Trimming the Tree & The Annual Walters Family Christmas Party 2009

I just love the holidays! We get to do so many fun things and hang out with family that we don't normally see very much. This past Saturday Kenny's family (mom's side) held their annual Christmas party for which Kenny was the MC for. This may come as a surprise but he is really good at it :)! Then Sunday morning we woke up and put up the tree (yes, put it up. meaning it's fake) and decorated it. It's a lot of work but at the same time so fun to see the excitement in my boys' eyes as they unwrap each ornament and ask about each one. It's also an awesome way to talk again about the meaning of Christmas and to be reminded of the amazing grace that God gave us when he sent his son to earth as a baby.

*side note - I am so encouraged to see how things are really starting to click for Trey. we recently lost our power after that crazy storm. We were talking about how thankful we need to be for something like power that we don't think much about. We talked about when it's dark that it's hard to see and that light is so helpful for us. Trey added "yah, just like sin is darkness and Jesus is the light!" Indeed He is!

Trey helping Grandma sing Christmas songs

Tyson trying to stay under cover while "examining" the table of candy for gingerbread houses

I have never seen a picture of Trey that looks SO MUCH like Kenny!

A+ for Creativity!

Trey found some of that foam sticky stuff that you can use for crafts and created his own scene on the wall.

When Trey showed Tyson his creation Tyson said "Wow! How did you do that, SON?!" Trey responded "I am NOT your son!" Hilarious...

Happy 5th Birthday, Trey!

This year was very special because we got to celebrate Thanksgiving and Trey's birthday which fell on the holiday this year. For weeks and weeks Trey has been talking about his birthday. The night before came and he was SO EXCITED! In fact, I woke up with Brooklyn sometime after 10 p.m. that night and he was STILL awake! The next morning he was ready for his requested Mickey Mouse pancakes. We had a mini celebration in the morning so he could open the gifts from us. His response to his army tank was "this is the best present EVER! I have ALWAYS DREAMED of getting a tank!" Very funny! This was really cute too - he asked me when he would be five and I told him he was five right now. He thought this was very fun - no more waiting, the day was here! Later he was standing in the bathroom looking in the mirror and he asks me "mommy, do I look five to you?" Of course I had to lay it on THICK how big he looked :). In the afternoon, both sides of the family came to celebrate. This year, Trey chose an army theme so we had lots of fun doing everything camo and hanging an American flag. We set up a boot camp obstacle course (hilarious!) and then Kenny played "drill sergeant says" with six little boys. It made all of us laugh because I am more of the "everyone wins" mentality and Kenny is sure that there is only one winner. Fortunately, there were no hurt feeling or tears. We then enjoyed our Thanksgiving dinner then camo cupcakes and gift opening. It was a very fun day and hopefully memorable for Trey.

Happy Birthday, buddy! We are so thankful for you and are encouraged to see how much you have grown in the past year! We love you!!!!

Brooklyn is 5 months - Rice cereal 101 and other fun things

Brooklyn will be 5 months this week (on Thanksgiving). I can't believe how much happens in a month. She is getting a tooth! No, it's not because she's drooling, it's because I actually feel the top of it! Crazy! My boys didn't get teeth until way later so last week, as I'm feeding her and thinking nursing was starting to "feel different" I thought there was no way it could be a tooth...it is, indeed. This month has also brought the first taste of wallpaper paste, I mean rice cereal. As expected, most of what goes in comes right back out. I don't blame her, it smells disgusting. And she has met the exercauser...she likes it for a short time as she can't really control her movements of her hands enough to really play with all of the things around her. She is doing great with sleeping and is a BURST of sunshine in the morning. It is so nice to be greeted with such a happy girl, most definitely my highlight of the day. I am excited for the holidays with her - she will have lots of firsts starting with Thanksgiving.

Halloween 2009

The boys had decided, as soon as they knew Halloween was close, that they both wanted to be Clone Troopers. Just some trivia here, Clone troopers are what Storm troopers were later before they went evil and worked for Darth Vader....anyway...Brooklyn dressed up as the sweetest ballerina. She begged me for weeks to dress her in pink and purple tulle so of course I just couldn't say no. :) We went to my sister Katie's house this year for a little party and then to trick-or-treating on her block. We had planned on going to their church festival but by 7:30 the boys were wearing down and their buckets of candy were literally spilling over - enough already! We also got some exciting news - Katie greeted us at the door with her very own costume - a bun in the oven...yep, she will be having a baby in June!! It was a very fun night! Click here for pics.

Brooklyn is 4 months!

I didn't set out to do a monthly post but it has turned out that way and I might as well not stop now! Brooklyn was 4 months on Monday...again, where does the time go? She has changed so much in a month. She's full of smiles for anyone who wants to look her way and will even give you a laugh. She's very talkative too, and has made a new friend named floor gym. They spend so much quality time with each other. I can't imagine what will happen when the exercauser enters the picture, oh what fun! I think she has pretty much stolen daddy's heart. I hear things daily like "you are the cutest little girl I have ever seen!" I am so thankful that Brooklyn has a daddy like Kenny and I look forward to watching that special relationship grow. I have witnessed many daddy/daughter interactions and it just about melts my heart. At the doctor's appointment, Brooklyn, to my surprise and amazement, was almost off the charts in height, weight and head circumference. She weighed 15 lbs (85%), was 25 inches long (85%) and her head measured 42.5 cm (85%). And to think that for her first month she had trouble gaining weight. When the nurse was measuring her she knew right away that Brooklyn was long and said "wow, you're a BIG GIRL!" It's so funny to me because the boys have always stayed average and now suddenly this little girl is big...go figure. She is a joy to all of us and we are so thankful for our precious baby girl.

Our anniversary :)

Today Kenny and I are celebrating our 9th anniversary! It seems like yesterday that I was planning our wedding and that I was experiencing those bride jitters as I watched from a distance as our guests filed into the hotel. It's also amazing that at that point, I had no idea how radically God would change our lives. About a year later, after being pursued and loved by family who challenged us about our relationship with God and challenged us with lots of hard questions, God saved Kenny and I. He saved us from a future death sentence, one that would've otherwise been complete separation from God and consequently darkness and pain. God chooses interesting things to sanctify us and He has done it immensely in both of our lives. I was just telling a friend that when I was saved, I had no idea what being a wife was about. Thankfully, God sovereignly placed very godly women around me at church and in our family so that I could learn from their example. I would later learn that God's Word is RICH in instruction on how exactly to be a wife (and thankfully He is not done with me because I have A LOT to learn!). I have no idea where we would be in our marriage had He not brought us out of darkness but I do know that we live in the light and that is something I cannot put into words. Thank you God for saving us and allowing us, through Your grace, to love you and to have your Word as our instruction manual. And Kenny, thank you for being an amazing husband to me. Thank you for encouraging and rebuking me with God's word. I am so thankful for how you desire to cling to the Cross and be an example to me of how to love Jesus. I love you sooooo much!

Below are pics from dinner and the U2 concert. Kenny surprised me with both which was very sweet! We had such a nice time! :)

Fleming's



Bono!