Christmas Morning

I was really surprised that Jacoby slept in until 8 but I was not complaining!  When he did wake up though he had a really hard time waiting for me to go down the stairs to get the camera ready.  He was so excited that he got the blue scooter from Santa that he wanted.  Jace got a red bike and was so proud of himself when one of us pushed him around.  We also gave Jacoby a circuit set and we played with that thing for hours all day.  We spent the day in our jammies playing with our new toys.  We continued our tradition of having Italian food for Christmas dinner and a steam pot on Christmas Eve.  It was so fun to be home and their were so many times that we looked at each other and said that this was the best idea ever.

Christmas Eve

Oh how I love these pictures!  I was so excited about how they turned out!! 
We decided to stay home this year for Christmas and just be with our little family.  It was the best decision and I am so glad we did.  We made wonderful memories and it was fun to be in our house Christmas morning.  Christmas eve we read the pajama elf book and just as we got done reading it there was a knock on the door with a special delivery of jammies for the boys.  We watched the boys play with the lights and check out the presents.  Jace rearranged the Christmas tree and the boys danced to the Christmas music and I was able to get these great shots.  We put out a snack for Santa and said good bye to our elf Blue.  We also read our last scriptures for the Christmas count down.  It was a great evening!

Christmas Ties

My mom sent these adorable ties to the boys for Christmas and they looked so cute all decked out in their Christmas outfits.  I had on a blue skirt as well so we even matched.  Jarod went to an Indiana basketball game that day so it was just me and the boys.

Med scripture

I prayed today that I would be lead to a scripture that He wanted me to read.  The Bible fell open to this, Genesis 50:20
But as for you, ye thought evil unto me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
20- Now therefore fear ye not; I will nourish you, and your little ones.

I don't think it was coincidence that I started my meditation angry at Mary.  I ended it in a much better place and was reminded that even if evil is done unto me, it is a lesson that I need to learn in order to become the person that God wants me to be.  I am right where I need to be and "it is this day".  He will nourish me and my children and as long as I do what He would have me do I do not need to fear or be angry.  He will provide a way.

Meditation scriptures

I am on day 22 of my 40 day meditation and every day before I close my meditation I read my scriptures.  Some times I read about a topic and other times I just let my scriptures fall open and read whatever page it lands on.  The three times I have done this I have been blown away by the scriptures I have been lead to.  I didn't want to forget them and since this is my brain, here they are.

Psalms 1:2-3
But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

2 Peter 3:18 I have been lead to this one twice
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To him be glory both now and forever, amen.

1 Peter 2: 9
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness in to his marvelous light.

The last one was a specific answer to my prayer the last few days.  I felt inspired to volunteer to teach a meditation class to the people in my ward, which was really scary for me.  Funny thing was they had prayed that they could find a way to teach the women balance and they came to me earlier this week and told me that they thought this was the answer to their prayer.  I have been praying and pondering how meditation has helped me so that I was confident I was teaching some thing the Lord would want me to teach.  I have been afraid of what some of them would think of me and today I know that I have to teach them what brought me out of my darkness even if they find me peculiar because we are a chosen generation and a peculiar one.

Pirate Birthday Party

We went on a pirate treasure hunt a few weeks before and after that Jacoby knew exactly what kind of party he wanted to have.  The day of the party ended up being really crazy.  Cincinnati was going to get a huge storm so all of the schools were cancelled and they told every one to stay home.  In order to beat the storm and since all of his friends were out of school we decided that morning to have it that morning.  We were lucky every one was able to come and help us celebrate our amazing boy! 
Melissa came and took the kids on a pirate treasure hunt where they had to learn pirate skills.  After they passed their test they got a pirate sword or patch or something pirate related.  It was really fun and the last thing they had to find was the treasure and it was hidden in a pirate ship pinata. 
Jacoby had a blast with all of his friends.  We gave him a pirate costume and pirate legos.  He gave me his meanest pirate face for a few pictures.

Jacoby's 5th Birthday!!

 Oh my you cannot be 5!!  5 was a big one for your Mama!  We had the best day to celebrate you!  Daddy took the day off and we went to an indoor play place.  We played and played.

 You showed Daddy all the ropes and took us both down some really fast slides. 

 Then we went to your favorite lunch place Chipotle for a pulled pork burrito.  Your favorite.

 Then that night for dinner you got to choose any where you wanted to go and no surprise to us you chose to go for sushi.  You were all excited to get dressed up and go on a date with us.  You love your sushi!

 I had you pose for some big five year old pictures and this is what you come up with.

 I am really not sure what the scrubber brush is for but I think it was your sword for the moment.

 You wanted grasshopper pie for dessert so that is what you got!  We let you plan your whole day and you loved every second of it.  You thought for a long time on what you wanted to do and I hope that it was everything that you wanted it to be!

My sweet, sweet boy!  You and your brother are my greatest gifts!  I thank my Heavenly Father numerous times a day that I get to be your Mama and stay home with you.  The last 5 years of my life have been incredible because of you and there are no words for me to tell you how much I love you and how much you mean to me.  I hope that you feel it!  I hope you see the love I have for you when I look at you!  Thank you for being my son.  Thank you for teaching me so much about myself and about life and most of all thank you for loving me so unconditionally!  There is not a day that goes by that you do not wrap your arms around me and kiss me numerous times through out the day and tell me how much you love me and I love you too buddy so very much!!