I CANNOT HAVE A 12 YEAR OLD!!!

Is it possible? Is it really possible that my first born baby boy is now 12?  I have no idea where the time has gone.  It truly seems like yesterday that Larry and I were trying to figure out just what to do with the small 6 pound gift God gave us.  He was not a sleeper and I spent many nights wondering how I was going to possibly go to work and stay awake for a classroom full of kiddos.  With Larry working nights, it was all me during the night and I spent many praying that Cole would "please go to sleep"!  I can't say I miss the sleepless nights, but I do miss the baby years.  Now I am finding it hard to wake the boy up to go to school.  Oh how times have changed.

But one thing remains.....Cole is still my cuddle-er.  He still unknowingly rubs my arm when he is tired or sick and my mind races back.  Nightly he says "Mom come sit with me" and we cuddle.  I know he will eventually grow out of this, but I hope not too soon.  (I guess it would be kinda weird when he's 20!)

Here are some of my favorite pics of my sweet Cole!

 This was early in the summer....

 ....this was in late July on vacation.  He is my little brownie!

Yes, it is sideways cause he was hanging sideways off the bed!

We celebrated Cole's birthday last weekend.  He got introduced to paintball last winter and has said that he wanted to do his next birthday party there.  It was a little delayed but we finally celebrated!  So glad he had a great time!

 Larry gets ready to go!

 Cole and his friends....Charlie, Alex, Brooks and Riley....getting ready to take on the dads and Austin and Colton.

Uncle Dave surrenders!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET COLE!!!

11-11-11

Today we honored all the brave men and women who have fought for our freedom.  Our school has spent the last several years honoring veterans with a breakfast and ceremony. The students sing songs, quote verses and make cards and posters for veterans.  The students are encouraged to invite their family members who are veterans to join in this celebration.

For several years, my grandpa, aka Cacaw, came to the Veterans Day Assembly at our school.  Last year he didn't get to come due to his failing health.  Today he watched from heaven with his new body!  As the bagpipes played and the veterans walked in together, I found myself very emotional.  I missed seeing him walk in.  I was and am so proud that he made the sacrifice for our country.  I came home and dug out the "book" that my brother,  Dallas wrote after sitting down with Cacaw and getting a first hand account of his time in the army.  Amazing still!

Julius James Owens 

Stars brought by students with their family members' names on them.

Mr. Anderson speaks and honors our heroes.

Austin and the other 4th graders sang for the assembly.

Busyness!!!

Well, unfortunately I have not had much time to write much.  The busyness of Halloween, Cole and Larry's birthdays, football and now basketball has overtaken all of my free time (if I ever had any).

Halloween went something like this....

Me:  (a week or so before the big night) "Boys what do you want dress up as for Halloween?"

Both boys:  "Nothing...we don't want to go trick or treating."

Me:  (several times as the day approaches) "Are you sure you don't need anything to be able to dress up for Halloween?"

Both boys:  "Yes we are sure!"

4p.m. on Halloween night, Cole gets a text from his friend Riley who wants him to go trick or treating.  Cole says "I will just go as me".....ummm no.  So he quickly became a dirt bike rider.  I was  little sad because this was his first time to go trick or treating without his mommy :-(  But he had a great time with Riley and his mom and brother. I failed to take a picture so I found this one from a while back.

Well, that prompted Austin to want to call a friend and go trick or treating.  So after much drama and a little digging, he became a scary person!   We had a great time in the Vintage with friends.

That's my sweet boy on the far right!

On November 1st, my sweet Cole turned 12!  He is such a blessing to us and all those who meet him.  We were out of school on the 31st so we spent the day at the mall picking out a new phone.  He got a "hand-me-down" when school started in August and has been very responsible.  So for his birthday we upgraded...and since the cost for the monthly plan was the same whether he had a regular phone or an android phone, we caved and he really got an UPGRADE!  He loves to play the games.  He likes it so much and it is so much like an iPhone that he gave his brother his iPod touch.  Love that he was willing to let little brother feel some love!  Dinner was whatever he wanted and he requested chicken enchiladas, fried potatoes and brownies!  So that is what I made!  

Cole and Larry are 5 minutes away from sharing a birthday.  Cole came into this world at 11:55 p.m. on the 1st and Larry's birthday is the 2nd.  And I get asked "Couldn't you wait just 5 more minutes"....the answer was and is NO...I had no epidural and just wanted the pain to go away to see my sweet baby!  And now I am glad they both have their own day!  But Larry doesn't mind sharing the attention!  Especially this year.  It was the big 40!!!

This was at Uncle Ron's for Meme's birthday dinner.  His friend birthday party will be in a couple of weeks!  Paintball Land!!!

Football is coming to an end.  They have 1 more practice and 1 more game.  Unfortunately due to a crazy way of running playoffs in the CFL, we are playing for the Silver Ball.  Larry is not a fan of the way this went, but he is making the best of it by saying he needs to add a Silver Ball to his collection of Gold!  So, on Saturday, we hope to bring it home!  

Finally journaling......my mom would be so proud!

I've always wanted to journal to keep an account of what was going on in our lives, but seemed to never find the time.  My mom has always journaled and has encouraged me to do the same.  Several years back I was into doing scrapbooks to display events in our family but with the busyness of being a mom of 2 active boys who are involved in multiple competitive sports, the time was not available for that.  So, after following my sister-in-law's blog over the last few months, I fell in love with the idea.  I am looking forward to sharing the craziness of my world while keeping the memories alive.

I spend my 8-4 with 3rd graders who are always giving me reasons to smile.  I always said I should write a book on the funny quotes I hear daily, so maybe some of those will appear.  But my most important and favorite job is being a mom to Cole and Austin and a wife to Larry.  This is what I live for!!!

Cole is in 6th grade and is enjoying his first year in middle school.  Austin is in 4th grade and loving it!  They are typical brothers who have their differences and find it fun to annoy each other.  But they love each other and I am so proud of them.

Right now we are coming to the end of the football season for Austin.  Larry has coached Austin since he was in 1st grade and is having so much fun!  He loves it and is passionate about coaching these boys!  We have one last game to finish before playoffs.  We are hoping for a win so we can get into the championship Gold Ball playoffs.  This season has been a season of growth and we are hoping to get the opportunity to meet Stroud again to prove that first game was a fluke!

Love my #63!

Pre-game pep talk!

Deep in thought before the game....I love this boy!

I love that God allowed me to marry this man and to take this awesome journey of life with him!  I am proud to be his wife!