Life's Little Adventures

Refreshing, Renewing and Rejoicing - Watermark Women's Retreat 2012

2012-01-31T16:51:00.002-06:00

That was the theme of the 1st (hopefully annual) Watermark Women's Retreat at Allaso Ranch this past weekend! I joined 475 other women for a time of refreshing, renewal and rejoicing over God's unconditional, everlasting and overwhelming love for us! I don't think I really knew how desperately I needed that Spiritual renewal until after the 1st night's session. And talk about some healthy conviction, WOW! The Lord truly was at work and his Spirit was definitely present!

A *few* takeaways from the weekend...

- I find myself, my identity in so many other things (masks), i.e. - "I have it all together", People-Pleasing, "I'm not hurt by ___", My children, etc..., when in all reality, being a daughter of the King should ALWAYS BE ENOUGH!

- Four areas that we are easily defined by: Our Roles, Our Responsibilities, Our Recognition or Rewards, and Our Regrets

- Once we confess where we place our security, then it's time to replace the old with the TRUE, the truth of God's Word. We have to quit being a "try-hard" and just BE!

- Ephesians 4:22-24 says, "You were taught, with regard to your former ways of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."

- I loved this quote from one of E.E. Cummings poems, "To be nobody but yourself, in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle any human being can fight, and never stop fighting."

- It's so easy to get tangled in to the web of deceit, especially when you live in a big city like Dallas, where it's all about what you own, where you live, outward appearances, etc... To daily capture your thoughts to the obedience of Christ should be a by the minute action.

- We want to be "adult" Christians, in the sense that we think we have it all together and can do it all on our own, when in all reality we need to be more like infants, who cannot survive without a parent or guardian to care for them, feed them, etc... COMPLETELY DESPERATELY DEPENDENT ON CHRIST. How often do I do that?!? How often do YOU do that?!?

- We try to be the "topper" when in all reality, we are truly insecure (i.e. - ME ME ME!!!).

- 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says, "MY grace is sufficient for you, for MY power is made perfect in weakness. Threrefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that THE POWER OF CHRIST may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Oh how I pray this to be true in my life, a reflection of Christ. That HE would be my strength.

- I WILL NOT continue to pretend I have it all together - I DO NOT!!!

- When we truly believe we are truly loved by the One who died on the cross for us, that is when we can truly love others! If we do not love because He first loved us, WE WILL CONTINUALLY FAIL!

- It's not WHO we are, but WHOSE we are!!

So, who am I?

I am LOVED

I am A DAUGHTER OF THE KING

I am FORGIVEN

I am REDEEMED

I am WEAK

I am STRONG

I am ALIVE

"And we all, with UNVEILED face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." 2 Cor. 3:18

- Re|Fresh

means:

fresh again

growing

hydrated

- Refresh: Word Eternity Lord Love

- Mind-Time: Time that is spent thinking on things not related to Christ. Can be used to worry, covet, etc... How can we be about coveting our daily mind time for the Lord? Again, taking the "every thought captive" mentality...

- WORD: The Word of God is ESSENTIAL to stay refreshed in the Lord! Staying hydtrated in the Lord can been seen as essential as hydrating physically, with water. Carry it around with you all day. Drink and refill all day long.

- This one was particularly convicting for me to hear: Stillness in the Lord can come in small increments and still be fruitful! I often find myself thinking that the physical setting of my time with the Lord has to be perfect. Perfectly quiet, perfect cup of coffee, perfect music, perfect weather, perfect scenery, when in all reality, any moment of any day can be spent meditating on Scritpure, praying, rejoicing through song, etc...and the Lord will use those small moments, sometimes just as much or even more as the large chunks of time we spend with Him! All he wants is for us to COME and BE STILL! He SOOO desires for us to truly listen for His voice, eat the bread of life (His Word) and pray!

- So, where are some places of repetitive actions, activities, or drudgery tasks where you can multi-task and capture your mind moments for God and pray, memorize scripture, etc...? (i.e. - folding the laundry, vacuuming, dishes, cooking, etc...)

- ETERNITY, this is something that as a believer in Christ we all know we have to look forward to, but how often do we place circumstance over Eternity? NOTHING should ever trump Eternity! NOTHING will ever be greater than Eternity! PERSPECTIVE people, PERSPECTIVE!!! If we have the constant mindset of ________ (fill in the blank) vs. ETERNITY, ETERNITY WILL ALWAYS WIN!

- LORD (sovereign)

Psalm 103:19 says, "The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all."

- He does not promise to protect us, from what he knows will perfect us! HE is LORD, HE is SOVEREIGN, HE is POWER and GLORY!

- So, with that in mind, what is our agenda? We all have one. What interrupts our day? Kids? Spouse? Parents? Friends? Work?

- Joshua 1:9 says, " Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

- Do I truly believe that in my heart, or is it something I know to be true only in my head? To think about His Lordship daily should convict us to GLADLY untie our superwoman cape!!

- LOVE

Jeremiah 31:3 says, "...I have loved you with an EVERLASTING love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness."

- When we feel unloved, how often is it because we feel "unblessed"? THAT IS FALSE. THAT IS A LIE FROM SATAN. We are ALWAYS blessed when we call God our Father, when we choose to believe that He sent His Son to die for our sins, we are BLESSED!

We are:

REDEEMED

REFRESHED

RESCUED

ROYAL

REMEMBERED

RESTORED

ROBED

RESURRECTION READY!!

W ord

E ternity

L ord

L ove

"The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Isaiah 58:11

GO TO THE WELL!! "but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14

So, now comes the pictures! If you've made it through this much of the post, you're about to actually see some photos!! Enjoy!!

The front porch of our cabin

Sweet Friends! (Me, Katie, Karla, Andrea)

The BEAUTIFUL lake that was the center of the property

150+ Watermark Women doing Zumba! I made it through the first two out of 16 songs (which is a miracle for me)!

Karla and I getting ready to zipline!!

There we go!

Andrea and Maggie getting ready to go! (I missed getting Katie's picture, BUMMER!)

The beautiful walk to and from the cabin

GORGEOUS Sunday morning

LOVE the fog on the lake, it was definitely COLD all weekend!

Sunday morning, Judy Wimberly speaking to us on rejoicing in the life we have as daughters of the King!!

By far one of my top 3 getaway weekends I've ever had! Loved the company and LOVED the growth that happened in my walk with the Lord!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Family Portrait Session!!!!!!!

2012-01-24T21:38:00.003-06:00

When my sweet friend Andrea called me up on Sunday afternoon and asked if we wanted to meet them up at the park for a mini photo session of the boys, I knew we were in for a HUGE treat! She had just purchased her first professional camera and of course I had been telling her for months that we would be her practice people any time!

We didn't have much time to get ready, hence the t-shirts and hats for Aaron and I, but we did take the time to get the boys all dressed. And she BY FAR exceeded my expectations! WOW! As I took the time to look through all the memories she captured for us, I was just amazed and started crying. That's when you know the photographer is talented! I am SOOOOO grateful to her for taking an hour out of her Sunday afternoon to not only create lifetime memories for our family, but ones that I will be able to look at and cherish forever! I am already envisioning a HUGE picture wall in our near future!! If you are looking for a photographer in the Dallas area, PLEASE let me know so that I can give you her info!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

16 Months

2012-01-09T19:22:00.000-06:00

16 Months. Wow. Asher, you are growing so rapidly! You are full on running, and even trying to talk! You said your first word, Dada, of course, and have made many attempts to speak since then! SO COOL! Each day with you brings so much joy to my heart, even in the moments where you rebel against my better judgement, like trying (and succeeding) at removing the outlet covers, climbing on daddy's toolbox and attempting to stand up, and so much more normal things for a boy! You are full of adventure for sure!

You also LOVE to get out of the house whenever possible. As soon as you see mommy put my jeans on, you know we're about to leave and you either go sit right next to your shoes, or you pick them up, bring them to me, and then sit down in front of me so I can put them on you.

You are your own little man in the sense that as soon as you wake up from nap or in the morning, you immediately stand up and start talking or even yelling sometimes, just to make sure I know you're awake! Thankfully, you have been known to sleep in past your brother in the mornings!

This past month we had another bout of sickness, another round of RSV, steroids, breathing treatments and loss of sleep. Oh how I pray that 2012 will be a MUCH better year for us as far as our health in concerned! Thankfully, you were 95% better by Christmas so we were still able to go and visit Grandma and Grandpa in Houston!

Each day is a joyous adventure with you my little honey! I love you so much and thank the Lord for you each and every day!

My little sickling, this was just the beginning...

Clearly, he doesn't feel good, but that little tiny glimmer of a smile just makes my heart happy!

I truly think he enjoyed his breathing treatments because he knew how much better he would feel afterwards, even at such a young age...

for some reason, every time a suitcase comes out, they both want to sit on it ALL DAY LONG!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

THREE Years Old!!!

2012-01-08T21:46:00.000-06:00

So, I might actually cry writing this post. Seriously. My sweet baby baby boy is THREE! AHHHHHHHH! No kidding when people say how quickly the time passes.

My Precious Caleb,

You are our firstborn. You are sweet and caring, gentle yet passionate, fun-loving and easy going. From the very first moment I found out I was pregnant with you, it's been nothing but an adventure! You are our miracle baby and I thank the Lord each and every day for your precious life!

You continue to amaze me each day with how quickly you are developing. Everyday brings something new, and I am continually amazed at how quickly you learn things (one thing I did pass on), and how great of a memory you have (thanks daddy)! Just the other day we asked you what blue was in Spanish, and you paused a second and then said "Azul"! Seriously didn't see that coming! You also have already memorized three verses, and could possible memorize another three within a week if mommy would just get the ball rolling!

You are SUCH a great big brother! Just tonight at Target, you said, "mommy, I love Asher this much" and you threw your arms up in the air. Brought a tear to my eye, no joke! You are so compassionate, always asking "what happened" or "are you ok" if anything is said in an abnormal tone of voice. Asher follows you everywhere and one of my favorite moments of the day are when you boys chase each other from your bedroom to the living room and back, and then jump up on your bed and play, pointing at all the train decals on your wall. Most of the time you play nice and fairly with Asher, but there are definitely moments you do not want to share with him. We're working on that, and will likely be a life long lesson!

You are a WONDERFUL son! My favorite times with you are tucking you in for bed each night, singing Jesus Loves Me and praying with you. You often put your hand on my face, or hold my hand during this time, which is extra special for sure! You are also VERY cuddly and quite often request couch cuddle time with me and/or daddy. You know I will take it as long as I can. I fear those moments will come to an end all to quickly!

You bring such joy to my heart my sweet little honey! I cannot imagine what life would be like without you! I love you so very very very much, and so does daddy!! Happy 3rd Birthday precious son!!!

On your actual birthday, we did A LOT of celebrating! The night before I stayed up pretty late decorating after you went off to dreamyland. Oh boy was it F-U-N!!!

This is the same birthday sign I made for your 1st birthday, and I intend on using it until you think its too dorky (which means I've got about another 5 years or so)!

Totally got this idea from Pinterest and Caleb loved it!!

Opening his first birthday present!

a Thomas painting book!

Little honey of a boy!

OBSESSED with his balloons!!

Carried them around literally all day, even took them in his room at nap time!

Caleb painted for the first time ever today and LOVES it! I really think he's got quite the artistic side!

His first masterpiece!

He also got a box of bandaids for his birthday, man, this kid LOVES bandaids too!

little cutie patootie!

playing his new board game, chutes and ladders, with daddy

Mommy and my birthday boy!!!

We ended the day with dinner at McDonald's. Yes, McDonald's. They renovated the play area at one close to us and it's HUGE with slides and tunnels and so much more! I even climbed up there with him and went down the slides a few times myself, you know, just to make sure they would be fun enough for him *wink wink*. Then we came home and ate some birthday cake and went to bed.

Overall, it was a blast of a day! His birthday party is coming up this week, so I will definitely have more fun pics to post! Happy Birthday again buddy! Love you bunches!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Pinterest Project

2012-01-03T17:10:00.001-06:00

So, I've been pretty obsessed with Pinterest since I joined a couple months ago. It's definitely one of my favorite places to go and get craft ideas, recipes, home decor ideas, and SOOOOOOO much more! If you don't know anything about it yet, beware, you might fall in to the trap of a seriously awesome time waster!!

Anyway, I've successfully completed two total craft projects from pinterest and I'm doing a post on one of them because I'm just so thrilled with how it turned out, AND how fun it is going to be to put in to practice. And because I"m entering a Pinterest Challenge from a fellow blogger, www.betterlifebags.com.

To start off, I must post a picture with the link of the original piece of inspiration:

The original project can be found here: http://www.designsponge.com/2010/12/diy-project-vintage-postcard-calendar-journal.html

And here is a picture of the product that inspired me to make one of my own:

So, I had a few other ideas for mine, but wanted to keep the original idea, to write down one memory for each day of the year, with the end goal being that 15-20 years down the road I could go back and read one special thing that I did that day and reminisce!

So, I remembered that I had a set of blank board boxes I had bought a while back but had never figured out the perfect use for, until I saw this project!

Here is a picture of the blank box, just waiting to be decorated!

As you can see, it's sitting in the lid, which is how I will most likely keep it, but I do have the ability to use the lid when necessary.

Next up is the paper line I chose to use for this project, which I think fits perfect with the theme, Life Documented by Simple Stories. Simple Stories is one of my new ABSOLUTE FAVORITE paper companies! The "aged" look that they use for each different line of paper is just fabulous and fits my style perfectly!

After much cutting, measuring and sizing and making sure the papers were going in in the exact place I wanted them, here is the front of the completed box! I couldn't be more happy with the results! I used double sided tack to make sure that the paper won't pull off. It's probably my favorite secret ingredient to ALL of my projects and paper products that I make and sell!

The completed back side of the box, again, SOOOO THRILLED with the results!!

And eeeeek, the "meat" of the project, the actual purpose of spending hours even making this whole thing, the filling! Each paper has been cut and stabilized with cardstock and double sided tack when necessary to hold up for as many years of memories as I can fit in to this tiny box!

I also printed out my own lined paper to use so that I could fit as many lines as possible. It's double sided as well, and printed on 32 lb. paper so that I can use my color coordinating ultra fine sharpie markers that I love so much! And yes, the most tedious part of the entire project was going through and individually stamping each page for every day of the year, but because it's a project that "gives back" the older it gets, I'm totally fine with taking my time and making sure it's put together well and with lots of love!

So, that's my completed Pinterest Project and I couldn't be more satisfied with it! I can't wait to add pictures here and there, and of course, embellishments along the way! I'm thinking about possibly adding them to my store for sale, so if you think you might be interested let me know!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Welcome 2012!!

2012-01-03T16:40:00.002-06:00

New Year's Eve was quite uneventful for us this year, as it has been for the past few years since having little babies, but I LOVE being at home, in my pj's and watching the ball drop cuddled on the couch next to my honey! We managed to stay up just long enough to see the ball actually drop at midnight and then quickly went to bed, knowing we would be up early in the morning with the boys.

So, each year, I try to think up some "resolutions" for the new year, and fail at almost all of them, so this year I'm trying to keep it simple and go with some that I've already implemented, but just need to improve on.

1. Declutter - When I start feeling chlostrophobic, I know it's bad. We are so blessed to have all the things we do, but I know that there are others who could benefit greatly from things that we just don't use or no longer have a need for. So this is my biggest GOAL (not resolution) for this year, is to declutter! Preferably before May, in case we actually move when our lease is up, but I'm not putting pressure on myself to be finished by then.

2. Get to the Gym. Yes, this is everyone's resolution I'm sure, but I have a jump start in the sense that we already have had a membership to our local YMCA since August, and I've actually used it! My goal is to go 2x a week and then try to do a short workout at home 1x a week.

3. Continue to be consistent in my time with the Lord. Since the summer, I've been doing the Hello Mornings challenge from Kat over at InspiredtoAction.com and it has definitely helped me to stay motivated and actually get up in the early morning and spend time with my Savior!

4. Be more intentional with my boys. Spend more quality, focused time with them and to be intentional about teaching them Scripture, praying with them more and reading a LOT more books!

And that's all that I'm going to focus on for now. If I overload myself, I know I will quit early on and fail, so keeping it simple is key!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-03T16:23:00.001-06:00

This Christmas was so much fun. We knew we weren't going to be home for Christmas Day, but I wanted to keep with the Smith tradition and go ahead and put up at least some decorations. Christmas was always a really special day in my family, as it is in most families I know! So, I was planning on going to the storage unit we have, where we have a few seasonal things and pieces of furniture that don't fit in our apartment, and getting out our 7 ft. tree to put up, along with ornaments, our little village and such, when I got a call from a friend who happened to have a little Charlie Brown tree we could borrow! Score! **In looking back, I'm pretty sure I was out of my mind crazy to think we could actually fit our 7 ft. tree in our apartment with everything else we already have**

So, here is a picture of our tiny Charlie Brown tree, all decorated! I absolutely LOVE it! **It's still up and decorated with the lights and everything**

The nativity scene below has been in my family for a LONG time. I started helping set it up every year at my Grandma's house, the day after Thanksgiving, with my Uncle Doug, and continued the tradition until I moved to Dallas 9 years ago. When my Grandma moved in to assisted living, there were three things of hers that I had requested to have, and this was one of them. It represents a LOT of things to me, treasured family memories, a cherished childhood, love, and of course, the most important, the day our Savior was born! I'm so thankful to be able to share this special tradition with my boys and look forward to keeping this treasure in the family for a long time!

Lights, lights, lights! I LOVE Christmas lights!!

Another great tradition that I started this year, was having Caleb help me make Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies for my best girlfriends and Aaron's Co-Workers! I still see another batch in our very near future, they are my favorite!!

We drove down to Houston on Christmas Eve and got in pretty late. The boys stayed up for a tiny bit and then we sent them off to bed, and I got all the gifts from my side of the family set up under the tree. We did the Smith/Preuss/Leacock side of the family on Christmas morning, and the Garcia family Christmas on Monday morning so that Omar, Vicki and their three boys could be there. Here are our stockings hung by the fireplace!

And of course, Christmas morning! Caleb knew exactly where to go, and even looked for his name on the gifts before tearing them open. Well, all but one!

The full set up, all 11 stockings and the tree! Love it!

I didn't get to put up our little village this year, but Becky (MIL) has a FABULOUS village, much larger than ours, and she had hers set up! This is only one side of it!

Caleb and Asher diving in to the gifts!

Caleb opening his instrument set from Grandma and Papa Preuss! He loves it (and is actually drumming away as I write this post)!

The boys in their matching Christmas PJ's! LOVE this new tradition!!!!

Asher just checking everything out!

Here we are Monday morning with the cousins opening more gifts!

All the boys had so much fun together!

Corbin and Caleb

Josiah, Caleb and Asher still opening gifts!

The four oldest boys (Eli is only 3 months old, so I'm pretty sure he was sleeping through all of this)!!

Caleb is obsessed with puzzles these days, and he scored 8, yes 8 of them for Christmas! We're still doing them multiple times a day! So fun!!

Asher and Josiah enjoying a mid afternoon snack together! LOVE that they are so close in age, only 4 months apart!

My happy little boy!

Corbin and Caleb, almost inseparable! Seriously, they love playing together, and Corbin does such a great job of really loving on Caleb and spending time playing with him even though he's three years older!

Not to downplay Aaron's birthday by any means, but somehow I didn't get a single picture of him blowing out the candles on the cake I made him, BUMMER!! We also celebrated Baby Jesus' birthday and made a cake for him and sang to both of them! It was so fun!!

We ended up staying in H-Town for almost a week and had a blast all week just hanging out with everyone! SOOOO much fun!!! Can't wait to see Christmas next year holds in store! Merry Christmas y'all!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Caleb's Preschool Christmas Performance

2011-12-18T10:40:00.000-06:00

Caleb had his very first ever "musical" performance at school in early December. It was absolutely precious, and hilarious all at the same time! His class was singing Rudolph, hence the cute reindeer hats that they wore. Most of the kids didn't make a peep and just stood there. But Caleb, well, he didn't quite sing the song. Instead, he kept yelling in his really high pitched voice, "mommy! mommy! mommy!" Over and over again! Oh it just melted my heart! I can't believe how big he is getting, and that he's old enough to be "singing" in a school Christmas program!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

15 Months

2011-12-09T21:45:00.000-06:00

Oh Asher, you make me laugh! Yes, you are 15 months old today, and yes, you DEFINITELY have your moments of crankiness, but 95% of the time you are happy, cuddly and so very silly! You have been trying to run this past month and it is absolutely hilarious!! You have these gorgeous big brown puppy dog eyes that make it SOOOOO hard for me to say no to you! Add that in with you "running" up to me and burying yourself into my legs and giving me hugs and you can have whatever you want!!

You've always had a TON of facial expressions, but for some reason this past month they've all been really noticable, and so cute too (as you can see in the pictures below)! I WISH I COULD FREEZE TIME RIGHT NOW!!! Seriously! I am more and more in love with you every day you little honey of a boy! Happy 15 month birthday sweetie!!! I love you!

Your style of cuddling, running up and burying yourself in my legs, I LOVE IT! You do this at least a dozen times a day, literally!

The Pig, you love this pig!!

Of course, swinging, your favorite thing to do outside!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Community Group Christmas Brunch 2011

2011-12-05T14:51:00.001-06:00

This past Saturday we had our annual Community Group get together, this year even the guys were included! (Last year we did a christmas cookie party with just the mommies and kids) What a fun morning it was! Thanks to the Woods for hosting all 19 of us, including 11 kids! WOW, we're outnumbered! We played, ate lots of yummy breakfast food, played some more, did a couple crafts and played some more! The kids had an absolute blast, and I think the adults enjoyed it just the same! It truly was great just getting some good hang time in!! Here are some pics (thank you to the three other ladies for sharing your pics since I forgot our camera at home) from the morning!

Paige (4), Julia (3), Haley (4)

I love this group shot because it shows just how genuinely chaotic our lives are right now with 11 kids 6 and under! I'm seriously considering framing it!! From the top left (Paige, Julia, Haley, Eli, Dylan, Asher, Caleb, Jackson, Jacob, Noah, Evie)

Me and sweet Evie! She is such a honey!

Jackson - the bib says it all!

Asher - who clearly needs another haircut!

My sweetie!

Noah and his snowman - he did so good!

Karla and Andrea helped the kids make a glitter ice cream ornament, they loved it!

Andrea and Eli making their ornament!

The finished ornaments!

Dylan in all his goofiness! LOVE this kid!

My new favorite of Aaron and I!

Katie & Jarret (Julia & Jackson)

Dustin & Karla (Noah, Haley, Dylan, Evie)

Travis & Andrea (Jacob, Paige, Eli)

The guys!

Sad to say, we didn't get a girl picture! Maybe next time!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

35 Months

2011-12-04T13:17:00.000-06:00

Oh Caleb, I am so amazed at how much you've grown up the past month! Your vocabulary has doubled in size, and I can tell you're learning a lot from just listening to those around you (you repeat a lot)!! You continue to eat pretty much everything we give you. You still cuddle just as much as ever, and love it when I take you in to bed at night. You always request that I sing to you and pray. It's one of my most favorite moments of the day for sure!

You like to lounge around the house, just like me, yet you get really excited whenever we get dressed and go out somewhere, even if it's just a car ride. You haven't yet understood the concept of something being over or gone. We were driving down the highway and saw a firetruck that we passed by on the outer road and when you couldn't see it anymore you asked for it to come back, but it couldn't and you just lost it. It was cute, but sad. Also, you are learning that boys and girls look different in the sense of hair length, what they are wearing and what their voice sounds like. It's very fascinating for me to sit back and literally watch your brain develop! I LOVE IT!!

You are doing excellent in pre-school and come home with a great report every day! I'm so proud of you and knew all along that you would blossom being around other kids!

You've taken a liking to a rudolph puzzle I got you from the $1 bin at Target. Seriously, we do this puzzle every single day, multiple times! I'm pretty convinced you have memorized where the pieces go because you can finish that 24 piece puzzle in less than five minutes all by yourself!

Here are a few pics from the past month! I love you so very much honey! Only one more month and you'll be THREE, I simply can't believe it!!!

I just love this little angelic face of yours!!!

When I went to Branson for the weekend with Grandma and Aunt Julie, I brought home your very first Build-a-Bear. We named him Charlie and you love him! He sleeps right next to you every night!

We had a great day outside and of course, spent a good chunk of it swinging (still your favorite thing to do at the park, just like mommy)!

Caleb, mommy and daddy love you so very much! You are such a blessing to us each and every day!!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 30

2011-11-30T11:20:00.000-06:00

Day 30: Today I'm thankful that I get to stay home with my precious boys! Never did I think I would get to be a mom, much less a stay at home mom with these two little men!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 29

2011-11-29T11:19:00.000-06:00

Day 29: Today I'm thankful for the hope I have in Christ. I have nothing to fear because he has set me free! Thank you Lord!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 28

2011-11-28T11:17:00.000-06:00

Day 28: Today I'm thankful that even though we don't live in the mountains, I can still look at pictures of the majestic Rockies as often as I like (thanks to the internet)!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 27

2011-11-27T11:16:00.000-06:00

Day 27: Today I'm thankful for music. I'm thankful that the Lord uses music in my life to draw me closer to Him.

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 26

2011-11-26T11:14:00.000-06:00

Day 26: Today I'm thankful for the freedom with have in this nation to share the love, grace and forgiveness Christ offers with others!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 25

2011-11-25T11:12:00.000-06:00

Day 25: Today I'm thankful that the Lord brought two wonderful, amazing, loving, forgiving and generous people together 16 years ago! Happy Anniversary to my parents! I love you both so very much!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thanksgiving Day 2011

2011-11-24T23:20:00.000-06:00

We had the privilege of hosting Thanksgiving this year and oh my did we have fun! 11 people including 5 boys, ages 5 and under, in our tiny 2 bedroom apartment. LOTS of action, playing trains, watching the Parade and of course, football, and TONS OF FOOD!!! We really did have a wonderful time, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves!! Here are some pics from our busy day!

Getting everything set out and ready to cook!

You can't do Thanksgiving without the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

Our 24 lb. bird, stuffed and ready to bake!

Having fun with Elefun!

Yes, that is our 14 month old maneuvering his way around daddy's iPad! He's a smart little guy!

The table all set and ready to be filled with food and family!

Train time!!

Eli and Grandma

Aaron cutting the bird

Yes, I forgot to take a pic before Aaron cut in to the bird, so I took a pretty picture of the side that was still untouched

reading books with Grandma!

a plethora of food, we are so blessed!

Eli and Grandpa!

Corbin and Caleb sitting at our makeshift kids table

playtime!

all the boys had so much fun and did great!

Tio and Eli!

Grandma and all the babies!!

Grandma, Papa and the boys!

LOVE our family pic!!

brothers Corbin and Eli

Overall it couldn't have gone any better in my opinion! I'm hoping to get to host again in the future for sure!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 24

2011-11-24T11:10:00.000-06:00

Day 24: Today I'm thankful for the saving grace of Jesus Christ, His sacrifice on the cross, and his unconditional love. And I'm even more thankful that I know how desperately in need of a Savior I am, a true sinner saved by grace! Happy Thanksgiving!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 23

2011-11-23T11:09:00.000-06:00

Day 23: Today I'm thankful for modern technology such as cell phones, and thankful I now have a working one so that I can keep in touch with friends and family!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 22

2011-11-22T11:00:00.000-06:00

Day 22: I'm thankful that eight years ago today I said YES when Aaron Garcia asked me to be his wife! SOOOO incredibly blessed by the way he continues to love me, even in my most unlovable moments! I love you babe! Happy eight year engagement day!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 21

2011-11-21T10:59:00.000-06:00

Day 21: Today I'm thankful for allergy relief medicine, Stouffer's lasagna, and the RAIN (which we so desperately need)! I'm also thankful for sweet friends and an extra special little friend who got to come over and play with Caleb! We had such a great Monday!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 20

2011-11-20T10:56:00.000-06:00

Day 20: Today I'm thankful that God is ENOUGH, and has provided ENOUGH for our church to start the last phase of expansion, the children's center! So thankful that we get to be a part of the work HE is doing in and through His body of believers at Watermark Community Church!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 19

2011-11-19T10:53:00.000-06:00

Day 19: Today I'm thankful for our awesome donut lady! She provides us with amazing chocolate covered donuts almost weekly. I've been going to the same place for over five years now and they only seem to get better and better!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 18

2011-11-18T10:47:00.000-06:00

Day 18: Today I'm thankful for sweet friends who we get to do date night swaps with so that Aaron and I get a night sans kids to just spend together, talking about grown-up things and feeling young again!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 17

2011-11-17T10:46:00.000-06:00

Day 17: Today I'm thankful for Ms. Lesa and Ms. Tommy at Waterview Christian Preschool! They are Caleb's teachers there and they are AWESOME! I am amazed at how much he has learned and developed since being in school. It truly is sooo fun to pick him up from school and ask about his day, he always has something new to tell me!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 16

2011-11-16T10:44:00.000-06:00

Day 16: Today I am thankful for family, and unexpected surprise chances to get together, especially when they all live out of town!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 15

2011-11-15T10:42:00.000-06:00

Day 15: Today I am thankful for a running car, food in our pantry, a roof over our heads and the WONDERFUL provision from the Lord in the form of a job for my husband. And the fact that he actually enjoys what he does is even more of a blessing!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 14

2011-11-14T10:39:00.000-06:00

Day 14: Today I'm thankful for grace, apologies, forgiveness and the chance to continually start over.

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 13

2011-11-13T10:37:00.000-06:00

Day 13: Today I'm thankful for the freedom to believe what I want. To believe that there is one true God, and one way to spend eternity with Him in heaven, through His Son, Jesus!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 12

2011-11-12T10:36:00.000-06:00

Day 12: Today I'm thankful for the weekend! I'm thankful for time to spend focusing on my three favorite boys! Yay for Saturdays!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 11

2011-11-11T10:33:00.000-06:00

Day 11: Today I'm incredibly thankful for doctors and modern day medicine!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 10

2011-11-10T10:31:00.000-06:00

Day 10: Today I'm thankful for lazy days, lots of cuddling, hugs, kisses, babe's chicken, and pumpkin spice cupcakes in the oven! It's been one of the best Thursday's I've had in a long time!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

14 Months

2011-11-09T09:58:00.000-06:00

**I know this post is late, but better late than never, right?!?

Oh Asher, you are SUCH an absolute HONEY these days!!! You are a walking machine! You follow your big brother pretty much everywhere and love having a playmate at home! You are a cuddler, oh boy are you ever a cuddler! You run up to me at least 20 times a day and snuggle my legs, my neck, any part of me you can wrap your hands around, and I absolutely love it!!!!! You are getting/have gotten some new teeth and while that brings its own challenges, it also brings its advantages of being able to broaden the spectrum of what you can eat. However, you have gotten more picky on what you will actually eat, so that has been somewhat of an adventure. 95% of the time you are all smiles, and all boy. The other 5% is when you are tired or have really hurt yourself. It takes quite a bit for you to cry, unless you are tired. Ever since the time change, you have been waking up around 6:00-6:30 which has been really difficult for me, but I'm confident that you will adjust!

We are absolutely in love with you Asher! You bring such joy to our hearts and we just can't get enough of you! Please stop growing!!! Here are just a few pics from the past month of your life!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 9

2011-11-09T09:56:00.000-06:00

Day 9 - Today I am so thankful that 14 months ago I gave birth to one of the two most special little boys! Sweet Asher, I love you honey!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfullness - Day 8

2011-11-08T09:50:00.000-06:00

Day 8: I'm soooo thankful for my mom who came in town to visit, despite a houseful of sick boys! She has been ahhh-mazing!!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-07T13:39:00.002-06:00

I was tempted to not do a Halloween post, but I definitely want to remember Caleb's first trick or treating experience, so here we go!

Our dear friends invited us over to go with them since we live in an apartment complex, and oh boy did we strike it rich!

I have to start off with this little honey, Evie! What a cute little pumpkin she was!

Caleb, our little Woody from Toy Story! I tried to find him just a hat, but no luck, so he just had the outfit! It took Caleb a few houses to understand what to do, but in the end, he did great asking and saying thank you for all the candy!

Dylan was hilarious! The poor little spider must have fallen over at least a dozen times and spilled his candy, but he just got right back up and ran to the next house!

Haley, or better known as Ariel! What a cute little mermaid she was! Red hair and all!

And Noah, who was Spiderman. He had a blast with the two boys down the street, one of which is in his kindergarten class at school.

And how could I forget, our little superman! What a stud he was, and I was shocked how well he did too! Just sat in the stroller and watched everyone around him! He had a rough afternoon/evening, and was super tired, but he did so great!

I love this shot of Haley and Caleb from behind. They were always the last two at each house to go get candy, the big kids kind of overtook the entire process. Haley was so sweet to wait for Caleb, and walk up with him!

Woody on his way to the next house!

And finally, this girl knows how to do it right! She was zonked out by the end of our walk around the block! What a trooper!

Thanks Dustin & Karla for letting us tag along with y'all! We had such a blast and are still trying to finish all the candy Caleb got!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 7

2011-11-07T09:12:00.000-06:00

Day 7: Today I am thankful for the Lord's provision, for our nice cozy apartment, hot (and yummy!) food on the table, and warm clothes to wear. May I always remember that everything we have is from Him, and belongs to Him!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 6

2011-11-06T09:09:00.000-06:00

Day 6: Today I am thankful for the time we have to make great memories with the boys! Cuddling in bed, "date time" with the boys individually, to give them undivided attention, and just not packing our schedule so tight that we're crazy busy!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 5

2011-11-05T09:07:00.000-05:00

Day 5: Today I am thankful for sweet girlfriends who love me right where I'm at, hold me accountable, and spur me on to grow in my walk with the Lord! Thank you Katie, Karla and Andrea - SOOOOOOO blessed to have y'all in my life!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

34 Months

2011-11-04T21:28:00.000-05:00

Oh how I LOVE this kid!!! Caleb Aaron, you are SUCH a honey! You are in the thick of being a two year old boy, so often, you give me a good run for my money, but in the grand scheme of things, I love our time together! You are teaching me so much about patience and unconditional love. You are having a blast at pre-school, and come home talking about all the friends in your class. You have also learned how to sing, how exciting! One day, you came home and just started singing Twinkle Twinkle! You are growing so big, so fast! Here are a few pics from this past month! I love you so much buddy!!

Park Time! You L-O-V-E to swing!

Reading Bible Stories before bed!

My little burrito! You laid like this for a good 15 minutes and laughed almost the whole time!

Bubble Time!

You DO NOT like being dirty or having any kind of foreign "object" touching your body, ever. So when you walked all over the chalk drawings, you kind of freaked out. We got you cleaned off pretty quick!

Resting after a long day at school. You usually come home tired since you wake up so early from your nap.

I could kiss this adorable face ALL DAY LONG!!!

And finally, a funny video of you singing Twinkle Twinkle in slow motion! Hilarious!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 4

2011-11-04T09:05:00.000-05:00

Day 4: Today I am thankful for a husband who graciously takes care of the boys so that I can get a bit of a break! Thank you honey - you are WONDERFUL and I love you so much!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 3

2011-11-03T09:01:00.000-05:00

Day 3: Today I am thankful for my family's health. Outside of regular colds and allergies, we are all very healthy. Thank you, Lord!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Thankfulness - Day 2

2011-11-02T20:58:00.000-05:00

Day 2: Today I am thankful for gusty winds that bring cooler weather so that I can curl up and drink some hot apple cider! Seriously, I am definitely a cold weather girl!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

November Challenge - Thankfullness

2011-11-01T20:51:00.000-05:00

This month, I'll be focusing on thankfulness. There is so much in my life to be thankful for so my goal is to post one thing I'm thankful for each day this month!

Thankfulness Day 1: Today I am thankful for the two little boys I get to hug and kiss and wrestle with and read to and love on every day. And with that said, I am even more thankful for their daddy who does the same!!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

October Forecast Follow Up - Part 2

2011-11-01T08:48:00.000-05:00

Just to wrap up my October challenges, I am actually proud of myself! I completed 2 out of 3 of the challenges on a consistent basis, which is pretty good for this procrastinator momma!

I am still going strong on the Hello Mornings challenge and am truly enjoying the mornings that I'm waking up early and getting some great time with the Lord before my boys wake up. Although, they have been consistently waking up as early as 6:15, so some mornings I'm not getting any time in. Thank goodness for nap time though!

Cleaning, still completely failed at that! Oh well, I'll try again! Cleaning is the least of my worries when I'm raising to precious, busy boys! I would much rather have a messy house and boys who know their momma loves them and will play make believe, trains, do puzzles, and snuggle and watch a movie. There is SO MUCH MORE to this life than having a perfectly put together house!

The third and final challenge was to journal for my boys each night before bed. I am happy to say that even though I fell behind a couple nights, I caught up and am totally convinced that the Lord revealed himself to me more through writing letters to my boys than many other things this month. I often found myself tearing up as I was writing to them. I so desire for them to understand the Gospel and respond in such a way that their lives would overflow with the hope of Christ.

Thanks to Kat from Inspired to Action for the prayer calendar! It was such a great reference and starting point for my prayers each day not only for my boys, but for myself as well! Everything I wrote to them, I was writing to myself as well!

As for November, it will be a month of thankfullness!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

October Forecast - Follow Up Part 1

2011-10-12T14:17:00.000-05:00

It's October 12th and I haven't written an update on all my October Forecast Challenges yet! Well, I'm happy to say that I've succeeded on A LOT more than I thought I would! I'm surprised by this because I know myself, and even though I LOVE to plan and make lists, it's the follow through that I struggle with so VERY VERY much! With that said, so far I've succeeded at 2 out of 3 of my "plans" for the month.

First off, my Hello Mornings! Challenge. I'm SOOOO excited to report that I've succeeded at this one 100% of the time! WOO HOO!! This is a HUGE deal for me, to actually wake up by an alarm clock and before my boys wake up. My alarm has gone off at 5:45am every Mon-Fri and I've been out of bed between 6-6:30 each of those mornings. Even though I snooze, I still count it as a success because I am accomplishing my long term goal, which is to be up before the boys in order to have a quiet time and complete anything else I can before they wake up. Granted, they have been waking up earlier off and on, and a couple days, I've been up at 6, and so have one or both of them, but overall, 95% of the time, I have a solid 30 minutes to myself, to pray, journal, read and study the Word before they are ready to get up.

Second was my cleaning schedule. So, this was the one that I've failed at miserably, and if you were to walk in to my house right now, it would be very clear to you that I haven't done hardly anything in this department! Don't get me wrong, we sleep on clean sheets, wear clean clothes, the dishes stay clean for the most part, and I do vacuum and dust, but other than that, not much has gotten done.

In lieu of cleaning, I have spent countless hours playing trains, reading books, coloring, playing playdoh, racing cars, playing Elefun and so many other things with my boys, and to me, that is far more important than having a spick and span home. The time that they actually want me to play with them is so limited in the grand scheme of things, and I've decided that I am not going to feel guilty about forskaing cleaning to spend priceless time with my two little cuties! I hope that if you do come over and see my home, in all disarray, that you will be slow to judge and quick to realize that messy homes = memories are being made! Thanks in advance for giving me grace in this area!

Third, journaling for my boys. I have succeeded 100% in this area as well and am pretty sure the Lord is teaching me much more through writing to them than I ever thought possible! What joy it brings my heart to write down memories from that day as well as having the opportunity to write out my heartfelt prayers for them. Something that I hope and pray they treasure for the rest of their lives! I give all credit to the Lord for this, for giving me a passion to write. It's not about me, it's not about them, it's about what the Lord wants to say to them and I'm humbled that He is using me! Thank you Lord!

So, there's my update for the first part of the month! I am so thankful that the Lord has been nudging my heart to change, even in the smallest of areas, and I pray that I will continue to allow Him in to every area of my life so that the change He brings, will only show more of Him and less of me.

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

13 Months

2011-10-09T13:34:00.000-05:00

Asher sweetie, you are 13 months old! Woo Hoo! You are all boy and I absolutely LOVE the fact that you are now WALKING and need no help from mommy or daddy anymore(you love it too!)! You are also all about being "busy" every moment you are awake. You constantly want to be playing and moving and I love it! It keeps me on my toes and I'm pretty sure you are the reason I've recently lost weight!

You are beginning to understand when mommy or daddy tell you "no" and you don't like it (big surprise there, right?!?). You squeal at us, and sometimes you take a swing at me if I'm holding you when I tell you no. We are already having to work on discipline with you in the sense that you LOVE outlets and anything that might injure you.

This past month you had your first haircut and look soooo much more like a little boy! I love it! And I love the fact that Fall is just around the corner because you look so handsome in your little jeans, sneakers and long sleeve t's! Thank you for speeding over to me multiple times a day and bear hugging my neck, it's my most favorite moments I share with you each day! And thank you for your big smiles and your belly laughs! You are such a honey and SUCH a priceless treasure to me and daddy! We love you so much!

Here are a few pics from the past month of your life! I could just stare at them all day long!

Again, the talking to the food thing, HILARIOUS!!

You've got long eyelashes like your brother!

The beautifulness that was your hair before we had it chopped off! I still look at this and miss those curls!

Haircut time!

So proud of yourself for walking all the way to daddy!

You in jeans melts my heart!

Eeeek! My little superman! I could just snuggle you ALL THE DAY LONG!!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

33 Months

2011-10-04T22:19:00.000-05:00

Oh my sweet Caleb. You have become such a funny little guy lately! Your personality is really starting to bloom, and I can see a bunch of both me and daddy in you! You are very free spirited and love to dance around and do your own thing, and you also love to just lay down and relax! What a cuddler you are too, you know I will never turn down any cuddle time with you!! In three more short months you will be 3 years old, and I just don't think I'm ready for that yet. Time is going way too fast, and I truly want to just freeze it right now! I love you sooooo very much! You are such a priceless treasure! Thank you for bringing so much joy to my heart each and every day! Here are a few pics from the past month, I still can't believe how big you're getting!

You and daddy just chillin' out! Daddy wasn't feeling well when he got home this day and you climbed right on up to cuddle with him!

You tolerate Asher SOOOOO well honey! You are an amazing big brother and Asher is so blessed to have you! I can't wait to see how your relationship continues to develop over the years!

You are ALL boy, all the way down to the way that you eat, and the mess that you make, AND I LOVE IT!!! I wouldn't change a single thing about you! I've come to grips that my home will be in disarray for the next 15-20 years, and I'm completely ok with that! Memories are being made!

These pj bottoms are just slightly big on you, but you thought it was hilarious when I pulled them all the way up over your cute belly! I called you my little Nacho that day, in reference to Nacho Libre for any of you who wondered why I picked that name!

You are a HOOT! You walk around, dance around and run around with your lovies hanging off the top of your head all the time! It makes mommy laugh so much because you crack yourself up by doing it!

Yep, this is how you roll! You had just gotten your new shoes that afternoon and would not let me take them off of you. I also got creative and made you a "hat" out of the top half of a Chipotle bag and stuck it on your head. You LOVED it! And of course, it's normal for you to be running around in your undies, pretty much every day!

And I can't forget to post this momentus picture, your FIRST day of preschool! Oh my goodness! You absolutely LOVE preschool and have made so many new friends! It's especially special because your friend Haley goes to the same school and apparently y'all get to play together on the playground each day! What fun! I truly am so excited that you were able to go this year, you are learning SOOOO much and I love picking you up and hearing all about it!

Happy 33 month birthday buddy! We love and adore you so much!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Asher's First Haircut

2011-10-01T21:07:00.002-05:00

Today we took Asher for his very first haircut! Wow. He looks so much more like a little man than a baby, and I was definitely sad to see all that gorgeous baby hair go. So, without further ado, here are a few pics! Enjoy!

Before, goodness gracious your hair was so long!!

And curly, oh how I love those curls!!

He did SOOOOO fabulous! He sat on my lap and watched Cars while the very sweet lady cut his hair.

And, the final result! My handsome little senator!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

October Forecast

2011-10-01T00:39:00.002-05:00

October is going to bring some major changes around here. Maybe not too noticeable to the outside world, but very noticeable here, and specifically to me! I'm taking on a few challenges, some new, some repeats from "back in the day". So, in order to have written proof that I've attempted these changes, I'm blogging about them, before I even start most of them! If you read my blog, feel free to ask me how I'm doing with them through this next month. I will also post updates, probably only once a week, for lack of time really. Anyway, on to the good stuff...

Some of you may remember me sharing a while back about a new morning routine that I was going to commit to for 3 months, May 15th - August 15th, called Hello Mornings. Well, I kinda failed at the round, so I signed up for the next one, Sept. 15 - Dec. 15th and so far, I've been successful EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. (Yay me!!). If you know me at all, you know that I AM NOT a morning person, whatsoever, so hearing the not so soft sound of my cell phone alarm go off at 5:45 each morning has rocked my world. It has been such a wonderful accountability "program" for me, just knowing that 20-25 other ladies, who are mostly in my life stage, and have the same desires to wake up early before the kids and spend some quality time with Jesus, has truly made the past couple weeks so far so much more enjoyable, and doable! I've never met any of these wonderful mommies in person, but I get to have a short conversation with them each morning when I "check in" in our group's FB page each morning, as soon as I get up. Some of us are working towards getting in steady quiet times with Jesus, as well as a morning workout routine. Don't even ask me how I'm doing with that last bit, because there is absolutely nothing to share! Anyway, this is one thing that I will continue to strive towards through the month of October, in addition to texting a dear friend of mine each morning at 6:30, to help hold her accountable to getting up and having Jesus time before the kids wake.

Next, comes the not so fun part of the month...cleaning. I have written out a detailed cleaning check list for each day of the week, and hopefully I can stick to it! I created a Family Binder quite a while back and have not had the motivation to fill it and use it until just within the past couple weeks. It's so cute that I think I was almost afraid to use it for fear of beating it up, but isn't that what it's for?!? Anyways, the first round of tabs are monthly sections (Jan - Dec) for calendar pages. I've got a great layout that works best for me and I've been using it in my purse size planner for quite a while. I was pretty excited to have a full size binder to move to, it gives me more writing and planning space! Here's a cover shot...

Here's a sneak peak of what my "layout" looks like. I've got everything color coded too (yes, I'm sure y'all think I"m absolutely insane but I don't care, it works!). As you can see, my "chore chart" is in gray, schedules are in teal, and misc. notes in yellow at the bottom left. On the bottom right of each page, I have my mission statement, a GREAT daily reminder of who I am striving to be during my short life here on earth, and in the top right corner (not filled in yet), is a place to put the memory verse I'm currently working on. Also included is a menu planner, a water log and the day's most important things to accomplish. I'm really hoping being more organized on paper (and having a box to check) will really help me get my butt in gear!

I also just put together a quick weekly calendar. It's hanging on the wall in our kitchen and includes breakfasts, lunches and dinners for the week, a place to jot down anything on the calendar, a grocery list and a to do list. I know it's kind of a repeat of what's above, but it's more for Aaron to see what we have going on that week, as well as if there is anything in particular he wants from the store he can jot it down there. It's great because as you can see, it's a dry erase board, so each week, I get to start over! I love it!

So, finally, my final goal for the month is this. I went out and bought two composition notebooks, one for Caleb and one for Asher. My goal is to simply write or journal something to them at the end of each day, including what I'm specifically praying for them that day (using the mommy's prayer calendar found here: http://www.inspiredtoaction.com/wp-content/uploads/kat/I2A_Prayer_Calendar.pdf). It doesn't have to be anything long, detailed or emotional, just something that I truly want them to remember about that day. My goal is to do this each day of October, in hopes that it will become a regular "event" in my daily life. I would love to be able to give them all of these journals with hand written memories and letters from me. Can you tell that my love language is words of affirmation?!?

Well, there you have it. My goals for October are to stop procrastinating, set a morning routine in place, follow through on a cleaning/organizing regimen and be consistent to love on my boys in a more tangible way, even if they don't realize what it is now, I truly just want them to know how incredibly much I love being their mommy!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Asher's First Year in Pictures

2011-09-11T23:12:00.001-05:00

Oh my sweet baby boy! I know I've said it already, but I still cannot believe you are already one year old! My oh my, my mother was right, time flies by wayyyyyyy to fast!!! Daddy and I love you more than words could ever express! You are sweet, gentle, cuddly, and have the best laugh! Thank you for filling our lives with such sweet joy every single day! Happy Birthday baby!

Only minutes old and I'm already in love! What a genuinely precious time it was, and a great delivery too!

Not even a month old, and you're already smiling!

Seriously, you and your brother with your hilarious facial expressions! Thanks for passing that "gift" along Daddy! It sure has brought many laughs to our home!!

Thank you Aunt Julie for this precious outfit that makes me want to EAT. HIM. UP.

Eeek! I {HEART} cloth diapers, especially how stinkin' cute my boys look in them!!

Early morning riser here folks, can you tell!

Starting to get ready to crawl!!

Can't get enough of those massively large thighs!!! I could just squeeze them all day!!

{insert melting heart}

My little senator!

Bath time and bubbles, one of your favorite parts of the day!

You SOOOO love your big brother and he SOOOO loves you too!!!

Happy Birthday Asher! We love you so very much, my big ONE YEAR OLD!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Asher's Birthday - Part 2

2011-09-11T22:42:00.001-05:00

So, the first post I did was mainly Asher's Birthday Party, and a VERY LONG look back at the past year. This post is just a few pictures of Asher's actual birth day!

We started out with his favorite breakfast, egg, sausage and cheese casserole! He downs this stuff like it's water!

I warned you, he talks to his food, and it's absolutely hilarious!

sweet smiles from my little honey!!

Next, it was time to play with his newest toy, his new train table! A HUGE THANK YOU to both sets of grandparents for this AWESOME gift! Seriously, this kid is obsessed with it!!

Train time with daddy! Love it!!

Happy Birthday baby boy! We love you so much!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Asher's First Birthday!!!

2011-09-09T20:48:00.000-05:00

My sweet precious little honey! You are ONE YEAR OLD!!! OH. MY. GOODNESS!!!! I am just in awe of how incredibly fast this past year has gone with you! I really do feel like I was just holding you in my arms for the first time! You have grown so much, and truly are SUCH a joy!!! You belly laugh like me, and are starting to talk back to us when we say your name. You even talk to toys and you love to have a nice little chit chat with your food! It's priceless!

You have taken your first steps in the past few weeks, but don't really have any interest in trying to learn to walk on your own, however, when we lend you a helping hand, you practically run all over the house! You are consistently sleeping through the night, going to bed anytime between 6:30 and 7:30pm, and not waking up until between 7:30 and 8:30am which is wonderful! You are a rock start sleeper, I think it just took you longer to figure out how much you actually like it! You also nap at least 2 1/2 hours, sometimes up to 3 1/2 hours during the day, which is much needed for as much as you do during your waking hours!

You are absolutely in heaven having a big brother! And Caleb us THE BEST at it, hands down! He loves on you and puts up with you stealing his pacy, toys and snacks. I'm shocked that he's only taken a small swing at you a handful of times! He truly loves you so much, and every morning when I come in to get you up, he runs in after me screaming "baby asher, baby asher!" and comes right up to your crib! It's so cute!

You are eating like a champ, but I'm convinced that you have some sensitivites/allergies because your Excema has been HORRIBLE since moving you to all regular solid foods (meaning you are eating what we are eating for the most part). You have your 1 year check up Monday morning with Dr. C and I definitely have PLENTY of questions to ask him about you! I will post your stats after your appointment.

You have completely dropped your bottle! We cut you off dry for two reasons, 1) you have been drinking at least 2-3 sippy cups of whole milk everyday for the past few weeks and you love it, and 2) we used up the last tub of formula we had and I frankly didn't want to go and buy another one because they are so stinkin' expensive! You didn't make too big of a deal about it and definitely haven't complained since!

You love it when we're sitting on the floor and you can crawl over, practically barrel us down, and snuggle right in to our shoulder/neck! And of course, we love it too! You are so snuggly, I just can't get enough of it!! You have also started "nibbling" (the nice way of putting that you have started play biting when snuggling us), and boy oh boy does it hurt!! We've got to nip this in the bud and fast!

You have a full head of long gorgeous hair, that falls perfectly in to place, which is why I call you my little Senator! Seriously! You look like you could run for office one day with that hair! My favorite part though, is right when you get out of the bath and daddy dries your hair with the towel, and all these precious little curls show up!! I wish your hair would actually dry curly one day, but it won't, I've tried!

Since this is your first party, and since you are a second child and I haven't totally celebrated all of your "firsts" this past year, I wanted to try and make up for it by throwing you a fun birthday party! We headed over to a local park bright and early, and enjoyed some AHHHH-MAZING 70 and 80 degree weather!! It was perfectly sunny with a slight breeze and truly was the most perfect weather day for your party!! We invited some close friends and Tio Omar, Tia Vicki, Corbin and Josiah even came up from Ft. Worth, what fun we had!! It truly was a blast and a party I know I will never forget! Here are some pictures from your party, and a video at the end that will have you rolling laughing for sure!!

Your Party Table! it was supposed to be a train themed party, but it ended up just being a red, white and blue party after all! Oh well, at least the invites had trains on them!

I stayed up really late making this awesome month by month picture banner! I had such a hard time picking out which photos to use, there were so many fun ones, and what joy it brought to my heart to see how you've grown so much in the first year of your life!!

Your **AWESOME** cake and cupcakes, which I'm very proud of since it was only my second time working with cake decorating tools (*thanks to Amy for letting me borrow everything!)

You can't have a morning party without donuts, from our favorite donut lady!!

I had decorated the highchair the day before for you actual birthday, and it ended up not getting too messed up from you pulling on and eating the streamers!

Oh Asher, you were swinging for about 30-45 minutes and you finally just dozed off! It was precious!

Not only did you fall asleep in the swing, but you stayed asleep as we transferred you to your chair for cake, and you continued to stay alseep through close to 20 people singing Happy Birthday to you! (see video below for the full effect)

You finally woke up right at the end of the song, and you were very confused as to what all was taking place

Tio Omar, oh how you love him! You kept looking at your cake, and then to him, and then to your cake, and back to him. It was so cute!!

PRICELESS!

Josiah, your cousin, an absolute HONEY!!!

Almost all the kiddos enjoying some cupcakes, donuts and capri sun!! So sorry Corbin, Eli and Kyler for not making it in the pic!!

Noah, you do SUCH a great job of making Asher laugh, ALL THE TIME! I love it!!

It's kind of hard to see, but the hair sticking directly out by his ear was crusted and dried icing! He had grabbed a handful of cake, and just decided to grab his hair right after it! So funny!

Oh my little honey! Goodness, I can't believe you are ONE!! You are a priceless treasure and bring so much joy to mommy and daddy! We are absolutely IN LOVE with you! Each moment we have with you is a gift and one that I thank the Lord for every single day!!! Happy Birthday my little senator!!!

The only family pic we got all day! I'm always so bad at getting these, and then so mad at myself afterwards when I realize how bad I am at it!!

And finally, the hilarious video of Asher sleeping through his Happy Birthday song!

32 Months

2011-09-04T23:17:00.000-05:00

Caleb, you are 32 months old! WOW! What a blessing and joy you are to daddy and I! Truly, our days are filled with lots of cuddles, kisses, wrestling, playing and jumping on beds, eating lots of food and snacks, watching Thomas, VeggieTales or one of your other favorites, reading books, playing trains, drawing, spelling, counting (in English AND Spanish - he learned the Spanish from Dora!), dancing to music, doing our scripture memory verse, singing, coloring, racing cars, learning how to share with Asher, and definitely a few rough moments throughout each day! Nonetheless, our lives and days are NEVER EVER boring!!!

This summer has been especially hard because of all this stinkin' hot weather! 68 days so far of temps over 100 degrees can definitely put a damper on outdoor fun, or trips in the car period, so we've spent A TON of time at home! I don't think I've ever been so ready and excited for fall!!

Over this past month, you've have changed a lot. It's been a great month of learning a lot of new things, but also very difficult month, as I feel like you are in the heat of the 2nd year brain development, and all the difficulties that come along with that. There have been many tears, mostly from mommy, but you've had your share too. And there has been more discipline than I'd really like. Our timeout rug needs a time out. Many times, mommy has needed, and has taken, a time out. But most of the time, unfortunately, you're the one in timeout. Sweet boy, I know this phase is so incredibly difficult for you. Just know mommy and daddy love you UNCONDITIONALLY. There is nothing you could ever do that would change that. I know you don't quite understand what is going on in your brain right now, and most of the time your facial expressions and the way you react to situations make it very clear how much you don't understand what is going on. I'm learning, on a daily basis, where to draw the line on discipline vs. giving grace and allowing you to share your emotions in a healthy way. I know you need to be able to express yourself, but I think you are struggling with knowing how to actually do that, and so anything negative comes out as screaming or throwing yourself on the floor. I'm trying to teach you how to scream in to your pillow, but you haven't caught on yet. This is what I did when I was frustrated growing up, and it helped so very much, so I'm hoping maybe it will help you during your hard times as well.

My precious boy, mommy and daddy are learning just as much as you are right now, and for the first time as well. We want what's best for you, and we know that we are not perfect, but are truly striving to honor the Lord with the way that we parent you. Our hearts greatest desire is for our lives to be a reflection of God's love, so strongly, that one day you will trust him with your life, and give him every ounce of your being. We pray for you every day, and will continue to do just that. We are for you, we are your biggest fans, and even though this is a rough patch, we know that it is only a short time before it will be gone, and we will be in the next exciting phase of your life! We love you more than words could ever express sweetheart, and are so excited to continue watching you as you grow and develop! What a treasure you are to us!!

Here are a few pics from the last month! We have had some GREAT memories made for sure! And I just can't get enough of your sweet smiling face!!

cuddle time with daddy, a MUST and one of your favorite times of the day!

daddy tickling you!

daddy doing his george impression, and man is he good at it!! You and Asher both love this!

all smiles at the table, amazing!

Your sweet face!

BIG fun standing on daddy!!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

11 Months

2011-08-09T14:09:00.001-05:00

My sweet baby boy, today you are 11 months old, AHHHHH!! I cannot believe it's only 4 more short weeks until you turn ONE! Where did the time go?!? You are developing sooo fast, I can hardly keep up! You actually took your first couple steps on Sunday! I missed them, and you haven't taken any since, but I'm glad Daddy was here and got to see them, he's missed all of the other "firsts" for you and big brother!

You are OBSESSED with the train table that is taking up our dining room right now! Proof is in the pictures! Seriously, you spend at least 2 hours at that train table DAILY. I'm not exaggerating either!

You are down to three meals a day, and three bottles, breakfast, lunch and dinner! You are also sleeping wonderfully, all night 10-12 hours and you average 3 hours during the day for a nap. You have also dropped your morning nap which has been AMAZING! If only we could get this excessive heat to disappear so that we could actually leave the house without sweating!

You are much more vocal than Caleb was. You wake up and immediately start talking. You can't wait to come out and get in on all the action. You follow Caleb everywhere, which is just so fun to watch, and you love to wrestle and jump on his bed with him too!

You have graduated to taking big boy baths with your brother and you LOVE IT!!!

You also love playing with older kids and a lot of them! You do fabulous in the nursery at church, which is such a blessing, and you also love it when we go to the mall playgrounds, or out for playdates with friends!

Here are some of my favorite shots of you over the past month!!

Jenni, your fabulous babysitter that you adore!!

crazy hair, crazy face, CRAZY LOVE FOR THIS LITTLE HONEY!!!

Seriously kid, your hair is OUT OF CONTROL!!

playing trains with your buddy Dylan!

Some Haley love! She adores you!!!

SOOOO thankful you love bathtime the way you do!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

31 Months

2011-08-04T13:46:00.001-05:00

My sweet Caleb, today you are 31 months old! What a little firecracker you are these days! One minute your laughing hysterically, the next you're screaming in frustration. I thought maybe we had bypassed the "terrible two's", but fear not, you made sure we got to experience them first hand! Nonetheless, I love you just the same and am thankful more than anything for a healthy little man! The Lord is teaching me so many things right now, through you, and you don't even realize it!

Patience, something that we both often need with each other, but that mommy needs more. Inside voices, I know you still don't quite understand what that means, but you do know how to whisper now and you do a GREAT job of it when we take you in for bed and Asher is already asleep. Grace. I'm so thankful that the Lord showers me with grace, I just need to continue to put it in to practice with you. You need grace right now. You need discipline, but you also need grace. Your sweet little brain is working overtime and I can always tell when you aren't "feeling" right by the expression on your face. It truly says, "something is happening, but I don't know what, and I don't know how I feel about it, so I'm going to express my confusion through frustration, yelling and crying." I truly don't understand what all is happening in that little mind of yours either, but I know that it's harder on you than you are on me. Grace. Lord give me grace, so that I can shower my son with it. Patience. Lord give me patience so that I can shower my son with it as well.

On the flip side of things, the developments that your brain is making is coming out in learning new words, repeating entire phrases, being able to accurately respond to mommy when I ask you a question, being able to point things out in the car when I ask you what you see, and sooooo much more! This fills my heart with such joy, and often overwhelms me to the point of tears, to think that my once little baby boy, is now growing leaps and bounds in speech and actions! You have also learned to jump and boy oh boy do you LOVE jumping! On anything and everything, which is fine by me! I grew up jumping on the bed and it truly is a fond memory that I want you to have too!

You also LOVE your little brother, so very very much!! You are so concerned whenever you hear him crying. And the times that you have accidentally run in to him or toppled him over, you don't waste a second giving him loves. It truly is precious! A relationship that I know will just blossom over time!!!

Here are a few pics from the past month! I love you so very very much my little man! You are such a joyous treasure to me and daddy!!

July 4th pics!

Giving Asher "loves"!!

You and your crazy hair, I LOVE IT!!

A picture worth a thousand words. Pictures of you smiling have become extinct, and so the fact that I was actually a part of a picture with you smiling is truly a miracle!

For memory's sake, a picture of the lovely drawing you did on the dining room wall with your red crayon. There's never a dull moment with you little man, and I wouldn't trade my life for ANYTHING!!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Eeeeek!!!

2011-07-16T18:06:00.005-05:00

Oh. My. Goodness. I am so stinkin' excited!! With Caleb going to preschool this fall, I knew I wanted to **attempt** to make him a special, one-of-a-kind nap mat, and today, I woke up inspired to do so! I've had the fabric for quite some time, but honestly, it's been probably a year since I've pulled out my sewing machine. And, I've had the nap mat tutorial "favorited" for even longer. So, as I got started this morning, and was looking at the list of supplies I was going to need, I noticed that buttons were one thing that I've ALWAYS feared working with, and therefore never have. Until today! And I'm proud to say that after a few trial runs on some scrap fabric, I actually completed two button holes successfully!

To say that this project was hard is an understatement. I think I put it off for so long because I was scared of it. And maybe it was the fact that I actually got 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep last night thanks to my amazing hubby who got up with Asher, that inspired me. Either way, in about 5 hours start to finish, we have an awesome nap mat, and I am proud to say that I stand here in sheer amazement that I didn't yell, curse or shed a single tear while taking on this overwhelming task, even though I've got plenty of red dots on my finger tips from sticking myself with push pins!

I "eeekkked" with giddyness as I finished sewing on the last button and let Caleb take a test run. He didn't want to get off of it so I could take pics, which means maybe, just maybe, he will actually use it at preschool come September!

Here is the boy that I *slaved* over the sewing machine for today, just as I would any day of the week! He couldn't wait to lay down on it! He is calling it his nap night night mat, so cute!

The finished project, just waiting to be filled with my big boy!

The "outer shell", one of the cutest dinosaur prints I could find! SOOO much color and not too little boyish!

The finished project, all buttoned up and ready to go!

Finally, the strap, which Caleb won't be using because it's about as big as him, and I don't think he'll be able to carry it himself!

I am so absolutely thrilled with how it turned out and I know that it will be well loved not only by Caleb, but by Asher someday as well! And what a wonderful break it was to actually be creative and put it to good use! Thank you Aaron, for letting me take the time to do this today, I desperately needed to do something different than soothe our crying baby, or clean!! You rock!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Struggling

2011-07-14T10:48:00.004-05:00

As you can see, I haven't done a "real' post in quite some time. Other than the boys monthly updates, I honestly have not had the desire to do any posts. The past two months have brought me to my knees in prayer quite possibly more than any other time in my life. I'm not really sure where to start, except by stating this disclaimer **this post is being written to document life with two young boys. And I am fairly certain that 10+ years down the road, I will read this again, and laugh, and be reminded of how short this life stage is, even though right now, it feels like it will never end.**

I love my boys. More than life itself, I love them. I would do anything for them. I praise the Lord each day for blessing my life with them, two HEALTHY boys. But, something that I am learning as a momma, is that you truly never know what you are getting in to when you beg and plead with the Lord to give you a child. And that it doesn't matter how many you have, you still don't know what you're doing and you have to rely on the Lord just to make it through the day without having a mental breakdown.

These past few months have brought me to my core, down on my knees, weeping for the Lord to come in and in essence, rescue me, from this life stage. It is by far the most difficult and challenging thing I have ever done in my life. Oh, my sweet Asher, my little 10 month old honey, has been waking up nearly every night crying, screaming, talking and fussing, for hours and hours on end. No joke. Really. Now, most of you might say, well, that's normal for a baby. Unfortunately, my first child was nearly perfect as an infant, so I am absolutely clueless as to how to handle Asher. Also, very unfortunately, I am pretty sure that it's Caleb talking in his sleep/making noises that is waking up Asher, and since we only have two bedrooms in our tiny apartment, the boys are in the room together. Asher also had croupe and an ear infection that lasted a couple weeks, which I know threw off his sleeping as well. It's almost as if he gets back to sleeping through the night, and then he gets sick and it wipes his memory clean of knowing how to sleep through the night, so he has to relearn it all. And that's the point I feel like we are at today.

I have tried sleeping Caleb in our room. It works, for Asher that is. He sleeps without a peep all night. Caleb, on the other hand, wakes up, and like last night, was awake for 2 hours before I pulled him in bed with us, and it still took almost 30 minutes for him to fall back asleep. So, I've got one sleeping consistently each night, and the other one up for hours on end.

I know this probably doesn't sound like a big deal, but when you go weeks and weeks on end without a full nights sleep, and don't have the opportunity to nap during the day because of opposite nap schedules, and your kids wake up consistently by 6:30am, it wears you down. At least it does me.

I find myself on my knees right outside their closed bedroom door nearly every night, begging and pleading for the Lord to help. To silence my child so that we can all sleep and be rested for the next day. I have yet to have that prayer answered at that moment of praying it. And I get frustrated with God. I don't understand why when he has the power to help my child sleep all night, what is the purpose of not doing so? I get frustrated and I cry out to him, yell out to him. Countless nights I have cried myself back to sleep after waking up Aaron to "take over" since I've already been up for 2+ hours. I just don't understand. I just don't get it. It truly is worse than newborn phase, because at least then, most of the time you can feed them and they go right back to sleep. Asher doesn't do that. I can feed him and he will still stay awake for at least another hour.

All this to say, I am really struggling. Struggling to understand my child, what his needs are, if there is something wrong with him that I'm missing. I'm confused. He is absolutely great during the day. Naps well, plays with Caleb, has no problems from 7am - 7pm. It literally is just night time. I've tried every trick in the book that I can think of and am still at a loss. Tonight, I'm trying the very last thing I can think of, having Asher in the pnp in our room for the next few nights at least.

Anyway, there is a song, that I truly feel is my life story right now, and every time I hear it I cry buckets of tears. It's called "Blessings" by Laura Story.

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering

All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?

What if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough

And all the while You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?

And what if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?

What if my greatest disappointments
Or the achings of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst
This world can’t satisfy?

And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?

Lord, please help me to trust You. Give me the energy and strength I need to make it through each day AND night. Whatever it takes for me to trust you, your timing, and your plan, I'm ready and willing. Even if it is a thousand sleepless nights. Just give me your strength, please. I'm desperate. I know you hear each spoken and unspoken word, just help me to trust you.

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

10 Months

2011-07-09T09:55:00.009-05:00

Oh Asher, you are irresistible!! Your personality is blooming more and more each day and it is such a joy to see who you are becoming! You love your brother, and follow him everywhere! Some of your newest tricks, challenges and favorites from the past month are:

1. You are on three solid meals per day - WOO HOO!

2. You are obsessed with demolishing the train table, multiple times a day, and have such a fun time doing it too!

3. You also love our Lightening McQueen "shake n go" car and you will play with that on your own for 30-45 minutes at a time!

4. You enjoy getting out of the house, but do NOT like when the car is stopped, say at a red light or stop sign. You go in to full screaming mode, even with a pacy in!

5. You love to play on Caleb's bed with him, bouncing around and "wrestling" with him, it's so cute, and just a small glimpse in to what our world will look like in another 5 years!

6. You are full fledged crawling, AND walking along any piece of furniture you can find! Oh. My. Goodness. I'm not sure I'm ready for you to be walking on your own yet, even though I don't doubt you will be doing so by the end of summer!

7. Your top two teeth have now popped through and my goodness what a challenge that was. Crying and screaming for 4 hours one night, whew!

8. You have gone back to waking up most nights. Sometimes its only 15-30 minutes, but most nights it's at least 1 1/2 hours, sometimes up to 3 hours. I'm learning that this stage is even harder than newborn because at least then, I could give you a bottle and you'd be back to sleep right away. Now, I can give you a bottle, but you still choose to stay awake, and the only way you are quiet is if I'm rocking you.

9. You recently had Croupe, for the first time ever, and I NEVER want to have to deal with that again! Multiple rounds of steroids, antibiotics for an ear infection, and many days of breathing treatments. YUK!!! Seriously, sickfest 2011 needs to be done with, NO MORE SICK BABIES!!!

10. Dr. C thinks you might have a wheat allergy/sensitivity and so we've cut out any wheat from your diet and you are doing great without it! No problems eating, and no fussiness afterwards, so we will stick to this path for a while!

Overall, it's been a good month, if only we could get you back to sleeping through the night! We will be working on that this month and praying for rest for this extremely exhausted momma! Here are some of my favorite shots from the past month, enjoy!

I've nicknamed you my little senator, with your perfectly placed hair. it truly does that all on it's own and I can't help but look at you and envision some type of serious career ahead of you! With that said, you are also growing to be a very big and strong boy, maybe some type of sport is in your future too! Either way, I LOVE your hair, and those big puppy dog brown eyes too!

This picture is for sentimental reasons only. It's the first time Asher wore two piece pj's, and they were Caleb's! So sweet!!

Asher, you are SOOO VERY VERY loved by so many people, but more than anyone, by me and daddy! You bring us endless joy, and challenge us as well! We are so blessed to have you, and thank the Lord each day for your little life! We love you sweet honey!! Happy 10 month birthday!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

30 Months

2011-07-04T08:43:00.006-05:00

Caleb, you are 2 1/2 years old today! Gosh, I can still remember the first time I held you in my arms, and now you are a full-fledged toddler, truly living up to every 2 1/2 year old expectation! This past month we've had lots of adventures, but the biggest one was taking on the task of potty training you. Oh boy, there is NOTHING that could have prepared me for this! I am convinced that it was more difficult than anything else I've done as your mom. Holy cow. We took the first weekend of June and were home bound for almost a full week while I did so much laundry that I felt like my washer/dryer could easily break at any moment from over-stimulation! And even so, you did exceptionally well, except for day four. That is a day I will remember forever as one of the most difficult days of my life. Seriously. Potty training is not for the faint of heart. Although neither is mothering!

Anyhow, you are continuing to grow and are developing in to such a sweet little man. You are passionate and have the temperament of your mother, and I'm not convinced that's a good thing yet! You like to scream in rebellion, which often lands you a spot on the timeout mat by thr front door, followed by either more screaming or crying. Thankfully, the two minutes you sit there really help you to calm down, and when I ask you to come see me when your time is up, you always respond with a "yes mam" and a "sorry mommy" and then some snuggles, which in turn MELTS MY HEART to its core! Overall, you are a wonderful, mild tempered boy who loves playing trains, building blocks, lego houses and watching videos!

your big boy undies getting ready to be washed and worn for the 1st time!

I couldn't help myself! You look so stinkin' cute in your big boy undies!!

This is what we do in the summer, we wear our winter gear around the house!

Pointing out his four buddies that he sleeps with! Monkey, George, Froggy and Doggie!

His sleeping buddies!

Just a little raspberry fun at lunch!

Playing trains with Asher! Oh how they LOVE playing trains together!

"Hi mommy!"

My sweet boy! Oh how I love you so much honey! You bring such joy in to my life and I thank the Lord for you every single day!! I love you, son!! Happy 2 1/2 birthday!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Father's Day

2011-06-30T09:42:00.005-05:00

This Father's Day was wonderful, it was actually celebrated over two weekends! The Sunday before Father's Day Aaron got to go golfing with a friend. I'm so glad he got to, since it's VERY rare that he has that opportunity and it's something he loves to do! The weekend of Father's Day, he also went with some guy friends of his and saw two different movies. One Saturday night, and one Sunday morning after church. We also got to celebrate him even more Sunday night when the four of us went to dinner at Pappasito's (YUMMY seafood, woo hoo)!!

I'm so glad that we had the time available so that he could be celebrated so much because he truly is an amazing man, husband and father! Our boys are so very blessed to have him. he is loving, gracious, compassionate and caring. I am so blessed to have him as my partner in parenting, Lord knows I could never do it on my own!

Thank you Aaron, for truly stepping up and leading our family. You bring such joy to me, and to our home and I am blessed beyond measure to walk through this sweet life with you!

Some other amazing daddy's are the guys we are blessed to share life with, Dustin, Travis and Jarret! I think their wives would agree we are all so blessed and thankful to the Lord for these amazing, Godly men who strive to lead us all well!!

And last, but DEFINITELY not least, my awesome dad! I am so thankful to the Lord for him, for his guidance and wisdom over the years, and for everything he has done for me! Thank you dad, for being such a great example of a man after God's own heart. I love you so much!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

9 Months

2011-06-09T10:42:00.000-05:00

Asher, my little man, you are 9 months old! You continue to amaze me at how fast you learn to do something, like army crawl across the entire apartment without me knowing it! You follow your big brother everywhere, as well as momma and daddy, and I love it!! You want to be where all the action is and you go non-stop every second you are awake. Thankfully, you nap great and since we've done some sleep training with you, you are FINALLY sleeping through the night again! This has helped momma regain my sanity, as well as some much needed rest, so thank you!!

You have also cut your first two teeth, and your smile looks cuter and cuter every single day because of it!! You are growing at remarkable speeds, and have already been in 12 month clothing for at least a month now. You weigh just shy of 23 pounds (40-50%) and are 29 inches long (75%), holy cow!!! Daddy and I laugh at the idea of having a kid who is taller than both of us since we are so average in height.

You still love your Baby Einstein's Numbers Nursery DVD the best, and thank goodness for it, because it's about the only way I get to actually achieve any kind of cooking in this house!

You are also starting to communicate more through sounds, cooing, and babbling on and on. We have multiple conversations everyday, about what I don't know, but you seem very interested to tell me anything and everything.

You are OBSESSED with the Lightning McQueen "Shake 'n' Go" that we have. Seriously, it can keep you entertained for 30-45 minutes at a time, multiple times a day. It's so cute, you shake it up and then the wheels go spinning. Although you haven't quite caught on to the idea of letting it go on the floor, you like to be holding it while it goes.

You are starting to pull up on everything, which means that it's about time to keep your crib side pulled up at all times. I'm starting to wonder if you will walk before truly crawling. I guess only time will tell!

We had to take you completely off of solids for a while because you were having such a reaction to everything we gave you, and so we have recently started introducing them as if it was brand new. We have cut out all foods with wheat/gluten to see if you may have an allergy, which is what I think it might be. If so, it definitely could be a good change in diet for all of us, and could possibly be the same issue that I'm having as well. So far, you have done great with being on all organic foods, such as sweet potatoes, winter squash, green beans, peas, and rice cereal. We will continue to try and rule out anything that gives you a reaction, and hopefully will have some conclusive answers in the next month or so! Until then, we'll stick to simple foods and teething biscuits!

Sweet Asher, we love you so much and are so thankful to the Lord for your precious little life! You are truly a priceless gift, and I pray that someday you will know Jesus the way daddy and I both do. Keep growing, little man, and we'll keep nourishing that little heart of yours! Love you sweetie!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

29 Months

2011-06-04T10:10:00.000-05:00

Oh, my sweet precious honey!!! You are 29 months old and growing like a weed!! You continue to learn new words everyday, and continue to amaze me at how much you can comprehend and understand at such a young age! We've had a full month with lots of fun activities! You continue to be a wonderful big brother to Asher, and have started telling me where Asher is and what he is doing, including telling him "no no baby asher" when he makes his way over to the PS3 and takes the disc out to play with it! You are sharing, and thankfully, are doing so very much better with discipline and your attitude. I am absolutely in love with this stage of your life!! You have recently taken a liking to cuddling with me on the couch or in the chair multiple times a day. What PRECIOUS time that is, that I cherish so very much, and that brings me to tears almost every time, because I know how limited it is!! This past month we have been working on kindness and respect, both of which you have been doing excellent with! I love watching your little personality develop, as well as your character, and am so blessed that I get to be a part of the growing process with you! I continue to pray for your little heart, each and every day, that you would come to know the Lord as your Savior at a very young age, and allow Him to use you in mighty ways. The Lord has truly blessed my life with you and because of you, my little miracle baby! Mommy and Daddy love you so very very much!! Happy 29 month birthday big boy!!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Baby Boy to a Big Boy

2011-06-03T17:48:00.003-05:00

underneath all these gorgeous suds...

are about 30 pairs of these...

can you guess what we're doing this weekend?!?

All prayers and encouragement welcome!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

May Fun

2011-05-30T08:17:00.010-05:00

What a FUN May we've had! I can't believe it's already over with. As we head in to June, the beginning of my least favorite season of the year here in Texas, summer, I know that we'll have tons more pictures to post of pool time, BBQ's and much more, but for now, most of our pics are still indoor ones! Here are my favorites from the month! Enjoy!

LOVE this little honey and all his crazy hair!!

Daddy and Asher at Miss Julia's 3rd Birthday Party as ASI! We all had a blast!

Not the clearest picture, but I just love Asher's facial expression!

Sweet boy! Those eyes melt my heart everytime!

A sweet friend of mine gave Caleb this AWESOME fire truck. It was her sons when he was little, about 16 years ago, and everything on it still works great! it turns on, the ladder goes up and down, there's a cool siren and horn, and it makes noises when you move it forward and backwards. Caleb loves it! He also loves his trains, which apparently needed saving from something!

The boys first bath together! Asher cracks me up!

They are SUCH GREAT brothers and are so fond of each other! I am so excited to see how their relationship continues to grow and develop over the years, I think they'll be great friends!

Toon Time!! Thomas is a hit in our household!

Caleb's friend Luke comes over to play every other Tuesday morning and this week they wanted to do playdoh, oh the fun!!

Oh how Caleb loves his "applehotsaucea" or apple sauce as we grownups know it as!

Jumping on the trampoline at Julia's party. It's a fuzzy picture, but you can still see the sheer joy on Caleb's face and I just love it!!

Julia's Birthday party guests! What a blast we all had!

Nothing better than cake and capri sun!

Caleb and Dylan playing together, I think they are going to be best buds!

Caleb concentrating on his trains! Some friends of ours are letting us babysit their AWESOME train table while they are in the process of moving this summer. Every morning Caleb gets up and comes out and screeches in excitement when he sees it!

Getting some tickle time with Daddy! Priceless!!

curled up watching a toon. He loves it when I tuck him in like it's nite nite time!

Found Caleb coloring like this this morning, just like I used to as a kid!!!

Thought this one was a cool shot!

Hope everyone has had a great month! Happy Summer!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Spring Scrap Retreat 2011

2011-05-19T21:52:00.008-05:00

This past weekend myself and my three best girlfriends loaded up all of our scrapbooking stuff and headed to Temple, TX, home of Rockin' R Ranch and Retreat Center! What a retreat it was!! Here are some pics of our FABULOUS weekend away together!

Before leaving, not sure the last time we had one of these pics taken!

Our amazingly packed car! Yes, I actually did this, surprisingly enough!

Of course we had a couple stops to make on the way. 1st stop was Fazoli's so that I could get my breadstick fill, and then on to Dairy Queen for the other three girls. Our weekend of no calorie counting had already begun!!

Rockin' R - what a wonderful place you are!!

It's no joke when I say we were in the middle of no where. Completely surrounded by dirt roads, cows and corn. As much as I can't stand "flatness", it sure was beautiful to see the sunset and the stars!!

Karla and Andrea watching the sunset

Magnificent!!

I {heart} this picture. It truly speaks a thousand words to me. Best friends, sharing a beautiful sunset, great conversation and a nice slow swing in our pj's!!!

The sky was amazing -- this picture does not to it justice, but is a simple glimpse of the rainbow effect that God hand painted!

The ah-mazing scrap room!!!

Cricut heaven ladies!! Over 170 cartridges to use!!

Andrea was working on Eli's digital album

Karla worked on Dylan's album

Katie was working on Jackson's album

and I was working on Asher's album!

Getting ready to leave...one of Rockin' R's famous photo shots, of course we had to get one!!

This weekend was a dream come true for me! Scrapbooking - one of my most favorite things to do and having my three best friends there with me this year was amazing! Thank you to my outstanding hubby, Aaron! I couldn't have done this without you babe!!! Thanks for taking care of the boys so I could go have some much needed girl time! Can't wait to do it again soon!!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-09T14:30:00.001-05:00

Let me start by saying that this truly was an entire weekend of pampering, thanks to my amazing hubby!! Friday, some beautiful flowers were delivered to me at home! What a wonderful surprise! Then, Saturday morning, Aaron loaded Caleb up in the van while Asher was napping, and the two went grocery shopping for me! HUGE blessing (and TOTALLY speaking my love language)!! I spent Saturday relaxing, and enjoying my boys. Saturday night was a rough one for Asher, but Aaron got up with him every time, and after two hours, he finally went back to sleep!

Sunday we went to church and then headed back home. Once the boys were down for naps, I got to get out by myself for a little bit. I had some CityCash to spend at New York & Co so I headed over to Firewheel (my favorite outside place to go). I found a couple things I wanted to get and thanks to my parents, got to spend a little extra on myself! Thanks mom & dad! Next, I grabbed a pretzel and coke icee from Auntie Anne's and sat in front of the beautiful fountain for a good 30 minutes, just enjoying watching other families walk by, and reflecting on how wonderful and blessed I am to be a mommy to my two precious boys. My next stop was Joann Fabrics for a bit more shopping (more practical than "fun") and then my last stop was Starbucks for my half price happy hour venti mocha frappuccino! WOO HOO!

We went to our favorite little hole-in-the-wall italian restaurant for dinner and then off to the park for a few pictures. We're realizing that Caleb is just at that age that he doesn't like having his picture taken, so it's been a struggle to get him to look at the camera, much less smile. With that said, here are some pics we did get. As you can see, the first few are "practice" ones...

And then we get the perfect ones!!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

8 Months

2011-05-09T10:15:00.008-05:00

Oh dear me, Asher, you are such a honey! You are a handful too! We've been saying "he's teething" for the past what feels like 6 months, but in reality only about a month and a half or two months. Either way, we're trying to explain away you tendency to be a little more fussy than we're used to, when in reality, I just think you know your birth order, and realize that you just want some extra lovin'! We happily oblige, and for the most part, you calm right down and enjoy just sitting in our laps. You are completley sitting up, unassisted, and continue to roll across the apartment, which doesn't take long. You have recently started getting up on all fours, which means this momma needs to re-baby proof this home because it's not too far off that I know you'll be crawling all over, getting in to everything! Ahhh, I'm SOO not ready for you to be old enough to crawl! I still feel like I just had you yesterday!

You like to spit, and bzzzz with your lips (that's the only way I know how to explain it). And you LOVE to eat! Thankfully, I also know when to stop, and how to tell us you're done, so we aren't worrying as much about over feeding you. You eat everything, thank the Lord, and still take 3-4 bottles a day. You are still on a 2 nap schedule, 99% of the time, although in the past week or so, you've had a couple days of just one nap and seem to do fine. The only issue is that on those one nap days, you have been waking up in the middle of the night for a bottle, but then you go right back to sleep.

You love it when we get you naked, and you inevitably hate it when we put clothes back on you. You are SUCH a boy, and I love it!!

You are also trying to learn how to pull up to a sitting position from laying down and quite frankly, it's pretty funny and entertaining to watch! Here's the "pose" you get stuck in every time you try, so cute!

I cannot get over how your hair so naturally combs itself to the side. It makes you look so much older and more mature than you really are! Every time I see your hair perfectly combed, I picture attending your graduation from Harvard Law School, it just makes me giggle!

You are definitely a snuggler and will take every opportunity to cuddle us as possible, which isn't as often as I'd like!

Although your hair naturally falls in to place, if daddy works hard enough at it, you actually have some serious curls that form into a hilarious mohawk!

We had a bit of drama this month when you rolled off your changing table. I was standing right in front of you and somehow you snuck right past me. We both spent quite a bit of time crying, but you are completely fine, and daddy clearly did a great job comforting you.

You poor child. You have your daddy to thank for passing along his HORRIBLE allergies! Clearly we've got a long road ahead of us with this, at least for as long as we live in Texas. I'm so sorry honey, I will do everything I can to keep you feeling "average" since that's about as good as it will get until you are two and we can get some meds for you. So sorry sweetie!

You LOVE bathtime, still, and I couldn't help but post this awesome picture of you and the water!

And that face, oh the precious little face of yours. I just want to kiss it all day long!!

Clearly, I couldn't help myself, and I'm sure you will hate me one day for posting your "thunder thighs" picture on the blog, but honestly, I can't get enough of them. I find myself squeezing them all day, especially when they are clearly visible when you're in a onesie or romper. This picture doesn't do justice! LOVE LOVE LOVE!

My happy boy! I just love your smile!!

Asher, you bring such joy to my heart each and every day! You are such a treasure to me and I am so thankful the Lord blessed me with you! I love you so very very much and so does daddy!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

28 Months

2011-05-04T16:17:00.004-05:00

Sweet Caleb. You are 28 months old today. Holy cow! You continue to change and grow each day and it is so fascinating to watch! You truly are a sponge and take in everything mommy and daddy tell you. Disciplining is at it's highest right now, but I'm trying to be dedicated and consistent, since I know that is exactly what your precious little mind needs right now. The Lord is gracious to me in this process, as I learn what speaks to you best, and as hard as it has been these past couple weeks, it is so rewarding to watch you process each and every little thing that mommy and daddy ask of you. And what joy it brings to my heart when you choose to obey! We celebrate obedience every single time!

You are such a joy to my heart and I am so very blessed to be your momma! I love you so much honey!!

So, within the past couple months you have taken a liking to showering instead of bathing, and now, you absolutely LOVE having your towel wrapped and tucked like a grown up. It's so cute!

Oh. My. How can I ever resist you with those big brown eyes of yours!

You love to be in just your diaper, and especially when you get to wear your shirt on your head!

Happy 28 month birthday big boy! We absolutely adore you!! Love momma and daddy!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Our Week

2011-05-01T21:14:00.008-05:00

We've had a great week! Lots of hanging out at home since the boys are both really struggling with allergies. Not what I would have ideally chosen, but it was kind of nice to be lazy for a while! Here are some pics from our week!

Ok, this 1st one is random, and I'm more putting it on here for memories sake than anything else, but this is the end result of me breaking my horrible nail biting habit! Woot Woot for me! (This is a big deal, if you can't tell!)

We did happen to make it out of the house Tuesday and met a friend at the playground. Caleb had a blast(yay!), and Asher didn't take a nap (boo!), so it ended up being a rough day, but totally worth it!

Love my biggest honey!!

Coloring, oh. my. goodness. He LOVES coloring! And I love Color Wonder! Colors only on the special paper, and no where else!!

Drama, drama, drama!! This has been a recurring thing in our house for the past couple months when we don't continue to do something that Caleb wants. This time it was daddy pouncing him down on the couch. He had already done it at least a dozen times and Caleb was coming to me crying and looking for comfort since daddy wouldn't do it anymore. I had to get a pic!

Sticker boy! Thanks Sunday Dallas Morning News for the free (and really big) stickers! My boy loves stickers!!

Poor Asher and his allergies! He looks pathetic!

A little mohawk action, thanks to a bath and daddy's masterful hands!

LEGOS!!!!

Asher fell asleep eating his bottle in daddy's arms today, so PRECIOUS!!!

As much as I dislike Mondays, I'm hoping tomorrow will be a good one. It's supposed to be 50 degrees and rainy, so it should make for a great movie/snuggle day at home!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T21:26:00.004-05:00

Today was wonderful! We spent the morning at Watermark with some sweet friends and then took a little time outside to get some family pics! Even though Asher isn't looking at the camera, the sheer fact that Caleb is not only looking at the camera, but smiling is amazing! Later tonight, we had our friends from this morning over for a big Easter dinner, which I used as an excuse to roast a turkey and do all the fixins and I would call it a success since I didn't burn the turkey! Honestly, the food and fellowship were so wonderful and I can't wait to get to know our friends even better! Over all, it was a fabulous Easter!

3/4 of our Community Group! Love this picture!

Could this be a glimpse into our future 15 years down the road?!? I wouldn't be surprised!

Thank you Lord for sending your Son to die on the cross so that we can have freedom from our sins and spend eternity with you! May we all respond to that blessed gift, not just today, but EVERYDAY!! Happy Easter!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Playgroup Wednesday - The Fire Station

2011-04-16T17:40:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, before my hard drive decided to completely die (another post, another time, maybe when I'm not so bitter about it all) a couple moms from my playgroup and I decided to go and visit the local fire station. OH. MY. GOODNESS. I think I just might be the mom of a future fire fighter!! Caleb was in ABSOLUTE heaven!! I learned something new about my son during our short lived trip...he is fearless. Absolutely fearless. Within minutes of being there, all he wanted was to get inside the truck and see (and touch) everything in sight. He examined, and "asked questions", meaning, he opened his mouth and sound came out, but I have no clue what he was actually saying! And the fire fighters that were there were SOOOOOO wonderful and patient with all the little 2 year olds running around!

Thank you City of Dallas Fire Fighters, not just for opening up your station to our little tikes, but for all that you do to keep us all safe! Enjoy the pics!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!