Kaden is 7!

Kaden turned 7 last week.  He's getting SO big!  We enjoyed a small celebration with just our own family.  He wanted a batman cake, and I must say I think it turned out quite well!  The pictures don't even do it enough justice.  And he got heely's as a present (which he has wanted for 2 years now).  All in all, it was a successful birthday. :)

Feeling the Holy Ghost

Kaden's sunday school teacher stopped me after church yesterday and this is what she told me...

They were having a lesson on the Holy Ghost and what the Holy Ghost feels like.  She decided to do a little exercise with the children and had them all close their eyes.  After about 15-20 "uncomfortable" seconds she told them all to open their eyes and tell her what they felt.  Kaden spoke up and said that she just hadn't given them enough time to feel anything.  She, therefore, told them all to close their eyes again and to open them only when they felt like they should.  After about 3 minutes Sister Berg (the teacher) was still waiting for Kaden to open his eyes.  He was just sitting there with his eyes closed with a serious expression on his face.  Then after a while he got a huge smile on his face and then opened his eyes and said, "I felt it!" 

Then, later that day while he was changing out of his dress clothes, he told me that he had felt the spirit.  "When did you feel the spirit," I asked.  

"Just barely," he said.  "Right after I prayed, downstairs."

"What did you pray for?"

"I prayed that I wouldn't be scared when we move.  Then I felt the Holy Ghost."

"What did the Holy Ghost make you feel?"

"Really good inside."

I just absolutely LOVE these moments.  They seem to be coming more frequently with Kaden lately.  He is such a blessing in our home and in my life.  I am so grateful for his sweet spirit!

Check this out...

This is from Courtney Wilson at thedigichick.com   I love her kits... in fact my blog is using her "Guilty Pleasures" kit right now.  :)

Preston's "Life"

I have to write this story down before I forget it, so...

About a week ago I was trying desperately to get Preston in bed and to stay in bed.  Danny was gone to his brother's house and therefore I was on my own to get the little stinker to cooperate.  He kept getting up, coming upstairs, and telling me that Kaden was bugging him (which from experience I know that Kaden was not doing the bugging - more likely the other way around).  I finally went downstairs, tucked him in bed, and told him that he really needed to stay in his bed so that sleep could make his body stronger.  He then told me that his heart hurt.  To which I said, "that is why you need to go to sleep... so you're body can get better."  I left the room thinking it was over and that he would finally go back to sleep.

A few minutes later he made his way upstairs.  This was our conversation...

Preston: "Mom, my heart and bones hurt."

Mom: "Preston, you need to get back in bed and stay in bed."

Preston: "But, mom, my heart and bones hurt.  My life is just ruined!"

Mom (through a smile that was beginning to show): "Preston, you need to get back in bed and go to sleep"

Preston: "Mom!  My life is GONE!"

Mom (trying so hard not to giggle): "We'll find it tomorrow."

Preston (By this time he had figured out that it was buying him more time): "My life is easy.  But now my life is gone..."  (with frowny face and all)

Mom (giggles starting to come out):  "Preston, you need to go back to bed."

Preston: "My life is gone... Today it is gone and tomorrow it is gone and maybe Saturday my life will come back."

Mom:  "Preston, go to bed."

Preston: "But, MOM, we NEED to figure out my life!"

Mom: "We will figure it out tomorrow, now go to bed."

Preston (while sporting a very disappointed face): "OK, we'll figure it out tomorrow...  (sigh)"

The things that kid will come up with next!  I don't know where it came from or how he comes up with these ideas, but he continues to amuse me with his highly active imagination!  He has brought up his "life" a few times since.  Once it was with Kaden and Kaden explained that if his life was gone then he would be dead.  That helped, I guess, cause from then on Preston says, "mom, my life is back.  I'm not dead!"  :)

House Hunting!

Well...  We did it!  We have officially found someone that wants to rent our townhouse!  And what does that mean?  House-hunting, once again, for the Bradshaw household.  There are some GREAT deals out there and we just have to find the RIGHT one for our family.  I'm hoping and praying that it won't take too much searching in order to find that right one.  But we are looking anywhere from Lehi and Cedar Hills to Payson.  Quite a range to search through!

We start tonight and will go again with our neighbor/realtor/home teacher tomorrow.  And my WONDERFUL friend Angie will watch Kaden and Preston tomorrow afternoon so we don't have to take them.  THANKS Angie... You're a life-saver!

Oooops, I forgot one more important piece of info!

So I forgot one last thing on my list of updates yesterday...

Danny handed over the finances to me! Anyone at all who knows Danny and our relationship when it comes to anything monetarily related should understand how significant this is! I must admit that I'm pretty nervous. With Danny watching over my shoulder until I "prove" myself to him; it's a little intimidating! But now we both get the "allowance" treatment. I get my weekly allowance and he gets his; the rest goes to household expenses and savings.

Now I know what all of you are doing right now. (Especially you Megan.) :) Just pick your jaw up off the floor and think of how frustrating it would be to have your spouse (Justin) not only look over the groceries you bought to make sure they were necessities, but also look over your shoulder as you try to pay every single bill. Danny has already warned me that for the next few months he will ask me to make sure every single bill has been paid.

For anyone who may not know Danny as well as the rest... Let me just say that this is a HUGE step in our marriage. He doesn't necessarily think that I am unable to handle a household budget (I hope!) but he has kept a tight leash on the budget for 10 years now. And when I say tight leash, I mean tight.

I gotta love him though! :)

Miscellaneous Blog Post

I don't even know how to begin catching everyone up on my life, so I'll just start writing...

I booked our trip to the east coast. I am SOOOO excited!!!! Some friends decided that they would be able to join us so we get to enjoy the journey together. DC, NY, Boston, the coast of Maine - Since Danny and I haven't been on a REAL vacation since before Kaden was born, this is going to be a TREAT!!!! (Can you tell how excited I am with the use of exclamation points?) :) June 2-12 we will be enjoying a kid-free 10 days!

Kaden finished up his basketball "season" yesterday. He really loved going every Monday. He started to get a lot better and we will try to keep up with practicing that sport, since it is Danny's favorite one to play. Maybe we'll have to try out football too since it's Danny's favorite sport to watch. :) We actually got him a basketball and football for Christmas. I went out the other day with him to play football and he really liked trying to catch the ball when I kicked it to him. Maybe he'll be a receiver? :)

Preston is trying to grow up. He is starting to pronounce words much better. He used to say his name was "Meston" and now he says it's "Prrrrreston". He is also starting to be able to say Kaden better than "Tayen". He still has a hard time with his K's though. He has also become quite the little rugrat. He is so hyper and loud most of the time. His favorite thing to do lately is jump into the room and yell "SURPRISE". It's great fun unless Ellie's asleep.

Ellie is still the best baby ever! She sleeps like a dream, eats like a pig, and laughs every now and then. We have a ton of fun with her. She LOVES her daddy and he tries to keep a secret how much he REALLY enjoys her. But I can see right through his disguise - especially when I sneak a peek while he is changing her diaper. It's so fun to watch him with her! He acts a lot different with her than he did with the boys. Fun!

Other than that I have been trying to exercise every day - which I have been pretty successful at, other than having a minor pulled muscle; I have tried a few new recipes - some that were good (like homemade granola bars), some that were not so good; I have tried to keep up with the laundry and housework - any mom can attest to how fun and impossible those tasks are; and I have actually started to have a life outside of my family - I have a friend who has come over to "play" with me a lot the past couple of weeks. :)

In other big news, my sister now has a little baby boy! Beautiful little baby Noah Edward Wright was born last Friday and Jill & Spencer were able to take him home yesterday (Monday). I have been giving them a little space in order to let them bond with there precious little one. I am so anxious to meet him though.

Life seems a big blur sometimes and the past few weeks deserve that title. I keep going from one day to the next trying to figure out what happened to my big plans of cleaning the house or cooking a grandiose meal. The past few weeks I have tried to REALLY enjoy my kids, and I guess that is what we're supposed to do, right? The house can be cleaned tomorrow, the laundry can wait another day, and we can have another easy pasta meal tonight as long as I spent some "quality" time with my kids... At least that's what I try to tell myself! But laundry can only wait so long before your 1st grader REALLY needs some clean pants to go to school in! :-)