a party for JR

this year, JR's birthday fell on a Saturday so we celebrated him on his actual birthday!

(exactly one month ago, today)

He had the best day of his life, i'm sure

GTs family and my family came in town and made the weekend so special for our favorite 2 year old

GT and I made this little tent for him

i was pretty confident that he'd LOVE it and always want to be in it.

wrong. 

he likes it, but isn't that impressed.

oh well.

but, he does love when his uncle Garrett plays with him

a day well spent with the fam

we had his party at my parents house and kept the guest list to our family. which is quite a crew, even with some being out in California

the decorations consisted of giant animal and tractor balloons.

 they are still decorating our living room...probably Judson's favorite thing.

lots of photos, so let's get started 

GT set up a little hayride that the boys loved and still talk about

(thumbs up)

(in case you ever wonder where the boys get their jowls)

he could not wait to get the tractor and animals off of his cake

didn't care too much about the actual cake, just the toys

and everyone clapping for him

and the presents, of course

with some help from big cousin, Beau

and quite the cheering section

oh man, love this kid

and those goggles

the boys...all of them, young and old, went outside to check out the new rides and tools

and topped off the night with some fun with PaPa

what a wonderful day to celebrate our Judson Rays 2nd birthday!

even though he had a nasty sty in his little eye, he never stopped celebrating

His day was made because he was surrounded by his favorite people

That boy, he sure loves his people

and he loves a party

and tractors and animals

"If Mama ain't happy..."

then Mama needs to work on her attitude.

can we please just get rid of this saying?

the whole premise of this phrase is that someone besides "mama" is responsible for her happiness.

if that's the case, then mama ain't never gonna be happy for longer than a minute.

i do believe that the tone of a household is set by moms.

we can make or break the mood for the day and have an incredibly strong influence on our children's and our husbands attitude and demeanor.

in that sense, yes, no one is happy if mama ain't happy.

the problem is the circumstances in which this phrase is thrown around.

i typically hear it in situations in which the wife/mama is trying to get something: a new purse, a compliment, her dinner preference, her way.

by throwing this (not so) cute saying out there, the woman often wins and gets her way/meal/jewelry/whatever.

then she is happy.

until she wants her way again.

then she isn't happy until she gets it and the whole family's happiness is riding on this flighty, selfish, emotion-driven mother.

and that sounds exhausting

and unstable

and zero fun. 

zero fun sir.

in the place of this phrase, can we just decide for ourselves to be happy and not rely on a situation to choose it for us.

i know, this is not an original thought or a breakthrough into understanding women (ha! if only), but i think it deserves some thought.

after all, women continue to say it-day in and day out-and expect it to work.
and it does
and we're all tired of trying to make "mama" happy.
or get happy, if we're that mama.

and i'm not even talking about finding true joy.
there's a profound difference in joy and happiness.
that's for another post and conversation.

all i'm saying here is to encourage you-or plead with you- to stop saying

and do something about it, mama.

(pointing finger right back at myself)

that's all. have a lovely evening.

4 months

Townesy! 

You are 4 months old!

and you have come alive!

you have started interacting with us so much more.

you are "talking" all of the time and laugh when something really gets you.

you are incredibly ticklish, so i tickle you alot. 

sorry. but your little laugh is irresistible. 

you have quite a fan club

the president is me, of course.

i'm pretty obsessed with you.

healthy or not, that's how it is.

the vice president chair is shared by your brother...

and your dad

we all love to make you smile and snuggle you

you are very strong 

you like to sit up in your little seat and see the world

you have a sneaky little grin 

that basically melts me

you experienced your first Halloween

we did nothing on the actual day, so it wasn't any different than our normal friday

but, we did attend our church Trunk-or-Treat

you went as a football, because i'm real original like that

but, you slept most of the time

 held by your mother who attended the festival as Garth, one half of the Wayne's World duo.

you will thank me later for embarrassing you at an early age

moving on.

you are average size for height and weight (according to the doctor)

but above average for sweetness (according to me)

your brother gets so excited each time he sees you when you have been separated for any length of time: after naps, in the morning or after his school.

you share his enthusiasm and express it by staring him down.

you still eat roughly every 3 hours during the day

you take 3-4 naps, depending on how often you are woken up early by your darling brother

you can grab things and bring them to your mouth

you are becoming more active and interested in things around you

you put your whole fist in your mouth all of the time

you sleep 11-12 hours a night, but often sleep the last few hours with me (i can't resist)

you've had a little stuffy nose for a week, but you're still so sweet and happy

you can roll stomach to back and can aaaaaalllllmost go back to stomach

you love your parents messy room. (not really, i just said that to make myself feel better)

you are wanting to move! 

you like to pull yourself forward if i lean you back against something

we adore you, little Townes-rooskie!

you are showing us your sweet, sensitive, snuggly personality more and more 

i use the adjective "sweet"often when talking about you, but it describes you best.

i love to watch you wake up to the world

you are a delightful part of our family and we are so thankful that you are ours.

love you, little Rooskie!

my people on the web: round 2

here we are, with our 2nd installation of "My People on the Web".

if you missed the first one, click here

i am surrounded by people that make things happen. seriously, they're everywhere.

as i previously mentioned, this challenges me to step up my game on the daily

complacency is not a familiar word around these parts

people are moving and shaking 

and i'm grateful to witness it and sometimes, to be a part of it

you can imagine how i feel when i stay in my pj's all day. 

hey, at least i'm raising kids! right?

without further adieu, here are people that i know and that i like and the things they are doing on the world wide web.

1. john lukes blog

"I have noticed in my young life that only about 1 out of 10 of the things i do actually works out how i thought it would. That just means i have got to do more stuff and do it better. Hopefully this blog will be the 1 out of 10. If it is not then that means somethings else will so this is a win-win situation..."

-Young and Beardless

if you know me at all, you know how much i love this kid. ok, he's not really a kid anymore.

he's 19 and engaged. engaged! what?!? and i am thrilled for him.

Mary Kate is an awesome lady and i just love to be around her.

 and JL is one of my very very favorite people. i do not worry about him and his decisions. 

he is solid. 

so, take a gander at his blog. 

it's an excellent read and is great evidence of his character, maturity, quirkiness and insight.

here's another excerpt, it is from his post about a trip to Canada:

"1.) Sometimes you faced with things that you just have to make a blind decision on in order to experience great things, like the great things love does. When considering whether or not to take someone’s offer to experience what we did, don't look at who else is going to be there or little unnecessary details like that. Consider the person who invited you, and whether or not if saying yes in that situation is the most loving thing possible to that person.

2.) Love does great things. ALWAYS make your decisions by determining if it is the most loving thing possible. 1 Corinthians 13 is a good list of guidelines for what the most loving thing usually looks like if you need help with that.

3.) The trip allowed me to watch my dad learn. The Bearded Men never stop learning. As far as i can tell, my dad could go the rest of his life not knowing anything new, but he doesn't. He is constantly studying and learning new skills and gaining more knowledge. That is a mark of a great man. Hopefully i will still be learning when i am no longer Young and Beardless."

2. My mom's  Heart to Home conference

Heart to Home ministry is my mom's passion and ministry

i've talked about it before, but it is a HUGE blessing in my life

it is growing rapidly and she has started it in churches all over the country

if you're interested in getting it kicked off in your church, let me know!

the first conference will take place February 6-7 here in Monroe and it will be amazing, i know it!

more info to come

also, she wrote a book.

a book! 

and it will be released at the conference

we are all so proud!

3. GT and I just jumped on the Friday Night Lights train.

and we can not stop.

our dinner conversations involve Tyra, Saracen and Tami.

addicted is the right word, i think.

so, i was pumped when my friend, Jen, launched Sweet Tees and i saw this shirt

ordered.

thank you.

other cute shirts available!

4. our good friends just ended their run for Congress

Zach and Jil are the real deal and i am proud to call them friends and i am proud to vote for Zach Dasher!

Jil wrote a beautiful post on her blog about the campaign and their loss in the polls.

We love the Dashers and know they will continue to lead those around them, in and out of the political realm.

our country is in dire need of leaders who seek to honor God and hold up the values we were founded on. a huge thanks to Zach for acknowledging this need and doing something about it.

Go Team Dasher!

have a great weekend eve day!