November 2010

In November, we took a little road trip to Denver to visit our sweet friends, Bob & Terri. On our way there, we hit a deer--a very large deer. It did quite a bit of damage to our car, so the police came and drove us to a near-by hotel for the night while our car was towed. The kids got to ride in a police car and of course thought that was WAY cool. You should have seen it though--it took four police cars to cart all of our stuff to the hotel. We were driving and we have three kids--obviously we had a lot of gear with us--anyway--there we were on the side of the road at 11:30 at night with four police cars and six officers unloading the acadia and re-loading into the trunks of the cars. It was really funny...so was the fact that the police officers were discussing who would take the deer! Anyway--it ended up being a fun trip even though it started out with such an adventure. We are very blessed that none of us were hurt. Too bad we can't say the same for that poor deer.
Anyway--the rest of the month seemed kind of dull after that! The kids had their Thanksgiving feasts at school--Chad ate with Marlie and I ate with Carter; rather un-eventful, but I guess that's not always a bad thing. Graeson started LOVING his veggies and at the time was still getting as much on his face as in his mouth, but that makes for some great pictures! We had Thanksgiving at our house with some of our church family and that was lots of fun. We had (and have) a lot to be thankful for.

 

October 2010

October was as beautiful as ever and we enjoyed every second of the perfect weather and gorgeous colors. We hiked the Manzano Mountains, visited the pumpkin patch and of course--went trick-or-treating. Carter was some kind of weird wolf ninja--whatever--I give up. Marlie was "Pinkalicious", Graeson was a jack-o-lantern, and Abi was a unicorn with a princess riding on her back. We had a great time trick-or-treating, but the highlight of the month was definitely Graeson's first hike. He loved it and so did we!

September 2010

In September, we went to Texas for my niece, Meagan's wedding. We were only there for a few days, but it was great to spend a little time with family and friends. Marlie was the flower girl and of course loved every second of it. The song that was played as everyone was walking back down the aisle after the wedding was Sugarland's "Stuck Like Glue"...Marlie now calls that either "my wedding song" or "Mae-Mae's song". I had to download it to my ipod because she LOVES it now. Although the time we had there was short, it was sweet...and my brothers and most of my family got to see Graeson for the first time, so that made it even sweeter!

Click on the picture to see a larger view...if you click it a second time, it will zoom in even further.

August 2010

click on the image to make it bigger and see all the pictures in better detail.

Since it has been awhile since my last post, I decided to just do a summary of the last few months with a grouping of pictures for each month. Just a week after my last post, Chad and Carter hiked Pikes Peak. They started early on Saturday morning and hiked half way and stayed the night at Barr Camp in a lean-to. The next morning they attempted to summit but inclement weather kept them from reaching the top. They had so much fun and Carter will have these memories from his 8th birthday forever. Chad enjoyed it just as much as Carter did. Like father like son....

Mr. Graeson

Graeson doesn't do a whole lot right now besides wooing us with his charms. He's so squishy and smells like heaven (most of the time). So I don't have a lot to say that's clever, witty or funny, but just know that until you meet him in person, you have no idea just HOW squishy he actually is. Here are a few pictures to whet your appetite...I know I tell him all the time that I could just eat him up...sop him up with a biscuit, dip him in gravy, etc, but truthfully, we don't actually eat him, nor do we want anyone else to. If and when you do meet him in person, however, we will allow you to squeeze him (gently, of course) and sniff him. Its the best. What would we have ever done without our little Grae-Baby?

All About Carter

My baby turned 8 WHOLE. YEARS. OLD....How did this happen?? It seems like only yesterday that he was born and now all of sudden, in the blink of an eye, he turned 8. I still can't believe it. We celebrated his birthday, rather simply, with a 3 friend sleep-over, pizza, birthday cake, and s'mores. They were going to sleep outside in a tent, but looming clouds brought them inside...tent and all. We set up the tent in the living room and the 4 boys got in their sleeping bags with their flashlights and told stories until the wee hours of the morning. Overall, it was a little crazy, but a success.
Carter has made us so proud in these last eight years. He has a heart of gold and is the most caring little boy I have ever known (unless Marlie is around). He does great in school, always makes fast friends with his teachers, and loves to learn. This past year he won multiple citizenship awards...and of course, we wondered if they had the right kid. In all seriousness, though, he really is a great kid, just has a hard time getting along with his sister. He is loving gymnastics, and has aspirations of becoming competitive with it. He is by far the smallest one in his class, but is able to keep up with the big guys with no problem.
He is so into legos and art right now, along with Indiana Jones, Star Wars, bugs, dinosaurs, science and history. He cracks me up with the tv shows he likes to watch--he's so "old" for his age. He watches Lone Ranger, Full House, Mythbusters, Chasing Mummies, America's Funniest Home Videos, Penguins of Madagascar, and any survival shows and documentaries that he can get his hands on. This weekend, he and Chad are hiking Pikes Peak. I still can't believe he is actually old enough for that! He is soooo excited to go, and it will be great for him and Chad to have some quality time together without...well...the rest of us.
I just wanted to share a little about my Carter Boy--sometimes he gets talked about less than Marlie, because although very funny, he tends to be somewhat more low-key..and overall, just less...loud. I hope you enjoyed reading about our sweet boy.

Shhhhh....

Last night, Graeson was crying--well, I guess to say that he was crying would be an understatement. He was actually screaming. Marlie was sitting at the kitchen table and as I walked in holding Graeson, she said, "I know a trick." Not realizing what she meant, I said, "What trick do you know?", totally thinking that she was going to show me that she could make a quarter appear or something. Instead, she said, "I know a trick to make Graeson stop crying. Bring him to me." I did as instructed, and she cuddled his face close to hers, put her hands on his cheeks and said, "shhhhh, shhhhh, shhhhh, see--it works!" Much to my amazement, he stopped crying, until she stopped. Then he started crying again. I tried Marlie's "trick" and it worked for a split second, but then she tried it again herself, and he got quiet. She's such a sweet big sister to him, and I think that he knows it. He always looks at her whenever she's around. She'll teach him a lot, which could be a good thing, or it could be a very very bad thing. Either way, though, I can already tell that he is really going to look up to his big sister.

Still Kickin'

Yes, we are still alive and no, we have not moved to a different planet, as some have accused. I received some great advice the other day concerning this blog...the advice was this...don't apologize, or try to explain yourself, just pick up where you left off. So, here I go, picking up (somewhat) where I left off.

Let's see--since my last post, here's a very quick fast forward version of what has been going on...just to catch everyone up to speed. Okay--in October, Chad ran his first marathon; I started my own little real estate staging business; I became okay with not having any more kids; cleaned out the garage (correction--STARTED cleaning out the garage); got rid of almost everything baby related; didn't shed even one single tear over it; three days later I found out I was preggers, that is--in the motherly way--found out a bun was in the oven--a pea was in the pod--you get it. Not only did I shed a single tear, but many many tears and then wondered what in the world God had in store for us next. I then went to Goodwill to try to buy back all my baby clothes and gear that I had just donated--didn't find any of it, but on a side note, I amazingly found a lot of our clothes at a different Goodwill about 6 months later. Anyhoo-- amidst that week in October I realized two things...I am NOT in control of my life, no matter how much I would like to think that I am, and secondly, I secretly wanted another baby, no matter how much I tried to tell myself and everyone else that I didn't.

Fast forward 9 months later, and here we are...a family of 5 (humans, that is) and only one dog, two cats, a fish and a fiddler crab. Life has never been more blissful than at this very moment--never mind the fact that at this very moment, everyone is sound asleep and the only thing I hear is the clicking of the keyboard. Tomorrow in the light of day, things will not seem as blissful when I'm on the floor of my closet in the fetal position with my fingers in my ears, rocking back and forth humming loudly every song I can think of just to drown out the noise. But for now, in the still of the night, bliss it is.

Okay, we have to back up a few months, so I can tell you a couple of funny things. We all know that it is the natural order of things for a mother to gain a few pounds (more than a few in my case) while she is expecting. Well, Marlie noticed. Boy oh boy did she notice. She noticed every. single. day. "Mommy, your bottom is getting big." "Mommy, why is your tummy so huge?" "Mommy, did you notice that your legs are kind of fat?" And she stared at my growing stomach like a june bug stares at a bare porch light. The entire nine months. Sadly, the staring and lovely comments didn't stop once I had Graeson. The very first thing she said to me when she saw me at the hospital after he was born..."Hi, mommy! Are you skinny yet?" Then, a couple of days later..."Mommy, when are you going to get skinny again?" A couple of weeks later..."Mommy, you're not skinny yet, but almost!" AND...don't even get me started on the breastfeeding! I'll just share this one--picture it--she's staring again--"...so...milk REALLY comes out of your chee-chee's, huh?"

Okay, I guess you might be wondering...his name is Graeson James Bradley (I know, I know, he'll probably never grow into his huge name). He is such a sweet baby and we are so blessed to have him in our lives. Carter and Marlie are adjusting well, doing all the things most normal kids do...fight to the death over my attention, albeit negative; fight over who held the baby the longest; fight for the sake of fighting...you know--the norm. In all seriousness, they are very sweet with Graeson, just as long as they are not within earshot of each other...then it gets ugly. I keep repeating to myself over and over again...this too shall pass. I do pray often that they will out-grow their differences sooner rather than later and become the best of friends. Carter is a great big brother (to Graeson...let me make that perfectly clear). To Marlie, he's more like a great big thorn in her side, as is she to him. Its a give and take relationship with those two.

Chad is doing well, even though he broke his wrist a couple of weeks ago, when he took a little spill off his bicycle. He was in the midst of training for a triathalon, but that came to a screeching halt when he was put in a cast from his hand to his bicep. How CONVENIENT...no diapering, no bathing the kids...but that's okay, because he's been an amazing one armed dad. I have honestly been amazed at what he is able to do one-handed. I have also been amazed at how much I forget that he IS one handed and ask him to do crazy things, like mow the yard, open a jar of pickles...I am trying hard to be more sensitive. He is such a trooper; no whining, no complaining, just doing way more than he should, and never saying a word. I would be WAY more annoying and high maintenance if it were me having to shower with a trash bag on my arm.

So, I guess now we just wait patiently for school to start, for Chad's arm to heal, for cooler weather, and for some rest. In the meantime, the kids and I will just enjoy our long (and I mean LONG) summer days together. I have to admit, the slower pace of the summer is kind of nice, so I really should try to enjoy the days of staying in our jammies all day (until Chad is about to come home, then we all get dressed). There's nothing like a day at home, a meal at home, and watching the summer sunset with the family. I should treasure it...the fast pace season is creeping up on us and will be here before we know it (hopefully).