twas the weekend before Christmas

This weekend happened a little different than I would have ever planned but I really learned a nice little lesson and hope I don't forget it soon. I think that it is very easy to think yourself not selfish when in fact you really are. I thought, " No we don't need to go visit someone in the hospital this weekend he will be fine, too much money, etc".
It was Kadence who taught me the best lesson!  When he found out Papa was sick he went right over to his little coloring book and colored a picture of a animal, cut it out and told me he was going to take it too him to make him feel better. I realized he wasn't thinking about himself only what he could do and that to him was coloring a picture.
After that I told him we would make some cookies also to take and that made him so excited. He helped me start to finish and even decorated some special ones to take.

How unselfish and one track-I am so humbled by my little boy and his soft heart and convicted to remember others more than myself and what I WANT.        Soooooo this weekend before Christmas we visited the hospital and I was reminded of a very important lesson.
True compassion and Christ love looks to others over yourself!


I was reminded of a sweet Christmas song called "Christmas Shoes" and it reminded me of my little Kadence and his big heart.

Christmas Shoes

A quote from "The Grinch"

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons.
It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags.
And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.
What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.
What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

 

 Rosva Dr. Seuss 


I was reading this story to Kadence today and thought that this simple little story really does have a good meaning and maybey us adults should stop and read the real story of Christ's birth & ponder on the real reason for Christmas.

Some random Christmas photos

 Loved the smiles in this picture even though it blurred on me. Check out the adorable look on Grayson's face smiling at Joel. He loves his daddy so much allready.

I think sometime the pictures that never make the Christmas Card are so cute. These are a few of those as well as some candid shots I took yesterday and today. The picture of myself was taken by Kadence and he wanted me to post it. I must say he did pretty good. He was so cute begging to take a picture of me and telling me that it was his turn to use the camera.

A little Santa Claus

 

Grayson all bundled and ready for the stroll.

 

So proud of his work in decorating the Christmas Tree.

No Christmas Stroll would be complete without the imaginary pretend Santa. Kadence had a blast and talked up a storm to the old man. Grayson didn't have much to say and slept through the "excitement". It was so fun just being out with all the lights and it even started to snow on us. A fun start to the Christmas season.

Random Everyday Shots (The precious memoents that make my days special.)

Tummy Time ..."mmmm not sure what to think of this ?"

"OK  now I am mad you guys."

 Cheeeeese mom.....

 All dressed up warm to go run errands with mommy and Kadence.

 Cuddle time with mommy and lots of smooches.

 So sweet and totally asleep in big brother's bed. He had been watching Kadence play and the excitement must have been too much.

Family time!

It all started with a book about a horse and Mountain Lion.

 Kadence has been reading another book about the horse Blaze and his adventures. This book has been his  favorite and I am sure we have read it at least ten times this last week.  It is a story about how Billy and his horse save a calf from a Mountain Lion and then receive a reward for helping the rancher find the Mountain Lion to shoot.

and then today an exciting thing happened.... our friend Craig Morgan shot a huge Mountain Lion on his ranch. So Kadence got to see his first Mountain Lion up close! Talk about perfect timing and making a little boys day...although when he got up close he was kinda nervous and said the teeth scared him. He was fine petting the long tail though.

I found this picture from National Geographic along with the following stats just for fun. It really is a large animal and those claws are kinda scary to see up close.

Mammal

Diet:

Carnivore

Size:

Head and body, 3.25 to 5.25 ft (1 to 1.6 m); Tail, 23.5 to 33.5 in (60 to 85 cm)

Weight:

136 lbs (62 kg)

Protection status:

Endangered

Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man

A beautiful photo shoot . Preserved forever in film.

I really cherish these photos and love my adorable little family. They need no other words.

first smiles are the most precious...

so simple so sweet...

 watching always and always learning.

SUCH SIMPLE JOY!

Little cries and six weeks old

Today I am thankful that my little boy is 6 weeks old and has beautiful lungs to cry. The past several nights the poor little guy has been so upset in the evenings and into the nights. He has some form of colic and gets so tight and just cries. It has been so frustrating to me especially when I selfishly want to sleep.  Tonight however I received a different perspective and am praising our Lord that he is healthy and can cry.  Sometimes in life it is so easy to get caught up in the moment and not look forward and seek a different perspective. Who would have thought a screaming baby would teach me that principle tonight !




These precious pictures are Kadence attempts to help me entertain Grayson when he was fussy. So sweet and I think he is learning some good lessons also. :)

Horses... and books about horses

We recently found this very fun series of books at the library about a little boy and his pony. The stories are all about the adventures the little boy has with his horse. Kadence loves them and begs me several times a day to read them to him. 

He also loves to ride horses and really enjoys his lessons riding Smokey. 
 (Thanks mom for the great pictures!)