Today, on the anniversary of Halle’s birth, I reflect on my experience.

At the end of July of last year, I found out that I was pregnant. At the time, it was not good news. I had three wonderful, healthy boys and I thought that my family was complete. I never wanted a big family and neither did Brock. I was just getting my feet under me after having Kaden. Kaden had just turned a year old! It is not easy having 3 growing boys, a house and husband to take care of and be a full time teacher. I wanted to be the best wife, mother, and teacher possible and I didn’t think that I was doing a great job at any of them as I tried to juggle all of them. Another child was not in the plans. Brock had a saying that I adopted as well. When it comes to children “it is quality, not quantity”. The more kids you have, the less time you have to devote to each child. We already felt like we were giving all we had. How would we have enough, time, energy, and money to take care of all four kids? I was scared, no I was terrified. Amazingly, Brock handled the news much easier than I did and took on the roll of reassuring me and trying to make sure that I was okay.

Most people know that I always dreamed of having a little girl. So each time I got pregnant and found out it was a boy, I knew that I would try one more time for a girl. But after Kaden, I thought I was done!!! I loved each one of my boys more than you know. I just knew that I would miss out on some things that you can only do with your daughter. So, I had decided that this baby was a boy and I was perfectly okay with it. So much so that when the technician told me that it was a girl, I didn’t believe it. I honestly thought that when I had the baby that they would be apologizing for getting the sex wrong and tell me that I was the new momma to 4 beautiful boys.

I was honestly terrified throughout my whole pregnancy. How are we going to be able to afford childcare for all of these kids? Groceries? Fun stuff? How will I have the time to devote to what they need? Will Brock and I have any time together? What about time for myself? I had 3 healthy children, how would I be so lucky to get another healthy child? 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells me that God will not give me more than I can handle. I heard that over and over and I have faith, but I didn’t know how I would be able to handle it.

I had the hardest time naming her because I just didn’t think that it was true. Maybe if I didn’t name her, I wasn’t really pregnant. If I named her and then she came out a boy, it would feel like I lost my daughter. I was just so scared. I knew that her middle name was going to be Marie. Marie is my middle name and my grandmother’s name. I couldn’t think of a better person to her after. I went through a million names because this precious girl who I had waited so long for needed a perfect name. There is no perfect name, but we chose Halle. It was different and there weren’t too many people named Halle.

On March 23rd, 2009, my angel was born. I couldn’t believe that she was actually a girl and she was perfect. She was beautiful from the first moment I saw her. Somehow the minute I saw her, all of my fears went away and I thanked God for his blessing.

Halle Bear, as Brock and I affectionately call her, is the best little girl ever! We honestly could not ask for a better daughter. She is happy, content, beautiful, and ours. She never cries, smiles all the time and is just so fun. There is not a time since she has been here that I have questioned God’s blessing and gift. The boys are wonderful with her and love her to pieces.

Our family is complete and wonderful. I am disappointed in myself for questioning God’s plan for me and my family. He definitely knew what he was doing. I don’t know what I would do without Miss Halle. I can’t wait to see what she grows up to be. I am excited to see how she interacts with the boys as she grows up. She is going to be one tough little girl, but will the boys be more gentle with her because she is a girl? Who will she be closest with? Will the boys interrogate her boyfriends? Which boy will be the most protective of her?

There are so many things that I look forward to do with Halle as well. I can’t wait to have conversations about her clothes and jewelry. I can’t wait to play dolls and barbies. I can’t wait to go to girl movies. I can’t wait to go shopping together or just go out for lunch and talk girl talk. I can’t wait to hear about the boy that makes her heart skip a beat. I can’t wait to go shopping for her wedding dress. I can’t wait to watch her bring her child into the world (if she let’s me). I can’t wait to change into her friend plus mother as she becomes an adult. I can’t wait for her to call me for advice.

While there are so many things that I am excited and anxious about in the future, I am happy to watch her toddle around the house, play with her brothers, lay on Simba’s belly, and just be one. I love to hold her and give her a bottle before she lays down to go to sleep at night and I love to walk into her room and see that big smile on her face. I love to take millions of pictures of her and I love to watch her brothers give her kisses. I love to see her grow and change each day.

I am blessed beyond measure. I give God all the glory. I would not have the AMAZING family that I have without Him. Happy Birthday Halle Bear, I love you more than you will ever know!

Meteor Shower

Every year we have a chance to see a meteor shower. This week was our chance. We decided to spend the night on the trampoline and watch the meteor shower. We got our pillows and blankets and were ready to go!

We had a good time! It was so neat and the boys loved being able to see it.



We did not make it all night though. It was pretty cold and wet. Ewwww! I guess because it was hot during the day and cool at night, it was dewy. My pillow and blanket and everything was wet...yuck. Also, Brock and I had both posted on our FB page that I was outside with the boys and I started thinking about all the bad things that could happen. So about 3 am I woke the boys up and inside we went for a good night's sleep.

A Day at the Park

The weather was so nice on Monday that I decided we need to make the most of the day, so Jaime and I packed up the kids and our lunches and headed to the park to play and have a picnic.

We had a lot of fun. The boys weren't too excited about feeding the ducks, but the park was fun!

They loved the...I can't remember the name of it...but they all liked it except for Kaden.



I love it when Connor and Jax play together and get along!



This last picture is of Kaden eating a fudgesicle...at least he was outside, but why didn't I take his shirt off first?

Kaden's 2nd Birthday Party

Kaden had a great birthday party. We had a pool party and I think that everyone had a good time and the best part was that I didn't have to clean my house to have a party and then clean up after the party!!! Kaden loves to be in the water so it was a perfect party. Normally I wouldn't have a swimming party for a 2 year old, but it turned out great.

I was in Houston most of the week at a math conference for school so it was great that we were sharing the pool with the Perkins and Jaime did a lot of last minute party stuff!

Happy 2nd Birthday Sweet Kaden

My baby boy is 2 years old today. I can't believe it. Time is flying by so fast that I feel like I am going to wake up tomorrow in an empty house because they are all away at college. It is scary!!!

My K, he is such a sweetie. He has changed so much in the last couple of months. For the longest time he wouldn't give kisses or anything, but that has all changed. He gives lots of kisses and even more hugs. Every night before bed he has to go through the house and hug each one of us.

My sweet boy is very demanding though. He will demand he gets what he wants and will not stop until he gets it. He loves his brothers and copies everything they do. He especially follows Jaxson around and copies his every move. He is now very interested in his baby sister and always tries to give her toys and play with her.

He loves to watch cartoons. His favorites are Backyardigans and Spongebob. He loves to play outside. The slide is his favorite place to be. He also loves swimming.

He loves to eat and is my only kid that will eat what ever I give him. His favorites are fruit snacks, crackers, and spaghetti-o's.

I love you Kaden, you are a wonderful child and I thank God for you every day. I can't wait to see what the next year brings and what you grow to be.

Boys Will Be Boys

Today was such a chaotic day. First of all, last night I could not sleep so I think I got maybe 4 hours of sleep. So, that of course did not start my day off very well.

Apparently Kaden resents the time that I spend feeding and caring for Halle. While feeding her, he went into the bathroom and played in the toilet with the toilet paper and there were globs of wet toilet paper and water all over the bathroom floor. This isn't the first time he has done this. If I find it while it is wet, it is relatively easy to clean up, if not...the clean up is not so easy.

Later Jax comes to me to tell me that Kaden was playing in the bathroom. He did the same thing this time, but it was not only on the floor, but on the wall and ceiling as well. I think he might of had a bit of help from his brother. Here are a couple of pictures to show what it looked like.





A little later Kaden comes to me wet. He is in just a diaper and his chest and face is wet. He was trying to tell me something, but I can't always decode so I told him to show me. He takes me to Jax who is hiding with carpet cleaner. As I got closer to Jax I could smell the cleaning liquid. He had sprayed it in K's eyes so I was a bit worried.

So I put Kaden in the shower to get the water to run in his eyes in case there was anything in them and to wash the toilet water off of his body.

Just another day in the Callaway house. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!!!

Six Flags

Tuesday we took Connor and Jax to Six Flags. We had a really good time. Connor and I had tickets from the Six Flags Reading Program and so we just had to use them. I am not good in the heat and in crowds. A few of our friends that had already gone told us that the park was empty when they went or drove past so I was pretty sure that I wouldn't have to deal with the crowds. We were waiting until a day that it wasn't 105 to go, because I would be miserable and in turn make everyone else miserable! So when we had a "cold front" on Monday, we decided to go Tuesday.

We started out with a big breakfast at Denny's before.





We got to Six Flags at about 11. It wasn't too hot yet and I was happy!



Last time we went to Six Flags, Connor was a dare devil and rode everything he could, including the Shock Wave. Jaxson is a dare devil himself so we assumed that he would ride everything. We decided to break him in on the Runaway Mine Train.
He LOVED it, so we were off to the Judge Roy Scream. He didn't like that one so much. Jax is not a fan of heights so the big drops are not his idea of fun. He loved the El Sombrero, the Log Ride, the Texas Tornado and the other smaller rides. His and Connor's all time favorite was the Runaway Mine Train, which we rode over and over and over! Connor and I rode Tony Hawk's Big Spin and said he loved it but would not ride it again! We had a great time and it is so much fun to see the joy on their face while at the park. I can't wait to take them back....when it is cooler outside!

Here are a few more pics from the day.