Rock and Worship Roadshow

Matt and I took Camden to the Rock and Worship Roadshow. Anyone who spends any time at all with Camden will realize his love for Christian music quickly. He is rarely found without his Ipod in hand listening to music. Matt's best friend/best man came into Albuquerque to also come to the concert. His sister is married to one of the guys in Tenth Avenue North. We got to go backstage and meet several band members and watch the majority of the show from the side of the stage! It was a night Camden will not soon forget!

Lead Singer of Tenth Avenue North
One of Camden's favorites: LaCrae!! He was so nice to Camden. He talked with him for a minute and asked where he would be during the show. We told him we were watching from the side of the stage. During his performace, he came to the corner of the stage, looked and pointed at Camden and threw him a drumstick! We got it signed by him later. Camden was so pumped!

Camden and Shelby watching Hawk Nelson

Tenth Avenue North guys on their tour bus!

My Stitched up Super Girl

Maylee Grace got her very own set of stitches. My crazy little lady bumped her chin on the footboard of the boy's bed. She was a trooper. She watched Lady and the Tramp while the doctor stitched her up. The only thing she was truly upset by was the giant bandage they put on her chin to cover the cut. As soon as we got home, the giant, ugly bandage was replaced by princess bandaids. She also earned a yummy strawberry julius for being brave at the doctor.

A Day in the Life

How blessed I am that I get to stay home with my kids! Today we built a fort and for a special treat, we went to McDonald's for lunch!

Payton explained to me that we "needed" to go to McD's because they were giving out Star Wars toys in the Happy Meals.

Annual Daddy/Daughter and Mother/Son Dates

For years now, we've taken all of our special Valentines on individual dates in the month of February. They get to pick whatever they want to do. Matt takes Maylee Grace and I take the boys. It is such a special time and it's so fun to see how excited each of the kids get as their date day approaches.

Maylee Grace picked a date to the library and Krispy Kreme. Daddy surprised her with mini roses which she proudly has displayed in her room currently. He also took her to buy her a new dress. She picked a very pink and princessy dress and could not wait to show off her treasures from the day. She must have smiled all day long!

Payton knew exactly where he wanted to go. He picked a date to Build a Bear. He also wanted to eat lunch at Lone Star Steakhouse, because he "loves their bread." He had a blast and even talked the waitress into giving him two loaves of bread to bring home.

Camden picked Cold Stone and a movie. So, we went to watch 'Journey 2 Mysterious Island' and got a yummy treat at Cold Stone. He really enjoyed the movie! We had a great time.

She's watching you Daddy

I've been thinking a lot about how special Maylee Grace is. God has truly blessed her with a sweet, kind spirit. She's always talking, singing and dancing around. She brings so much joy into our home. I love the relationship she has with Matt. She loves her Daddy in such a special way. It's so different than the way she interacts with me. She loves to get Daddy's approval of her outfit or the way she is caring for her baby doll or any major coloring project she's working on. I am so thankful that when the time comes for her to look for the man God has designed for her that her standard for a husband will be set by her fabulous Daddy. She will look for someone just like him....and that is a great thing.

Tutus and Tennis

Payton and Maylee Grace have been doing two new classes through the City of Rio Rancho. Payton is taking tennis lessons and Maylee Grace is taking a Tiny Toes class that is an intro to ballet and tap. They are both having an absolute blast.

Maylee Grace and her friend Avery

Packers Waffles!

Matt got a Packers Waffle and Sandwich Maker for Christmas from his Dad. He is quite proud of it. He's showing off his Packers pride at breakfast!

Happy Birthday JESUS!

Christmas was wonderful as always this year. On Christmas Eve, we read the story of the real St. Nicholas about how he gave and showed love because God gave His love to him. What amazing history that people have no idea is a depiction of God's love! Our church had a beautiful Christmas morning service where we had to bring out more chairs, because there was so many people there to celebrate Jesus' birth! We wrapped up the day with the Packers winning. It was a great day!

Maylee Grace with her new bike complete with baby seat and bell!

Couldn't get the boys to turn around long enough for a picture :)

All Aboard!

In 2008, we took the family and rode the Polar Express in Durango, CO. We knew after that trip that we would want to bring the kids back and do it again. In November, we got a great deal on a hotel, so we knew it was the perfect opportunity! We bought train tickets and waited to surprise the kids. We didn't tell them until the morning we were leaving. I had all the bags packed and we told the kids we had a present that we were going to let them open early. They tore through the packages to find new pajamas and a ticket for the Polar Express. We had a great time and the kids absolutely loved it!

Camden and his friend, Brenna. They've been friends since they were 1! She and her family got tickets on the same train as us!

May holding the golden ticket. She was not going to let go of it. She just sat and took everything in. She loved it!

My cute snow bunny

Band Concert

Camden decided at the beginning of the school year to join the band. He knew exactly what instrument he wanted to play...the trumpet. Last night, all the 5th grade Band students in Rio Rancho showed off their new skills on their instruments. I've been quite impressed at how quickly he's learned. He has Band practice only twice a week and he also takes trumpet lessons with his friend, Matthew, from Mr. Stephen at church. He has, so far, really enjoyed it and learned a lot. He considers it extra special that his trumpet is Papa's trumpet.

Payton's Special Day

This video pretty much says it all. Payton has been super sensitive to learning about who Jesus is and what He did for us and all of our "mess-ups" (sins). He had been asking lots of questions. He sat down with Mommy and Daddy and we talked about what the Bible says about our free gift from God. What a special present just for us! We just have to accept it. With such a sweet and innocent prayer, he asked Jesus to come live in his heart forever. What a special day as parents to rejoice with him!

SNOW!

We had our first big snow storm of the season and it was COLD out there! The temperature didn't matter to the kids. They all put on their snow clothes and headed out. Camden played with several of the neighbor kids from the street while they all celebrated having 3 days out of school due to all the snow. (He was busy playing with his friends which is why he is not in any of the snow pictures.)

My Rising Star

Camden received the Rising Star Award at school last night. We are SO very proud of him! His teacher shared about what a great friend he is, how respectful he is and how hard he is working in school. It was a special night.

Camden and his teacher Mrs. Walls

Harvest Festival

We made our rounds at Harvest Festival this year. The kids had a blast and as always raked in a ton of candy. I really don't like the idea of their bags full of yummy candy just sitting on the kitchen counter all day.....oh temptation.

Captain Rex, Jango Fett, and the cutest Tinkerbell you've ever seen

Oh man...she is so beautiful. I can't tell you how many people told me that tonight. I tell her all the time that "God made her SO beautiful."

Bible Character Night

At Awana Cubbies, it was Dress like a Bible Character Night. When I asked Payton who he wanted to be, he immediately answered "David!" So, we opted for no sling shot :) and just the bag full of rocks. He was happy. Maylee Grace wanted to be a princess. We looked through her Princess Bible to see who might be wearing a purple dress, because she already had a purple princess dress. We found Hannah! So, we talked about who Hannah was and how she prayed and prayed that God would give her a baby in her tummy. I am quite partial to the story of Hannah. So here is my David and Hannah....and of course, baby Samuel.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to gather our pumpkins at the pumpkin patch with our friends. It was COLD! We had lots of fun playing in the western town, zooming down the big pipe slides and seeing the animals.

May and Julianna petting the bunny.

Maylee Grace admiring her pumpkin. She spotted this little guy and said, "Mom, I want this one. It's beautiful." :)

The REALLY awesome and amazingly cool moms that took their kids to the pumpkin patch. What blessed kids they must have!

Ben, Camden, Payton and Shelby trying to keep warm on the hay ride

sweet friends