CHRISTMAS and BIRTHDAY!

So this december we have had quite a busy month! Hudson turned the BIG "1" It is hard to believe a whole year has gone and went..... We have a very busy one year old on our hands now! We had a party with all the fam that could make it and unfortunately Hudson wasn't feeling 100% You see he just had a reaction to his antibiotics for his ear infection the day of his birthday.... He ended up in the ER and we moved his party to Sunday ;( So he would be feeling alittle better to enjoy it. You can tell in these photos he still wasn't feeling the best!! Poor baby!!

Here are some pics of Hudson tearing into his gifts and eating cake!!

Hudson not so sure about the cake yet?!

Definately liking it now ;)

Dad and Mom with our messy boy!

He loves his slide he got!

Always excited to rip paper up! Thankfully he chose not to eat this paper ;
Hudson got a lot of new gifts and he was pretty spoiled this year!! Needless to say he shouldnt need anything for a while..... Funny thing is his favorite thing to play with is the swiffer or the tv remote!! Hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Years ;)

PLAY it forward??!!

I am sure you all are wondering what the heck I am talking about Right??......

Well I have been finding it hard to keep Hudson busy with his toys! He is so bored with them because that is all he plays with. So I have been hiding some and bringing them out after a few weeks so they are like new again ;) Well it really isn't working anymore :( So I saw this in a magazine- "PARENTS" magazine as a fact!!

Here is how it works.... You round up a bunch of friends the same age as your kid for a toy exchange! Ask them each to bring 2 toys they would like to give away. Help your child choose which 2 toys to bring and explain that he will get a new toy in return ;) Once everyone arrives arrange the toys the kids get to choose between. Have each kid go around and explain whats fun and interesting about the toys they brought to the party! Give each kid 3 number labels to label their 3 favorite toys! Give each kid 1 toy on how they rated the toy.... (Pick out of a hat if there's more than one 1st choice tag on a toy, and so forth.)

WALLAAHHH (SP) Now each kid has a new toy that they are excited to play with! Its really simple and would be so much fun..... Ok mommas go out there and get a group of your kids' friends together and try it!! I think it will help them learn to give gifts away and in return get something new ;)

Let me know if you want in on my Play it forward!! HEHEHE
Have fun!

A note to Hudson!!

Hudson,
I haven't written about all your amazing new tricks you have started doing!! So I thought I better blog about them!! Not long ago you had your first hair cut from Aunt MEME and you were not sure about her hands being all over your head! But you were suprisingly still and let her cut it. Everything went smoothly and you looked so so cute after we spiked it all up ;) In the last couple months you have been talking so much!! Its scary I think you may take after your mom in that category since your dad is quiet in big groups...... You love blabbing to get attention and you have started to say Mommm, dada, and baba!! You even use them in the right times you aren't just yelling them out! The other morning when you woke up I heard through the monitor Mommm baba!! I knew right away you were going to be ready to eat hehehe.... And let me tell you when your hungry LOOK OUT ;) Not only are you talking you are crazy fast at crawling when you want something and you are climbing all over things. Walking is not something you are wanting to try yet unless you are walking around objects, it takes tooooo long to get something so you would rather crawl to it! You still have a love for music and dance whenever you hear it and that makes mommies heart melt and get so happy ;) We may have to start you in guitar and piano lessons soon hehehe!! Although I am sure your daddy would rather you be hunting and an outdoorsmen.... You have been waving forever and now its not a backwards wave its a side to side wave like a PRO!! Your newest trick you have started doing is clapping and that is all you do now! Whenever we put sesame street on or your other favorite video you start clapping and get all excited and then mommy gets all excited! You giggle so much and are such a happy baby. Your dad and I are so blessed to have such a wonderful son with such a big heart! You have filled our home with so much love and happiness and we are so greatful to God for giving you to us. We cannot wait to see what you learn to do next!
LOVE YOU LOTS
MOM

Cooking Time!

A while ago my mom and I would make different meals in tin pans and freeze them for days when you dont have time to cook and just need to hurry and throw something.... It was the best idea everrrr!! Now when we have somewhere to be or I am gone all day all I have to do is throw out a pan and thaw it so its ready to bake when I get home! Things we make are:

1. Lasagna

2. Meatballs

3. Cheesy Potatoes

4. Chicken Enchiladas (Sp?)

It is so nice and easy!! I took some of the goodies to my cousins Rachael and Monica because I thought it would be nice for them so they had a night off of having to cook..... When I told them what we were doing they thought it would be a great idea to do sometime! So we decided like every so many months we would get together and have a cooking day were we each made some food to freeze. One of us gets the ingredients for everyone and and we split the cost at the end! Here is a few photos of the day!

All of us cooking our meals and Megan eating Pumpkin icecream :)

Notice Rachael with the cheese hehe

Monica and I

Monica was so fast she was done way before I even got started :)

Did I mention Rachael likes cheese :)

We had so so much fun and laughed so hard the whole day and I am pretty sure Rachael ate more cheese than we had for the food... We made fun of her all day for it!! Next time we get together we are thinking of doing different soups and trying that out.... If you have any good recipes to share that freeze good let us know :)

A quote to remember from the day:

1. "Your so cute I want to kill you"- Rachael

Thanks for the good day girls- LOVE YOU

A NO boys trip!!

I love having friends that love the same things I do..... For instance.....

My friend Melinda loves GOD, her son, and her husband. She loves to hunt, the outdoors, laughing and shopping....

My friend Justine loves GOD, her husband, hunting, outdoors, laughing, and shopping!!

This is Karla she is a new friend.... We met at Justines wedding and she lives in Sutton! I dont know everything that she likes but I definately know she loves to shop, laugh and have fun!! It was so fun getting to know her more and I cannot wait to hang with her more!

You see we lived together at one point or another in college!! We always had so much fun and even when we wanted to be serious and have those girly talks we could!! They were always listening and helpful..... I love that we share the same interests and we all share the same FAITH...... You can never have enough Godly friends!! So this past weekend we went shopping together and lets just say we spent way way more than we all should have and we laughed way way more than we should have. I am pretty sure my stomach muscles were aching the next morning from laughing the whole day before :) I love days where you can eat, shop, and laugh!! I love these girls!!!!!!!!!!

Oh and did I mention we spent a lot of money.... OOOPPSSS..... Well dont worry the husbands all were ok and did I mention the husbands were all together with the kiddos and watching football?!?? Yes the guys babysat while the girls played hehehe! I haven't had one of those days in forever. Thanks for the great time and memories girlies :)

PS I put together a little flower arrangement for the FALL in a "tall, skinny" vase (remember in the previous post)?? Well we named the vase while shopping at hobby lobby! We spent quite a while looking for the vase and walking all over the store trying to remember where we saw it at.... hehehe! So here it is! What do you think??

WOwzERss!!!

So today I look out the kitchen window and feel like I am hearing birds...... YES there were birds but when I say birds I mean BIG BIG black birds!! I dont think I have ever told anyone this but I am afraid of birds especiallly BLACk ones :( They were literally everywhere! They were so loud I could hear them from in the house..... I was freaking out thinking about this OLD OLD OLD movie called "The Birds" when these black birds take over this town and attack people! I know this is redic that I am even thinking about it but I am not kidding I was SCCCCARREDDD!! I am not joking when I say this is how many birds were outside our house!

So I guess you know its fall when birds are swarming all over!! Happy Fall :) I really wanted to post about our great weekend we had but I left my camera in sleepy Hudson's room, so sometime this week I will tell you all about our shopping extravaganza and "tall, skinny"

Sleep Tight All

YAYAYAYA!!

So I am so so so excited to tell you that the new season of my two favorite shows have started!!

Every Wednesday at 8:00 they start and end at 9:00.... that means 1 hour of hilarious shows!

Cannot wait to see what happens next on these shows
I just had to blog about this excitement....

The 1st show at 8 is MODERN FAMILY :)

The 2nd show at 8:30 is COUGAR TOWN :)

So I have to tell you if you have time during wednesday night and need a good LAUGH check out these shows and let me know what you think!!!!!!

Happy Wednesday All!!

Costume Time!

So we will not be participating in the traditional trick or treating this year but we will be dressed up all fun like!! We plan to visit the grandparents and show off our wardrobe and Hudson will be wearing this cute outfit!!

As for Shayde and I well we may have to join in on dressing up and where this cool number!! It will be an elephent family herd hehehehe :)

Instead of celebrating the day that is considered to be the day for the DEVIL we will celebrate the start of where Protestant churches began during the Reformation..... We grew up doing the trick or treating when we were really young but soon after we would go to reformation parties at church and play games and eat lots of food! Shayde and I agreed to raise our kids doing the whole reformation thing but who says you cant do that in a costume?!?? So we decided to dress up in our costumes the day before holloween and show them off..... Dont worry we will take lots and lots of pictures and post them!

To spank or not to spank!!

So we have hit a new milestone called throwing fits and throwing ourselves to the ground!! I was thinking this was only a terrible two's thing but I was definately wrong..... Wow these last few weeks have been rough on me!! Shayde always said he would be the one to discipline but what do I do when he is gone during the day???? HELPPPP!!!! I hate to have to admit this but I have been spanking his hands a lot lately when he gets into things and knows he shouldnt and when he is screaming because he doesnt want his diaper changed!! Well the last week he has been even worse witht the changing of the diaper where he kicks his legs and screams!! AWWWWW...... I am screaming inside when he does it to :) Let me tell you poopy diaper, screaming wiggly kid and the throwing of legs does not mix well!!!!!! I have now resorted to slapping his butt when he does this but it may take a while for him to figure this out because a for a week now there is no change!! I pray everyday for strength in parenting and for my son to have a soft heart. So for all my questions I have with anything I look to the book that has every answer for any situation!!! I looked up discipline and parenting in the BIBLE.

Proverbs 19:18 Discipline your child while there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death.

Proverbs 22:15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

In these verses I have learned the importance of discipline as long as you use it in the right time and manner!! I am not saying to spank or beat your child to where there life is in danger but I am saying discipline your child with mercy when he is in the wrong..... This is part of the reason we are on earth as parents to teach our children what is right and wrong in the eyes of the Lord!

I will end in a verse that should hit deep for any parent trying to raise a child and I definitely will use it as I raise up an already strong willed son......

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Yeah he is COOL like that!!

So because it is aunt Vanessa's last year of volleyball we are going to suprise her with a shirt we made for her!! Hopefully it looks good and fits Hudson..... He loves going to watch her and is so proud of her on how well she handled her shoulder surgery and therapy!! So this is the shirt and just wait till you see Huds in it!! Wont he look so so so COOL :)

The front of his shirt

The back of his shirt

And yes everyone Vanessa is #5 if you didn't get that hehehe :) So he will be rocking this shirt in about a week when it gets in because he is cool like that!! Go NESSA!!! We love you

PEACE OUT