Beaux The Elf

Our elf, Beaux, returned shortly after Thanksgiving. I love this tradition. This is our second year and we're having even more fun this year, than last year.

Here's a little bit if what our elf has been up to:




He traded out our stockings for underwear! Even Jude's diaper was hung with care!


Beaux got into my bag of fake snow and made a snow angel.


He made his own fishing pole out of a candy cane and fished for red goldfish in green toilet water!


Beaux surely made some silly faces on two silly boys!


A T-36 ride put a smile on Beaux's face.


He got the munchies one night.


He worked hard to find all the letter blocks to spell Christmas!


Beaux doesn't know our family rule of 'Wii only on the Wiikend!!'

Hey Jude

My dad got to meet Jude for the first time! He came for one day the weekend after Thanksgiving. We all wished he could have stayed longer, but hopefully a longer visit soon.





James with his arm around Grandpa. He cried when Grandpa left. :(



We went fishing, and then out for some Nancy's Italian Ice.

The only grandparent left for Jude to meet is my Mom. It may be a while before that will happen though, because airfare from San Antonio to Montgomery is quite expensive. It's so sad that we don't live nearby. This sweet baby is one of three of my biggest accomplishments, and I can't share that with the people I love most.

The hardest part of the military thing is being far away from family. It only makes my own little family stronger though. I cherish them with all my heart!

Jason's parents came for Thanksgiving. It was so nice to share our home with them. We enjoyed the company! A classmate of Jason's from Botswana also joined us. He was interesting to talk to and we enjoyed his musical talents on our piano!

Happy Birthday Nan!

Today would have been my great-grandmother's 110th birthday! I'm so lucky to have met her and her to have been in most of my childhood life. Not too many people get that firsthand sight into prior generations. She passed away when I was 15 years old...the same year I met Jason (maybe she had something to do with crossing our paths)!

She used to keep me when I was little while my mom and dad worked during the day. She had a special spot in her heart for me, as I did her. I remember decorating her little bitty 3-4 ft Christmas tree with her a couple of years. I always think about her on Dec. 1st especially. I wish she could be around to see her great-great-grandchildren! I know she'd be proud.

Happy Birthday Fern Alice!!!



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Mama's Boy

That's what Jude is!!! Over the last week or so, his preference for me has increased. That's no real surprise, since I am his food supply! Although, little boys DO love their mommies!




This is him at 8 weeks old. It's amazing that two months have gone by already! Before we know it, our baby will be 1 year old! My how fast it really does go by!

We're so blessed with all three of our boys! What an adventure we're on!

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Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I thought I'd take the opportunity to write what I'm thankful for...as Jude sleeps in my arms.

I'm so incredibly thankful for my husband. Without him, I could not live my life nearly as gracefully as I do with him. He is my rock, my sunshine, the wind beneath my wings, and so much more. He's the husband girls dream of and the father every child deserves. I love him.

Next, I'm so gracious for my three boys. There was a time I lived without them and those days were not nearly as full and complete like they are today. As a stay-at-home mom, they're my every minute life. I'm trying to cherish these days, because I know they're a blink of an eye in time. Jack is such a thoughtful, intelligent, old soul kind of kid. He's a rule-follower and is always thinking about how others feel. James is spirited, loving, and social with everyone. He is a comedic with a joy of having a good time. Jude is such a sweet baby. He loves his big brothers and smiles anytime they talk to him. He is an absolute blessing. I love all of my boys beyond measurement.

I'm so thankful for our health. I am reminded often by the importance of good health as I hear about cancers, childhood diseases, and other terminal diseases swarming into the lives of others in our life. It is with great gratitude that I take every healthy day as a gift. Because you never know when we may not have days as good as these days.

I'm thankful for many simple things too. Music, tasty food, iPhone, beautiful days, fall leaves, our house, family visiting, nursing Jude, my VBAC delivery, listening to Jack read to James, app for blogging, kids eat free nights, friendly neighbors, lazy weekends, fireflies, baby feet, pictures, greater than 5 hours of straight sleep, iPad, the boys getting along, Pinterest, crawling into a made bed, back massages, wearing flip flops, cloth diapers, hot baths, Moby Wrap, going to the movies, laughing with my boys...

The list could go on and on...which I am grateful for. I definitely have more to be thankful for than not.

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!



Boys getting along


Baby feet


Jude in the Moby Wrap


Wonderful husband, amazing dad!

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Location:Chadburn Crossing,Montgomery,United States

Surviving Cloth

I made a decision before Jude arrived to use cloth diapers this time around. I attempted cloth with Jack, but failed miserably because I was uneducated on how to successfully cloth diaper. With James, I quasi cloth diapered using gDiapers. The insert of the gDiaper was either disposable, flushable, or compostable. These were great, but I really wanted to go full force this time. And with the Internet and YouTube, the information was vast. Not to mention, some help from people I know who have cloth diapered.

Jude is almost 7 weeks and I have not used a single disposable diaper on him since coming home from the hospital! It is going VERY well! We hardly have leaks and they are so cute!



Not only am I cloth diapering, but I'm using cloth wipes too! Surprisingly, cloth wipes are easy peasy! They work so much better than disposables too. I just cut a couple of receiving blankets into several rectangles, placed them into a Huggies wipes dispenser, and added a homemade wipe solution to moisten the wipes. After use, they go right in the diaper pail with the diaper. So easy!




The only extra effort made to use cloth versus disposable is the extra laundry. I have been doing a diaper load every other day. I could actually go every three days and will probably start doing so soon.



Good for the environment. Good for Jude's tooshy. And good for the pocket book! I'm sold! :)

Blogging From My iPhone

This is more like it. Maybe I can keep up with my blog now. Just maybe.

I just realized there is an app that allows one to blog from the iPhone/iPad! I barely sit at my real computer anymore because I just don't have time. I do most everything from the iPhone and iPad now. Pay bills, search the Internet, even print pictures!!

We'll see if this app allows for more opportunity to blog. At the playground, waiting in car line or doc offices...and of course while nursing Jude...the most time-consuming job I have these days.

I'll start by sharing a picture from James' Thanksgiving Feast day at school. He is doing awesome in school. He loves his teacher and is learning so much. He even started reading the BOB Book set #1!!! So proud of him!