Wouldn't trade it!

It's been a while since my last confession...or should I say blog. What can I say...I have been living my life instead of blogging it. I am feeling drawn back for today so here goes...

Being a stay at home Mom only sounds mundane...In reality, there are times when I either cannot keep up...or really just don't want to!

I am reminded constantly that God has his hands on my life...and I am so blessed! I was talking to another Mom who is in charge of watching my darlings while I attempt to work out. We swapped stories about pregnancy, and how getting pregnant and staying that way isn't easy for all of us. She had to have fertility treatments to get pregnant with her little boy...while I didn't have treatments to have Gavin, I can relate to the hurt and loss of losing pregnancies. I told her that I feel like I am missing a child...and still pray that God will continue to heal my heart. I cried underneath the mask of my sunglasses while driving home.

Then, my two darling sons helped snap me right back out of my pity party! Gavin started barking at the dogs across the street and then opened his peanut butter and marshmallow creme sandwich and made it into a hat and placed it in his hair.

Thank you God for your grace, the ability to share pain with a stranger, and the thankfulness I feel that I am blessed with my two sons!

Have a blessed day and don't forget to be nice to whomever you meet...you never know what's on their mind!

Traditions

Today, our family celebrated another favorite tradition: Thanksmas. We have gotten together on black Friday...not to shop, but to have our Hunt family Christmas. This tradition is one that we started now that my siblings are all adults. It came to be due to scheduling conflicts, and it has ended up being an amazing way to say hello to the celebrations to come in December!

This year was filled with lots of amazing memories! We got to eat brunch at my sis' lovely home, and then the kids had a gift exchange. It is so much fun to see the presents being opened one by one, and it is so sweet to see them all so excited for themselves and each other! I really don't want time to fly by too quickly, but I do wonder what this event will feel like whenever our children are bringing their children to our family Thanksmas!

All that fun almost wore us out, and just when we thought the fun day wouldn't end...it didn't! We traveled to Enid to see some of the Milligan side of the family. It was heartwarming to see Ethan and Gavin get to visit with their Great-Grandma Milligan, Papa, and Nana!

As Richard and I reflected on it all, we both came to the conclusion that we are so grateful for our family! I love the ties that bind us all together! Merry Christmas...all month long...and may your memories that you are making today be sweet and sustain you through the crazy days that lie ahead.

Thank you!

Today, we shared the Thanksgiving holiday with our family. We have been talking about being thankful for months and have started a list of things we are thankful for. The things listed on our list vary from being thankful for what some would view as mundane...ice, stuffed animals, books, to those that aren's so mundane like...each other, family, and our church.

Through all of our thankfulness brainstorming one theme that seems to ring out loudly to me is that God provides! Even when the dryer stops working, a tire goes flat, the baby gets sick, and we are just tired...I find that God already knows what we are going through...what we will go through. So, I am thankful that I can rest in Him. He is so much smarter and more aware than I am!

Thank you God!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to ask Jesus if I can be an angel!

It's been a tiring time around here...both the boys have been sick. But, in the midst of it all, there are lessons to be learned and blessings to be shared!
We have been reading the Children's Bible with Ethan almost nightly for a long time, and this along with going to church has helped us have lots of conversations with Ethan. Tonight, after reading about the last supper, the betrayal, the crucifixion, and the resurrection, Ethan wanted to ask Jesus into his heart. We talked about it all again, and he started crying. He really wanted to pray tonight and started right in without my help! It was so sweet, innocent and amazing to see him so earnestly asking for God's forgiveness!
Of course, he thought it was really cool that angels can "fly" and wants to ask God one day if he can be one...until then, I pray that he will be surrounded by his guardian angel and that he will become a man of God...one that has a fulfilled life with his eyes always fixed on HIM!
Please pray for our family as we help lead Ethan in the right direction!
God is good...All the time!

Tickle Me, Ethan!

I had almost deja vu tonight! We went to Braum's after church tonight...something my family did often "back in the day". The boys were so deliriously happy to have icecream! I wish I felt that joyful over such a small thing, and thankfully, I kind of do because I get to watch them having so much fun!
They were both on a sugar high on our ride home. Ethan tickled Gavin over and over with some intermitent breaks. Gavin, who is still hanging onto a few of his signs from his early childhood signing days, signed "more, more" over and over. It was so cute. We finally told Ethan to stop and give brother a break to which he laughingly replied, "But he's just so cute!".
And he is.
They both are!

I wanna...

Gavin doesn't get as much face time on this blog as he deserves, but believe me...he keeps us entertained! He has started saying lots of things. His favorite phrase is "I wanna..." followed by whatever. Richard and I both had to laugh out loud this morning because Gavin kept saying "I wanna work"...in response to Richard telling him that Daddy had to go to work. It was so cute. Do you think I could make money on Gavin's cuteness? Maybe bottle it and sell it on the street corner?
He is a funny little dude.
His other favorite way of expressing himself is by head banging. Yes, head banging, and I don't mean in the cool sense like he is suddenly listening to Led Zeppelin or something. Whenever something doesn't go Gavin's way, he bangs his head in frustration to let us know that he wanted a different outcome. He did it at Aunt Jo Jo's neighborhood pool yesterday. You should have seen the "Oh My!" looks that he and I got from stranger parents! Did they think I taught him to do that? Hm mm...Oh well, gave them something to talk about after leaving for the day! His current forehead bruise count is at about 3...just so you know!
So, Have a banging great day at work, y'all!

How many months are you?

"How many is her?" This is a frequent question that Ethan asks in one form or another. What he is trying to ask is how old is whomever he is inquiring about. Ethan is obsessed with growing older...as in he wants to! He thinks his Kindergarten class is for babies and that he will be grown up when he finally turns 7. He also cannot wait to do "whatever I want". Well, I get to do whatever I want which includes things like changing diapers, cleaning the kitchen at least 5 times a day, re-touching my white (not gray) roots, and wondering where those "fine lines" came from! Ahhhh...the freedom of aging! I like to remind Ethan that he has it made and to enjoy his youth!
On another random note...when does one stop referring to your children's age in months? I still do it with Gavin, but he is only 17 months old (easy to convert and do the math, right?) I heard a lady in my MOPS group say that one of her children was 28 months old...huh? So, you are saying that your "baby" is ...hang on I am thinking...anyone got a calculator...2...? Makes my brain hurt...really!
On the other hand, as my birthday quickly approaches it might make me sound younger to say that I am 430 months old and that my husband is 422 months old. You think? Grow old gracefully or just grow old is what I say. Thank God for my 76 month old Ethan and 17 month old Gavin...they help keep me young!