I'm Grateful for 13 years

13 years ago we were so young. We were naive to what being married and being parents meant. But we were so in love and we got married in my parents front room before a lot of family and a few friends. I don't think either of us had any idea what we were in for and what these 13 years would look like. We went from this...

To this...

I really can't believe how fast time flies. On one hand I can't believe it's 13 years already and on the other hand I can't believe it's only been 13 years. He has been by my side through thick and thin (and that includes our waistlines) and we have struggled together through parenthood, lost jobs, lots of moves, many tears, an abundance of laughs, physical pain, and insurmountable joy! And there is no one I would have rather had with me. Since our last anniversary, we were blessed with Samuel, a new job after 7 months unemployed, some serious back troubles again, and a back procedure that may have finally given Ben some relief. There have definitely been some tough moments but also lots of happiness and love. We have much to be grateful for and I can't wait to see where the next anniversary sees us.

Samuel Teddy Bear ~ 10 months

Samuel is 10 months old now. Time is just flying by and we all keep talking about him turning one soon and Soren and I are having the hardest time with it. We want this baby to stay small for forever. 

This was the first picture I took but soon it went to this...

He was not having it this month. But this has been our life. He was a total beast this month while getting his first tooth. Two more teeth are in the works and we're hoping he's not as grumpy with those but so far it's not looking good. He cries every time the kids leave him and go to their room to play or go to bed without him. He crawls everywhere and gets into everything these days. His favorite thing is peek-a-boo and Soren.

These pictures make me get all teary. Soren was playing with his action figures and of course Sam crawled over, but instead of picking up and moving his toys, he handed some to Sam and played with him. It was the sweetest moment between these two brothers. Soren sure does love having a little brother and Sam already adores his older brother. I hope these two stay friends for a really long time.

She turned 11!

My one and only daughter turned 11 this month. This girl is spunky! She is so smart and incredibly talented. Shelby is so helpful and has become such a good big sister, especially to Sam, but she takes care of Soren too. She fights a lot with Stryder and sometimes makes us crazy with her girliness, but I'm so grateful that she is part of our family.

This goofy face loves pandas and mermaids and has become obsessed with Hunger Games. She's read all three books and we are working on seeing all the movies.

For her birthday she got her ears pierced again. She had them done when she was 6 months old but sometime around 4 or 5 years old they got infected and kind of closed up. I probably could have tortured her and forced an earring through the holes but we chose to go with a less painful way and just re-do them. She was so brave and thought it was going to hurt way more than it actually did.

She found out a few days before her birthday, that she had got the part of Miss Hannigan. We are so excited for her and can't wait to see her sing and dance.