This morning I was waking up slowly to the sounds of the boys playing, and I heard Austin say: "Andrew! You look bigger today!"   ... So cute to hear his brothers making him feel special on his birthday! I can't believe my BABY is FOUR today- How did that happen? So blessed~*

I can't believe my Jake is 7 years old today!!! We had a wonderful day celebrating with friends & family (& some creepy crawlers... see Fluffy the Python snuggling with the boys!)

In the last 7 years I've thrown 12 birthday parties, and I have still never gone to bed before 3am the night before. It's just how I roll! Excited for party day!

Jan 21, 2013  (Austin & Kevin not pictured!)  Happy Birthday Momma!!



Austin has been camping in Morro Bay for 5 days... It's killing me, I miss my boy more than words!!! Glad he got to have an adventure though.

Jan 7

Incomplete! I've been missing Austin since the moment he left for his camping trip, 5 days ago. This morning, Andrew woke himself up saying, "I hear Austin & Grandma!" He has 'heard' their arrival about 10 times in the past 3 hours. I don't think I'm the only one who is anxiously awaiting Austin's homecoming!!  

{{ our 5 is not our 5 without that 1 }}

Happy 5th Birthday Austin!

Austin = joy!!! 

These last 5 years have been an absolute honor & I'm so excited for everything that's to come... his love for life is contagious & I can't wait to spend all day tomorrow celebrating my "middle-child", my sweet Austin, who deserves a great day all about him! 

This kid. Whatever smiles or love or blessings I pour into him, he flings back at me 10-fold. 

He's a masterpiece  
{{heart smiles}}  

(...i know i'm a nerd!!!)

Happy 6th Birthday, Jake!!

 Jake Parker Raines, born 7/6/06.


Our first baby, he stole our hearts from the moment we knew of his existence. What a precious gift he is, and what a sweet spirit & heart he has! Thank you Jesus, for this boy! & Happy 6th Birthday to my little Jake-bug!

Welcome Baby!!!

I think it's about time to announce the birth of our sweet baby boy... 9 days later!

I'm afraid that this crazy creation called Facebook has taken the place of my blog... which is extremely unfortunate for me, because the blog is more permanent! (As I am making mine into a blurb book, which is a diary/scrapbook of sorts, a hard-bound record of the blog.) So, I will try to be better about documenting our life here on the blog, even if it is mostly for my own benefit!

So, on to the wonderful news!




The birth of our sweet baby boy:



Andrew Taylor
August 6, 2009
at 7:31 pm
9 pounds 1 ounce, 21 inches



I have no words to describe how extremely blessed we feel. He is perfect, precious, sweet as can be, an angel (and he has lots of angels too!)... our hearts are absolutely full and overflowing. I know I've said that before, but I can't figure out how else to describe the feeling.


I am overwhelmed with AWE countless times throughout these days. And my heart is just so full of thanks... for this precious and healthy baby, and for my wonderful husband and my two other sweet boys. I don't know how I landed here in this life, but I'm sure cherishing every moment & just feeling so incredibly thankful!


Ah, babymooning...


So without further ado, a few photos of our new arrival:




8/6/09 first breathtaking moments with mama

8/7/09
8/7/09



8/7/09 I love you indescribably, my sweet baby Andrew.



Birth story to come~*

He's THREE!!!

Jake Parker 7/6/06 ... I can't believe my baby is three years old!!!

I have been horrible about updating the blog. Or anything else for that matter! I've been busy with life & the boys and with "nesting" during the spare moments.

So even though I can't sit and write much here right now, I will come back later to do so. But here are some photos from Jake's birthday party.

This was Jake's first pinata (and Austin's)... I like Austin's idea, to hold it still first and *then* take a swing at it!

Such a cute (& yummy) cake!

And below someone caught this funny moment on camera-- I had turned around to get the knife & plates after Jake blew out the candles... aannd my son is taking a huge bite out of the side of the cake!

What manners!?!?! Mommy's not looking and there's a huge cake in front of me!!!

So funny!

Beautiful Afternoon

Last week, I dropped by my parent's house for my mom's birthday. She & I went to one of our favorite outdoor gardens for a few hours-- Summers Past Farms. It was so relaxing and so gorgeous out. They make the most yummy mango tea garnished with mint leaves & flowers. This is where we attend the annual "Fairy Festival" and sometimes their "Lavender Festival" and Mother's Day Brunch. But throughout the year I am always tempted to attend their other many events & classes-- especially the soap making & wreath making workshops. I wish I lived closer! Here are a few pictures I snapped as the boys enjoyed running around & exploring. Jake loves looking for animals-- there are often bunnies, chickens & cats lounging in the gardens.

It's been a busy week!

First off, Austin turned ONE yesterday!!!

We had a really nice family party. We have some funny birthday traditions developing, though. As it turns out, birthdays have seemed to have the following things in common: illness and broken cameras.


Which translates into unthoughtful and untimely blog-posts, with no photos!


I do want to just say that besides my being sick the night before and evening-of, I felt mostly good during the party and it was SO wonderful to spend the afternoon with some of my favorite people on the planet! We had to change locations at the last minute because of rain, but it worked out well because the rain stopped before the party and we were able to spend the day in the backyard (as opposed to our tiny living room!)



The following is mostly for my record~* (Sorry to bore you with a list of milestones!)


Austin says a few words... His first word (besides "Mama" & "Dada") was last Saturday (10/25), and it was "TRUCK"! He held up a toy truck and repeated the word over and over, in his cute little raspy & spirited voice. Everything he does is with gusto, even when he talks. His words and sounds are usually very loud and actually quivering with energy. Literally.


I'm not surprised that his first word was 'truck'. Afterall, Jake is obsessed wth trucks! When we pray at night Jake sometimes thanks Jesus for: "Dada's Truck", "BIG Truck", and "Papa's (Grandpa's) White Truck."


Incidentally, Jake's first word was "duck". They rhyme! How fun is that!?! (I know, not everybody is as easily entertained as I am.) He had a rubber duckie & did the same thing, holding it up and saying "duck". I LOVE this age!! (I do love them all.)


Back to Austin, though. This past week since that first word, he's been testing out more and more words and sounds. "Ba" = banana & bottle. (He started that a few weeks ago.) "Dis" = "this" (his 2nd word) and "Dat" = "that" (his 3rd word), both are often said while pointing with an open hand. His 4th word was "up" which he just started saying a few days ago.

He has 6 teeth, 4 on top and 2 on bottom. He's finally sleeping through the night (for about 3-4 weeks now) and on his birthday we moved him into his crib in Jake's room (one last time, and finally successful). He loves it and goes to sleep easier than he *ever* has. Hallelujah! Jake has also been staying in his toddler bed for about 3 weeks. {{insert high-pitched, operatic heavenly chorus}}


My sweet baby Austin... you are beautiful. Inside and out! I love your spirit and your energy, I love your sweet snuggles and your squeals and giggles. You are such a precious and beloved gift from our Lord. He gave you to us at the perfect time and has changed our lives (for the better!) in the process. You are such a blessing. Sweet buggie-boo, I love you unspeakably! I pray that I can be a good Mommy to you and that you will know & love our Lord early and intimately. I pray that He will guard your little heart, body, mind and spirit. God bless you, bug-bug. Happy, happy birthday!

We're Back! And I'm Older...

What a horrible blogger I have been! So sporadic!

But I'm filling myself up with my days, and it's been good.

I don't think that blogging is a 'waste of time'. I really enjoy writing & documenting & journaling, as well as reading over at my friends places. But I have gotten tired of the computer and the TV and anything else that sucks my time away. I had stopped computer-ing while kids were awake, but then began to backslide a bit here & there. So now I'm back to naptimes & bedtimes, which is the reason for the lack of posts. Because even though my kids sleep multiple times per day, I'm realizing that I'm not feeling fulfilled if I spend the entire naptime on the computer. In fact, the opposite is true. I feel behind. Like I should have cleaned the bathroom or something. Or, at the least, read a book or showered or something.

I'm noticing a lot of bloggers are taking bloggy breaks this summer.
Not that this is a bloggy break, either. Just a technology protest of sorts.

Anyways, I came back to say HI.



Kevin and I just got back from our vacation! We were away from the kids for 4 whole nights!!! We enjoyed ourselves, and yes, I missed them! I bawled when I dropped them off, I got teary-eyed a few times as we boarded the ship, but I didn't cry any other times. (Can you believe it!?!?) That doesn't mean they weren't in the forefront of my mind. I had nightmares every night and all day kept talking about this cute thing Jake says or that cute thing Austin does. I'm so happy to be with my babies again!!!

You're probably wondering why I haven't covered the post with vacation photos yet... that would be because my camera went missing right in time for our trip. Sweet! Can you picture my frantic search when, the morning of our departure, I realized that it's not in it's charger where I thought I left it? What a nightmare for a picture freak!

So, photos pending-- I need to develop my little disposable camera.

Oh, by the way, I am now THIRTY!

HOLY COW!!!! I'm not in my twenties anymore! That is shocking. I know, it's not old. But it is shocking. I am happy with where I am right now. Married to my guy, mommy to two beautiful boys, steady jobs and a home in a town that we love. If I have to be thirty already, at least it's at a time when I feel settled & fulfilled. Thirty. It still shocks me every time I think or say it!

A girl I met on our vacation told me that thirty is the new twenty. Hmm... maybe I like that.

Kevin thinks that 40 will be harder than 30. I don't think so. I'm going to embrace 40. But I'm just not quite ready for my 30's. I feel so young! Like 25-26 young!

The days when 30 was old still feel like they weren't too long ago. And now I realize that the young kids who I thought I related to, actually think that I'm old! Oh no! heehee

P.S. 30 isn't stressing me out. These are just some of my random 30-thoughts. It does shock me because I don't think about age that much, so it kinda crept up on me & takes me by surprise. Kinda like when I dyed my blonde hair auburn and I would see my reflection in a window. I really don't care much about it, though. It's a funny thing, I didn't expect the 'surprised' feeling!

#1 Song on This Date in History

Well here's a random little bit of trivia.

What song was number one on the date of your birth? Find out here

My song: "Grease" by Frankie Valli

My husband's song: "Kiss You All Over" by Exile

Jake's song (7/6/06): "Promiscuous" by Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland

Austin's song (11/2/07): "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" by Soulja Boy Tell'em

I don't know Kevin's or Austin's songs (but would probably recognize them.) And there's absolutely NO way I'm putting Jake's song in his baby book!!! LOL But my song is kinda cool- Yeah for Grease!!! What's your song?

My Baby Just Turned TWO!!!!!

Oh how I want to post a meaningful post right now, but it just so happens that we are all recovering from being violently ill! It's kinda funny that it was all dispersed between the 4th of July celebration and Jake's 2nd birthday party (7/6). We got home from the fireworks/picnic and then Jake was sick ALL NIGHT LONG. So after giving 2 baths, 2 linen changes, 5 pajama outfits, one mommy's 3:00am shower and a 5:00 am bedtime, I had to call in sick to work on the 5th. He recovered and was completely himself by the evening. So his birthday party on the 6th was ON. Kevin got sick halfway through and had to go home. I made it through the party feeling fine, unloaded the car. Nausea hit the moment I sat down, but was able to hold it off until the boys went to bed. But then I got sick and have never been so sick in my life! No fun!!! My in-laws picked up the boys because we were in no state to care for them, but come to find out that as soon as they got home, my mother-in-law got it too! So this is majorly contagious and I (unknowingly) exposed a whole slew of people to it. I didn't mean to! Nobody else has gotten it yet, so hopefully it's done.

I think the reason I'm telling this story, though, is because I'm concerned about going to work tomorrow. I feel like a truck ran over me, but I look like I've been partying hard- with spending 2 of my last 3 days outdoors in celebration... people are going to see my tan (oops I forgot sunscreen again) and think I played hookie. I do care too much about what other people think!

Back to my baby's birthday... I can't believe he's TWO YEARS OLD!

I didn't take ONE photo from either of the weekends events. But someone else grabbed my camera during the birthday cake. (Thankyou!) As I get more photos from others, I think I'll probably add them here.

singing "happy birthday..."

& trying to get him to blow out the candles, but he was only obsessed with one thing...

...the cars atop his cake.

Yes, I did a "themed" party. It wasn't going to be, but we were shopping party supplies, and he got SO excited when he saw the Lightning McQueen gear (a la CARS, the Disney movie). I had to oblige. How many people can resist their firstborns excited GASP folowed by the (somewhat loud) and excited exclaimations: "WA TAT!!! WA SAT!!!" Oh my gosh, you should've seen him when he saw his very own Lightning McQueen setup! The balloon that talked, the cars on the cake, the birthday banner, and best of all, the plates. He carried around a Lightning McQueen plate for at least 10 minutes. I love when my babies are happy. I'll do almost anything for that! lol

So here are a few random pics of my sweet, two-year-old. He truely is a SWEET . HEART . He's the sweetest little boy I've ever met. No biases here, of course. One of my favorite things these days is when I walk up and he sees me, and his face lights up and he says "Mama!" and runs to me. Ohh!! I love that!!!!

I read a post by a someone whom I've never met (a.ann at resolved2worship), but through reading her blog I have come to know that she's an amazing woman & mother. Anyways, she was talking about how she wants her sons to go out into the world and be independent and just about letting go as a mom- and her sons being fathers and husbands and all that. (I'll let you read it, but for some reason I can't link directly to that specific post, so just scroll down to the "Real Life Monday" post from 6/24/08.) Anyways, I can say honestly that I'm not there yet. I want my babies to run to me forever! I know, they have to grow up. And I want them to be Godly men and husbands and fathers and all that. That is my biggest wish for them. But I'm not there yet. Right here & now, I'm still at the point where I slightly dread the growing independence. I'm holding on big time! I don't want them to leave the house. I want to hug them forever and kiss their itty toes. I'm in a little bit of denial! :) I know for sure, though, I will get there. I have time for that.

A few random pictures of my biggest little guy.

Happy 2nd Birthday, my sweet boy, Jake!