Michael Ketchum, CPA

Michael passed the CPA exam earlier this year which is a HUGE deal! We are so excited. We are now both officially done with all education. Well...I guess I'm technically still working on my LPC license, but that's just collecting hours. No studying involved. We have our evenings and weekends back to ourselves. It's wonderful!

There is a special ceremony in Jackson to "swear in" the new CPAs. We went a couple weeks ago for Michael's. We are extremely thankful to our families who supported and encouraged us through this process. Thank you for believing in Michael!

Thomas and his Clary Beth (quite possibly his favorite person next to Poppa!)

Taking the oath (who knew there was an oath!?)

It's officially official. (that's a fake piece of paper there--well the paper is real, but it's not a certificate...)

Attempt at a family shot...

Trying again...

Parker's Family Dedication

At Pinelake, we have the opportunity to participate in Family Dedication with each little one. During the service, we commit as parents to raise our children in a home that is committed to the Lord. We pick out a "life verse" for the child and commit to praying that over them throughout their life. You can read more about that here including Thomas' life verse. See Thomas' dedication here. For Parker, we chose Psalm 1:1-4:

Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree

planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

I love that the elders, deacons, and anyone else gathers around the families to pray. It made me a little anxious to hold Parker while everyone was praying for us, but it was a very special time.

We are so thankful God gave us this little guy (well not so little guy!) to be a part of our family!

Halloween 2013

As I've said before, perk of college town life--lots of events! Halloween week there were tons of events to choose from. Somehow, I got it in my head that it would be "easy" to take Parker and Thomas to sorority row to trick or treat before meeting Michael at the carnival the MSU Student Association put on. Somewhere in all that, I forgot how large campus is and how difficult it is to find parking. I was exhausted by the time we made it to sorority row--and we had only just begun! We had a blast though. I'm glad we went. I adore this picture of Thomas walking up to one of the houses. 

 I was SO impressed with the carnival! They had TONS of booths set up, so there weren't long lines anywhere even though there was a huge turnout of folks. Thomas had an absolute blast!

On actual Halloween, it rained, so there was no trick or treating. Thankfully, the neighborhood across the street decided to let the kids come the day after Halloween. So we joined up with some friends and went trick or treating! This was the first time that Thomas has truly gone house to house. He LOVED it. He would run up to the door, knock, and then run away screaming. He's so silly!

It's very hard to get 4 preschoolers to smile at once, but I LOVE how Austin and Thomas are looking at each other in this picture! 

Parker and Finley! They are 6 days apart!

Hitting the neighborhood!

"Wait for me!" says Mickey!

What kid doesn't love running in the street?!

Pumpkinpalooza 2013

I love living in a college town. There are always fun little events to look forward to every year. One of our favorites is Pumpkinpalooza. The downtown merchants stay open late and let the kids come trick or treat. They have a cute little Fall setup in the middle of Main Street to get pictures of the kiddos in their costumes (and let's be honest, that's what all the moms are wanting anyways!).

Once again, I care too much about pictures. Parker man was NOT having it. This is the best brother shot we got...

If you know me well, you know I'm cheap. We got the kangaroo costume as a hand me down from cousins. It was a little highwatered, but it was free! And everyone thought he was adorable.

My little dragon. (side note...I rotated this in iPhoto, but it won't come through rotated when I upload. Ideas anyone?)

A picture with the CFA cow!! This is a HUGE deal. He's usually scared!

Pumkinpalooza 2011
Halloween 2012

Parker is 4 Months Old!

14 weeks

15 weeks
We were at Grammy and Poppa's and he had been through all his spare outfits, so he had to wear his brother's shirt. He wasn't happy about the situation.

  

16 weeks
I love how he puts his little feet together like this!

17 weeks
His EYES in this picture. I die.

4 months!!

I know all moms say this, but Parker, I really can't believe you are 4 months old. You have been out almost half as long as you were in. You are a delight. You smile at almost anyone who talks to you--especially if she's a pretty girl. Just yesterday you were flirting with the girl at a store. I think you had her wrapped around your finger in about 5 minutes. Your laugh is hysterical. It's quite the belly laugh. Its sort of a grunt really--a very deep heh heh heeeeh. You are incredibly ticklish in your thighs. Every time I change your diaper you just giggle and giggle because it tickles you when I wipe in those creases. You hold your head up very well. That suits you because you definitely want to see what's going on. If I lay you on your back, you will do little crunches trying to pull yourself up into a sitting position. You spend most of your time sitting in someone's lap checking out the world around you. It won't be long before you are sitting all by yourself. You aren't rolling over yet, but that's probably my fault. I don't put you on the floor too often for tummy time. Your brother tends to harass you when you're down there! You will get there though. You can get to your side, you've just gotta figure out how to finish the job. You are still nursing like a champ. You will go for much longer between meals than your brother would. That's really nice of you. Mommy appreciates it. You take great naps during the day. Usually around 9:30 and another around 1:00. You need an "evening snooze" as I call it around 6:00 p.m. and then go to bed for "good" around 9:00. You're still waking up during the night. It varies from night to night how often you get up. You love to play in your bouncer. You can really get that thing going. You also enjoy your jumper now. You don't jump yet, but you sure like to turn the wheel with little beads in it. :) You also love your big brother. You watch just about everything he does. He can do stuff to you that I just know is gonna make you cry, but when the smoke clears, you are just laughing at him. I can't wait to watch y'all continue to grow and play together. At your doctor visit yesterday, you weight 20 pounds 6 ounces. You are quite the big boy, but I love every inch of your squeeziness. I'm so thankful you are mine.

Love you,
Mama

Family Beach Pictures

I need to not care so much about pictures. I was all excited about taking pictures of the boys at the beach. I thought their outfits were precious. They were precious. The beach is my most favorite place. This all was supposed to combine for some fabulous pictures to treasure forever. Yeah. Not so much. We got a good family photo, but the ones of just the boys were...well...you can just see for yourself.

I found this picture after I posted the last one. I had to share because it's super cute.

Luke knows how to look at the camera. Even when being squished by my monster baby!

Look how ADORABLE their picture is! GAH!

The whole clan.

And now for the pictures of the boys. Eesh. I promise Parker had the ability to sit up in this Bumbo. He was just way more fascinated by the fabric coming off the turtle on his outfit.

Daddy trying to get him to sit up.

Someone please tell me what sort of face Thomas is making?!

Maybe next year?

The Pumpkin Patch 2013

We love going to the pumpkin patch each fall. It's funny how things change over the years. The first year we went, I took over 100 pictures. Thomas was a baby, and he couldn't really do anything--so I just took a bajillion pictures of him. Last year, lots of pictures still but a lot more playing. This year, I forgot the camera all together. My pics are from my phone! I suppose that's life with two babies!!

This guy looks all peaceful, but really he's working on the biggest, nastiest diaper ever. And of course he's in a disposable. The one time he's out in a disposable, he explodes it all over himself, the stroller, me, Michael, and a stranger. Yes. We required the help of a STRANGER to get him clean. It was a 3 person job.

And mommy had no spare clothes, so he ended up like this.

Riding the barrel train.

Hanging with the boys in the back of the pick-up (Wade and Henry).

Family photo with a naked baby.

 Thomas and I got to go back to the Pumpkin Patch with his little class. Mom kept Parker, so we got to have fun just the two of us! He rode the bus to the patch and thought it was the best thing ever!

His class is 6 boys. His teacher, Mrs. Elizabeth, is wonderful. I thought this was a pretty good pic for six 2 year old boys!

USS Alabama AKA "The Big Ship"

On the way home from the Burks family vacation, we stopped in Mobile to tour the USS Alabama. Thomas was thrilled to get on the "big ship". He asked me for days afterwards if we could go back to the big ship. He was thoroughly impressed. We will have to take him back when he actually understands its significance.

Sitting at the table in the cafeteria on board.

Testing the beds.

In uniform. LOL.

This guy was a trooper again. He was happy in his carrier. Someone turned the faucet on though. Sheesh. Slobber everywhere.