Mothers Day

Being a Mom is the greatest and most rewarding blessing in my life. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with such beautiful, wonderful children. And so grateful that he chose me to be their Mother. I hope that I am making him proud. I love love love being a Mom. It isn't easy, not even a little bit. There are the all nighters, the tantrums, the constant mess, the endless piles of laundry and the constant refereeing. But it is all worth it and I wouldn't trade a second of it. I have the best job in the world and I am so blessed that I get to stay home with these two sweet boys of mine. My little buddies. They are so much fun.

5 reasons why I LOVE being a Mom:

#1 How my children never judge me and even though I may embarrass them at times they love me no matter what.

#2 Our conversations. We have some of the best ever, the things they come up with are hilarious. They are always making me laugh.

#3 The hugs, kisses and snuggles. (I hope they do it forever!)

#4 Hearing " I love you Mom" everyday. I will always feel loved.

#5 The rewarding feeling I get when my children make right choices and do good things. It is then I know that my efforts are not being wasted.

And in honor of Mother's Day I wanted to share two of my very favorite videos. They are such beautiful reminders of how important our jobs as Mothers are and how truly precious and rewarding it is. And they are true confirmation that Heavenly Father is proud of us and is always there when we need him.
My New Life

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

So, Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers in my life and especially to my own Mother. I love you so very much. Thank you for all that you do and for being such a wonderful example to me. I am so grateful.

Updates!

Can I just say how very excited I am that Dev is finally past the half way mark for this rotation! Woo Hoo! He still has awhile to go, but atleast he is more than half way done! This is his last week in the valley. Then he works with a different crew for 2 weeks and he is not sure where they will be... they move all over. And then he is with the Flagstaff Hot Stick Crew until July 25th. And he is not sure where he will be for those 2 months either... And then he is done!! He is so ready to be home and we are so ready to have him home. But, he never complains... he is a lot stronger than I am. I am always whining about it... But, I know that he has to do it, and it will all be worth it in the end. So, I guess I can suck it up for a couple more months... I am so proud of him. He is such a hard worker.

Some more exciting news... I got a phone call last week that Deagan made it into American Heritage for kindergarten next year. So, we went and met his teacher Mr. White yesterday. Deagan was nervous all day about it. He was a little shy at first but warmed up real quick. His teacher asked him some questions to see how much he knew and Deagan did awesome. His teacher was really impressed. I was so proud :) I can't believe he is going to be in kindergarten. It's so crazy. That is going to be such an emotional day. But, I am so excited for him to make new friends and learn new things. He is going to do so awesome. He is still playing T-ball. They have 2 games a week... he has mixed feelings. Some days he loves it, and some days he is totally bored with it and spends most of his time in the stands with me getting a "drink". I think if Dev were here it would be different. So, hopefully next year he will be a little more into it. It is good for him though.

As for Mr. Treyden he is definitely a 2 year old. Those terrible 2's are coming out more and more. He is no longer letting Deag push him around. He thinks he is bigger and tougher than everyone. He is funny though. He keeps us entertained. I tried potty training with him last week... I thought he was ready because he is always wanting to watch Deagan and then he always wants to try it. Well, I was wrong. He was not ready... he was terrified of the toilet and could care less if he peed all over himself. I was thinking it was going to be a breeze... Deagan was so easy. So, I am going to do some more research and try again in a couple weeks. Haha. I don't want to force him to do it if he is not ready... so hopefully I can find a way to get him excited about it. Any ideas?? He is also loving Nursery again... he stopped there for awhile. The new time in January messed him all up. Nursery hit right at his nap time. But, he loves it now and goes willingly every Sunday. It is so sweet watching Deagan run to get him every Sunday after Primary... they walk out holding hands and Deagan is telling Treyden, "Good job, you stayed the whole time." I love my boys. They melt my heart.

And my big news is my new calling in church. I am Second Counselor in the Primary Presidency. I am really excited about it. I really like all the ladies in the presidency and I am grateful for this new calling. I hope that I can do it well. I am definitely going to miss my class though. But atleast I will still get to see them every Sunday! So far it has been going good... I have sharing time this Sunday so we will see how its going after that... haha.

Now for the best part... pictures of my handsome boys.

Playing in the irrigation at Alvin and Jessie's... and yes they are still in their pjs :)

Our Little T-baller!

Today was Deagan's first T-Ball game. We weren't sure how it was going to go... since the day he found out he would have to wear a helmet when he went up to bat he has been totally against the idea of T-Ball. He has been doing really good at all his practices though and was finally starting to warm up to the idea. Then I was getting a little worried he was going to chicken out when he tried to fake sick today. Then he found out his Dad was going to be to his game, and he got really excited. He got dressed in his uniform 2 hours before his game started, and was pumped when we got there. What a stud.

Dev and his boys. They are always so happy when Daddy is home, even if it's just for a couple hours.

Deagan and Brennen

Deagan and Gunner

He was pretty proud of himself for going out there and playing. So were we. Good job Deagan.

Go Ironbirds!

Flip-flops and Popsicles

This week the weather in Camp Verde has been perfect.

And we have been taking full advantage of it.

Flip-flops, check.

Sunscreen, check.

Dumptrucks full of water, check.

A trip to the park, check.

Popsicles, check.

Two happy boys, check and check!

Oh how I love this weather and these two boys of mine.

Even the small one who refuses to smile for pictures.

Keepin' Busy

Dev has been gone for a little over 2 months now and the boys and I are doing our best to keep ourselves busy so the time will go by quicker. We spent the first month at home because the boys were sick and it was brutal. So since they have been better we have either been in the valley with Dev or in Snowflake. Last week we stayed with my Mom for a few days and then Dev came up and we all spent the rest of the weekend in Snowflake. The boys had a blast. They played hard and got to spend time with some cousins they dont get to see very often.

This is Treyden's picture smile. Lovely isn't it.

Goin' to "help" Dude spray out the garage

Playin' with cousins at Grandma and Grandad's

It was a fun and quick week. Another one down, only 20 more to go!

Birthday Parties!

After looking at all my pictures I have decided that I need to let someone else take the pictures. I didn't get near enough of the boys on their special days... I am so bummed. I guess I get too caught up in all the fun I forget to take pictures... that and my kids never have enough time to stop and take a picture. Hopefully I will remember this next year...

Treyden had a Lightning McQueen party this year. We just had it at home with family and a few friends. We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and the kids played outside. We sang happy birthday and he blew out his candles and opened his gifts.

... and a 4wheeler ride from big brother to end his special day!

We told Deagan he could do whatever he wanted for his party this year and he decided he wanted to go to Jumpstreet and then Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Both mine and Dev's families came down and we all went and played at Jumpstreet for awhile and then headed to dinner. It was a fun day and Deagan loved every second.

On the way to Jumpstreet! Deag was so excited. He loves it there.

The HUGE crocodile slide

Jumping!

Going down the slide.

Braz in the foam pit!

I can't believe both of their birthdays have already come and gone... Their parties were simple and fun. I figure we should keep things simple while we still can. That, and I am not a party planner. I try, but it never seems to work out the way I want it to. Oh well, the important thing is the boys had a good time and they got to spend time with the people who love them the most. I just wish I would have taken more pictures! Dangit!

The Big 5!

This handsome boy turned 5 on Friday! I can hardly believe it. He has grown up so fast.

Deagan is so fun and so full of life. He is hilarious and is always making us laugh. We never know what he will come up with next.

We love him so much and are so blessed to be his parents. We love you so much Deagy Boy! We hope you had lots of fun on your 5th birthday.

*I have pictures from his big day, but I left my camera in the valley with Dev so that will have to be another post.