Last post of 2013!

2013 was such a fun year. I would be lying if I said it didn't have any rough patches, but overall it was extremely blessed. I decided I wanted recap our year with some of my favorite moments!

1. January 1, the very first day of 2013 started off by sending Dwight back to Finland to finish the second half of his basketball season. I remember that day so clearly. The kids and I took Dwight to DFW airport and said goodbye. It was so hard knowing we weren't going to see him for another 3 months. The very next day Brianna turned 6 years old!
   
   

2 .In February Dwight and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary! Even though he was not in the country, he made sure to make my day special. I got a day at the salon to get my hair done and some pampering. I can't believe we are about to celebrate our 2nd anniversary!

3. In March I turned 25 years old. Halfway to 50! ;) My mom went all out for this birthday and made it so special for me since Dwight was not home to celebrate. 

4. In April Dwight came home for good from Finland! I moved out of my parents home, after staying with them for several months while D was out of the country, and we moved into our new home (which we will be moving out of next month...I refuse to move again for at least 3 years!!). Little did we know that April 2014 would be the due date month of our baby that we prayed months, and I mean months for. One of the hardest struggles of 2013 was trying for a baby and thinking it would not going to happen due to a medical condition I was struggling with. God proved us wrong! 

5. In May I graduated with my Masters of Art in Counseling degree. This was such a special day! I had my family and friends their to celebrate with me one of the biggest accomplishments of my life. I remember being SO happy that my 7 year college career had finally come to an end. 

6. June and July were a blast. I was not in school or working. I got to stay home with the kids and just soak up the summer with them. I am so grateful for this time I got with Tristan especially, since it was my last summer with just him.

7. August, Dwight and I got the biggest shock of our lives when we found out I was pregnant. We had just decided to stop trying, and that in a year or so we would approach the issue again. My heart just could not take the disappointment another month, and poor Dwight couldn't take my emotions regarding it. Ha! I will never forget taking that test, completely expecting a negative result like I got every other month the past year. I instantly started crying when I saw a positive and I could not wait to tell Dwight!

8. September Tristan turned FIVE years old! How is that even possible?!? 

9. October we welcomed in the fall, one of my favorite seasons of the year! Amari turned five, and we took part in lots of fall fun.

10. November, a month to be thankful for our many blessings! Also the month I started feeling human again after horrible morning sickness. But my favorite moment of the month was finding out I was having a baby GIRL!!!

11. December, probably my favorite month of the year...Dwight turned 29 years old! We celebrated our first Christmas as a family in our own home and had lots of holiday fun!

I can't wait to see what 2014 has in store for us! Wishing you and yours a BLESSED New Year!

More of Christmas celebrations!

I know I already blogged about some of these things, but I finally uploaded pictures from my camera and had to share some of them. They are so much better quality than the I-phone pics, I need to be better at using my camera!

My mom lives less than 5 minutes from Tristan's preschool. She usually takes and/or picks him up a couple times per week for me. She also NEVER misses a school party or function. I am so thankful that my mom loves Tristan so very much, there is nothing she wouldn't do for him. Here they are at T's school Christmas party a couple weeks ago. Mimi and I were both there to join in on the fun!

Playing Christmas musical chairs!

Tristan has been in school 2 days a week the past two years. However, starting next week he will be going 4 days a week. He LOVES his school and has begged us to go everyday for a while. Well with the new year approaching, Kennedy's arrival getting closer, and mine and Dwight's work schedule changing, we have decided its time to make the leap. So, little man will be going to his preschool Mon-Thurs. I know he will be just fine, and so very happy to do this...it just makes things so real that he is growing up. Next year my baby will be in Kindergarten! God knew what he was doing to give me another little baby during this transition time, otherwise I think I'd be a complete wreck. Ha!

Tristan before his Christmas performance. He did such a good job and looked so handsome! I am on the hunt for some coordinating outfits for him and Kennedy, I can't wait to dress them alike. :)

This is Tristan and Finley, how adorable is she?! She is one of the tallest in the class, her dad is super tall too. I know T makes her look short, but really she is a tall girl! She may want to stay in contact with T over the years. Ha! ;)

Ms. Kim and Tristan. She loves and I mean loves Tristan. She has told me several times she will take him home anytime and be one of his "aunts". So sweet! I love knowing he is taken care of by such loving people.

Tristan and Ms. Melani, again precious, sweet lady. I really think T would stay with both of his teachers if he could. 

Tristan and his best friend, Pierce. Pierce is the funniest, spunkiest, energetic little boy you will meet. He and T are complete opposites, in every way, and I love it!

On stage!

So proud of our boy!!

Tristan and Faith after their performance. Love these two!

The kids with Granny and Papa on Christmas Eve.

Opening presents! There are 8 grandkids on this side of the family so things get a little crazy, but always fun!

All 8 of them!

The kids got so many fun things. I am going to have to do some major organization since we will be adding a ton of baby stuff to our house in about a month with my shower. Deep breaths! ;)

Daddy helping the kids try their new bikes out! Dwight was so excited about Christmas morning that he woke us all up at 6am. I'm not going to lie...I was a little disgruntled, but I couldn't stunt his Christmas joy!

Stockings and more presents!

I have to laugh at our so very old school tv in the background. It was Dwight's in college and let me tell ya, it's hanging on by a thread. I think we will be joining the rest of 2014 and investing in a plasma very soon. I love a good tv show, but I'm really big about no tv in the bedrooms...especially the kids, so we've just clung to this one as long as we could as our main tv and made it work. I won't be sad to see it leave though. Ha!

I can't even begin to tell you the amount of bribing (Tristan) that went into this picture. They were ready to go out and ride their new bikes! 

Daddy and g-momma took the kids to ride bikes while I cleaned up and finished getting ready. 

I think T looks so much like Dwight's mom, and Dwight. I wonder who miss K will look like?!? I keep having dreams that she has light features so maybe Mimi...we will see. :)

A few weeks ago the boys and I watched Brianna's first bball game. She did so good playing, and daddy did good coaching!

I am all caught up on blogging from our year in 2013. I can't believe we are ushering in a new year tonight! 2014 is going to be so special as we are welcoming into our family, a sweet baby girl. I can't wait to meet my daughter! I went to the dr last Friday and she now weighs 1 lb 10 oz! Almost two pounds! The dr said she has very long arms and legs (imagine that!). I went shopping this weekend and got her another cute little outfit that I would seriously wear if it were in my size. I've started ordering hair bows/bands and am waiting for a delivery...UPS is still so behind from the ice storms. Time is ticking and we are feeling it, it's time to start kicking it into high gear preparing for our girl! Tonight our family of 5 is going to a special New Year church service and then out to eat with my family. 2013 was such a crazy, blessed year! Hope everyone has a very happy and safe new year's eve!!

Christmas 2013

Christmas Eve was my hubby's 28th birthday! He loves cologne, and had his eye on a particular one (which he didn't think I remembered, but I did). I got him Gucci Black and he was SO excited! We went to his dad's house that evening and celebrated his birthday as well as Christmas with that side of the family. 

Christmas morning we woke up and did gifts with the kids, then Dwight's mom came over and joined us for breakfast. The kids loved having their g-momma over!

I made a breakfast casserole, served with fresh pineapple and strawberries. Yum!

Sweet kiddos excited to go outside and ride their bikes! They had such grateful hearts and loved all their gifts.

This was the only picture I got of all 5 of us...definitely not our best. Ha!

Dwight took Bri and Amari home so they could celebrate with their other sides of the family. Tristan and I stayed home watching the Disney Christmas parade together while waiting for daddy.




Waking up at 6am got to my little guy! I love that he will still let me "rock" him to sleep. :)

Almost 23 weeks pregnant with Kennedy Brooke! I can't wait to have her join us next year!

Poppy and Mimi giving Tristan his gifts. He loved his new marble maze, and sand excavator. Such a boy!

The day after Christmas Brintley, Brianna's baby sister came and spent the day with us while her mom worked. It definitely gave us a wake up call. Ha! She is such a good baby, but boy does 5 years let you forget how much work goes into daily life with an infant. How cute is she though?!?

We had a great Christmas minus the fact that we were sick. Poor Mimi and aunt Natalie came down with the flu Christmas day, but we are all on the mend!

The week before Christmas

The Saturday before Christmas, my sisters and I braved the mall so Tristan could see Santa. It was so sweet to watch T tell the Jolly 'ol guy what he wanted. He waited so patiently in line for his turn. :) Afterwards we enjoyed lunch and a little mall browsing.

Tristan had a sleepover at my sister, Natalie's house last week. They made cookies, played games, ordered pizza, and T's favorite...he got to take a bubble bath. It is so hard for me to do baths now with my belly so I usually give him showers. He would much rather have a bath though!

Somehow these pics are out of order...but aunt Ashley and T waiting to see Santa.  He was holding onto her and guiding her through line (like she really, really needed his help). Ha!

Sunday morning our church held a candlelight service. Dwight and I took Tristan with us and he was mesmerized by it all. it was such a beautiful sight to see thousands of candles lit singing 'Oh holy night".

Our three lights shining together!

Tristan had run a fever the night before church, but I chalked it up to be a cold. He felt fine Sunday morning. Well by Sunday evening his fever spiked to 104 degrees and I started feeling icky. Monday morning I knew something was not right. I could barely move, my bones ached, I had a cough, and just felt horrible. I called my mom and she met me at Cook Children's to take T to his appointment with the pedi, and I headed over to Baylor to go to the ER. I told Dwight if it wouldn't have been the day before Christmas Eve, I would have begged for them to admit me. I didn't want to do anything but sleep. Needless to say, Tristan and I both had the flu. We don't do flu shots (and probably still won't), but we have never gotten it before. Boy was it NOT fun! Thankfully we both got an RX for tamiflu and that stuff is a miracle drug. I immediately started feeling better. Unfortunately we shared our germs with Mimi and aunt Natalie, who are both sick now. :/

Despite all the sickness in our house, we still had a really nice Christmas which I will post about soon. But for now I need to get some paperwork done, and then go to little Miss' 23 week check up. TGIF!