Aidan was bummed! After all, what kind of a cowboy doesn't have a hat? Right before it was time to leave we had our morning family prayer and I asked Aidan if he would say it. Of course, in his prayer he prayed that he would be able to find his hat. After, while we were waiting for the carpool to show up we all gave it one last look around the house. In my heart I said a little prayer of my own knowing that if we could find this hat it would not only make a little boy so happy but also be a great example of faith and the power of prayer.
In the next room I could hear Aidan telling Brinn, "I wish I could find my hat. I asked Jesus to help me." I couldn't help but smile! And just then, no lie, I spotted the hat sitting on the edge of Aidan's bed underneath his balled up bed spread (in the exact place I had already check a couple times.)
"Aidan, look what I found!!!" with a big smile on my face.
"You found my hat?" I brought it around the corner and knew I had just made a cowboys day.
Casually, Aidan explained to Brinn, "Heavenly Father answers prayers. He's a good finder and knows how to find things."
On second thought... maybe it wasn't me who just made a cowboys day but rather someone else... someone who's a good finder. :)
I whispered a quite "Thank You" and realized that not only was this an awesome lesson for my little man but also for me. This realization made me whispered another "Thank You." One for Aidan and one for me.

All About the Cousins!

We just got back from a quick trip to Washington to visit family. We had a good time but it was such a short trip I definitely came home needing a vacation from my vacation. Oh course, this trip was all about cousins! The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins that unfortunately those are the only pictures I got... and not many of them... bummed and mad at myself. Should have took more pictures but was too busy just having a good time.

Owen boy showing off his skills...

For the life of me I can't get this video of Owen walking to load! Eerrrr! So, I uploaded it to facebook. Check it out! So cute! He started walking at 11 months plus he's on the shorter side so it looks to cute to see such a little guy walking around.

Little Owen Boy is 1!!!

Owen...
Oh how I love you!!! I am so blessed to have you in my life. You are the happiest baby I have ever met. Without fail, you are always there to greet me(and anyone for that matter) with a smile! I told Dad the other day that I wished I could be as happy as you are all the time... he wishes too! Seriously, there is just never a moment when you are not happy (except when your food is gone... but that's a story for another day.) Lucky for us, your happiness is infectious and has brought so much joy to our family.
I love you so much I could eat you!
Love, Mom
XOXOXOXOX

Owen showing off his new birthday present...

"I'm not so sure about this turning 1 thing..."

"Okay, maybe being one won't be so bad..."

(Disclaimer: The following pictures are going to make my previous comments about Owen being the happiest baby look like a lie. This was a combination of a tired boy and too much attention on him.)
(Disclaimer 2: These pictures are posted in the order I took them. I just had to show you how hard he was trying to enjoy the moment.)
"Okay, I changed my mind. I don't want to be one."

"But man this cake sure is good" with a (I have been crying too hard) sniffle.

"... just not good enough to forget."

Sniffle, Sniffle. "Be brave Owen, be brave."

"Wwaaaa... chew... wwaaahh."

"Get control of yourself."

"WWWaaaaaaa!!!"

"Eat more cake."

"Now I am crying because I am tried AND my cake is gone!"

And that's a wrap. We love you Owen boy!

A few thoughts...

First of... isn't my hubby the greatest!!! I told him he could hijack my blog anytime he wanted to after a post like that :) And, isn't he sexy in uniform... I'm just sayin.

Now, onto a few things the kids have said lately.

- In bed this morning Aidan was cuddling with me and then out of nowhere said, "Mom, how do I know which girl to choose?"
"Which girl to choose?"
"Yeah, how do I know which girl to choose?"
"Girl to choose for what?"
"How do I know which girl to choose to marry?"
Ooohhh.... well this opened up a whole discussion about love and making sure that she is a good person and so on.
Then he said, "Oh, I get it. First you love someone and then you wait 7 weeks and then you give them a ring."
....uuuhhh let's just hope you wait a little longer than 7 weeks buddy. :)

- This morning Aidan and Brinn were awake before the alarm went off so I told them they could go and play in Brinn's room for awhile. About 20 mins. later it was time to start getting ready for the day so I went into Brinn's room to get Aidan and when I went in Aidan said, "No fair. We spent the whole time picking out clothes for Brinn and she didn't even pick anything I got down for her." I couldn't help but laugh because if you know Brinn, you know that this is so her. She always wants to get dressed first thing in the morning and she is SO OPINIONATED on what she wants to wear and what "matches." She even insists on laying out the outfit on the floor first to see how it looks before she will approve anything. I really don't know where she got this from... it is so not me! Despite the daily "arguments" this causes between the two of us, it's one of the things that I just love about her. Now, ask me if I love this quality in her when she is 16 and I might not have quite the same enthusiasm about it.

- The other day Brinn and I were talking about our friends that have moved. I told her we were going to go visit them at their new house and Brinn asked, "Do they have stairs?"
"Yes, they have stairs in their new house."
"So... (picture eyes rolling back trying to figure this one out) they moved their stairs?"
Not quite Brinn...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Will you be Mine? You are my love and my best friend. I couldn't ask for a more supportive and loving wife and mother for our kiddos. I miss you and hope your Valentine's Day is as good as you've made mine.

I love you!

Love,
Me

P.S. Look who's blog got hijacked :)

Enjoying...

... that Aidan's moon is the centerpiece on our kitchen table.

... that Brinn's dress-up clothes never stay put away for more than 5 mins.

... that Owen's brand new (ahemm... expensive) crib bears his teeth marks all over them. Maybe not so sentimental now... but I am sure in the future it will be my favorite piece of furniture!

(Notice the hand of little guy fast asleep.)

I love my life!!!

SNOW DAY!!!

We got 1cm of snow last night! Woo-hoo! For us "Texans" that's big! School was canceled and by 7:30 this morning this is what our street looked like (Keep in mind that you literally had to be on the street because the snow did not stick to the grass.)

These two had on all their snow clothes by 6:30...

When Aidan found out that it had snowed and that school had been canceled he said, "My wish came true." (Don't tell anyone buddy but so did mine!)

Even Dad and Pretzel got in on the action...

And Aidan was even more excited when his friend Arianna came out to play!

Woo-Hoo for snow days!