Thursday, May 27, 2010

Eye Staring

Zeke just came up to me this morning, grabbed my face between both of his hands and stared into my eyes for about a minute, then said, "you have green eyes........Papa & G.G. have green eyes." Then he told me to look up at the light and said, "yep, those are green alright."

Friday, May 21, 2010

Matt's Channel 11 News Debut





Just finished watching Matt on a the evening Channel 11 news. He was featured in a news segment about changes in social studies curriculum for the state of Texas. The newcaster interviewed Matt while he took the kids to the park in the Heights...so because he had kids with him the news guy thought Matt would know something on this topic? Very funny to listen to Matt share his "insight" on social studies curriculum.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Kaelyn Trying On Her Dress




K is going to be the flower girl in October for Matt & Reecie's wedding. Reecie borrowed a dress from a friend for K to try on so we decided to take a few pictures outside of her house. Kaelyn was quite impressed with her new princess attire.

The only problem I have with these pictures is that she looks WAY TOO BIG in them...where is my baby?

The Annual Noelle/Kathrin Birthday Bash

I spent an exciting Friday night out with some of our life group to celebrate Noelle & Kathrin's birthdays. It was a fun evening filled with great company, yummy food and good conversation. The only drawback was the restaurant had the air going at about 50 degrees so we just about froze to death. Other than that...we had a great time!



Valerie & I modeling the jackets we stole from Ross.

My Little Lipstick Lover

Kaelyn snuck into my office the other morning to try on a new lip creme shade. She came into my room looking ever-so-guilty...we can always tell when she is up to something that she knows she shouldn't be doing because she has this face that says it all.

For those MK lovers out there...Kaelyn is modeling the new summer lip shade line in "Raspberry Ice" while I am wearing the new "Malted color". I am so fortunate to have my own little Mary Kay helper living right here with me to give her opinion of the new line. :)


I just can't imagine where she gets this cheesy grin from (look at above photo of Val & me)..ha!

A Visit with Tootsie

On Sunday the kids, Reecie, Matt and I had the opportunity to have lunch with Brad's great aunt, Tootsie. We picked her up after church and went to a neat little brunch restaurant in the Heights called Lola's. The kids were so excited to see her and in Tootsie-fashion she insisted the kids have a yummy dessert after their meal. They chose to share a root beer float (Brad's favorite too). They were ever-so-slightly keyed up after the sugar boost! HA!


Thursday, May 13, 2010

Getting Married!


My baby brother Matt is getting married! I realized the other day that I never sat down to share this exciting news with everyone, I know..I have been quite a bit behind on the blogging.

Reecie & Matt dated for 7 years through high school/college. Then they took a 7 year break. Mom & I always used to kid Matt about how much we ALWAYS liked Reecie...the other girls he dated in between just weren't up to the "Reecie-standard."

I am super thrilled because now I have a SISTER...yippee! With Brad being an only child once we met....I've never had another (extended) sibling outside of Matty. Yeah...a new sister for me...SO FUN!! :)



Here is the proposal story shared via Reecie.
The last weekend of March Matt really wanted to get out of town at least for the weekend and he suggested Austin. We got to Austin late Friday because I really needed to work late but we were happy to just getaway for the weekend. Saturday we woke up and went jogging around town lake and then had breakfast. It was BEAUTIFUL outside and Matt suggested going to Mount Bonnell for a quick hike. He told me that it was pretty short so I was a little surprised when he brought his camelback with us but didn’t think much about it. Once we were at the top of Mount Bonnell we could see over the lake and city sky line. There were a lot of people around and Matt kept trying to find a more secluded spot. After we sat down he opened his camelback and then told me he brought champagne… he quickly told me that he brought me another present and needed to ask me a question. It was very sweet and the day was amazing and of course my answer was "YES".

Reecie & Matt plan to get married in Carmel, California on October 16th
We are all VERY excited about a fun, destination wedding!

Flowers, Flowers, and More Flowers!

I LOVE flowers....I love the colors and they just make me happy. Brad used to always work forever in our beds to make them look great. This is the first season that I have worked on them and now I have a little helper who likes to water (half on the plants and half on herself).




These are the sacrificial lantana that I chose to put in the mailbox flower beds. It really never seems to matter what I put in those two boxes....nothing ever lives there. Poor lantana....I wonder how long they will last....I give them 2 weeks...max.





On a tough day last week, Lisel sent me these gerber daisys...my flower of choice! I LOVE gerber daisys! And, I will report they are still alive and well....even a week later!

I also got this BEAUTIFL arrangement sent to the house today and it came with.....

this note.....

SO EXCITING!!!! :)

Kaelyn & The Mango

I bought a crate of mangos from Costco the other day because mangos are SO yummy! Today for lunch I cut one up and shared it with Kaelyn. While we were eating, I told her...

J: You know Kaelyn, Uncle Matt really LOVES mangos. I bet he wishes were here so he could have some with us.
K: (she paused and gave me a long stare) No Mom, Uncle Matt REALLY loves ME!!!

It's too bad my kids don't have any self-confidence :)

Monday, May 10, 2010

Camp El Tesoro

My sweet friend, Tammie Shelton invited us to join her & her two boys for a "Mom & Me" camp at El Tesoro this past weekend. My kids, of course, were elated to have the opportunity to go camping...especially with friends. Zeke was so fired up about the adventure that he told me on the way to Fort Worth, "Mom, I'm so glad that you decided to come with me on this great trip." (I'm not sure how else he would have gotten there so I guess it was good I went :)

We spent time swimming in the creek, fishing for minnows, looking for frogs, hunting for butterflies, doing crafts, making smores over the fire, singing camp songs, trying our hand at archery, and going on hikes. It was a blast! Kaelyn rode on my back for ALL of the hikes...her little 3-year-old legs just couldn't quite keep up with everyone else...but with all the other activities she was right in the mix.

The kids and I enjoyed ourselves so much we may have to make this a new Mother's Day tradition. Thanks Tammie for the invite to join in on the fun!
Lunch at the mess hall with our entire group!
The high-point of Camp El Tesoro

Zeke was like a mountain goat climbing up and down the rocks on his own...he is becoming quite the adventurer!

Me carrying the little koala bear


This was Zeke's "most-favorite part"....swimming in the creek with his sister





Another Zeke-ism

We were driving in the car the other day and Zeke cautiously began this conversation with me from the back seat.

Z: Mom, I need to tell you something, but I need you to promise that you won't be upset.
J: (bracing myself) I don't know Zeke...what are you going to tell me...?
Z: I won't be able to tell you until you promise that you won't be upset.
J: (nervously) ok....I will try to not be upset...go ahead and tell me.
Z: Mom, I have been wanting to tell you that I love Jesus & God more than you....I just didn't want your feelings to be hurt.

Daddy, Daughter, Grandson Outing





I was having a fairly emotional night last week so my sweet dad took us to Kemah for dinner and to walk along the boardwalk...providing me with a much-needed distraction. Zeke loved having the attention of two adults....all to himself and I really enjoyed watching he and Dad interact. Zeke is so special...the child really amazes me. After dinner he befriended the manager of the Aquarium restaurant and managed to sweet-talk his way into a free "paint-your-own-dolphin" dessert.

Thanks Dad for the evening out...Zeke & I had a great time. You really are the best dad ever. :)

Friday, May 7, 2010

The Gift of Friendship


God has blessed my life in so many ways but I believe one of the most cherished are the friendships that He has given me. On Friday of this last week I sat around the kitchen table at the home of Jenny Winter and had the opportunity to "catch up" with these three amazing women. Jenny, Martha, and Paige encourage me in so many ways. They are such Godly women, such amazing role models, such women of faith....both beautiful inside and out. I love the friends who you may not see or communicate with all the time, but when you are together it is as if nothing has changed...the relationship is just as easy as the last time you spoke. I love that.

It has been 10 years since we graduated from college and it is amazing to me to look over our lives to see all that we have each experienced in that time....each of us facing various challenges and victories during that period. I did stop to think during our conversation...wondering what the next 10 years would hold for us.

Thank you God for giving me moments such as these to be among such great, women of influence. I am richly blessed to have them in my life.

On a side note ladies...I think the four of us could stand to have a few sun rays hit those legs of ours. Ok, I'm at least speaking for me.... :) Maybe our next meeting should be on the beach.