They say it's your birthday.....

well, it's my birthday too!!!

{do you have that song in your head now??}

It was my birthday this weekend and boy do I feel LOVED :)

The birthday fun was kicked off on Thursday night when my

 girls showed up to surprise me and take me out to dinner.

Ok, maybe I knew something was up but I didn't know exactly what was going on.

You see, Hubs and Bubba decided to share their nasty head cold with me and I wasn't feeling well.

I went to take some night time medicine and hubs stopped me......

"You don't want to take that honey...."

"Yes, I do I feel awful.... I just want to crash."

"I can't tell you why but you can't take that ....OK just trust me PLEASE don't take that... OK."

So, then I asked if I needed to get out of my sweats and put on some make up.

"Oh, honey.... I can't tell you anything BUT YES... yes you should get out of your sweats."

{Thank you Katie for putting it all together!!!!}

I have amazing friends.... Thank you girls!!!

What's a birthday with out some Disney fun!?!?!

The kids had Friday off from school and we needed to play.

I talked to my friend on the phone and she told

me that she had an awful morning at work.

You know, the kind of morning that sends you to tears.

Well, we decided that Disney was the only solution.

We talked the girls into going on the roller coaster.

Regan was laughing by the end but I don't think

our friend will trust me for a long time.

Bubba, well you know Bubba.... he LOVED it!!!

Bubbas was kind enough to go and see the

 princess after the girls were brave enough to go on the roller coaster.

It was a wonderful afternoon at Disney!!!

Then my sweet Regan insisted on throwing me a little party, just the four of us.

I was spoiled :)

Then it was off to lunch.

What can I say I am a cheap date!

The biggest factor in deciding where we are going to eat is Bubba.

First off it needs to have a BIG window that he can watch

the cars go by and if it is by a bus stop than it is a double bonus.

It has to be fast, he does not last long and when he is done... he is DONE.

It was fun!!! :)

Thank you to all of my friends and family for going out of your way to make my birthday special.

I feel blessed, not becuase of the gifts that were given but becuase of your true friendships and love y'all shower me with. You are all such a support, strength, and true gift. I never feel judged or that I have to be stronger or different than I am. You love me for me and my family just the way we are.  I am grateful for the love that I feel when I am around you. Thank you!!!!

Photo Challenge | Slice of Life

Over at

I heart Faces

this week the challenge is Slice of Life.

I picked this shot from this shoot becuase of

 what a sweet and tender moment it was.

It was real, unscripted, and oh so sweet.

I am just grateful that I was able to be there to share in those special moments.

Family Reunion

What a BIG group we were!

Jason is the oldest of six children and all

but one made it to the family reunion.

To say that I took a lot of pictures would be

an understatement, I think the final total was 640.

So, it is impossible to show you all of them

 but I will start with a few of my favorite.

The first night Jason's parents rented out a

hall in the resort to have a fun b-day party.

{family if you want a copy of the pics let me know.}

"Picnik Show"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

Date night

We went away this weekend to Carlsbad/ San Diego for a fun family reunion.

The entire week before I was a total mess, so stressed about Bubba.

He does not do well with new places or a break of his routine.

The morning had been hard on this particular day and Jason's

wonderful parents insisted on watching the kids so that we

 could walk across the street and enjoy the sunset.

 

It was COLD!!

{Yes, I look a mess BUT Hubs didn't mind one bit!}

He was even nice enough to carry my equipment while we climbed down. 

It was perfect in every way, just what we needed. 

I am so grateful to be married to my best friend!!

{TONS of pictures from our fun weekend are coming your way!}

The Jump Rope

Last year every day after Kindergarten let out Regan and a group of her friends would play at the park across the street. It was a wonderful way to pass the time while we waited for all of the older siblings to get out of school. Regan’s friendships grew as did the birthday party invites and fun activities. It was the perfect time for Regan to bask in the sun and just play before the reality of Bubba’s care and needs became the priority. Towards to the end of the year a friend brought a special jump rope to the park and all of the girls wanted to play with it. They each took turns enjoying the jump rope. When it came time to leave we noticed that the owner of the special jump rope had already left. Regan asked if she could please bring the jump rope home to make sure it got back to the rightful owner. Regan brought the jump rope to the park several times and this friend was never there, before we knew it summer break had arrived. The jump rope spent the summer with us and like most things with little children it disappeared, as did our concern of getting it back to it’s owner.


One day last month Regan came home from school in tears. I asked her what was wrong and she went on to remind me of the jump rope from the year before. “Mom, they said I stole it!! I would never steal anything … I wanted to get it back to her. I don’t know where it is now. They were so mean to me.” My heart broke for her. We talked about how the girl that lost the jump rope must feel and that maybe the things she said weren’t out of anger but rather out of sadness for the loss of the jump rope. Regan disappeared and then I heard a noise coming from her room. There she was in the middle of her room pouring out everything from her little piggy bank. She looked up with her crumpled up dollars in her hands and said “Mommy, will you take me to the store to get her a new jump rope?”

I took Regan to the store and they of course did not have the original jump rope but there way many others to choose from. She had to pick the prettiest and most special jump rope out for this girl, you would have thought she was picking it out for herself. We left the store with the perfect jump rope and when we got home she tucked in her backpack to give to the girl at school.

The next day when she came home I asked her how it went and she told me how excited the girl was for the new jump rope. Regan was so proud of herself. It would have been easy for me to pay for the jump rope for her or try to make the situation better but this was something that she needed to do on her own. I can not even begin to describe in words how proud I am of my sweet little girl. These girls were being truly mean and hurtful to her and all she could think of was that she did not want to be thought of as a liar. Her integrity and reputation meant more than her hard earned dollars.

Like most little boys.................

Bubba likes to play!

He LOVES to go FAST!!!

{Why is his crazy mommy running behing him??? ummmm

 becuase he would run into the fence if I let him!}

I don't know if you can see it BUT look at his hands as he takes off!

He would be at the skate parks going up and down

 ramps all day if his mean Mommy would let him. wink!

Bubba also likes to ram into poles..... he thinks it is so funny!

At the end of the day he isn't that different than most little boys.

Photo Challenge | Sun Flare

This week over at

I heart faces

the challenge this week is Sun Flare.

I wanted to enter something different.

This is one of my favorites of two of my favorite

people in the world enjoying the Aquarium.

Make sure to head over to I heart faces and check out other fun shots!!

A party filled weekend........

Birthday parties and I have a love hate relationship.

I LOVE when sweet friends like this little guy insist on

 inviting Bubba to their birthday party because "he is my buddy."

I LOVE it even more when the Birthday 

 Party is at a "Bubba friendly" location.

Our favorite Red head boy decided to

 celebrate his 4th birthday at Chuck E Cheese.

Regan was excited to go and spend time with one of her BFF's!

We know that Bubba had fun becuase there was ...............

Skeet Ball!!!!

We had a BLAST ..... but when Bubba was done, he was DONE.

Thank you Thyssen for always thinking of your Buddy Bubba.

It means so much to his Mommy to know that he is loved so much!

The next day we had another birthday party to celebrate

 this sweet princess and her third birthday!

Regan LOVES this little sweetie so much and

LOVED it when she got the princess invite!

Thank you princess for including Regan!!!

She decided to go as Mulan.... {didn't get a picture}

This party was PERFECT for any little princess!!!

Crowns and braclets to make, face painting, and LOTS of fun!

Now my little prince Bubba was not as excited

about this party so we tried hard to entertain him............

when he wanted in the TINY little car Ce Ce put him in it...........

when he wanted in the swing I put him in it. He really did enjoy it...

PROMISE but it didn't last long seeing as how he is much to BIG for an infant swing.

He doesn't understand that he is a ten year old boy but he is my forever baby. :)

Ok, so this is where the hard part to birthday parties comes in. In no time Bubba was DONE. I pulled Regan to the side to have a talk with her letting her know that we might have to leave soon... BUT MOMMY!!!... we haven't done cake, presents, THERE IS A PINIATA!!!! My heart always breaks for her in these situations. {I had to go to both parties solo, Jason was at work.} Luckily I have AMAZING friends that are always there to help out when I ask. Regan was able to stay to the very end of the party because a sweet friend was willing to bring her home for me. I am so grateful when it goes that smoothly. It is not always that easy, and their are tears and a broken heart as we have to leave early. I am SOOOOO grateful for all of our wonderful friends and that they ALWYAS include my children in their fun celebrations!!

Sometimes I just wish that the party didn't have to end early.

1st Birthday fit for a princess

On Saturday this FUN group met up to celebrate.......

this sweet little princess.

We ate lunch with Cinderella.......

Bubba flirted with Belle...........

Snow White took a break from the dwarfs to come and play............

We had fun celebrating her!!!

Regan picked out her first pair of twinkle toe shoes....

We got her a princess outfit, crown, and balloons.

It was all going perfect until it was time for the cake.

We brought her a big birthday cupcake and sang to her.

Before her Mommy had time to realize it the waitress

 had brought out their brownie with a candle.

She touched it and burnt her tiny little finger. :(

While we were waiting for Kylee to recover

Regan and Kai had fun with their cupcakes.

She took a quick little nap and then it was time for cake.

She wasn't sure at first.........

BUT then she tasted it...............

and well she liked it!!!

Happy Birthday Ms. Kylee!!!!

Thank you for coming all the way from Oklahoma to celebrate with us!

We miss you all so much already!

Prayers

I am saddened by the loss of another child in my support group, who suffers from the same syndrome as my son. Trichothiodystrophy is an awful beast. He was five years old. With a family of less than 50 children, each loss is a painful reminder that something as simple as a cold could take my child away from me. I hate that there is no cure, no treatment. It breaks my heart to have to give him injections of pain medications every evening just so that he can sleep and even then he still hurts. It is hard to know that at the end of the day the priority is pain management, quality rather than quantity. I see parents stand by their child’s side as they fight through treatment to over come what ever beast they are fighting, and sadly I am jealous. I am jealous of their hope and gift of the opportunity to be able to fight. Next month we are flying to Maryland to see Bubba’s team of doctors at the National Institute of Health, I know that these trips will not help or cure him but I have HOPE that one day what they learn from Bubba will help another child. So my friends, love your children, hold them tight, cherish every tear, every smile and the sound of their laughter. NEVER take their health for granted. Please keep Daniel’s family in your prayers.

| Best Face in February

Over at



This week the challenge is Best Face in February

I had to pick this picture of this beautiful little girl.

I love that despite everything that was going on

 with her brother she smiled the entire time.

I LOVED our special play date and time together.

Her litte brother is still very much in need of your prayers.

He is having a hard time.

{he had surgery number 5 today}

I know that his family would be very grateful for your prayers.

this is what happens when................

Aunt Ju Ju and Regan babysit.

My seventeen year old nephew gave me the name Aunt Ju Ju.

Here we are many years later and all of my nieces and nephews still

 call me Aunt Ju Ju, even the seventeen year old! wink!

The day that they get to old to call me Ju Ju will be a sad day.

I don't know why but Aunt Julie just isn't the same. :)

The other night Regan and I got to babysit Mr. K and Ms. K!!!

We were so excited and what should be a calm

 night always turns into a party with us!

There were laundry basket rides. 

Bubbles!!!! 

Bubbles + toliet = LOTS of fun! :) 

Bedtime stories 

Both arms covered in tattoos. 

And of course cuddles!!!!

Oh, I wish they didn't live in Oklahoma!!!

We could do this every week!!!!