Take a Picture

So many memories are coming these day at lightening speed. I wish I could blink and take a picture. Since I'm not very quick with the camera I will just have to tuck them away in my own mind. Two great memories from today, the first sweet and the second was downright hilarious. Sweet memory: Jared coming home from a 13 hour work day and playing with the kids. And then a very spirited reading of Goodnight Gorilla. For those of you who are not familiar with this book there are not many words in this book. You have to make up a story from the pictures. Kate and Carson were entranced by his storytelling.
Hilarious Memory: Tonight as I was giving the kids a bath I caught Kate looking into that little mirror thing below the faucet. She was pointing into it and very seriously saying to herself, "NO Fro!(throw)" Self Talk 101. :)

Getting Through

Kate's expression is this picture is very indicative of her personality right now. Very independent, very curious, very much an attitude of "let's see how far I can go with this." She has had a big time problem with throwing things lately. Can anyone relate? Although I am finding it hard to differentiate that it is ok to throw a ball but not a book. I am thinking of narrowing it down to "No throwing things at other people." Anywho...my catch phrase when she throws something is "No throw!" Last night Jared was rearranging some things in his media room and he picked up something and threw it aside to get it out of his way. Kate told him quite indignantly, "No throw!" Just when you think you aren't getting through!

The Jig Is Up!

This boy is stationary no more! Carson says, "HA! I knew I would get it!" He has officially joined the league of crawlers. Sometimes the army crawl version and sometimes hands and knees version but there is no doubt about it! This boy is going places! Kate is none too happy about it as she is realizing she can't just leave things anywhere she wants to. She was leisurely eating her waffle this morning and as she is apt to do many times she set it down to play. Carson crawled right over to help himself. Our lives will never be the same.

So It's Fall

I am loving this fall weather we are having. I say that with a hint of sarcasm. I realize that temps in the low 70s and high 60s is really cool weather here. Compared with the scorching 90-100 degree heat I'll definitely take it. Truth be told it takes more than that to please the cold weather snob in me. I'll take a good clear crisp 50 degree day right about now.But if there is one thing living here for 12 years has taught me I will have to wait until December for that to happen. No problem. But don't hate me if I laugh at people breaking out the sweaters and fleece coats when it's 65. It's just the Northern attitude in me. Here are some "Fall" pictures for you to enjoy.



Jared's pumpkin. I was pretty impressed with his carving job.

My bedazzled pumpkin


The following pictures prove the following equation:
Early wake up times+NO Naps+ unplanned trip to the pumpkin patch just because we were in the area = Well, just take a look...........I have added a lighthearted caption to each picture followed by what was really happening in the picture in parentheses. :)

Here Kate is telling everyone "Happy Halloween!" (She was having a good old fashioned melt down)

Mommy and her sweet little pumpkins! (I think Kate's face pretty much sums it up)





Sweet kids enjoying a nice sunny day (Kate trying to give her brother the heave ho out of the wagon)

So happy in the wagon (Actually only happy in the wagon when it is moving)

Race for the Cure

Yesterday was awesome. It was estimated that there were around 30,000 participants. It was incredible as we counted down to to the start of the race in unison. I realized the number of people that were in the race when it took me about 5 minutes to get the start of the line. Reading the "in memory" and "in celebration" signs that racers wore on their backs brought home the impact that breast cancer has on all types of families. And there were all types of people there. Breast cancer does not discriminate. I knew that but it was amazing to see it right in from me. I continually saw "in memory" signs. "In memory of my Aunt", worn by a whole family of women, "In memory of my Mom" worn by a girl that couldn't have been more than 15.And perhaps the image that hit closest to home was a lady who had a beautiful scarf on her head, walking with her husband and a baby around Carson's age in a stroller. I had a huge lump in my throat. That could be me. There are no guarantees that that won't be me. So we must continue to fight. Beyond October. Beyond races. There were signs all over saying "Early Detection is key". I will take that to heart. I made Kate a "pink ribbon" shirt to wear yesterday. I want Kate to grow up in a world knowing that the pink ribbon stands for a CURE for breast cancer instead of awareness.

I was honored to wear this sign on my back.

Hello Bob!

Well almost bob. We're getting there. In any case it's not a baby mullet anymore. On Saturday my Mom and I took Kate to get her first haircut. She did great as I suspected she would because she likes all things girly. Now we will wait for the grow out to see where it will a go. A cute little work in progress!

The transformation begins....

Before....

After!

Before.....


After!


Oooh! There's nothing like a good haircut to make a girl feel good!

Crazy Eight

A couple of weeks ago our wonderful boy turned 8 months. He is a happy little guy. He is grabbing at everything. A few weeks ago I had him at the Dr and when we went up to the front counter to check in he grabbed at all of the business cards and brochures and sent them crashing to the ground. He loved it! He is starting to eat some solids now in addition to baby food. I am starting to let him experiment with puffs and he is starting to use the pincer grasp instead of the full fist approach. He is starting to babble now which is so cute because I think he is starting to see he will have to talk fast if he wants to get a word in edge wise with Miss Priss around.We are still working on not getting up at night. He is pretty much only doing it once but we are still trying to iron out that skill. It's coming. I think he just a hungry little boy so I am trying to fine tune when and how much I give him before bedtime. His hair is doing hilarious things. It will lay down in the front and stick straight up in the back. It is getting pretty blonde. He is starting to pull up on me when I am sitting down. Just today he pulled up to his knees. No crawling yet but there seems to be alot of leg kicking and pivoting on his stomach to get to places. He loves to play with blocks. Especially when Kate builds a tower so that he can crash it down. He loves looking and watching Kate. When he can't see her he will fuss and whine until I put him into her view then he will content. He loves to make her laugh by peeking out from behind objects. I love that he is already figuring out how to play with his sister. He LOVES the bath and bounces all around in the water. I really have to watch him or he will take a dive into the water. Carson is so much fun and his smile just melts my heart every single time I am privileged to see it. Thank you God for our wonderful little boy!!!

A Season of Celebration

I was laying in bed last night and could not turn my mind off. I was thinking about all of the wonderful things that are about to happen in our circle of family and friends. God is amazing as He has laid out all of this celebration for us to enjoy. We are so thankful! Here is the Celebration List for November through March!!!!

1. We will start out November with the ultimate bang. My new nephew Hudson should be born early to mid November. This will be the fourth boy for my brother and his wife. I can't wait to meet him. He is one little boy that has been greatly anticipated.
2. We will spend Thanksgiving with my Dad and Robin in Midland
3. My 35th Birthday December 10th
4. I run the half marathon December 13th
5. Christmas!!! We will get to show Kate and Carson that Christmas is more than presents and a big jolly man in a suit.
6. New Years and a POSSIBLE awesome surprise Jared and I are working on for each other :)
7. January 15th my dear friend Kim will get married.
8. January 29th our big boy Carson turns ONE!!!
9. February 8th our sweet girl Kate turns TWO!!!
10.February 15th Jared and I will celebrate 7 blessed years of marriage
11.In March we will celebrate when our good friends Jodi and Derek (and Hudson:) welcome their sweet boy into the world

So you see, there are 11 good reasons to shout out God is Good!!! SO Good!!

Here, There, And Everywhere

That's a Beatles song in case you didn't know. Speaking of the Beatles the $100k question on Who wants to be a millionaire was "Where did John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet?" The answer is at a church. The guy didn't know it and left with a measly $50k. As you can probably tell already this post is going to be all over the place so get ready.

1. The weather in Texas is driving me nuts. Cool weather one day and hot and muggy the next. Can't wait until the weather evens out. Kate was actually wearing this ensemble a couple of weeks ago. Today she is in shorts and a t-shirt.



2. I just made these shirts for Kate and Carson. My crafty side is taking hold again.


3. Were hosting Care Group on Sunday and I think I am going to try these for dessert. Looks easy! Only 3 ingredients cake, icing and white chocolate. Sounds pretty good to me!

4. I received my race packet for Race for the Cure yesterday. I have been blessed by so many donations from family and friends.Thank you guys so much! I am just $5 from my goal. Click HERE if you still want to donate.


5. This cute little boy just turned 8 months old!!!


6. This sassy sweet Miss is 20 months old today!!!


7. Even though Kate is being raised Church of Christ she loves to dance.She just can't help herself! Her newest dancing partner is Carson. She takes his hands and swings her little hips back and forth to that rockin' rollin' tune "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."


8. This is Jared at the end of a long 10 hour day. The kids just pile on top of him and are all over him until they go to bed. I wish I could capture Kate when she hears that garage door go up at 5. She stops what ever she is doing and toddles as fast as she can to the door that leads to the garage and waits for her Daddy to come through that door. It is a priceless moment. This man is an amazing Daddy.

9. Here are Kate and Carson. If you'll notice Kate has her arm around Carson. It took 8 months but I think she is finally warming up to him. :)

10. Last One! I love this picture because it looks like Kate told a joke and Carson is throwing his head back having a good hearty laugh.

Race for the Cure!!!- Please Donate!!!! YOU Can Make a Difference!!!

Better late than never I always say! I am going to run in the Race for the Cure in Dallas on October 17th. Could you please help me reach my goal by clicking HERE to donate. Chances are you know and love someone who have been affected by breast cancer. Would anyone be interested in running it with me??? If you are not up for walking/running a 5k there is a 1k available to walk or run. It would be so much fun as a group! Just let me know. Click HERE to register. Thanks so much for your support.

Army of Women

I was watching the Today Show this morning and saw an interview with someone named Dr. Susan Love. She is the leading researcher in breast cancer. She is trying to recruit 1 million women to take part in the Army of Women. 1 out of 8 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in their lifetime. 1 out of 8! The healthcare community spends so much time on treating the cancer that hardly any reseach is done in the area of how breast cancer starts and how to prevent it.The Army of Women was created to recruit 1 million women to take part in research studies. You can register at this site to receive emails about research studies. Some studies are as simple as filling out a questionaire and some are more involved but you can choose whether you want to take part in them. Dr. Love was saying that even though we have come a long way in getting people to be aware of breast cancer we still do not know why it starts or really how to prevent it.My Mom is a breast cancer survivor. This is so important to me. I want to be part of the generation that finds a cure. To me this is a step in the right direction.