Come to the Well/3K Open House

Last night we went to the Casting Crowns/Francesca Battistelli concert and let me just say, it was phenomenal! Seriously, it rocked my socks off.

I already loved Francesca Battistelli long before the concert. I bought her My Paper Heart album and loved it! She seems so down to earth. I did a little research on her while she was performing and we're only like 2 weeks apart in age! Plus we have children that are only about 6 months apart.

We were so close to the stage! We had awesome seats (thanks to my mom for scoring those!) This is a picture from my Iphone that is not zoomed in at all:

I LOVE Casting Crowns. They are so talented and I've never heard a song from them I didn't like.

This was my first Crowns concert, unlike the rest of my family who had seen them at least once. I already knew that he was a youth pastor, but he said they are all very involved in their churches so they are home Sunday through Wednesday so they can be at their home churches and they only travel Thursday through Saturday. How awesome is that?

They sang their new song, Thrive. I think I hard that a new CD comes out in January. Can't wait!

I thoroughly enjoyed my evening, except for not getting into bed until about midnight, and cannot wait to go to another Casting Crowns concert.

By the way, if you look back at the pictures, you'll notice my sister has a purple contraption hanging from her neck. While she may look 26, she's really 75 at heart. Every time I've seen her outside this summer, she's had that fan hanging from her neck fanning herself with it. Hey, I'm sure she was more comfortable than we were! :)

As I mentioned, last night was also 3K Open House and I had to miss it! I gave Tyler strict instructions on everything to do, even down to what I wanted Brayden to wear. I also instructed him to send me a picture. When I got this one, I got a little freaked out:

I just knew that he was sad and upset that I wasn't there and anxious about meeting his new teacher and it was killing me!

Then he sent me this one and I felt much better:

He starts school Tuesday and I can't believe next year will be his last year before kindergarten. I am definitely ready to get back into a routine though!

Mid-Week Randoms

I'm linking up with Megan again for Mid-Week Randoms.

1. I found this on Pinterest the other night about introverts. It describes me perfectly. I consider this blog a Catch 22 - I can express myself without having to worry about people looking at me and being the center of attention, but it's also very hard for me to put myself out there like this. Anyway, I am 110% introverted!

2. My sister loves to go to yard sales & she finds really good stuff. She got an entire box full of Fall clothes for Bray for only $15! I mean, check out all of the clothes:

My sister really does make my life so much easier and I hardly ever give her credit for it. She pretty much always takes my child to get his hair cut when he needs it. She keeps him stocked up on clothes that fit him; like seriously, I don't think I've bought him more than 5 pieces of clothing in his life. She keeps him any time I need her to after she's spent 10 hours a day with him 5 days a week. She's a lifesaver for this working mom!

3. You know that estate sale I mentioned in this post? Well, I racked up on some gently used household items. I got some new sheets for my bed and a couple of lamps for my living room. Previously I had a standing lamp that had lost its lamp shade many moons ago. It's amazing how much more homey my living room looks with these new lamps! It's like a new room and I love being in there!

4. I just found out I'm taking a beach trip with these 2 cuties!

We're not going until October, but I am so excited! Brayden is beyond excited. I know it will be such a fun time!

5. Tomorrow is the Casting Crowns concert & Brayden's open house for his new year of school!

Happy Hump Day Friends!

BDO (Boy's Day Out)

Saturday I helped some family friends get a house ready for an estate sale so Tyler was on daddy duty all day. He decided to take Brayden hiking at a state park that was close by and they had a great time together. I'm glad they finally got to spend some time just the 2 of them. I hope they end up being the best of friends. First, they stopped and got some lunch and Brayden got a cookie!

Then, they went and hiked up the mountain to see a waterfall. According to Tyler, Brayden did so good! There were some steep portions of the trail, but he never asked to be held. Also, to give you a glimpse of real life, those clothes actually served as his pajamas the night before. He wears his clothes that get too small as pajamas. Tyler said he couldn't find any of his other clothes, so he just took him in that! Ah, men! In his defense, though, I don't think any of his clothes were actually clean. :)


Seriously, why does my child smile like this?!

Saturday evening we went to get groceries. After grocery shopping, we decided it was too late to try to get home and cook so we made a stop by Cracker Barrel to eat.

Yes, that's the Cracker Barrel game on his head

 

On Friday, Brooke texted me a video and said Brayden and Bentley had been doing this all day. The funniest part of it is at the beginning when Bentley talks. She has just started talking so of course we think everything she says is hilarious. To translate: she says "Bray, hold me?" Brooke said Brayden finally said "I can't hold you all day Bent, you're too heavy!" I love those 2 kids!

 

We had a great weekend! Hope you did too!



Bentley Grace

Brooke and her family recently went to the beach. When I borrowed her memory card to get those pictures from Brayden's party, I found some pictures of Bentley on the beach and laughed so hard. That girl has so many faces.

The I'll Cooperate For Now Face

She is full of personality and has no problem letting you know how she feels about anything.

The I'm Not Happy About This Face

Followed by:



The Now I'm MAD Face

 

If she loves you, she LOVES you - this would apply to her Mom & Nana. If she doesn't LOVE you then she could take you or leave you so I get this face a lot:

The You Get On My Nerves Face

 

So then I start to annoy her because for some reason I think that'll make her like me and then I get this:

The You Better Leave Me Alone Face

 

I've finally accepted the fact that she's never going to get too excited to see me or choose me to be the one who gets to hold her. Of course, I still love her more than words can say.

The Normal Face

 

I love this sweet girl so much and I'm so glad we live close to each other so I can watch her grow up. Who knows, maybe one day when she gets older she'll like me! :)

The Mommy, You Hung The Moon Face









5 on Friday



 

 



 

 

 

 



I'm linking up with Darci, Christina, Natasha, and April for 5 on Friday. This is such a fun linkup that so many people participate in so click on the button and go read some of the blogs that linked up!

1. I'm pretty sure I've found the planner I want for next year. Don't hate, I'm a planner (haha, pun intended) and I know it's early but I need to be prepared so I can order it in a few months. Molly at Duchess of Fork posted a picture on Instagram of her planner and I loved it. She commented that it was from Plum Paper on Etsy so you better believe I looked them up. They have so many cute planners! I love the Fitness Planner because it still has the monthly view that I like but then it has each week broken out so I can record my calories and workout information. Perfect! I can't wait to order it!

2. My work friend Nena is currently battling breast cancer and she is going through chemo treatments right now. Everyone at work is wearing pink bracelets to support her until she is done. Her little boy is the same age as Brayden and was in his preschool class last year so Brayden knows why I wear the bracelet. A couple of days ago, he asked me if his friend's (not using his name for privacy purposes) mommy was still sick and I said she was and that she hadn't been at work that day because she didn't feel good. He said "Let's pray for her. Close your eyes and put your head down." I was driving at the time so I just leaned my head forward so he would think I had my eyes closed. He said "Dear God, thank you for helping my friend's mommy feel better. I love her to the moon." Y'all, I was stunned. Not because he wanted to pray for her (although I was very happy about that), but because he doesn't really know her and has only seen her a handful of times and yet he still said he loves her. This is what God wants us to be like. Whether we don't know someone at all or know them fairly well and don't really like them, he wants us to love everyone. My sweet 3 year old has empathy and compassion for his friend because he has a sick mommy. I was so proud of him in that moment and pray so hard for God to continue that spirit of empathy and compassion in him as he gets older.

3. I am so excited to be going to a Casting Crowns/Francesca Battistelli concert Thursday! I love them both so I know it will be loads of fun.

4. Brayden starts 3K a week from Tuesday. He has open house the same night of the concert and I am so upset I'm going to miss it. His daddy is going to take him, but it is seriously killing me inside that I can't go. I hate missing anything and I want him to grow up knowing that his parents will always be there to support him.

5. My husband has recently told me that he thinks my blog is too boring! I can always rely on him to be brutally honest with me. And I do mean brutally! Please give me suggestions of what I could do to make it more interesting or anything you'd like to see me blog about.

Have a great weekend friends!

Brayden is 3!

I realized yesterday that not only did I not blog about his party, I didn't even blog about his actual birthday, which was May 8th! Seeing as how I do this blog so I can print it into a book and have it to look back on, I figured I better get on that!

Since his party was the Saturday before his birthday, we had to do something on his actual birthday to celebrate. I take the day off every year on his birthday because one day he'll be in school and won't be able to do something fun on that day so I'm savoring these moments while I have them. We took him to Chuck E Cheese's for the first time on his 2nd birthday so he wanted to go there again on his 3rd birthday. Luckily, he now thinks we only go there for his birthday. :) Brooke and Bentley and Nana went with us and we had the best day.

Riding the carousel!

The monster truck was their favorite ride, but they were too scared to ride it by themselves because it was pretty rough so Nana or Brooke rode it with them.

Brayden Thomas Hutton,

How in the world are you already 3 years old?! You make me happier than any other thing on this Earth. You are the funniest kid ever and you are so smart. You use phrases and sentences that I'm pretty sure most 3 year olds wouldn't know how to use. You have finally gotten more independent and like to do things on your own, especially use the potty. You are completely potty trained after a slight relapse over the summer. You are so sweet, compassionate, and caring. You take your job of oldest cousin very seriously and are constantly making sure Bentley doesn't go anywhere or do anything she's not supposed to. You have a short temper like your mama and get pretty frustrated when things don't go your way. You are so loving, always touching me and telling me how much you love me, usually by saying "I love you to Jupiter" or "I love you to the moon". You are a huge mama's boy and think I am the only one who can fix you a drink, give you a bath, put you to bed, etc. Sometimes that gets to me, but then I remember how fleeting the years are where you think I hung the moon. I love you so much, precious boy. You make my life worth living!

Brayden's 3rd Birthday Party

Now that Brayden has been 3 for over 3 months, I figured it was time to do a post about his birthday party. Better late than never, don't ya think? :)

The party was a John Deere theme.

The party was held at my brother-in-law's dad's barn and it was the perfect location.

The craziest thing about the party was the weather. It was held in early May and it was freezing outside! It was rainy and so breezy when we were setting up that stuff kept blowing off the tables. I was a little nervous about how I was going to pull off an outside party in that weather. However, right at 2:00 when the party started, the sun came out and the breeze died down and it was somewhat comfortable. I never imagined I would have that problem when planning the party!

Here are the food tables:

 

We had the potato patch, pig pen, apple orchard, hay bales, and tractor tires.

 

The cake table:

The cake was made by the Kearleys that work with my mom.

 

The watering trough (drink area):

We had lots of fun farm/tractor activities:

Any of the kids who wanted to got to take a horse ride. Of course, the birthday boy was up first!

He's so lucky to have such a fun aunt who is pretty much his 2nd mom.

 

Uncle Danson took them all on a hayride:

Then we sang Happy Birthday and blew out the candles:

Pretty much all of his good friends (and mine!) were there:

He ended the party by playing on the tractor and letting all the balloons go:

Our sweet family of 3:

He had such a great time at his birthday party. It was so much fun!

 

Tomorrow I'll blog about his actual birthday!