It all began on a warm spring day. A young boy spent his time running and climbing and sliding at a park. Then he was spotted. Inching along a branch. Big eyes in wonder moved closer. A careful grab. Behold, Mr. Fuzzy! It was a fast friendship with a strong bond. He stayed with his friend the entire day. Shared nap time in a jeweled glass dwelling while his pale-skinned friend rested nearby. Reunion upon waking! The fun began again. Inching along the grass with his friend watching close by. Then, tragedy. A bicycle wheel astray. Mr. Fuzzy, no longer. Rest in peace dear friend.

I hope all the special mom's in my life had a wonderful and blessed Mother's Day! I was touched when chatting with Justin and he presumed it was a "holiday" and stores would be closed. Well that would be nice to be honored that way!

Saturday evening was spent at my sister's where we celebrated my dad's birthday and Mother's Day together with Nan, Mom and Dad Stevenson. Unfortunately neither of the husbands were in attendance. Justin was feeling under the weather and my sister's husband had to work. :( But it was nice being with the Stevenson's! Trisha fed us well and did an awesome job playing hostess with one child in her arms and serving with the other. ;)

Jackson and Ava were looking forward to seeing each other for some cousin's time. It's so fun to see them as they're getting older. Actually playing *together* ya know? (And giving us some adult time too! *wink!*) Jackson declared Aunt Trisha to be his favorite aunt because she has Ava. Hear that Aunt Bethany, Aunt Emily and Aunt Grace? Once you've got some kids you might have a chance too! ;) And Aunt Kate - I'm certain you would be in the favorites category, especially with the little dudes - so Trisha will have some fierce competition once you guys are back in the area! ;)

Poor Liam had a rough time Saturday night though. He took a tumble and landed on his chin, causing his top teeth to bite through his bottom lip. Not all the way, no worries, but enough to cause a minor crisis. He was not quite himself this weekend after that, being very clingy and cranky. Understandable, I'm sure that little puffy lip hurts badly. Poor guy.

Sunday I received the biggest surprise Mother' Day gift from Justin *ever*! A new digital camera! And a nice digital camera at that! I'm still in shock and denial. He was too generous and I know it was a sacrifice for him to purchase it for me. I hope he knows how grateful I am. Look forward to being bombarded with photos in the future!

After spending the morning recuperating from the rough evening had by Liam, we went to Justin's family's home. Dad Isabell took good care of all the mom's with a wonderful dinner (as always!) Justin was feeling better so I was grateful to get some more help chasing kiddos around. Mimi and Poppy's house is always an adventure for the boys. Jackson loves to chase frogs in the little pond, and I know this summer we'll look forward to a couple submersions. It happened last year, with Mimi following right behind!!! The big yarn is full of trees which Jackson has more interest in climbing. Justin helps him. ;)

So all in all I felt blessed and loved this mother's day. Thanks to all around me who made it special! :)

Here are some photos from the day take with my new present!

My boys. :)


Little Liam


The climber


Mimi's kiddos


Frog hunting


Hanging with Mimi

OK. I did it again. I am not too gifted with starting new habits. Blogging being one of them. Things build up and I get intimidated about thinking what to blog about. I don't want to overload, yet I fall behind all the while. Well, I've got to start somewhere! I could back date the posts individually (haha, did that one time!) but I'll just share snippets.

Hmmm, so where did we leave off? Ah yes! Justin's brother, Jon, and Emily got married and Jackson was the ring bearer! On 4/12 (almost a month already!?!) It was a beautiful day - I was so happy for the two of them. We're all super excited to have Emily join the family and the boy gained a new aunt. Yay!

Jackson did a great job making his way up the isle. The only hesitation was after taking about five steps, he turned around (I was in the back helping him) and very loudly whispered, "Mommmm! There are no rings on the pillow!!!" He was pretty distraught. He new his job was "ring bearer," not simply, "pillow bearer." Hahaha, but he still got the pillow up and looked adorable.



Our MVP of the day was Aunt Bethany. What a blessing she was to me this day. Justin was in the wedding so I technically was on my own with two boys, one boy who was in the wedding. Oi. She really blessed me by watching Liam while I helped Jackson in the back before he walked up the isle. Throughout the day she was there to give a hand and I'm so grateful for that. Thanks Bethany! Love ya!



Of course we can't leave Frog behind, now can we?



Next up we had cousin Ava's birthday party. It was a "Princess Party." And Jack was the only boy. Ha. ;) They had a dance lesson and it was the first time I saw the divide between boy and girl. Jackson sat in the corner with his arms crossed over his chest. Daddy would have been proud. Only reason Justin wasn't there was because he stayed home with Liam for his nap. Oh, and didn't you know that if you're a boy, the only appropriate attire to wear is a pirate costume? This is our "happy?" pirate.


Here's the birthday princess in her glory!


The day after the pirate/princess party was my own birthday. Eeek! I'm 30! We celebrated by going to the circus. I know, I know, I'm a big kid. Maybe I wanted to do that to feel younger? ;) We had a wonderful time as a family and I couldn't have asked for more. It was gift to see the boys faces in wonder as they watched all of the circus performances. I probably had that look on my face a number of times as well.





Well that oughta catch you up for now. Don't want to overload you.