Strawberry picking

We love to go strawberry picking at least once every Spring. My favorite part is making homemade freezer jelly. It's easy and SO yummy! I'm going to attempt to can some strawberry jelly this year. We'll see how it turns out!

Easter pictures

More pictures from Easter at my Mom and Dad's house. Since Clayton and Gabe both have a birthday in April, my Mom got a cake for them and we had a little party with the cousins. Clayton got a gun that shoots marshmallows from Grandma and Grandpa. The Easter egg pinata was almost too cute to destroy, but all the kids had fun hitting it. From the looks of some of these pictures, I need some photography lessons! :o)

More pictures from our creek adventure

#1. Clayton, Gabe and Titus with their sticks. #2. Kellie holding Levi. #3 A really corny picture of me smelling flowers. #4. My Dad, the bravest man in the world, for trying to expose the corruption in our government. He's also an awesome Dad and Grandpa! #5. Abigail, Kellie's oldest child. She's beautiful, but more importantly, beautiful on the inside!

At the creek

This year we all went to my Mom and Dad's for Easter. On Saturday, my Dad, Kellie and I took our kids to the creek near our parent's house. This is a favorite spot for the kids. They got really dirty and had a blast! Clayton said it was the best adventure ever!

Chuck E Cheese party

Clayton had a party at Chuck E Cheese on his birthday. He had a blast. I still can't believe he's 6!

Our birthday boy

Clayton will be 6 tomorrow. The time has flown! My verse for him is James 1:17, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." We are so thankful for Clayton. He is truly a miracle boy. Before I got pregnant with Clayton, I had a miscarriage after trying to get pregnant for over a year. I was heart broken. So we tried again as soon as possible and I was thrilled to be pregnant again. Then I started having problems again at around 7 or 8 weeks. My activity was limited to our house. Then at 15 weeks I ended up in the hospital with a lot of bleeding. (That was at the end of October.) The doctor told my Mom that my baby probably wouldn't make it. I had a blood clot that was causing problems. I was put on COMPLETE bedrest. My Mom had to come live with us to take care of Carrington, who was 3, and do everything I normally do. I was on bedrest for months. We prayed REALLY hard. I remember praying one day during that time and telling God, "Please let this baby live, but no matter what happens, I know that Jesus is still on the throne." I read the verses James 5:14-15 and asked for the elders of my church to come and pray over me. One of the pastors and several elders came and prayed and anointed me with oil. I cried. It was very humbling and precious at the same time.

The blood clot finally started dissolving after Christmas and I was able to get up a LITTLE bit in January. By mid-February I was doing much better and I was able to have a normal life again. Carrington and I had a lot of fun during those last 2 months.

Before Clayton was born, I hoped and prayed that he would be normal, but weren't sure what to expect. On April 6th, he was born and was completely healthy and normal! The doctor that saw me when I was in the hospital bleeding, found out that Clayton was born and couldn't believe that he didn't have any problems.

The name Clayton means "in God's mold". His middle name is James. We chose it partly because of James 1:17, partly because I love James Dobson, and partly because I love the way the book of James starts: "James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.....".

Clayton is such a delight to me. Of course he's not perfect, but he is constantly making us smile and laugh. I am so thankful that God let him be born!

More Pictures of Clayton

Some more random pictures of Clayton. He loves to climb into stuff. This time he got stuck in my laundry basket.