Easter, Birthday Party, Tonya's visit, and more...

Does it count if I post this two months after the fact?  Ha!  I am trying really hard to back track and not miss out on anything important.  We were surprised by my step sister Tonya's visit for Easter Weekend.  She lives in Arizona and we had not seen each other in over a year.  Tonya and her immediate family were in a horrible vehicle accident the same day that Montana passed away, January 31, 2009.  It was a horid day for my entire family.  Tonya lost her husband, L.R. and her brother, Brian Lee, my step brother that day in the accident.  God help her, I don't know how she has been so strong any other way than to have had God's hand at her side.  Tonya, her Mom and Lewis (Tonya and L.R.'s son, 2 1/2 years old at the time of the accident) were also in the wreck and are still slowly recovering from the physical and mental pains caused from the accident.  I can truly say that God has sustained Tonya through this most difficult time and she is such a testimony for people to live by.  She knows and shares with me just how important it is to be happy and to be living your life for today, because we are never guaranteed a future here on earth.  The only future we are guaranteed is in Heaven with God.  This is just our temporary home.  I did not mean to bring up such a sad story here, but I wanted to share in Tonya's new joys as well.  God has brought Tonya happiness again, and she is engaged to be married soon.  Her fiance, A.J., loves her and understands and helps her through the grieving process, and he is a wonderful father to little Lewis.  It makes my heart happy that God has brought someone to Tonya to share her life with.

Kaden wasn't overly excited about hunting Easter eggs this year! 

These pictures speak for themselves!

This is my nephew Lewis hunting egss!

Aunt Tonya trying to help Kaden hunt eggs!

Kaden and his Papa! 

Me and my little sister, Tonya.  I love this girl.

My Mom with her girls.

Tonya and Lewis.

Aunt Kelly and Lewis.

Nana with Lewis and Kaden.

Aunt Tonya playing peek a boo with the boys with a sheet.  Funny thing about this picture, Lewis is 4 1/2 and Kaden is 2!  They are the same size!  Kaden and Lewis had the BEST time together and played so well.  I so wish we lived closer so they could be close as they grow up.

I am so happy Tonya visited.  I love having her here and can't wait to be together again soon.

This is Lance and Kaden at a weekend livestock show with me.  I was so happy they came and I love this picture of my two boys.  They were both watching the cattle show.

We went to a birthday party in April for a certain little friend of Kadens.

Mr. Hayden Luke turned 2!

He had a fabulous party!  His Momma went all out and fed us all a full BBQ dinner, cake and ice cream.  Here are some pictures from the GREAT party!  Kaden loved all Hayden's toys.

The CUTEST Decor!

Kaden eating at the little table.

Hayden had a cake and cupcakes, they were fabulous tasting too!  Kaden ate 2 cupcakes, I couldn't believe it!

The birthday boy!

Eating up those cupcakes!

shooting some hoops!

Riding the tri-cycle.

Hayden got this tractor for his birthday and Kaden kind of liked it a lot and took over for a while to play!  :)

Thank you, Smith family for having us!  It was FUN!

Christ is risen from the dead.

I think it is amazing that Jesus loves us so much that he suffered and died so that we could be forgiven for our sins.  Jesus died for us.  To pardon our sin.  I am so grateful that God chose to raise Jesus from the dead and show his disciples that he was alive and that his words were true and that their duty was to pass on these great teachings and his story.  Can you imagine being those disciples and how they must have felt? How honored they must have felt to be in his presence, but how scared to. 
I am so amazed by the amount of love God has for each of us.  He saves us when we sincerely pray to him and offer our belief in Jesus's life, death and resurrection, and ask him to forgive us of our sins.  We are instantly and permanently saved at that moment.  Forever our salvation is secure.  However, we do not become sin free after being saved.  We are still sinful beings.  We have to keep striving to be more Jesus like.  By studying His word, scripture memory and with the help of the holy spirit, we can become more and more like Christ.  Yes, we are still going to stumble and fall and sin, we are sinful by nature, but once we are saved the holy spirit resides inside of us, throwing out warning signs to us when we are behaving or acting the wrong way.  God is an amazing God.  He equips us with the holy spirit that lives inside of us to guide us to be more holy, more Christ like.
I am so thankful today that Christ paid for my sins.  My many, many, many sins.  He paid for my sins of the past, my sins of the present and for my sins of the future.  I am so thankful that He rose again and lived here on Earth and then ascended into heaven and promised that He will return for us all.  I hope and pray that if you've never accepted Christ's call into your life that you will today.  Your eternity is secure with Him. 
Today I have been thinking of the first scripture I probably ever memorized in about 2nd or 3rd grade in Sunday school, John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that who so ever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have ever lasting life."  Amen. 

On the Outlook for Bugs and Crazy Love Chapter 3

We do a lot of playing bug watching these days.

Kaden is always looking fascinated by bugs!  All kinds of bugs.  Lady bugs are a favorite, he'll say, "grab it!"   But, he will collect June bugs and grasshoppers  "hoppers" as well.
We have had so much fun outside with this little ball of energy.  He is FAST!  Sometimes we can not catch him when he takes off running.

This poor baby boy is so fair complected like his momma, we will have to buy stock in the Water Babies sun block company, for sure.

That's a ladybug on his hand.

Crazy Love  Book-Chapter 3
I should get the worst friend of the year award for getting  my friend, Megan to buy this book, then not having the time to get together and discuss it like I had really hoped and prayed to do.  I'm sorry Megan!  I also bought this book for Hilary and my friend Crystal told me she bought it to after reading my first post.  I will I had time to get us all together to talk about the wonderful truths in this book.  I hope that you are all at least still reading it.

I have only read through Chapter 3, gonna start 4 this week.  Today actually.  So, Chapter 3 really spoke to my heart in many ways, very personal and stirring ways.  Things in my life I had not thought about in years came up for me in this chapter.  I can't share them all here, unfortunately, but I was moved.  I think it is a lot easier to understand God's true love for us once we become parents ourselves.  I remember thanking Jesus for Kaden everytime I fed him as a new born.  I would literally say, "Thank you Jesus for this baby."  Every single time I fed him in my nursing rocker, countless times per day.  I couldn't believe this miracle, and love and life that God had shown me through my new baby.  I remember watching Kaden while he slept, and just crying because he was so sweet and praying for him to have a good life full of people who loved him, and that he would be a man after God's heart.  I remember thinking that I could teach Kaden everything about Jesus and God, but ultimately I couldn't make that most important decision in this life for him.  I pray that God leads him to that decision when it is time.  I finally can see how much God loves us and desires time with us.  It's so much greater than that love we have for our babies and desire we have to be with them.  In this chapter Chan says, "I am just an earthly, sinful mother and love my child so much it hurts.  How could I not trust a heavenly, perfect Father who loves me infinitely more than I will ever be able to love my kids." 
Most of us are taught to set aside a daily prayer/scripture time and when we fail, we feel guilty.  But, in reality, when we love God, we naturally run to Him, frequently and zealously.  Jesus didn't command that we have a regular time with Him each day.  He tells us to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul amd with all your mind."  He called this the first and greatest commandment.  -Matthew 22:37-38

The results are intimate prayer and study of His word.  Our motivation changes from guilt to LOVE. 
God wants us to come to His word or into His word with Love in our hearts for Him.  Not because we feel guilty if we don't or because we have to spend a set time with God each day. 
Francis Chan talks about a trip he took into the woods for four days, where he had absolutely no contact with another living soul.  He meditated on Jeremiah 1 the entire trip.  Jeremiah 1 verses 4 and 5 speak God's intimate knowledge of me.  "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."  Wait a minute!  God knew me before he MADE me?  God knew you and me BEFORE we existed.  Think about that for a while.  God has been with me from the start, in fact, from well before the start. 

He determined what Jeremiah would do before he was born, is this also true for me? 
Ephesians 2:10 "We are created to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."  That verse is meant for me and all others who have been saved by grace through faith.  My existence was not random, nor was it by accident.  God knew who He was creating, and He designed me for a specific work.  God's next words to Jeremiah, assured me that I need not fear failure:
"Ah, Sovereign Lord," I said, " I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."  But, the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.'  You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you." declares the Lord.  Then the lord reached out and touched his hand to my mouth and said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth.  See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."  Jeremiah 1:6-10

blowing momma a kiss!

When Jeremiah voices hesitation and fear, God reaches out and touches his mouth.  It's a gentle and affectionate gesture, something a loving parent would do.  Through this illistration I realize that I realize that I do not have to worry about not meeting His expectations.  God will ensure my success in accordance with His plans, not mine.  This is the God we serve, the God who knew us before He created us.  The God who promises to remain with us and to rescue us.  The God who loves us and longs for us to love Him back. 

"No one is good, except God alone."   Luke 18:19  So why does He love us, despite us not being good?  Because, if God's mercy didn't exist there would be no hope.  Isaiah 64:6, "All our righteous acts are like filthy rags."  Our good deads can never out weigh our sins .  God's mercy is a free, yet costly, gift.  It cannot be earned.  The wages of sin is death.  But, because of God's mercy, sin is paid for through the death of Jesus Christ, instead of the death of you and me.  Jesus wants us, chooses us, even considers us His inheritance.  (Ephesians 1:18)  The greatest knowledge we can ever have is knowing that God treasures us.  He treasures us and anticipates our departure from this Earth to be with Him.  And, we wonder-indifferently- how much we have to do for Him to get by?
The greatest good on this earth is God.  Period.  God's one goal for us is Himself.  Do you see Him and know Him as Abba?  The Great Father.  Watch the videos again at http://www.crazylovebook.com/  It will remind you who you are and of the crazy, totally undeserved love of God.
What a wonderful relationship I am building with my Maker.  I hope and pray that you all are building that relationship as well.  Have a great week! 

Smile for me my Texas Baby!

It is so hard for me to believe that this is already our third year for bluebonnet pictures with Kaden.  We go to the same spot every year.  Kind of a tradition now.  I love living in Texas.  The weather is just as moody as I am.  If you don't like the weather, hang around a few hours, it'll change before the end of the day to the extreme opposite of how the day started.  Texas weather is crazy, but I love it here, and really have no desire to ever live anywhere else.  Texas born and Texas is where I'll die, I hope.  We didn't get any pictures that I just love this year.  Mainly because I can't do too much with my camera right now.  I still haven't gotten it fixed. 

 

Just for fun, do ya'll remember this chunky monkey from 2009?  Only a couple of months old here.

And this one is in 2010, at about 14 months old! 

I can't believe how fast he has grown!

What have we been up to lately?  Besides working ourselves to death.  We have been growing some windowsill herbs in antique pots from Lance's Memaws house.  If you recall, Lance's grandmother passed away this past year at 100 years old.  We were able to get several old things from around her house and make them into planters. 

We have planted a very small garden in comparison to last year.  Just don't have the time or energy for it this year. 

My friend, Megan, has started selling Thirty-One bags.  It's a really neat company, Christian based, and they just have the cutest things.  Here are some of the things I have ordered over the past two months.

I am in LOVE with my draw string purse bag, and my matching Bible bag that I had monogrammed.  Isn't this a cute set?  I love it!  They both go with me everyday, and every where I go.

Also, I ordered this basket as a wedding gift and I'm going to fill it with all kinds of kitchen goodies.  I like it so much I am going to order some for the house now.  And I know it will be so cute as a wedding gift.  You can do so many things with this basket.  It can be a toilet paper roll holer and magazine rack or towels; it can hold gift wrapping station stuff; it can hold cleaning supplies, etc.  And, it comes in different sizes, this is a small one.

And, last but certainly not least, I ordered this insulated lunch bag, with my name on it.  I take it to school everyday with my lunch in it.  It's a great size, but if anything I would buy the next size bigger. 

My Mom made these WONDERFUL signs for me for my classroom.  I can't wait to take them to school Monday and hang them up!  They are hand painted, custom ordered by me on canvases.  My Mom would be happy to special make any of these you would like to have made as teacher gifts or just as gifts.  She can do what ever size and color and design you want.  If you are interested in a canvas of your own, just email me at kellymabe@yahoo.com

I hope ya'll are having a great weekend! 

2 Year Well Visit & More

This is Kaden in his two year old Sunday School class with his Daddy.  There are three sweet boys in his class.

We were delayed getting to the two year well check at the pediatricians office.  The day it was scheduled for the first week of February, Kaden's actual 2 year birthday, was a snow day.  So, we had to rescedule for a whole month later.  He went for his well visit with his Daddy.  This is the very first time I did not go to the doctor with Kaden.  I was the only one who felt bad about it, I don't think Kaden cared, in fact, he'd prefer to go with his Daddy over me anyday.  Kaden is CRAZY about Daddy!  He's a Daddy's boy for sure!  :)

Kaden now can TALK to his doctor.  He says her name and told her all kinds of things at the visit.  Our pediatrician is pregnant and expecting her third baby boy.  She was trying for a girl. 

This is Daddy and Kaden putting on stickers, this was Valentine's Day week and he learned how God loved him.  This is Mrs. Judy his teacher, she is a wonderful Christian lady that has been leading choir at our church my whole life.

The visit went well.  My child, as usual, is HUGE!  He weighed in at 34 pounds and 2 ozs.  (95%)  Last week at my doctor visit that he had to go one with me, he weighed 34 pounds and 6 ozs.  He's such a heavy boy!  He is 37 1/2 inches tall. (95%)  That's just over three feet at TWO!  If the old saying is true that you can take their height at two and add the same height to it and that is how tall they will be.  If this is true he will be over 6 foot tall!  CRAZY!!!  I'm 5'8 and Lance is 5'10.  Kaden head measured 19 3/4 inch (90%).  Kaden had to get one booster shot at this visit and he took it like a champ!

Kaden is very healthy and happy and for that I couldn't be happier or thank God more.  My prayers have been answered for a healthy child.  

This is the three boys playing music with their songs they are singing.  They love this!

We are working on discipline a lot these days.  Kaden is VERY strong willed (like his Mother).  He has starting telling me and Lance "NO!" when he doesn't want to do something.  He tests us to the max!  I am consistent in telling him No firmly once and telling him if you do that again you sit on the couch.  He does it again, he gets a spanking (pat on the diaper!) and a sit down on the couch for two minutes.  It works because he cries and hates this time-out time!  He is definitely a child that will have to be spanked to know his limits.  After about a minute and a half, he starts saying this... "I SOWRY MOMMY!"  "I SOWRY!"  It's so cute.  He always says he is sorry when he gets up and I always give a hug and tell him that Mommy loves him very much but you can't blah, blah, or blah.  For the most part this goes well.  So far.

Playing music in Sunday School.

Kaden is unfortunately NOT sleeping in his own bed.  He sleeps with us, terrible to admit, but true.  With both our work schedules and how tired we are in the evenings it has been impossible to fight the screaming and crying all night if we try to put him in his bed.  The only way he sleeps in his bed is if one of us sleeps with him in it.  This is something we are about to change.  I am going to put a small toddler bed beside our bed in HOPES that he will sleep in it and that will be a great start to getting him out of our bed.  Kaden did sleep in his own crib PERFECTLY until last July, at which time Lance switched to a day shift from a night shift job.  Kaden slept in his bed when it was just me and him here because he knew I made him.  Lance won't make him though, and he can't stand it if he cries, so he rescues him.  A couple nights of rescues turned into Kaden in bed with us every night, because at the same time I started my Ag teaching job and was exhausted at night to the point of "I don't care what ya'll do, just let me get some sleep so I can function tomorrow!"  This is how it happened, and 9 months later, he's still in our bed.  It is getting ridiculous!  He is WAY to big and we don't sleep well with him in the bed.  It's time to CHANGE this pattern.  Just wish Daddy would jump on board.  Pray about that for me.



This is who Kaden looks forward to seeing at church.  He loves his Peepaw (my Dad) and Granny Cay (My Step-Mom)  These pictures are blurry because my lens is jammed, this being the reason for not so many pictures.  Urrrggghhh!!!

This is what Kaden does between Sunday School and church time, climbs up in the choir.  See his little head up there?

 These are horrible pictures of myself, but Lance and Kaden got to attend a Saturday FFA Event with me. I was so proud to have them there.  It was nice to finally have my family at work with me!  Loved having them there.

  There's my boys!  Love THEM!!!!

Spring Break Wrap-up!

This is for you, Amy!  :)
How can Spring Break be almost over so quickly?  Why does it seem the time just flies away when we are on a break?  I am not, for any reason, looking forward to work on Monday.  I need another week.  :)
I haven't taken many pictures of Kaden in the past two months because my new (bought in July) Cannon Rebel T1i decided to break.  The smaller lens has a jam in it, and I CAN NOT make it work.  Therefore, no pictutres.  Luckily, the other day my friend Crystal let me borrow her lens to take pictures at our trip to the zoo. 
Crystal and I taught together three full years ago at the same school, and she has Mason, who will be 2 in May.  Kaden and I went to the zoo with them on Wednesday this week.  It was so much fun!
This is Mason hugging Kaden...

Kaden hugging Mason...

My little monkey...

Isn't he precious?

The boys looking at SNAKES!!!  YUCK!  Says Kaden!!!

Mason thought this was FUN to go down the stairs in the stroller!

Oh Mason, you little cutie!

Kaden standing in an elephant track!  :)

And Mason!

Look how little our boys are in comparison to an elephant.

This little boy loves the zoo!  He walked the entire zoo, never set down or rode in the stroller.  He was a trooper.  And a very tired little boy in the early afternoon.

After we left the zoo, we went to Chick-fil-A for lunch. 

Kaden loves the chicken nuggets there, he also got chocolate milk and a fruit cup.  He ate every bite! 

I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with my little boy this week.  He is getting sweeter and sweeter every day.  I love him so!