Rolling with the punches

     2015 is a year I let GO! Just do the best I can and be assertive and worry about what is important. Raising my kids! I strive to be the best me I can be. I live my life taking care of my boys. ALL 3 of them. I have a great time. It is challenging. It is exhausting. It is BEAUTIFUL!! I am focusing on things that are real. Tonight I speak at my home group celebrating 11 years clean. AMAZING!! There was a time I couldn't stay clean 11 days. 11 hours. 11 mins. I am thankful. I am just living life the way I should have always been living. Seeking GOD. I was LOST there for a lot of years and now I have the opportunity to give others HOPE today. Some things that I am grateful for today are Tanner's love for his Mommy. He is always checking on me. If I hurt myself or get overwhelmed he gets very attentive. He is tenderhearted and takes things in. Holden is so brave and outgoing. Very wild. He has injured himself a lot lately but seems to get up and keep on ticking. Billy is highly motivated and driven and I admire him for that. I pour my heart out for this family. The Bible tells us whatever we do, do it for the glory of the Lord. I do that. No not every moment is enjoyable and like my sister in law Jamie says some are plain nightmarish. It makes the sweet moments even sweeter. My boys and I read EVERY night. I love that time with them. Holden is doing great in his big boy bed. He will say "mommy will you lay with me for a lil' bit?" OF COURSE I WILL. Tanner and I read out of his Bible and that little boy loves it. He loves books. WE have been working on sight words and lots of letter stuff throughout the summer. He loves Jesus! We do family movie night once a week now and it has turned into something we all love. Pizza and Pajamas were going on over here at the Spivey house Sunday night. Lots of snuggles and laughs. Some yelling. (just keeping it real) but lots of togetherness. :) I took the boys to Disney Fri. afternoon and night and Tanner fills in for Billy when he can't go. He is so cute saying "Mommy did you get our bands?" and helping me keep up with stuff. My smart boy. We had a blast!! I am excited to be moving forward in this new phase of life. Billy and I took boys to Hollywood Studios Last Sunday and ended day at Typhoon Lagoon and Cracker Barrel. My boys love to go there. Tanner gets pancakes EVERY TIME!! My Holden boy branched out and ate hash browns with his scrambled eggs this time.  This summer has been filled with lots of memories for us. Lots of pool time, Disney trips, splash pad downtime, library, lunch dates, camps, and lake. Next week we are headed to the beach. (our favorite)  I can not wait to build sandcastles with them and play in the water. Most of all spend lots of time with my husband who is taking a much needed break to be with his family!! After that school starts and I can not believe my little boy will be in Kindergarten. Holden will go a couple mornings a week this year and he will love it. Now for the next phase. POTTY TRAINING! I tried to get him to go poop in the toilet today. NO GO. He told me "I'll do it tomorrow mommy." AHHHH 2 years old. Lots of pictures from last couple weeks.

A new phase of life.........

     Holden is officially down for the night in his crib for the last time. The Spivey family is graduating out of the nursery phase. His new furniture will be here in the morning. It truly is bitter sweet. It seems as though just yesterday I was blogging about holding and nursing my newborn baby Holden Russell with Christmas music playing and Christmas lights on. Billy had taken Tanner (then 3) to run errands with him and it was just me and Holden. He was just a couple weeks old and a head full of dark hair. I remember that day. I cleaned a little and just mostly held him while sitting in the recliner.  I knew how fast it would go. Even now I want to bottle his 2 year old voice in a jar and keep it in my purse. (Not when he is telling me "no I don't want to" but when he says "rock me mommy") He is wild but so tenderhearted. I didn't feel so bad when Tanner got his big boy room because I was 6 months pregnant and so excited for our family and the new addition on the way.  The nursery was getting redone for a new baby not leaving completely. (We are giving our crib and changing table to my brother josh and his girlfriend Stephanie as she is 10 weeks pregnant. So happy for them.) It isn't that I want more kids. I really am happy and our family is complete.  It is just I have truly been enjoying these days at home with them. Yesterday we had a blast having lunch at the pool and swimming until after 2. Today we hung at home and the boys played outside. Later we all made our own homemade pizzas for dinner and read library books after the boys bubble bath. Time seems to be flying faster somehow. I will cherish these days. I will remember how it feels to rock him, how is hair is entirely too long because he won't let us cut it, how he laughs really hard if I ask him if he wants a princess room, how his hand feels in mine after I get him out of the truck to go into the store, and how we (just Holden and I) always say to each other "I'm going to kiss that baby to death." Tanner loves his brother so deep. He cried when he had to have stitches. We had to go the kids ER and Tanner started crying when we got back there cause he was so worried about him. WE checked out several new books this week and Tanner picked out one called "Good Big Brother" He loves it. We read it at lunch today. His smile while I read it is one etched in my brain for the rest of my life. I'm not sorry for being Gushy over my children. You see that's the funny thing about these boys they just do that to me. I'm thanking God for them today.

SUMMER TIME

     We have had an awesome summer so far. Tanner finished his swim lessons. We have spent many days at the pool and library. A few awesome trips to Disney the most recent being with our friends Jess, Bella, and Taylor. SO excited that they have passes too. We have a family vacation planned in a few weeks to the beach. (OUR FAVORITE) And Billy and the kids and I have even been out to the lake a few times to spend time with Meme and Grampy. We spent a wonderful Father's day out there. Yesterday we stayed out there all day and even made SMORES, which Tanner loved. We are always grateful when they invite us out. The boys have attended a couple camps at St. Paul's and so enjoyed it. There has a been a few Sundays that Billy has worked on a paper and I drove the boys and I  to the beach just the 3 of us. Driving the truck right up on the beach and playing for a few hours. We would have so much fun and then stopping for Ice Cream before heading home. Precious memories just me and my boys. Tanner starts Kindergarten in a few weeks. (6 to be exact) I can not believe my baby is going to be in Elementary school. He will be going to Madison Street where we look forward to him being involved in theater, music, and track.  I look forward to volunteering at both the boys schools and seeing what lies ahead for Tanner.  Holden will be going to St. Paul's and be a Firefly. He is so excited to learn and make friends. It will be good and I am so excited for him.  I was in God's word this morning once again meditating on James and trying to slow down and not take things so seriously. Slow to speak and quick to listen. It's a full time job parenting these boys. Within 2 days of each other Holden busted his chin at the pool and had to have 3 stitches and then busted his lip bad on the bathroom counter trying to climb up to wash his hands because "they were dirty." He is constantly banging himself up. :) Tanner told me the other day "When I grow up I want to live all by myself." I said, "OK buddy a lot of people in the world do." He then said, "But you can still come over and cook me dinner mommy." :) I love that boy so much!! I get it Tanner!  I think there's times we ALL like to be alone. Family gets the best of us and at times the worst of us. That's what love is though!! ACCEPTANCE on a deep level. I am learning Grace daily and not just with my kids. I fall short but GOD gives us the beauty of a new day. Parenting these 2  small and active boys is not for the faint of heart but it sure is a gift and a blessing. I have so much to be thankful for and I am keeping my eyes focused on that. Holden is officially getting a big boy room soon. We are excited to re-do his bedroom and graduate from the nursery. I always say to Holden "I'm going to kiss that baby to death." He says it right back to me. I enjoy him so much. He is a very bright boy. I call Tanner my "sidekick" and he will say "mommy will I always be your sidekick?" YOU BET BUDDY!! He is so smart and loves to hear stories about himself when he was a baby.  Closing the baby and crib chapter makes me a little sad.  I definitely do not want more kids but it is bitter sweet to leave one stage and enter another. There are some things I will miss and others I am glad to see go. I learn more from being a mommy than anything else I've done. I have been missing my blog. Billy got me a new computer so I am all set again. I LOVE IT!! Ready to start tackling my photo books and organizing pictures and videos. Holden and Tanner both love people, books, and being at the pool. Looking forward to Blizzard beach, bike rides, and beach days. Maybe when Billy and I retire we can own a condo at the beach!! WE have a lot of years a head of us to enjoy Florida summer days. THANKFUL!!