Still There Daughter

Never to old to just want your Mom and Dad by your side.  When your 37 years old and you can still count on you parents showing up; just because they know you need them there.....  that’s a pretty amazing feeling!  And yes that’s exactly what they did for me today!

Ahhhh To Be A Child Again

As I lay here and wonder what the plan is for my family and the future (regarding career moves) I can’t help but think about how much easier being a child was.  Crazy thing is back then I couldn’t wait to be an adult lol.  I hate to even begin to add up all the time I have wasted on wanting something other than what I had in the moment.  Yes life is scary, cruel and down right hard at times but it is also a gift, filled with love and is amazingly beautiful if you focus on the good things.  So as this sweet miracle holds my hand while she sleeps I want to promise myself to always remember to focus on the good things!  I want to try and remember living at her age... the innocence, the easiness and the pure joy I felt each day as a child.  I can’t help but praise my parents for allowing me to be a child when I was meant to be one.  They truly made sure they adult issues were guarded from my brother and I when we were growing up.  Some may say that’s sheltering us, but I honestly think they knew soon enough we would be adults ourselves and have to fight the same fights they had to.  So why not let us have as many years as we could just being carefree.  I can’t thank them enough for that.  This little girl holding my hand still adores me at this point, she still feels I can do no wrong and more than anything she loves me for me!!!  Yes I know in years to come we will have ups and down but I hope she can always appreciate the things I do for her they way I appreciate all that my parents have and still do for me!!!

From Waffles to Weeping

So yesterday afternoon I was able to do a medium size grocery shopping haul lol.  Which in Leighton's world means “Anything Goes For Dinner!”  I agreed that was fair yesterday as we unloaded all the groceries, but since we still had leftovers she graciously agreed to do it today!  So as I was rubbing her back this morning trying to wake her up slowly for daycare she popped up and told me that tonight was the night she could pick anything she wanted for dinner lol.  Obviously this was a way bigger deal to her than I had known!  And it didn’t slip her mind at all throughout the day because she reminded me the second I picked her up from school too lol!  After much thought and consideration the whole ride home this afternoon she not surprisingly picked waffles with cinnamon butter!  Or as she has always called it since she was a baby a waffle with..... butter baby!!!!!  Seeing her so excited for waffles of course Jean Paul jumped on the band wagon; although I think her would jump on anything that involves him getting to eat lol.  Waffles it was!  Not even an hour later Jean Paul was in tears and not just a little tear here or there but full blown mad/aggregated/semi-pissed off tears!  After what felt like almost 45 minutes of what I have to call a temper tantrum he finally was ready to relax.  As he begged for me to hold him I scooped him up and sat on the couch for a long time.  Finally he lifted his head and sadly said “Sorry Mommy.”  I tried to tell him it was ok to be upset sometimes but that doesn’t mean we get to be mean and hurt others feelings.  He laid on my chest and just kept saying okay.  I hated to see him so upset but I also can’t let him play me like a fiddle lol, but boy does he know how to pull on my heartstrings.  Oh toddler drama; I mean seriously literally we went from waffle smiles to weeping overload in just a matter of minutes!  But then again I have mood swings by the second myself so who am I to judge..... guess it’s better than weeping during waffle time RIGHT?  LOL!

And I Won’t Forget

“And I’m proud to be an American,

where at least I know I’m free!

And I won’t forget the men who died

who gave that right to me!”

Thank you to all the men and women who give everything so we can have it all! 

Surprise Night

Well we started this holiday weekend out right!!!!  Brent and I had our first “Surprise Night” with the kids.  The plan was to all do something fun together without the kids not knowing any of the plans.  So after nap time we started getting them excited by telling them we had to get ready fast for Surprise Night!  Of course Leighton had a ton of questions as normal lol.  By the time we were loaded in the car she literally couldn’t stop giggling with excitement.  So I must admit the plans were not that extravagant but to a 2 and 4 year old anything together as a family is amazing!!  Which honestly I think so many of us could learn from.  First stop was the famous Chuck E Cheese; yayyyyy lol (insert eye roll here lol).  When the saw the sign it was all smiles and clapping then.  We still can’t figure out how Jean Paul knew what that place was lol.  Jokingly Brent told Leighton “oh no baby we are going to the store Big slots next store for furniture.”  Without skipping a beat Leighton sweetly said “Daddy after we get furniture can we go to Chuck E Cheese?”  My heart melted and of course we had to fell her the truth.  So after waiting for what felt like an hour to buy tokens we finally got to start playing.  Seriously how to explain to toddlers that you don’t know why only one employee working at every station.  We had so much fun watching them play and run from game to game.  After dancing with Chuck E Cheese we collected all our tickets and headed to the prize counter, where I must say I was very impressed with my babies. Again one employee was working, but when we finally got our turn they literally only wanted one Dum Dum sucker each.  I couldn’t of asked for a smoother transaction lol.  Once everyone was loaded up we headed to the next stop; Hibachi for dinner!  The kids have never been and we thought they would get a kick out of the production.  As we waited to be seated guess who walked in to join us for Surprise Night?  Yep Maw Maw and Pepa!  Anything is wonderful when they are there lol.  The show and food was a huge hit and we giggled and laughed so much.  Leighton of course was more reserved and shy when the chef would try and play games, but Jean Paul was the complete opposite as usual lol.  He even wanted to participate in trying to catch the flying food; which had us all laughing so hard we were almost crying.  “My turn” is what he kept repeating over and over lol.  But as soon as we left Leighton was Chatty Cathy about the chef and how funny he was!  Third and final stop was a sleepover at Maw Maw and Pepa’s house!  And as you can guess was probably the biggest highlight of the night to them lol.  Right before it was time to go to sleep Leighton ran and hugged Brent and told him “Thank you Daddy for Surprise Night it was so much fun!”  I hope we get to do another one real soon because the look on their faces and the sound of their giggles was priceless!!!!!

Friday Nights

Just another Friday night in Louisiana!
Not to many times we get to all be together after 5:00 PM;
so we take advantage of it when we can!

Friday Nights

Braxton Helps 2018

That’s a wrap for our 2018 Braxton Helps Fundraiser!!!  This year was very special because it was the very first year that Leighton truly was able to help with her Big Brother’s Fundraiser! From sorting and passing out flyers, ticket sales, baking for the the sweet tent booth, being at the event from set up to tear down and lastly getting to deliver the check with the final donation amount!  I am beyond grateful and proud every single year of our fundraiser and all of the amazing people who help us accomplish it.   This year we were able to donate $5000 to help others with tuition assistance at Sts Peter & Paul Catholic School.  Our sweet boy would be wrapping up his kindergarten year and I can only imagine what his little personality would be like at this age!  I believe with all my heart that after 6 years of hosting the Braxton’s helps fundraiser and helping multiple families with tuition our Braxton is more than present in the school!  I like to imagine him personally being a guardian angel to all of the students.  And this August as Leighton begins her first year of big girl school I pray he holds her hand daily as she walks the halls.  It’s a bittersweet time for our family as we have felt very connected to this school and our church through every step of our journey.  But as the call came in to let us know we had been accepted into the school this year and I sobbed and kept repeating yes, yes, yes I heard on the other end of the telephone “ We would like to officially welcome you to the student body family” my heart was beaming!  For we have been apart of this school family for 6 years now helping others and honoring our Braxton’s memory, but it was official now our dream of our kids attending were finally coming true!  And without a doubt I know Braxton paved the way for his sister and brother to gain this chance!  I pray our kids always know the importance of helping others and that good things do come to those who wait and believe!