Gavin is One!

One year. Has it really been a whole year since Gavin Jace was born? As much as it seems it can't be, it was in fact one year ago today that my youngest made his way into the world. {Click here for Gavin's first ever blog appearance.} What a blessing it has been to have Gavin as a part of our family.

He was such a good baby from the start. And now, I guess I have to say he's a good toddler {cringe!} I hate to say goodbye to my baby, but as I look at Gavin now, I see a big boy. One who is on the verge of taking his first steps solo. One who says mama, dada, bye bye, hi. One who smiles non stop and attempts to sing Little Mermaid songs right along with his big sister. One who squeals with excitement as his brothers chase him on all fours through the house. One who fits into our family so seamlessly, as though he has always been here. And one who brings more joy into our lives than I could have ever imagined. One look at his ever-smiling face and my heart melts. My sweet Gavin is one today!



Happy birthday baby boy. You are so very loved!

Cherish everyday

I've been so very busy. Too busy to blog, hence the absence of posts lately. Much busier than I care to be, but continually hoping things will slow down soon.

Between detassling with the youth group, t-ball games, wrestling camp, photo shoots, planning Gavin's one-year birthday party and our upcoming vacation to Washington D.C., vacation bible school and house renovations, it's been a nut house around here. Couple all of that with the fact that I'm flying solo this week while Jason is gone on the youth's annual mission trip, and it's a bit of an understatement to say that I haven't had time to stop and catch my breath.

Until tonight.

Gabe and Cooper are at Grandma & Grandpa's spending the night, while Chloe and Gavin are sleeping away. And the house is silent. Nothing but me and my thoughts. What a rarity. It's nice, but I find myself restless, longing to sit and relax but feeling guilty that I should be doing something. Do you know the feeling, or is it just me? Like if you stop for a moment, everything will pile up on you and you'll drown in to-do's. I hate that feeling. But I feel like I've forgotten how to not be doing something.

Nevertheless, as I recounted the day thinking of how busy it was yet again and recalling all those school supplies I just bought this afternoon, my mind started to rest on thoughts of school starting soon. This is something I really haven't given much thought to for no other reason than the lack of time to think about it. But tonight it all of a sudden became very real to me that this year marks another year of sending another child off to kindergarten.

It was tough with Gabe. I remember being teary and wishing he wasn't getting so big. But I thought it'd be easier as the kids grow, nothing compared to the first time. Not the case. And as I look at how grown up Cooper is getting, I pray once again that the Lord will help me cherish every single minute I have with these kids He has blessed us with. I pray that God will help me to find every little moment I can to put aside anything else going on and just be with the kids. Not to tell them, 'In a minute,' or 'After I finish what I'm working on.' But to just be with them, stop everything and show them that they are always more important than all the to-do's. For in the blink of an eye, they're going off to kindergarten.

Say it isn't so...

Ruffled Feathers

I was recently able to have a very small part in helping a dear friend, Valerie, with her desire to sew beautiful clothing entirely for the purpose of helping others. This desire is lived out under the name, Ruffled Feathers. Read about it here on Valerie's blog.

This woman of God has such a BIG heart for God's people, especially His little children. It gives me great joy to sit and talk with Valerie about our shared passion for adoption and overall desire for His children to not be abandoned, but to all find the forever homes they long for. And it's so neat to have a little part in her venture to help see this desire become a reality, piece by piece, skirt by skirt and dress by dress, even if my part is only holding a camera and taking a few photos of her wonderful creations. {Believe me, you don't want me trying to sew a skirt or a dress! I can barely sew on a button!} I am blessed to be a part of it all.

Here are some photos of Chloe modeling Valerie's first-ever apron knot dress. Isn't it beautiful...



They way she chose to put together the patterns and fabrics is perfection.



And Chloe definitely felt like a princess wearing this creation. In her own words..."Oh my! It's my Chloe princess flag dress," as she proceeded to dance around the yard.





As you may recall if you are a regular follower of this blog, my husband is running for re-election this year and we are in full campaign mode. {Click here to read more about his campaign.} What's more perfect for Chloe to wear to all those parades than this beautiful, patriotic creation.



Thanks so much Valerie for allowing us to be a small piece of your precious plan to help others. We are blessed.

To order your own beautiful apron dress, or to see other creations Valerie is continuing to add to her inventory, visit Valerie's blog, http://almyfamilyjournal.blogspot.com/.

The Potty Princess

I have been hesitating writing this post, for fear I'd jinx it. But with almost 3 weeks of no accidents under our belts, I think it's safe to say that Chloe is officially potty trained! {Or if you ask her, she is officially 'The Potty Princess!'}

Whoever said girls are easier to train than boys didn't know Chloe. She had to decide on her own it was time, and nothing I did {or tried to bribe her with, ha!} was going to work. She just decided she wanted to 'be a big girl.'

And are we ever grateful for our big girl. Isn't she cute with her just-like-mommy sunglasses ;) Such a big girl!

Bucket Bottle Calf

When a cow is unable to care for a newborn calf, a common practice is to raise the animal independently. These animals are nicknamed bucket calves because they are fed with a bucket or a bottle until they are weaned.

Didn't the previous paragraph sound like I know what I'm talking about. That is thanks to Google. Because when Jason suggested we get a couple of bucket bottle calves for the kids to take care of this summer, I really was clueless. But, since we're always up for an adventure around our house, I was all for it!

We received the girl {heifer} first. Her name is Lola Aleshia Sanders. Cooper came up with 'Lola,' Gabe added the middle name 'Aleshia,' and of course why wouldn't the new member of our clan share our last name.

A few days later the boy {bull} arrived. His name is MJ. He was originally named 'Yoda' by the kids, but dad overruled and called him MJ {he came to us with an ear tag numbered 23, Michael Jordan's number. Hence, MJ.}

The kids feed the calves from their bottles twice a day, which they love {the calves AND the kids.} It's been a joy to watch Gabe, Cooper and Chloe take on the responsibility of taking care of the calves. They really enjoy the whole process. And although I would never want to have a whole herd of cows, these two calves are quite an adorable addition to our clan. And their little Moo's are adorable too!

Here's some photos from our new adventure...

Lola...




Cooper feeding Lola...


Gabe feeding Lola...


Chloe holding the calves' bottle...


Gavin wishing his bottle was as big as the calves...


Our cat, Walle, does not care for the calves. He sits in the tree above them with his back hunched, ready to attack...




Chloe with MJ, very reminiscent of little house on the prairie...

Black & White Wednesday: We are FaMiLy!

It's been so very long since I've participated in Black & White Wednesday over at The Long Road to China. And oh how I've missed it! If life ever slows down, maybe I'll get back into the swing of things. Wishful thinking with four kids I think, but a girl can dream.

I recently posted about our family photo shoot. As I mentioned in that post, the task was to get some family photos for my husband's political campaign material. I thought I'd share some more of our family images. As I said before, I never look forward to trying to get photos of our whole family as it's always a tricky job when I'm the one behind the camera. But that's what the tripod is for!

Here's some in black & white...

The Sanders Family...


The kids...


Chloe...


And a few in color, just for fun!

Gabe, 7...


Gavin, 11 months...


Cooper, 5...


Chloe, 3...


Jason, known around here as dad...


And me,{aka mom}...


Thanks for visiting! I'm looking forward to checking out everyone's black & whites this week!

Campaigning

My husband is a politician. And a youth pastor. Strange combination? Maybe. But for the last eight years not only has Jason served as youth pastor at our church, but he's also been one of three elected county supervisors. He first ran when he was only 23 years old. He is the youngest elected supervisor in history! Crazy, right?!

Anyway, every four years it's time to run for re-election. Some local candidates end up running unopposed. Not Jason. He's had an opponent every time we've ran. He's always won in the past, always a humbling experience to again be chosen to represent our fellow county residents. But because we would never take a win for granted, we always go all out. This means attending every parade in the county throughout the summer, handing out candy and campaign fliers. And we door knock at every town in the county in the fall, closer to election time. It's time consuming, but it's also fun to get out and meet people we may have never met otherwise.

Since I needed to design some new campaign handouts, I also needed to get some new family shots for those handouts. And since I'm usually the one behind the camera, I was not looking forward to trying to get some family shots of ALL of us. Not an easy task.

Here's what we were able to get...


And can you believe, we got this on the first try. With four young children. God was with us that evening, because that's truly a miracle! ;)

And here's where we used it...

{FRONT}


{BACK}


We handed out the first set of these campaign fliers at our first local parade of the year today. And let me tell you, it was HOT. And it was HUMID. Grandma watched the parade with Gavin in tow while the other Sanders crew walked in the parade. Well, I should say Jason and I walked. I pulled Chloe in a red wagon and Gabe & Cooper rode on a golf cart. The kids had SO MUCH FUN throwing candy and seeing many of their friends from school and church. We had lots of friends helping us hand out fliers, and although we were all hot, I think we deem the first Sanders for Supervisor parade outing a success!

After we got home, I took a quick photo of the kids in their campaign tees. Just look at these kiddos...who wouldn't vote for their daddy after-all, right?!? ;)



Thanks to all of you that helped, and to all of you who have offered us your support in various ways. We are truly blessed beyond measure.

Is it my turn?

For the longest time, the boys would be playing Wii and poor little Chloe would be asking, "Is it my turn? When is it gonna be my turn?"

But Gabe & Cooper, being the skilled Wii players that they are, had little interest in letting their little sister play with them. It's just recently that they've finally started letting her play with them every now and then.

But with this many kids, there's always someone waiting for a turn...



I love this one, where it looks like Gavin is raising his hand. Pick me, pick me...



It's a good thing many games are four players, because I'm thinking Gavin is going to want to be right in on the action.

Cooper's Preschool Graduation

Cooper had his preschool celebration/graduation a few weeks back. I'm just finally getting around to posting about it. Maybe it's because I've been so busy. Or maybe I'm just in denial that my little boy has officially completed preschool and will be in kindergarten in the fall. I'm cherishing this summer with all my kiddos. They just grow too fast!

Here's Cooper on 'stage' during the time that the preschoolers sang some songs. Oh my goodness, they were so very cute! I forgot the camcorder that day and am just kicking myself. Notice Cooper smiling right at the camera. That's my boy! And I think he was just a little happy to be standing by one of his beautiful classmates :)



Here's Cooper with his graduation certificate, standing by what will be his lockers next year in kindergarten. I just love his kool-aid mustache...



And finally, Cooper with his teachers taken on the last day of school. He's going to miss them...


I now have two kids that will be in school in the fall {Insert tears here}, and two still at home. Congratulations Cooper!

Ten

Ten years ago tonight, I was at my wedding reception dancing and celebrating with the man I would spend the rest of my life with.

It was just Jason and I, two kids at the tender age of 21, vowing to love each other forever with God at the throne of our marriage. And ten years later, God still sits there, uniting us as one.

We also have four kids, family, friends, vehicles, hobbies, Supervisor campaigns, photo shoots, youth group meetings, kids' activities, house renovations...in short, a lot filling our lives. But God remains number one. And without Him at the center, I shutter to think what would have become of us.

I thank Him for bringing us together. For perfectly orchestrating every single event that brought us to that marriage ceremony ten years ago. When I think of how easy it would have been for us to have missed one another....if I had never moved into Jason's hometown my freshman year of high school. If I had never dated his friend, or been in the same American Literature class. Or if I had never taken the time to look past the outward arrogance of a teenage boy that I saw upon first glance, and look into the inner workings of what makes Jason such an awesome man of God. How easily we could have missed each other, and would never be celebrating ten years and four kids together. But thank God for His grace, for having patience with us when we make mistakes. For being a God who is faithful, and loving. Who is just and perfect. Who loves us more than we can even fathom, and who gives us helpmates to love.

So ten years later, I thank God for Jason. I thank God for blessing me with a husband who is perhaps the most discerning man I've ever met. Who longs for the Lord's will to be done in every situation and who leads with God's authority. And who loves me unconditionally. I couldn't ask for anything more.

I love you Jason.