Block undone.

Wow...I don't even know how to start. 

How did I almost make it a year without posting on this blog, something I have treasured for so many years?  I'm not sure actually. And as I try to explain it to myself I don't have the answer.  Writers block perhaps.  Life block.  Facebook is just too easy block. I take way too many pictures but am not that great of a photographer and have no time to edit them block.  No time to write because I'm doing life and in the moments I'm not doing I'm sleeping block. 

And even at this moment I'm wondering why I've chosen now to start this back up again.  But if I don't then I will wonder why I didn't and to be honest at this point in my life I have way too much to say and not as many people to say it to except for my precious husband that is getting to be the very fortunate recipient of the "most words from Jennifer every single day" award. And, so maybe I need to just start this back up.  The guy is amazing, but wow that is a very loaded award to get everyday.

So, here I am again. And here is what's happening in a 5 sec. spill because I hear little Owen waking up. 

We have moved. To Bryan, College Station...Whoop!

We are starting a new amazing business, Reece Homes.  Wow! Can't wait to share our vision with you...God is so Good!

Our kids are growing like weeds.  Literally!  No pants fit any of our children...seriously!  What in the world?

And they are amazing and joyful and hard and breathtaking!

And I'm loving being here and am excited to see my life here take form.  My life as a mom, as a coworker with our new business, as a new friend to fabulous women I've just met, as a dear friend to my sweet precious mom friends in Katy, as me, Jennifer, in a new place.

I have slowed down enough to breathe.  For the first time in a while, and I'm not quite sure how to do it, but... breathing feels good.

And now, I am going to sit at a very tiny table and enjoy a snack with three little red heads.

Life is Good! A very different kind of Good! 

Game Ball

This ball has not left Jackson's hand since the game on Saturday.  He earned it for his great hitting and boy was he proud and so were we!

It couldn't have come at a better time.   Jackson has really enjoyed playing with this new team and at first did pretty well with coach pitch, but the last couple of games he struck out and that did a number on his confidence I think.  He covered up his disappointment once though by hobbling back to the dug out, pretending he was a little old man and his bat the cane.  That kid is so funny!

Lack of confidence is not something we've really seen in Jackson so far growing up so in an attempt to get his head back in the game we did some fun practicing with him this week. I mean, he didn't really know we were practicing per say, and instead had fun playing Baseball Battle Tag (should I trademark that name?) in the front yard with all of us.  Every time we would mention going out to practice batting he wouldn't take us up on it, so I invented this crazy baseball game, involving hula hoops, chasing one another, a point system, etc.  Nothing fancy, but put the fun back into practice.  We had him go back to the tee for half the game and then took it away and he did so much better.  Every evening that week he'd ask after dinner if we could go out and play our new family game.  I was so happy it worked!

On Saturday,  he walked up to the plate with reclaimed confidence.  Both times it wasn't until the last pitch did he get a hit, but that confidence was there on each swing and you could see such determination in his eyes.  I was a proud mama!

What better way to have his practicing efforts pay off than to get the game ball.  We told him after the game that his practice paid off and he agreed.  YEAH!  Somebody else was pretty proud too!

Now that we've got batting down, it's on to fielding.  Dirt and bubble gum watch out.  You just think you've got Jackson right where you want him, but think again!!!

Owey Bear at 6 months

I do realize Mr. Owey Bear is now 9 months old, but I just couldn't pass up sharing these pictures of him at 6 months that my friend Tracy took of him.  And oh how beautifully she captured his default state of pure sweetness.  Can I just keep him this little and squishy and sweet forever?  

I write this blog for many reasons.  One, because I love to write.  It's such a great release of my emotions, it's relaxing and I love being able to say something that my spoken words just can't seem to get out sometimes.  My brain just loves this way of communicating.  And another, which I have been bad at lately is that I want to have a record of what life was like at different stages with my kiddos. To read back my words later and to have them written in a way that will almost physically transport myself back to these precious times.

So Owen at six months...

Weight: 18 lbs. 9 oz. Height: 27 inches long  Wow how he has grown!

He is quite a stable sitter and can roll anywhere he wants to go.  His rolling is better than any of my other boys.  It just has this stealth like speed and agility that I never saw with my other two.  As if he's in a mission impossible movie trying to make it across a floor of infrared lights to acquire a precious jewel. The precious jewel often looks oddly like a tiny little lego or other highly chokable object. 

Owey Bear how I wish I could say you are a great sleeper, but that rather doozey of a respiratory illness (bronchiolitis they think) right after Christmas did a number on setting you back in the sleeping and eating category.  You are pretty much waking up once a night, usually around 2 or 3 to nurse and then will fall back asleep until 6:30 or so.  This is the new normal and much better than in the weeks right after you were sick (4 and 5 times) so I'll take it.  And I've pretty much given up on the bottle at this point.  It's just not worth putting you through such discomfort, so we just go out an hour later on date nights after you've fallen asleep.  After having such an aversion to rice cereal we are holding off on solids for a bit.  And by aversion I mean, his little system just wouldn't tolerate it.  The two times I tried, two hours later exactly he would throw up every 10 minutes until there was nothing left in his system.  Poor little guy.  The dr. suggested waiting on grains until 9 months and a couple of weeks after his last episode to start trying first fruits and veggies.  This he was not fond of either, but at least he was able to hold them down and that was a good sign.  Oh, I'm just simply not stressing about this.  As you can tell from his sweet plumpness he's getting plenty of nourishment from his mama.  Oh how I will miss nursing my baby when the time comes.

These pictures truly capture his laid back sweetness.  He is such a delight!  He chuckles when something excites him.  It's really his signature sound and I don't quite know the words to describe it.  Luckily I've bottled it up in some of my videos so I can play them back on a day when he's a preschooler and I am searching for more patience with him, perhaps when he has decided to bite one of his brothers or painted on the wall or something unimaginable, yet inevitable.  Again I say...oh please just stay little forever!

He loves people!  I'm of course his number one favorite still at this point, but oh does he have such an outgoing personality.  He adores his brothers and boy do they adore him.  They fight over who gets to hold him, who gets to help me give him a bath, put his p.j.s on, etc.  And Daddy, well just like the other two, he thinks he's hung the moon.  The smile he gives him when he gets home is priceless.  And everyone else, well he adores them too.  He happily goes into others arms to visit and smiles at just a hello.  He's just so good natured and man does it help to have him happily go to someone else for a bit when my two arms just aren't enough for the guys in my life.  Thank you Owen.

If I could only bottle up the way those fluffy little 6 month thighs feel and how soft his skin is, but how could I forget that? I won't!

"Now God Can Eat Marshmallows!"

It's true.  He can. And any time He wants.

It's an Easter story I will never forget.

The boys and I made ressurection rolls on the Saturday before Easter.  Such a simple, meaningful and delicious activity.  As we made them we read scripture to go along with each step.  The marshmallow represented Jesus' body.  The dough represented the wrapping on his body and the tomb was our oven. The boys love cooking so I knew this would be a hit and it was.  Jackson actually helped me read some of the verses and even after having just read the story through our ressurection eggs they were really into it.  When I called the boys in to enjoy their baked treat they squealed with delight to see that their rolls were empty. Jesus' body (the marshmallow) was gone.  I asked the boys how this reminded them of our Easter story and Jackson very readily said that's just like how Jesus became alive and went to heaven. Colin sat there for a bit, smiled, took a deep breath and said "Now God Can Eat Marshmallows!"  "Let's do it again and God can have a lot a lot of marshmallows in heaven!"  Jesus went to heaven after having been in the tomb and so our marshmallows must be there too.  What a beautiful yummy place it must be!

This was the best moment I have to say of the weekend, but the whole holiday truly was wonderful. Wednesday Colin celebrated with an Easter party at school, Thursday a Colin playgroup party, and then Thursday afternoon with our Rowdy Rebel playgroup.  Bryan had Friday off so we went on a long family walk together and just relaxed after a couple of busy weeks.  On Saturday my parents came in to town.  We did fun Easter activities with the kiddos and enjoyed a laid back pizza and movie dinner.  Of course we stayed up a bit later than normal visiting but that made the day even better.

Frog Class Ready for the Hunt

Colin's Playgroup Party at Audrey's House

Rowdy Rebel Playgroup

Dying Easter Eggs

 On Sunday morning we met my Uncle Wayne and Aunt Jennifer at church.  Sitting by great friends and my family, watching my hubby do what he loves as the church was filled with awesome praise music, and then listening to a great sermon.  Oh I love Easter.

Easter Sunday

with Mimi and Poppy

The boys baskets were filled with Easter goodies when we returned home.  I do the baskets that way, because Bryan generally plays Easter Sunday and is gone before the kids wake up.  I do love how it puts the focus on Christ and then we celebrate with our fun treat traditions.  At lunch my dining room was packed with family and our dear friends the Owens.  My menu I have to say was scrumptious, Pulled Pork soft tacos with fixings, cilantro rice, chopped southwest salad, banana pudding and chocolate cake for dessert.  Good food, good company, and then a great egg hunt.

Eating Lunch with the Owen Boys

I thought we had excellent hunters this year, but we are still finding eggs in the backyard.  Maybe my egg hiding skills are improving but perhaps my short term memory to guide the kids to where we hid them is let's just say not improving.

Jenn, Tracy, Bryan and Brian

My sweet Aunt and Uncle

Oh it was so fun watching our boys run around the backyard with their sweet friends.  The best part was when they were finished Jackson encouraged everyone to dump all their eggs in the middle of the living room to share.  It was so sweet and thank goodness everyone had a different favorite candy!

And my favorite shot from Easter of my precious boys.

School Days

This fall brought such big changes for our family.  A new baby, Jackson starting Kindergarten, and Colin going to preschool for the first time.  No wonder it took me a while to get my head above water with all that going on.

Jackson started school on August 27th. He was so excited to start "big school" and when I asked him in the weeks prior if he was nervous to go, he said, "no, why would I be?"  He's a very confident little kiddo, so I realized there was no need for the "Wimberly Worried" type books and just followed his lead talking about how fun kindergarten would be.  We all headed to drop him off that first day You can tell by the look on Jackson's face he was ready for this new adventure.  I think Daddy had the hardest time saying goodbye.  My tears came later.  Looking back I had put a lid on my emotions because just three weeks out from having Owen there was no telling if I really embraced the significance of this moment what kind of scene I would make.  We were so proud of our Jackson as we took one last glimpse of him sitting straight and tall in that kindergarten chair completely ready for this next step in his life.

Looking back, I did not adequately prepare him for the reality that it was going to be a big, rather enormous, change from his preschool days.  Much more work and much much less play.  He was more than ready academically and in maturity, having given him the extra year in a transition kindergarten class, but he wasn't ready to let go of all the free time and playing he had last year and over the summer and that was evident when he spoke about his first days. "It's boring."  "I sit at my desk all day."  "We never get to play."  "The day is so long, Mommy." And well, those first days kind of were boring and were very very long.  Would have been to me too.  They didn't get to have recess or go to centers the first day at all.  Or maybe even the first couple of days...I can't remember.  I do love love love his precious teacher and the kindergarten team he's on.  Heck, I was on it six years ago, but man big mistake.  I wonder how many little boys struggled at the beginning liking school because there was absolutely no play or downtime at all.  And the rest of the week was all about the rules and procedures, which is of course very necessary for running a class of 20 5/6 year olds in a school that has about 10 classes per grade level but not really "school liking" conducive.  So the start of school, well it was not the best.  Not horrible, no tears, no struggles getting out the door, but many many thumbs sideways days and when asked if he liked school, the answer was a non chalant "no."  Bummer.  I knew it would take some time to adjust but of course I wanted him to LOVE it right off the bat, and well he didn't.

Now, he's almost been in school for 100 days.  Can I say he loves school?  Not quite yet, but I think we're getting there.  He certainly has begun to enjoy a lot of the aspects of his time there.  He loves walking to and from school (me too), adores his teacher, he loves PE (his favorite time of day), loves lunchtime, especially when he gets to buy, loves recess, loves going to the treasure chest for good behavior which happens a lot (yeah!), has made some really really good friends in his class, and he's proud of his hard work and how well he's reading. Almost every Friday morning though he asks for me to pick him up early and it takes everything I have not to. I have to admit, the days without him are still long for me too, but we have gotten into the school groove and are making the most of this new norm.

Colin is now going to school this year too.  A two day a week preschool/mother's day out program at the same church school Jackson went to.  We love it there and because Colin felt so comfortable from going there so frequently for Jackson there was hardly any transitioning.  He adores his teachers, Ms. Laura and Ms. Anne, and talks so fondly of the friends in his class. There are two teachers for only 10 kiddos which is amazing and they have so much fun. The best part is, at least by the look on his face, is getting to talk about his own school days at the dinner table.

I never thought though that his school was far away until I was dropping off and picking up at two different schools.  Thank goodness Owen likes his car seat because on Mondays and Wednesdays he spends quite a bit of time in it.  Now that we've gotten the routine down it really is so nice just having him to myself for those hours in between.  We do some have to's on those days that are easier to do with only one fellow in tow (wow having one baby is SO EASY - need to transport to the past and tell my new mommy self that), but we spend a considerable amount of time just relaxing together.

I can't believe that this school year is already half over.  Wow, time flies!  These busy days and days without Jackson have really made me appreciate weekends and oh how I look forward to summer's relaxing schedule.

Happy 2013!

"You make three look easy!"

Words I hear a lot.  And I'm not sure why.  Well I guess I know why.  I'm a glass is half full kind of girl.  An optimist.  A fresh start outlook each day kind of person.  You catch my drift.  And so I think, even my struggles with juggling two busy boys and an infant while running our house has looked like a piece of cake to most people.  Well let me tell you, three is not "easy peasy lemon squeezy" as my boys say.  It. is. hard. work.

Hard work that is rewarding of course but three has kind of rocked my world.  Not number three. But three total.  I think what's different from going from 2 to 3 is that now when I'm caring for Owen the other two are half the time entertaining each other {awesome} and half the time getting in to all kinds of trouble {opposite of awesome}.  My patience has never been tested to this extreme, my lips have never been told to keep from speaking words they shouldn't say so often, and well let's just say everything has changed, or has had to been tweaked, and anyone that knows me well, knows that I am not the best at handling change.

This all being said, I feel like I've got this 3 thing down now.  I thought at 2 months out that my head was getting above water, but now I know it is, comparing how I was managing the juggle then to now.  I've learned that individual quality time with the kids can come in shorter spurts, that hearing my group all the way across HEB is not the end of the world, that locking the big boys out in the backyard while I cook dinner is good parenting (or I'm going to call it that), that anyone that asks to help gets taken up on it, that my house getting more disorganized and cluttery every day is the result of me giving more to the kids than caring about vanity, that changing up the tradition and posting my new years, not even Christmas card on facebook (oh the humanity) is totally fine, and that snuggling with my husband on the couch after all the kids are in bed (sigh!) has never felt so good. 

It is so true that the days are {LONG} but the years are so short.  I love feeling settled into this mom of three thing.  Does that mean I'm doing it perfectly?  Oh heck no, and if it looks like it, then well, take a closer look.  I'm ok with things, the non important things having to take a backseat while I live this crazy wonderful life with my best friend and our three little copper tops.  Oh 2013 is going to be such a great year!

owen at 3 months old

Jackson's Baptism

The memory of this beautiful day when my sweet Jackson was baptized will be forever imprinted in my mind.  It was a time stopping moment where the souls of believers and the angels in heaven danced in celebration, rejoicing the life of this precious new believer.

Jackson at only 4 1/2 on his own accord told us that he believed in Jesus and wanted to be baptized.  We questioned whether this was too young and wanted to make sure that he understood the choice he was making so we waited.

This past year Jackson continued to mature spiritually.  His love for Jesus apparent through his beautiful prayers, the deep conversations we had, and his general desire to learn more about Him.  All of this yes in very much a child's way, but with such pure and complete faith that had my mouth dropping open at the profoundness of our conversations at such an early age.  

It was in June when we were talking about Kindergarten starting this fall and how much fun he would have going to P.E., Art and Music when he asked me, "And chapel too, right?"  My answer of no left him very upset.  He asked me in a very worrisome tone where he would learn about Jesus.  He was so used to learning, worshiping and giving thanks daily at school that he was shocked there was not a dedicated time to learn about Jesus at "big school."  I agree it is quite the bummer.  When I reminded him that hello, he would be learning about him at church and of course at home still he replied pressing his hands to his forehead, "Good, cause you know I'm just REALLY into that guy!" And then, "Hey, why have I not been baptized yet, cause you know I have Jesus in my heart?"  We prayed together that night and I questioned him about what his decision meant and why he wanted to get baptized.  To see the truth so clearly in his eyes and words as he spoke to God that night was beautiful. After talking to Bryan we decided to go ahead and let him profess his faith through a public baptism at our church.  This verse guided us in our decision.

“Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” – Matthew 19:14

Jackson was more excited about his baptism than he was about Kindergarten starting or his upcoming birthday.  Throughout the week leading up to the big day we spent a great deal of time talking about the significance of baptism and what the Bible has to say about it. That this next step, was not just because of tradition but what the Bible teaches us to do once we have accepted Jesus as our lord and savior.  I explained that we get baptized for two reasons.The first being that Jesus did (Matthew 3:13-16) and we want to follow his example to be more like him. And in Acts 2:38 the Bible commands believers to repent and be baptized.  We talked about the story of when Jesus was baptized by John the baptist and then the verses in Acts.  Jackson thought it was amazing that after Jesus was baptized that he saw the spirit of God descending from heaven like a dove.  He really got that baptism was a way to show the world that he believes.  That it would symbolize his new birth in Jesus.  We are continually surprised by the depth of understanding Jackson has about Jesus at such an early age.  He told me several weeks ago from the backseat of the car, "Isn't it cool that Jesus found me?"  Yes it is! And how cool that when he heard Jesus calling that he responded with complete faith and obedience.  

The day of his baptism was a perfect day.  All of Jackson's grandparents,some of his great grand parents, his great aunt and uncle and many of our church friends were there. Because of the large number of people getting baptized, about 20, that day, to make it more personal there was a time set aside at the beginning to spend special time with your core group that came to witness this special event.  Bryan led this time and started by telling Jackson's story. He then asked Jackson why we were here.  He announced loud and clear "because I believe in Jesus!"  We presented Jackson with a cross to wear during his baptism and then Bryan blessed him and this occasion.  Back with the large group with gathered around the baptismal fount where the baptism candidates were asked these two questions.  Are you a sinner in need of a savior and do you declare that Jesus Christ is the Lord of your life?  Jackson answered with much conviction then marched up the steps and down into the water. He had prior to this day asked Bryan to come in with him because he was nervous about going in with just Pastor Jim, but to our surprise he didn't even look back for Bryan to go in with him.  Pastor Jim baptized him in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  

And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17

We celebrated with our family at Jackson's favorite restaurant afterwards.  I will never forget the way he kept glancing down at his cross, curly locks still dripping wet, with such sweet contentment.  God whispered in my soul, "He is mine."

A story of it's own...

Like I said, each pregnancy is different, each baby boy unique, 

and each delivery has a story of it's own.

This is Owen's:

I went into labor almost exactly a day before my scheduled surgery.  At 2 a.m. on Thursday morning I began having the kind of contractions that take your breath away and make you think...could this be the beginning of the real deal?  After four hours of intensifying contractions that were becoming closer and closer together, after taking medicine for anything that could be exaggerating these (you know what I mean), after trying to sleep it off, I told Bryan maybe he should hold off on going to work first thing in the morning to give me a little more time to see if this would be the big day.  It just couldn't be I thought since I was going to go in the next morning.  It just couldn't be because this time I was going to get a good night's sleep, wake up in plenty of time to take a shower, leisurely put on makeup so that I look awesome in my last big belly shot and in my meeting Owen pictures.  As I stepped out of bed thinking maybe if I changed my activity by walking around or taking a bath I could calm these what must be false labor contractions down.  About five minutes later my big hearted neighbor, Amber, arrived by our request to be here when our big boys woke up because we thought we had another emergency on our hands.  Why does bleeding always have to be involved in the stories of my boys?  And how was I supposed to know that this was actually just a normal phase in regular labor?  Hello, third c section.  Now, didn't I pray too that I would be spared from any of the labor fun since I was going to already get to have c section fun?  Well, other plans, not of my own had been made and we were just a long for the ride.

A long ride it could have been to the hospital smack dab in morning rush hour traffic time.  I think Bryan and I were in a constant state of prayer, both aloud and silent, as we made the drive into Houston.  I did at one point call 911 and ask if we could have a police escort should traffic back up again.  They were so sweet and said just call them back if we needed them and I could just jump in one of their ambulances.  Well, at this point, traffic remained clear, God willing, and though I didn't glance at the speedometer, Bryan's hazard light driving got most people out of our way quickly and we soon found ourselves in a labor and delivery holding area.

After a thorough check and monitoring of Owen, our worries were eased as we found out that hey, I was just simply in labor with no emergency on our hands.  I encouraged my Dr. and nurses to speed things along as I understood there was no emergency now, but that I would like to please have this precious baby before one might happen.

My surgery went beautifully, my nervousness constantly being eased by the whispered prayers of my loving husband whose head only left mine to take the most breathtaking pictures of our Owen being delivered from my womb.

My first glimpse of Owen was even before he took his first breath, still a part of me, and then moments later as he become his own little self his first cry sent tears streaming down my face.  And then it gets better...I actually got to hold him right away.  I had never had this opportunity with the other two because of their very own stories, so this was a true gift.  When they laid him on my chest, I looked into his deep and said, "You're mine!"

Owen got to meet Mimi and Poppy, Uncle Wayne, Aunt K and Cousin Hayes when Bryan wheeled him out as they headed to the nursery to check him out thoroughly.  Our family is amazing.  My Aunt Jennifer within minutes of my phone call that morning took a day off work to relieve my neighbor and watched the big boys all day.  My Uncle Wayne rushed to the hospital to be there when we arrived because we thought it might be another emergency situation and from previous experience of not having anyone there when that happens I wanted to make sure Bryan had someone with him.  Mimi and Poppy rushed in and got there moments before my surgery for hugs, kisses, and well wishes, and Aunt K had to bring Baby Hayes who was just so excited to meet his new cousin.  And as this was all happening, my in laws booked a flight to come back for the day from a dental convention so they didn't miss it either.  Everybody that could be there was.  We are well loved...that's for sure.

In recovery only a short time later I was able to nurse the very hungry Owen right away. He had passed all his newborn tests with flying colors so he got to come be with his mama.  I was in heaven snuggled underneath the recovery room heating blanket (it's amazing and I'd love to own one), holding my precious little bundle.  I was also under a heavy dose of benadryl on top of my other pain meds to fight off the anesthesia itchies so I thoroughly entertained the nurses with my constant, yes constant ramblings that I can't begin to remember at this point and that's probably a good thing.

Later that afternoon after a good long nap, securing Owen's nursing abilities, and making sure my loopy ramblings were on the down low the boys were brought up to meet their new brother.  They gave him the "Owey Bear" they made for him, celebrated with a birthday cake, and took turns holding and loving on him.  Wow, is Owen a blessed little boy to have them for big brothers.

After only two nights at the hospital instead of 3 or 4, I was released to go home.  We were shocked and relieved at the same time.  I was doing amazingly well after surgery and Owen couldn't be any more healthy so we headed home Saturday early in the afternoon.

We were welcomed home by my mom, dad, and my sister's family.  They all oohed and awed over sweet Owen. And let me tell you, he is very ooh and aweable.

A party of five now lives at my house.  Two parents to three precious boys, each unique, each with their own story, each loved completely.  Man, God is good!