More T-ball Fun

Tonight, Paxton had the super fun opportunity to join the Texas Tech Lady Raiders Softball team and be the "highlight team" of the game. His little team joined the Lady Raiders on the field and one of the kiddos got to throw the opening pitch!!! It was so much fun!! Once again, Paxton is doing so good in new environments with new people and surroundings. He said he got nervous but then he " thought, nah, I'll be fine!!" Good job buddy. Oh so proud!!!

Here's the best picture I could get (he's number 4). 

Big brother waiting to cheer on his little bro!!! (Please don't remind me how big Maddox is getting. Geeze he looks 10 in this picture)

Harper girl trying to mimic Maddox with her "guns up" 

Cheering on the Lady Raiders (and waiting on mom to let them have concession stand snacks....let's be real, who can go to a baseball game without a good unhealthy snack!?!)

T-ball

Paxton had his very first t-ball game yesterday!!! It was SO much fun and he did fantastic! He hit the ball great, ran super fast, paid attention when in the outfield, got the ball once and immediately threw it to first base, and most importantly, he had a blast!!! This is seriously the most amazing t-ball team to be on. They are SO organized and the coaches are amazing. There are tons of dads and moms that help out and the kids are learning a lot!!!!

So excited for this t-ball season!!!

Ok, so I'm not even pretending when I express how organized they are. Look here at this picture of Paxton sitting in the dugout. Do you notice all the baskets hanging on the fence? They hung them in batting order for all the kids to put their glove and water bottle in while they put on their batting helmet and waited their turn to hit! Then as the game was ending, they packed their bags for them so everyone was ready to go!!! I'm in non-chaos heaven!!!!

Brad was asked to help at first base!!! So cute! Here he is with Paxton after Paxton's second hit!!!

When the opposing team is finally ready to bat (bc let's be honest, even with the most organized t-ball teams, it's like hearding cats to get each player up to bat) the coaches will hollar "check!!" And that is their que to get ready and get in their ready stance. How cute is Paxton here all ready for the ball!!!!

Little sister cheering him on!!! (Maddox has found two little friends to play with during the games/practices. He's pretty hard to catch most of the game)

One more of Paxton ready to go!!! This is right before he got the ball and threw it to first base!!

Oh so much fun!! The best part is watching Paxton giggle and have a great time while playing. I sure hope the rest of the games are this fun for him!!!!

Just Embrace It

Life gets busy. Raising children is tiring. It is easy to get so caught up in "raising" the kids that I often miss out on the joy of being a mom. I'm worried about manners, respect, teaching the kids to honor and to always do what's right. I focus on making sure they are learning and pushing themselves to try harder every day. I want them to be strong and courageous, yet gentle and courteous. I long for them to have a life changing relationship with The Lord and to follow Him in all that they do. I'm eager for strong bonds of brotherhood and the desire to stand up for what is right. All of these things are greatly important, but at the end of the day, I must remember to take time and ENJOY them. I want to love on them. Play in the rain. Dance in the living room. Bake cookies late at night. Laugh and act silly. I want to stop in the midst of the chaos, and just embrace it. I want to tune out the arguments and focus on the hearts! I want to remember this time with threr young kiddos and laugh at all the fun we've had. Sure, we will keep consistent with discipline and all the virtues we long for our children to have, but I will lower my expectations and love love love my three greatest blessings!!

Happy Easter 2015

We had a wonderful Easter weekend, filled with fun family time, egg hunts with cousins and most importantly discussing the amazing gift we were given with Christ's death and resurrection! I love hearing the Easter story out of the mouths of our children. Maddox is pretty dang impressive with his knowledge of Christ's death, including when Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. Paxton can explain the Easter story as well. He fixates on the part of "some BAD guys wanted to kill Jesus. So they did even though Jesus didn't do anything wrong!" And little miss Harper Grace will enthusiastically exclaim "Jesus died" (picture her saying this with a pouty face). Then she will say "but Jesus live in my heart". Yes baby girl.

Such a precious time listening to the kiddos share what they know about Christ!!

We started the celebrations with an egg hunt at my sweet Granny's assisted living place! This has become one of my favorite Easter traditions, I love seeing how proud granny gets seeing her great grand kids!

Sunday morning we woke up and had out own Bible study at the house. (Maddox was still not feeling 100% and Paxton and Harper were both stating their tummies hurt). I truly loved this time with the kids. Brad read the story of Christ's death and resurrection and then the kiddos talked about it! I loved knowing they knew exactly what we were celebrating! 

After that we went to my mom's house for lunch and a day spent with family. After a wonderful lunch, we had an egg hunt! Super fun! We numbered the eggs 1-5 and assigned each kiddo a number, they had to make sure to only get their number on the egg. This makes the egg hunt easier with the variety of age groups with the cousins. 

(Maddox got so super hot while going on a long scooter ride! He had to loose the shirt and sweater!! Funny enough, all the kiddos ended up in their swimsuits playing in the bouncy house with the water hose. Ha)

I am so blessed to get to be the momma of these three angles!!

Happy Easter from the Kalivoda family!! 

Career Day

Today was Career Day at the boys school! Maddox decided he would like to be a policeman "because he wants to hunt for robbers and murderers" (um...ok buddy). He was a very handsome policeman and was super excited about his day at school. Unfortunately I received a phone call around 11:30 that he was in the nurses office complaining of a sore throat and just not looking very well. We made a rush to the school to pick him up and take him to the doctor and he tested positive for strep throat. Poor guy. Not how he wanted Career Day to go and not how he wanted to start off a nice 4 day weekend!! Praying the meds do their work quickly and he feels better fast!!!

I also wanted to note, that Paxton was not at all interested in dressing up for Career Day ( I don't think he likes all the attention from dressing up) but he has stated multiple times that he would like to be a baker when he grows up!! And a mighty fine baker he would be!! 

Biggest Fan

Maddox has been playing basketball this year and boy oh boy is it fun to watch. I've never been that into sports, but I think I could totally get into this whole basketball gig. Maddox loves it. He has super amazing coaches (he's on a league with all kiddos from his school) and he is really starting to get the hang of things. It's so fun to see how far he has come throughout the year!! I think he enjoys the fast pace of the game the most...no time to get too bored! He usually has quite the cheering section with grandparents and aunts and uncles coming to watch him play....but no one can compare to his biggest fan....

His baby sister!

This girl thinks he hung the moon. Their bond is fierce, their laughter contagious and their love for eachother is out of this world!  

Harper's Baby

I have no idea what the Lord's plan is for her life, but I have no doubt she will change the world through her love of babies. Is HIS plan for her to love orphans or other babies in need? I have no idea, but I do know the love she has for babies is out of this world. It is not something you can teach. Her love is real. Her love is genuine. Her love is beautiful!

Just for giggles, let's take a look at all the ways Harper girl loves on her baby!