2103 Review

2013 was definitely one for the record books for our family! We hit major milestones, added new members and celebrated Gotcha Days, weddings, births, and moves this year. Here it is in pictures... I kinda can't believe we all made it!

I turned the big 3-0 in January. We celebrated with a fun family dinner.

February 4th we added our third little boy to the family. We happily welcomed Casen Cole to our crazy bunch!

Holy cow! We have three boys under three! Bennett's face is how we felt... Not positive this was a good idea for any of the five of us!

Aunt Sass gave Bennett his first hair cut.

In April I joined Thirty-One and it has been a huge blessing to me and a gift to my sanity!

Happy Easter!

Tucker turned 3 in April! I'm not sure how that's possible.

On Mother's Day we got to dedicated Bennett and Casen at FBC Sayre and their Daddy got to do the honors. One of the benefits of being a PK I guess.

Our sweet Emrie girl gave her heart to Jesus and was baptized in May at FBC Purcell. We're so proud of her and thankful for her decision to follow Christ.

 In June we married this one off! I still can't really wrap my mind around that. She was a stunning bride and the wedding turned out beautifully, despite that the rehearsal dinner was spent trying to out run tornados. The new brother in law is ok too! Although he moved her to Denver so that's a pretty big strike for the big sisters to get over.  

We loaded up for one last summer at Falls Creek. Bennett, Tucker and I stayed for all but one and half days of camp, but we went early so we really made it a week. They did great and were spoiled as usually by our great Sayre church family. I don't know that Tucker ate anything but dessert all week, but we all had a great time.

We spent lots of time in the water and outside. The sprinkler, pool and lake were all big hits for Tucker this summer! Bennett also loved the water. 

We took our first trip to the ER for stitches. Bennett knocked a mirror over and cute Casen's head open pretty good. Little brother was a trooper and didn't really complain much at all. First of many trips like this I'm afraid with our brood.

Tucker played wee ball this summer. It was something else. Pretty cute even if he never really did what he was supposed. I don't know that Tuck is our baseball player but he loved it anyway!

Aunt Sass also got a hold of Casen's curls for the first time this year.

 I got to cross a HUGE item off my bucket list. Garth Brooks came to Norman in July for a tornado relief concert and our good friend got us tickets! It was blazing hot, but TOTALLY worth it! I might of cried a little, but we sang along with every word of his hits and loved getting to see Garth live. I was also astounded at how much he looks like my dad. Weird.

On August 15th we officially added Bennett as a Gordon. His Gotcha Day was so special because we got to do it in Sayre surrounded by lots of people who love us. 

 Bennett's first plane ride. We went for a visit to North Carolina for Chris to check out Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Ben enjoyed being an only child for a few days and he was a trooper on our trip. Fun memories!

At the end of September we packed up one house and moved to another. We left our church family in Sayre to move to FBC Greenfield where Chris is now a pastor. It's been a wonderful experience so far, however I remembered how much I hate packing and moving. It was even worse with three tinys to help.

 October 1st was Casen Cole's Gotcha Day. We stood before the same judge that added Tucker to our family. We were so excited to finalize all our adoption stuff for a while at least.

On October 13th our sweet Bennett Harris turned one year old. I really can't believe we all made it to this landmark. There were/are many days that I don't know that we will. 

Later that week our BH got really sick and had to spend a night in the hospital with striker. No fun, but made me really appreciate my healthy children. I can't imagine having a baby that was really sick and had to spend lots of days in that baby cage. 

 Chelsie came home from Denver so we could make our annual sister trip to the Affair of the Heart. I'm so thankful for my sisters and couldn't have picked better best friends. I can't imagine life without them!

 For Halloween we had a Very Hungry Caterpillar and two pears that he ate right through. I've had this caterpillar costume for two years and it finally fit! I just can't get over how cute they are. I do love a good theme as well. We spent Halloween at the church carnival and went to several of our new church members houses to trick or treat. 

The weekend of Thanksgiving we married of Delton to sweet Sarah. They got married in Stillwater and our favorite Poke showed up to the reception. Tucker was a super cute ring bearer but when Pete shot his guns he hit the deck and refused to get close to him. We're so happy to have Sarah in our family now!

 The littles loved the Christmas tree and helped decorate it a little everyday. I found cars, tractors, balls and various other toys in it nearly every day. 

 

Tucker and I took a special trip to Denver to visit Aunt Chelsie and Tuck got to take his first flight. He loved it! It was so fun to just have Tuck time. He's getting so big these days.

 We've made lots of new friends at our new church. The nursery is full for SEVEN boys all born between October and March. Here's some of our boys before they made their Christmas play debut as sweet sheep. 

 Right before Christmas Bennett had surgery to remove a cyst that was above his left eye. He did great!

 Looking spiffy for church the week before Christmas. Pictures are always a crap shoot with these boys. Oh well. I better get used to it I guess. This was also on our Nana and Papa's 60th wedding anniversary. We joined their party that afternoon. What a legacy! 

I got to finish out the year with a fun college roommate reunion. These girls met me in Purcell for dinner and a slumber party. It was wonderful to see them!

We've been busy this year! Add in Thanksgiving, Christmas and Chris had neck surgery the day before Christmas Eve and I'm not sure what else can happen next. 2014 will have to have a lot to offer to our do 2013. I pray it's more peaceful and we all fall more in love with each other and Jesus. I'm way ok with less exciting! I'm not sure I can take much more. ha. 

Well there ya have it. 

College Roommate Reunion

   Oh how I love these girls! Four of the six of my roommates from the Philly House got together right after Christmas to love on each other for a few hours because Kristin was in Oklahoma. Everyone met at my mom's house and spent a lovely evening together. We had a great dinner at Local in Norman and then they all stayed for a slumber party. The time we spend together is so sweet because it's so rare. These girls were each a huge part of my college experience and I'm so thankful for their rich friendships that pick up right where we left off. Thirty looks a lot different then twenty did, but having friends that have seen both and still like you is a huge blessing! I'm so glad we made the time to see each other.

Judah also made his Philly Girl debut and we all loved getting to snuggle with him throughout the reunion. He was a trooper because we kept him out late, but just having one baby amongst the four of us was also a treat for the momma's of the group! Although I think Megan was his favorite.

Until next time my sweet roommates! Love ya'll dearly!

The Best of 2012

2012 was a pretty great year for our family! We made some great memories and accomplished some big goals. We also found out some pretty wonderful news about how our family would be growing. So here are some highlights!

I got to take a once in a lifetime trip with four of my five roommates from college to New York City! We had a blast together and made so many new memories! I can't believe we all turned 30 in the year since we were there! Love these girls and all they mean and have added to my life while at OBU and since.

Tucker turned two years old! 

Our big brother moved back in for another summer as youth intern and Tucker's personal playmate. We're so thankful for JK and the extension of our family that he is. 

I got to watch these three beautiful girls graduate from high school! We've walked together since they're freshman year and I'm just so proud of who they became while I had audience to watch!

I cut nine inches off of my hair and had five others who joined in growing their hair out for a whole year and donating their length to Locks of Love! So proud of these kids!!!

We made some great memories at the pool!

I got the pleasure of spending the weekend before Falls Creek setting up our cabin with these babies of mine. What a wonderful weekend it was! It was a honor to pray over them as for them as they took the lead in our cabin. We are so blessed by great students who love each other, their peers, us and best of all our babies!

We spent many hot days on The Fiesta! My sister and her husband bought a snazzy boat and we took full advantage spending days together on the water. 

Our park in Elk City has a train that runs all summer long every evening. Tucker LOVES it! We took a ride nearly every time we were in Elk. 

In September we officially gained another brother in law. Jared put a ring on my baby sister's finger and we all got to be there to celebrate!!! 

Chris and I celebrated our 6th anniversary and I tried on my wedding dress. It's a little lumpier then it was six years ago, but it still zips! 

We got to take a ride on Thomas the Train with DiDi. Tucker LOVED it!

We found out on August 10th that Bennett Harris Gordon would be joining our family in October. On October 13th we finally got to meet this little blessing and fell immediately in love with him!

We also got to introduce our boys to each other. 

Family of FOUR! For a few months at least! We also found out on September 10th that Tucker's birth mom, who is pregnant, wanted us to parent her baby as well. We can't wait to meet Casen Cole Gordon sometime around
February 6th, 2013!

We made our way back to Elk City park in one of our many stop to look at Christmas lights. Tucker also enjoyed riding the carousel and train while we were there.

Becoming a Momma of two has proven to be just as big of a blessing it was to become a Momma of one. Motherhood is the greatest calling, challenge and blessing of my life. I'm so grateful this is my life and these are my boys! We truly believe love makes a family and ours is overflowing with it!