the "C" word...

Communication, they say, is VERY important in a marriage. I use to not believe it, not that we don't have communication in our marriage but I always thought it sounded so silly. J and I have always talked about everything together. Some people have thought we know too much about each other but after being married almost 9 years, I now understand how important communication can be!

We have always been behind the times with technology. (I promise I'm getting somewhere with this) We just never have made it part of our lives and we never, ever cared much about having anything in our house beside a computer and T.V. with cable. So this past Christmas, we felt the peer pressure and decided to become part of something and get new wireless devices. We first installed wireless internet in the house, then J got an iphone (which I must add he had a dinosaur phone and the new iphone was free to him since he hasn't upgraded in like 5 years). He is in phone heaven right now, it's been several months and he's still in love. He was so kind to get me an ipad for Christmas, I was stunned but let me tell you I can't put the thing down. I'm on it every single night and I read on it all the time!! It is fabulous!!!

I tell you all of this because NOW we are having a communication problem. Sure after work we are hands on with the kids, cooking dinner, getting them in bed and doing a few chores. But the MINUTE things calm down we are both on our devices just tuned OUT of each other. This doesn't happen every night, there are some nights when we are talking each other's heads off about things going on in our lives and people we know... normal things that married people talk about. When we have several days though, when we are not tuned into each other real often, that's when I start to feel our communication slip away and I start to feel... lonely. It's not J's fault, it's just our fault for allowing these stupid devices to control our time together. It's not having marriage problems, it's having a hard time realizing when it's time to put them down. Before we allow it to get out of hand.... we are going to start having no devices nights. Yes it will kill me to not read a few chapters in my current book and to not catch up on facebook updates but there comes a time when I must just put it down and make time for each other. J and I have no other plans but to grow old together and I want to continue to have fun doing it, I sure don't want to look back and wonder why we let silly things come between us.

Friends, it is so important to talk, communicate and listen to your spouse. When it's not happening you feel as though something is off and I will be sure that the one thing I will NOT allow something to be off in is my marriage and the enjoyment we have together in each other's company.

I know we aren't the only ones dealing with this issue right now, I'm just so glad we can realize it and make better changes for ourselves!

Westin's 10 month pictures

 This past weekend I finally got around to take his 10 month pictures with his sticker. I can't believe I only have 2 more stickers til he's 1 years old! I love this little stinker so much, he keeps us cracking up all the time! 

He was not real happy with me making him sit down for a picture... I could eat up his sweet face!!! He is starting to get that little boy look. You can all find me in a mental hospital because I'm not sure I can handle my baby boy getting so big! 

Even though he's getting bigger, I can still stare at his wittle face all night long. He rarely falls asleep on Mommy anymore but just as I told him, he's still my baby boy!

Bath time has become a wrestling match. I use to get very nervous about him being so rowdy, Will and Luke were NEVER this rowdy but now I let him be. He LOVES to stand up and fall down about 10 times in the water. I can't do anyting but keep my eyes on this wild boy while he's in the tub.

His new face is to open his mouth wide open when he's super excited. He was super excited here about showing off for Mommy! :)

Tuesday Talks

• Westin has become a Daddy's boy!!!!?? I truly love my boys loving their Daddy so much and it does make me pat myself on the back a little in the baby daddy area BUT I cant help but be jealous. He is my baby but wants so badly to be big. That is the thing with older siblings. He cracks up with Daddy and already knows Daddy is FUN. 
• I'm almost done with the planning of W's first birthday. He is having a Peter Rabbitt party and it will be totally precious. Ahhh, I remember just finishing up his room and packing our bags for the hospital.
• This past Saturday was Will and Luke's final basketball game for the season. It is bittersweet for me because yes it will free up so much time for us but we have met such wonderful friends. We will miss seeing them each week but thankfully already have play dates set. 
• Sunday afternoon we were at my sister in law's for my niece's birthday get together and all the sudden I started to feel weird. J and I decided it was time to head home, once we got home I went straight to bed which this all turned into the stomach bug. Early Monday morning Will woke us up after he became sick, then J got sick 2 hours later. I promise looking back it must of been comical. We were all so sick and trying to take care of each other. Thankfully no one else got it and it was just 24 hours. So ready for warmer weather and sickies to go away.
• It has been pretty cold here today. They say we might get snow Friday night, I say bring it on but then please Spring soon.
• Do you ever listen to klove on the radio? I listen to it each day and it blesses me every day. If you dont listen please try it out.The stories and music are fabulous. Thank you Lord for that ministry. When days get tuff they are always so encouraging. My prayer is to be an encouragement to others, obviously never in the way of klove but my prayer lately has been for Him to use me for other's needs. I want to help other's in many ways. I  pray for God's grace to pour through me to other's, soon I will share more on what I have in mind on how this will happen. 

Have a blessed day friends, show God's grace to other's. 

10 months... How can it be??

 Call me a bad Mommy if you want to but I have not had time to take a picture of this little terd with his 10 month sticker so before he is 11 months I need to go ahead and get his updates up on the blog.

These are recent pictures taken this week at our favorite place, Chick Fil A!

Westin you are getting bigger and bigger each day! You are now crawling like a wild man, pulling up on everything you think is sturdy (and even things that aren't but he soon realizes), cruising from the couch to the coffee table and there is NO stopping this boy now! His world has forever changed and he's one happy kid! He thinks he's totally big enough for everything his big brother's do and he has even started to get so MAD if their bedroom door is shut and he is still in the hallway. He just loves them so much! Right now they LOVE that he wants to be with them, but I do know that this too shall pass and one day it will be the opposite. :)

You FINALLY have one tooth and another one just broke the gums. You are saying something very important most of the time. You are constanlty babbling which makes us SO happy considering the problems we have had with your ears and the ENT saying you have hearing loss. Time will only tell if there is damage and as of right now your right on track.

You say "dada" like a champ, when I ask you to say "mama" you ALWAYS say "rara". I think that is your way of saying "mama" and I think it's precious!

Weight: 20 lbs 3 oz (little squirt)

Height: 27.5 inches (tall boy)

Head: well to me it's small... your brothers had huge heads at this age! :)

Westin, you continue to be such an angel and a joy in our lives. You are beginning to have a temper and I think it's hilarious. I can't help but think it's funny when you get so mad at such simple things. The doctor says it's normal at this age and it can get worse before better since you are #3. You are trying to get your voice heard and you are one funny boy doing it!

 Mommy, Daddy, Will & Luke love you so much Westin. You are such an amazing little child! I'm so blessed to have you as my baby boy! Keep on being the light shining that God's wants you to be! God has many things planned for your life and we are blessed to be part of it!

Valentine's Day 2013

We usually don't celebrate Valentine's Day much but we do make sure the kids know how loved they are and get little "happies" for this day. The boys had their Valentine's parties at school so they were all hyper with a sugar high most of the night. The picture above is Westin giving Mommy kisses. He has been doing this for awhile but we never get it on camera. He went to dinner with Daddy and I last Friday night which he absolutey LOVED being the only child to tag along. I love this little angel so much and he was extra loveable yesterday!! 

My sweet husband brought me home some flowers and I did get him tickets to a basketball game this weekend so we will be having a much needed date night tomorrow night. We usually do nothing for this day but for some reason we both decided to break that tradition. Next year we promised to do better, we just really enjoy making each other feel special. :)





Daddy got this picture of our littliest Valentine last night. He is crusing through the house all on his own. It it hilarious! (Yes our kitchen floors are 15 years old but we might be fixing that soon to sell the house). Will and Luke were too busy playing outside when we were snapping photos of the little boy!

We all had a wonderful day. Mommy cooked all of her loves a lovely lasagna dinner. Making my men happy with full bellies makes this Momma happy!

My Mom is on her way here right now. I can't WAIT to see her! I hope you all have a very blessed weekend!

midweek randoms

• My sweet hubs has an unspoken prayer request. He is going through a difficult situation. As his wife, it hurts me to see him hurt. We have complete faith God will get us through, no matter what the outcome will be, He is on our side! 
• I have seen a slight difference in Will's attitude. Thank you for the advice and prayers! 
• Westin is crawling forward (like a maniac), saying "dada" and he knows exactly who he's talking about. That boy is something else. He is one hilarious baby, I have a big 10 month post for him coming soon. 
• Westin was recently diagnosed with hearing loss in his right ear. I'm starting to think he is hearing well, the sweet boy is making lots of noises now. This week we have seen a huge difference in him, he is getting so big. 
• Today was my birthday. It is my last year in my 20's. I get very shy about people celebrating my birthday, I can't stand attention. Well at work they always do this really big deal, they over did it again this year. Facebook blew up all day which still amazes me, I'm not that good at telling friends HB so I get so dumb founded each year. It makes your day a little more special. Then the hubs spoiled me tonight, majorly. I got a spa day from Gould's. He sure knows what I need and that day will be SO MUCH FUN for this Momma.   
• I have been on a project kick lately. Below you will see a highchair that I repainted. It was white for the boys and needed a new paint job so with Westin I decided to paint it blue. Here are the before and after pictures.

• The next items I have on my project list is to paint bathroom cabinets, kitchen table and other items around the house. We also have a huge list we are slowly working through to finally put our house on the market. I'm sure it will be YEARS til our list is complete.
• Tomorrow's Valentine's Day and I'm already exhausted just thinking about all that I must get done tomorrow. Will has a field trip (so excited!), both boys have Valentine's parties at school then I have a small surprise to pull off for the hubs. Love this day, it's the day of LOVE!

That's all for tonight, I'm headed to bed. I hope you all are having a week full of love and blessings!

midweek randoms

* Westin started running a fever Sunday night, why do we always have fabulous weekends to then end with a sick kiddo? I'm happy to say he is fever free now with only a runny eye as evidence. I'm thinking sinus problems right now.

* Luke's teacher called me at 3pm yesterday to say Luke started to run a fever ( I was in the car pool line). So poor thing was super sick last night wih fever. Lucky for Luke, Daddy stayed home with him today and he's all better. Hopefully both boys were struck by a quick virus and no one else gets sick.

* I listen to klove each day. Usually that is the only station on our radio and I find that it sets a better mood in the car. Today a woman called in to say that she stopped using facebook to communicate with her friends. She found that once she did (surprisingly), she started to talk to her friends more often and make a better effort to see them regularly. It makes total sense. I have been feeling very lonely lately and I sometimes believe technology can play a huge roll in my feelings. How easy is it to send a friend a quick message on facebook or stalk their latest status updates for updates on their lives? BUT how much more meaningful is it to pick up the ole handy phone to have a real conversation with a friend? OR even worse how meaningful is it to sit and enjoy lunch with a friend? I'm down right sick of people thinking social media is the new way to communicate. I'm the first to admit to taking advantage of the convience of using SM to communicate but this is exactly what has been bothering me lately. I have been considering getting rid off facebook, I'm still trying to weigh my options. The only advantage to facebook for me is keeping up with my family and a few friends but most of the people on my page I never speak to. Somehow I will find a way to change it...

* We are planning our family summer vacation. We usually go to the beach and to be honest come this summer I might regret this decision but we decided to go to Gatlinburg. The hubs grew up going there all the time and he has tons of things he would like to do and show the boys. He and I went several times before having kids. Now that we have some older boys, we know it will be such an amazing trip for them which in return is epic for us! Something about seeing your children having a blast that makes your heart swell. We save money and take these trips for them so I hope all of the planning pays off for us! God is good and seeing his creation makes life grand.

* Please pray for my sweet Will. He is well, but is having attitude, ungrateful and unhappy ways lately. I would like to know we aren't the only parents dealing with this in a child or that this will pass or even good books on his topic. Will seems to always want more, his life isn't fair, if you do something you know he will enjoy - he more than likely won't. He can be such a sweet, caring, funny, creative, smart and amazing boy... when I see him this way, it hurts my heart!

* My husband is my best friend and amazing. I don't give him enough credit on my blog. I have not always been the nicest person to him but he continues to love me unconditionally. We have a good life together, whatever life throws us we deal with head on. He is perfect for me.



Have a blessed week friends!