We have had a lot going on!!

My wonderful cousin Shea is in from Australia for 6 weeks. We sure LOVE having her around. It's great to just eat dinner, cuddle on the couch, go shopping, do events together and enjoy each other's company. This pic was taken the night we went to the Phoenix Zoo's Zoo Lights. :)
Caeden did his very first Christmas Program with his class this Tuesday. It was adorable and Jay and I were super proud parents. We both traveled quite quickly down memory lane from our own early childhood programs. How fantastic that it continues! This picture was from silent night with sign language. As you can see every kid is doing a different move at the same time. A deaf person would probably have been very confused but we thought it was so cute that they were trying so hard!
My sister Kelsey just graduated on Thursday night from ASU with a degree in Education!! Yeah Kelsey we are proud of you and the world needs awesome teachers like you!! There is nothing like investing in the lives of others and enriching them with love and knowledge, you will be blessed in return beautiful one!

Jay and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary yesterday. He brought home these beautiful roses for me and set a nice table for a fantastic meal together, also prepared by daddy. What a man I have!! I love you hun!! We will be planning a night out at a hotel for just the 2 of us as soon as sweet Caleb decides to sleep through the night. :) Who knows when we will be blessed with that, but we sure have something to look forward too!!
Merry Christmas from our family to yours.... We have so much to be grateful for!! Enjoy these special days with loved ones and remember the greatest gift we all have been given is Jesus, the reason for this season! Thank you Lord for such a beautiful plan of redemption and love, we will never be the same!!

10 month old Caleb

Loves to feel like he is big stuff behind the wheel.

LOVES bath time!

I think we have another musician in the family. He will sit at Jay's feet and watch him play for quite some time.

SO BIG! One of his favorite "tricks". He also loves to give "5".

They look like "uh oh we've been caught." Which is usually the case. This time Caeden had a smoothie and Caleb decided he should have some too. I had a mess on my hands for sure!

Birthday Girl

Well here I am a big 31 year old! I like it. We started the morning out with breakfast at Denny's and it was delicious! Caeden was so cute before we left home he was looking for candles to put in mommy's pancakes. He was frusturated though and I asked what the problem was and he said he was trying to find as many candles as my number was. I let him know it was ok, we didn't have 31 candles at our house 2 would be just great. :)


We played together at home in the back yard and this is Caleb after he ate "cow's poop" (as Caeden calls it) from the grass. He is looking at Jay like what? I like it. :)



I had 2 helpers for opening my presents tonight, it was fun!

I got a new camera for my birthday from Jay and as you can see from this picture I need a lot of help learning how to use it. :) But we played games to celebrate and ate yummy food-thanks mom and dad for a nice birthday night!



And I needed a picture in here of the newly engaged couple of course. :)

Hmmmm

Yesterday I asked Caeden if he would like for us to do his hair or wear a hat to the gym. He choose hat and came out with this cowboy hat on ready to go. Not quite what I had in mind but not a battle I was going to fight after the 2 previous interactions. As I took this picture he said "I am so cute, huh mom?"
So as we were trying to get ready to leave I asked him to brush his teeth. Exasperated and with a roll of his head he said, "oh Lord." I asked "what did you say?" Again with a roll of his eyes and head he again said, "oh Lord." I said "Caeden we don't say that at our house that hurts God's feelings." Real quick he looked at me and said, "mom it's a song." I asked how the rest of the song went and he said, "oh Lord, oh Lord, I should obey my mom, oh Lord." Knowing that was not his intention but a darn quick response I said "great I love that song, now go brush your teeth." Meanwhile Caleb is propped on a boppy drinking his milk. I went to go brush my teeth and I came back to the family room where Caleb was whining. I got a closer look and Caeden had taken the milk bottle and poured it all over Caleb's hair. I asked what he was doing and he replied, "we are playing the wet game." GOODNESS!!!
With Caleb now getting into everything all day and Caeden's constant quick wit and trying new things, I am in a state of tension and need to learn how to relax and have harmony within. Any suggestions?

Tonight I am thankful

Have you ever found that you are so moved by your circumstances? I have found that I have been in a negative way lately. I am aware that I am able to control how I respond to life and so tonight I choose thankfulness. I have been allowing stuff to get under my skin and my focus is going to change and I will have a thankful spirit. So tonight......
I am grateful for boys that leave toys everywhere all day long. Not because I love always having stuff we need to pick up but because we are so blessed to HAVE things TO pick up.
I am thankful for a monkey that I always need to keep my eye on because I am not sure what he will be doing next. I am grateful God has entrusted this precious life to me and goodness how cute is this little smooch?
I am thankful for laundry that never ends. It means the lives in my home are still living and we are dressing every day. I don't know how I would do life with out these three precious men.

I am thankful for food to clean off the floor everyday because it means we have the money to afford the nutrition our body needs.

I am thankful for dishes that stack in the sink. We have plenty and we aren't with out the tools to prepare and serve this family.

I am thankful for sons that seem to wake all the time because they won't always be in my home with me. I choose to cherish the moments. I will sleep again one day.

I want to complain that I don't get enough time to connect with all my friends. Instead I will be thankful for friends that are ok getting caught up on life through a blog or an email. They know that I love them.

I want to complain about the heat we are still experiencing instead I will focus on the blessing of sunshine and how happy it makes one.

I want to complain about not having enough time in a day but instead I will think about how I spent my moments and be happy about those well spent and consider it a gift that tomorrow I can change the ones I didn't do so well with today.

I want to complain about not getting what I want for whatever reason and instead I will be thankful that Jesus has paid it all and life is not about me. Ouch. That reality is always a great one!

I choose to see that my glass is half full, my life is grand and the choice in how I live it is all up to me.

What about you? Are there things in your life that need a new perspective? Are there hurts or wounds or things you need to give to the Lord today? He loves when we run to Him and he gets excited when we will trust Him with it all. I am reminded of my devotion from this morning. Colossians 4:2. "Devote yourselves to prayer; being watchful and thankful." Thank you Jesus!

Things we have learned this week...

Do you ever look over your weeks and think and process all that you have heard or learned or read? I love intentionally looking back and seeing the growth or change, here are some of ours this week.

Kirstin
One of the biggest things I am working through right now is worry. I know scripture is clear on not worrying and it has all the answers to become free from it, and I am working towards this. Today my chiropractor said 2 things that really helped me and maybe if you ever worry you too will find them helpful.

1. Worrying is assuming responsibility that doesn't belong to me.
2. When you worry you focus on what you don't want or don't have.

I am so thankful for this chance to grow!!

Oh and I learned from a fantastic book sent from my Aunt Sassy in Australia that if you put 3 drops of peroxide in your ear for 5 to 10 minutes and repeat on the other side it will help with your cold or flu. What a great inexpensive natural remedy. Jay and I actually both felt like we were coming down with something and we tried it and it worked. :)

Caeden

My sweet Caeden has been 4 for just over 1 week. It is funny how many new things he has been trying.....
*to buckle himself in the car
*to only suck fingers at nap and bedtime (with a little help from me)
*to skip nap time all together day after day
*to bathe himself and then let the water out of the tub, dry himself and get clothes on with no help
*putting stickers on the hall wall.... do you like the art mom?
*writing with markers ALL over his body (while napping was supposed to be happening)
*he wore his bike helmet to dinner because he had not been making good choices in his chair
*jumping on the couch will get you hurt, probably not a good idea after all.
*much more willing to play by himself for a long period of time, thanks to all of our family and friends who blessed him with new toys!!!
*a big interest in picking Caleb up under the arm pits and moving him wherever he wants him to be
*that getting adjusted feels "lovely"
*that forgiveness is very important

I just love each new stage and the fun that it brings.

Caleb

*had his 9 month "birthday" this week. Where does the time go?
*he is 21 lbs and 10 ozs 29 inches long and has moved from the 90% to the 75th% in both categories.
*he is moving around like crazy. He hauls it through the house on all 4's or in the walker. He has been pulling himself up on everything and trying to walk. He loves to let go and show you he can stand for a few moments. The smile on his face is priceless.
*he had his first family bike ride this week and thinks it's a pretty sweet gig as long as it's light out. He is not a fan of bike rides at night. :)
*he has slept through the night this week a few times, we are all excited about this one!
*he joined Caeden and I for Caeden's library class and loved every time they sang or danced. However each time the librarian went to read a story he started to cry. I was laughing so hard. I will have to work on a love for reading. :)

Jay

*found out this week that he gets to lead worship at our church this Sunday and on the 29th and will also get to lead at another church on the 22nd. I am so excited for him.
*loves to be with his family. It is so wonderful to know that we are the favorite part of his day!
*he too is being proacitve in becoming all that God desires for him. I count myself so blessed to be married to a man that seeks after the Lord and wants the best for his life.

What a fun week to look back on and be grateful for.

Autumn Fest

Bud and his friend Luke sliding together down a huge bouncy slide.

Team Tucker joined us for the evening festivities and a fun time was had by all.

They had a petting zoo filled with bunnies, chickens, a cow, goats, a pig, and this fun friend.

Caleb was a lion earlier in the day and made a monkey appearance for the evening. :)

Pumpkin Patch

Today was the Pumpkin Patch picking at Preschool. Caleb and I were invited and we had a great time! This is the Director Mrs. Nicole reading us all a story.

Mr. Caleb being held by one of Caeden's teachers Miss Kim. She LOVES Caleb, she likes to hold him whenever we are at school, it's real cute. :)

Caeden picked a big one, we will be carving it soon. :)

Here is his class of fun little munchkins. They really all have fun personalities.
Autumn Fest will be tonight more pics to come.....

The Birthday boy!

Celebrating today at the zoo with his best buddies Ella and Josh. Thanks to Uncle Coley who works at the zoo he hooked us up with a train ride, a carousel ride and free petting of the sting rays. :)
Caeden would have stayed at the Sting ray tank all morning if we let him, he loves it!! Auntie Kels, did you see he is already wearing the birthday hoodie?
This is on his actual day. Grandma stayed with Caleb in the morning so I could go to school with bud for his Birthday. It was a fun treat for all of us and then Grandma took us to lunch at the mall. (Caeden's choice) At each meal I make sure he has fruit and vegetables. He knew he got to pick what he would have for lunch and so he told me before we went, "mom, I want french fries and a hot dog and I don't want you to tell me to have anything else."

Fun at the mall.

Some of the kiddos in his class. It was a real fun day to see my boy interact with his friends .

We have a tradition from my growing up to have balloons (one for each year of life) hanging above your head on the morning of your birthday. Here is my boy who is officially 4!
Excited to blow out the candles on the Star Wars cake. :) Cousin Delaney turned 16 on October 23rd so we made her a cake too.
And if you are going to have a Star Wars party you must play light sabers. Caeden is really beginning to appreciate having older cousins (well 2nd cousins for those of you trying to figure it out. :)) And Scotty and Nicholas were awesome with him! Thanks Grandma Shelley and Papa Murf for hosting such a fun birthday.

So there you have it, a week of Birthday celebrations for Caeden Marcus Murphy. He was blessed, blessed, blessed by many gifts and a lot of special moments. As I look back on this week we have so many people in our lives that love us and I can't thank each of you enough! I am so grateful that God made Caeden and so thankful he would entrust him to Jay and I. He is such a gift!

The party has started...

Caeden wanted a Star Wars party with our two families this year for his birthday. He also asked for a lemon cake, which I found funny but said ok sure. So today we baked it and here he is getting to decorate. Since we don't have much sugar in our home he is ecstatic to taste it tomorrow.
Here is the finale. I had envisioned it looking much different but at the end of it all I am so excited he had a blast making it, that's what counts. He will get to celebrate tomorrow with our two families, Wed (his actual day) with his classmates and Daddy, Caleb and I and then Thursday we will go to the zoo with his best friends Ella and Josh Josh. This kid knows how to live it up. :)

Fall in Show Low

When you grow up in Phoenix you have no idea what Fall really is like in so many other cities, so it is fun to escape and see leaves change and feel cold. :)
We all piled into the golf cart for a five person ride, I don't think we could have fit anyone else. :)
Caeden and Grandma made green slime. So fun to have a Grandma that used to be a Kindergarten teacher, always a fun project to do.
Building houses with Papa, he is always so fun to play with too. We always enjoy our time up at the "yellow house."

talking...

Jay was at the U2 concert last night and the boys had missed not being with him. This morning Caleb woke up while daddy was getting ready for work and with a big smile on his face he put the two words that he knows together and said,
"hi da da". WOW!

"Car cart" please

The boys and I went to Fry's to do some grocery shopping today. Caeden said, "mom I want a car cart." (the one's you drive as you shop) I said "well hopefully there will be one for us today." (sometimes they are all taken). He decided he could pray for one, so from the back seat he says.... "Dear God. You are faithful. I want a car cart in Jesus Name Amen." I was smiling from ear to ear, we pull up and whala right next to our car was a green and yellow one waiting for us. Later Caeden said, "I think next time I will pray for a red and yellow one because red is my favorite color, I hope God hears that prayer."
We got to have an amazing conversation about how God loves when we talk with Him and how He is always listening to our prayers. I just loved it, the whole thing made my day. And then at nap time when he was saying his prayers he thanked God for getting him the cart.
I love the faith of a child. Thank you God for blessing me with my boys!

PS Caleb got to ride for the first time today in the car cart with Caeden and they had a blast honking the two horns and steering the wheels. People were definatley stopping to watch us, it was pretty darn cute!

For you Auntie Jill

Precious boys yesterday as we were playing around. Caeden is on fall break and I love having them both around all day to do whatever we want!!
Caeden got my camera and took this picture of Caleb and I the other day, not too bad. :)
I thought this was hilarious. I was up feeding Caleb at 4 am and checked on bud, this is what I saw. :) Too funny!
Caleb Christopher Michael is on the move!!! Caeden keeps complaining that he is getting all of his things. I am trying to teach him whatever is left out is fair game for his brother. It is by the grace of God that Caleb is ok with the stuff I find in his mouth even after cleaning the floors. :)
Caeden at Spectrum mall's Star Wars extravaganza! The helmet is a space helmet they had him make. He continues to ask me each day "what the plan is..." he loves to go and do! Luckily he has a mom that loves it too!

We will be heading up to Show Low for Caeden's fall break so I am sure next week I will have more fun pics to share. Daddy was going to come with us but will now be staying home to attend a worship conference. He is excited and so we are excited for him.

That's all for now.... hugs

cutest lil' lion around...

CHEESE!!!!!
We haven't done anything for Halloween in the previous years. However, this year there are 2 "Fall festivals" we are going to with Preschool and church and so I figured the munchkin needed an outfit. :) I keep thinking I have my own little Anne Gettes baby. I used to love those little pictures. Anyway, this year we will have a lion and Darth Vader. Woahhh!

OUCH!

I had just washed my hands and went to unplug my phone charger and ZAP I got electrocuted. Oh my goodness I screamed (and we had just finished putting both boys to bed) screamed, because it hurt like crazy! I have never been electrocuted in my 30 years of life and I had no idea how it literally sends shocks to your whole body! Wow, what an experience, it totally took my breath a way and I had to lay down because I thought I was going to pass out. Wowzers! My fingers are still tingling as I write this.

Sorry that's all the update I have for right now. We are all doing well, enjoying life and so happy to have the weather cooling off some!

More later....

Cute, cute Caeden

Caeden woke up this morning and came into our room in different clothes than he went to bed in. I asked him if he had wet the bed and he said yes. I said, "ok you are going to need to take your sheets off and put them in the washing machine." Exasperated he said, "mom... I am a boy and you are a grill (girl) you need to do it." I don't know where he got that idea from but I reminded him that daddy does his own laundry and it is more than fine for men to help with laundry. It has had me giggly on and off all day. :)

In addition to being funny Caeden is.....

loving preschool!
looking forward to turning 4 next month.
enjoying having some new friends to play with at school.
cherishing his play time with old friends.
into Star Wars everything!!! He and daddy have watched the trilogy in this last month and every day there are people "dying" in our home and Caeden protects us by getting the bad guys. I am princess leah and caleb plays chewy or an ewok. I must admit in dreaming of being a mom I never saw myself playing Star Wars. I am realizing though that God had us name our son Caeden Marcus Murphy which means Mighty Warrior, Battler, Sea Warrior. Gosh how many people have the same meaning with each of their 3 names, he's got it good. And he is constantly wanting to fight, kill, use swords, guns and light sabers each and every day. I am trying to cherish the moments where it gets to happen in my home while he is young. There is a part of me that cringes for the day that he might really be out there using his mighty warrior giftedness. I must remember that Caeden was made by God and for God. Not me. So I release him back to his Father now and forever, and I thank our Daddy that he promises to never leave us or forsake us. What a great God!

7 months

Caleb ventured into our sand box for the first time today. He was so excited! Sand immediately went into his mouth and everywhere else. It took a very long time to clean the 3 of us off, but I was reminded of the simple joys that can be found in our own backyard.
Ready, set, go.....he is in crawl position, any day now I expect to see him on the move. What a cute tiger he is!!
He loves doing anything he can with his brother and is always happy to smile at the camera. This was a snap shot taken as he and Caeden were playing cowboys. :)
Caleb continues to warm all of our hearts and his latest is to give us kisses and it not only warms our hearts but melts us for sure!!
We love you Caleb! Happy 7 months! Our lives will never be the same!