Happy Late Thanksgiving!

I know that it's far from "classy"... It might even border on the side of "tacky"...

But I wanna brag!!...

I wanna brag about my husband who drove 23 out of the past 24 hours to get us home safely from Texas...

I wanna brag about my three kiddos who did ABSOLUTELY AMAZING in the car. There was NO crying, no fighting, lots of sleeping, and joyful attitudes the whole time!!!! Is that even possible with a 3 year old, a 2 year old and a 5 month old? I guess so. All Glory to the Lord!! What a blessing!!!

It was nice and snug in our little scion... But I think the kids liked it that way... especially Skyler... I don't know if I've mentioned it before but Skyler has a special heart towards Siah... She LOVES him... we were driving somewhere last week and Siah was sleeping... Skyler was awake and she started talking at the top of her lungs and batting her arms and looking at Siah, trying to get his attention in any way that she could... She didn't give up until we got home and Siah woke up! Sometimes when I'm holding her and she sees Siah she gets all bashful and she buries her head into my chest... It is so stinkin sweet!!

If you give Siah his blanket he will be happy for hours!! He loves that blanket... the only problem is that he chews on it ALL the time... So it STINKS SOOO BAD!!! Usually "the blanket" stays in his bed, but when we go on long trips we make an exception... But by the time the trip is over and we have all spent 24 hours with "the blanket" we are very aware of why we usually keep the blanket in the bed! :)


Sweet Hal!! She got a fever the morning that we left to drive home... then an earache... The fever finally broke the next morning and she did great the whole drive! her ear ache is gone and she is back to her happy self!


We had such sweet time this past week with our family... Joey got to spend a lot of time with the kids and I got to spend a lot of time resting... It was a real treat for everyone...

There were 18 people with us this year... We all stayed at Papaw and Granny DeeDee's house... The family has grown soo much this past year... Both of Joey's step brothers are engaged now... Below is a picture of the ENTIRE family...

This year, as in every year, we had a lot to be thankful for... Above all we're thankful for each other and for the great love of our sweet Savior in our lives!

It was a most wonderful Thanksgiving! Thanks Papaw and Granny DeeDee for everything! We sure do love you!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

4am In The Bathroom

Yes, It's nearly 4 am Texas time... Skyler has been awake since 2, bantering back and forth between squaking, crying, and laughing... Joey is snoring... I felt patient between 2 &3... got totally annoyed around 3 and sat up angerly in my bed, which woke Joey up just enough to stop snoring for about 20 minutes... Now he's back at it... and I'm in the bathroom sitting on the floor typing this post... I don't feel so annoyed anymore... Sometimes life just is what it is and I just need to move forward... so why not do something I enjoy if I'm going to be awake anyway...

TOnight might be a little crazy but yesterday, day was just lovely...

DO you ever have those days with your kids that just seem so sweet... There was just fun and joy and giggles... we didn't do anything extravagant... we were just together and it was lovely....

Siah, Papa, and Papaw went in the airplane to pick up Aunt Jen and Hannah down in Waco... So, The girls and I just spent the day together... While Skyler took a morning nap Hal and I had a tea party in the living room... we each got a cookie and the "tea" was some nice cold water.

Once Skyler woke up we went to the park in town which felt like a great accomplishment in and of itself... (you would think after all the years that we've been coming to Texas I would be able to get myself around town but truth be told I still don't know where most things are :) Anyways we had Taco Casa on the way... It was delicious!!!!!

It's strange to for me to go places with only two kids... every few minutes I feel like someone is missing and I have to remind myself that I'm only supposed to have 2 :)

Alrighty, I am off to sleep now... Here are some pictures from our day...

Whoever thought Texas could be so close to home?

We leave this friday to drive to Texas in our little scion xb... When we are about to take an adventure of this magnitude we like to talk it up to the kids so that they are totally convinced that a 22 hour car ride is going to be one of the best things that has ever happened to them! So there has been a lot of Texas talk and Thanksgiving talk around here.

A few days ago, Siah woke up, got on his motorcycle and told me... "I'm going to Texas." I didn't know if he was pretending or if he was serious and just confused about the date... So I told him that we were actually going to Texas next week... He took in that information and quickly replied, "No mom, (he calls me mom now and not mommy :), Texas is right there, (and he pointed to the stairs) and could you please move so that I can park my motorcycle in Papaw's garage?"

Tonight they were cooking in "Texas" (aka, the stairs). I asked them what was for dinner and they said, "chicken casserole and "hopcorn" (popcorn)"... mmmm sounds good...

Whoever thought Texas could be so close to home???

I wanted to take some pictures of "Texas" but I haven't had a chance yet... Maybe sometime soon. :)

Sweet November...

Three little people that I just can't get enough of...

Josiah Malachi

Halee Jayden

Skyler Reese

I love November and the time that we get to spend thinking of all the things that we have to be thankful for. Sometimes I must admit that I wake up on the "wrong side of the bed" and I find myself forgetting that each day is really, truly a gift. So lately I have tried a little something new to help me get past my grouchiness (which blesses no one, including myself).

When I can see that I am slowly loosing my joy, I ask the Lord to help me combat it with a heart FULL of gratefulness... At first I just try to think of ten things... but I am finding that once I think of ten it quickly tumbles into twenty... then thirty...

So in the this time of Thanksgiving here are just a few of the things that I am grateful for...

My Mighty Savior LOVES me!
He cherishes me...
Holds me in my sorrow...
He gives me wisdom when I ask...
He gives me purpose for my days....
And surrounds me with friends who love Him and spur me on towards Him...
He overflows my heart with joy in times where joy seems the least unlikely...
He Has given me three little people who thrust me into a deep dependance on Him...

He put an amazing man in my life who leads me, cares for me, works hard for me, provides for me, loves on me, holds me and kisses me, challenges me, teaches me, prays for me and blesses me...

He puts laughter in my life each and everyday...
He gives me His word to push me forward...
He gives me Truth to stand on...
He protects me from emptiness and fills me overflowing with his Spirit...

He puts a roof over my head and food on my table...
He gives me extra treats; like a Trader Joes chai tea latte that I can make in my home each morning...

I'm thankful for the city that I live in and for the condo that I spend my days in... and for the way that we got our condo and for our landlord who has become a friend...
I'm thankful that I have carpet on our floors and that our home is a safe-haven for my husband and my kids...

I am thankful that my children are joyful and full of laughter... I'm thankful that they genuinely love each other and are each other's best friends... I'm thankful we can all be so real around each other and that we can and do forgive each other daily (sometimes hourly :)... I'm thankful for our parents and the way that they love on us and on our kids... I'm thankful for the way that each one of them loves the Lord...

I'm thankful for loss, and trials, and events in my life that have thrown me into God's presence...
I'm thankful for the years that I had with my mom....
I'm thankful for memories and Im thankful that after almost seven years, my sweet husband still holds me when I cry about my mom...

I'm grateful for second chances and for forgiveness...
I'm grateful that things are "new every morning"...

I'm grateful for dates with my husband... For smiles on my children's faces... For kindness and success in new lessons learned... I'm thankful for friendship and good conversation... I'm thankful for prayer; for the ones that have been answered and for the ones that keep bringing me into His presence...

I could go on and on... there is almost a never ending amount of reasons to be grateful...

It's funny cuz in the duration of me writing this post I broke up three arguments between Siah and Hal... I tripped on one of Siah's toy cars that he left in the middle of the hallway and said a swear word under my breath... I wiped Skyler's nose several times and she screamed every time... Josiah "towed" Hal's stroller away with his make-shift "tow truck" cuz it was parked in a "no parking zone" in the living room... and Hal decided to solve the problem herself by pushing Siah off his tow truck, grabbing her stroller, and taking off running!! (at least we know that when she gets older she'll be able to hold her own, right? I just pray we can teach her to do it in a little bit more of a constructive way :)...

It's crazy around here!!!!

And yet there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for...

I hope this Thanksgiving season brings joy to your heart
and reminds us all of the thousands of ways that we are TRULY blessed!!!

Guess who had trouble at the dentist?????

I am so bummed that I didn't get any pictures at the Dentist. I took the kids yesterday for the first time. The dentist came out to the waiting room and asked the kids who was going to go first? Josiah quickly piped in, "Halee!!! Halee go first!" So guess who went first?... Halee! She walked right in and got up in the chair, no questions asked. Josiah got to be the dentist's assistant while she counted Halee's teeth. Then when it was his turn he got right up there too with no complaints!!!

Mommy got her teeth clean too. Unfortunatley I have to confess that I am NOT the best at flossing everyday. You know how I know this... because the dentist scrapped SOOO hard for a long time and then asked, "when's the last time you flossed?" I guess I can't hide my failure to floss!!
She had soo much scrapping to do that my eyes started "watering." Anyways, I hope I learned my lesson. :)

Then I had to get x rays done... and guess what... I gagged almost the entire time!!! In the end they weren't even able to take all the ones they needed cuz I was having so much trouble!!!

The kids did great for their first time at the dentist!!!! It was Mommy who had such a hard time. I spent the entire drive to the dentist encouraging the kids to be brave and that it was no big deal... maybe I should have been giving myself that same pep talk! :)



Granny gave the kids a "congrats on your first time to the dentist" gift... A Dora doll for Hal and a Diego doll for Siah... They haven't stop playing with them since we left the dentist! Thanks Granny!!

Oh Really?

Siah has been saying the funniest stuff lately that I want to memorize forever... but since my memory often fails me these days, his thoughts have made it to the blog...

Recently we were sitting at the breakfast table talking about one of Siah's memory verses that had the word "salvation" in it. I asked him if he knew what the word salvation meant, and he said in all seriousness, "ya, it's a chicken!"

The other day we were driving and Siah looked over at Skyler and had a revelation... From the back seat he shouted, "Hey, where did all Skyler's teeth went? They all fall out!" So I told him that she never had any teeth. I looked in the mirror and he looked totally confused. Then he said, "What, what? She no have no teeth?" It made me smile...

And Finally,

We're going to the dentist tomorrow for the first time so I asked the kids this morning if they knew what the dentist was... and again, with full confidence Siah said, "Yeah, it's where Jesus lives."

Oh really? That's good to know. :)