NAGA Tournament

Last weekend, I snuck away for a day, and drove up to OK City to watch Sam compete in his Jiu-Jitsu tournament.  I wasn't sure what to expect, and to be honest I was VERY nervous.  Sam has only been training for about 6 months.  He has been working very hard and this new passion, and continues to work his way through the different belts.  For this being his first ever tournament, he did awesome.  He went 1-3.  It was a lot of fun to watch!  I am so proud of Sam.

Sam greeting his fan club at the door!

1st match

And the winner is...SAM!  He won his first match ever 6-0!  SO EXCITING.

Talking to his coach after the match.

Big brother Coby was proud of Sam too!

A little tired!

Sam getting focused for his Gi division

Some of Sam's cheering section!

Gi division.  This dude was a BEAST & Brazilian (which in my opinion should be considered cheating since it's a Brazilian sport!) :o)

Dad, Sam and Mom

Sam and I...

I am SO proud of my "little" brother!  Keep working hard Sam!

Our Three Little Blessings...

...it has been way too long since the last time I have blogged.  I always get so frustrated with myself when I am away for this long, because I miss the opportunity to share so many special moments.  I have been blessed in so many ways, and love to get to share our stories with family and friends.

This weekend my step-mom Cheryl went with us to an old, abandoned house to help us finally get some family pictures of our FAMILY of 5! She is so talented and I always love getting new pictures from her. I was very pleased with some of the pictures we got. Here are my three babies, and a little of what they have been up to.

Camden is 5, and such a little fire cracker.  This girl has personality oozing from her ears.  She is so smart, and like a little sponge absorbs everything (which isn't always good).  Since her birthday is in late September, she didn't get to start Kindergarten, and to say she was highly upset would be an understatement.   I often hear she is a mini-me.  She loves school and all her school friends (I think she gets this from me)...she is quite the social butterfly.  She is a HUGE help with the babies and loves playing the 'Big Sister' role.   Like her daddy, she is super funny and very witty.  She loves to read, write, play teacher, and play with her princesses and animals.  She has a heart of gold, and loves to take care of others.  I am excited to see how God uses her giving and nurturing heart in the years to come.  Like I tell her daily, I love this girl to the moon and back!

 Sweet Braelynn is 2.  This little girl is going to give us a run for our money.  She has a sensitive and sweet heart, but is also strong willed and stands up for what she wants!  She too is FULL of personality.  In many ways, these two sisters are alike, but in other ways they are on opposite ends of the spectrum.  Braelynn will be the one who fights someone who talks bad about, or hurts her brother or sister (future boyfriends and girlfriends better watch out!) I hate to admit it, but she gets this from me!  She loves horses, playing with stuffed horses or toy horses or just pretending to be a horse.  I am not sure where this horse obsession came from, but I love that it is something special to just her (not just because her big sister likes it).  She loves to read, color, and be outside.  She is a perfect blend of her daddy and myself.  I look forward to see how God uses her love and loyalties to others in the years to come.  Like I tell her daily, I love her more then cookies and cream ice cream!

 Mr. Crayton Man is 1.  This little dude is so much fun!  There is never a dull moment with him around...he keeps us on our toes.  He loves to climb up on anything and everything, often giving me a heart attack.  He is so much like his daddy, and he looks just like him!  I love watching Jay with all of our babies, but my heart melts when I watch him with his baby boy.  He is so funny, and often cracks himself up.  It is impossible not to smile when this little man comes around.  He is really starting to talk, saying momma, daddy, tant tu (thank you), peas (please), cheese, ball, biaper (diaper), cracker and more.  And if he is not using "real words", he babbles non-stop.  He loves balls, trucks, chewing on princesses legs/arms, animals, pulling everything out of cabinets and being outside.  I look forward to watching this little boy grow up into a man of God!  I like I tell him daily, I love you BIG TIME BUDDY!

Dec. 2011

Life is so good!

4th of July...

...I told you I was going to be jumping all over the place until I caught up, so just try to keep up.  I still have two and half weeks of vacation to blog about, Braelynn's 2nd b-day, mini road trips, and a couple of other little things.  But back to July 4th!

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 One of our favorite things to do on July 4th is to go to the Ranger game.  There is nothing better then getting to watch a baseball game, followed by some GREAT fireworks!  Nonna drove in from Denver City to spend the weekend with us (Pops was on call, so he had to miss out this time).  Uncle Terry was also able to drive over from Waco to spend the day with us...we always enjoy spending time with him!  You can't have the 4th of July without delicious food!  We skipped the traditional BBQ and went with something a little different...!

 We started the day of with one of our new very favorite places!! 

PIE FIVE!  

It is delicious and so much fun!

 When you go in, you pick your crust, sauce and all your own toppings.  The sky is the limit.  Here is just a small selection of the toppings.

 Camden anxiously awaiting for her pizza to come out of the oven!!

 Jay showing off his yummy pizza.  He got the chicken carbonara. 

 Miss Camden with her master piece...cheese & black olives!

 Miss Braelynn scoping out everyone else's pizza, and trying to decide which she will attack first!

She settled for cheese and black olive also!

 I was so hungry that I forgot to take a picture of my pizza before I started eating, but obviously I enjoyed it!  I chose to create my own, using mostly Greek topping...pepperoni, kalamata olives, banana peppers, red onion, green olives, feta cheese and basil.  DELICIOUS!!

 Family pics before heading into the ballpark!

 Crayton & Uncle Terry.

Our seats were awesome.  We were about 8 rows up from the field, off to the left of the third base dugout.  The first 30 minutes were pretty hot, but once the sun set they were perfect!

 Crayton checking out some of the crazies behind us!

 USA!!!

 Crayton being a little charmer!

 The head of security was manning our section that night.  He was letting people look and try on his American League Championship ring.  (Jay modeling it for you).  It was beautiful!!  Hopefully this year we will have a World Series Championship ring to go with it!

 Camden

 and

 Princess Bell

 doing

 the WAVE!

This was one of Camden's favorite parts!!

 And of course...

HELLO WIN COLUMN!!

 Braelynn and Nonna getting ready for the fireworks to start. 

 Braelynn got a ball "thrown"/given to her in between innings from the security guard.  She held on to that thing for dear life!!

 Enjoying the fireworks.  This is the first year that the girls actually watched the fireworks.  The noise is usually more then they can take.  I was so excited that they sat and watched (most of the show)!

 Even Crayton enjoyed them for a little bit!

 Love this pic!  Towards the end, Camden was amazed how many there were at one time.  She was worried about Crayton, so she covered his ears through this part.  She is such a WONDERFUL big sister!!

I LOVE THE BALLPARK...

all lit up from above!

Graduation #1

Our baby girl graduated from Pre-K this year.  She has done VERY well in school, and continues to surprise us each day with her knowledge.  She loves to learn, know and understand things.  She asks me daily when she gets to go back to school.  She is going to be like me and LOVE school.  The only down fall, she wants to go to kindergarten with all her friends, but she doesn't get to.  She will be doing Pre-K again, because she is the baby of her class and doesn't turn five until the end of September (that means so misses the kindergarten cut-off date by 24 days).  We are all a little sad, but I know that the Lord has BIG plans for this little girl.  We told her she is staying in Pre-K because God and her teachers think she is a very BIG helper and they need her to help with the younger kids coming up.  It worked for a couple of days, before she didn't like that excuse anymore, but she is slowly dealing with the fact that she will be doing it all over again. So, here are pictures from Camden's Pre-K Graduation #1!!

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Before the graduation ceremony, the  Pre-K classes  put on a short program. 

Camden had several speaking parts, which surprised me.  She did wonderful!

Camden quoting a bible verse!

Camden singing her little HEART out!

            

Entering in her graduation robe.  She looked a little
homeless (we were very rushed for time), but so big!

Receiving her diploma from her
teacher...again ignore her homeless
look!

 

Now we are bored!

And now angry...!

Now watching the boys goof around!

And now goofing around with the boys!

And then having to have her hat put back on from all the

goofing around!

This little girl brings us so much joy!  She is so much fun, has such a special personality and I love watching her explore the world.  I look forward to watching her continue to work hard in school, and teachering her brother and sister many things.  I am so thankful that God blessed us almost five years ago with this sweet, baby girl.  Miss Camden Jaye, WE LOVE YOU!