Happy Birthday to Payton.

Payton turned 11! He was soooo excited for his birthday that he had a hard time going to sleep. It was like christmas all over again. He doesn't show too much emotion but this day he was excited. He got up and got to pick his favorite breakfast. Which of coarse had a lot of sugar. He picked chocolate chip pancakes! He also got to pick where I took him for lunch. He picked Sweet tomatoes, because he loves salad (that is what he said). He was excited to go to lunch and even more excited when he saw nonni in the car. We (me and mady) did a treasure hunt for him that consisted of lots of sugar at every clue. That was the treasure. He was excited, although he didn't seem like it I knew he was. Payton is such a great kid. He has had challenges from the get go of life, but has seemed to handle them pretty good. He is an easy going kid. I didn't say easy but easy going. He is actually a hand full but full of life. He is quite honest! for example, he doesn't have a problem pointing at someone with tatoos and saying, that they are naughty for having them. I keep telling him one of these times he is going to get me beat up. He doesn't see anything wrong with pointing at people and letting them know how he feels. He is sooooo good at sports. From the day he could hold a football he could throw the ball right where it needed to go. Any ball in his hand ends up in the right spot! He got an electric guitar for christmas. I Know Me and anthony must be crazy. It has been on his christmas list for the last 2 years so this year we decided to get him one. He has long fingers and the concentration that is needed to master the guitar. We are planning on getting him into guitar lessons. He was sooooo excited about it. The other thing that he really wanted for christmas was a rock tumbler. I am pretty sure that he has collected all the random rocks in the entire neighborhood, so we figured that we needed to make them pretty. If they are going to end up in our yard they need to look better, so Santa brought him a rock tumbler. We got to listen to it for 10 days!!!! It ended up in the garage so I didn't have to hear it. He loves rocks and the beauty that is in them. He loves everything about them. He could talk for a long time about them. That's our Payton! We are so thankful that he is a part of our family. He has helped me become a more patient person and for that I am thankful for him. Who couldn't use a little patience. I love payton. He keeps me laughing with his funny off the wall comments! We are glad he is a part of our family. Love you payton!!!

cameron's birthday/ Time flies!!!

I am really late on this blog. Cameron's birthday was in November and it is now January so you can see how late i am. Anyways.
Thanksgiving was great. Jessica (friend) and her family came over and we had fun. however we both commented that it was a little quiet! We both missed the large family gathering that Thanksgiving brings.
Cameron's birthday was shortly after and he turned 14. I can not believe that I have a 14 year old. He is growing and becoming a man. he keeps reminding me that this year he will be 15! Now that is scarey! Cameron is a great kid. I tell him frequently that he is my right hand man. Since Anthony is gone a lot with work and school I rely a lot on Cameron. He is a great help to me. There are times that he is a snot nose but for the most part I enjoy having him around. He still likes his mom which is a good thing. He is quite a mama's boy. When he is asked that he just smiles and get's embarassed. When we are in public settings he is right by my side. He has helped me quite a bit with my back. Anytime I need his help he is right there. He is a great kid. He is currently working on his eagle project and he is on the schools football team and also is keeping on top of his grades with a 3.5. The school that he goes to is intense. He actually is working a grade level higher than what he actually is. They believe in pushing kids to there fullest potential. Which I like. It get's stressful for him but he persists and does not procrastinate! He is a great student. He is currently trying to decide on what high school he wants to go to. Anthony wants him to go to one high school and I want him to go to another one. guess which one he is going to. The one his mama picked!!!! That's my boy!! I look at him and think it was just yesterday that I was trying to figure him out as a baby. I remember the first night i brought him home from the hospital. My mom was there helping me and everytime I would lay him down he would start crying. So I would get him up and feed him AGAIN! We'd try to lay him down and he would cry again. I remember telling my mom, as I sat in the rocking chair,( both of us- meaning me and cameron, were crying) "If I can just get through this first year with him." And now he is 14. Time does fly. And seems to be going by faster. We have 5 years left until he goes on his mission. That will go by so fast. I love the boy he is and the man he is becoming! Love you camer!!!