Can you believe how long it's been since I've posted anything?

It's been so long since I've posted anything on here, and I'm so sorry!

I've actually been busy, and not so busy, all at the same time.

Mike and I moved to Redding California in August to join Bethel Church's community. So far it has been quite an adventure adjusting to California weather and the Bethel life style.

I started nannying a two year old little boy (Noah) about a month ago. At first it was really hard. Cayden had a very tough time adjusting to another child over all day and playing with his toys. Now I'm happy to say that they play well together and Cayden enjoys having another kid around to play with.

Having two little boys running around the house is a bit difficult at times, but Mike has helped a lot and has been such a blessing!

Cayden is getting really big! For those of you who haven't seen him in a long while, you'd be surprised at how much he's changed. He has gotten so much taller. Each day he looks closer to four than three. :)

What's your name?

It's been a LONG TIME since I wrote in here... but here is a little conversation Cayden and I had tonight while we were playing with Play Doh. I hope you enjoy!

Mommy: "What is your name?"

Cayden: "CayDn"

Mommy: "What's your middle name?"

Cayden: "Business"

Mommy: "Cayden Business huh... you're Cayden James... What's your name?"

Cayden: "CayDn James"

Mommy: "What's your last name?"

Cayden: "CayDn James Business"

Mommy: "you're a goober... Cayden James Witte... What's your name?"

Cayden: "CayDn James Witteeeee"

Mommy: "Good job... what's Daddy's name?"

Cayden: "Uncle Mike"

Mommy: "He's not your uncle. He's your Daddy and his name is Mike. 

What's Mommy's name?"

Cayden: "Uncle Mommy..."

What a smart little goober I have for a son. I have no idea why he thinks Uncle needs to go in front of our names... but oh well. :)

LOVE

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails..."

These verses have been on my mind so much lately. Maybe it has to do with the fact that our pastor is preaching on these verses... But I think God has been speaking to me about being LOVE.

Since it's been on my mind, I've noticed that I have little patience with Cayden and I'm easily angered (or annoyed) with Mike. According to 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, I'm not acting in LOVE. When I realized that, I was really saddened. They are the ones I love the most, they're my guys! I know with God's help I'll be able to be more like Christ ... Love!

This is my goal... TO BE LOVE. 

Tools & Hide-n-Seek

For Christmas, Cayden received a tool bench and a bunch of tools from my mom. He has been having such a blast playing with them. If something is "broken" he'll fix it. He's fixed the vents, couch, counters, his rocking chair, and many other items. The other day he was playing with his tools and I couldn't resist taking a picture. He's growing up so fast!

Then, after I took the picture, he decided he needed to hide from me. Mike and him play Hide-n-Seek all the time. So he knows all the good places to hide. One of those places is his closet. For an almost three year old, he can stand still and be quiet while he's hiding. Any other time, that's not even possible. He's become a master at Hide-n-Seek. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. But he has fun.

Take a deep breath

So When Cayden is freaking out (usually when he wants Mike or something he can't have) I say, "take a deep breath and let it out." That way he can calm down and I can figure out what he wants. It usually helps and he can stop crying enough to tell me he wants his Daddy or whatever it was he wanted.

Today he has been acting the same as usual... Not listening and playing when he's supposed to be sleeping and eating. So, I've done a lot more "Cayden... Eat!" and "Cayden... Go to sleep!"

I guess he's catching on to the "take a deep breath" thing because while he's playing and I'm "Cayden'ing" at him, he looks at me and gives me THE LOOK and then takes a deep breath.

I grin and ask if he's trying to tell Mommy to calm down and take a deep breath. He smiles and nods. 

So I take the deep breath and he tells me to do it again. I ask if he thinks Mommy is freaking out too much today. He grins again and tells me to take another deep breath.

WHAT THE HECK?!? 

He's still playing with his food... but I'm calmer. The breathing thing really does work, and he makes me laugh with his grown up breathing.

Just a Stage?

I have to confess that sometimes being a patient, loving mom is a bit hard for me. 

Cayden is at the age or "stage" where he is gaining more and more independence. With that independence he feels he is too old to listen to us. He fights with his Grammy and deliberately disobeys Mike and I. This makes my life a bit more stressful then it really needs to be. I've found that if I'm not spanking his bottom, I'm yelling. I hate yelling. It sounds so mean and he just looks at me like, "What's wrong with you?"

How do I get his attention and not yell? Is this just a stage? I sure hope so! 

I've been trying to be more patient with him. He's only this age once, and I must say it's quite an entertaining age. 

Today we played cars and tossed a ball around upstairs (and on the stairs... I know, I know... you shouldn't play on the stairs, but it was fun.). It was a lot of fun and his laughter is so mesmerizing! He's very dramatic and loves to act everything out. 

Maybe I just need to be more patient with Cayden and MySelf.

Santa

Every year my mother in law takes Cayden to get pictures with Santa in the Alderwood Mall. 

The first year, Cayden was ten months old. At that age, he LOVED everyone and had no problem with Santa (see small picture bottom left). He smiled big and the "elves" were surprised at how well he'd done.

Then, his second Christmas he was a little over a year and a half, and he was very finicky with whom he LIKED. Santa was not one of those people. As soon as he got to Santa's lap, he started to cry and wanted down. The only way we were able to get a good picture was because Santa read him a story. 

Then came this year. His third Christmas (two and a half). We told him he was going to see Santa and get his picture taken. He was so excited. This was the first year he really enjoyed Christmas ... the lights, the trees, the snow, the gifts, etc.)

When we were the next ones in line, he took one look at Santa and ran in the opposite direction. Then he hid in between my legs. 

WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED???

We got up to Santa and Santa asked for Cayden to give him five, high five, and knuckles. After that, he became Cayden's good friend. 

** If you look at this Santa, He doesn't seem to have changed in the last three years. Mike's dad says it's the same Santa they took Mike and Jamie to see.... Could it be??? The REAL Santa!! **

Disclaimer: We DO NOT believe in Santa, nor do we claim he is real. We DO NOT receive gifts from Santa. We only take pictures with him as a holiday figure. 

BUT... IF we DID, would you quit being my friend???

Beeves ... Shush

Okay, so yesterday Cayden had a hard time listening to Mike while we were cooking dinner. He wanted to be in the kitchen under our feet and we wanted him to play in the living room. We fought with him for about a half hour. Then it happened... 

Mike: "Cayden, please get out of the kitchen."

Cayden: "Shush!"

Mike: "Don't tell Daddy to shush."

Cayden: "Shush"

Mike: "If you tell Daddy to shush again, you'll be in time out before you can say Beeves"

Cayden: "Beeves"

Mike and Nicole exchange a look.

Cayden noticing the exchange tries again: "Beeves ... Shush!"

Mike: "Go to time out NOW!"

Cayden runs to time out and starts to cry.

Why does he feel the need to test us and disobey so much? He seems to be getting too smart for his britches. 

Our Future Kids

This is the photo I used to create what our future kids would look like. Below are our kids. How close do they look related to Cayden? Please let comments! I want your opinion!! Thanks and you should try it too. It's fun. c:

Duckies and baths

Okay, so Cayden and I just finished watching VeggieTales King George and the Ducky. Cute movie about a king who loves duckies and took a poor veggie's ducky even though he had many of his own. The story is taken from King David and Bathsheba.

So, as soon as the movie was over, Cayden wanted to take a bath.... with his ducky. I don't think he got the point of the movie. 

Cayden's favorite bath toys are actually Elmo, Cookie Monster, their tubsub, a platypus, a crocodile. He HAS to have these toys and lots of bubbles with very little water. He's a very picky little boy when it comes to his baths.

Hopefully he doesn't start taking other people's Elmos. haha 

**Gas Price**

Today I was driving to Target and I always check to see what the gas price is at the station up the street. $1.95  Can you believe that? It's been so long since it's been under two dollars. I was so excited I had to take a picture. I hope it keeps going down. I remember when I first started driving, it was like 99 cents. Wouldn't it be nice if it went back down to that? I would love it!! I wonder what the price will be at Christmas time... 

I'm Your Friend

Last night Mike and I were sitting on the couch. Cayden was playing with his toys. He comes over and climbs in between us and holds my arm. Then after a few moments sitting with our arms linked together, he squeezes my arm and says, "you my friend." I replied, "Mommy is your friend?" and he replied with a smile in his voice, "YES!" Then he hugs Mike's arm and says, "Daddy friend too."

It was so sweet to hear that he considers us his friends. I just wish he was able to make friends his own age... but for now, I'm happy he considers me his friend.

Pumpkin Patch

On Sunday, the three of us went to Craven Farm's Pumpkin Patch with Mike's dad. We had so much fun finding our pumpkin (the one I'm with). We found our pumpkin and fell in love with it. He's large and warty with a curly stem. SUPER CUTE! 

Cayden got dirty and jumped in the rotting pumpkins. I fell backwards while I was pulling the wheelbarrow. All in all, we had a lot of fun and afterwards we went to Starbucks and I got a Caramel Apple Spice. YUM!

Pearl...

You were born in June for a reason.

I picked that month... FOR YOU!

June represents a pearl.

A pearl starts out as a small piece of sand that gets inside an oyster. The water goes in and out of the oyster. Causing the sand to change.

The end result is a pearl.

SOMETHING VERY RARE, VERY FINE, VERY ADMIRABLE, AND VERY VALUABLE.

My waters will go in and out of you.

I will flow in and out of you.

YOU ARE MY PEARL and I LOVE YOU!

1st time washing dishes

Tonight Cayden wanted to wash dishes for me. He grabbed his step stool and the scrubber and started washin'. It's so cute how he's trying to help me with my chores. He is such a sweet boy who is growing up WAY too fast! I think he's washed the same five items over and over and over. The silverware still have food on them, but they are in the dish rack to "dry". 

Okay, he just broke my scrubber... good thing payday is tomorrow. (hehe)

Today's Oprah

Oh my gosh, I'm sitting her watching Oprah while Cayden sleeps and it's breaking my heart. It's a show about An Overwhelmed Mother's Deadly Mistake. 

This lady accidently left her daughter (2-3 y.o) in the car all day while she taught school. She needed to take her to the baby sitter's while her husband went to the dentist. She normally didn't take the girl, the husband did. It was a little too early to drop her off, so they went to the store and grabbed some stuff for the first day of school. The little girl was sleeping and so the mom didn't think anything about it when she headed to the school instead of the baby sitter's. At the end of the day, she was packing up to go home (4PM) and a co-worker came to her and said that her daughter was in the car. It had been like 8 hours that the child had been in the car. The little girl had suffered from heat stroke and died. 

Watching this made my heart go out to this mother. I can totally relate to her. When Cayden is sleeping, I'll leave him in the car while I put my purse and bags in the house. This makes me think twice about doing that now. His safety needs to be my number one and not putting the bags into the house first. 

It makes you think a little more!

the LOVE of my life

Michael Witte

Today it's all about my hubby....

Mike and I met in 1999 and fell madly in love and got married in 2001. 

He is my best friend and such a wonderful husband. 

He was my first love and my first kiss. It makes me feel so blessed that I get to spend the rest of my life with him and give him all the kisses I want. c:

Mike is not only a great husband, he's a wonderful Daddy to Cayden!

A little over two years ago, we had our little boy. From day one, Mike has been there and he's taught Cayden about football and tons of other things that Daddy's teach their kids.

The most important thing about Mike is his love for the Lord. Mike got saved and set free from some awful things and now he is a totally different person. His heart's desire is to know God and to live for Him. He wants to see Heaven on Earth. Mike has always been an inspiration to me in his walk with the Lord. I know he puts a smile on God's face because he puts one on mine all the time. Mike is an amazing man of God and I am blessed to be called his wife!

*BABY - I LOVE YOU TO PIECES!*

Balmex

Last night Mike and I put Cayden to bed with no fight. Always nice when he doesn't fight us at bedtime!

Well then an hour later we heard him yell "SEAHAWK". We look at each other in shock because we thought he had been sleeping for the last hour. Since I was going to bed in a few moments I didn't get up right away. Then Cayden yelled for Mike to come there. So Mike got up and went to the bedroom. The above picture is what he found....

Cayden had gotten into the Balmex Diaper Rash Cream. It was all over his face, hair and clothes. He had also gotten it all over his bedding, our bedding, Skyler (his cabbage patch doll), his dresser, his bed and the baby wipes. On top of the cream being EVERYWHERE, he had taken the baby wipes and pulled them all out of the box. 

We washed his hair six times and it's still not all the way out. We used baby shampoo and dish soap. So I grabbed the baby wipes that he had all over and scrubbed his head. He wasn't too happy with that. So I explained to him (as nice as I could) that he has no say in what happens to his head at this point. If I had my way, Cayden would be bald right now. I was ready to shave his hair off when the shampoo and soap weren't working. Mike was the "hair hero" and handed me the wipes and said he was going to the store to buy more dish soap.

Needless to say, Cayden was proud of himself... and once again, God gave me an extra dose of GRACE. I think He's trying to teach me how to be a little more patient than I am (each day I'm finding I'm not as patient as I once thought).

Why oh why does my kid have to get into messy things???

I know there has to be other kids that do this too.... It can't just be MINE...

I Wuvs You Mama!

How can you NOT fall in love with a face like this???

Today Cayden had told us that he loves us all day. Almost every hour he will tell us "I wuvs you" and each time it melts my heart. On the phone he's told both my parents and his cousin Josiah that he loves them too. Such a sweet little boy!

It's amazing to me that God would entrust such a precious little boy into my care. Sometimes I feel so unworthy, and in those times I pray for God's grace and fall deeper in love with this amazing little boy who tells me "I wuvs you mama!" while he grabs my face in a hug (and at this moment hits my head with his ball).

I LOVE YOU TOO CAYDEN JAMES!

Seahawks photos

Here are a few photos from when we went to the PreSeason game. We took Mike's dad, my dad and step mom with us. We all had a lot of fun, and the Seahwaks WON that game. I would love to go to another game. We'll have to see....

Cayden and Papa Witte

a few fans

the other team praying before the game.

the 12th Man ... we are the loudest fans!