Happy Birthday Carson!

I can't believe my baby is NINE! Where has the time gone? Look at him~he is so handsome and as I look at him my heart is so full. Words don't give justice to how much I love this little man!  I remember when over nine years ago I had a very distinct impression there was one more child waiting to come to our family...it would be a boy...and he would be the last. It was a sense of urgency almost...like I had already wasted enough time. It's crazy to look back now and see the Lords hand in my life and how important it was for Carson to join our family! How blessed we all are to have his sweet and tender spirit in our home and in our lives~

For his party I copied my cousins great idea~LEGOS~ Carson has so many favorite things he likes to do and building with legos is one of them. We had fun decorating cupcakes (Thanks Am for the candies) and decorating the house in bright colors.  

The boys spent most of the time creating and building with the legos. We even had contests with prizes for the most extreme and silly creations. They seemed to have a lot of fun. I must say this was one of the easiest parties we've ever had. They are a fun group of boys...

After opening presents the boys went outside and played wall ball. 

Elder Randall...this one is for you!

Carson has been asking to get a dog for his birthday ever since we gave Duke away. So I thought it would be funny to give him a dog...on the Wii...the best kind of pet for us :) He wasn't too sure about that. Afterwords he told me he was a little disappointed it wasn't a real dog. Oops~ 

 We topped his birthday off with a family dinner at his favorite restaraunt...Applebees.

Here's to you Carson~ We love you~

FALL~

I love the trees in our yard. We moved to an area where we are surrounded by trees. I enjoy listening to the birds in the morning/night and the feel of the cool air. For so many years we lived in newer neighborhoods with hardly any trees. I do enjoy where we live~ It was beautiful to watch the leaves change color in our own yard and neighborhood. Anna waited anxiously for the day she could go out and rake up the leaves. One day last week she was out before I even got home, raking up piles of leaves....it was perfect timing because within minutes a huge gust of wind came and blew the leaves off of the trees and ground. It looked like a leaf tornado!! It was incredible! So Maddy, Carson and Anna and a few of their friends went up and down the street playing and raking up the leaves.

I was so proud of my children when the following days they helped an elderly sister in our ward rake the leaves in her yard. Many hands make light work. Good thing they enjoy this new found excitement....not sure how long that will last!