The thing about moving is....

You realize that as a family unit you have WAY TOO MANY socks. Seriously, how can 5 people have so many pairs of socks??? And how have I not known this until now? Gracious.

One a more serious note.....

I find myself composing this on the eve of our move away from quiet and sweet Demopolis to the embrace of home. Our original home. The place where Jared and I both grew up and the place in which we are excited to be able to raise our own children. But for the last 3 years, we have called this place home. 500 North Main Ave. It has been a wonderfully challenging last three years. We are stronger, wiser, simpler, and bit more calm in general after our time here in lower Alabama. It has been days full of long walks along the river, boat rides on the Tombigbee, adventures in house renovating, and focusing on just family, our little family. We have learned about the quiet things in life that make a day richer and that throwing a rock into water or stopping by the produce stand can be enough to fill a day. It doesn't have to be more. We have had the luxury of just having a singular purpose of raising a family unhurried by distractions that a bigger town has to offer and, at times, it has made me want to pull my hair out. However, I believe that these past 3 years have been a special gift. I would say that it has been marked by some real joys (do you see the 3 precious boys I have?) and then also filled with some real loneliness and struggle. Probably more of the later and so I feel as though tomorrow I will rise and gather my things and head to the Promised Land of home. Will we still struggle and suffer and have challenges to meet and overcome there in Chattanooga, of course. Always as long as we are on this side of Heaven, but I am proud to say that tomorrow I will certainly feel just a bit of pride as I look at how much we have "grown" as a family during this time. 

Thank you Demopolis for the opportunity to do so. 

A dear local artist drew our house for us and dropped it by this afternoon as a going away gift. My eyes filled with tears.

Rock throwing with a tugboat in the distance.

Peaceful.

Fanatical about Hudson

Kingston is obsessed with Hudson. Obsessed. In fact, he is so obsessed that his intense love for his younger brother often gets him in trouble. I mean the babe can only take soooo many kisses, hugs, and cuddles and its usually a good thing to let littlest man breath every second or so. Kingston smothers him with his love. 

I took these yesterday after they had gotten up from their afternoon naps and they were snuggling with each other on the couch. Hudson by the way is about 19 lbs. and 5 months and Kingston is barely 25 lbs and 2 years old. 

Do you see the sheer excitement on Kingston's face below? Every time he sees Hudson, its like he is seeing him for the first time EVER. I love brothers.  

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers that read our blog. 

I feel richly blessed at the close of this day. I love my little brood of chillens. I wish I could go on and on about mothers, and my mother, and Jared's mother, and how I find such joy in being a mother, but alas, I do not have the time tonight. I wonder how many grammar mistakes I just made in that sentence? Oops. 
It has been a busy and hectic day and we didn't really do anything of consequence. I mean, we didn't even make it to church. But that is where we live right now...the most uneventful day, is well, extremely eventful. It is chaos. Wonderful and noisy chaos.

I have a loving mother, a dedicated mother-n-law, and I love learning from both of them on how to be a better mother myself as well as learning from so many of my friends who are young mothers (and seasoned ones too) and especially my lovely sister-n-laws.     

Alder and my Mom laying together on family vacation a couple of years ago.

Yaya and Alder playing and laughing together

Jared and I the night we found out I was pregnant for the first time in the spring of "07 while living In England. We were so elated.

Me with my little one, Conrad Hudson. 

Loving on my little brood of three.

Dreamy. 

Three

How does time go by so stinkin' fast?

Alder just hours old....

became 1 years old...

and then 2 years old...

and now he is 3???

He is so big, so wonderful, articulate, fearless, wild, adventurous, bold, intense, sensitive, and so many other words that I could use to describe one of the best gifts I have ever received in my life. 

Happy Birthday my Alderman Rhys. 

I cannot believe you are 3. 

We are so very proud of you.