time sure flies when you're having fun!

today our youngest son, the little stinker of the bunch, turns six. SIX.

time is a jerk, really.
how in the world has it been six years???

oh well, i'm looking forward to sixty more years with this little guy!



jett loves...

animals. all animals. doesn't matter if they have fur or scales. he loves them.
candy. i don't think he'll turn down a single kind of candy.
dry cereal in a bag.
playing minecraft or having an air soft "war" with his big brothers.
loving on his little cousins.
going to school. he especially loves his teacher.
his friends. he's a good friend to everyone.



jett, you're a sweet, sweet boy. momma and daddy love you! happy birthday!

{photos taken by jake austin, biggest brother.}

my baby is THREE.

how on earth does this sort of thing happen?
one day you're headed to the hospital, so ready to bring a new little one in to your life.
then, you're wishing the sleepless nights will let up long enough for you to send the bags under your eyes packin'.
before you know it, she's telling you "no!" and then you can't remember why you were so excited for her to start talking.

but, seriously...
she's THREE!
mckinley is three.

i have no more babies in diapers.
{she's been potty trained since the ripe old age of 26 months. thanks, daddy!}

no more getting up in the middle of the night to nurse.
{as much as i love my sleep, i also LOVED nursing my babies. such a sweet sweet time}

no more diaper bags.

no more strollers.

ay, ay, ay!
i'm making it sound as if i miss it.
ok, i kinda do.
some days i feel like i've got one more baby to meet.
and other days i feel so very content with what the Lord has blessed us with.
four beautiful babies...and one more waiting for us in heaven.

happy birthday, mckinley rose.
you are momma and daddy's princess!






my oh so amazing friend, jamie, made cake pops for the party.
the girls insisted on digging into this cake before chowing down on a cake pop. or two.


present time!!!
















mckinley got a make-up set from ganny.
emma, tally, and mckinley headed straight up stairs to play dress-up.
{man, i love having a girl!!!}

jonah turns seven.

we celebrated jonah's seventh birthday last weekend.

the whole party was a bit hectic.
i took as many pictures as i could but since we were in the cosmic bowling area they aren't very good...

the cupcakes were made by my friend, jamie.
of course, she did an amazing job!!!
i gave her an invite and she matched them up perfectly!


thank you to all the boys and girls {and moms and dads} that came and made jonah's day one he won't forget!


we had lots and lots of fun!

{now, i'm beginning to think of what i'll do for mckinley's third birthday party.}

thirty-one.

i have not a lot to say.
i'd like to declare it just another day.
july 31.

i turned 31 on july 31.
quite frankly, it sucks.
getting old just plain sucks.

but, hubs did make it special.

i got a keurig.
big surprise.
never in a million years would i expect him to buy me one of these.


we got a baby sitter and went on a date.
kohl's, the mall, and applebee's.
such fun.


new toms and starbucks too.
if the rest of my 31st year is this good, it may not be so bad.

wanna know something else that was super fabulous about my 31st birthday???

this handsome fella was born.
yep, conor thomas wofford is here!!!!
on my birthday!!!
july 31!!!
he couldn't have asked for a better day to be born!!!!!
i love you conor!
and tera!
{she's my bestie!}

********************************************************
tell me 31 gets better!

it was a barnyard bash.

an indoor barnyard bash.
who knew it would be so cold in jacksonville. in december.
we're used to a comfy 70ish degrees.
today, party day, it was 30 degrees.

the cupcakes.



the centerpieces.



the smash cakes.



the birthday kiddos.
my super cute nephew, noah.


my mckinley.




a couple of notes.
*the birthday boy, we found out today, had pnemonia during his birthday bash. {no worries, he's on antibiotics now.}
*chickens, pigs, burlap, yellow flowers, old mason jars, and red & white gingham make for cute, cute barnyard birthday decor.
*jett insists that no party is complete without party hats. walmart doesn't have barnyard party hats. transformers made due. {perfect, right?}
*there was a hay ride. we went to see the cows. they may or may not have thought about charging our wagon for the hay we sat upon. i may or may not have been a bit fearful. {there were huge horns upon their heads!}

happy birthday wishes.

today is my bestie, tera's birthday.

happy birthday to the very best friend a girl could ask for!!!!


psst...tera, why did we not get more pictures of the two of us in the three weeks i was visiting???

jonah is six.

oh. my. goodness.
where in the world does time go.
six years ago today i was working my bum off to bring this little boy into the world.
working.
laboring.
hardcore.
hubs and i were watching the olympics on re-run in the middle of the night when the nurses bursted through the doors and insisted i roll over on my left side.
and then my right.
"what's the matter?", i ask.
nurses: "oh nothing, just something a little abnormal."
"ok. let me know when i'm good."
ha.
i was 23 and a little naive to the whole having a baby thing.
it was only baby number TWO.
or maybe i was a little tired and pumped full of epidural.
and well, as long as the look on my hubs' face was good then i was good.
a few hours later jonah owen took his first breath.
a nine pound, three ounce bouncing baby boy.
love at first sight.
my jonahbonah.

jonah was a dream baby.
an excellent sleeper.


a good little brother.


a sweet, sweet little boy.

a very giving big brother.
a nurturer.
he loves his little brother and sister.
and his big brother too.



jonah,
i love you.
bunches.
never stop loving others.
they all love you.
love,
mommy and daddy

home baked with love.

and on their way to my hero in a far away place...
for his birthday...
that he won't spend with me...

i love you, babe!

all in four days...

this is my 370th post.
impressive.
to me at least.

where've i been?
can i just say that the month of february was a big, huge, bundle of emotions, ups and downs, Hunky Hubs missin' days, messy clean-up days, and friendship building days.
through it i've had a couple of good times!

here's some highlights in photos from the last week.

first, my $35.00 vera bradley backpack.
retail value??
$85.00
really?!
i may have paid full retail during the first deployment.....
this time i'm smarter...more determined to pay off debt.
livin' like no one else today so we can can live like no one else tomorrow!!! (dave ramsey)


(close your eyes daddy)
we've had a lot of these lately...

a few meltdowns per week are a common happening in your household too, right?

McKinley is learning quickly that the more dramatic the face, the louder the cry, the harder she hits the floor with the beginnings of a temper tantrum, the more sympathy she gets from this momma.
i'm in trouble.
daddy, you're in trouble.
prin. cess.
that's all i'm sayin'!


these boots are SCREAMIN' my name!
screamin'!

more specifically the dark brown with purty pink roses in the back...
love.
i said nevermind to the little sign that i didn't see until AFTER i took this picture, in the next window over, that said NO PHOTOS, PLEASE.
i love these boots.
i imagine they cost upwards of $300....
tomorrow...

did you guess that we are in nashville?
love me some nashville!

my mom and step-dad, ray, came into town for a short visit this past week.
we went out to eat more in four days than i would normally go out to eat in one month!
thursday we went to jake austin's favorite restaraunt, "crab lobster".
for you common folk, that's Red Lobster.
he's called it crab lobster for as long as i can remember.
the boy LOVES crab legs.
well, he did until last thursday night.
he had a kids crab leg plate and then an additional order of 1/2 pound of legs.
he was up at 2ish AM and again at 5AM....sick!
he didn't go to school the next day.
he was SICK!
he told me the next morning (5AM is NOT morning to me!) that he will never eat crab legs again....
poor guy.

friday evening we went to have mexican.
i love mexican.
love, love, LOVE!
well, i forgot when we walked into this particular restaraunt that kentucky still allows smoking in their restaraunts....
jake austin was less than thrilled.
he sat with his hand over his mouth for all of dinner.
he would put a bite of food into his mouth and then quickly cover his nose and mouth with his sleeve.
it was painful to watch.
we won't be going back to this restaraunt....
sad, it was good.

saturday we all headed to nashville.
our family always has such a great time in nashville.
there's so much to see.
everytime i begin my drive into that musically talented city i imagine whom i might bump into....
carrie underwood?
faith hill and tim mcgraw?
taylor swift?
i've not seen anyone famous yet...
not yet.
hopefully within the three years we're here....
but, not yet.

elvis was there.


this guy perked up and gave a little grin as SOON as he saw my camera...


who's this handsome guy???

oh, it's my jonah-bonah....

rockin' his mommas sunglasses.

we took a walk along the music city walk of fame...
i was surprised to find steven curtis chapman

and michael w smith....

i'm not surprised that they each have a star,
i'm surprised that there are christian music artists being recognized.
maybe it's a little naive of me...
i think there should be MORE christian music artists given recognition for their God-given talents.

not 100% sure what the story is behind this guitar that sits on broadway...
i admit i followed the crowd and took a pitcure of it...
maybe a bit unique with MY kiddos in front of it.

honky tonk heroes, y'all!!!

still with me???
almost finished.
on our way back to my just-outta-the-shop truck we saw this rather large banner on the side of a rather loud, live band playin', corner bar.
if it were just Hubs and I we would have totally stopped to listen to the live band inside....
i would've wanted to anyway....
i got off track.
i'm missin' Hubs.
please, excuse me.
ok, so, on our way back to the truck we saw this banner...

the kiddos took a quick pic...

and then we realized that it was autographed...

think it's real?

on our way out of nashville,
yet, still inside,
we stopped at opry mills mall and ate dinner at the rainforest cafe.

perhaps my bloating feeling isn't bloating at all....
instead, a sincere weight gain of TEN pounds from all of this eating out.....
just sayin'.
this is another favorite of ours.
jett asks for "rainbow cafe" DAILY.

jake austin wanted to go here for the $6.99 icee.
$6.99?
all for an icee, a souvenier cup, and a toy.
$6.99 x 3 = three very happy children!!!
did i mention the VOLCANO???!!!
this was jake's (unwritten) birthday cake.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKE!!!!

your daddy and i promised you this $12.99 piece of three minute heaven....

grandma paid for it...
thank you grandma and papa!!!!

Jake,
eight years ago,
on february 28, 2002 you became ours.
we are so thankful for you.
you are a gift from God.
never lose sight of God's will for your life.
never stop loving Jesus.
i love you!
daddy loves you!
daddy misses you!
happy birthday, big boy!