Did I Forget to Mention.....

SETH TURNED 4!!! Yeppers, my sweet, not-so-baby-anymore, baby turned 4 on Thanksgiving this year!! I seriously cannot believe it. I know we all say this, but it really does just feel like yesterday that we loaded up in the car, headed to Community Hospital, and had Seth Jameson Mariano at 8:36am via C-section. It was so surreal. And now so is having a 4 year old. I just love the little boy he is becoming! He has such a sweet sensitive heart, loves to be a helper, has "almost" perfect manners, & is so incredibly smart! He has the most contagious smile and laugh and rarely exhibits a bad mood (thank the Lord). Most exciting though is that he is really starting to process all of the things he is learning about Jesus. I know it's hard to tell what information is simply regurgitated at this age, but there have been several times that his little heart has just been broken because Jesus died on the cross for our sins. What an amazing feeling it is to see the work of Christ on your child's heart :) We continue to pray that he will fully understand and trust the sacrifice of Jesus.

Anyway.....of course his birthday didn't go by without several parties!! He is pretty lucky to have a holiday birthday because the parties never end!! Two weekends before Thanksgiving, we visited my dad & stepmom and had a small party there. The weekend before Thanksgiving we had a party with Micah's parents, family, & friends. Finally, we had a birthday party on Thanksgiving with my mom, stepdad, & mom's family. Seth loved every minute of it!! Here are some pics of my BIG BOY!!!


the Soccer Party- Cake by Kim & Rachel Mariano




sweet friends :)


The SuperMan Party-



my brother got Seth this HUMONGOUS gun! He couldn't even hold it up by himself but he sure does love it!!


And yes...Aiden got in on the present action too :)


The Birthday song- Courtesy of Mamo (my mom), Aunt Pam, & Aunt Stacy (her sisters).



Seth's reaction: "that was SILLY!!"



seriously...could he be any cuter??

My two "Supermen!!!"

I realize that I am a little behind with these pics, but they are so darn cute i just had share! Both my precious boys were Superman this year for Halloween. I tried to be a little more creative, but they insisted on Superman, so that's what we did! Here are a few pics:



sweet brothers


My heroes (sigh)!


SUPERMAN!!!!



this was an inflatable slide at our Fall Festival that was actually pretty steep but all the kids seemed to love it....until.......



THIS is what happened when micah tried to send Aiden down by himself...oopsie



our first time to trick or treat door to door- so fun! And somehow they knew exactly what to do....hmmmmmm??!?!


The best way to travel :)


Seth's Costume Parade at his school

*Bonus Pick:


Aiden. He was laying across the arm of the couch watching a movie and almost fell alseep. I snapped a pic to add to his collection of random sleeping positions. Silly boy!

Am I REALLY 30?????

HELLO SWEET FRIENDS!!!! So i have been a stranger to the blogging world the last few months, and I have actually started several new posts, but just couldn't figure out how to go about summarizing the previous months...so I just didn't. However, a sweet friend at church who follows my blog, kindly suggested that I at least write a post about turning 30!!! I suppose I agree that hitting a HUGE milestone in my life warrants a post!

Yes, I turned 30 today. Yes, I looked in the mirror today and after spotting a few new "smile lines," I decided I look 30. But, NO, I do not feel 30. I actually still feel about 21!! Even having been married 6 years and having 2 kiddos, I don't picture myself as this mature, responsible, adult. Is this bad? Am I in denial? Will there ever be a moment when I actually feel my age? I hope not ;) Anyway, so far 30 seems to be just fine! I had a great birthday weekend! Friday started with an afternoon of shopping with one of my best friends Kira and my mother-in-law, which was followed by a surprise party at my house thrown by my amazing hubby! Saturday, I got to do a photo shoot for another best friend Hilary and her sweet family, lunch with Kira & Hil at McAlisters (YUMMO), and then a VERY special birthday "date" with all of my boys!

I just have to tell you about my precious date because it was so sweet! While I was getting ready, Micah took the boys to the store to buy flowers and then come and "pick me up" for the date! They were so excited and proud to bring their flowers to mommy! They took turns opening and holding the doors for me, and Seth even paid for dinner! We went to Bonsai Garden, a first experience for the boys, and they were definitely mesmerized. Aiden was loving it until our chef did the big fire display and that was NOT ok for him...sweet boy. Seth was fascinated the whole time and just kept laughing and smiling. The boys both loved the food and they both actually ate broccoli....ON THEIR OWN!!!! Seth grabbed his off his plate and said, "Momma, I LOVE broccoli and I will eat it all because it makes me big and strong!!!" Everyone at our table was pretty impressed (including Micah and I)! When we got in the car to leave Aiden said, "I will like to taked you on that date Mommy!" So fun ;) Last we went to Baker's Street and I ordered my favorite drink, a mudslide, that I absolutely had NO room in my tummy for, but thoroughly enjoyed anyway. What a perfect birthday date! I am so thankful that I have a husband who values chivalry, displays that chivalry, and teaches it to our boys. Way to go babe!!!

Today, my actual birthday, was pretty low key which was nice, but unfortunately little Seth was sick :( It was great to cuddle with him, but I wish it hadn't been at the expense of him not feeling good. I have decided that one of the worst feelings as a momma is when your babies are hurting and there's nothing you can do to make them feel better :( Wouldn't it be great if we all had an instantaneous "make it all better" wand? I certainly think so!! Anyway, here are some pics of my
birthday & some of my "loot!"


German Chocolate Cake made by my mother-in-law :) My favorite!!!


Friday at my surprise party


Micah & the boys picking me up for our date



my boys and my flowers



Aiden at Bonsai (right) covering his head when the fire appeared.



Seth at Bonsai. This is pretty much how he looked the whole time!


Here are most of my goodies :) Flowers, gift cards, money, coffee mug & make-up mirror, $cash$......Thanks so much everyone!!!



No, that's not me in the pic. I wish. Just some skinny model with MY sweet new jacket on!! Micah ordered it for me, but it wasn't in yet.


A Scentsy Candle Warmer from my sweet friend Ashley. i LOVE it!! I put it in our room and I find myself randomly wandering back there just so I can soak in the marvelous scent!!


Kira took me shopping at Hobby Lobby and this is what I got! YAY for 50% off sales and YAY for friends who take you shopping!


This present DEFINITELY wins the funny award. An Obama Card & Fiber. Thanks Justin & Mary. A lot. I am speechless. :) They also got me flowers, so I guess they are kinda off the hook!

All in all, great weekend, great day, FANTASTIC 30th birthday!!!

On Again....Off Again

I definitely feel like I have a "celebrity" relationship with blogging! Sometimes I am really into it and stay semi-consistent in updates. And then there are the "more than not" times that it just doesn't seem to fit in the priorities...or even the hobbies...or even the I am really bored I should do somethings....
BUT-oh well!! Life goes on none-the-less :)

What's been going on:

Vacation. We headed to Colorado with Micah's family for a week, which was wonderful!! This desesrves an entire post all to itself. That will give me perfect motivation to post again soon :) After Colorado, Micah and I went to Ruidoso for our anniversary trip. SIX years. Wow! Has it really been that long? I guess it's a good thing if you ask that question, right?? Anyway, I will post on that later too.

Schedules. I suppose back to school stuff doesn't technically affect us yet, but we are settling into a completely different schedule from the summer! Instead of Micah being gone during the weeks and home weekends, the trend sort of reverses. We have had LOTS of time together the last few weeks which is FANTASTIC, but hard to get used to! It kind of throws me for a loop, honestly. It's funny how quickly I settle into my own little groove and way of doing things and when that changes I feel a little out of it. For instance, I am not someone who has to be "going" all the time and in fact, if I am not careful, I can be borderline homebody! However, since Micah has been home during the week in the evenings, I keep feeling like we NEED to be doing something. So weird for me!! Our normal schedule usually only allows 2-3 nights home together (counting weekends), so you would think I would be ecstatic just to stay home and enjoy family time every night. But I guess because it's not normal for us, I can't seem to settle into it! Isn't that strange?!!?

Photography. This is something I have done on the side for several years now and I had the opportunity last weekend for several sessions, which was GREAT! I took some pictures for a friend's business, some maternity, and a wedding. I just love photography and it is one of those things that just feels right when I am behind the camera. My preference is to shoot in more relaxed settings and my absolute favorite subjects are children (no offense to the adults...i love you guys too)!! Something about the pure honest emotions you get when you photograph kids just makes my heart pitter patter. Cheesy, I know, but it does ;) Anyway, I have wanted to set up a photography blog for a while now, but hadn't for various reasons, but alas, today.....i did it. It's super plain right now, but the most important decorations are the photos themselves, so it might stay just as it is :) If you like, you can check it out HERE.

Last thing. I was watching my sweet, rambunctious boys run around screaming and chasing ground squirrels and birds unmercifully yesterday at the park and I decided moreso than any other moment in all my years of mommy-hood, that I LOVE being a mom to boys! I would completely be overjoyed if the Lord blesses us with a little girl someday, but for now, all I need are my precious boys!

"The Good, The Bad, The Ugly"

The GOOD-
OK- so I am trying (apparently not very hard) to cut back on DP in an attempt to lose a few pounds, but tonight I was in SEVERE need of a Dr. Pepper. We were fresh out of them. I had just given the boys a bath and was getting them ready for bed when the craving hit, but I was NOT going to load them in the car at 8:00 for a Sonic run. But I still needed one :) SO....... I texted my "sweet, precious, I knew she was one of my best friends for a reason," to see if she might still be at church (very close to my house), to ask if she'd bring me a DP from the machine there. Well, sweet love!! Not only did she bring a delicious, ice cold can of goodness straight to my doorstep, but she brought a whole case!! Now that, my friends, is true friendship ;) Love you muchas mas KIRA!! And I still would even if you hadn't rushed to my rescue tonight, but I am sure glad you did :)


Kira & Me


The BAD-
*Micah was home for 2 1/2 weeks which was AWESOME!!! He left today for a camp in East Texas and I won't see him til Tuesday....I miss him...this is bad. :(

*I use too much excessive punctuation when I write. I used to be an English teacher. This is bad.

The UGLY-
ME!! As in my attitude....YUCK! Can anyone say, Mommy the GROUCH?!!? Uhhhggghh! I have been so impatient, frustrated, snappy, and grouchy this week. Yeah-the whole week. Little things that aren't usually a big deal to me are driving me nutso, I have very little patience for a certain 3.5 & 2.5 year old, and I am just plain not pleasant :( I don't know what the deal is, but "I do not like it, not one little bit!" It's not fun and I want out of the "funk!" So, for the benefit of my sweet boys and everyone else around me, would you mind just saying a quick prayer for me today? Thanks ;)

Summer Fun

*WARNING.....due to the fact that I haven't posted in a month, this post is a little LONG and has LOTS of pictures :) *

Oh man! What a crazy summer we are having!! I thought summer was the season when everyone was supposed to slow down and take it easy and I thought we would settle after our trip to the Philippines, but I feel like we have been busier than EVER! Micah has had a very busy summer, which is great because ministry is what he does, but hard because he has been gone from us for virtually 7 weeks (minus a day here and there between camps)! Strangely enough, its gone by fairly fast and its been easier than the past summers that he's been gone, even though its the most he has traveled! Well, for me anyway. Aiden has NOT been very happy about his daddy being gone so much :( In fact, this weekend, he cried for daddy every night! BROKE my heart!! But no worries now, because DADDY IS HOME!! Well, technically he is at my mom's with us, but he is here and that's all that matters! He has a 2 1/2 week break before he has his last camp of the summer...WHOOHOO!

my handsome boys ;) we went fishing at a...ehemmm... "lake" close to my mom's. It was small to say the least! More to come on that story...


Puzzle time with daddy...that's his knee in the corner...apparently i forgot to get a pic with him in it!


Chillin with daddy in the recliner ;)

Anyway, the boys and I have stayed busy too, swimming, playing, running around, entertaining my little brother (10 yrs old) and doing some traveling of our own! We had a blast with Micah in Brownwood at youth camp! The boys and I loved getting to take a special trip with daddy to an event!
Funny story...I told the boys that we were going to get to go to camp with daddy for a few days and they were so excited, but Seth, the literal child he is, processed it as "camping!" So he thought we were going to sleep in our sleeping bags in a tent and that we were going to fish! It just cracked me up, because he has only been fishing once with Micah 2 summers ago, we didn't even own fishing poles, and we have never been on a camping trip. I am not sure where he learned what camping meant, but boy was he ready :) He was so excited about fishing and was telling everyone that we got to go to the "campout" with daddy and that he was gonna fish!! We are so blessed to have thoughtful and caring parents...Micah's dad, who the boys call "Pan," went to Academy and bought both the boys fishing poles (quite nice ones, might I add!!) Pan gave them to the boys Sunday after church and Seth was so excited he held the package all the way to Brownwood and even fell asleep with it in his hands :)


Thats a straw in his mouth in case you were wondering.....
Aiden was just as excited about his fishing pole, but he was more interested in hitting Seth with it, so I had to take it away for the time being!

THEN, on Monday afternoon after being SO patient, Seth got to go fishing with Micah on the lake at the camp. Unfortunately, Aiden had to have a nap, so he didn't get to go with them :( But he was perfectly happy to hang out with Mommy in the air conditioned room! When Micah was getting the fishing pole ready, you would have thought it was Christmas morning! Seth was absolutely precious because he was so excited he just kept talking and talking and talking about fishing! Micah brought some "sausage"" bait we had left over from lunch at Underwoods BBQ in Brownwood and the perch LOVED it!! Seth caught several and even held one of them before they threw it back in the water :) I am so proud of my little guy and I KNOW his daddy is too :)


getting the fishing pole ready..

Seth with a catch!

proud of that fishing pole

another "getting ready" pic

We left the camp Tuesday morning, spent one night at home, then headed to my mom's house for the rest of the week :) We love hangin out at Mamo's!!


wild man!


sandbox fun :)


yay for cupcakes


wanna bite?


push-ups + cartoons= the best life ever!


sno-cone goodness


look at mine!


hanging out at the pool


is this livin it up or what?


big boy swimmer ;) Maybe next summer we will work on losing those floaties!

Last but not least...MORE FISHING!!
We went to a very small lake about 20 minutes from my mom's house today. When we got there Micah said, "This is a lake? More like a pond.." and my mom said, "You Texans have to have everything big!" HAHA. Yes mom....we do!! So we follow Micah down to the water and IMMEDIATELY two beautiful white geese make their way over to us. I, of course, think they are cute and are just coming over to say hi, but as soon as Micah turned his back, they snuck over and tried to get our bait!! HAHA! So my everso courageous husband gently shoo'd them away and said "those silly geese...tryin to get my bait...haha!" Are you kidding me?? NO HE DID NOT DO THAT!! He yelled, "get out of here," and bowed up to them (as if in a fight with another human being)! When they retreated he called out after them, "that's right suckers!!" Oh man, I was totally cracking up! The beautiful geese scattered off a few feet away, but it wasn't long before they made their way back. BUT this time they B-lined straight for Aiden's little leg!!! The wonderful photographer that I am, I was taking pics and couldn't get there fast enough, but our of the corner of my eye Super-Daddy whacks the goose with a fishing pole! The goose hissed, Micah hissed back, the goose retreated, (for good this time) and Micah, in his moment of goose-defeat glory, shouted another, "whats up sucker...that's right!!" Micah the goose-slayer....my hero!! ;)


checking out a weed, er, I mean flower he picked for me


where are the fish? We didn't catch anything :(


Aiden resorted to relaxing in the shade :)


Me and the Sether J...


Me and the Pot-Pie :)


Aiden takin a break on the dock with my beautiful momma


Dad...i think the fish are over there....

how much longer do I have to pretend to fish? Can I have a snack?


such a pro


the infamous geese....