Captain Super Cute

Here he comes to save the day,

Captain Super Cute!
 

He melts hearts, wraps everyone around his little finger, captures your adoration and love like a bandit, and quickly charms his way into your heart with his quick smile and adorable giggle!

Captain Super Cute has learned his trade well, luckily, because along with his ability to win everyone over with his adorable ways, he also has a sense of adventure, some would call it a propensity for destruction!  Captain Super Cute can scale a dishwasher in five seconds flat,  dismantle said dishwasher in the blink of an eye,  and be ready to move on to his next conquest!  He has put paint on the carpet, chunks everything he gets his hands on, pulls hair, bites, squishes banana into the carpet, and giggles all along the way!  Just when you think you might have to squish him, he gets out his bag of tricks, and pulls out one of his signature smiles!

Your heart melts, and you forget all ill will; you just want to scoop him up, and shower his chubby little cheeks with kisses! 

Captain Super Cute strikes again! 

And how does Captain Super Cute react when you ask him about his superpowers; he is evasive of course, denying any trickery!

He simply puts on his shades, looks our way, and says,

"I'm out!"

 

I guess he is off to melt more hearts, and melt he will!

No one can withstand the power of

Captain Super Cute!

Good Things Come to Those That Wait

Did you know that good things come to those that wait?  They do.  Good things also come to those that wait, and hoard money in their jewelry box!  Yes, that would be me!  For the last several months, I have been saving money here and there, money from ebates, money from rebates, and a little money left over from a photography job I had done, waiting for the day I could go to Lowes and get this...

beautiful, satin finish paint! 

What color is it you wonder?

Well, let me show you!

Let's see that a little closer, shall we?!

Beautiful, gorgeous Marigold; I'm in love!!!!

It's going to be perfect, don't you think?

I chose to pull out one of the accent colors on the comforter, you know the comforter of my dreams.  You may remember it from a few months ago, the sad comforter sitting in the corner waiting to be on display; how could I possibly display the comforter of my dreams without the proper surroundings?!  The comforter of my dreams deserves nothing less than the best!

In case you don't remember, here is a picture (courtesy of jcpenney.com).

As you can tell, I am not going the subdued route like they have chosen on this picture (in fact if I can help it, no one will ever see the dull brown stripes on the underside); I want to wake up, look at the walls, and think,

'Yes! It is a bright new day filled with possibilites and wonder!' 

How could I not feel that waking up covered by the comforter of my dreams and looking around at walls bathed in...

 Marigold! 

Happy "Remorial" Day

I think this sweet little thing, may have her holdiays confused.  Why do I say that?  Why am I so sure?  I'm sure for a couple reasons, the first being that I was served breakfast in bed this morning (per Brooke's request), and two, when I was presented my tray of deliciousness, I was also serenaded with the following original song (penned by Brooke of course).

Happy Remorial Day

Happy Remorial Day

I love the great things you do!

(sung with lots of gusto)

Considering the fact that I have never once fought for our country or lost my life doing so, I wouldn't qualify for being immoralized today.  I did put in some time being a Naval Submarine Officer's wife, maybe that would at least get me a wink on Veteran's Day, a big maybe!  

Either way, for now we will let Brooke think it is Remorial Day, thank her profusely for her tender caring heart, her creativity, and her willingness to give to her family.

There will always be time for a history lesson later, but now is not that time.  Now is the time for a lesson in charity, a lesson I think Brooke has learned well!

Birthday Celebration

Here are pictures of our small family celebration for Braden today.  I guess it doesn't pay to have your birthday land on Sunday, especially since Sunday mornings are so crazy in our house; you know, with me being the one who has to get myself and four cuties ready all by myself.  Needless to say, I don't cook on Sunday mornings; you have to settle for cereal or toast, and Braden decided today he wanted neither.  What did he want?  An apple, so I did the only thing I could do; I took a knife, drilled out a little hole in the top and stuck in a candle.  Tonight we had a special dinner requested by Braden, lemon garlic shrimp over pasta with parsley (he told me not to forget the parsley), cupcakes, and the opening of a few presents; he will get the rest this weekend when we have a second celebration at Elizabeth's house.  He, Rich, Brooke, and Emma also played pin on the tail on the donkey; I must say it was an interesting donkey drawn by Rich, and kiss drawings added to the donkey's butt by Braden (it was definitely one of a kind). 

My Sweet Seven Year Old

See this baby,

this adorable, precious baby.

I know I wonder this every year, but how in the world did this baby go from this,

to this,

or this?

Rich and I waited years for this sweet boy; he was and is a true miracle in our lives and an answer to many prayers!  After having two miscarriages and losing Spencer, I began to wonder if I was going to be able to have children in this life.  I had sent off for adoption paperwork and was planning my next move, because I knew I desperately wanted to be a mother; I had dreamed about it since I was a child, and I couldn't imagine letting my dream die that easily!  For those that know me, you know that I have a very determined spirit, and I had my heart set on being a mother!  I had and still have a strong testimony that whether the baby grows beneath your heart or if the child is sent to you through adoption, that baby is meant to be yours! With paperwork in hand, I was all set; Heavenly Father and Rich however had other plans.  Rich asked me to pray about it, because he felt we should try one more time; as I was praying I felt a strong confirmation that we were indeed meant to try again, and I knew that Heavenly Father knew how much I could handle.  I knew and he knew, that if I lost another child, my heart would break; I told Rich I would try again, but that if I lost another child, I wanted to adopt.  Rich agreed, and a few months later I presented this Willow Tree figurine and a positive pregnancy test to my very elated husband.    

During my pregnancy, I had to use a lot of faith, patience, and trust; I had to have faith that Heavenly Father would give me the strength I needed, the patience to endure the pregnancy, and trust in Heavenly Father, that he wouldn't give me more than I could handle.  I can honestly say that I know that Heavenly Father knows and loves each one of us, and that sometimes he allows us to go through trials and hardships to make us stronger, to test our faith, and to help mold us into something that we can't become on our own; losing Spencer and my miscarriages were some of those  hardships.  Heavenly Father also blesses us after the trials of our faith, and seven years ago, he blessed Rich and I with this wonderful miracle.

After Braden was born, everything about life seemed sweeter; he has been both a blessing and a miracle in our lives, and today we celebrated not only his birth but what he means to us.  Our life wouldn't be complete without Braden in it!

The Things Mothers Do for Love

You wait, you plan, you anticipate, and you endure 9 long months to bring this beautiful little miracle into the world; you have dreamed about their sweet little baby smell, kissing their tender cheeks, and wrapping them in a warm blanket and holding them close. You have wondered what their personality is going to be like, how you are going to help mold them into what Heavenly Father hopes for them to be, and you have listened to the barrage of advice you have received (often unsolicited). You think you are well prepared when the baby comes; you have read the books, the nursery is set up and well stocked. You think you are ready for the baby's arrival, but there is one thing you are never ready for, something the books can't truly prepare you for, the immense love that engulfs you, consumes you, completely washes over you, the first time you  look down at your baby's face.

In that one moment, your child captures your heart; you look into their sweet eyes, and you know that you would risk life and limb to protect this child from danger.  You would run into a burning building, scale mountains, cross rivers, and in my case....

...go down the mother of all slides to prove your love!

Yes, that's right folks, I, the one who hates heights with a passion, the one who asked if a crane could come lift her out of her husband's submarine to keep from having to ascend the spiral staircase, the one who refused to even set foot near the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse at Disney, the one who prayed the entire time climbing up the tree in high school (why did we have to do Project Adventure again?!), the one who used to have recurring dreams as a child about falling, and the one who avoids roller coasters like the plague, took on the Mother of all blow up slides.  People, we are not talking small, we are talking 21 feet of blow up slide fear!  Why would I even attempt such a feat of foolishness?  The answer is simple, Braden.

He looked at me with those blue eyes of his and those adorable dimples, and said, "Mama, will you please go down the slide with me?"  Inside, I was thinking, 'Are you nuts?  You want me to do what?  Don't you know I am terrified of heights?!'  Did I say any of this though?  No.  I looked at his hopeful, trusting face, and said, "Yes, I will go down the slide with you, but I sure hope you know how much I love you to do this!  I don't really like heights, but I will do this out of love; we will be brave together!"  (pep talk more for me than him)

Just in case you forgot, here is a picture of the massive slide (picture does not do it justice)!  We're talking  21 feet people!

Well, as the story goes, Braden and I approach the line for the slide, my fear mounting, and pile in with the rest of the anxious children waiting for their turn on the slide of death.  Despite hoping and wishing, we finally reach the front of the line and are informed it is our turn to ascend the mountain of fear.  As we get closer, I frantically realize that the only thing between me and falling are some pathetic (and I do mean pathetic) plastic filled with a dowel maybe 2 to 3 inches wide and some straps to hang onto along the way, and hang on I did!  Most of the children were merely placing their feet on the steps (if you can call them that) and putting their hands on the walls as they ascended.  I thought, 'You know they put these straps here for a reason, and I intend to use them!  I feel no need to look brave!'  So, with my heart racing, my hands tightly grasped around the straps (more like hanging on for dear life), and my feet placed on those pathetic steps, I began my journey of fear.  I was doing fairly well, besides the constant praying, until I made the mistake of looking up; I realized what a terrible mistake that was immediately, when I was consumed with the dreadful feeling that this climb was never going to end!   'I was going to be on this thing forever!!!  Why did I do this again?!  Oh yeah, Braden.  Focus on Braden! Focus on Braden!'  So, that is what I did to help me get to the top; I said things like, "Braden, you can do it!  Keep holding on; we are almost there!" Don't you love how mothers have to fake bravery sometimes?  Well, we finally did get to the top (21 feet later), and I breathed a sigh of relief; that is,until I looked down the slide!  I thought, 'We have to go down there?! Well, we have gotten this far; we can't stop now!'  So, I sat down at the top of the slide, put Braden on my lap, laid back, wrapped my arms around his body, pushed forward, and screamed and slid all the way down!  And what did Braden say when we were done with our ride of terror?

"Mama, I didn't like that; it was scary!"

You think?!

Well, at least he knows he has a mother that loves him, because I am willing to do it all baby:  run into fires, scale mountains, cross rivers, and even take on...

...THE MOTHER OF ALL SLIDES!!!!!  

(all 21 feet of it)

Oh, the things mothers will do for love!

Our Resident Cool Man

Hello, my name is Braden, Mr. Cool to you!

Yeah, that's right, I'm cool!

Need another look? I know, you can't believe how one person can contain so much coolness and studliness in one body, but you see, I can't help it! Being cool is a gift, and baby I've got it!

Now, if you will excuse me, my partner Taylor and I need to go perform; when you are as gifted as I am, you are obligated to share your talent and coolness with the world!

First, we are planning to dance onto the field, and then shake it like nobody's business; they won't know what hit them, and my crazy mama will of course snap pictures like mad! She is my biggest fan after all, and who can blame her?!!!

And what do you give to your biggest fan, a quick wave and a flash of the dimples; oh yeah, I've got her eating out of the palm of my hand!

Long Time, No Blog

I can't believe it has been so long since I sat down at the computer to blog, over a month!  Let's see, what I have been up to in that month plus?  Where do I begin?   

I guess first I should begin where I left off, Emma's 3rd birthday.  Here are pictures of the family Princess Tea Party we had; you can tell she is in absolute heaven.  From the time she woke up until the time she went to bed, she was the Birthday Princess!  We ate off of the girls' tea set, wore ring pops on our fingers, ate finger foods and cupcakes made to look like tea cups filled with pink lemonade (sorry didn't get a decent picture), and we decorated the kitchen with balloons, flower shaped garland, and a vase filled with flowers we had fashioned out of tissue paper.   I decided that just because it was only a family party, it didn't mean I couldn't go all out!  It seems like such a waste to only go above and beyond when you are having invited guests; isn't the birthday girl or boy more important than the guests anyway?! 

Well, next there was Spring Break/Vacation; we drove up to Virginia to see my brother-in-law and sister-in-law John and Ashley.  What made the trip even better was that Rich's parents, Fred and Linda, flew in to Virginia as well.  We spent Friday through Monday in Virginia: going to Jamestown, going to the movies, getting rained out for some plans, getting to see my Uncle David, Aunt Becky, and my handsome cousins, and playing A LOT of Wii!  Tuesday morning we all got up and drove to Myrtle Beach to spend some time at Mama's beach house, and I can't tell you how wonderful it felt to go home!  I am and always will be a Carolina Girl!  While in Myrtle Beach we squeezed in as much fun as we could; we went to Huntington Beach State Park, Broadway at the Beach, Dixie Stampede, and of course I had to hit the outlet stores before heading back (had to pick up a few presents for my little niece due to make her grand appearance next month).  We also spent a lot of time just hanging out, playing games, squeezing in more Wii, and making wonderful memories. 

Okay, now for the rest of the time; we have been busy having our wonderful friends the Eichorns come visit, throwing a Digornio House Party (supplies and pizzas supplied by Digornio), sewing skirts, putting up new playground equipment in our backyard, which the kids call "the park", picking strawberries, coupon clipping, followed by picture taking of all the deals to be had, Easter Egg Hunt attending, celebrating Easter, going to the baby shower for my sister-in-law Amanda, playing referee to four crazy, but cute children, being entertained by the same children and their antics, dealing with all four children getting sick at the same time (we're talking need a trash can close by sick), and all the other day to day comings and goings in the Maseda House. 

Here are just a few of some of the pictures I have taken in the last month (It really is just a few; I take tons of pictures!):