James' 3rd Birthday PaRtY!!!!!

Well...many of you have been asking when I was going to finally post pictures from James' 3rd birthday party. It has taken me this long for 2 reasons: 1. I don't have time and 2. I am unhappy/disappointed with the pictures that I do have which aren't many. Do those of you who have kids feel like it is an absolute madhouse once the party begins? James never wants to stop long enough to have a picture taken for anything. He didn't even eat any of his cake...he just wanted to run around and play. I am glad he had fun...but was disappointed about my pictures. So, here are a few. I don't have many pictures of the actual cow decorations. That one was my fault. I missed them in the hecticness (is that a word?) of the day...

The Cow Cake

I wasn't real sure how this would turn out and when I am pregnant I don't have much patience for details, so you can imagine how that worked for me! :) I am happy with the way it turned out and more importantly James LOVED it! He thought it was hilarious and asked to look at it at least 15 times before his party ever started! He couldn't wait

until Lauren woke up so he could show her. That made me very happy and it was worth the work!

Some of his gifts...

Yes, your eyes are not misleading you. He did get his very own mini shop vac and Luke had to immediately put it together for him. My sister got this for him. Hilarious isn't it? He is going to be set by the time he's out on his own as far as household tools and gadgets. He loves it and has cleaned up many things with it!

He got many, many animals to set up and play with which have kept him very entertained over the last week. He loves them all! He also got a truck and horse trailer as well as a 2 barns! He just sets them up all day, feeds them, and takes them for walks...I'm enjoying watching his imagination run wild!

Isn't this adorable? My MIL couldn't find cow paper, so she made her own. James also got many cow stuffed animals and a cow puppet. We have a lot of black and white around here right now.

This is Sunday morning before church. I made him a go cart at his request out of his tinker toys (also a b-day gift) and is giving his animals rides. Aren't you girls proud of my tinker toy skills? :)

He got a bug back pack, sleeping bag, flashlight, and canteen/water bottle that he has also enjoyed playing with. He's ready to go camping...I am hoping we can have a camp out in our living room here in the next several months.




We always try and get a family picture at each event....James is NEVER in the mood because he has fun cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents he'd much rather be playing with....but....it's a moment.

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James' birthday lasted about 10 days as far as mini birthday celebrations. He really enjoyed it and was disappointed when I told him this was his last one until next year. These are his 2 best buddies, Morgan and Addie. We always get together for the kids' birthdays and have a little party. James really enjoyed it this year and of course his gifts. We love our friends!

I love these action pictures of him blowing out his candles. These are better shots than I
got at his birthday party! :( I actually think I am going to make another cow cake, put
James in his birthday clothes and stage the whole scene so I can get some good
pictures. Is that bad or weird? Am I psycho? The fact that I'm willing to make a cow
cake again is a bit scary, but hey, at least I've done it before!!!!

HaPpY BiRtHdAy JaMeS!!!! We love you!!!!

A liitle bit of us...

Things have been really busy around here these days and I am hanging in there! Just wanted to give you a quick update on some of the things that we've been doing around here. James' big, cow birthday party is tomorrow and Lauren will be 14 months...so I am sure I will have lots of updates for you in the next several days.

Let's start with Lauren since you haven't seen much of her lately:

The funniest thing about Lauren right now...she's a sippy cup thief. Seriously, her goal each and every day is to see how many times she can steal James' sippy cup. At first I thought maybe she just liked his cups so we started giving her a drink in them. Nope...it's HIS cup she wants. We have to barricade his the hallway when he's napping because she wants to barge in and steal the sippy cup. It's hilarious. If it's in reach...she's got it and she knows exactly what she's doing. She'll grab and run! It's really a sight to see. I will try and get it on video! Usually James is pretty gracious, but as soon as he takes it away she throws herself on the floor and just sobs. So much drama...such a girl. Here are a few pics of her in action:

In for the kill... Score!!!!!!

She thinks this whole thing is hilarious...

This is the face after James or myself has taken the sippy cup away...

Pitiful huh? Don't feel too sorry for her. It will only be a matter of minutes before she's gotten it again!!!

This girl LOVES books. She would sit and look at books forever! Loves them!!!! It's so weird

because James NEVER sat and looked at books. It's kind of nice! :)

look how big she's getting!!!

McDonald's for James' Birthday

James' birthday was on MLK day so his cousins didn't have school. We decided

to take the kids to Mc Donalds to celebrate. Those of you who know me at all know

that I never take the kids to the "germland." My stomach turns when I think of it...

Picture me there with hand sanitizers in every form. Wipes, gel...you name it. I wiped James and Lauren's poor hands SO many times and changed their clothes when we got home. Is that normal? The kids had a great time and it was worth it!

Lauren just loved walking around and checking out all of the action. It was lots of fun!

James...My photographerFor a kid who hates the camera as much as he does, he sure likes to take the pictures. He loves carrying around my old camera and pretending to take pictures. He thought it was hilarious that I was taking a picture of him taking a picture of me!

My Cow Fanatic...
You all know how much James loves cows and we have been planning his cow themed birthday party for quite some time. Well, if you haven't been at Target recently they have an enormous section of cow gear for the spring. It's to die for...James was in heaven. He used his birthday money to buy this visor. Precious huh? He will also be getting the cow chair and I'm sure some of the other goodies. I just had to show you a picture. He loves it! Lauren does too!

Last but certainly NOT least...James had his first dentist visit. He was SO excited to go. It's all he could talk about and I walked him through what they would do. I actually thought it would go smoothly. Well, I was WRONG!!!!

Here he is sitting in the waiting room...excited to be at the dentist!

This picture is completely staged. Once we sat him in the chair and they put the napkin around his neck, it was OVER. Do you hear me??? O.V.E.R. He was crying and I had to hold him on my lap in the chair while they looked at his teeth. Needless to say he didn't get them cleaned. We're trying again in 6 months. During this time the Doctor came in (a man) and looked at Lauren and attempted to touch her hand. BAD NEWS! Lauren doesn't like men and he was no exception. So she began screaming! And keep in mind that I'm still holding James in my lap so now the Doctor can torture all of us by examining his teeth again. So James and Lauren are both crying (the hygienist...bless her heart what holding Lauren) and feeding off each other. The doctor is trying to talk over all of them to me... about how long to brush his teeth and so on...blah..blah...blah... Didn't work. I was starting to sweat and just wanted to get the heck out of there! Oh my goodness....it did NOT go as planned! So, we will see if we can go through the same madness in 6 months. And I will find a sitter for Lauren!!! :)

There's an update...a long one...sorry...I will post pictures of James' birthday party! Have a great weekend!

Happy 3rd Birthday James Hudson!!!!

I find myself in awe of the fact that my baby boy is 3 today! As I was cleaning the office yesterday I was thinking about some of the things I love most about James. These are just a few (or 10) of my favorites:

1. His sweetness-he is sweet...he loves babies, animals, his sister, daddy and especially me



2. His obsession with small appliances... specifically shop vacs :) It's so humorous and so...well...him



3. His loves of family and his friends. He so enjoys and looks forward to spending time with them..he gives Mallory and Claire nuzzles, hugs and kisses.



4. How he always wants to see me just 1 more time before he falls asleep.



5. The way he drags out the space heater every morning to the front room and lays in front of it along with his 3 stuffed animals and large stuffed dog..and says, "He's warming up."



6. The way he is so protective and careful with Lauren (most of the time...we have the occasional push and shove) He just follows her around and makes sure she doesn't do anything that she's not supposed to. We've had to work on him not being a "second mother" here lately...He thinks he can discipline her when need be... :0



7. The way he asks to have the same bible stories read to him every day...David and Goliath, Jonah, Daniel and the Lions Den, and The Good Samaritan (he likes hearing about the man's ouchies)



8. His sensitivity...boy, I don't know where he gets that from? He's going to be a tough one to parent in some senses because he is so sensitive that we have to be careful how we approach things and yet it's his sensitivity that makes him want to please us and others as well as brings out this ultra sweet side....his "let me just please you"..."tell me how great I am" side....and I don't have any trouble doing that! :)



9. Random hugs....several times a day...sometimes as many as 15 or 20
10. How he's pretty much always happy...he is rarely grumpy and rarely in a bad mood. We are so blessed!

That last 3 years have been the most rewarding and joyous time in our lives and have really made our lives complete. I know that sounds so cliche...but the birth of our children, has just been the icing on the cake for this life we are living. What a blessing and joy you are to us James. I often times say to Luke, "Do you really think other people love their kids as much as I do?" I really feel like I have such an amazing love, bond, and relationship with James. He is a special kid and I thank God for him daily...hourly...he is such a blessing! Happy Birthday Sweet James! I can't wait to watch you grow...but I'm not ready for you to stop giving all the hugs, kisses, and affection that you give us through the day!!!

Christmas Recap

We had such a wonderful Christmas/several days with our families. I cannot possibly talk about

everything nor do you want me to:) so I have chosen several snapshots that wrap up our holiday!

The Carpenter's Christmas Morning

Here are the kids in their Christmas jammies. Lauren wouldn't ever let us get a great picture with her.

His newest thing is to put his hands in mouth when I ask him for a picture....so we get a shot like this...

Love this sweet face

We didn't get the kids much for Christmas this year and it's a good thing because this photo book was the biggest hit with James. He LOVED it and we figured he would because he enjoys looking through his scrapbooks. He asked to read it after opening up each gift and we have read it many, many times since then. The title is Who Loves You James?

We made these cute, little reindeer candy canes for all of James' cousins. He enjoyed making them and passing them out and I'm pretty sure the kids all enjoyed them too!

I finally got him smiling...

Here is the best shot I was able to get of Lauren. I know...terrible isn't it? She was all over the place!!! This is the octopus James picked out all by himself to give Lauren for Christmas. He even helped wrap it and was very proud and excited when she opened it up. She enjoyed it too!

Look at this insane amount of gifts!!! We put several of them away and we will pull them out

when he gets bored....and to think he has a birthday in 3 weeks!!!


This was one of his favorite gifts. It's a firefighter gas mask and he loves it! He got an entire

box of equipment. My favorite thing is when he walks around with this on while carrying his sword. Don't you know...firefighters need a sword to chop down the doors!!!

And this is one of Lauren's favorite gifts. I had never seen it before. It is a caterpillar rocker and it plays music and does shapes and colors when you push its buttons. She loves to sit on things so this was an immediate hit for her.

Another favorite gift for James was his scooter...we have been letting him ride it around the house since it's too cold to go outside. I'm sure he is going to get lots of use out of it this summer!

We have SO much to be grateful for and we really used this Christmas time to reflect on all God has blessed us with this year. We are so thankful for our families and the role they play in our lives!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Didn't see this one coming...

So....to add a little bit of holiday cheer to our family...I arrived to my car last night after

tutoring (like I do every Wednesday night) at the public library in Goshen to this. No, you are not seeing ice on my window like James thought (bless his heart) What you are seeing is my ENTIRE back window smashed out. The "ice" you see is all that was left of it. Someone stole the kids' DVD players and dvds. Somehow they missed the Garmin....Jerks...

Maybe a good Samaritan walked by and spotted them...yeah right? Who didn't see this going on? How exactly does someone smash a window and manage to steal everything inside in the parking lot of a busy public library at key hours?

Unbelievable!!! I know it didn't matter to the thief, but it kills me that they stole the kids' dvd players. I mean come on....And that they left glass covering their seats and all of Lauren's toys.

I hid my purse under the seat, but yes, they found that too. Luckily I had my wallet with me because it had my library card in it....but....I had an envelope with my much of my tutoring cash/Christmas money that I have been saving religiously! :( I don't usually keep in in my purse but had it in there while doing someone Christmas shopping. THIS STINKS!!!! My very hard earned money. I was so irate last night you can't even imagine. I'm usually pretty easy going. I think even the librarians were a bit nervous last night... I was a crazy lady....

We are going to have to replace Lauren's car seat because of the amount of glass that is in it. I'm just not sure we can get it all!!!

Lots of shattered glass....as I was driving it home last night....FREEZING because there was no back window and having everyone staring....I had to listen to glass continue to fall and shift around at every bump I hit....terrible reminder all the way home of the reality of wicked people!

Another look at all of the glass.

So as I worked hard tutoring to make money in these difficult times and give back to kids in our community , someone was stealing everything I have worked so hard far. I understand these are tough times for everyone, but come on folks! It just makes me sick. The insurance will cover everything, including the cash, which is great but our deductible is pretty hefty, so we'll still just about break even....NOT a fun price to pay EVER and for sure not the week before Christmas and a few days before Luke's birthday. And yes, I know it could have been worse and property can be replaced...but....guess what....it still stinks! My heart is heavy today. I was hoping to feel better about it all this morning when I woke up, but that hasn't been the case. I am still very angry and emotional. And guess what I get to do this weekend

while fighting the Christmas shopping madness??? Shop for a new car seat, dvd player, dvds, and purse. You may think fun...but for me...not so much!!! Anyway....MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! oh and don't keep ANYTHING OF VALUE VISIBLE IN YOUR VEHICLES!!! The police officer said they've had several of these break ins and again in daylight in the middle of parking lots. We called the pawn shops and reported the dvd players right away but haven't heard anything. Maybe some little kids will get dvd players with Monsters Inc. and Baby da Vinci....sad, sad, sad...if they only knew...

Oh, and James is very distraught and confused as to why anyone would break our window and take his dvd player and his favorite movie, Monsters' Inc. He keeps saying, "Why'd that man DO that?" and "Well, ask him..." Bless his heart. We also had to explain to him that it didn't happen at our house because he was asking a lot about that too. Oh, the joys of life....

Christmas Spirit...

...is filling our house right now...We went and picked out our Christmas tree on Sunday evening. This is one of my favorite parts about Christmas... picking out the tree. I have been going to get a real tree ever since I was a little girl and have such great memories of finding the "perfect" one and then trying to get it home and set up while making a mess with pine needles and such. It is SO worth it though simply for the smell of fresh pine and sap. I LOVE IT!!!

James enjoyed helping us pick out the tree. He was so excited and kept running up and down the aisles of trees.

My big, burly man getting our tree...hehe...

You can see how pitiful and cold their little faces look and Lauren wouldn't keep her mittens on. I really am a good mom! :)

Our tradition with the kids to to get them a Christmas ornament that represents what their interests are at that time. I couldn't decide between a cow, motorcycle or this John Deere. I went with the John Deere and it was a hit. He loves it! I just got Lauren the Year 2 ornament since

I'm not exactly sure what her interests are yet...food maybe? :)

James putting his personal touch on the tree!

Lauren loved looking at the lights. She hasn't touched everything as much as I though she would but when she has tried to touch the ornaments the Ornament Police (aka James) is there to quickly reprimand her!
James was filled with excitement as we started unpacking the lights and bulbs. We quickly took this bulb away as they are glass! :/

James was fascinated with putting the lights up to his skin and watching it glow. The Finished Tree...it doesn't look as pretty because I took the pic during they day so it was hard to see it all lit up. It's beautiful though. Each morning James rushes out to turn on the Christmas lights.Lauren has a cute little festive shirt she got for her birthday! Even she's in the spirit!

James' version of the Nativity Scene
Here is James' own version of the Nativity. Didn't you know that there were kangaroos as well as elephants and hippos at the birth of Christ? :) So sweet. There's an entire zoo surrounding baby Jesus! Unfortunately baby Jesus didn't rank too high because if you look closely he didn't even make it in the stable. He's on the ground next to the kangaroos. My sweetie and his animals!!!

On Saturday evening we took James to the live Nativity at a local church (minus the safari animals). I have to be honest, we took him mainly to see all of the live animals because he was a bit too young to understand the entire Christmas story, but he keeps telling me he saw baby Jesus. Sweet boy. It was SOOO COLD and SNOWY on Saturday night....if he hadn't been looking forward to going so much I don't think we would have gone. It was worth it though...we saw a big camel, donkeys, goats, sheep, chickens, pigeons, baby llamas, and a cow. James was in heaven!!!! By the end he was crying to go home because it was so cold!!! We all warmed ourselves up with some burgers and fries from McD's! MMMM.......As we continue the business that comes along with this Christmas season, I want to remind James what the importance of this great holiday is...the birth of Christ.