Kelly's Weekend!

What a fun weekend I had! It was my sister-to-be's big weekend, and I was honored to be a part of it! It started on Saturday with Kelly (my brother's fiance) and I having fun playing with make-up! I am doing Kelly's make-up for her wedding day, and we had fun just playing with make-up and chatting. I was having so much fun, I lost track of time and almost made us late to the Reds game, which is where we started the night for her bachelorette party. When we got to the stadium, it was raining, but by the time we made it to our seats, the rain had stopped and it was actually sunny out! I hadn't been to a Reds game in years, and I loved every minute of it (it helped that they won, beat the St. Louis Cardinals, yay!). After the game, we walked over to Newport on the Levee, ate dinner at Dewey's Pizza, then danced the night away at Arnie's. On Sunday, was Kelly's bridal shower, and it was a blast too! Mamaw and Papaw Kinsel were nice enough to watch the boys for me overnight Saturday and all day Sunday, so I basically had a weekend away. It was a much-needed break for me, and the first time I have ever slept in since having Tyson almost three years ago! Leaving the boys just one night made me miss them so bad, and I was anxious to get back to them after the shower on Sunday! But the weekend was so fun, it just made me look forward to the wedding day that much more!! Kelly, I hope you had as much as I did! Love you!

Kelly (the bride) and Karianne (the matron of honor)

The whole group of gals after the Reds kicked some Cardinal booty!

The bride and her bridesmaids at Dewey's Pizza

Getting ready to shake our groove thangs at Arnie's

My sister, Mom, and Me

Kelly's mom made this picture (of her new last name). It's really cool!

Her shower was a "cooking/kitchen theme," and Karianne (her matron of honor) made this cute cake

Of course it wouldn't be a proper post without pics of the boys!

Caellum

Ty

On the way to Cincinnati, I stopped at Starbucks and got them each a cookie...had no idea they were going to be the size of their heads! Ty ate the entire cookie! And Caellum, well he wore the entire cookie! Geez! :-)

Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the awesome mommies out there!!!

Becoming a mom has been, by far, one of the greatest blessings in my life. It has definitely been the most life-changing experience of my life! Even though Josh wasn't here today, he definitely made me feel awfully special by sending me a beautiful Pandora bracelet, on it, a mom charm, and two adorable little boy charms representing our gorgeous little guys! Today at church I was overcome with emotion...a mix of missing Josh terribly, but also realizing how incredibly blessed I am to have an amazing, loving, caring husband, and two beautiful, healthy little boys who enrich our lives so much! Thank you, Lord, for fulffilling my dream of becoming a mommy, for giving me my best friend and soulmate to father our children, and for our precious baby boys who we love so much!

And none of this would have been possible for Josh and I without our own mamas...now known as Mamaw and Meemaw! We love you, Moms! Happy Mother's Day!!

Me and the boys

Mamaw (Josh's mom) with two of her four grandchildren

Meemaw (My mom) with all four of her grandkids

A Post of Mixed Emotions

Well, I have a lot to post about today, and a variety of mixed emotions about this post. First off, I would like to ask for prayers for my dear friends, the Oblinger family. They are experiencing so much pain and suffering having lost two of their four children in the past six years. I cannot even fathom what it must be like to lose a child, let alone two children in 6 years. My dear childhood friend, Keith, passed away in 2005, and his younger brother, Kurt, (who had a heart transplant the same year Keith passed) just passed away last week, on Easter Sunday. The Oblingers are amazing people, some of the sweetest, most caring I have ever known, and I ask that you please remember them in your prayers. Thank you.

Sorry to start off this post with such depressing news, but the Oblingers need all the prayers they can get during this difficult time!

Moving on, I have to brag on my amazing husband! He got promoted today, and I am so incredibly proud of him! Josh is now a Captain! For those of you unfamiliar with the military, this is a big promotion for him. We knew he was going to get promoted while he was in Afghanistan, and I am so bummed to have missed such an important promotion ceremony. Josh being the thoughtful and loving husband he is, made sure to video it for the boys and I, so we could see it too! I cannot explain how proud I am of Josh. I am so incredibly blessed to have married not only my best friend and soulmate, but my hero. A man who is willing to sacrafice everything for his God, his family, and his country. He is an incredible soldier, and leader. He is so deserving, and will make a fantastic captain! Congratulations, Josh! We love you so much!!

I will end this post with some pics from Easter. We missed Josh badly, but were able to be surrounded by our families, which was good. Here are some pics:

The boys loved their gifts that Daddy sent them (Muno and Brobee pillows...perfect for the boys' Yo Gabba Gabba obsession!)

Mommy and her boys

Too much fun, too many Easter egg hunts!