the one where we try to take cute easter pictures

i'm a little late in posting about Easter, i'm late about everything. 

that's just how i roll. every year i make a resolution to be on time 

more and to wake up before the kids and all that....i digress...

back to the Easter pictures.

we were all dressed up, i had a good hair day, the kids were being good (a little goofy but good!)

and we were at my in-laws so we had a great background with the pond. 

i had chad's niece, Atley, come outside and take a couple pictures for us. she did an amazing job and we 

were able to get some great pictures. some that i might actually frame and 

add to the living room! thanks Atley! 

picture #1 - the usual, Riley not wanting his picture taken and Sam sticking his tongue out

picture #2 - not there yet 

picture #3- Daddy and Sam being silly 

picture #4 - what a handsome five year old! 

picture #5 - our favorite! this couldn't describe our family any better. the boys were not going to give me a regular smile so i just rolled with it. pretty sure this is my favorite family picture!! 

picture #6 - just me!

the one where they surprised me!

this year i turned the big 3-0! 

i had hinted to my husband and a few friends that i'd love to have a surprise party but

didn't really think they would do it! 

chad is a great guy but planning parties is not something he likes to even think 

about. so glad he loves me enough to put this all together. 

i stayed home on saturday after an egg hunt with the kids to do some homework while he and the boys went to his parents. i thought they were just going out there to help his dad get some things done around the yard and let me have some quiet homework time. 

he said when they got done over there his parents would watch the kids and he and i would go on a date. about an hour after he left he called me and said that we might just do a little cookout with his parents and kids then go out. i was down with that! 

he picked me up and we drove to his parents. on the way there i was complaining that i hadn't talked to my friends much this past week. i was really bummed because i though they had all been ignoring me for some odd reason. 

we pulled into his parents driveway and as soon as we turned the corner around the garage i saw the people i thought were ignoring me. no wonder they didn't talk much that week. they all said they were afraid they would say something and let it slip. 

emily (the maker of my awesome shirt!) was out of town all week and the little goober sent me a text saying she was in town and wanted to stop by. i felt terrible for telling her i couldn't see her because chad was taking me out to dinner soon. the little goober was sitting in my in-laws backyard when she sent that. 

holly was at the store buying my gift the night i sent her a text asking her what she was up to. that turd lied to me and said she was on her way to work. 

y'all, my husband spoils me like none other but he's never gonna top this one! 

a surprise party, shrimp boil, and an ipad!

for once, i was completely and totally surprised.

lets see, in this picture you can see my in-laws at the top left, friend holly in the turquoise shirt, her daughter and hubby and son also in matching shirts! my other friend emily in the brown shirt next to me and my grandparents are on the other side of me.  love the face i'm making! so typical of me.

the totally awesome and fantastic cake my friend kara made  for me. she couldn't stay but stopped by to surprise me with. chad has a picture of the two of us together on his iphone. guess i need to add that sometime soon! 

holly checking out the moisturizer/cream my grandma made. this stuff is awesome. totally beats any $300 cream, hands down! also in this picture you see emily (with the flower in her hair!), her daughter and her husband. she made my super cool shirt. wish i had a picture of the back. it said 'spain 30' best shirt ever!! 

riley had a great time helping me open my gifts. i have no idea what we were talking about in this picture but i sure do think it's cute! 

i really try my hardest not to cry in front of people. i just don't like to. but i have to admit that i did shed some tears when i opened this one. my grandma passed on my great grandma's stethoscope that she used when she was an LPN in her early 30's. best gift ever. i love sentimental gifts and i love that she and i are both in the medical field. 

i had to add this one. i have no clue why i made this face but it's another typical tyra face...

like mother like son?

my sweet riley bear playing on a pile of firewood. 

please don't call cps on me! LOL this kid loves fire. in a dangers way. we could not keep him from playing in it. he said he was sad that the fire was out and he thought that the log was smothering it. obviously he still wanted to play in the flames.

the one where i introduce the newest spain baby

meet cooper.

aka super cooper

aka couch thief

aka stinky dog 

aka nimrod (what Riley thinks we should call him)

aka momma's boy

{sorry for the crummy cell phone pics)

{yes, i realize i look a tad freaky in this picture, but avert your eyes to those EARS!}

The one with a view

I'm typing this post from my phone.

I had to bring our little Riley to the ER this afternoon. Poor guy had been sick for three days. I wasn't tell concerned until he went a full 24 hours without eating or drinking.

We called the dr and she told us to go straight to the ER! So off we went and now here we are. Camping out in room 431. Pigging out on purple Popsicles and looking out the window at the pretty pond!

I'll try to update when we know more.

the one where the kiddos are sickly

it's MONDAY! why do my children get sick on mondays? i guess they don't like mondays just as much as the rest of us. technically Riley got sick yesterday morning but we thought he was 

fine since a few hours later he seemed much better and on the mend. 

this morning, not so much. i found poor Riley hiding behind the recliner 

with his puke bucket (yep, we sure do have a puke bucket!) crying. 

a few minutes later he was passed out on the floor. 

when Riley is sick he refuses to sit on any furniture. he says he is afraid he will 

get it dirty. kid does not like to get dirty. 

Sammy hasn't gotten sick yet but he is congested and sleepy. both boys are passed out as 

i type this up. we are usually outside playing by now. my poor boys. momma sure does hate it when they are sick. so far neither have a fever and Riley is the only one who has gotten sick. i don't think 

it's time for the dr just yet but i do have them on speed dial just in case! 

please pray for my babies, would you!?

look at them, aren't they pitiful? 

(puke bucket and all. just keeping it real, y'all) 

Lord, you love our child as You love all children,
Bring healing to our child who is not well.
Stay by his side and comfort him through this trying time.
Keep us ever mindful of Your loving presence
Bless us with Your powerful healing and comfort us also.
Thank You, Lord, for hearing our prayer!

the one where i tell y'all what i am not

y'all, i turn 30 this year. 

THIRTY! 

i'm kind of in denial about this whole turning 30 thing. not quite sure why, it's not that i feel old. 

i think it's just because there is so much emphasis put on the big 3-0 birthday. 

i may be in denial about turn 30 but i am NOT in denial about who i am. 

i used to be. and sometimes i still have some insecurities but for the most part i 

wouldn't change the me that i have become. 

this next year, the first year in my thirties, i am going to fully embrace 

who i am and not on what i'm not. 

so i did a little soul searching and have discovered a few things that i am not...

but that i am okay with not being. 

~i am not a good cook. by any means. i actually really dislike even thinking about cooking. it scares me. growing up i had zero interest in anything kitchen related. i used to wish to be the wife who loved to be in the kitchen but that's just not me. (that's why i married a man who can cook. baha!)

and i'm okay with that. 

~oh how i wish i was obsessed with keeping my house clean. but i'm not. again, this is one of those things i never had an interest in and was never made to do as a child so the cleaning bug just never attacked me. have y'all noticed a trend just within the fist two things...i am NOT a domestic goddess by any means. 

and i'm okay with that. 

~i wish a was one of those crazy-sports-fanatic-wives. the one who gets all decked out in team colors. one who knows all the rules to all the sports her husband loves. i've tried to get into it a few times but it just didn't work out. 

and i'm okay with that. 

~i really want to be a runner. so much so that sometimes i think i actually am. i look at running magazines, websites, blogs, shoes, running gear...everything. i did run a 5k so at one point i was. and one day i will be again. but right now a runner i am not. 

and i'm okay with that. 

~i've always dreamt of homeschooling our children. i still really want to. but right now they are both doing well in a public and private preschool setting. they love it.

and i'm okay with that. 

~as a child i just knew that i was going to be a teacher. as time went by i changed my mind and decided i wanted to be a nurse when i grew up. i am currently in school taking all my pre and co-reqs to get into the nursing program. but my husband and i (prayerfully) decided i would take a year off from school to focus more on our family and home. 

and i'm okay with that. 

~in school i had just a few close friends. in junior high and high school i used to pray that God would bless me with many more friends. as i grew older and wiser i realized that i didn't really want more friends at all. i'm a hermit, y'all. so the fewer friends the better. (baha!) i have a wonderful handful of friends that i couldn't be more thankful for.

and i'm okay with that. 

~i want so badly to be good with words. both spoken and written. i have a habit (sometimes good, sometimes bad) of just blurting things out before they go through any sort of filter. that's just who i am.

and i'm okay with that. 

the where i realize they actually DO like each other.....sometimes

a rare moment.

they had no idea i had my camera in hand or i'm sure this picture would not exist. 

sammy is actually giving riley a hug though it looks like he's 

choking him. but i promise, it's love. 

crazy, rough-not-so-gentle-brotherly-love.

what makes me laugh is if you ask either one of them if they love 

each other they will most likely say, one of the following...

no

not really

just a little bit

kinda 

 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:32