Christmas and The Cross...

Christmas. I love Christmas! I'm not going to lie, some of my favorite things about Christmas really have nothing to do with the "real meaning of the season." I love spending time with family, watching Bryson as he gets so excited over shopping and making presents for other people. I love the lights and the smells and of course I LOVE the music! BUT, that said, I will say that what I love MOST about Christmas is that it is NOT my favorite holiday. I love that I know that it DOES NOT END with the BABY JESUS. I know that for 33 years a Man traveled on this earth healing, teaching, and praying. Then, HE DIED. Then, HE ROSE! (Easter has always been my fav!) I think so many times people forget that Christmas is just the beginning. The story doesn't stop with a cute baby in a manger with a bunch of strangers and animals starring at him! There is so much more!

At our church we do a musical every year called Christmas Celebration. The first half of the musical is choral, traditional Christmas music. The second half, however, is the WHOLE story of the life of Christ! Birth, Life, Death, and Resurrection. Did you know that people, church going people, have been offended by the fact that we would mention the CROSS at Christmas! (Really, a person asked, "are you doing that cross stuff again, if so I don't need tickets.")

Anyway, all that to say, Christmas is about the Cross! Without the CROSS it would just be a good story!

One of my favorite songs in the musical this year is called Underneath the Tree! Here is a video of the song I found! Great song!

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=FMMBMNNU

Let the Holiday Season Begin!!

I love this time of year! I love the lights, I love the food : ), I love the decorations and I LOVE the smells! I am one of those annoying people that can't wait for Thanksgiving week so that I can decorate for Christmas...mind you I've already been listening to Christmas music for a month! It's not that I don't love Thanksgiving b/c I do, it's just Christmas makes me so happy... especially since I've had kids!

Our family has some awesome traditions this time of year and I love getting to do things with my kids that I remember doing as a kid! Of course, we have started some new traditions also and one of those traditions is quickly becoming my favorite and we are doing it tomorrow night! We call this our Progressive Tree Decorating Dinner! We start at Jansen/Crystals house with appetizers. We all munch on chips and dip while decorating their tree! Then, we move to our house! This year I'm making a big pot of chili and we will decorate my tree and then eat our main course! Finally, we head to Mom/Dad's house. They have the biggest tree, by far, so it takes quite a bit longer to do theirs! Here, we have our dessert and finish up the tree decorating! It is just a really fun thing and the kids get a kick out of decorating everyone's trees. I'll post some pics after the big event! : )

Well, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We had a great time visiting with family and eating LOTS of AMAZING food! We even had a special visitor come to remind the kids to be on their VERY best behavior over the next month. Here are a few pics of that special visit!

Happy 6 Months Jaden Dane!

We love you SOOOOO much and could not imagine out lives without you!

Fast and Furious October!

October was FULL of lots of fun here in the Bush household! Football, pumpkin patch, State Fair, soccer games, addition of a new little baby (our beautiful neice Delaney Jaymes), groundbreaking for our children's building at church and Halloween. It has been an action packed month that seems to have flown by so fast I have to look at pictures to believe things even happened!

Matthew: Freshman football season is over and all 3 teams ended with GREAT records, including one that was undefeated! He is now practing with the varsity team as they get ready to enter the first round of the playoffs! He is only about 8 or 9 lbs from his goal weight and is looking pretty stinkin' good if you ask me!

Bryson: He has been very interested in planning his future lately. He has decided that he is going to be a football/basketball coach and a church teacher! : ) He is going to live in McKinney and Jaden and I can come visit anytime we want! (I'm sure Daddy can too!) Soccer season is wrapping up with only 3 more games to go and then we will take a break until spring when T-Ball starts! I am soooo excited! I LOVE baseball and can't wait to watch him play! I think he will love it too!

Jaden: He is a rolling machine! He is constantly moving and skooching to get where he wants to go! He loves playing with anything that makes noise and can sit up for a about 5 or so seconds by himself before he tips over. I really do believe that he is going to be our musical child! He responds to music so much more than Bryson does or ever did! He "sings" all the time and loves it when anyone...especially big brother...sings to him!

Me: Same ol' Same ol'! Getting excited that the holiday season is coming! I love this time of year! I love Christmas music and I love all of the smells of this time of year! ( I know I'm weird!) I'm just proud of myself for only letting a month go by before I blogged again!

Well, that's all I got for ya today! Enjoy our month in pictures!

Happy Homecoming!

Jaden watching Uncle Jake play football!

Pumpkin Patch

State Fair with Big Tex!

Children's Building groundbreaking at church.

Halloween!

Fall Fun

Happy Fall! Football Season is in full swing here at the Bush house and we are loving it! Bryson is at the age now that he loves going and actually watching the game and Jaden is very easy this year! He just "hangs out" in his Bjorn most of the game occasionally taking a break to nurse here and there. We do go to 2 or 3 games a week between Thursday night and Friday night so by the time Saturday gets here and Bryson's soccer game is over, we are all ready to CRASH!! I decided after last post it is much easier to sum up what is going on in our house if I break it down by person. Since most people that read this are family and close friends I thought I'd keep it simple! So here we go...

Matthew: School is going well. He is working 7 days a week right now so we have to make a lot of our time that he is home! His freshman football teams are doing great! Lots of Ws! The varsity team is also doing great! They are undefeated going into game 6 tonight! All of us have been living a healthier lifestyle the last 12 weeks and Matthew is doing great! I'm not allowed to post any numbers or pictures of him b/c he wants it to be a surprise when we get to see his family. But let me just say that he is doing REALLY well!

Bryson: Loves Soccer! Got a Black Eye! Had to buy size 5 clothes! Favorite color is Green! Has an imagination like no other! This kid has really come into his own over the last few months! He is such a big boy and he is so smart! He loves to learn about anything and will ask a million questions until his brain just can't take anymore! I am so glad that I am getting to be home with him during these years before he starts school because I love seeing his mind at work! Bryson loves to play outside and spends no less than 2 hours a day outside in the backyard by himself digging, climbing, building, whatever he can find to do! (this does not count the time when we are all outside playing!)

Jaden: Jaden is a growing boy! He is pushing 18lbs and is over 26 inches long! He started solid foods and loves everything I give him! Unfortunately he has had a pretty bad ear infection that needed 2 rounds of antibiotics to get rid of...and today I'm thinking it might be back! He is a very happy baby and last night and today he has been a little fussy and not wanting to eat really well....that is huge for this baby! He also rolled over yesterday for the first time! Now, some of you might be thinking, "he just now rolled over?" Well, you see, I have chubby boys, and it takes a lot for these boys to muster up the strength to roll all of that chubbiness over! Bryson didn't do it until he was almost 6 months old! LOL Anyway! He is a big ball of cuteness and is the most happy, laid back little boy you will ever meet!

Me: Well, things are going great! I am doing a women's Bible study and MOPs this year so that gives me a little adult time here and there which is nice! I'm doing some experimenting when it comes to cooking and baking to fit some of our favorites into our new lifestyle! I have been running again and getting ready to do atleast one 5K this fall...I would like to do more but we'll see. I, too, have lost a good bit of weight over the last several weeks and am hoping to be really close to my goal by Christmas time! I only have about 20 lbs to go which is great considering where I came from! : )

Well, there you have it! Our lives summed up! I'll end with a few pics and possibly a video! Enjoy!

The Black Eye

Sweet Boy 4 months Old

Brothers Playing

Art Project
Sweet Boys eating!

Holy Cow!

Wow! I cannot believe how quickly the summer flew by! I really can't believe that I have a 3 1/2 year old who has his first soccer game this week and a 4 month old who is starting to eat solid foods! You know, people always say that your kids grow up so fast and I am really starting to feel that! I mean, sometimes I still feel like I'm a kid! I can't believe that TOMORROW I will be 28 years old! What the heck? Where did the time go? I just don't feel like I am a grown adult, but I guess I am!

Anyway! Back to what has been going on in this household over the last few months!

Matthew: Matt taught summer school again this summer so his summer was cut a little short. He spent some time in San Antonio for coaching school and then hit the ground running with trainings and football about mid-July. Football season is in full swing now and we don't get to see him as much as we like but we do enjoy football season and Allen Eagle football is a huge part of our family life! He is teaching Physics again this year and is actually the team leader which adds more work for him but I know it will be beneficial to him in the future! He loves his job and that is all that matters!

Bryson: Bryson is now 3 1/2. We decided against pre-school for this year mainly b/c I am not ready to give him up yet! I have only had him to myself for a year and we really didn't see any reason to put him in preschool. He is one smart little boy! He asks a MILLION QUESTIONS a day and the simple answer is NEVER enough! I already feel sorry for his kindergarten teacher! He started soccer this season and has his first game on Saturday! He is so excited and so am I! I grew up watching my brothers play sports and it was such a huge part of my life and I can't wait to do it with my boys! Bryson is a GREAT big brother! He loves to play and help with Jaden whenever he can! I love watching him interact with him!

Jaden: Jaden will be 4 months old this week! He is weighing in at about 15 lbs 5 oz which is right at average for his age! He is smaller than Bryson was at this age weight wise but boy is he LONG! I think he is going to be our basketball player! He has long arms and fingers too! Jaden started on rice ceral this week. We only give it to him once a day right now but I know that the Dr. will up that when he goes this week....it is just crazy that his is growing so quickly! He is a very laid back baby but he kind of has to be in our house! He gets taken everywhere, and has been since he was 4 days old, so he just learned quick to go with the flow! Such a sweet baby!

Me: Well, I'm just me. Staying home with my babies and keeping Julianne during the week. Teaching piano lessons and doing lots of stuff at church! I love it! I love the place I'm in right now! I couldn't ask for anything better!

Well, that is just about all I can think of! Here are some pictures of my awesome family!

3 Guys and a Girl!

Well, I told you that the next time I posted we would be a family of four! What I didn't know is that I would be the only female in that family of four! Jaden Dane Bush was born May 12, 2010 at 8:00 am. He was 7 lbs. 1 oz. 20.75 inches long! Our tall skinny man! He is beautiful! Bryson loves his little brother so much and is such a great helper! Bryson cannot get enough of Jaden (I know we are still in the honeymoon phase and that will change)and wants to hug him, hold him, talk to him and touch him! He has been our handwashing police and has also done a very good job at that...even telling Daddy he had to wash his hands before getting Jaden!

We are starting to get into the swing of things now that it has been 3 weeks! Since I have still been keeping Julianne during the day we haven't ventured out too much with all three but I have taken them all to Target and to the park which was fun. Starting next week it will just be the 4 of us all summer and I can't wait to really get into that new dynamic!

Here are a few pics of our new family!

And my favorite of all...

The Countdown Begins in the Bush House

This time of year is crazy for us every year! The end of school tends to fill up a calendar faster than you can blink an eye! I'm sure that's how it is for everyone! From musicals at church, track meets, spring football, sports banquets to spring cleaning and yard work our lives are very hectic from Mid March though the end of the school year! Of course, this year we added a little more excitement in that in a short 4 1/2 weeks Baby Jad_n will be here and boy are we praying that this baby and my body hold out that entire 4 1/2 weeks! (since Bryson came at 37 weeks it makes me nervous that we might have that case again!) We have managed to get a lot done over the last few weeks when it comes to being ready for the baby. For the most part, the nursery is finished and I have washed diapers, burb rags and bibs. I still need to pull out a few outfits from our boy stash and borrow some girl outfits from my brother's girl stash and get those washed so that we are covered for the first couple of days! I'm sure after that we will be covered on clothes no matter if we have a boy or a girl! Other than that, I am just trying to stay caught up with the rest of the house work...which by the way is getting harder b/c I just don't have the endurance I need to get it done! But that's okay! I'm not worried about it...

Bryson is so excited and asks on a daily basis if Baby Jad_n is coming that day! When we hit 30 days we are going to make a paper chain to help with the visual aspect of how long we have! Hopefully that will help him understand! He is going to be such a good big brother! He says that he wants the baby to be a boy so that he has someone to play dinosaurs with but I'm sure he will be completely happy with a little sister to love on!

All that said...here are a few pictures of what has been going on around our house! At the rate I'm going my next post might include pictures our new bundle! Enjoy!

It's Getting Close!

Holy Cow, it is already the last weekday of Feb.! How is that possible? We have been crazy busy around here which is probably why it seems like 2010 is flying by! Matthew is dead in the middle of track season so we only see him a couple hours a night and on Sundays basically. Most Saturdays are taken up by meets...of course...it is raining right now so I'm secretly hoping that the meet for tomorrow gets cancelled! We'll see!

Bryson turned 3 last week, we had a McDonald's party for him and he had a blast playing with all of his little friends! It is so funny to watch them interact at this age! If only we could all be that honest with each other! He is getting so excited for the baby to get here! He tells me at least once a day that he is going to change diapers and share his toys with Baby Jad_n! We'll see how long that actually lasts! I really do think he is going to be a great big brother! He loves babies and is so gentle with them!

I, well, I'm here. Still loving staying home! Getting a bigger belly EVERYDAY! (even though I'm still in the negative technically on weight gain since I lost so much from being sick in the beginning!) I had a prenatal massage yesterday that was amazing, of course, I am sore today!

We are doing a lot to get ready for the baby! Finally ordered wall decor for the room, starting to get stuff out of the garage and cleaned up, but the biggest thing is...We bought a minivan! YES, a minivan! I swore I would NEVER drive a minivan...probably b/c I learned to drive on a purple Ford Windstar! (That would scar anyone for life!) But they are made so different now then they used to be and we NEEDED the room! With me keeping Julianne, the thought of cramming 3 kids into the back seat of my CR-V made me cringe! So we researched exactly what we wanted and believe it or not...we found it! 2007 Nissan Quest, 38000 miles, DVD player, lots of convenience features, and it is pretty! We got a really good deal and our payment is less that what we were paying...so we are saving money! Can't get any better than that!

Anyway...probably won't post again for a while but just thought I'd update! Here are a few pics of the car!

Goodbye 2009!

Wow! I cannot believe that it is 2010! Where in the world did the last 10 years go? It is so crazy how fast time really does fly! We have had a great last couple of months spending time with family and friends over the holidays! November and December are always tough for us b/c we spend SO MUCH TIME IN THE CAR! We are used to it by now but man it sure does make for short Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks!

I guess I'll start back mid November. Last time I blogged the Allen Eagles were heading into the playoffs. We had an awesome first round winning 35-0 but unfortunately fell short 35-34 to Southlake Carroll in double OT during the second round ending our season the Saturday before Thanksgiving. I must admit it was nice to have Matthew home for the week, but I would've loved to be playing football into December! We traveled to Wichita Falls for Thanksgiving and spent a few days with my grandparents and the rest of my family. Very nice!

The weeks between Thankgsiving and Christmas are a complete blurr! I have no clue what I did during that time other than shopping and eating! Once school got out we began our travels for the Christmas Season. We started off by heading to Temple for the day for Matthew's extended family Christmas. It was really nice this year b/c Bryson was old enough to entertain himself and I kind of got to relax a bit and watch everyone else play volleyball. Next year won't be so easy though! : ) We came home early Sunday morning and spent the next couple of days getting everything ready for Christmas. Bryson was completely into Christmas this year! He loved to talk about Santa, he will tell you the REAL meaning of Christmas and he loved shopping for everyone and helping to wrap the presents! It was awesome! We had our Christmas celebration at my parents on Christmas Eve morning with everybody! It was great! I love watching the kids open their presents! I loved seeing Bryson's face when he looked on the fireplace and saw the blue Allen Eagles helmet that he had asked santa for! Priceless!! After our breakfast we got back in the car and headed to Temple for Christmas. (Jans, Crystal and Julianne headed to Wichita Falls and got stranded in the horrible blizzard for 17 hours! Can you imagine being in a car with a 15 month old for 17 hours!!!) It snowed on us a bit on the way down to Temple and a little bit off and on all day when we got there! (Of course Allen/DFW had the first "White Christmas" since 1925! We missed it!) We spent the next few days with Matthew's parents, sisters and their families! It was a lot of fun and Bryson had a blast playing with his cousins! We headed home the Sunday after Christmas and actually got to spend 2 days at home just the 3 of us. That was really nice! We took down Christmas decor, cleaned out and gave away clothing and toys, found a place for new clothing and toys, and found a little time to just relax!

For the last 5 years, we have gotten together with my college rommates and their families to celebrate New Years. We have rotated from house to house and this year it was our turn to host it! Everyone has a kid now and 2 of us are getting ready for our second so you can only imagine the fun we had! 3 boys (almost 3, 2.5 and almost 2) and 2 girls (10 weeks and 8 weeks)! Love it! We did decide that we need to start researching places we can rent out to hold us all! We are getting too big! But in my opinion...the bigger the better!

Well, Matthew started back to work today, Julianne came back, and we are trying to get back into the swing of things! We'll see how it goes! BTW...only 17 more Saturdays until our new addition arrives! Kind of freaks me out a bit...but we are very excited to be a family of four! Enjoy the pics!