My Little Man is 5!

Walker at 5 months!

Walker's 1st Birthday!

So Walker turned 5 last week! Every one of his Birthday's have caused me to stop and reflect on the years that I have been blessed with this precious child and stop and smell the roses of being a Mommy! I am having a hard time with 5! My baby is heading off to kindergarten in less than 3 weeks and I am a basketcase! I feel as though it is the end of an era! I no longer have a preschooler and Walker is officially not a baby anymore! He no longer needs me to do so much for him. He dresses himself, gets his own juice boxes, cracks eggs when we cook, closes the door while he goes potty because he needs privacy, picks out his own jammies, plays pretend by himself in his room with the door closed, and tries to wash his own hair! While I am so proud of him for being so independent and needing me for so little I am missing my little baby boy!

I will never forget the first time I held him and I cried and cried. I knew at that moment that the world was sooo much bigger than selfish me and my little life. God has such a plan for my little boy and has given me the privledge to take care of him and help him grow to find his purpose in this life. At the moment I held him I realized that it is no longer about me, but everything I do from here on out is about Walker and being the best Mommy to him that I can be. My emotion over this birthday is filled with some guilt over not always being the best Mommy I can be and over not savoring every moment with my little boy! I pray that the next five years don't go by as fast as the last 5. I am going to slow down and enjoy the precious moments with my son. Right now he is so much fun. I cherish our many games of uno, our math moments in the car, opening his chips for him, listening to him sing the Jonas Brothers and listening to his version of the words, making his cereal, and not burning his blueberry waffles,snuggling with him each morning when he comes to get in my bed, listening to him tell me about Sunday school and how Jesus died on the cross for us, his reminding me to buckle up in the car, and sooo much more that I know will only last for a short while!

Time is going by too fast, but I am proud of my little 5 year old and excited for what school brings in his little life. I heard someone say on the radio recently that they always felt like their mother was pushing them to do things to practice for a life that would start later on, and when he was in his twenties he realized that all the while he was living his life and he felt like he missed it. In a way my life has been a little like that. Everything was in preparation for later on, and I kept waiting for my life to start and I am in my life. My story started a long time ago and I need to wake up and live it now! My Birthday wish for my son is for him to live this life in its fullest! Not to prepare for later but to enjoy his life for what it is! HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY WALKER PATRICK!!! I LOVE YOU!

Independence Day!

We had an awesome long weekend at the beach for the 4th of July! It was not nearly long enough, but it was great to get away and enjoy each other some! We left Thursday night and stopped in Florence for dinner with Kay Kay and Gene! Then we headed on to Wilmington! Some highlights include the beach, pool, boogy boarding, laying in the sun, hotdogs on frisbee plates, and Walker making friends to dig a 5 foot hole with on the beach! Some not so high lights included Walker stepping on a cactus and having a billion little spurs in his feet, and Conor's sunburn!

This was taken right before we left to go down to the river front for the awesome fireworks!

Love these little pink cheeks!

Digging the biggest hole ever!

On Daddy's shoulders for the fireworks. It was hot and crowded probably something we would not have ventured out to do without Walker, but he loved it!!! That makes it sooo worth it!

I am always the one taking the pictures so we had to make sure I got in a few this time! Everytime I took a picture of Walker he took one of me!

I love this next one of Walker as he watches the fireworks! He is so cute whenever we do something fun I think I spend more time watching his reactions than I do watching what we are doing!

Overall it was a great weekend and The Dungan Family needed to get out of town for a while! Walker shed a few tears as we left this morning, and I have to admit I was pretty sad too! Back to reality it is! A little while ago Conor said, "I don't want to go to work tomorrow!" and Walker replied, "I don't want to go to work tomorrow either!" I think he meant he didn't want Conor to go, but it was funny the way he said it! I am so thankful for such a precious family!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY to all of you!

The Mounatineer!

After 4 years of wondering which one of our cars would go first Conor's bit the dust about a month ago! The red 1994 pathfinder had over 200,000 miles on it, no side mirror on the passenger side, burn holes in the seat (it was old when Conor got it) and no reverse. Thats right you heard me! NO REVERSE! My poor husband has spend the past nine months driving up the hill past our house, putting the car in neutral and rolling back down into the driveway! I guess God knew his reverse was going to go when he put us in a house on a hill! I don't know what we would have done otherwise! When we had the pathfinder towed by AAA we were thinking it neede a new transmission and we were highly stressing how we were going to pay for that, but then we got the call from K & A Automotive telling use that the engine was locked up and it needed a new engine at the least! We knew that was it and there would be no more pathfinder! We have been sharing a car for the past couple of weeks trying to decide whether to lease or buy or just share a car for a while. Anyway after church today we decided that we were going to have to bite the bullet and buy a new at some point so we might as well go look around and see whats out there! 5 hours later we I followed Conor and Walker home in our new car! (Its new to us, but its actually a 2004)

We did it! We bought a new car and it is more than we ever thought we could get for what we can pay a month, but God had the perfect car waiting for us! It was acutally the premier of the week! Sounds like a movie doesn't it?!? We are so excited! Neither of us have ever had such a nice car and we are so relieved that we now have a nice and reliable family car with low mileage and a 4 year warranty! Thats right! A used car with a 4 year warranty! Awesome! As you all know Conor and I have worked through school and trying to care for Walker and our parents have helped in countless ways both financially and with child care, and just giving us advice. We felt so proud that God allowed us to do this on our own and not have to have any help from our parents! What a blessing!

Anyway I better get to bed! But I was so excited I had to share the news! Now all I have to do is convince Conor to let me drive it and let him drive my old beat up piece! ha ha ha (J/K he deserves every minute of being behind that wheel under that sunroof!)

Pepperoni, Macaroni, and McDonalds

Ok so I know its crazy that this is my second post this week, but I had to share the humor that I woke up to yesterday! Yesterday morning Walker rolled over and the first words out of his mouth were, "I Love Pepperoni!" with much expression! Conor and I both laughed and I said, "What made you say that?" Walker then goes on to say, "Because we had Macaroni and Cheese last night!" with just as much expression. Conor and I laughed some more and then he busted out, "Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba I'm Loving it!" At this point we are rolling on the floor with laughter! He went from pepperoni to macaroni to Mikey D's in all of 10 seconds! I don't know what he was dreaming about but he must have been doing some good eating! Its these moments when you are up and getting ready in the morning and dreading all that you have to do in the day that being a parent is so great! No one can make me laugh that hard at 7:30 in the morning! I do love my little goober!

Thought I would share the laughs!

Spring and Baby Fever!

April has been absolutely crazy! Not that every month isn't nuts, everyday rather, but we have had loads of excitement this month! I have been wanting to blog for weeks now and I have had tons to say, but no energy or time to sit down and give my thoughts any justice! We spent today at the park today with a friend who everytime I am with her becomes an even dearer friend and I get in my thoughtful mode and feel so refreshed after time with her! She is a fellow blogger and a woman of much wisdom and raw honesty that leaves me feeling like a better person each time I am around her! I think she knows who she is! Anyway we were talking today about the joys and trials of parenthood and the times when you daydream about what your life might have been if you did things a little differently and where you might be other than where you are at that moment. While I spend a great part of my weeks daydreaming of those very thoughts and usually beat myself of with guilt for having them I realized today that all of our thoughts and feelings are completely natural and does not mean that we are bad people. The important thing is that there is a greater part of me who knows that I am exactly where I am supposed to be at this moment in time! I know that its not about me! Its about serving God and being the best wife and mother I can be and treasuring the life that God has intrusted into my care! Its amazing how the love for a little one can make even the most selfish of souls become so selfless!

Its been a tough spring for me! I have struggled with some health issues and was finally diagnosed. Nothing life threatening, but having another baby may not be as easy as we thought! That has been an issue of great sadness for me. We weren't even ready and still are not ready to try until next spring, but the thought that it wont be simple is a scary one. I know that God will answer all of my prayers in His time and in His way, but I am still grieving the issue!

We did have Mimi down for a short but great visit! Walker was thrilled to see her as usual and she played and adored him as usual! They have a very special relationship! They planted flowers and Manni came for a 10 day visit at the end of her visit so he even got some time with her and helped out with the planting!

I am blessed to have such a loving and helpful mother in law and Walker is blessed to have a Mimi who thinks he hangs the sun and the moon! There is something about being the first grandchild! William was like that in my family! It was like the whole family rallied around him! Not that my family doesn't love Walker and give him tons of love, but The Dungans are smitten with him to say the least!

We had a great visit with Manni! He got to see one of Walker's baseball games which was awesome and he particularly enjoyed the snow cone after the game, but before dinner!

He is growing up soo much and I am so thankful that he loves coming to South Carolina! He has such a sweet and tender heart and I love being his aunt Kat Kat! I love being all of my nephews aunt Kat Kat! I mean what better way to get self confidence that to be the aunt of a bunch of energetic boys who think you are the cat's meow!

Even though Manni's birthday is not until May 11 we celebrated it with him and he picked out a very yummy strawberry cake! He was quite exctied and I actually think he liked the presents we got him! It was fun to get to celebrate with him and to spend so much time with him! Walker sure has missed him since he left!

I gotta wrap this up because the ernomous amount of never ending school work is calling my name! By next year this time all of this work will be a memory and I will be done with school! I keep telling myself that even though I am already looking at graduate programs! I will try to blog more this summer when I have a lighter school load! I have so much to say and there is so little time to say it! Ultimately we are doing well, afterall we are always growing, learning, and changing and complacency is boring so even through the struggles God is helping us to become more like him and preparing us for eternity!

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"

1 Corinthians 2:9

How exciting!

March Madness!

GO Gamecocks!

Its been a while since I have blogged so here goes! Lots to catch up on! Walker started playing t-ball recently (pictures to come) He is on the Tarheels team, which he and Conor are both thrilled about and he looks so darn cute in his uniform and baseball hat! T-ball has sparked some interest in baseball so Big Daddy (my Dad) gave Conor some tickets to take Walker to a Carolina Baseball game! It was the coldest day in March so they bundled up and headed out! I had to take some pics because they looked so cute! Especially Walker in his garnet and black (gamecock colors) and camoflage! It reminded me so much of my redneck brother back in the day when we used to go to gamecock games and he would rock his gamecock stuff with him camo stuff! True South Carolinians know what I am talking about!

I thought the two of them looked so cute in this picture and I especially love Walker's facial expressions!

I was so worried because our good friends The Dormans were coming to town for Easter weekend and we decided to go to the beach for the weekend! I was worried that I would have to sacrifice my seeing them, but we ended up getting to spend some good time with them Friday afternoon! You'll notice Zach is carrying on Walker's tradition with the tie die shirt! I hear from Marcy that he will not take it off. Walker went through a phaze with that shirt wear he called it his rainbow shirt and he seriously didn't take it off for a week. I think I had to hide it from him to finally get it off of him.

After Conor got home Friday we headed for the beach! I was so excited I actually had the car packed and the house was immaculate (so not me) and we were waiting in the driveway! I had not been to the beach since last summer and I had not seen my sister of my nephews since Christmas! The most exciting part was that this was the first Easter that Conor got to come spend the entire weekend with us at the beach! Did I mention I love his new job!

William 9

On Saturday we played on the beach for a while and took a long walk with the boys! The weather was incredible and William and Walker splashed in the ocean for a long time, but it was too cold for us! Later we had a golf cart ride and an egg hunt!

Walker will always pose for a picture!

Julian is never that excited to pose but always takes the best pictures! We had an awesome day in the sun with them and even caught a late afternoon movie and fabulous dinner at a new restaurant at Litchfield. Conor actually got to play golf with Dad... he was very excited! Sunday we woke up andWalker found his Easter basket and we headed to Robin's church! David sang an awesome song that he wrote for Easter. I can't remember any of the lyrics, but it really touched me. It was written from the point of view of the soldiers who crucified Christ. It showed how we just try to follow the worldly rules and commands of the world and in that we may be missing out on our savior.

Cousins are the best!

So are Daddy's!

Highlights From the Week!

I knew I would not be the best at keeping up with my posts so its a good thing we had several highlights this week to share with some really fun pictures! It all started Wednesday when Walker had "double dress-up" day! It was Mother Goose dress up at school and then Western Night at church! Walker dressed up with two of his buddies as the three blind mice for school! It was audorable! (Not his mother's idea! Our wonderful friend Gretchen's idea!) So we had breakfast with friends and then took the three blind mice to school! It was too cute! Walker Especially liked his pink nose!!!

This was so much fun, and I didn't think my little man could get any cuter until I saw him dressed as a cowboy for church that night!! He is the cutest ever and I absolutely love being his Mommy!Though I can get super frustrated with him at times, and sometimes feel like I have no clue what I am doing, I always thank my God for him and for honoring me with Walker! He is truly an awesome little guy!

Thursday he got to go see the race car and was so excited to tell me that "It was number 11 car Mom, not Jimmy Johnson!" He then let me know that I should have skipped class because I really missed out! (I didn't get to go see the race car, I didn't really miss the race car, but I missed the excitement on his face in seeing it and being with him to do something so fun!!! But the best part of the week was Walker stumbling upon t-ball after our Friday afternoon playtime with Sam Todd! We went to watch Sam's tball game and Walker was so excited cheering on Sam from the bleachers! We thought that all of the teams were full so I was feeling like a loser parent for not having my little boy signed up for t ball on time. After the game I just happened to ask the coach if there was anyway they might have room for Walker and to my surprise he welcomed Walker to the team! Walker is so excited because it is the tarheels team!!! Go Tarheels! So the coach told us to come to practice today and a game Monday night! As you can guess Walker woke up at 7:00 looking for his cleats ready for practice! Several hours later (11:00) we headed up to the church and Walker had his first t ball practice! He loved it! Tonight we went to Dicks to get a bat and some baseball pants and then to eat at Casa Linda's (The spicy place) We had some good family time, and Walker must have told Conor 25 times that his game was in 2 days and he would get a tarheels shirt and hat! His excitement is contageous! Its so thrilling to see your little one so excited about something! I am so thankful that he is going to be able to play tball this spring and that he is so tickled about it! Well I better close I am pretty tired! We were outside all day! I am sure I will have more pictures after Monday's game! I was telling Conor tonight on the way home from dinner that I am so thankful for the way that God continues to bless us every minute with new surprises and excitement!

Valentines

Valentines deserves a blog! It has been a crazy day, but a good one. Walker woke up this morning to a Cars balloon and a power ranger movie and the best an ice cream cake for breakfast! Thanks to Big Daddy and Mimay! He went to school on a crazy sugar high and came home from school even higher! Its one of those days where you have to let craziness just be! I was quite surprised when Conor came home for lunch with flowers, a sweet card, and reeses (my favorite) After 10 years together he has mastered Valentines... I have put together some special stuff for him for tonight! I have to say I love the men in my life and adore both of them for their sweet hearts and the joy that they bring in their adoration of me. ( I have to say their looks don't hurt either!) Unfortunately I am at school and not spending the day with them which is where I would rather be, but I am thankful nonetheless that we will all eat dinner together tonight! Walker still doesn't believe that the balloon and movie came from us, he thinks some kind of "Valentines Santa" left it for him... oh well what can you do. Anyway I hope that everyone has someone to love on Valentines Day, whether it be friends, romantic, kiddos, or if you are just spending it with the Lord! I am thankful for a day of love to let the loves of my life know how much I adore them! Happy Valentines Day!

Beautiful Sabado!

Ok its been a week so I guess I can write again. We spent the entire day at the park and it was beautiful, sunny, and 70 degrees! I so needed the warmth of the sunlight on my face and some time in the fresh air! Although we had a great time playing with our great new friends and eating hot dogs I was filled with sadness today and not really sure why. Maybe its because its February and that means that March is coming and I am dreading the month of March because it used to be one of my favorite months because March 12 is Michael's birthday, but now not only is March 12 his birthday but March 11 is the day he died. This March 11 will be 4 years! I can't believe he has been gone that long! I haven't seen, heard, or talked to my favorite person in 4 years... wow.. thats a long time! I sure do miss him! I don't know how people deal with the loss of a loved one without the Holy Spirit. Today I had to continue to remind myself that I will see him again one day and when I do I will never have to worry about him or loose him again! What a blessing to have a Savior and to know that we will be united with our loved ones one day. My emotions are rampid and my poor little family suffers from it as I lash out at them and try to make other things the reason for my sadness. Tonight as I sit and reflect I realize that I need to actually hug them a little tighter and hold their precious bodies close to me as I go through this hard time of year because it reminds me of how we never know! I am so thankful that I have so many people to love and be loved by in my life! Through the pain and the trials life is pretty amazing and today was an example of one of those beautiful days!

I Even Procrastinate A Blog

OK I started creating this blog last week and here I am finally writing my first entry. It turns out I procrastinate everything even those things that were started as a form of procrastinating more important things. I am sitting thinking of something profound to say as I write my first entry and nothing comes to mind. I guess I an update on life is in order. Conor finally finished school in December! He passed his board exam last week and he now works at Carolina Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine! We are so excited about this, and I am so proud of my husband! He has worked hard for this, and it was a wonderful moment when we were all getting dressed this morning and he told Walker that he likes to go to work! I mean everyone should enjoy going to work... if you have to work you should do something that you enjoy doing! I am happy that my husband is doing something fulfilling that he enjoys and most of all that he is serving others through it! I have to admit that I am bitter that he no longer has school work and I do. Saturday night when I was working on homework and he was snuggling with Walker watching a movie I was most jealous! Overall we are doing well and God is good! To not have the financial stress that we have lived with for the past 4 years is a relief and reminds me that my Lord is faithful and it is all in His timing! I am just counting my blessings at this point in my life and thanking him for this big milestone on our journey and for having a husband who can provide and a healthy and incredible little boy!