Merry Christmas!

Well, I never did post about our Thanksgiving week, so I'm going to have to go a little out of order. Buuut... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

We are having a very busy and wonderful break already. We celebrated with Brent's family first, then headed down to Houston to celebrate with mine. Then, on the 27th we will head to Colorado to play in the snow! I will post (I know, I always say that and then forget- but this time I mean it) lots of pictures soon, but I just wanted to start by saying Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Holidays can be very difficult for some, but let us not forget what we are celebrating. Without the love of Christ, we would be without life itself. We have all been blessed even through our downs of the year. There is so much to be thankful for, first and foremost for God sending us his son, Jesus. I pray that you all have a wonderful Christ filled Christmas with your families, as I will with mine.

Much love!

It's a...

One Cool Kid

I know, I know...it seems I've forgotten my role as avid blogger! It appears that I'm really great at posting during the summer and not so much during the school year, sorry about that! I'm racking up my Thanksgiving week pictures to do a post you guys will love (or at least will have to pretend to love) but for now, here's a picture I meant to share a few weeks ago...is she not the cutest?! (Slightly biased) ;)

Happy Halloween!

I am VERY behind on blogs, but here are a few pics of our very fun Halloween at Zoo Boo!

Maddie loved getting candy even though she really didn't eat any of it (yay for us!) ;)

I can't believe how big she's getting...she looks like such a big girl in these pictures! *tear*

Hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween too!!!

Welcoming Baby Cydnee!

We recently had another beautiful baby girl, Cydnee, join our (extended) family. I'm not sure if she's my fourth or fifth cousin, but she's family nonetheless. Maddie loved peeking in her pack n play to check on her and even helped burp her with a great big pat on the back...Oops! Then she spent the rest of the time wrestling with her other cousins. We had a wonderful time and can't wait to visit again!!

Baylor Game!

I have sooo many blogs to catch up on, but until that actually happens here's a quick recap of our evening in pictures!

We went to the Baylor versus SHSU football game with Maddie, my mom and little sister. For not getting a good nap before hand and not having much to do, Maddie did a great job! She was quite the center of attention...I mean how can you watch the game when she's this stinkin' cute?!

Baylor won, which stung my Bearkat heart a little. ;) This was a tough game since I'm quite divided. I've come to root for Baylor at any other time but SHSU was my alma mater. I wore a Baylor t-shirt and a SHSU sweatshirt when it got cold. I felt like a traitor, but it was the only way I could be there for both teams. (Sorry, I felt like I had to defend myself a bit). Haha

Water Park Fun!!

Well, Waco decided to step it up this year and open up a Hawaiian Falls! We weren't too sure about taking Maddie earlier this summer because she just seemed too young to really enjoy it. After seeing her love her last few trips to the pool, we decided to try out the water park. I'm SO glad we did because this little girl LOVED it!! It was a very fun day, and the weather was just perfect! Can't wait to go more often next summer!!

Fun and Relaxing Weekend

Even with a packed weekend, we still managed to have a nice, relaxing time. On Friday we had a birthday party for my friend Jill's boyfriend. I learned how to play a dice game called Greed, and Brent took part in a high stakes game of Catch Phrase...aren't we growing up?! ;)

Saturday was our day with nothing on our schedule. We spent most of the day chilling at home listening to the rain. Then when it stopped raining we decided to go for a walk on the Lake Waco Dam. Maddie enjoyed getting outside and got quite a workout walking around checking out the lake sightings.

Sunday was a busy day. We went to church, took a nap, went to our Aunt and Uncle's 40th anniversary party and then went to a birthday party for little Bubba at the swimming pool!

Such a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

New Job!!

So as most of you know I've been a teacher for the last 5 years ranging from 1st to 5th grade. I absolutely LOVE being a teacher, but I also eventually want to be a principal, and then a college professor in the Education field. I feel like each step I take will help me reach more and more children!
Well, after a few doors closed this summer, one fabulous one opened when I least expected it (which is usually how God works, isn't it?!) So this Wednesday I'll be starting as the Waco ISD Elementary Gifted and Talented Instructional Specialist. Very wordy, I know. ;)

In a nut shell, I'll be in charge of making sure all the teachers (approximately 5 at each campus and 13 campuses) are following state laws pertaining to teaching GT students and making sure they are truly stretching each child's mind. There's more to it, and I'm happy to talk about if you'd like more info, but I thought I'd keep it short and sweet here! :)

So here was my bittersweet goodbye to my classroom. I'll miss having my own group of sweet faces, but I am so excited for this new opportunity!!

Show Us Your Life {Displaying Pictures}

I love Kelly's Show Us Your Life Blog, and this past week was about showing how you display pictures in your home. I am a huge picture/frame person {thanks mom}. And yes, I am known to have super cute frames with people we don't know in them because it takes me forever to fill the frames. I'm also kind of bad at changing out pictures, so this post got me excited to get some pictures changed out and to show off some of my displays I love!

This is one of my favorite things in our house. I used the line "All because two people fell in love" line from a fabulous country song and had vinyl stickers made. I leave the middle picture of my husband and I at our wedding alone and change out the surrounding ones as our family grows!

I love picture screens! My mother-in-law got me this one for Christmas one year, and I couldn't wait to fill it! {Thanks again, Janet!}

I have a bit of an OCD problem with symmetry- like I'm not kidding, it's really bad- but I tried to be daring and do a wall collage with NO symmetry! It stung a little at the time, but I do really like it! I got these frames at Khols, don't they have the BEST frames?!?!

And last, but absolutley not least is my latest Pinterest Project, my Instagram Frame! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how it turned out!! I even made a pink verison for my office (which will show up in a later post- I know you can't wait, can you?) ;)

{Please excuse the non-even spacing, NO it does NOT bother me, says my logical side}

Hope you got a cute idea or two, I can't wait to see everyone else's and have some ideas in the back of my mind for later on down the road!

Oklahoma {Full Length Version}

As you know from yesterday, we just got home from a short trip to Oklahoma. We have been going and going but I have to give lots of kudos to Maddie, who has been a wonderful traveler!!

We headed up there Friday morning and came back home Sunday night- like I said..short! :( We wanted to spend more time there but I recently got a new position with my school district and have to go back to work 2 weeks early. Yay on promotion, boo on going back early! That meant we had a lot of plans to squeeze into a short amount of time, so we loaded up the car and headed north asap!!

Here's our happy little traveler on our way up, well, technically at a pit stop...

Our family lives on a farm and anyone who knows Maddie knows she is one outside girl! She LOVES being outside and LOVES animals, so seeing as how she got to go visit 2 horses, 2 dogs and 3 goats, this chick was overjoyed!

While we were there I decided to put on Maddie's boots and take a few snapshots...still trying to practice my photography skillz (notice the z not the s. I'm not sure I quite have "skills" yet...still working on them!) ;)

She looks so grown up to me! She only let me take pictures for about 6 minutes, but at least I was able to get a few cute ones!!
And a few last shots visting family...

We love you all and can't wait for our next trip!! BIG shout out to Aunt Gelly for helping with Maddie, not sure I could have made all those driving hours without a little back up!

Oklahoma!!

Well, we are back home from a short but fun trip to Oklahoma to visit family! I'll post more pics tomorrow, but here's a snapshot of Maddie loving on her Aunt Lucielle and G.G!

Fun at the Lake!

What to do on a hot summer day? Wait for it to cool off...then go to the lake, of course!

It was Maddie's first time to go cruising on the boat, and she even did a little lake swimming! Daddy is determined to turn her into a fish! She was not a huge fan of the life jacket, but she at least tolerated it...such a trooper!

How is everyone else cooling off this summer?



Pinterest Party!!

Are you a Pinterest addict? Then you would have L.O.V.E.D. this party! :) Needless to say, I am overly addicted to Pinterest. Like to the point where I literally flood people's entire "following" page with pin after pin after pin from just me- you're welcome sorry about that. Unfortunately, avid pinning does not always pair up with avid doing. So, with that in mind I decided to have a Pinterest Party (Pinterest=love, Party=love...winning combination!)

So here was the invitation:
"Hey Ladies and Pinterest Addicts...we are giong to do Ladies' Night Pinterest-style! Choose 1 craft you've been dying to try and gather enough materials for you and 2 friends to make it. Then come to my house on July 12 @ 6:30 with your materials and a Pinterest snack to share. You will leave having made 3 projects and enjoyed some killer company!! :) Also, everyone bring an old tshirt! I've been dying to try the 'turn your tshirt into a workout tank' one."

On the day of the party, everyone showed up with snacks (we had an amazing assortment of dips, no diet today!)

We ate dinner and then started crafting!!!

The organization of the night was basically let's try this and if it doesn't work we'll do it differently next time. Everyone put their name in a jar 2 times- remember we brought materials for 2 other people to make our craft. You started on your craft. Once you finished you drew a name from the jar- that was your next project. When done with that one, you drew another name- that was your 3rd project!

It was a BLAST! Even people who wouldn't consider themselves as "crafty" had a great time because they got to try things they never would have done before!!

Here are some of our crafters at work:

So, I am about to show some of the projects that worked and some that didn't work. This is not to say that the actual "pin" doesn't work, it just failed for us that night. Sadly, I also have to admit I only got pictures of about 1/2 the projects. Oh well, that's what I get for doing more crafting and less picture taking! ;)

SUCCESS Stories:

Post-It! Holder, Flip-Flop Hanger, Frosted Vases, Button Tree Painting

Here was a "hurry up and find a craft because one of them didn't work" idea that I threw together with some magnets and some corks I had been saving.

Cut the cork, hot glue a magent on the back. Done and Love!

FAILS

Moscato Cupcakes (I've decided I'm just no good at made-from-scratch...I'll be sticking with boxed sweets) and Glasses Made From Bottles (We couldn't get the string to stay or get hot enough to break the glass.)

Only 2 fails is pretty good in my book!

We also all did the tshirt turned tank top- I LOVE mine! It was SO easy I'll be making many more!! No "before" shot, but you can imagine what it looked like as a tshirt...

We all had a great time crafting!! I do have a disclaimer though- Beware of the hot glue gun! It is HOT!!! No one knew it at the time because my mom is such an introvert but she burned the *shut the front door* out of ther thumb- OUCH!

(Sorry Mom, I couldn't leave this out...It was for the good of the people! ;) xoxo)

I hope you got a great idea for your next Ladies' Night!! The general consensus from our group was this is a MUST for every holiday and any other night we want to get together! What I learned from the first try- either cut it down to only completing 2 crafts for the night or be prepared to stay late. People who finished all projects left around 9:45ish! That being said, we did spend a while chatting- surprising, I know! ;)

Happy pinning and happy crafting!

"Til Next Time"

A sad goodbye til-next-time took place today...
One of my very best friends moved back home to Ohio today. Her life took some unexpected turns, and they decided it was time to move back and be close to her mother. Her reasons are undeniable, but the space that will now be between us still makes me a bit teary-eyed. We both did good keeping our emotions in check, but I have to admit I've been letting some tears go here and there throughout the day. Sorry Lisa, I know we were trying hard to keep our cool!

So Maddie and I dropped her off at the airport after spending one last till-next-time day together.

So here are some of my memories in words and pictures that some of you may not understand but are helping my emotional stability. ;)
Lisa, I love you because...
- Our first year as Montessori teachers
- Yoshi and the "tootsie roll"
- The car wasn't quite big enough:

Me- "Are you gonna need help with that"

You- "Nah, I got it"

Me- Drives by and sees this. Almost pees pants laughing.

- We were both Bearkats (No..I spelled it right!)
- Our hatred for running- like so much so it would be murdered, if it weren't illegal...and impossible.
- M'Lissa's wedding pictures (No we weren't)
- Eskimo Hut:

You were so excited you literally cried.

- Super Teachers!
- Having so many phone calls that our husbands, ATT and Verizon all cut us off!
- Turning on my love for wine
- Hippodrome and the Potter's House
- Speaking of...laughing at EXTREMELY inappropriate times
- TFing and my mom having to help keep you "put away" at Miranda Lambert:

- "Um, will you be mad if we don't see the movie?"
- Not sleeping a bit when I was in labor because you were afraid to miss my phone call
- Being an amazing Godmother:

- Girl's Weekend and mastering our photography skillzzz
- All the unmentionables of our classes that caused us to have to go to church more ;)
- Manis and pedis
- Numerous "huh?"s  because of ATT not letting my texts through- there is seriously a conspiracy going on over there!
- The touche/touch confusion (dang it, I can't get the little thingy over the e)
- Promising not to tell secrets
- The Bonfire and how pretty the fog looked coming off the ground uh, lake that we almost drove in to!
- Morning breakfasts
- Toes to Bar (or the "other" to bar, depending on your level of difficulty)
- And many, many other memories that bring a smile to my face

God blessed me abundantly by crossing our paths in little ol' Waco, TX. You are truly like a sister to me. All the ups, downs and turnarounds we have been through were better because we went through them together, one way or another. You are honest, loving, compassionate and freakin' hilarious!! Thanks for being an AMAZING friend! I can't wait to see what memories God is already creating for our future- hold on, this could get dangerous!!

Til Next Time....

Maddie's {belated} One Year Post

(before we begin, I need everyone to repeat after me- today is May 28th. Ok, now you may read) :)

Dear Maddie,

I'm not sure I can get this out through the tears...you. are. one. year. old! *sniff*sniff* I simply cannot fathom how time has flown by so fast. I see newborns and can hardly even remember you being as tiny as they are and it was only 12 months ago. How is that even possible?! I also can't wrap my mind around how much fun we have had with you in just a single year and how much we love you. I simply look at you and my heart melts!

You have the most contagious smile, the most heavenly laugh and the happiest personality. People love being around you because you just shine! Your beautiful blue eyes catch people's attention, and then you flash that adorable toothy (6 to be exact) grin. People can't help but smile when they see you. (Yes, mommy and daddy are already planning how we are going to keep the boys away!!)

At your 12 month check up you rang in at 19.8 pounds (just shy of being able to be forward facing in the car- sad day) and 28 3/4 inches long. The doctor said you will probably be hitting a growth spurt soon, which would match up with your current eating habits! Speaking of eating, in case one day you decide to try out being picky, I need to document some of the foods you can't get enough of- tomatoes, avocado, asparagus, spinach artichoke dip, peas, broccoli rice casserole, strawberries, etc. What don't you like, you ask? I have no idea- we haven't found it yet!

As you can tell in these pictures (which I took in my very first "photo shoot,") you are very photogenic. You are so easy to make smile!! I guess you must love us almost as much as we love you! So, some things you are up to...you are really trying to get better at walking. You walk along furniture and while holding our hands, but haven't quite ventured out on your own (I sense it coming very soon!) You love to "wrestle" and by that I mean you basically just crawl all over whoever's face is on the floor with you- I won't lie, we are all very scared of having your diaper literally ON our face, so you win every time!

To say that you are curious would be an understatement. You are such an observer of people and things. Once you've taken it all in, you go into ultra hands-on and in-mouth discovery mode. Notice above you decided to find out what a flower tasted like. Maddie- 1 Flower- 0. You also love "unloading" just about any basket, drawer, or organization of any kind. If it's put away, you see to it that it is taken apart! I literally pick up one area while you are destroying another (welcome to toddlerhood, mama!)

You have gradually gotten more and more vocal. You can say mama, doggie, cracker (which is your favorite food of all time,) ba-ba (bottle), ball-ball (which sounds very much like ba-ba and leads to a few breakdowns every now and then,) and we've caught a dada in there a couple times. You understand so so much, it's hard for us to keep from turning you into a circus show. "Show us your toes! Yay, good girl! Ok, where's your head? Yay, Maddie!" You aren't nearly as amused as we are sometimes, sorry baby girl!

Thank you for the best year of our lives, sweet girl! You are loved by so many people, but loved the most by your mommy and daddy! We can't imagine life without you and can hardly remember days before you joined our family. God truly blessed us beyond measure!

xoxo

Mommy