Judson Ray turns 4!

for his birthday party, Judson wanted his whole family to come over and play a baseball game.

and so, we did!

His wish for a party is perfectly reflective of him.

He loves loves loves his family and loves loves loves to play any kind of anything....

baseball, soccer, super heroes, rodeo, races, etc.

he's always up to play, especially with his family.

I absolutely adore this kid.

and we were all so excited to celebrate him.

he is happy 99% of the time

is up for anything, lets things roll off of his back, never runs out of energy, is easy to be around, he's very observant, talks all of the time, is really appreciative when given something, asks one million questions, and as my Mamaw Jo has said from the beginning, "he has a strong sense of purpose"

GT and I are constantly amazed at the things that come out of his mouth!

we are overwhelmed with gratitude for the gift of raising Judson Ray

now, on to the party!

setting out the bases

sweet baby bulldog, Ben

baseball "tattoos" before the party

these two are quite the duo

best friend/cousins 

i love this baseball player

Judson is a kid who knows what he wants and is very good at verbalizing it.

he asked me what kind of cake we were going to have. I told him that i was just going to order a cookie cake with a baseball on it. He quickly let me know that he would like one with all the icing on top and some baseball plays on it. ha!

i should've known that he knew exactly what kind of cake he had in mind.

he was not being bossy, or rude, but rather matter-of-fact.

a few nights before his party he told me that he didn't want everyone to sing "Happy Birthday" to him, because he didn't like it when he turned 3 (true story. cried through it)

but, that he would rather the whole family sing "Be Strong and Courageous" together.

so, we did both and he sang loud and proud.

we all loved it and it might become a new tradition.

his 1st bike. and he has asked to ride it every minute of the day since.

costumes were a popular gift item, because Judson is constantly changing in and out of them, becoming whoever he pleases throughout the day. i love that part of his imagination

Judson has been fired up about turning 4.

mostly, because he gets to go upstairs at church for his bible class.

I can totally believe that he is 4.

he is very much an old soul and we often have conversations that seems more appropriate for someone twice his age (8! ha!).

Watching him grow and learn is one of the greatest joys of my life.

and also one of the most humbling parts of my life!

He is constantly challenging me, but i am thankful for that.

his strong sense of purpose makes me excited about the kind of man he will be.

GT and I pray for Him to be strong, courageous, kind, a leader and to love God and love everyone.

forever grateful for my thoughtful, energetic, happy, curious, rule-following, sweet Judson Ray.

sweet September

I love September

not only is it birthday month for GT and me, but it is that beginning of a new season

although September still feels like summer, with 90 degree+ temps, everyone goes ahead and starts the transition to fall.

I wanted to document some of the month of September...so here are 60ish photos (ha!)

most of them are of the boys at home, which is my favorite

GT was out of town for about 10 days and my parents were gone for 9 days

their trips overlapped a good bit, so it was just me and the boys at home (plus 10 animals!)

i'm happy to report that everyone was fed and watered daily.

Del, my mom-in-law, came in town to help me with the boys for a few days while i worked...she's a  life saver! 

she and Mark came back for another weekend to celebrate GTs bday with us!

i love for them to be here with us.

so sit tight as we go through some photos to document a pretty great month

i've purchased new and longer pants since this. i know you were concerned

Townes with his future wife, Sage, at church

we had so much fun celebrating Bella Boo turning 14!

they love each other

Josh came in for Labor Day!

we went out to Mamaw Lous for lunch and some fun at Camp

1st day of school for the boys!

Judson started WEE school

and Townes Mothers Day Out

JR picking up some chores while dad is out of town

we were all SUPER SUPER happy to have him home

 he drove through the night from Wyoming just in time to pick up the boys from school

 after a ridiculously long trip home after his trucks engine blew up

and he ended up having to just trade it in for a new vehicle so that they could get home 

(a very long story for another time. but, we apparently are now the owners of a very sought after diesel engine...it is very loud)

the next Friday night, we decided to have a little family outing

we rarely go out to eat for supper, so it was a fun treat

then played some putt-putt afterwards

betchya didn't know that ole West Monroe had such great entertainment delights!?!

and i betchya didn't know what Judson was doing behind that tree

Saturday errands with GT

spending some time at the feed store

on this particular Sunday morning, Judson asked if they could go stand on their rock for a picture.

to which i replied with a dropped jaw and huge head nod

then Judson did this.

i have no idea

JR started soccer and loves it!

after practice that evening, we headed out to Korie and Willies farm to celebrate their official adoption of Rowdy!

it was so much fun and he was so cute soaking up all of the love from the fam

the party was awesome!

celebrations continued as we came home to a cookie cake that GT had bought for my birthday

i love that he loves that i love cookie cake

more parties at work since i also shared a birthday week with my boss and another one of the NPs

then we had a fun dinner to say goodbye to Sadie and Korie before they headed out for the Live Original tour!

the next weekend, Mark and Del, Beau and Luke (mom brought them over from Tyler) came in for more partying!

these two rascals were in heaven

of course, our Saturdays begin with Cracker Barrel

in this photo, Townesy is pouting because of something i wouldn't let him do

he went running to his Mamaw Lou...ha!

my handsome man on his birthday. 

the big 35

Judson loves to dress up

and Townes is starting to enjoy it, too

as many days as there are left between now and Halloween...is how many different costume ideas he will have for trunk-or-treat

Judson picked out their clothes for school on this day

our chickens are still doing well and i still love them

sweet bedtime with my guys

soccer jumps

because i think they're cute

one week, GT had to go to Texas for a few days

I had to work then had an event on Saturday

so he offered to take the boys to his parents so they could be taken care of. 

so, they were gone Wednesday-Sunday (a long time!)

 i was offered a spot on the little plane going over to watch the 1st stop of the Live Original Tour in Dallas on Thursday. 

so, it worked out well and I got to go!

i was so thankful

and so proud to watch the cousins share with thousands about their hope in God

and how they've overcome various things 

it was powerful and encouraging. and a lot of fun, too!

that Saturday, my mom held a bible study conference called "Deep" 

it was awesome.

the women who shared were so vulnerable and real about reading Gods word

Shellie Tomlinson is my spirit animal, ha!

I love her hilarious stories, but more importantly her heart for Jesus and loving other people

i was thrilled to see my guys driving up that driveway Sunday afternoon

super dad after house church

the boys helping Pa pick some plums

this is a super cheesy selfie, but i wanted to document such a sweet moment with my baby (who isn't really a baby anymore. except that pacifier...)

sweet peanut at the doctor 

then our weekly library stop

most of our time at home, the boys are outside riding one of their toys or the scooter

we went out to OCS to have lunch with the big cousin early in the month

after CB one Saturday, heading into the Ike Hamilton to watch roping, or penning, or something

September was a wonderful month!

it's still hot here, but we've got our mums and pumpkins out and are ready to welcome fall whenever it shows up.

October is shaping up to be a great one, too.

Judson turns 4 in ten days!!!

and we're all excited to celebrate him!

i'm forever thankful for this life we live

but i am constantly reminded of just how broken this world is

watching those that we love hurt and watching our culture continue to lean towards evil just keeps me longing for heaven.

even though this life is pretty great, i'm so thankful that my hope is not in this world or in anything the world has to offer.