My Life...My Children...My Goodness.....

3 kids. That is what God has blessed us with. 2 the old fashioned way and 1 through the miracle of adoption.



I love my 3 kids. They are all unique. Totally Different. Their personalities, their physical traits, the whole package.





Ashton. My athlete. My kid who wants to fit in and be popular. My kid who doesn't reveal his feelings as well but will come into my room at night and lay down next to me and pretend like nothing is bothering him. After a few minutes his shield begins to come down a little and I can usually find out what is going on in that head/heart of his.



He doesn't show his feelings very well and heaven forbid that he ever tells you he is sorry for something. He will stand there and give me that look that says "OK, I will say it, but only because you are making me." Of all my kids, he is the most like me. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Well, he ain't ugly. He's actually a very handsome boy. I knew when he was born and the nurse pointed out those dimples right away that I would have trouble.



He is on top of his game most of the time. He wants to do well and make good grades. He has very little patience (another trait of mine). He is tender hearted in a lot of ways and last year after church camp when he mentioned that $20 will buy food, shelter, water, and school supplies for children in India and he had tears in his eyes, I had one of those moments that my heart was bursting with pride. He had donated his money and didn't have any for food on the trip home. For this boy to sacrifice food says a lot about him. He is a good boy and I love him so much.



That is not to say that he drives me nuts every morning when I am trying to get him out of the bed. He is also very demanding at times.

BRADY. Oh dear Brady.....Words are hard to find.

This kid is one of a kind. Thank GOD.

In all fairness, he is my firstborn and I made a lot of mistakes with him. It's really not fair to be the firstborn. No matter how many books you read and people you talk with, their is no real preparation for that first kid. Trial and error.

Brady is a sensitive soul. He is very loving and never hesitates to hug and kiss me no matter where we are or who he is with. He frequently tells us what good parents we are and I think he realizes that not all kids have parents that support them and encourage them as much as we do. It breaks my heart to hear him talk about some of the kids at school and the relationships they have with their parents. I have always tried to be very open with him and tried not to show too much alarm when he tells me things. Granted, that may involve a quick turn of the head or quick trip to the bathroom to collect my thoughts before I say something I shouldn't.

Brady is a left brain person. I am right brain. We don't have much in common, other than our love of politics and a dry sense of humor. He drives me crazy. He is messy, unkept, unorganized, laid back, etc. You can add as many adjectives to that as you can think of. His room is a disaster and he will spend all day "working" on it and never get finished. Easily distracted. He reminds me of a dog chasing his tail. Never catches it, tires out, lays down.

Musically talented. Loves anything that involves music, especially drums. I have NO musical ability.

Brady can debate with the best of them. He has an argument for everything and it drives me NUTS. He has not learned to accept responsibility well yet. He is always of the mindset that it's someone else's fault. That remains a work in progress and I suspect he will eventually figure this out. Amazing how life teaches you that.

Brady is amazingly smart. Unfortunately, his inability to stay organized works against that. He is the king of lost homework assignments. He has been wearing that crown since the fifth grade. I really wish he could have passed that crown to someone else, but it never happened. He will be a Senior this fall. I hope. I can honestly say that I am looking forward to him graduating. It will be a load off my shoulders. I know that their will be other stresses to follow, but at least that one will be over.

Yes, he is unique. I love him and am so proud of him. Other than a few mishaps, he has given us very little trouble. He is very comfortable in his skin and doesn't care if he fits in or not. He is band nerd and he will be the first one to say that. I wish that I could have really been as comfortable with myself when I was 17. That is a gift and I know that it will serve him well.

If only he can make it out of high school without me killing him.

One of the other things that I absolutely love about my boys is how much they love their sister. She adores them and they her. It's fun to watch. Brady's pet name for Emma is "punk". He calls her that all the time and it's so cute. Ashton is always loving on her or aggravating her. That is just his way.

I was busy one night this week and didn't know where she was. She had gone down the steps to the man cave and was sitting in the recliner with Ashton playing XBOX. She has the headphones on and was "talking" to Ashton's opponent. I'm sure Ashton was using this distraction as some form of stategy, but it was hilarious to see her doing it. Ashton told me they were just "chilling".

Yes, this girl scored big with her 2 big brothers. I feel sorry for any boy who has to answer to them someday.

Emma. She is work in progress and I love seeing her personality shine through. She is so funny. Trying at times, yes. I think a lot of that will get better as her speech emerges. I look so forward to the day that she can speak clearly. I know it's frustrating for her and there are days when it is very frustrating for me as well.

I realize this post was all over the place. That's okay, it was for me. It has been an especially stressful week and I just needed some reminders why I love these kiddos so much.

I didn't have to think too hard.