Family Wii Time

So, what do you do on a Sunday night when it is cold outside.....you have a family game of "Guitar Hero"! It was so fun just hanging out as a whole family with no place to run off too. That doesn't happen often around here, and it is so refreshing when it does. We had a great time trying to beat Kason and his quick fingers! Jaicee is pretty good - especially at adding her dance moves while playing the guitar.

Looks like her dad is stealing her moves!

Kason won every time...even on a higher level!

Braden was obviously very into it!

Family time is the greatest treasure!

It's A.....

So, before I give up the gender of our new baby...I have to give you a little background. When I was pregnant with Braden, I felt like there were two boys that needed to come to our family. I did not know that Braden was a boy yet, so when we found out that he was a boy, I thought "perfect, one more left."

About 7 months ago we were driving in the car and Kason said (out of the blue), "Mom, I feel like someone is missing from our family." Well, I had been thinking for a few months that it was starting to be the time to think about getting pregnant - but the thought of being sick was not appealing quite yet. I guess that was the little push I needed.

A couple of months later, I was pregnant. The kids were ecstatic when we told them! They all said that the news of having a baby come to our family was better than going to Disneyland! Kason was insistent from the beginning that he knew it would be a boy. I also was quite sure that we would have a boy. The girls, they of course wanted a sister at first, but have since changed to also "knowing" that it is a boy!

At the ultrasound yesterday, I felt like it was just a formality when she asked if we wanted to know the gender. She looked closely for a few minutes and said:

I was completely shocked! So much for mother's intuition, personal revelation, or whatever else you want to call it!

I looked at Brandon and he said: "Well, it looks like we might have to do this again."

What?? I am quite sure I cannot do this again...physically or mentally. So, there you have it....another princess will be coming to our family - I hope we have room! I love little girls, and it will be fun to end on one! Needless to say, the kids were happily dissappointed. They could not believe it was a girl and there reaction was priceless! I wish I would have had it on video!

One good thing, I have been dying to redo the nursery...and girl colors and decor are so much more fun to work with! Any great ideas? I would love to hear them!

P.S. I tried to scan in the ultrasound pictures, but my scanner wouldn't cooperate...sorry!

Sunday Dinner

Normally on Sunday we go to either my family or Brandon's family's house. It is great...no cooking for me! Today, however, we stayed home to have our own "Sunday dinner". In October Kason went deer hunting with his Dad. Kason loves to hunt (almost as much as his dad!). He ended up shooting his very first deer! Brandon steadied the gun on his shoulder, and Kason shot and hit the deer that was 200 yards away. He was ecstatic beyond words!

So, our Sunday dinner today was brought to the table by Kason. I cooked his deer roast - with lots of spices I might add - and I have to say it was pretty good! The kids loved it, and of course Brandon loved that I even ate it! Pretty fun to say that our 10 year old is bringing dinner to the table.

Spelling Bee

Kason made it to the finals of his school spelling bee. He had to place in the top two from his class and then would move on to compete against the top two kids from each class in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grade. We studied multiple hours on the 400 words that were on the list. And we are not just talking words like "happy", over 100 of the words on the list I had never even heard of! Ever heard of the work "scincellescent"? Well, as a fourth grader - he was trying to learn these words! Oh, and by the way he only had 3 days to study! So, there were many car rides with nothing but spelling going on, along with spelling during dinner, the shower, etc.! Kason and I were both burned out by the time Friday came!

Since I have a very overachieving son, he was determined to win this spelling bee! Friday after school came, and I think I was more nervous than he was. It was a lot of pressure for these 10, 11, and 12 year olds. Kason made it through 6 rounds successfully. On the seventh round he recieved the word "chronic". He stood up and said c-r-o-n-i-c. He said he knew it was wrong, but according to the rules, he couldn't go back and change a letter after he said it wrong. Darn! He was disappointed, but happy he made it so far. He ended up taking 5th place. Pretty good for his first time! I was especially proud of how he handled the pressure! And, lets be honest, I was relieved he didn't win so that we didn't have to study for the county spelling bee!

My Everything

I remember my mom always saying that 'family is everything'. I don't think I realized the magnitude of this statement until I had a family of my own. That statement now rings true to my heart. My family is 'everything' to me. I live, eat, and breath my family. My kids are my joy, my frustration, my reward, my strength, my weakness, my love, my life, my 'everything'! They make me who I am. They shape my personality. They make me stronger, more patient, more loving, and a better person through and through! For this, I am so grateful that I am a mother. My husband is my rock, my strength, my happiness, my relief, my enjoyment, my love, my soul-mate! So, because of all of this...family truly is everything! And I am so glad I have one that I cherish more than life itself.

Giving In

So, after months of reading my friends blogs, and being told by others that I really should start one..I have given in! It is not that I don't want one of my own, I just don't want another thing to feel guilty about if I am not keeping up with it like I want to. But, here is to new goals and resolutions to complete projects that I want done, and not feel guilty about the ones I am letting slip!