Grateful

This morning I was reading this blog and I was reminded how very, very blessed I am to have my two children. I love Carson and Brooklyn so much and I can't even begin to imagine how hard it would be to ever have something like that happen. Lately several people that I know have had babies die. It breaks my heart to hear about things like that. But it does remind me to cherish my children even more. It reminds me that even though each day may not be easy, it is a gift to be able to have time with these sweet spirits. Even though there are difficult times, and moments where I feel like they drive me bonkers, and times I cry out of frustration, I am still grateful that I have been blessed to be the mother of these two children. Last night Brooklyn decided that it would be much more fun to stay awake rather than sleep. I spent most of the night trying different things to get her to sleep. I was exhausted and wished that she would just sleep. As I sat in the dark rocking her I took a moment to think about how lucky I am to even be able to have my own children to hold. So even if being mother sometimes means having lack of sleep I am still grateful for these two kids of mine that light up my life and have given me so much JOY.

Every once in a while Carson will come and just snuggle with me. I LOVE it when he does this!

I love this smile and seeing how happy just playing with his trains.

This sweet girl just melts my heart with her smile and giggles.

Love her!

Birthday and Uncle Mark

I still feel like I am about 22 or 23 inside, but I guess I'm now 29.-Scary! It's amazing how each year seems to go by faster the older you get. Kinda freaks me out that next year I will be 30. Thirty doesn't scare me as much as the fact that forty is just 10 years from that. Just seems a little too close for me. I guess I will just have to cross that bridge when I get to it. For now I am still 29 and so far it's pretty good. Anyway, for my birthday I went shopping with my cousin Holly. We had a great little time shopping and going to lunch. I also found the boots that I wanted in my size! Score! It was the first time I had taken the double stroller with both kiddos to the mall. Pushing that long thing around and weaving around all the clothing racks is a work out! Pretty sure I was a little sore the next day. Pathetic I know. Carson sang "Happy Birthday" to me several times, but didn't really understand that it was my birthday. I still thought it was sweet. That night Chad took me out to dinner to celebrate at El Matador. Love that place! It was so nice to have dinner just the two of us without the distraction of the kids. Thanks Erica for babysitting for us! Then we came home and our good friends came over and ate some cake with us. All in all it was a wonderful birthday.

Chad's brother Mark came and stayed with us for a couple days before he flew back to Missouri for Christmas. Mark is always fun to have around and so helpful. Carson adores him and talks about him for days after he leaves.