Camden's First Road Trip

A couple weeks ago, Camden and I embarked upon our first road trip together.  It was just the two of us, Parker stayed at home with Daddy.  My mom and her sisters and their mom try to get together once a year for a girls' only weekend.  Basically what this means is lots of eating, shopping and giggling, and that's exactly what we did!

Camden and I left on a Friday morning, and drove about 8 hours to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.  He was so good in the car.  There were times that he was being so quiet I almost forgot he was in the car with me!

The night we got there we had a delicious dinner, and unfortunately my Aunt Jo experienced her first gall bladder attack.  The picture below is her attempt to alleviate some of the pain.  Even with the painful start to the weekend she made the best of it, and was able to enjoy the rest of the time together.

 On Saturday morning we woke up and headed out for a long day of shopping and eating.  We went to a very cool market where we could each choose what type of delicious food we wanted.  We also went to a matinee movie, Mom's Night Out.  Such a wonderful movie that all of us could relate to and enjoy together.

That night we went to a hibachi restaurant.  We thoroughly  enjoyed watching him chop, flip and serve us our small portions mounds of food.

 On Sunday, instead of sticking around in Pittsburg we went back to Berlin which is where all of my Aunts and Grandma live.  I got to see the rest of my cousins, Aunts, and Uncles.   None of them had met Camden yet, so it was a lot of fun being able to show this little man off.

He was such a wonderful travel companion.  I know that it was supposed to be a girls only weekend, but I don't think anyone could say no to this little cutie.  

Meanwhile, back at home my other two boys had a crazy busy, but fun weekend. It consisted of hitting up some yard sales to find some extra special treasures, long naps, McDonalds, movies, Chik-Fila, and of course, church. Parker even went up on stage with Daddy during run through. I think it was quite the experience for both of them :)

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend had by all.  I so enjoy hanging out with my mom, aunts and Grandma.  They are so silly and so fun to be around.  I am always guaranteed a good laugh and fond memories when it comes to these women.  Thank you for investing in my family and loving on my boys!  

I had to throw in one last little video of the weekend.  It is just a good example of the guaranteed laugh when in their presence.  We somehow locked ourselves in the car while the alarm went off... Not too sure how it happened, but I did capture the ridiculous moment on video :) Enjoy!

Have a great weekend and Happy Friday!

With Love, From Charlotte

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is such a sweet day to honor the woman that carried us for nine months, worried throughout the night when we were first born checking every ten minutes to make sure we were still breathing.  Nursed us/fed us every 2 hours at the beginning, despite the desperate need for sleep.  Taught us our please and thank you's, how to spell our name, and how to use the potty.  How to pretend and play house and school, and how to share with our friends and siblings.

The woman who made our lunches for school and had dinner ready for us at night.  The woman who helped us with our homework, and practiced our spelling words with us before our big test on Friday.  The woman who drove us and came to softball games, volleyball games, gymnastics practice and competitions.  The woman who cut our hair, (even when she probably shouldn't have) and sewed our totally awesome, sibling matching, sweat suits.  The woman who taught us how to clean, cook and serve.

She taught us how to drive without making her gasp every time we hit brake or drove to fast.  She consistently encouraged us throughout those high school years even when our attitude and words made it seem as though we didn't appreciate it.

Then, when we went away to college she would call us to make sure we were studying and to see how our last exam went.  She was there to listen and pray for us when our hearts were broken or something didn't turn out the way we thought it should.  She's the one who did our laundry when we came home on Christmas break, and made sure to make our favorite dinners while we were there.

She's also the one who we told first that we were engaged, and would be marrying the one she had prayed for since the day we were born.  She's the one who helped us get ready for the wedding and eventually gave us away to our spouse.  

This is the woman who when we were pregnant answered all of our crazy questions, and assured us we looked great despite our swollen ankles and big bellies.  She's the woman that was there for us in the labor room, because when we don't feel good we need our mommy there.  The woman that cleans my house after my second born because, well mostly because it hasn't happened in weeks and probably won't for several more :) She's the one I think of and thank when I have days with my own children in which I want to pull my hair out.   She's also the one that inspires me to push on and keep investing in them, because I'm their mom and this is the call that God has placed on me.

We use this day to celebrate the women that started praying for us before we were even born so that one day we may be able to experience all of the wonderful, scary, exciting, and challenging things that come with life.

She is my mom and my boys' grandma.  She is patient, gentle, caring, a prayer warrior, casserole master, applesauce maker, and someone that I hope I can be like as I am growing in this role.  Thank you for taking such good care of us.  I love you and hope you feel blessed today.

Your mom may be many of these things to you, or many other things.  But I pray that today we can take a moment to celebrate and honor the one who we call mom

Happy Mother's Day!

With Love, From Charlotte