Girlcation!

Last year for my birthday, Chris surprised me with a girlcation. He had talked with my sister and set up a little vacation for me. We had so much fun and decided we should do it annually and just meet up at a different place for a long weekend once a year.

This year's girlcation location was Cincinnati! My sister, Kaylyn and I met up in our old stomping grounds of Cincinnati for 3 glorious days. We didn't really take any pictures though. Could NOT find the camera before I left. Oh well.

It was so fun to see and visit so many people that we both knew and grew up with. And really-- just be together. We also went to Time Out for Women--which is a weekend conference of inspiring speakers and music. And of course, we had to eat at Larosas and Skyline and who knows where else.

Excuse me while I go wipe some drool off my face....





And I'm back. Oh yeah...and Red Fox! My dad used to take us there and we LOVED it! These pictures are for you, dad! :)



Another little break...more drool...sorry!


Unfortunately, on my way home, I made it as far as Chicago and then my flight got cancelled. So Chris had an extra day juggling work and home and boys and schedules. And I eventually made it home the next day. After waiting several hours where they delayed my flight every 10 minutes for just a few minutes later, and waiting in a long line to get my flight rebooked, and waiting in a line to get on a shuttle to the hotel they put us up in, and waiting in a line to check into said hotel...I was kind of done waiting. And I was anxious to get home and finish packing up our house because I thought we were moving in only a couple short days. But the only real damage done? Frost bite in the airport. I joked with Chris about digging in my suitcase to find a pair of socks to go with my only shoes--flip flops. But after a couple hours of freezing...I may or may not have really done it.


Many thanks to Chris for holding down the fort and encouraging me to go. I love my sister and I loved spending time with her. And I love having just enough of a break that I can't wait to go back and do my normal routine.

Family Pictures

We recently had family pictures taken by Jessica at Memora'belle Photography. Love her!!!! And love the pictures!! If you're looking for someone to take pictures, check out her site here! You even get a dvd with all the pictures and the rights to them so you can print whatever you want. Great deal!

Here are some of my favorites:













One of my favorites that shows how it really is...


Fun times!

Lost

Lost: My sidekick of 5 years, 6 months and 29 days

Cute, blond haired, blue eyed. Answers to the name of Caleb.

If found, please return him to me as soon as possible!

Anyone know where this guy went?

I sure don't!!

Kindergarten started yesterday. Huge sigh.

My Caleb was SO unbelievably excited. It made it easier for all of us. And I did it. I dropped him off with that huge grin on his face and lived to tell about it. But truly--Carson and I have been a bit lost the last couple of days ourselves. It feels so strange without him being around all day. And Texas schools are so lame--the bus comes at 6:50 AM!! (yes, that's right people 6:50AM!) and returns at 3:10pm. All day kindergarten and it starts before anyone should even think about being awake! Lame!

You'd think I would have caught on to how fast he was growing up. What with his Joy School graduation:



Mastering swimming lessons



(Talk about improvement! Caleb went from being fairly timid in the water to full on swimming under the water! It helped that he took swimming lessons with one of his best buddies ever!)

Oh and then there is how well he is doing at violin and how well he did at that violin recital a few months ago


He did such a good job! He really made us proud!

So you see...all the signs have been there...but I have just been in denial!!

We prayed and debated and prayed some more about what we were going to do with Caleb this fall. Public school, private school, home school. We looked at every option. 500 times. But in the end...we went with public school.

This quote from a lady named Karen Beaumont quoted here describes my feelings exactly:

“I love a winter storm. … When the wind starts to blow and the snow begins to fall, a feeling of excitement starts to build. … When I can’t see the trees at the neighbor’s farmyard, … I phone my husband! … He then picks up the children who are at school. … It is hard to describe the feelings I experience as our family is gathered home, and the storm rages outside. … And I love it! Everyone is safe; we are together. We have lots of food and water. The longer it lasts, the better. … We are shut off from the world. … We bask in the warmth of our home and in the warmth of our love. My heart is full, and I am at peace. Sometimes, I wish I could just stay like that forever, with my family gathered around me, protected, shut off from the evil influences of the world. But alas, the storm blows itself out eventually, we dig ourselves out, and off we go to face the world again.”

I sometimes want to just keep my family locked up and safe and protected at home with me forever! There is so much junk in the world and I would love to just keep Caleb sheltered forever. But at the same time, I felt like maybe Caleb could be a light to someone--and if so--it would be pure selfishness to keep him home. "In the world, but not of the world...."

When I read this quote from Joseph B Wirthlin--I knew what I had to do: "Perhaps all of us sometimes would like to withdraw and isolate ourselves from the storms of life and from the fiery darts of Satan. However, we must be in the world but not of the world, meaning to go forward in the midst of the sin, evil, and corruption that are in the world but resist and reject them. Being in the world can be frightening because we live at a time when Satan is becoming more and more bold. The Lord said, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” (John 17:15.)

And so...though I know it is not the right choice for everyone--for Caleb, we felt strongly about where he needed to be. He is out there already being a light and a leader. And it was harder than I ever thought it would be to bring him there! And yet more fun and exciting then I ever thought it could be! Funny how that works!

The Three Amigos

Another marathon blogging session. 5 new posts. Life is just insanely busy right now. Need to figure out a way to simplify a bit. More on that later. Maybe. If I get around to it anytime soon. Yes...I know...you will not be holding your breath!

Amigo #1: Carson
Now this amigo likes to get sick...really sick...about once a year--the same time every year. Like sick enough you will find him laying down in very random places:




And sick enough that he gets to do the ever so fun steroids and antibiotics and breathing treatments:



Amigo #1 loves to make silly faces and make us smile:




He is frequently seen around town posing as superman



He has an unnatural ability to identify logos. Like this one:

He saw this truck and excitedly said, "Look mom! It's the ice cream truck!!" Hmmm...now knowing he can't read it...I looked and looked trying to figure out where on earth he could tell that was an ice cream truck. He could just tell by the logo! He does this all. the. time. It kind of freaks me out.


You can also find him cruising through stores in semi-odd riding positions. Exhibit A:

He loves it. We just go with it.


Amigo #2: Caleb
This amigo is all about dinosaurs lately.

Maybe he needs a pet. But probably not. :) Because he told me recently, "Mom? I don't want a cat or dog. Because I don't want them to pee or poop on our floor. That is SO gross." Insightful. :) Next he told me, "So I decided that I will be a kitty and Carson will be a puppy and then we don't need to get a pet!" They take their roles very seriously! Very! Carson constantly refers to himself in the 3rd person as "the puppy." "The puppy wants some milk." "The puppy doesn't want to do that." "The puppy is funny." But I digress. This is about Amigo #2.

Amigo #2 loves to help.

The minute I stop to fill up on gas, he jumps out of the car and goes to town washing the windows on the car.

See that popcorn?

Amigo #2 saw a lady drop her debit card. He made sure she got it back. The VERY nice lady went and bought him that popcorn and then tracked us down to tell him thank you again. How nice is she?

Amigo #2 is definitely always good for a laugh and pure silliness



Amigo #1 and #2 are both pure craziness and silliness. But they clean up nicely:




Amigo #3: Chris
He's pretty busy. But he finds time to wrestle with our guests



And even though he's busy--he will still run in the door, see one of our neighbor's kids excited about his new skateboard and decide to show him some tricks before running out the door to a meeting. Love the hurried outfit.



Perhaps a bit of the silliness of Amigo #1 and #2 could be traced back to Amigo #3



And last but not least, here is the video I made for this year's Father's Day about the three amigos over the last year.

Summer Fun

What do you do when it's way too hot outside in the summer heat in Texas?
You go to SeaWorld. Way too much.




You go to open gym at a local gymnastics place




You make it really awkward for the 10 guys doing some work on your house by staring at them all day long



You color lots and lots and lots of pictures and plaster your walls with them





And you wonder how fast ice melts when it is so darn hot. And find out.