Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to us!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Happy Anniversary dear Cameron and Keri!

Happy Anniversary to us!

8 years ago yesterday we were married. Committing ourselves to each other and a lifetime of wedded bliss. Last night we got mom to watch the kids and we headed out to dinner alone!!!! One of the conversation topics was our wedding. Cameron's favorite part was the atmosphere and that it was very relaxed. My favorite part was that it was very sentimental and personal. I spent a lot of time on details so that for the most part it wasn't just like Joe Schmo's wedding down the street. I think I pulled it off.

I have scanned a few of my favorite pictures. I would love to show off our entire album but something in me screams BORING!! HA. You can thank me later for sparing you all.

Cameron and I were so intent on listening to Ben and what he had to say. It was incredibly special that Ben Mereness married us. He really personalized the ceremony to fit us and our families.

Love, Love, Love my dress! It was a perfect fit and so fun. I can't fit into it anymore (sigh) but I hope that Gracelyn will wear on her wedding day.

This shows off our beautiful cake. No one got to see us cut the cake. As much detail as I put into the planning I didn't count on the fact that the facility that we had the reception at wouldn't have a big enough area for people to actually watch us cut the cake, drink punch and such. Oh well. It sure was pretty!

Married with the most gorgeous sunset behind us. It had been overcast with a HUGE chance for rain all day but God smiled upon us and kept the rain away. It ended up being very muggy but so beautiful.

The most important thing that I have learned after 8 years is that I am more in love with my husband today that I was on our wedding day and I never thought that could be possible.

Love ya Cam!

Day by Day

Just taking life day by day. Nothing exciting going on, nothing out of the ordinary, just everyday life. I don't have any new pictures to post of my kids. I don't have any stories of the latest things they are doing. I don't have big news to report. Just life. Any boy, is it GRAND.

Love you all!
Keri

Baby Dedication

Sunday we had our annual baby dedication. There were 12 babies there. WOW!!! For such a small church we were busy. :) It was a great time for our ENTIRE family. Along with Mason and Bella, Kayzlee, Shyla and Aaron's daughter, was there. It was so neat to get to go down front and be prayed over. Very special indeed!

Not only was it special for our family but there were many friends with babies there as well. Mason will have so many friends to grow up with. One particular baby is 3 weeks younger than Mason. Jill and I had the same due date. It was so fun to be pregnant with her at the same time. Although she was having their first baby girl and we were working on number 3 it was nice to do it with someone so precious as Jill. We always joke about Alexis and Mason being boyfriend/girlfriend but I know if Steve is like Cameron then Alexis won't be dating until she is 30. That's okay because Mason should be getting out of medical school about then...

Aaron, Shyla, Kayzlee, Kassie, Bella, Me, Mason, Cameron & Cannon

Family picture

Mason's girlfriend Alexis and her sweet momma Jill~love, love, love those bows!!!

You can really see Mason's red hair! :) YEAH!!!

Graduation and Bunko

Thursday night Gracelyn graduated from pre-k. She was on cloud nine and thought she was hot stuff. :) It was a very sweet ceremony for the kids. The slide show was so neat. We had a fun time. I have a 1/2 day work day on Tuesday and then we are finished!! :) WAHOO. I am so ready for summer break. I always am...
On Friday night we had Bunko at my house and it was so fun. Cameron was out of town so my kids were here with me and they did great. Mason was the life of the party. My friend Michelle held him while she played most of the night. In our group if you get a bunko you have to wear a feather boa until the next person gets one and who ever has it at the end gets a prize ~Mason wore the boa and laughed when Michelle got her bunko. He is such a ham.

Tonight Mason made the news. I wish I had taken pictures of the boys before we left the house but my battery was dead. :( We went to the FREE Dillas baseball game and the news was filming right beside us for the sports segment. The camera man came over and asked if he could shoot Mason because he was soooooo cute!! :) He had on a baseball jersey that matched Cannon's. When we got home we recorded the sports and watched it over and over. I think he was on TV for about 5-7 seconds. HA!!! He is famous. I think we will be having to fight off the offers for baby ads soon because of all his exposure tonight.

I will post about baby dedication later when I get the pictures off the camera. Remember the batteries died!!! It was a very special Sunday for our entire family.

Week in pictures

Mason~3 months

Papa Sam's 80th birthday party
The sign that Nese made for the yard
Papa Sam reuses everything!!! Can you see what is holding the trash bag on the can?
Boppy and Cannon at the circus
Aren't we cute?
Nana and Keely ~Who by the way is 9 years old today!! :)
Tyler
Sorry the picture is so blurry~Maggie
Marlee sleeping
Tomorrow my little girl will be graduating from Pre-K. WOW!! :) It is a fun ceremony for them but I know that I will be crying because of the special slide show they have put together. After that on to bigger and better things like 13 years of "real" school.

Mothering

When I signed up to be a mother no one said anything about all the bonuses!!!

Here they are in no particular order...
1. When you tell Gracelyn you love her she says as fast as she can, "I love you more!" Sometimes she will throw in "I love you the most!" AWWWW...
2. When Cannon gets in trouble he can't hardly stand for you to put him the corner or spank him. Don't worry we follow through but as soon as he is out of "trouble" he wants to sit in your lap until he knows for sure that everything is okay.
3. Mason is going through a phase where he wants to be held to go to sleep. Well that is not the "right" way according to all the books. Tell him that when he is fussy and just wants to be picked up. One time around the living room and he is out. (BTW~he is still sleeping in the living room) I love that to death about him. I think he knows that mommy really wants to hold him all the time but physically can't so it is his way of indulging me a little.
4. I have been blessed enough to get all 3 kids on the same nap schedule M, W, F and Sunday. On those 4 days I lay down with Gracelyn for the first part and we tell stories to each other. She always wants to hear about the day she was born. I get to tell her how excited we were that she was finally coming and what she looked like. Her stories are about what it will be like when she is a mommy and what she will do with her daughter. Oh I love that plan for our family...
5. Cannon wakes up so happy and he wants to be held for a while before he actually is alert. That is the best cuddle time.
6. Mason's grin can light up a room. Other people can get him going but I have never seen a bigger smile than when I am talking to him. Yes I know that others have claimed the first laugh and I let them think that but really Mason and I know the truth. He saves the best for me.
7. Gracelyn is such a big helper with the boys. She doesn't complain for the most part and really helps out but the other day she looked at me so plainly and said "Can't I just be Gracelyn and not the big sister sometimes?" Fortunately those words aren't spoken often but it does remind me that she is still a little girl and not just the big sister. I have to remind her that she is my only girl and that we get to do special stuff boys can't do so that perks her right up.
8. Even though Cannon's head is hard as a brick hitting it on a brick does hurt. I love when he is hurt he comes up and lays his head on my shoulder while rubbing the aching spot and says ow, ow, ow.
9. Mason is sleeping all night and has for a 2 weeks now. When he wakes up he is so hungry that I can't hardly get situated without him having a meltdown. But as he is eating you can see his little corners of his mouth turn up in a smile like he knew I wasn't going to let him down.
10. Cannon says "Wuv you" Cannon's speech has been slow to come for him. He jabbers non-stop 24/7 but actual words are not at prevalent. I know there is no reason to worry and I don't for the most part but when he does start putting words together I rejoice. I think he is brilliant! (Spoken like a true mom)

Hope you all had a fabulous Mother's Day! I sure did. I got to spend it with my own mom at the circus. All the grand kids, kids, and spouses went with mom and dad to the circus on Sunday. It was so fun. It was worth every penny to hear Gracelyn's comments about it all. Cannon sat on either my dad or Cameron's lap the entire time in awe.

31!

Last year I gathered with some girlfriends and went out to dinner followed by hours of conversation at Starbucks. I never thought twice about turning 30. Glad to do it actually. I was so happy with where I had been and where I was going. I was content.

Let's just say that this year is not the same. I am still happy in my life and family. We are doing wonderful. But I just wish I was doing wonderful at 30. Not 31. UGH!!! I got a call from the insurance lady the other day. Rates are increasing because I am in a new bracket. (The old people bracket.) They think I will start giving out and require more maintenance I guess.

I have no idea why turning 30 was fun but I had a feeling of finally arriving at the point of adulthood. You would have thought college, marriage, 2 kids all before the age of 30 would make you an adult but I felt that 30 was the magic number.

This is also sad because I love birthdays!!! Especially mine!

I don't know what Cameron has planned but if you remember from a previous post his birthday present was me being in the hospital but eventually getting his Mustang. Hmmmm... Wonder if I can expect the same monetary value for my birthday? How shallow does that sound? I know pretty shallow. A girl can dream can't she?

Botanical Gardens

Tuesday we went to the Botanical Gardens. It was fun and the plants/flowers were beautiful. There was a parrot named Cracker and he/she talked and squawked at the kids. We have 3 more days of school and then summer break. WAHOO

Sweet kisses from Gracie.

Cracker~She/He was a beautiful parrot

Love, Love, Love this picture!

Cannon has come up with hitting you if he is frustrated and you aren't doing what he wants. Sadly to say that is pretty much all the time. But he is getting better I think. Cannon is just a hard-headed little boy but thankfully his momma is tough as nails when it comes to time-outs. It really is funny some days when he has to go to time-out and how many times I have to take him back to the corner within 2 minutes.

Time-out corner

I swear every time I think there can't be another marker in the house Cannon while find one and go to town marking all over himself. Rarely does he mark on anything but himself. He was so upset when I found him in the kitchen. Most of it was washable except for the purple on his tummy. 3 days later and it is still there.

Walk to Emmaus

My mom left today for her walk. I am so proud of her and her personal walk with the Lord and I am hoping she is enjoying her time away. Say a special prayer of peace for her for the next 3 days.

Short and Sweet

Blogger seems slow today so this will be short and sweet.

This weekend I went on a Ladies Retreat with my church. It was in Edmond, OK and we had a wonderful time. Sleeping little and laughing lots all while eating good food and enjoying great company. It was a great time to reconnect with women in our church and get away from the family and responsibilities. Mason went with me but he doesn't protest what he is getting for dinner nor cry at bedtime either so I was happy for him to go with me.

Enjoy your Monday!! :)