IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

if you were anywhere NEAR us today, you would have felt the joy radiating off of bobby and me.

about two years ago, in absolute faith, we stuck a FOR SALE BY OWNER sign in front of our house not knowing quite what to expect.

fast forward through the sale of our home, a cross-country adventure complete with truck fire and creepy clown faces, a one month stay with virtual strangers who i met online (who are now some of our very best friends in the whole world), the dark dark days of the walmart era, the complete miracle of the dream job, and you find us here today,

the proud new owners of a beautiful, perfect-for-us, texas hacienda LOL. yep, that's right. we closed on our new home today. it wasn't supposed to happen until monday but our realtor called and said everything was done and we could close earlier if we wanted. for the first time in what feels like FOREVER, we actually DIDN'T have to wait. what a concept!

it's been quite a ride...and while it's been agonizing at times, i wouldn't trade one moment if it meant that i had to give up 'here' and 'now.' because 'here' and 'now' feels GREAT!

let the home makeover begin...now, can someone get hold of ty pennington for me? hee hee

SOCK MAKER, SOCK MAKER, MAKE ME A SOCK

hudson and i were headed out to run some errands this afternoon.

he grabbed a pair of socks and asked, mom, what do these letters spell?

i told him they said POLO and that his uncle greg works for POLO.

he said, 'so uncle greg makes my socks? he's a sock maker?'

he also continued along those lines and said that uncle greg makes pajamas and underwear too.

they don't pay you the big money for nothing, greg!

after the SR. VP. INTL. you need to add an SM. to the end of your title :)

SaTuRdAy SpOrTs

busy day yesterday. 2 soccer games & a volleyball game.

pre-k and kindergarten soccer is a TRIP. everything from kids with full-fledged tantrums to little girls who feel the need to 'hold hands' with their friend through the ENTIRE game.

hudson had a blast & his little uniform cracks me up:

carson started his game off with a goal straight from the first kick. good thing he had a great start, because shortly after he was hit HARD in the stomach after someone kicked the ball a little too high, a little too hard. he was a trooper though and after a hug and some encouragement on the sidelines from his coach, he was right back in the game (that's him to the left in the white soccer socks):

and lastly, jordan and her team (the girls got to name their own team and chose the purple hippos...a name that did NOT earn her approval...she's mortified). the hippos did great. they lost, but not by much. it was fun to watch and she can't wait for their next game! here she is serving:

BROTHERLY LOVE

yesterday morning i was busy racing around the house...making sure everyone had everything they needed for their day.




i notice carson kneeling on the floor in the bathroom.


'carson, what are you doing?'


'i was just talking to God mom.'


'really?'


'yeah. i was asking him to take care of my baby brother's eczema.'


my heart...oh my gosh...i love this kid.


but it gets better.

sensing my pride and pleasure over his care for his brother, he went and got one of his most prized possessions...his SPIDERMAN 3 laptop...and brought it to hudson and said, 'here hud, you can play with this today while i'm at school.'

these are the moments that make me think, despite the crazy, chaotic moments...regardless of the hostile fights over who had which army guy first...there is a bond that runs deep and true.


i love these little dudes more than life.

relax and enjoy the ride

sunday the kids and i were on our way to church. i decided to go a different route. can't really say why...just because.

little voices were coming from the back of the van...

'mom, this isn't the way to church. mom, where are you going? mom, are you lost? mom...mom...mom.'

i told them i knew where i was going and to just relax and enjoy the ride.

i've been thinking about that A LOT this week.

sometimes life throws stuff at us that isn't what we expected. it's so easy to look around at our circumstances...the place we're in...to see the 'things' around us that we didn't expect to be there...and the questions start to flow.

i don't think there's ANYTHING wrong with ASKING the questions...but i think God listens and sometimes wants to just say 'i know where i'm taking you...would you just relax and enjoy the ride?'

Jer 29:11 (NIV) "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

hip hiP HOORAY!

it's a happy day.

a day that brings a smile to my face.



a day that has me saying:  THANK YOU GOD!



only one thing left to say:


welcome to texas!!!!


if you have no idea what i'm talking about, then just ignore me.

if you DO know what i'm talking about, then shout out a big texan YEEEEHAW with me!

YEEEEEEEEEHAWWWWWWWW!

is it tuesday yet?

this week marks the beginning of a new sports season...

volleyball for jordan, soccer for carson & hudson.

it also marks the beginning of the end of hudson's baby days. i was worried about how hudson would do with his coach...this is the child who cries at the mere thought of having to go to children's church...

but lo & behold, he played his little heart out! it was so fun to watch. the last two days this little guy has woken up and the first words out of his mouth have been, 'mom, is it tuesday yet?' he can't WAIT to get back to his soccer game! he is full of surprises!

he's also full of imagination. he has been talking non-stop lately about the kids who go to his school (i should mention that this school exists only in his imagination but it's VERY REAL AND DETAILED). his best friend at school is john colin. he can't just have an imaginary friend with an ordinary name LOL...

john colin has been sitting at the green table with him for a good while now...he's a well behaved boy with brown hair and blue eyes. john colin recently expanded his name. it's now JOHN COLIN HUDSON MATT. and so the stories that he tells are taking quite a bit longer.

i'd say that it's driving me crazy, but truly i love it. i've always been a sucker for those creative types.

i'll take some pictures of the boys in their 'soccer suits' soon. for now, here's a pic of the creator of john colin hudson matt. wonder what his LAST name is????