How do I stop time?

I don't want it to stop forever.....I just want to enjoy this moment a little longer, and because it is slipping away all to fast I just want to grab it a little tighter. You see, my baby girl is 3 months old today and that makes this mommy a little sad to think that her baby is growing way too fast. I know that I will love each stage of her life just as much, if not more, than the last, but the baby days are slipping away and before I can blink twice, she will be all grown up and I will wonder where the time went.

Happy Birthday Ellee Rae

Ellee Bean,

You look more and more like Caden every day.

I love your smiles, I love your hair, I love your chubby little legs,

I love your coos and ooos and your beautiful baby blues.

I love the fact that you make waking up in a bad mood nearly impossible

because as soon as you see one of us you smile from ear to ear and once again I know

how very blessed I am.

I hope you always smile at life!

I hope these feet take you many great places!

If only I could hold your hand forever!

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for the life you have trusted Phil and I with.

I pray that you will guide her every footstep and help us

to raise her to know you.

Amen~

Art.....Who would have thought

Friday, March 27th, was the Art Fair. I never thought that I would enjoy going to an art fair of any kind, however, when you child has art on display it's the greatest thing in the world. Caden worked on his project off and on the entire spring break and I have to say, it was one of a kind.

Caden - Hidden Batman

My Reece did his art project at school and it was the most fabulous firetruck that was ever cut out of paper.

Reece - His Firetruck with what appears to be a marshmallow man driving.

I am so proud of them. I would have to say that there were some pretty good artists that had things on display, however, none were as fabulous and wonderful as the art produced by my 7 and 4 year old little boys.

Funny

Quote for the day:

"Caden, if you don't do what I ask you to do....I'm going to poke your eyeball out."

~Reece

Even

...the roughest toughest brother in the world turns into a marshmallow when Ellee is around.

Ellee Bean,

You have the 2 greatest brothers in the world

and they love you so much!

Almost 3 months old!

Post Season Basketball Tournament

I'm a little slow in getting my blog updated due to a very busy weekend.

Caden Robert Bressler Age 7

Point Guard for the Pumas

Friday, March 20th, was the first night of the post season tournament at the Farha Center. Our kids have had a pretty tough season of basketball, with not too many wins to take us into this tournament. They did not let that get them down. They all entered the gym ready to play basketball. Caden was given the go ahead to take some 3 point shots if they weren't guarding him. A whole new world opened up before his eyes and he was not afraid to take the shots because he knew that he was not going to get in trouble for taking them if he missed. We played two games on Friday and Caden had a total of 23 points, several assists and rebounds. He was on a roll and was finally able to play his game the way he knew how to play it. The kid couldn't be stopped and I was the proudest Mom in the entire place and quite possibly the world.

This is the look that making a three point shot will get you at the age of 7

We ended up beating both teams we played on Friday night, who in regular season play beat us. Saturday we went back to the gym for the CHAMPIONSHIP game. It proved to be a little tougher, however, they all played their hearts out and even though they lost they didn't go down without a fight.

It doesn't matter how many 3 point shots you make, nothing can take the saddness out of losing the championship game when you eat, sleep, and breathe basketball

OK.....Maybe a trophy will help us to smile a little bit, but doesn't take away the disappointment in our heart.

Caden,

Another season of basketball over. Thanks for the memories and thanks for being who you are under all circumstances. I can't imagine being in your position with everyone and their brother yelling at you to do something different than what you have been told to do. You are an amazing athlete and nothing in the world makes me prouder than being your mom. When a parent, a ref, or someone who just happened to be watching you play comes up to me after the game and tells me what an amazing kid you are and how you play with so much heart, I hold my head a little higher and say he is an amazing athlete, but most of all he's an amazing kid.

ALWAYS DREAM BIG

Sometimes we want the day to last

...forever. Thursday of spring break was very exciting in the house of the Bressler's. Poor Reece kind of gets the short end of the stick sometimes when it comes to having friends over so yesterday he got to have 2. Wow! They had a great day, managed to find lots of dirt, rode the gator, the tractor, the scooters and if it was in the garage they got it out. They are at the age where telling on each other is pretty popular and at one point they all three came in the house whining about what one of them had done to the other one. All I had to say was, "unless one of you are bleeding or dying, I don't want to hear about it. They looked at me with crooked smiles and back out the door they all went, not to be heard from again until lunchtime.

The Three Amigos

Scottie Simmons, Reece Bressler, Tucker Ross

Reece had a great day with his friends. We took Tucker home around 5:30 and Scott was going to be picked up at soccer practice. When we left soccer practice Reece cried because he wanted someone to come back home with him. He came home took a much needed bath, grabbed his juice and I went downstairs 5 minutes later and this is how I found him:

Some kids sleep with stuffed animals......my kid sleeps with stud finders

Sometimes when you are 4 giving up is hard to do, so you just take a memory to bed with you. This stud finder went with them on their many adventures they had today along with a wagon full of treasures and rescue ropes. A fun day in the life of a little boy!

Reece,

I hope your life is always full of adventure,
great friends, fabulous treasures and rescue ropes.
You keep life interesting around here
and I look forward to many more fun and exciting days ahead.
Thank you so much for this memory.
It is one of MY most fabulous treasures.

Caden of course had to have a friend over too, so Clayton came to spend the day. A house of 5 boys today...............never a dull moment. Caden and his friends are all sports minded and their fabulous treasures consist of how many points, goals, and runs they can score in an afternoon.

Clayton and Caden played most of the morning by themselves. Older boys think they need more sleep than the younger ones I guess. As they were eating lunch Tyler came to the door ready to play basketball. The boys shoveled their food in their mouths as fast as they could without choking on it and back out the door they went.

Caden asked me a couple of days ago if we could adopt Tyler so that he could have an older brother. Not only does Tyler like to play basketball with him he works at Caden's favorite batting cages "SLUGGERS". That makes him even cooler than he already is. I'm so glad Caden has such a great kid to look up too. So yes Caden, if we could adopt Tyler we would do it in a heartbeat.

Caden,

You too make life interesting

and you never seize to amaze me

in your talents and abilities.

I am so proud of you and I will always be

YOUR BIGGEST FAN!!

Thank you so much for the memories.

They too are some of my most fabulous treasures.

Life without

...worry. These boys have not a worry in the world and how great it is to see their faces with only fun on their minds and in their hearts. I'm glad I get to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders and they can just be kids on adventures and finding something new in everyday.

When we went to the park it was a little to windy to get Ellee out from the protection of her stroller so we didn't get any pictures of her. So this one will have to do for now.

Just Ellee being cute......We think she looks scary similar to Cramer on Seinfeld in this picture

Everyone had the same

...idea as we did for the day. We had Felix and Arie today and we decided to all go to the zoo and meet up with our friends the Rosses. We stopped at McDonalds, grabbed some lunch to enjoy at the zoo, and this is what the parking lot looked like when we arrived.

The line just to get into see the animals

We managed to get inside to sit down to eat our food before finding the Rosses in the sea of people.

Arie, Caden, Felix, Reece Enjoying McDonalds

We did manage to get to see only a handful of animals today because everything was so packed you couldn't breathe. I was horrified I was going to lose a couple of kids so we didn't last all that long.

We came home I baked some cookies for the boys, Ellee took a nap, and now we are getting ready to head to the new park in our neighborhood before supper and batting practice tonight. All in all, the zoo was a bust--but the day was great! Made me very thankful for memberships and that I didn't pay to get into that mess today to see absolutely nothing! Blessings!

It's Monday of Spring Break

...and it was so very nice to just enjoy the weather and RELAX. We really didn't do too much and that wouldn't be very exciting to anyone other than us. We are constantly on the go to either practice or games for a sport that Caden is involved in so it was nice just to be at HOME.

Caden rounded up the kids from the neighborhood for several games of basketball in the driveway. The kids range from 7th graders clear down to 1st grade and they had a blast. We are the NEIGHBORHOOD house and our basketball goal is the favorite. Pa took the center pole out of it so that every kid can dunk on it. We wouldn't have life any other way around here, kids and all.

Caden with Tyler and Gabriel playing a serious game of basketball in the driveway

Reece loved just being outside and playing with his rescue ropes (aka the dog's leash). He is perfectly content entertaining himself and trying to figure out what he can get away with or what he can do that is going to get him in a whole heap of trouble. He is for sure the one that likes to see if he can cause mom panic on any given day.

Reece just being Reece

Our littlest one, Ellee Rae, just loved having everyone home today and loved the extra attention she got. I do hope that having everyone home this week does not mess with her schedule. She has decided that it is very hard for her to sleep when the boys are in and out and being noisy.

Ellee sporting her new smile and modeling her Albert Einstein Hairdo

OOOOoooooo's and Hands

Time is definitely going by way too fast. Little Miss Ellee Bean has discovered she has hands and figured out she has a voice. It is so funny to sit and watch her try to figure out what those things are that keep moving in front of her face uncontrollably, and the little noises that come out of her tiny mouth will bring a mommy to tears. She is 2 1/2 months exactly today. I have no idea where the time went but want more than anything for it to stop right here.

This one is for you Pa and Iya

I will try and post more later tonight or tomorrow. Need to get some pictures downloaded to put on here to go with the stories. The boys (including daddy) are officially on spring break this week and they are very much in need of a break from everyday life. The weather is supposed to be beautiful this week and I am very much looking forward to working outside in the yard a bit, spending lots of time playing with the kids and capturing the "Fingerprints Of God" on camera. Stay tuned for this week's happenings!!! Until then God Bless and we hope you have a wonderful week ahead.

Not A Very Happy Monday

It was not a very happy Monday in our house at all today. Woke up to two kids with fevers over 102 degrees with one puking and the other miserable with a cold that he's been fighting for several days. Needless to say we medicated everyone up and back to bed we all went.

Caden - Poor kid has missed 2 days of school trying to fight this stuff off.

Reece - Poor baby can hardly function at all. But with our taggies we can survive anything!

Ellee says - I am feelin' fine. She was extra good today because she knew her brothers were going to require a lot of attention.

Everyone will soon be tucked into bed and will hopefully sleep peacefully through the night. Tomorrow is another day and I'm pretty sure that Reece will spend the day at home again and Caden, only time will tell. I just hope that Ellee doesn't come down with it next. The boys can at least tell me what is wrong.

Despite the sickness we had a great day of being together and I will do it all over again tomorrow if I must. After all that's what mommy's do!!! It's the greatest job in the world and I wouldn't trade any of it for anything.

Quote for the day:

You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance.

I know that I am blessed

The time has changed: the days are lighter longer and signs of spring are everywhere including my front yard. We woke up this morning none too motivated to get up and get around for church. We had all but decided that we just wanted to be lazy when Reece started crying that he didn't want to go to church, then Caden began begging and begging to go. I thought to myself, we are going to get up, we are going to get moving and we are going to church. Little did I know that the sermon was about my life or maybe it wasn't so much the sermon that was about my life but the prayer that Pastor Scott prayed at the end of the service. I think that God was making sure that I knew he was ever present and that all was going to be OK, not because I can fix it but because he is God and bigger than anything I can imagine. As we walked into church this morning Phil was handed an envelope he brought it into the sanctuary and handed it to me. I sat it on the pew beside me not paying any attention really to what it was. We soon found out that everyone had been given an envelope with money in it. The amount was between 5.00 and 20.00 and we were to pray about it and do with it what God told us to do. Maybe that meant to pass it along, maybe that meant to add to it and pass it a long, but we were to listen and obey God. I'm waiting on God to tell me what to do with mine, however, I don't need to wait on him to tell me that I AM BLESSED!!! I know that I have more than enough!!!

It really makes you stop and think about how good we have it when so many people in the world are struggling right now. I am trying very hard to listen to God and hear what he wants me to do with the money that was given to us in our envelope.

A day with great friends

It's good to have great friends. We spent the day with Darrin, Dina and the kids out at Dina's mom and dad's house and had an amazing time. Phil worked on their computer, fixed their DVR, the guys watched basketball, and the girls loved on the babies and visited. They fixed an incredible meal for all of us and the kids enjoyed being outside in the wide open riding bikes, and playing on the plasma cars. What a fun day! I don't think that Caden still felt the absolute greatest but none the less he was a trooper.

Funny things said today:

Reece: "Dad I put my dirty clothes in the dirty HAMPSTER"

It was a fun day and hopefully we can do it again sometime.

Quote for the day:

Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.

A day with the kids!

Wow....The day has gone by so fast. The boys were out of school today for teacher in-service, which means that Dad had to work. We laid around the house the majority of the morning waiting to see if it would get nice enough that Ell could be outside. As God would have it the sun was shining, the wind wasn't blowing and we called Dina and the kids for a day at the zoo. After a stop at McDonalds to pick up kids meals we made it to the zoo, went to the Bistro had a little lunch then off to the animals. We took our time and had a great day. Wouldn't you know it I forgot my camera for Ellee Beans first trip to the zoo. She had a great time (slept through it all) and didn't seem to have any trouble at all being outside in the air today. The boys had a great time and I realized today that my oldest one is a huge help when it comes to taking care of Ellee. Couldn't have asked for a better day with my kids.

My favorite for this Friday:

Without a doubt my kids being out of school and hanging out with Mom was my favorite for this Friday.

I am thankful for today:

My family and all that they bring to my life. I am thankful that God's mercies are made new everyday and he has allowed me another day to be the mother of my children and the wife of my husband. I could not ask for more.

We are home this evening and I am loving it. The windows are open the kids are outside, Ellee and Dad are asleep in the recliner downstairs and I am working on my house a little bit here and there.

What a beautiful day

Another day has come to an end and what a beautiful day it was. We had 80 degree weather the first week of March. I think God wanted to make sure that it was a perfect day for Jess and Joel to visit Cora Paige's grave today and release her pink balloons. I'm sure they were loving the sunshine today!!

Caden was home sick today from school and it was great to have him home this morning just being lazy and loving be home. I took him to the Dr. got him some antibiotics and Dad and him just went to rent a couple movies and video games for tomorrow since there is no school. Reece and I took Ellee on her first walk this evening. We walked to the park down the street and around the corner. Ellee seemed to love it as she slept the whole time and Reece seemed to love the one on one attention from mom as we did some swinging and some sliding and some climbing. It was good and I just love the giggle that little guy has.

Well, I have a little one calling from her crib that I need to attend to. It was a beautiful and great day and I enjoyed spending some time outside with the kids, now I just hope that Ellee bean didn't suck into to much air and stays up all night. I hope to have a great day with them all home from school tomorrow and with nothing going on until Sunday evening when we finish up our last 2 Futsal games for the season. We are very much indeed looking forward to some slow pace around here and spending sometime with good friends in Cheney.

Please say a prayer for Joel and Jess if they cross your mind. They truly are an amazing family of faith and inspiration. God Bless and I hope you had a great day!

Quote for the day: May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to make you happy.

My heart aches!

My heart is heavy and aches a lot tonight. My friend Sara Bird is friends with a lady by the name of Jess McClanahan who's daughter was diagnosed with brain cancer on the 22nd of January and she passed from this life on the 8th of February. Her 1st birthday would have been tomorrow and oh how my heart aches for her Mommy and Daddy and the pain they must be dealing with tonight as they lay their heads down on their pillows to go to sleep. At 10:03 tomorrow they will visit Cora's graveside and release pink balloons and sing her happy birthday. What an amazing family and what an amazing faith I have come to know just because I read her blog daily. I can't imagine the emptiness one would have if they didn't know the Lord at such a sad time.

As I tuck my kids in tonight I will hug them a little longer, kiss them a little sweeter, hold them a little tighter and thank God for them once more. My life is filled with so much joy because they are in it and often times I take that for granted when really it could all be taken from me so fast. They are my everyday, they are my every waking breath, they are my heart and they are my world. What would I do without them? Just seems like yesterday I had Caden and now he is 7, so full of life and keeps us so very busy and going all of the time. Reece is 4 and my very loving child who tells us he loves us 10 or 20 times a day, and Ellee Rae completes this family and makes us whole. Each one of them bring such amazing things to who we are as a family and I am truly honored that God trusted me to be their mother and trusted Phil to be their father. We are not perfect parents by any stretch of the imagination but one thing is for sure we are blessed by them and we love them all very differently but all the same amount. I asked one time how a mother could possibly love her second and third child as much as she loved her first? I was told it's like you grow another heart. I believe it is just like that, YOU GROW ANOTHER HEART!!!

May God Bless Joel and Jess tonight and I know that Cora Paige will have the greatest birthday party ever as she dances and sings with the angels on the day that she was born. God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

Thank you Father for the gifts you have trusted me with. I cherish them deeply and promise to strive to be the best mother one can be. I'm glad you are a Father of forgivness and that I am made new everyday. In Jesus name I pray AMEN!

Quote for the day: "One hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in the bank, nor what my clothes looked like. But the world may be a little better because I was important in the life of a child."

What would life be like?

Today has been one of those days when I look at my kids and wonder what would life be like without them. Thank God today I don't have to find out.

It's a blessing!

Supper was fixed, chewed and swallowed, the kitchen cleaned up again, the baby is finally sleeping peacefully (had her first round of shots today and we cried together), the boys are showering, the TV is blaring in the the basement, spongebob is going in the bedroom, every light in the house is on and I am loving this adventure and everything it brings. My days are filled with laughter, tears, smiles, frustrations and trials and sometimes in the midst of all of the noise I find peace that is almost overwhelming.

Caden had a basketball game tonight and I thought to myself while watching him play what amazing opportunities he has and what amazing gifts he has been given. I sometimes complain because we are gone every night of the week for either basketball, baseball, soccer, or futsal but if we weren't I would complain because there wasn't anything to do and life would be boring. There will come a day I'm sure when we will have to split up and go different directions because Reece and Ellee will want to do their thing in life (whatever that might be), but for now we get to go as a family and be the biggest fans of a 7 year old little boy that ever existed. I love the look in his eyes when he does what he has set out to do and he tucks that arm in and runs with his head held high and so proud of his accomplisments. Reece is perfectly content at this point in his life following his brother around and playing with the younger brothers doing what they do so well....Getting into Trouble! I didn't know how I would ever do this with a baby in tow, however, it's like we've been doing it forever and she just goes where we go and does what we do and never complains about any of it.

It's a great life I have (as the kids are fighting over something downstairs) and I wouldn't trade it for anything. We are blessed and it's been a great day!!!

Goodnight and God Bless!

I have decided to jump into the world of blogging not only to share things with family and friends who live so far away, but so that I might have a place where I can log things that happen in the lives of the Bressler Bunch. We are a family on the go and with the hustle and bustle of that I don't ever want to forget the funny, important, sad, happy, and great things that go on in this family on a daily basis. Lord knows there is never a dull moment in a home where 2 boys and a little lady reside.

Quote for the day: Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ~Elizabeth Stone