This year we drove east to Louisiana to spend time with my MawMaw, PawPaw and Aunt Carole Ann. We don't see them as often as we used to, due to my PawPaw having Alzheimer's and it is just best for him if he stays in his normal routine at home. It has been a blessing to slow down and enjoy being together. Seems like we are always in a rush (back at home) to do something, so it has been nice to not have any plans, other than spending time with each other. Feeling very blessed today.
Tonight was date night for me and the hubby! Woohoo! I had bought tickets to a Hillsong United concert, a Christian praise and worship band. We were excited about our night out!
Before the concert we stopped at Pappasito's! Can you say delicioso? We shared fajitas...the chicken fajita meat dipped in their butter sauce, enough said! I might have had a tortilla too! So good!
The worship time was so uplifting and moving. I just love all of their songs and you could feel The Lord move in the midst of the Reliant Arena. There was one song "Oceans (Where My Feet May Fail)" that was so moving. Here are some of the lyrics:
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
Trust without borders, take me deeper than my feet could ever wander, my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior. Great words to ponder on and examine my life against.
Here are a couple of clips from the show tonight. Shawn and I had an amazing time worshiping the Lord together. So thankful.
Allyson started gymnastics back in September, so nearly 3 full months ago. Our gym recently moved locations at the beginning of November, so prior to that the parent viewing area was terrible and you could barely see what was going on. Well now you are above the entire gym floor and can see everything that is going on, which I really like. Since the move I have come to realize how hesitant Ally actually is of letting her instructors help her; she doesn't like for them to touch her. And she flat out refuses to do forward rolls (and backwards ones as well), it is the oddest thing. She has grown scared of doing them. I'm sure you are thinking "it's fine, she will do one in her own time", but she has built up this fear and I can see this fear playing out in other aspects of her life as well...not healthy.
Shawn and I both have worked with her at home on forward rolls and the tears start flowing and she will NOT do it. We've tried being patient with her, bribing her, threatening her {I know, parents of the year}, but nothing works...she isn't having it.
Well, yesterday before gymnastics class I told her that if she did a roll at class then we would take her out to eat, where ever she wanted to go. {Thinking that she would say McDonald's or Chick-Fil-A.} She then proceeds to tell me "the place with bread and grapes." I said Olive Garden? She said yes, that's the place!! Haha!! I told her "you've got it, if you do a forward roll at class we will take you there Friday night." I kept pumping her up for class, telling her she could do it and we even called Daddy before class to let him know what was going on and he encouraged her as well.
We go to class and what do you know?? They didn't even work on rolls at class! Boo to that! Of course. So, this morning while we were eating breakfast I started thinking about it and told her that I wanted her to do ONE forward roll today. She agreed to try one. She is all fine and dandy...until we lay the blankets out on the floor and it is go time, then she turns into a recluse. I mean the tears start flowing, she doesn't want you to touch her, it's crazy. I usually just give up after a few minutes of her crying, but something was different this morning. I kept on encouraging her, telling her she could do it. She would go into the lean position and stand up and ask if she was finished, while wiping tears. Jase was on the couch watching us and would say "this will take forever." I periodically grabbed Finn and would help him do a roll and show her how it's done. I would also {in my moo-moo...nice visual} do rolls for her. I mean I was trying everything: kept reminding her of Olive Garden, told her that we weren't stopping until she did one forward roll...I wanted her to break past the fear she has created over this forward roll.
I'm not lying, but I must have begged, pleaded, threatened, encouraged her to do a roll for 25 minutes and finally either something clicked or she was tired of me, but she finally decided to do one. After she finally attempted one, she kept on and kept on. While they are not perfect, she is at least trying, which is LEAPS and BOUNDS from where she was. So proud of her! Here is some footage of this morning!
And as promised we went to the bread place with grapes!
Last night we went downtown to the Rockets basketball game. Shawn and I have not been to a game in 4 or so years, so we were excited about going. This was Ally's 1st game and Jase's 2nd. Both kids really enjoyed the atmosphere and had fun cheering on the home team. I will say that it was nice to attend a Houston team sporting event and our team was actually playing great and winning!
Every time I had the camera turned around to take a picture of me and sister, she immediately did her "funny face"! It was just a funny face type of night, if you can't tell!
Here is a short clip of Jase cheering after the Rockets scored. So fun watching him get into the game!
Seems like yesterday Jase was performing in his Pre-K Thanksgiving Feast, but not this year...Ally's turn! {Hard to believe that was 2 years ago!} She looked so cute up there shaking her little egg and singing songs! She had quite the crowd come and see her perform too.
Last night Shawn and I went to a couples shower for Jeanie and Duane. It was really a great time hanging out, reminiscing about old times and talking about the wedding! I'm so excited about for Jeanie and Duane and can't wait until it's official!!
The party was hosted by a mom of Duane's best friends. She lives at Shepherd and 610, just north of the loop. Oh. My. Goodness. I had no idea what gems were tucked away in that part of town. It kind of reminded me of the Heights area. Super cute. And I loved the mature trees. So inviting.
Their home was beautiful, just one of a kind. And obviously, because I took pictures!! So look at the invite below, then look at the backyard...see a connection?? The strings of lights!! As we were driving home I looked down at the invitation and put 2 and 2 together. Pretty neat. Everything was set-up to a T from the tables to the meal to the mini pies from a local bakery, it was grand.
If you don't mind, I'm going to share a few pics of this house with you...I just LOVED it!! In this first group of pictures was the kids play area. I was so fun in there and the hand painted doggie border was too cute!!
These next pictures are of the living and dining room areas. I mean a swing the living room...how cool is that?!? And all the rustic antiques...can you tell why it was speaking to me!?! It was so dreamy! I spoke to the homeowner for a quite a while when I first arrived and she is a big fan of Antiques Week in Round Top. :-)
Here is the Bride-to-be with some of her bridesmaids. All 4 of us graduated from Deer Park in 1998, which I think is pretty neat! Go Big Deer! lol!
We were all standing around talking and this song comes on and Jeanie mentions that it is Duane's song. Like all time favorite from when he was a kid. It is about the life of a truck driver and Duane gave us a little show as we were gathered around him!! {And maybe I thought it was so funny because I honestly have never heard this song before and it was his favorite!}
It was a fun evening and here is the engaged couple on the eve of their wedding shower!
While we were gone, the kiddos were having some fun of their own. Nanny came over and watched them and GiGi and her grand-babies also came over to play. Nanny said they had a good evening playing with their cousins. Here is Avery and Finn playing together!
And Finn loves to be pushed and to push people in the baby stroller. Here he is pushing Avery!!
I'm not going to lie, there are some long days with the kiddos at home everyday. Don't get me wrong, I love it and am enjoying spending so much time with them and wouldn't trade it, but when my alone time is for 20 seconds in the bathroom before they find me...it's time to take a step away and get a breather!!
So, that's exactly what I did last night. I had to run an errand, so I stayed out for a bit and went to a few stores and did a little shopping. I was probably gone for 3 hours tops, but it was a little break. Just enough for me to recharge.
I set my bags down on the table and see this little note.
And then I look down and see this one.
Can I tell you that it completely melted my heart!?! "I love ya." Just when you think the kids wouldn't even notice you were gone, you find this little note from your 6 year old waiting for you. And the next morning Ally came down the stairs and the first thing she said was "I missed you Mommy!" Finding these little notes and hearing my daughter tell me she missed me {when she sees me all day everyday} is such a blessing and a reminder to soak up every minute I can with them.
Oh and while I was out shopping, I just loved seeing all of the Christmas decor out in the stores. So much so that it made me come home and decorate a little. Big thanks to Hubby for pulling everything out and helping me!
Saturday afternoon we ventured to a John Deere birthday party. The theme was very cute and there was even a tractor for the kids to climb and play on. Both Ally and Finn both loved it!!
Finn absolutely loved playing with the puppy dog. I found ourselves at the dog pin about every 15 minutes. He would stick his hand inside her cage and talk to her; super cute!
It was such a pretty neighborhood with nice homes on big lots, that we decided to drive around and take a look. The porch on the first house was just amazing...wrapped around the front of the home. So dreamy. And the bottom log cabin was in the process of being finished. Very cool. Jase loved seeing this one too since we have been studying about the Pioneer Days. :-)
If we are ever driving somewhere and have plenty of time or are in no rush, then the hubs usually takes the scenic route...which I love! I love being on the road with him and the kids: enjoying the ride, talking, taking in the scenery. Well, we were driving home down Bay Area Blvd and we saw a group of 15ish deer eating in a field. Then we noticed a pretty good size buck in the mix and had to turn around and scope it out. We only had our iPhones on us, so the quality is not that great, but look at this bad boy below!! Pretty cool! The kids enjoyed it too, except for Finn, who was out!!
Exercise lately has been low on the priority list lately. I had stopped when I found out I was pregnant {about 5 weeks ago}, but since I have miscarried I have not been able to switch gears again and get back in the game! Well, this past Tuesday I received an email from the half marathon I signed up to do {oh yeah, that thing!} letting me know I could pick up my packet and bib today. This was a huge reminder that if I was going to do it, then now was the time to give it a go and get back to training. I was up for the challenge.
I left the house and went for a run that same evening and about 10 minutes into it, my left knee started acting up. I was wearing my brace, but this was exactly what it was doing 5 weeks ago as well. I was able to push through and run for another 8 minutes, but after that I had to stop. So, 10 o'clock at night and a little over a mile away from home...not good! The walk back was good though as it gave me time to clear my head and really think about things. I realized that at this point in time I cannot run long distances. Time to hang it up. While I would love to run the half marathon, it is just not worth the pain in my knee to continue on. Ain't nobody got time for a knee surgery around here!!
And I'm ok with this. I'm not looking at this as a failure, but more so of closing a door on this part of my life. Where one door closes, another opens, right? :)
Last night at dinner, Finn was sitting at the table and his poor hair was in his eyes. So...I grabbed one of Ally's rubber bands and pulled his hair back!! Ally immediately said "Finn, you are beautiful!" Ha!! With his hair pulled back I thought of Bamm-Bamm from The Flintstones, but the more I thought about it, he resembled Pebbles with her ponytail. He is definitely a mix of both, with the hair color and ponytail.
I don't want to cut his curls in the back just yet, but I definitely think I need to trim his top. This might be a home job in the next day or two. And for the record he was not fussing in the picture because of his hair! ;-)
Ally has stayed the night away from home a few times and has done well. Well, she was recently invited to a birthday party sleepover, which was a first!! Everyday for about a week she asked if it was "the sleepover day"; she was so excited!! The mom hosting the party told me if she didn't want to stay the night, then no big deal I could just come and get her later that evening. I kept prepping Ally for the sleepover and telling her that if she was ever scared or wanted to come home to just tell Miss Cheryl to call me, that it was no big deal. The day before the party I told her that and she said "don't worry mom, I'm going to be brave!" Hahaha!
I got her all packed up and we headed over to the party. She walked into the party so big and you could already tell she was going to be ok. She ended up making it all the way through the night and Miss Cheryl said she was a joy to have over. I was so thankful it was a good experience for her. And also considering she is 2 years younger than the rest of the girls too.
Now the next morning was a different story. She did not want to go into her Sunday School class (and Miss Cheryl is even in her department); she said she wanted me. {love her} I'm not sure if she missed me or was just tired. So, she went to my Sunday School and into big church with us too. I made sure she understood this was a one-time deal and she understood. We shall see this Sunday.
I'm not sure if you remember, but last year, my precious daughter picked up my laptop and slammed it to the ground. I was devastated. I hadn't backed up to my external hard drive in a while and all of our pictures from our Disney trip were still on my computer and not on my external HD yet. :(
My laptop was dead I tell you. An IT person my mom knew took a look at it and he couldn't recover a thing and said the hard drive was definitely crashed. Boo!!
I was considering sending it to an IT place and pay them an obscene amount of money to take a look at it. I wanted my pictures back!!
My stepdad had an old friend that worked on computers, so he said he would take a look at it in his spare time. They would look at it a couple hours here and there over the course of a few weeks. They ended up putting my hard drive in the freezer and did a couple of other things to unjam the hard drive. They recovered my whole hard drive. Miracle I tell you!!
That brings me to my close call I just had last night. My laptop was on the kitchen table {I have been reading up on eating Paleo...but that is another post for another time!} and I was in the bathroom getting the kids ready for gymnastics.
Well, I hear this crashing sound in the other room. I run in there and on my way I immediately knew it was my laptop. :(( Of course, my cord fanatic son grabbed the cord and down came the computer slamming against the hardwood floors. Bummed I tell you. I didn't have time to mess with it right then so I put it up and off we went to gymnastics.
After I got home last night and the kids were down, I started taking a look at it. Whew!!! I was able to pull everything up and nothing seemed wrong. So, guess what I did next?? You guessed it, I backed up! Close call for sure!
Shawn and I are high school sweethearts. Married for 12 years with 4 beautiful children and reside in the great state of Texas. We are sinners who have been saved by grace, through faith in Christ Jesus. In our home we enjoy: laughing, praising and learning about God, watching sports, and homeschooling.
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