I am so behind on chronicling the days of our lives, so even though, our boy graduated 3 weeks ago, I could not resist sharing this momentous occasion. Jason and I are still determining if he will start Kindergarten or if we will give him one more year in preschool.  We go back and forth, but for now, we will celebrate how big our boy is and how he is growing up!

Bradley had two short sentences in the play they performed, which had been pre-recorded. He sang so good and did all his motions!

Afterwards they received their diplomas…

Nana and Poppy with the graduate

Jason and I with our boy.

Bradley and Emery

The real Bradley and Emery!

Bradley we are so proud of you…now stop growing.

For Bradley’s birthday party, we had a Hot Wheels party. He really just wanted to spend time playing Wii with his “frans.” We had gone bowling as a family, out to eat on his actual Birthday, had cupcakes for his class…it was really a little ridiculous. But, you only turn 5 once and so I am okay with it!  My wonderful friend, Kristy, designed some water bottle wrappers and Cupcake toppers to go with our Hot Wheel theme. We played Wii,  had some crafts for the girls and played cars…very simple and low key.

Our lonely bowling alley/hallway/coat closet/racetrack

Our water bottle labels…we are still drinking out of them!

I just bought plain cupcakes and then added the toppers.

I had easy sweets for the party. I made some chocolate and sprinkle covered pretzel sticks, oreos (wheels), the surprising hit of Pixie sticks and

Starburst jellybeans…who doesn’t love a s Starburst jellybean?

I decorated with glass filled hot wheels and hot wheel tracks!!

Girly car shaped melt a beads and car shaped DIY gummies…

My boy is in heaven right now!!

Playing Konnect…so fun.

Time to eat..

Again…the Pixie sticks were the big hit…

We had a fun afternoon and hopefully made a few memories for our boy!

I can barely contain myself over the fact that Bradley is five years old. He seriously looked bigger to me today.We have had one fun day celebrating with Ice Cream Cupcakes, going to eat at Five Guys and Sweet CeCe’s and spending time playing outside and with your new toys!

I am so over the top in love with that kid….he is just pure joy to me.

Don’t get me wrong, he is active and we have our share of “moments” but….he is my boy.

Yesterday, in honor of his last day to be four, I let him choose four things he wanted to do. He chose the following things:

1. Eat cake for breakfast. I love birthday cake, so I get it…and I let him devour it. We had left over cake from his Family Bowling Birthday party….our extended family went bowling and it was sooo much fun.

2. Play Wii- he could play Super Hero Squad for HOURS if we let him…he asks for it first thing in the morning and then every 30 seconds until I cave in at 6:58 am. No surprise he wanted to play.

3. Open his new Lacrosse set. We are all so ready to play outside….it has been a long, cold winter. He and Parker ended up playing it in the hallway/bowling alley and I was reminded that our huge wasted space, is in fact, a blessing in disguise.

4. “Be wif you, Mommy.” Again, I point to the fact that I am head over heels for this boy…all of my children, in fact. But, those sweet little mispronounced words remind me that I am so very blessed to call him my boy.

Bradley, my prayer for you will always be that you chase HARD after the God of the universe. I pray that you seek HIS face FIRST and that NOTHING will sway you from your passionate, devotion to HIM. I pray that your GOD given charm and energy will be used to draw those who are far from HIS saving grace to an abundant life in CHRIST. I pray you LEAD when no one else is willing, when it is DIFFICULT and with the heart of GOD. You have a purpose and that is to bring GLORY and HONOR to the Name of CHRIST and I pray that we will are faithful to point you to that purpose by example, by leading you and teaching you what it means to be a MAN after GOD’s heart. I can’t wait to see your journey….I LOVE YOU PLUS ONE, Bradley.

To celebrate Bradley’s fourth birthday, we celebrated by hosting a Superhero Training Session.  He is beginning to exhibit all kinds of superpowers, as are many of his friends, so what better way to celebrate his day than to invite them over to hone their powers!

This party took some planning and getting ready.  I found a lot of ideas from this site.

I bought some black fabric and made capes for the aspiring superheroes.

I also bought a lot of felt to cut out emblems and masks.  I used sticky back felt and had letters for their initials to trace and cut out for their cape.

We had a cape/mask decorating table set up…

Some markers and coloring books…

I filled a bag holding a cape and mask with their initials on the outside, ready to grab and decorate.

When everyone arrived, they played on our bikes, power wheels, trampoline, and ran around until we were ready to begin our

First training session: Outfitting The Modern Superhero!

With a little help, they were able to decorate their capes and masks! This was fun to see

how everyone chose their own style or color for their superhero outfit!

Micah and Noah have been home from China for a few weeks and jumped right into Superhero Training….

Even baby Myles got outfitted….

He has the superpower of overwhelming his foes with CUTENESS…

Bradley was ready to show how serious he was about becoming a superhero…..

Ally Kate, likes to do things her own way…..

Our Second Session of Superhero Training: The Art Of Wall Knocking Down..

Bradley with his ready stance…

VS.

the wall of cardboard….

Who will win the age old battle??

Super Bradley, of course! The wall was no match for his superior strength.

Reese show the wall who was boss….

Ally Kate, uniformed up and ready to do battle…

and the wall fell with her gentle touch….

Bradley and Mason teamed up like good superheroes do and showed that wall who was in charge…

Jadyn went next and proved that the wall couldn’t handle her strength….

Our Third Session: Leaping Tall Buildings and Hand to Hand Combat…

They played on the trampoline and had a big time…

Reese proved she could hang with the boys…

She showed them….

Our Fourth Session: High Speed Chases

They were great at driving safely while chasing the bad guys…

They even learned the superhero trick of taking turns….

Our Fifth Session: Fuel for the Superhero

I went with superhero colors and not specific superheroes for decor…

Bradley showed his amazing ability to put fires out with one mighty blow….

We also had SuperJuice…

And, SuperSweets to give us a quick burst of strength..

We also had fruit and ice cream…

Our superheroes did a great job at their SuperHero Training Session.  They played so well together and it was an amazing afternoon.

We have great friends and I am so thankful for these super boys and girls that Bradley will be growing up with.

Hard to believe that four years ago today, my life changed in a way that I will forever praise my Lord!

Bradley Andrew entered our lives and they have not ever been the same.

I am aware more with him that time is passing at a fast pace and that these are the days we will miss.

Maybe it is because he is the youngest or maybe it is because he is boy, but I am so tender to the lasts that we are experiencing this time around.

The thing about the lasts is that you never know when one will happen, so I am trying to be more attentive and aware of all the things my kids are doing that will one day, pass.  I want to remember what he was like at this age, so here is a brief snapshot.

So, Bradley, the four year old in a few words or phrases….

big

rough

forever making crashing, car sounds

loud

has the deepest voice I have ever heard for a four year old

loves to play outside

loves to play cars

loves to play wii

extremely competitive and has been known to throw himself on the floor and cry many tears over losing

is funny in a dry, I don’t even know I am being funny, kind of way

ADORES his sisters or as he call them, “my girls.”

but sometimes, he doesn’t care for them that much as evidenced by the wrestling moves he attempts on them

a fantastic eater….broccoli and carrots are always eaten first

does not like loud noises

especially if accompanied in the dark

which is interesting because he is all boy- but has extreme fears about small things….like a hamster

insists on saying goodbye to his family with hugs AND KISSES…..and has been known to cry if this does not happen…so precious

is forever telling his mommy that he loves her and gives very tight hugs when he says it

usually wants to be comforted by mommy but wants to wrestle and play with daddy

speaks to strangers everywhere we go and easily makes new friends

says the sweetest prayers…..

Bradley, you bring joy to my soul. I cannot wait to see how God uses your unique personality and gifts for His Glory.  I am so thankful to be your mommy.

May your fifth year be your best….

Bradley recently spent some time celebrating with his best good pal, Mason.  Mason had just turned three.  These two are a pair. Individually, they are a hand full!  Together, they are down right dangerous.  They have caused quite a bit of property damage, not to mention tried to turn Bradley’s bathroom into a “swimmin pool.”  They usually end up in Bradley’s shower, soaking wet!

Ryan and Marty got some great video of the two, in the latest sport craze…… Tackle Basketball…..

I can’t believe that I just wrote that.

He has been such a huge blessing, joy and completion to our family.

I remember so much about the day he was born, the nine months before that, the devestation of a miscarriage before that, and always the hope and prayer that God would give us a healthy baby.

We are so glad He gave us you, Bradley!

In this past year, you have continued to capture our hearts. You are all boy and everything you do is with energy and motion!  You love cars, trains, and any kind of ball.  You love to be outside and can often be found playing golf or shooting hoops!  You are full force and do not do things half hearted.  You love to wrestle with your daddy and the sisters when they will indulge you.  You refuse to go #2 in the potty.  This has shown your extreme stubborn side.  You are strong willed when you  have made your mind up about something.  You are a talker, as well. You talk all the time, in a deep voice, in a way that will probably require speech therapy!  But, I love it.  You can’t say your r’s or your l’s and it makes me melt.  You LOVE your mommy.  You give great hugs and sweet kisses.  You especially like to pray and always thank God for mommy and daddy.  I am so glad God ordained you to be in our famliy.

We celebrated Friday with my family since they were going out of town.  We also threw in a few friends and called it a birthday party!

I decided on a golf theme because recently, he has been a tad bit OBSESSED. He kept telling us he wanted blue golf clubs and white balls.

We found him a golf bag that is blue, since he really doesn’t need new clubs to replace his mini Nike clubs!

Here are some pictures:

The table setting..

My centerpiece- golf balls, tees and some shredded green filler! Bradley wanted his yellow practice balls thrown in, as well!

Trying out his new bike

Green and brown cake- I went for cute!

Checking out the candles, which were golf balls on tees!

His groupies....

Today, we went bowling!  Jason even dropped in at lunch!  He also had a few friends come and hang out with him to bowl a round!

He had to carry his own 9 lb ball..

Bowling was a big hit for the 3 year old boys! Bradley, Mason and Jonah were all about rolling the ball down the ramp!

Hanging with his Dad

He's a natural...

Quick picture of Jason and I with Bman.

Happy Birthday, Son!  I pray that you will be a lion chaser who leads this next generation to love God and serve others.  I pray that you will be bold in your love for Him and have a heart for the nations.  I am praying that you will reek of integrity, character and loyalty.  I am praying you will be a man who leads leaders, your family and those around you to a deeper walk with Christ. Love you Bradley!

I had no problem letting my kids cry it out until they learned the art of getting themselves to sleep.

I had no problem with being on a schedule to ensure happy kids.

I had no problem dropping them at the nursery and walking away for 2 hours.

But, tonight, after insisting, when we could not find the paci, to try and let Bradley go without it.

I caved after 2o minutes.

It may have been 15.

Either, I am a sucker, or I am really tired!

Or, both!