My baby is 4...

For a lot of mom's I know, when their baby turns 5 they have a hard time with it, but for me age 4 has proven to be the toughest one...at least when it comes to my baby. You see, we have played a little game with each of our kids where we have teased them, telling them that they cant grow up past the age of 4. 4 years old has been Jay & I's favorite stage with each kid. They aren't quite 5, which seems long gone from the toddler years, and they aren't still in the toddler years! =) They still say and do funny things, funny things that we can laugh at before they start to become concerned that you are laughing at them. You can still cuddle them, kiss their boo boo's, help them get their shoe's on and they will still look at you like you are the one and only "special mommy" in the world. Ive cried the last few days as I feel like a stage in life, that I have loved, is slipping away. I look forward to the life of having older kids, cause they are just such great people, but leaving behind the little people stage is taring at my heart. I knew this day would come and to be honest I looked forward to it in some ways but now that I am here I find myself longing to hold a little baby of my own who only I can know in such a tender way. Jay's pretty sure getting "things" taken care of was a good idea or I may have found myself pregnant again! Ha! He tried to tell me that I had grand babies to look forward to....SILLY MAN! No, actually he has been great through the tears and irrational ideas...like getting a reversal. =)

As many tears as I cried Ty still turned 4....I tried to tell him today that maybe I shouldn't feed him anymore and then he wouldn't grow bigger, but he didn't think that was a good idea cause he loves donuts and is tummy might die if I didn't feed him! SEE! Its why I love 4 year olds but especially why I love Ty Ty!

Born 4 years ago today was my baby...Ty, Ty Ty, Tyger, T-Y or to be official....Tyson Brady Hughes! Happy Birthday little man! You are my sweet brown eyed boy who gives affectionately lots of kisses and hugs and I love you's. Your smile melts my heart, your brown eyes are beautiful, but when you crawl into bed with me in the morning to cuddle me, I know its going to be a good day! I love how you think you play basketball like a big kid, how you like to wear underwear that looks like Jaxon's underwear, how you manage to get Kenna to give you what ever you want and how you and Huddy laugh together when you play. But I especially love that you look just like your daddy!

Tyson,
Since I cant keep you at the age of 4 but for only 1 year, I pray for your future. I pray that you would know Jesus as your Lord and Savior and that you would live your life with a passion for the gospel. I pray that your heart would love others because Jesus first loved you and that you would be used to further God's kingdom. I pray that you will marry a woman who loves Jesus with her whole heart, a woman who wants to stay home and raise your children, a woman who wants to be in the divine role God has given her. That she would be your help-mate and encourage you to be a godly man. I also will pray for the things of today...for you to learn self-control, to speak kindly to others, to put others first. I pray that you would learn to obey mommy & daddy because you want to obey Jesus first. I pray that you will learn from your brothers and your sister that people are different and yet all valuable....and so many other things! I look forward to seeing you grow from a little boy into a "big guy" as you would put it. But no matter how big you get you will always be my baby!

Love,
Mama

It's official! Ty is 4!

Here he is checking out the amazing cake that Heather Crosby made for him. I think he's trying to decide if he should touch it or not....

Isn't this amazing??? Love it!

Playing a little "Super Hero" Musical chairs.

His Super Hero friends that came to celebrate with him!

The next 5 pictures are from the last 4 years, starting with Ty at age 4. He's always kissin' his Mama or his Mama is always kissin' him...

Ty at age 3...Sea World

Age 2

Age 1

5 months old and one of my all time FAVORITE pictures of Ty as a baby.

Fiesta Bowl....didnt really help my chances...

You are probably wondering what I mean when I say the Fiesta Bowl didn't really help my chances....well, it has been an on going "discussion", since Jay and I were married, about how he would love to move to Arizona and how I would NOT! Of course living there has NEVER crossed my mind until we were on the airplane ride down there and I was reading a book. The section I was reading was about husbands loving their wives as much as they love their own bodies (Eph. 5:28) which is such a huge task for husbands if you ask me. The author, formerly from Chicago, moved to AZ for his wife's health. She suffered from arthritis and when they vacationed in AZ she always felt so much better. So he moved them down there, in their retirement years. After reading the inspirational story, I looked over at Jay and smiled, knowing he would do the same for me...and then it hit me! "THAT'S how you're going to get me down there!" I blurted out! He looked at me like a weirdo and said "What?" and then I went on to explain. He just smiled a sly smile and said "Hey, if its what the Lord wants." Of course I laughed but deep down I didn't think it was THAT funny. When we landed in Phoenix, the warmth felt great but the scenery does NOTHING for me. In fact its just so prickly and I do not prefer it. This is where the story gets funny. Jay goes in to get our rental car and comes out with keys to a white Grand Marquis. Do you know what that is? Its the epitome of an old persons car and its ugly! Jay thought it was awesome (goes back to his weird mobster obsessions), but Jaxon and I were looking at him like he was crazy! The back end is as long as the front end and since Jay has a tendency to run into things in his big car, I thought "Oh boy, here we go." We stopped off at Walmart to pick up a few things and I HAD to take a picture of the way he parked the car for the very first time. He was 3 feet OVER the line! Jaxon and I were rollin'! Later Jaxon noticed that on the key chain it said "GRAND MA" (short for Marquis) but we had a hay day with that! The whole weekend we drove around in the GRANDMA! What is even more funny is that we stayed in Sun City which is just rows and rows of condos where the retired people live and so when we were driving in to the sub, we fit in quite nicely! The only other way we could have fit in any better would have been if we would have driven in on a golf cart! =) What wasn't funny was how Jay kept telling me to get use to riding in style cause when WE live here that's what he's gonna drive. =) Not to mention that he said about 25 times in 2 days that he would "love living here". So it really has nothing to do with the Fiesta Bowl, but everything to do with the location of the game. =) It wouldn't be right for me not to give him some attitude about this dream of his but you all know, Id pack my bags and follow him anywhere!

Now, the Fiesta Bowl was an awesome experience! And to just go with Jaxon and Jay was really really fun. Its the first trip alone we have taken with just Jax and it made me realize how quickly he is growing up. On the plane we didn't have seats together and he was more than fine with sitting by someone he didn't know. He could pack and carry his own bag. He read books and didn't ask when we were going to be there. He just enjoyed being with us and we enjoyed being with him! But to be at such a big game like that with our little athlete will be a day I will never forget. Id like to say that he was star struck by the whole weekend, but you all know Id be lying. While I'm jumping up and down in excitement, Jaxon was his normal "steady" self. About the most I got out of him was during the game and even that was just a few high fives! We couldn't be anymore different, but I wouldn't change ANYTHING about him. I just know I'm going to LOVE being the mom of older kids. Jaxon has eased us into it nicely!

PS. You know this was written by a woman cause I didn't even mention anything about the win! Just all relational stuff! HA!

Jay & Jax rollin' in the GRAND MA! Notice the park job!

Heading out to the game! GO BRONCOS!

Mitch & Jaxon's first tailgate party!

Kelli, John, Jay, Heather & Jax...all 11. Must be some Moore fans in the house!

I loved being with my boys!

Check out how close we were to the field! Unbelievable seats! Jaxon got excited about that. Even better John,who is 7'1", sat right behind him so he could stand on the seat to see over the adults standing in front of him!

Final Score: TCU-10, BSU 17!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just love this picture. This group of people are all from our church or at least we know them through church friends. It was so fun to all be in the same section together!

The 3 youngest Hughes stayed with Crosby's and Heather said that the kids kept telling her that they were going to see their mommy, daddy and Jaxon on TV....She was a little worried that they would be upset when they didn't see us, but THEN.....we appeared! They were so excited!

You cant just go home and go to sleep after an adrenalin rush like that! So, we took the boys the In-n-Out for a little Bronco celebration!

Just the 6 of us

In 14 years since Jay and I have been together we have NEVER spent a Christmas with just our little family. As much as we love being with all of the extended family it was time for us to keep it small and intimate. Everything leading up to this day was so memorable for me. It was the first year we actually had time to take the kids shopping so that they could shop for one another. To see them roam the mall in search for the perfect gift for their brothers or sister was so sweet! Then watching them wrap their gifts for each other, then give them to each other was such a blessing to Jay and I. It truly is better to give than to receive and this year our kids experienced that. It also made Jay and I look at each other and say "we need to do this more often". And we will. Christmas Eve day went to lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Costa Vida, then came home and watched the Nativity Story together...the kids LOVED this and want to "watch it together every year" (Kenna). Then we had dinner together, cleaned up and headed to church for a reflective Christmas Eve service. We then headed back home to open our gifts!!! It was such a fun day! Christmas morning we opened our stockings and had breakfast together. Then we hopped in the car and drove to Yakima to spend a few days with my family. We had a great time....unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures...which is weird, I know.

On December first we started reading a story for advent called Jothem's Journey. It is a story about a little boy that gets separated from his family and while he searches for them he encounters the people in the Christmas story and comes to learn about the Messiah. GREAT story! Our kids looked forward to reading this together each night...actually I looked forward to it! We would light the candle on the Advent wreath and cozy up by each other and daddy or I would read our chapter for the night...it was so relaxing! Then we would have wonderful conversations about the story and how to apply the lessons to our lives. It felt like Christmas should....to be focused on Jesus, his coming, his death, and his promise that he will again one day return as our king! What a meaningful month it was for us. I'm already looking forward to next year and I cant say that it has been that way for me....for a while.

Here are some pics from our time together!~

Tyson and all of his pearly whites! My little cheese ball!

Huddy....could those eyes be anymore BeaUtiful??? And I'm diggin the feaux hawk!

Our sweetie heart! Cant believe how old she looks in the picture. =(

Poor Jaxon had a canker sore the size of a quarter inside his top lip....made it hard to smile so I got a "stop making me try to smile, mom" look. =)

Our Christmas Eve Dinner! Yummy!

The Ham that we bough the day before Christmas Eve....not easy to find a ham that late in the month!
Kenna watching the end of the Nativity Story. She was all teary eyed! It was so sweet.

Jay & the cuties!

Mama and her little chicks!

Poor Jaxon just couldn't smile any more...so here are the other 3 hammin' it up!

Christmas Eve reading our Advent story. Ty seems to be paying really close attention. =)

Advent Wreath

Ty & Hudson

Daddy just opened up the present the kids got him...a NEW wallet!

Kenna got some slippers from Jax! She "was totally wanting some just like these!"

Hud & Ty opening up their storm trooper helmets!

"now we're just wike wheel (real) star wars guys, Huddy!" Tyson age 3 1/2

Here is Jax opening up his "big" gift from Jay & I. It was a little box with a BSU Fiesta Bowl T-shirt in it and a ticket to the Fiesta Bowl!!!! But when he ripped the package open the ticket fell on the floor and he didn't even notice...so while we snickered at his excitement over the t-shirt, Kenna pointed out the ticket on the floor. This is the picture of him figuring out that he gets to go with us to the FIESTA BOWL!!!!!!!! GO BSU!

He knew that Jay and were going but we didn't tell him he was going to get to go. NOT ONCE did he ask if he could go so it made giving him the gift even more exciting! When we asked him if he thought we were going to take him he said "no, I thought you would have told me by now". He was AS excited as we have EVER seen Jax!

Looking forward to Jan 4th! Go Broncos....PLEEEEEAAASE make it worth the money we spent!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!

One of our FAVORITE Christmas traditions

If you live in Boise there's no doubt you know of this place. Every year this guy lights his house up for all of Boise to see and every year we drive up Quail hill, park, walk a ways in the snow and marvel at all of the lights...all of his hard work! The kids love it, I love it...even Jay loves it! =) This year we went the night before Christmas Eve and it took us 30 minutes to get up the hill to the house. It was bumper to bumper traffic! But well worth the wait!

Apparently 10 year old boys don't wear pants anymore no matter what the temp!

This year the neighbor next door went all out! I love it! DITTO!

Welcome back???

Facebook has taken over blogging....its sad, I know. This is my attempt at coming back to the bloggers world...we'll see how it goes. Im going to attempt blogging in December...if it doesnt work then I will have to say goodbye to this past time...one that I enjoyed for so long. =) Im just not sure I can keep up with both....plus its a lot of work if no one looks at it! =0)

4th of July!

As you know....I love the 4th of July. It is one of those days that I look forward to all year long. But Ive been thinking a lot about why I love it so much (maybe because of the sermon we had this week) and these are some of my thoughts.

Of course there are the surfacey things that are fun....swimming, basketball, BBQ, potato sack races, dancing and the fireworks...but who we do all of these things with is really why it is fun. I love that we serve a God who has created us to "enjoy" the things He has given us but especially the relationships that He has allowed us to have. What a blessing! But as much as I do enjoy the preparations, the people and falling into bed exhausted there is more to it for me. It is seeing the things that God has given us, be used in a way to encourage others. That might sound strange but this is what I mean by that....when I look at this picture, at the families that are represented here, I see people who love the Lord, people who have loved us, but I also see people who have been through a lot. They have all had pain, struggles, heart aches, and to see them all come together to have fun & enjoy this life God has given us is really special to me. I don't want them to forget their struggles because God truly does grow us through hard times, but to see them be able to enjoy the happiness of life too, is so great! It makes me think about Heaven...how in the presence of Jesus we will have real joy, perfect relationships and fun! The 4th of July is a little piece of Heaven on earth for me and I really do thank the Lord for it. =)

You might be saying "the 4th of July is a holiday to celebrate our country" and that is true! And I so appreciate that the Lord allowed for me and for my children to be born into a country with so many freedoms, but it too makes me long for Heaven...where my one purpose, to worship Jesus, will not be clouded by "American" things. That even as "nice" as being an American is, being in Heaven with Jesus will be.....indescribable! There is always tension on this earth....I am SO thankful to be and American and yet I look forward to being taken from this place that is not my home for eternity. And I am also thankful, like I mentioned up above, for the joy we are able to experience here on earth because they too point my affections heavenward.

Bet you didn't think those were the reasons I love the 4th of July! =)

God's mercy on our little girl.

I know its been a while since this happened but I really wanted to document this. Although it was such a scary and horrible thing that happened we have all come to know the Lord better because of it. To experience His mercy and His grace through an accident like this was....well, I don't even have the words to describe it.

On June 15th, 2009 Kenna had an accident on the diving board that took us to the ER immediately. After being looked at she was moved to the downtown St. Lukes for surgery. She had torn her "girl parts" open and we were unsure of the damage until after the surgery. God was so gracious to give us all female nurses and doctors...all whom were amazing with Kenna. Kenna's anesthesiologist just so happened to be a friend of ours from football...and when I say just so happened I MEAN God ordained it to be that way. It was so comforting to see a familiar face...the face of a friend who would be watching out for Kenna through her surgery. We also found out from the surgeon that Kenna was about a cm away from having a very painful "intimate" relationship with her husband one day and not being able to have kids. Praise God for his goodness! She will have to have to give birth by c-section which she has said is OK since she already knows what it feels like to hurt "down there"...she doesn't want to feel that again! =) Oh the innocence of an 8 year old.

She celebrated her 8th birthday laying in a bed which was slightly depressing to her and to us....UNTIL almost every person she knows and loves showed up with gifts, flowers, balloons and signs! She was showered with love and it was amazing to watch our little girl experience God's love through his people. So thanks to all of you for loving on our little girl...she will NEVER forget this birthday!

When we finally got the OK to go home we gratefully packed up our bags and looked forward to sleeping in our own beds!

Its been 4 weeks since her surgery and I am AMAZED at how quickly she has recovered! Praise God!!! She can do just about everything except ride a bike or jump on the trampoline but just by looking at her and her activity you wouldn't guess she had just went through what she did! For that we are extremely thankful. Through this we learned that we are not in control, only God is and even through hard times he still remains GOOD. He loves us, protects us, showers us with encouragement through his people and gives us joy in the time of trials. Thank you, Lord.

Kenna's wonderful nurse Collette who was with her 3 of the 4 days. And one of her 2 American Girl dolls that she got for her big day!

Kenna talking to Mamo on her birthday.

And this is only one part of the room!

The IV is out and she is ready to go home! So is mommy!