stomach flipping moment

you know the kind i'm talking about.  it's that moment of excitement and fear and pure joy all wrapped into one.  i really did fine with carson's graduation from preschool.  didn't shed a tear until i heard them announce his name and saw him jump of the the risers to get his "diploma."  at that moment my stomach flipped.  how is it possible that he is leaving the safe world of preschool and entering "real" school?  time flies.  this is a little video i did just for his graduation day.

may 21, 2012

it's the one day each year that i dread.  it's the day that we said goodbye to our sweet son, Cooper.  i wouldn't trade my two boys that i have now for anything but i would give anything in the world to have it be three boys.  not a second goes by that i don't think what our lives would be like with him here.  five years ago our lives were changed forever and the pain that we felt that day never goes away.  the hole in my heart for him never will get smaller but life goes on and i have two busy boys to keep me occupied, especially on hard days like today.  thank God for them.  funny how that works, i get so angry at God for taking my child too soon but in the same breath i thank him with all my heart for the life we have with our boys now.

so, even though today is a very hard day for me i will celebrate Cooper and the 40 days of life he had here with us.  i will see you again, sweet son!  until then i will squeeze my two that are here with me a little tighter today...

mother's day

i love being a mom to these two little souls.  it's all that i've ever wanted to do and i hope for their sake, i am doing it well.  it hasn't been the easiest road but anything worth while isn't easy, is it? but it has been the best thing i've done and i'm guessing will ever do.  days like this i always feel like something is missing and i know exactly what it is but the two smiles above keep me going strong, even if they don't let me rest.  i wouldn't have it any other way.

birthday pics

some birthday pictures from a few weekends ago.  carson had a great time at his party at catch air in suwanee, buzz lightyear even came to celebrate!  carson is still talking about when buzz came to his party, so sweet!

photo booth fun

the photo booth on my computer offers up so much entertainment for the boys.  they love pressing the button and posing for pictures over and over and over again.  the other day was brooks's turn, i thought they turned out pretty good.  i see that sweet little face and know that we are going to be in some serious trouble soon when the girls start calling....lord help me!

kisses!

love this sweet face

and of course bo wants in on the fun

easter egg hunt pictures

i'm so far behind on some of my pictures and i have been so busy that i haven't had time to sit down and go through them all.  i finally got to look at the pictures from the annual powell family easter egg hunt.  the boys love going every year, which makes it even sadder that this was the last one.  the powell family has decided that this year was the last year for the egg hunt.  sad!  this was carson's 5th powell egg hunt and brooks's 4th, i still get reminded by some old neighborhood friends that brooks was just 5 days old when he made his first appearance at the egg hunt.  how has time gone by so fast?  they did go out with a bang this year with 8000 eggs, the most that we have ever seen.  we got there just in time for the easter bunny to be escorted up on the fire truck and for the hunt to begin.

here comes peter cottontail!

brooks not believing it's the real easter bunny.  side note--the "Os" are in progress of being phased out.  once he turned 3 we told him he is not allowed out of the house with them.  surprisingly, it's not been that bad.  potty training is a different story...anyway, here's the pic...

time for the hunt!

even carson was in to it this year

brooks and andrew collecting eggs.

look at all those eggs!

carson's favorite...jumpy houses!  it was not easy getting them out of this.

hence, the family picture.  it's a beauty.  i literally had to grab brooks out of the jumpy house and drag him away to take the family shot, kicking and screaming.  yes, i was that mom.  poor carson was so sick from his allergies and brooks was coming off a huge sugar rush and was really mad at me for making him get out of the jumpy house.  good times.  

thank you powell family for such amazing memories every easter!

brotherly love

my boys really are the best of friends and as they are getting older it is so much fun to watch them play together and have little conversations.  i love catching them in the act of just hanging out together.

just two dudes, playing with a bubble machine and holding hands

brooks only shares for so long and then he tells carson his turn is over.