WOW…these three are keeping me busy!

Seriously, I can’t believe JUNE was my last post! Half of a year has simply flown by! I recall a conversation I had when Courtney was born. It was between me and Grandmomma Janet (Courtney and JT’s birth grandmother). She was trying to convince me that it would be a bit more challenging to keep up (with pictures on Facebook and on our blog) once we brought Courtney home. My reaction was typical “me”…thinking I could “do it all”…a lot has changed since then…I realize now I don’t HAVE to do it all! With the help of those that love me most…I’ve learned to let some things go and I truly believe I’m a better mommy b/c of it! With that being said…we’ve been super busy keeping up with these three kiddos! It’s been exciting…exhausting…and FUN! I have tried to keep my camera close by and have soooo many pictures! At this point I’m not even going to attempt a “catch up” post…I’ll just try and hit some highlights! Today I'll start with Luke's 1st birthday...
Luke’s FIRST birthday ROCKED!
We celebrated our little rocker with a garage band concert! The day was HOT and HUMID!!! It rained for most of the party making it a little crowded inside the garage but we all had so much fun! Jeremy went along with my crazy ideas and built a stage, a microphone stand, and a guitar stand…I know, I’m one blessed girl to have a hubby so sweet!! Jeremy’s mom and dad (Mimi and Pawpaw Tommy) bought Luke his very first drum set! The big kids had a great time playing in “the mosh pit” (aka the trampoline) and playing Wii dance games. We all loved watching Little Luke smash his cake, but he seemed to enjoy the chocolate guitars most of all!
 
       
                                        
           

Luke’s cupcake party (on his actual birthday)…
        
WE LOVE YOU LUKE!!!! YOU ROCK!!!!

Mother’s Day 2012

 

This is the entry from my personal journal the day after mother’s day:

I stood yesterday during worship at church with tears falling down my cheeks. Joy. Peace. Gratefulness. Love. SO MUCH LOVE! My mind was in two places at once…remembering the pain I felt 4 years ago and now living in the joy of motherhood! The hurt seems like it was just yesterday AND like a million years ago! I prayerfully asked God to give comfort to those experiencing heartbreak! I know too well the sadness that comes when all you desire is to be called mommy and God keeps saying no (or not yet)…it grieves your spirit and it tests your faith! Four years ago, I hated mother’s day…I realize this sounds harsh, but it’s true…it was a bitter reminder of the empty places in my heart. Back then, I dreaded mother’s day service at church…the reminders of my aching heart were endless and almost unbearable! However, as the tears fell yesterday, I was overwhelmed by emotions and in awe of God! He has worked out the details of our family in a way that only He could…His perfect plan allowed me to be part of three miracles…and they call me mommy! I also am filled with gratitude for the sacrifice and love of our very precious birth moms. I am honored to share mother’s day with two of the best women I’ve ever known…Momma Sarah and Momma Tori…I love them both to pieces! And, of course, I couldn’t celebrate mother’s day without remembering ALL my super sweet momma has meant to me! She’s the best example of what it truly means to be a mom…I am forever grateful for my beautiful, sweet momma! Praise God for ALL of His blessings on my life!!!! My heart is so full!

So I will remember the details of yesterday…here is a quick recap of the special moments from the day: woke up to Jeremy bringing me coffee in bed with a really sweet letter telling me how grateful he is to have me as a wife and mommy of our children (tears…yep!). He also said he knows how hard of a job I have and wanted me to take some time for myself…he gave me cash and strict instructions to use it for a pedicure/manicure/massage…he also gave me a Starbucks gift card. He said he wanted me to take a whole day just for me…yeah, I love him beyond words!!! He then did EVERYTHING for church prep…got all the kids bathed, dressed, fed, bags packed, etc. We then went to church for a beautiful time of worship (see above). For lunch, we went to Jeremy’s mom’s for a crawfish boil…YUMMY! Mary gave me a sweet necklace and my beautiful niece had handmade me some beautiful earrings! We had a great time and later that evening we headed to my mom’s to celebrate with her. While there, my sister and her family gave me a gift and the sweetest card that said “you’re our wonder woman”. When I opened the gift, it was a pair of wonder woman flip flops!!!!! LOVE THEM (and the flip flops too). Momma also gave me and my sister movie tickets…we all decided to have a girls night out SOON! Can't wait to spend some time with two of my best friends! At the end of the day, Jeremy asked how my mother’s day was and I said it was perfect except it was missing just one thing…I wanted a picture of me and my babies. (JT would NOT like that statement…I should have said “of me, JT, and the babies”…haha) SO, Jeremy came through again for me and took this pic…MY FAVORITE PART OF THE DAY!   

Just so you know…getting a picture with 3 kids (ages 3 and under) is not easy! haha

So much going on these days…

I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to catch up on all that has been happening in our lives. I’ll start with a fun night out back in March. We were given an opportunity to get out of the house and enjoy some good Southern Miss baseball! The babies stayed at home and snuggled with Mimi! As part of our church’s “TBC Nite at the Pete”, Jeremy was asked to throw out the first pitch of the game…and I was so excited that JT was going to get to see his  daddy on the pitcher’s mound…when we arrived we were told that JT and I could go down to the field with Jeremy and that if JT wanted, he could go out on the mound too!!! We were not sure how he would react since he’d never been in front of a crowd before…but when the time came, JT ran out ahead of Jeremy with no fear at all! Then, they let him keep the ball which he thought was SO neat! We had such a great time…Southern Miss To The Top!
 

COURTNEY (6 WEEKS OLD)

COURTNEY (4 WEEKS OLD)

COURTNEY (ONE WEEK OLD)