The gift of summer

 There is such a beauty about summer, longer days, the smell of chlorine, and tons of ice cream!

 I can tell you as a fact, we are making the most of this summer.  Having Stephen at school this past year has made this summer just a little bit more special.  I love having all my babies home, I love letting them stay in their pj's just a little longer, and I love, love, love, not having to rush home to get Stephen off the bus. (b/c he's already with me of course!)

So what I thought was going to be a very lazy summer, full of playing and eating ice pops, has actually turned into a very, very, full yet fun summer.  Once again please excuse the lack of blogging, summer is calling and this family is out and about camping, swimming, playing, and hanging out together!

A surprised blast from the past!

At the beginning of the May we were blessed with a great visit from a dear friend

That visit turned into a wonderful, last minute reunion with some amazing women.  I love when this happens, I have made some great friends here in Mississippi, but watching my children play with the very same children they've played with since birth, gone to Mass with, prayed with, well that's pretty neat.  Especially when we thought we would possibly never see a handful of them again.  

I could go on and on, but the biggest thing I feel I want to share is this:

There will hopefully be some vocations, religious, holy marriages, and by the Grace of God saints in this group(and this is only four families, and not even all of them)  That is amazing!  Living in Mobile was such a gift for me as a young mother, I was able to surround myself around women who spent their lives striving for holiness.  I watched them, sat in their kitchens, absorbed them, and learned so much- what it means to be a Catholic mom.  

I also know that it is not easy to make friends, good, true friends; whether your a child but more especially as an adult.  I have been blessed.  In Mobile I met and made some amazing friends, and now in Mississippi I have become apart of some amazing families.  God is soooo good!

So embrace those that are in your lives now, and prepare for those that God will place in your life today or tomorrow.  You never know what God has in store for that relationship!
Happy Summer!

"May" the force be with me!

 So that was a really bad play on words, but May is the busiest month of the year around here!  This family has been blessed with so many things to celebrate this month, so excuse me for my lack of blogging (or trying to stuff as many things into one post as possible).  This month Alan and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary!  The day after celebrating mothers day at our house with my children's amazing grandmothers (no pictures there I was to busy sitting down and enjoying the day!).  

And though this post is really going to be about Stephen's 6th birthday extravaganza I had to point out my sillines.  See when picking out outfits for special days, that I might actually get a picture taken of me, I should choose different outfits.  That's right folks, not just the same shirt or shorts or even shoes in this pics, the same entire ensable.  But to be fair, that shirt is sooooo cool - and our anniversary and Stephen's birthday were hot and I didn't want to be uncomfortable!  That being said, here is the evidence for the entire world!

 See after 7yrs of marriage Alan and I finally took an entire day for a date!  longest time alone together since Stephen was born!  We left after the school bus took Stephen away and returned home to tuck everyone in bed and kiss them goodnight. It was a beautiful day in Louisiana!  We visited Oak Alley Plantation, then spent the afternoon walking around New Orleans.  Thank you Alan!  

 I like that outfit Jess!

 So my sweet Stephen turned 6 Saturday!!  I can't believe it!!!

 And we had a blast!!  I've mentioned before that without Pintrest I would not be a creative person.... well this party is the proof!

 These cookies were the inspiration for the entire party.  Yes, Stephen loves Star Wars.  My brother actually "gave" Stephen these cookie cutters a few years ago - I looked at them and laughed!  I knew there was no way I would ever be able to do it!  But Valentines day, with the help of my dear friend Trish (who shared her mother's famous sugar cookie recipe with me) I had the confidence to do a test run!  Well, they were great then and I decided then and there Stephen was having a Star Wars birthday whether he liked it or not!

 So idea in mind I searched good ole pintrest and lo and behold there are some craft moms out there with some really cute ideas!  I couldn't help myself when I saw these "light saber's"  soo stinkin cute!!  I found these here. 

 This, and a few other activities, were brought to you from Kara's creative Place.

 The kids had a blast, and so did I!  Our little Jedi training camp was absolute success   Alan was a huge help, he made all the Light Sabers! Thanks again daddy!!  

 Even the littlest Jedi had fun!   Of course, how could you not have fun with light sabers you are actually aloud to hit someone with! :)

Now that I have procrastinated enough this morning, I should really get dressed and make sandwiches for Stephen's awards celebration and brunch....that's in an hour :)  Happy May!  There's still more celebrations for this family (my birthday of course!)  haha!  

Running on a prayer

So, Sunday night did not go as usual.  It wasn't the worst night ever, but it's been a long time since I have been up with a sick kid.  Long story short Cecilia was just couldn't stop coughing to the point she was having trouble breathing.  All is well, but she did not want to be without me.  So Alan found us past out on the couch the next morning. 

So what does a delirious mom do?  Take three kids for a 3 mile run......b/c that makes since. It took a bit longer than usual to finish that run/jog whatever you want to call it, so these three where very happy to be released at the end!

And that's all I got :)

Five Favorites!

So I'm a little behind the times this week - but I promise I'm here and since my brain seems to be working on a very minimal level these days I am more than happy to link up with Hallie at Moxie Wife for Five Favs!

So here we go!  

1) Bubble Machines!

Well, this picture doesn't do my children's joy justice.

Some dear friends of ours gave this to the twins for their birthday and they just can't get enough of it..... and neither can I.  "Oh, EVERYONE, you're screaming and cranky?  The sun's out for 3 sec... go turn the bubble's on"  Yep, mama likes saying that!  

2) This man

 Yep, that's my man!  The one joyfully smiling at me as we have a moment in the midst of craziness, the one that I will be more than happy to share with you why he should be #1 in this post, yep that man!  And I will wait to share his awesomeness until later.  We do have an anniversary coming up and I don't want to spoil his awesomeness for anyone. :)

3) Pintrest

I am sad that I got on this bandwagon late.  I feel like I am actually a creative person now. :)  haha Again, I am working on a project for Abby that I can't wait to share with you.  I just need to get some pictures and tweak it.  

4) Nap time

Just kidding

Things have gotten a little rowdy at our house during nap-time   Jude started climbing out about two months ago, but I was able to "train" him out of that.  Then this week...Jude started again, and Cecilia followed suite, meanwhile if they do stay in their cribs (like at this moment) they just throw all things out of their cribs, laugh, and play with each other through the cribs....

And Abby is doing her best to no longer sleep.  So I guess we are embarking on a new stage, not sure how I feel about this!

5) First Communion

I love watching young children receive Our Lord for the first time.  They are so nervous and excited at the same time, they know this is a very special moment in their lives.  My prayer is that I, and all of my family, will approach the Holy Eucharist like these 2nd graders every time we receive Him!

A little contest

So a few years ago I said "one day I'll change the name of my blog and become cool, one day."  The only problem with this is I'm just not creative - hence the blog name....maddox family.  Although, that's a pretty good name too :)

That being said, I would like to reach out to all 3 of my readers and say - hey what's a fun name?  We've moved out to the country, we're ever growing, we love our Catholic faith, we're silly, we're loud, and so on and so on.... 

 Leave a comment on the page, or on facebook, text me, call me (I love adult conversations during the day!), email me - maybe this is just a shameless plea for adult communication ;)

Here's the kicker.....it's a CONTEST!!!!  If I choose your title, you will receive a prize.  What is the said prize?  Well, I don't know.  But it could be something as amazing as getting the opportunity to watch my children for our Anniversary date, or a homemade wooden sign, cookies, an awesome new book....I'll just have to think about this one for a bit.  :)  

Good Luck!!  And really, really, thank you!!  

Who we be....(link up)

SHEENA!!  This is a mother's dream come true..... you want me to talk about my kids, and then link up and  everyone can read it?  You got it girl, I'm on this!  Now, I must take a deep breath and only pick one picture for each child.....slow deep breaths, I can do this!

throw back pic of Stephen, it was just to perfect to not share again!

 This picture just might say it all!  Stephen is all Stephen all the time!  When he was a baby someone asked Alan how we knew when he was tired.  Alan simply replied "when he stops moving."  

I often tell people when explaining Stephen's amazing personality is that Stephen gives the world all that God gave him....all day, then crashes out of pure exhaustion!  What's really funny is that I always told people Stephen was an "easy" baby.  Once Abby was born my mom smiled and said, "you kept thinking Stephen was laid back and easy - I didn't want you to know the truth, if you thought that was easy then that's great."

 Then along came Abby!  Oh sweet Abby, we immediately nicknamed her "sweet girl!"  From her awesome nursing skills, to sleeping well, Abby was very laid back!  Abby was so different from Stephen I was blown away!  She is still sweet and snugly!  (don't worry she fits in around her with the noise and tantrums!) She is very much like me when it comes to sleeping, she really doesn't want to miss a thing - so at the first sound of a noise in the house she is up, I love those precious moments with her!  

 When I first found out I was pregnant, of course I was pumped!  I noticed immediately that something was different   I was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo tired!  I thought, well this is what it's like having a 1yr old, 2yr old and being pregnant. But jokingly I would tell people, "somethings going on here, I bet I'm having twins..haha"  I would smile and all would giggle and then I would think to myself "these people think I'm being silly - but really something's different!"  

Well the ultrasound proved that I was right!  I saw two bodies, but the tech didn't say a word.  I made a noise, looked at her and said - is that what I think?  (I was smiling from ear to ear!)  She laughed and said yep, just wanted to make sure everything was fine before telling you.  Alan looked at me, then her, then back at me and said "What are y'all talking about?"  she said TWINS!  Alan laughed out loud and was grinning like the proud papa he is.  The tech just looked at us, we brought Stephen and Abby to the ultra sound, and said "wow, what a reaction, most dads just sit down in silence at this point."  Not my man!  We were ready and willing for this adventure!

First came Cecilia, she too is very sweet and loving!  She loves her mama, I mean, she really loves me!  When she was a baby she wasn't as fussy or needy as Jude (he cried a-lot!)  but as she got older she just wanted me, and wanted me and wanted me.  Don't get me wrong I love it, I know she won't always be like this, but that's her!  She has started to develop a very playful personality, she is silly in a very gentle and delicate way (except when someone takes something from her or I leave her eyesight, then watch out world).  

Last, but most certainly not least is Jude...the Dude! (9 mins later)  This kid is hilarious!  I mean they all are in there own way, but he has the smile and eyes to go with his BIG personality!  He is very much like Stephen, he gives the world all God gave him...and then some!  He is a lover too.  One minute he is running through the house screaming and taking down bad guys with his brother and the next he is giving me (or Cecilia) the biggest bear hug and kiss ever!  Love it, love it, love it!

Now one thing all my children have in common is their noise level!  I have to admit, this comes from me.  I am not a quite person, not in the least.  They will all let anyone that is near know that they are there, and that they do not mind at all if you stop everything you are doing and give them the proper attention.  Three out of the four look just like their daddy, but there is no doubt that they act and sound like me!!

Thanks for reading, now skip on over to the ever sweet and amazing mother of another set of twin.........

bean in love!