Birthday #28

Breakfast Donuts

Started my birthday off right with donuts!

Swimming Party

Later, a swimming birthday party for one of Hud's friends and the kids zonked out in the backseat by the time we got home.  

I had a whole 30 minutes to read my book and eat chocolate that I had stashed away. Parenting win!

Birthday flowers from Logan

 Birthday presents from the kiddos

It was all about fitness this year. 

Water bottle, weights, etc.  

Family birthday dinner

Blurry picture, but here we are at my birthday dinner (Logan wrangling two kids)

We went to Bakersfield in Dilworth. Best tacos ever! 

 I wanted an ice cream cake this year. Logan was so sweet to attempt to make one. It wasn't exactly "pretty" but it sure did taste good. 

Birthday date night

Logan got me a pampering session at Sephora. If you know me at all, I'm a pretty minimalist girl when it comes to that stuff so it was fun to try things out and get new makeup. Later, we went to a cute town called Davidson for a comedy show and ice cream. So fun! 

Hudson starts Pre-K

Hudson started Pre-K (4YO class) beginning of September, three times a week for just a few hours in the morning. He was a little nervous for his first day, but he has loved it ever since starting all those months ago. His teachers, Ms. Leanna & Ms. Marcie, are super nice and personable. They call him "Hud" which I think is the best and they always tell me how they can't believe how much he knows about animals/dinosaurs. (He's his daddy's son after all). I am so proud of Hudson and I'm going to dread the day I have to send him to "real" school (probably next year for Kindergarten*).

*Hudson's birthday is in July (which is super close to the August 31st cut-off for Kindergarten here in NC). We are unsure about whether or not to send him next year as he will be a "young" 5 year old and we just have some mixed feelings about it all. We have applied to a bunch of charter schools in the area though and will wait to hear back from them before we pray and make a decision (unfortunately, the public school we are zoned for is a no-go as it is in the inner-city and does not have high ratings).

We have seen Hud grow so much this school year. He's really come out of his shell at preschool and is making friends. His teachers comment about how well he listens to details (wish that was all the time at home, but you know -- you win some, you lose some). He's also very inquisitive. I love the questions he comes up with.  

He knows his ABCs, numbers 1-20, can write his name fairly well, and is interested in learning to read. Most of these things have been him wanting to do it on his own which we were thrilled about. We try not to push too hard and just have him go on his own pace. He's loved the Letter Factory DVD since he was little and that was huge with him getting to know his ABCs and their sounds (highly recommend it). We've been working on the reading, but it's all really slow because I want it to be something HE wants to do. We tried "Teaching Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" but that was kind of a fail since he got really bored with it. We are working on BOB books now which he seems to like, but again taking it very slowly. I just love this little boy and how excited he is about learning! He is full of questions and we love that about him!

10 years

September 3, 2015 marked 10 years since being baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

All summer I had been waiting for my sunflowers to bloom, and finally the week of this special anniversary -- my velvet queen sunflower finally bloomed! It was a sweet reminder that God is, in fact, in the details of my life. The decision 10 years ago to join the church has brought me a happiness and peace beyond measure, and has allowed me to feel God's love in a more personal way. It has been the best 10 years and I know it can only go up from here. 

A little background (since I'm not sure I ever wrote it on this blog) about my conversion story and how I joined the church....

I was in my senior year of high school. At that time, I had known about the Mormon church through family and friends. My mom had joined the church when she was about 16 years old, but it never really stuck and she quickly went inactive. My dad had never showed interest in the church. However, my dad's sister (Martha) and her family were active members of the church ever since I was little. I remember visiting them and going to church with them often. I remember how much happiness and purpose I saw in their family life as they attended church and various events within the church. 

During that senior year, I had a English class assignment. It was a research paper, and one we could choose. Our teacher asked us to research something that would mean something to us -- that we really wanted to know more about. Religion had always been intriguing to me. My parents practiced Buddhism, but I knew little about it (it seemed more of a cultural thing for me). My friends were different religions -- Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, Lutheran, etc. I was surrounded by friends and family that believed different things. I didn't know what I believed, and so, I decided to do my research paper on different religions to find out their beliefs. The more and more I researched the different religions, the more I felt a strong connection to the Mormon church. A great friend, Sarah, invited me to church with her and to her house for dinner one night. I began talking to the Mormon missionaries and having discussions at Sarah's home (her dad was the bishop at the time) soon after.

The rest is basically history... I got baptized a few months later on September 3, 2005 in a packed room filled with my family, friends, and supportive church members. I will always be grateful for how supportive and loving my family (especially my parents) were then and even more so now. They have been great examples to me of how to love others with different beliefs.

I also shared my testimony in public for the first time that day with tears streaming down my face because in that moment I had felt so much joy. I could feel Heavenly Father's arms around me and holding me up as I proclaimed my love and gratitude for Him. Here is an excerpt of my journal entry from my baptism day, 10 years ago:

"I will always remember this day and the wonderful warmth and spirit I felt today -- it's such an incredible feeling. [...] I just hope that the feeling I have felt today at my baptism will never go away! I hope to "go forward with faith" in all things that I do. I know that the church is true and that Heavenly Father loves me along with those around me -- I have gained that testimony because of the spirit I have felt and the answers I have received from scriptures and prayer."

I will say that the feelings of that day have always stayed with me. "Going forward with faith" can be a tough thing and definitely easier said than done, but I know it is so worth it to press forward in the trying and difficult times because God really is in the details. He is there. I will forever be grateful for the plan Heavenly Father has for me and the joy that comes from following His son, Jesus Christ.

That simple choice all those years ago to be baptized has been the biggest blessing and best choice of my life, but I think the harder/more rewarding choice was staying grounded in the Gospel of Jesus Christ then (and even now). I just kept showing up for God in prayer, in scripture study, in serving others, in my church callings, and in the way I live. More than anything, I kept being obedient. I kept doing what I knew to be right. Doing those things brought me blessing upon blessing, and it continues to be the same way today. 

End of Summer 2015

Summer 2015 was probably my most favorite summer to date. I told Logan I wanted this summer to be about the kids. They were at such good ages (Hud- 4 and Mia - almost 2) to play hard and spend as much time as we could OUTSIDE. I was also excited about this summer because we weren't in the middle of moving, switching jobs, having a baby, pregnant, or with so many activities planned. It was so nice to be able to just enjoy the summer months without too much going on in our lives. The end of summer (all of August) was dedicated to girls camp and playing hard before Hudson started preschool again.

I planned a little playgroup with our church friends to the fire station. This is a historic fire station in the heart of Charlotte. It was so much fun seeing the firefighters! The kids had a blast.

My friend, Emily, from Raleigh was in town with her kids and came to visit us one afternoon. We had a lot of fun catching up and so did the kids. Always so happy to reunite with our Raleigh friends again! 

We also played a lot at home. The kids did a lot of arts and crafts. They also started playing well together (some days are better than others, of course). I love these cute kids and how much they like to create and play! Here's Hud one morning. His room a complete mess, but he was having fun searching for a capybara (aka his sister). He loves pretending she is an animal and then they chase each other around.

Painting out on the front porch

A lot of nights after daddy got home from work, we would play at the park. I love summer nights because it stays light for so long! One night we took the kids to Freedom Park for fishing and playing.

We planned another fun outing; this time with our preschool friends. We went bowling! Our preschool friends are awesome, and an added bonus -- all the kids are about the same ages. 

3 little ones to the left, 3 big kids to the right

A nice older man in our ward went down to South Carolina and got us a box of FRESH peaches. So delicious! I wanted to go peach picking, but the heat was too much for me to consider going with the kids. So glad someone was able to go get us a box because we sure loved these!

One of our favorite places in the Charlotte area is a small town called Belmont. It reminds me so much of the place where I grew up -- railroad tracks going through town, little shops, cute eateries, etc.

This is probably one of my favorite pictures of Amelia. It describes her free-spirit and joy for just about everything. I love her! 

Getting ice cream at our favorite little shop (sadly, this place closed down for good a few months later).

One of the very first places we ate when we first moved to Charlotte was this tiny diner called Mattie's. It's super small, old, and a little rough around the edges but we loved it! Sadly, it closed down end of summer. We will miss their breakfasts and yummy milkshakes!

We went to a Knights baseball game for family night. The ballpark is down the street from us. The kids sure loved running around and eating hot dogs. Great summer night!

Video: Baseball game fun

YW Recognition Night. As a leader for the youth, three of the girls I work with had their recognition night. This is a night where the girls get to highlight all that they have done to receive their YW Medallion -- service, gospel learning, etc. It was a great night! These girls are amazing. 

More summer things below. 

Date night in our city!

Summer afternoon nap

Love this boy! He had an idea to make a "trap" out of cardboard and duct tape. He was so excited.

Movie on the green at Romare Bearden. 

Such a fun night!

Playing at the park

Last water day outside on the driveway. 

Riding a triceratops (Discovery Place)

Playing at the water table (Discovery Place)

We took a quick trip to Raleigh before the summer was over. It was just me and the kids. We stayed with our friends, the Wrights, and had such a fun time. We went to the Durham Life and Science Museum (our favorite) and got to see many friends.

Amelia loves babies, and this baby L is such a sweetie. 

I need to get the original picture from Julia, but this is my favorite picture of Hudson and L. 

Cuties!