A FuN-filled FaMiLy birthday party in GeOrGiA!!

We had a fabulous time in Georgia celebrating Hudson's 2nd birthday!  We decided to keep it simple and have a fun-filled family b-day party...all the grandparents, aunts, uncles, great-grandparents, and cousins along w/ some good friends...a great time was had by ALL!! ;)

Mallory and Jackson loved Hudson's Ducky pull-apart birthday cake...and Hudson is a "pro" at blowing out his candles!! ;)

Jackson and Hudson enjoying their cupcakes! ;)

These three couldn't wait to get in the WATER!! Mallory (5) Jackson (4) Hudson (2) :)

Lovin the kiddy pool area!!

As ya'll know..Hudson LOVES the water (he's like a fish!;)  And..he's a "serious" jumper.. I always tell people he's been jumping since the WOMB!! :)

We had a GREAT time celebrating Hudson's 2nd b-day!! THANKS EVERYone!!! ;)

*I may have to share more "cousin pictures"!! They're just TOO cute not to share!* ;)

The big T.W.O.!!!!!

TWO years ago today (May 26) the Lord blessed us with our amazing HUDSON!!  As most of you know Brad and I decided to be "surprised" by the gender.  During my labor our doctor asked what the names would be (for girl or boy, which we were also keeping a secret ;)...we told her and when Hudson was born she announced "he's a Hudson Michael"...it was one of the most incredible moments of our entire life!! I LOVED the way our doctor introduced him to the world!! ;)

Here we are at Hudson's 1st b-day...I seriously can't believe how fast time flies (especially with a child!).  We are so thankful for Hudson's very active, adventurous, inquisitive, curious, fun-loving, outgoing, happy, joyful and VERY entertaining personality! ;)

We have a FUN b-day weekend planned with friends and family in Georgia...stay tuned for lots of fun pictures!! ;)

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY to MY FaVoRiTe little man in the WHOLE wide WORLD, my HUDSON!!! :)

*Sadly we're spending Hudson's actual birthday in a car for a 9+ hour roadtrip to GA...but no worries, I have cupcakes, candles, b-day hats, balloons and all the fun to make his day SPECIAL!! :)*

A Brown "first" + an ice cream social!

The Brown's definitely had a "first" this weekend...we made a HOMEMADE pizza!!!  It may be shocking to some of you that I've never made a homemade pizza (as much as I love to cook)...but it's TRUE!  Even the dough is homemade...and underneath all that cheese and pepperoni smiley-face is fresh pineapple, mushrooms, olives and more pepperoni!  It was delicious...and Hudson was a great helper!!! ;)

The Chef and her side-kick! ;)

And..today (Monday) was Hudson's last day of his one-morning a week pre-school.  They had a fun little ice-cream social with all the parents...it was a ton of fun! ;) 

Hudson's b-day is this Thursday (May 26) and another little boy in the class (Nash) will be 2 on May 29th...so his mom and I decided it would be a great time to sing HAPPY B-DAY as a class...ice cream sundaes + cupcakes= SUGAR HIGH (craziness)!!! :)

Hudson loved his Birthday crown that Miss Hope and Miss Kim (his teachers) gave him! ;)

Daddy reading to Hudson and Nash (the other soon-to-be birthday boy).

Hudson and his sweet buddy, George!  It has been a great year and we have really enjoyed his little class!! ;)

More to come on all the birthday "extravaganza" later this week/weekend!! ;)

DiViDeD Household!! TOO CUTE!!!

As most of you know, Brad is a Georgia Bull"dawg" fan and I am an Auburn Tiger (2011 National Champions!!)...YES, we are a divided household!  Brad loves giving my mom a hard time about football, Auburn, and anything in between...I think this video pretty much sums it up!  Even though I do NOT support UGA in any way...this really is SUPER cute!! haha! ;)

P.S. Hudson already knows how to say WAR EAGLE {I just haven't gotten it on video!}!! ;)

A recommendation..

Brad and I are reading this book with our Lifegroup from church...I honestly can't say enough great things about it!  It's such an incredible and biblical perspective on parenting...it's been so "eye-opening"!  It's so true that the central focus of parenting is the gospel!  One of my favorite quotes from the book:

"The purpose for your authority in the lives of your children is not to hold them under your power, but to empower them to be self-controlled people living freely under the authority of God."

I love that the book is so biblically based... I know for Brad and I we are in the "midst of the beginning" of real discipline.  This book is full of clear, biblical and practical teaching for parenting. 

I just thought I'd pass it along {recommend} for anyone that might be interested!! ;)

Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.

~ Proverbs 22:6

Our trip to Arkansas...(3 years ago)!

Okay, I told ya'll I'd post some pics from our trip to the White River (Ozarks) in Arkansas.  This was one of our many "spontaneous" trips...I think we talked about it on a Monday and left on a Wednesday (it was during my first summer {2008} as a teacher...LOVED having summers off!;). 

To begin this post... Brad convinced me we'd be staying at a nice Bed and Breakfast.  Let's just say we pulled up to the sketchiest Motel on the side of the highway...it was NO "B&B" but after I let Brad know my disappointment (and frustration) we had a VERY fun time! ;) (I'm sure ya'll that know Brad can totally see him convincing me of this nice "B&B";)..haha!! 

This trip was totally for Brad..everything we did was 100% outdoors..not to mention 6 hours of FISHING!!!  I'd just like to say {for the record} I caught the max limit of fish...while Brad barely caught 5! ;)

In Brad's defense..I did have the fishing guide helping me! ;)

The White River is gorgeous!

You can tell I'm not a "natural" at holding fish! haha! ;)

This was the beginning of our 17 mile canoeing trip...another fun "Brad fact"..I would turn around and find Brad fishing out the canoe while I pulled all the weight {TRUE STORY}!  But wait for it...

HAHAHAHA!! This picture cracks me up...ya'll that know me can imagine my frustration and exhaustion by mile 13 (or 14) with no sign of our "B&B" in sight!  Apparently, this lovely couple noticed (and heard) my frustration and asked if we'd like some help...so they pulled us all the way back to our "B&B"..haha! ;)

We really did have an amazing time on that trip...I hope you enjoyed going back down memory lane with me!  It's hard to believe this was almost 3 years ago (it was sometime in early August 2008).  Maybe next time I'll do a post on BOSTON!! ;)

Fabulous FIVE!!!

FIVE years ago today (May 13) Brad and I said "I DO".  And I certainly DO believe it has been a fabulous and fun 5 years!! :)

Leaving our reception in the limo...saying goodbye!  It really was one of the HAPPIEST days of our life! ;)

On our honeymoon in St. Lucia!

A year later we went to LA (California) to visit one of my childhood bff's.  Here we are standing in front of the HOLLYWOOD sign!  We have made some of the most incredible memories...I love our sweet life together! ;)

A quick trip to Las Vegas with my parents!

Some of you may not know about this trip...Oh, the funny stories I could share (I'll do a post soon!;).  We went on a trip to the White River (Ozarks) in Arkansas...this trip was full of canoeing (17 miles UP stream!), fishing, hiking, horseback riding, etc... Yep, you can imagine the funny stories!!! ;)

And..probably my favorite vacation together thus far (not including the trip to Disney World w/ my parents while we dated)...BOSTON!!  We had the most incredible time...we love that city!! :)

BTW- I was about 14 weeks pregnant here...we went right before Thanksgiving so when we came home we shared our news with everyone!! ;)

And who could forget the proudest moment of our lives... (May 26, 2009) ;)

About 15 months later Brad and I decided it was time for a little "R&R"...so we headed down south to KEY WEST!! ;)

*Hudson had a fabulous time staying with his Bee and Dee!* ;)

Here we are 5 years later!  This year will also make 10 years TOGETHER (we dated all through college;).  Most of ya'll know I just can't PRAISE the Lord enough for the amazing man Brad is to me, Hudson and EVERYone he meets!  I could go on and on about all the reasons I LOVE and ADORE Brad but in honor of 5 years I'll give 5 reasons:

1. He loves, seeks and trusts the Lord with all his mind, strength and soul.

2. He is a phenomenal father and an incredibly FUN dad! ;)

3. He willingly washes dishes and unloads the dishwasher.

4. He enjoys watching GLEE with me (he's about 79% "gleek";).

5. He pursues my heart every. single. day.

Okay, 5 just isn't enough...I'll share one more reason (I mean we are going in to year #6 ;).

#6. Brad is the MOST servant-hearted man I KNOW (there is NOTHING he won't do for someone!).

Brad, Life is better, sweeter and alot more FUN because of YOU! xoxo 

This is where we'll be in a little over two weeks to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary! Ya'll stay tuned for more clues... ;)

Fun Mother's Day Weekend!

We had a great weekend...and I especially had a fabulous Mother's day weekend!!! ;) I want to show Granddaddy (Brad's dad) how much Hudson is LOVING his Plasma Car...he rides it like it's his bike and he is a master at steering that thing!! ;)

When Brad got home Friday afternoon..we went straight to "Friday's at 5" in downtown C'ville to meet some of our good friends!  It's a fun FREE event that C'ville has EVERY Friday from April-September with live music, activities for the kids, hotdog/nacho vendors, wine/beer vendors, etc... it's a TON of fun!!

Our good friend, Matt and his son, David..we love the Hines!!  Hudson and David were lovin' their suckers...it's amazing the joy a little piece of candy brings a child! ;)

Hudson loves music and loves dancing...so you can imagine how much he LOVED "Fridays at 5"! ;)

And for my Mother's day gift we had some pictures of Hudson taken on Saturday morning at UVA... I can't wait to share some of the pics with ya'll!! ;) I think the photographer got some great shots!! :) We had the BEST Saturday...after the pictures we stayed around the University and let Hudson run around, had some yummy Dunkin Donuts, and I got to do a little "fun" shopping at some of the local boutiques..FUN, FUN!! ;)

*I missed alot of great picture moments... my camera battery died after I took this picture! Bummer!*

I hope all you special Mom's out there had a FABULOUS Mother's day weekend!!

I meant to post this yesterday but I'd especially like to give MY MOM a shout out for being the BEST Mom on the Planet and having such a positive impact on my life!!! ;) And to my Mother-in-law who had the privilege of raising the most incredible man I know!! ;)

Lovin' the BoB CaT!

Uncle John and Aunt Rebecca (my brother and sister-in-law) gave Hudson his "Bob Cat" for Christmas!  We didn't think Hudson could be "trusted" on it at only 19months but he sure is LOVIN' it now! ;)  THANKS Uncle John and Aunt Rebecca!! ;)