the bowlin family

january...

2012-01-23T22:27:00.002-06:00

can i just say that i love the month of january! first of all, some of my favorite people are celebrated in janurary-- my dad, my precious friend ashley, and my gram lois all have birthdays in january. i love january because it moves at slower pace compared the craziness of december (well, let's be honest, september- december). and i also really love that january challenges me to set goals and look ahead at what i desire for myself and my family in the new year ahead. granted i usually don't end up accomplishing all of my goals, but i do love the idea of a fresh start and the excitement of a new challenge. :)
this january has been all of these things. i have celebrated with family and friends. i have spent SOME quiet, restful evenings at home. and i have set some goals for myself and my family that we are off to a pretty good start accomplishing. one of my goals every year is to read more and spend more time with the lord. this book...

has been such a gift to me. i know that TONS of people have already read it. and it came highly recommended from so many trusted sources, but just after the first of the year i finally had the time to pick it up and start reading it. from the very first page i have been encouraged and blessed by this story of gratitude.

hopefully soon i'll be back with more stories about my sweet family, darling pictures of olivia and jack, and lots of juicy details of our life, but for now i am enjoying the moments of free time and nothing going on that is "blog worthy" yet i am incredibly grateful and humbled by the thousands of gifts the lord gives me each and every day.

"God gives gifts, and I give thanks, and I unwrap a gift: joy."

-Ann Voskamp

2011...

2012-01-02T10:52:00.001-06:00

i love looking back on the year and remembering all the fun we have had. here are some of the most memorable moments of the year for me.

january...

my computer was stolen on valentines day, i don't have any pictures from this month! :( my favorite memory was celebrating the new year with the herridges and the bowlin lakehouse. we did have a scare when olivia fell and cut her lip very badly which required a trip to the er and some stitches, but it was still a great way to ring in the new year.

february...

SNOW! and lots of it. we had so much fun playing in the snow. such a rare treat of us.

march...

olivia lost her first tooth!!

went to fiesta texas with the herridges during our annual spring trip to san antonio. fun!

april...

my mom took us all to see disney toy story on ice at the american airlines center. jack's reaction to seeing his favorite characters in real life was priceless.

second set of tubes for jack, plus adenoids taken out again.

easter with family.

may...

more visits from the tooth fairy. no more front teeth!!

dance recital.

we love supporting and watching our little dancer.

spending mother's day with multiple generations of fantastic mothers. i am blessed to have these incredible women in my life. didn't ever imagine it would be my last mother's day with gram millie. :(

olivia's last day of preschool.

jack's 3rd birthday.

june...

love spending lazy summer days at the lake with my family or the bowlins/fifers.

fun, relaxing trip to north carolina with blanchettes. amazing house, precious friends, good times.

july...

olivia LOVED every minute of cheer camp with ms. marr. go all-stars!!

summer fun with friends at the pool.

the start of the kitchen facelift. new granite countertops installed.

august...

trip to vegas with mark.

september...

soccer for o begins. go team lyon!!

jack starts pre-school. such a big boy!!

soccer saturdays begin.

october...

trip to the state fair of texas with b & pop. we loved seeing big tex and eating a fletcher's corny dog.

said good-bye to my sweet gram millie. what a special person she was to me.

november...

baylor homecoming 2011.

olivia's 6th birthday party. the rainbow art party.

thanksgiving at the farm with the entire blanchette fam.

december...

christmas on 5th @ baylor with the herridges.

jack takes the stage and sings sweet christmas songs with his preschool friends.

the everitt/lewis/bitsybug christmas party at our house.

waiting for santa and all that the christmas season brings having kids at these fun ages.

i am confident i left out some major events, but these were the stand outs when quickly going through our pictures from 2011. looking forward to many new and exciting things in 2012. may the lord continue to bless our family with love, health, happiness, and JOY that is found only in seeking Him every day!! happy new year!!

alamo bowl...

2011-12-30T09:26:00.000-06:00

after christmas we headed south to san antonio to watch the bears play in the alamo bowl. if you have read my blog for any time at all, you know that we are HUGE baylor fans. baylor football is a big part of our fall schedule and the time we spend together as a family. mark has been going to games his entire life and we have been faithfully going to every home game in waco since our college days. baylor football is just part of being a bowlin. :) after years of cheering on the bears to see them loose most of their games, this season as been so much fun to witness week after week. it is a great time to be a baylor bear. if you haven't kept up with baylor football let me do a quick recap...

baylor beat tcu 50-48! baylor beat sfa, 48-0! baylor beat rice, 56, 31! baylor beat iowa state, 49-26! baylor beat mizzo, 42-39! baylor beat kansas 31-30! baylor beat oklahoma 45-38! baylor beat texas tech, 66- 42! baylor beat texas, 48-24! i still don't want to talk about the loss to a&m, boo! and of course the osu cowboys killed us. but that fun season lead to a heisman trophy winner, RG3, ranked no. 12, AND an invitation to...

my fabulous, number #1 baylor fan father-in-law, jumped at the chance for us to go cheer on the bears in san an and bought us tickets to the bowl game. it was a stressful game but still lots of fun, and i was so relieved that the bears pulled out a win against washington. sic em bears!!

RG3 had a good game! he usually does.

but, this guy, terrance genaway #24, had an amazing night!! sic em terrance!

this was the scene at the end of the night because the entire team effort and the coaching staff...

BAYLOR WINS!!!

already looking forward to next season. whether RG3 stays or goes to NFL, i will still be sitting in section F, row 16 next fall cheering on the bears. i am grateful for robert his talent and the excitement he brought back to baylor football, but i respect whatever decision that he makes about his future. there is a whole team and coaching staff full of talented individuals that i believe can give us another winning season!!

SIC EM BEARS!!!!

christmas morning...

2011-12-25T20:43:00.000-06:00

santa came!!! he was very generous this year and the kids were super excited about their gifts.

our kids get three gifts from santa, just like baby jesus received three gifts from the wise men. (yes, i recognize the gifts are a bit different, but it makes sense to them.)

jack asked for: a big boy bike, a train table, and cars 2 dvd

olivia asked for: molly the american girl doll (and best friend of emily, the doll we already have), a make-up mirror, and mary poppins dvd

jack is so proud of his big boy bike!

olivia is over the moon with her girls. she loves emily and molly!!

then it was time to exchange gifts from mommy and daddy. mark and i always have so much fun picking out gifts that we think the kids will enjoy. this year they got several games that we are looking forward to playing together. They also got a soccer goal that will be lots of fun to play with in the backyard.

as usual, after our morning together as a little family we got ready and headed out for the day to spend time with the blanchettes at gramps and nana's house and then then bowlins/fifers at b and pop's house. we are beyond blessed to have our families in town. it is a crazy day, but we are thankful that we get to spend time with everyone on christmas day. merry christmas!!

on christmas eve...

2011-12-24T22:30:00.000-06:00

we baked cookies for santa claus...

olivia and jack did a great job making rudolph cookies (pinterest idea!).

opened our traditional "christmas eve" gift...

o couldn't wait to rip into that wrapping paper. she was soooo excited to finally open a gift.

jack was a bit slower, but just as excited. :)

this year i did a blanket/pillow instead of our traditional pajamas. o was thrilled that hers was owl themed.

jack immediately snuggled under his dinosaur blanket and loved his dino pillow.

got all dressed up and went to church...

oh the bribery that took place to get this picture= jack's completely fake smile!! :)

went to the hopkin's house for an amazing meal with precious friends. (sorry no pictures of that!)

came home and changed into our christmas pjs...

checked the chimney to make sure it was clear for santa's arrival...

set out cookies and dr. pepper for santa...

our kids have decided that santa might get tired of milk, so they leave him a dr. pepper instead. :)

read "twas the night before christmas" and "the REAL christmas story" from the bible...

and went to bed in hopes that santa would arrive soon. :)

it was a full day and long night for santa's helpers (train tables have a million parts!!!), but i loved every minute of it. so grateful for these years with my kids and experiencing the magic of christmas with them.

"happy christmas to all and to all a good night!" - santa claus

party at our house...

2011-12-16T22:25:00.000-06:00

this year the everitt/bitysbug/lewis christmas party was at our house. if you know my husband, you know he LOVES a fancy meal. so even though the setting was our house he still wanted to create a one-of-a-kind restaurant quality experience. i think we succeeded!!

my mom helped us ~~decorate~~ transform the garage, yes the garage, into the dining area.

my brother, chef sean, lead this team to create some AMAZING italian food for the evening. it was way better than anything we could have gotten in the best restaurants in town. apps- fried rizzoto balls with crabmeat and italian meats and cheeses/ soup- sweet potato and red lentil soup (it was delish!)/ salad with homemade vinaigrette/ pasta- shrimp carbanara/ main course- herb crusted pork tenderloin OR seabass (amazing!)/ and for dessert- tableside bananas foster, plus chocolate truffles and toffee.

austin, jill, and chef sean

the culinary action in my very average kitchen

all in all, i felt the party was super fun!! i am so happy that we were able to have all of mark's employees in our home for christmas. i know he was equally happy to host them and express his appreciation for their hard-work and dedication to everitt/bitysbug/lewis.

ccdc christmas...

2011-12-14T15:32:00.000-06:00

this year jack was on stage for his school's christmas program. it is a very simple program. they sing a couple silly songs ("i'm a nut" and "jingle bells") and a couple christmas songs ("go tell it on the mountain"and "somebody's knocking at the door"), but absolutely love it! there is nothing sweeter to me than 3 year old singing about the birth of our savior- jesus!! jack did a wonderful job! we were so proud of him for singing and doing all the motions to the songs.

singing so loud and proud!

this was the look we got once he spotted his row of family in the crowd.

and this was the nervous look he had in between songs.

and here are some of his biggest fans that came to support him. he is so lucky to have each of the ladies in his life and love him so well.

rara, chrissie, nana, and b with jack-jack

sitting on santa's lap...

2011-12-13T22:04:00.000-06:00

christmas 2011

the santa visit has become an annual event with nana. this year santa moved across the street from his old spot, but the rest of the visit was pretty much the same as in years past. we wait, the kids are excited yet nervous to talk to the big guy, they politely give their requests to santa, pose for a picture, and we are off.

honestly, mom and i think it is a little bit of a beating, but i would be soooo sad to not have the picture, so i guess it is worth it. my kids LOVE santa and totally believe in him, but they do not think that any santas that pose for pictures are the real deal. their reasoning: "the REAL santa is too busy at the north pole getting ready for christmas to sit and pose for pictures all day." i can't argue with that logic. :)

a festive night with the fifers...

2011-12-10T14:57:00.000-06:00

when sarah asked her girls what they wanted to do this christmas season and abby responded, "go over to t and mark's house for dinner and look at christmas lights!" i was thrilled. this is something we have done for the last couple of years, but i wasn't sure if anyone enjoyed it as much as i did. now, i am fully aware this was probably not at the tippy top of abby's holiday must-dos, but none the less i was so happy to host the fifers for the evening.

the fifers arrived, the kids played, and as soon as it was dark we bundled up and loaded up the truck to go and check out the lights and decorations.

kk, abby, and o all set and ready to go!

the boys were ready too!

piled in the back of christman's truck and covered up with baylor blankets.
(don't worry grandma's the mama's climbed in after the pictures. ) :)

our neighborhood doesn't have any big attractions or even elaborate decorations that draw a crowd, but we have a great time oooohing and awwwing at the humble/average christmas displays. the kids love it! this year we did add a new feature to the tour. we took the fifers to the "train house" in our neighborhood. there is a sweet man who for years (decades) has been decking his backyard with thousands of christmas lights and a train. he offers FREE rides to all the kids and adults in the neighborhood. he is open for business every night in december. the kids (mark is included in the group) had fun on the train.

o, jack, kk, and abby with santa waiting to ride the train.

abby and jack rode together. oh, mark was there too!

kk and o were riding buddies.

and then they were off... (round and round and round they went)

then we came home, had dinner, warmed up, and settled in to watch the heisman presentation. it just worked out perfectly that the heisman trophy presentation was scheduled for the same night, so we could all cheer together for RG3! we were so excited that he won!! sic em bears!!!

"The hotter the heat, the harder the steel. No pressure, no diamonds. We compete. We win. We are Baylor Baylor we are and Baylor we’ll always be, but it’s up to us to define what that means. And this Heisman Trophy is only the beginning of that process.” - Heisman Trophy Winner, Robert Griffin III on December 10, 2011”
i think we can call this a tradition at this point, and i am hoping it continues for many years to come. i'd also love to see baylor start a tradition of winning the heisman. a baylor girl can dream, right? :)

merry christmas...

2011-12-08T22:24:00.000-06:00

wishing you and your family a christmas season filled with JOY!!

our christmas card for 2011

christmas on 5th...

2011-12-02T22:03:00.000-06:00

is a BIG deal on the baylor campus these days. our good friends, the herridges, told us about how much fun this event has become and so we were so excited to have the opportunity to go down to waco and check it out. i am pretty sure that the event was created for the college students (there is an outdoor christmas concert to end the evening), but word travels fast in waco and it has become a popular community/baylor family event that is SUPER family friendly. the kids had loads of fun and it really got us into the christmas spirit.

first was a short wait in line, and perfect picture opportunity...

grant, jack, and olivia

to decorate and eat cookies while waiting to see santa and ms. claus...

choosing their cookies before they added TONS of sprinkles.

then, we were finally close enough to sneak a peek...

love this picture. they were so excited!

it was finally our time to go tell the jolly couple hello and snap a few pictures...

jack hopped right up on santa's lap and immediately told him he wanted a toy he already has! :) o was more reserved and took care of the business of making her request before climbing up on his lap. they both pretty much ignored ms. claus. :)

after our visit with santa and the mrs.,

we headed outside to take a look at the live nativity (too dark for good pictures of that). o was disappointed the baby jesus was not live, just the animals, mary, and joseph...

a visit to the petting zoo corral...

o and j loved feeding the donkey.

a pony-go-round ride...

she wasn't so sure she wanted to do it, but i think her expression in this pic indicates she made the right decision to give it a try!

although disappointed he didn't get his first choice of horse, jack had fun too!! he wrangler had to talk him into though.

and the best part of the night for the kids... rolling down the hill about 100 times!

minglewood bowl + 50 kids= tons of giggling and fun

fun night, great friends, in one of our most favorite places ever-Baylor U, and a perfect way to kick off this christmas season. :) now how many days until christmas? (only 22!)

thanksgiving at the farm...

2011-11-29T21:32:00.001-06:00

this year we spent thanksgiving with my family at my parents farm. it was an extra special year with my family because my dad's entire family was there. his brother and his family traveled all the way from florida to celebrate with us. and his middle brother drove up from houston. it was very special for my grandmother to have all her boys and their families all together. however, we did miss my mom's parents. last year both of them were seated at the thanksgiving table and this year they are in heaven.

our long weekend was spent hanging out at the farm and loving to chance to spend quality time with family. we even convinced them all to take a family picture. (yes, this group takes some convincing to smile for the camera.)

we also...
watched some football. go cowboys!! (mark and aunt laura were happy.) sorry lions! (uncle pat and timmy were not so happy.)

prepared three turkeys for the thanksgiving meal (baked, smoked, and fried) along with tons of yummy sides. all the turkeys were delicious, but my favorite was the fried. yum!!

uncle sean (the professional chef) did some cooking as well. he makes the BEST green bean casserole and some really good gravy too!

jack loved dessert- and there was plenty of it. his favorite part was "helping" beat the whipped cream for the pies. the boy loves dessert!!!

oh, one of the most exciting events of the weekend was one of my dad's cows gave birth to a calf on thanksgiving!! my dad named her "pilgrim" but the kids and i are calling her "cranberry." we think that is a much cuter name. ;)

most of all, i loved having a break from our routine and getting to spend lots of time with these two (and mark)...

this thanksgiving we had so much to be thankful for, but here are a few of the specifics... the chance to spend time with extended family, a table full of delicious food prepared with lots of love, laughter, friendly competition at the shoot range, cool fall weather, friends that we consider family who were able to gather with us, good dinner conversation, gram lois' homemade rolls, smiles for the camera, time to relax, and for the chance to thank god for our many blessings while praying together as a BIG family.

a kindergarten thanksgiving...

2011-11-22T21:42:00.000-06:00

olivia's kindergarten class hosted a big thanksgiving feast complete with,

darling pilgrim and indian costumes...

o chose to wear her pilgrim costume. i am pretty sure she was the cutest pilgrim in the room.

some fabulous entertainment...

the classes combined to sing all their silly thanksgiving songs. my favorite was the turkey song with the turkey mask as props.

a long table full of yummy food...

o and daddy making their way through the buffet table.

and "tables" full of friends and family to share it all.

just one of the many "tables" (butcher paper on the floor) that were surrounded with friends and their families.

it was a special time that caused me to really reflect about what i was thankful for as each child shared what they were thankful for this thanksgiving. olivia got very nervous when it was her turn to speak into the microphone, but i was able to snap a picture of her writing and artwork to share her thoughts.

"I am thankful for my mom and dad and God." (i love this picture because mark is wearing his favorite color-orange- and jeans and i am wearing black- 90% of my wardrobe.)

a week of awards...

2011-11-16T10:57:00.001-06:00

and it is only wednesday!!! her birthday is over, but we continue to celebrate olivia this week.

monday night, her soccer team had a team dinner to celebrate a great fall season. at the end of the dinner each of the girls were presented with a trophy and the coaches told them what a good job they did this season.

christman telling her how proud he was of her and the way she played all season.

coach john, o, and coach christman- the best coaches!!

first good look at the trophy!!

our last game is this saturday. to be honest, i am looking forward to a break from weekly practices and games, but i am going to miss getting to see olivia shine on the soccer field. i am also going to miss all of her sweet friends and their parents. hopefully team lyon will be back together in the spring for more soccer fun!!

but wait, there is more!!! yesterday, olivia's school celebrated all the achievements of the second six weeks of school at their award assembly. jack and i were there because last week ms. pattillo sent me and email saying that olivia would be receiving the principal's award. this is a BIG deal! only one student from each class is chosen to receive this award each six weeks. ms. pattillo said that o was selected because "she always works very hard and does her best work AND she is very helpful to other students in our class." to say that i was proud of her is an understatement. :) (sadly, mark had an important meeting and couldn't be there.) sorry for the poor photography- forgot the good zoom lens.

her name was called!!

ms. kirpatrick giving her the award.

her teacher, ms. pattillo, o, and her principal, ms. kirpatrick

what a fun week!! so proud of you o!! we love you and it brings us such joy watching you accomplish great things!!

the rainbow art party...

2011-11-13T09:55:00.000-06:00

i promise the birthday posts are about to end, but you can't turn 6 without at birthday party!!!

olivia started asking last year for an art party. she LOVES art!! last year i talked her out of having the party at our house and doing the american girl store with the women in our family. that was a blast, but o has not forgotten that she wanted to have an art party at our house. i decided that since she had been asking for over a year that this was the year for the rainbow art party. it was so much fun to plan because olivia was very involved. she helped decide on the projects we would do, the food we would serve, and she even created the game we played all by herself.

we prepared everything for the party...

the invitation

the food table

the party favor bags & game notebooks

the welcome sign to direct our guests to the party

rainbow cake in mason jars

5 minutes before party time our first guests arrive...

abby, the birthday girl, and kk

as we waited for all the guests to arrive the girls were busy coloring, drawing, and making jewelry...

next it was time for the main event, let the owl painting begin...

then it was game time and a group picture in the backyard...

and finally... happy birthday, cake, and ice cream!!

love this smile while everyone was singing to her!

making her wish...

olivia's REAL birthday day...

2011-11-08T22:00:00.000-06:00

started with a birthday breakfast.

eggs (her favorite) and cinnamon biscuits, and a candle of course.

i am in disbelief that she is SIX!!!

then daddy, rara, and b brought her chick-fil-a for lunch at school (i had to work) AND she bought her whole class an ice cream treat to celebrate her special day. oh, and her principal wished her a happy birthday on the announcements in the morning and gave her a birthday pencil. (that was a BIG deal to her.)

after school, chrissie picked her up. they walked back home and were able to spend some time together and chrissie gave her the BEST birthday card, a beautiful purple princess crown and wand, plus a really neat princess puzzle. i think the best part for o was getting chrissie all to herself for about an hour. :)

o and chrissie-- they love each other so much!

once i got home, we headed to mcdonald's where pop, rara, abby, kk, and jack were waiting to celebrate o some more. we walked in and they started singing "happy birthday!" and we all ate some ice cream together. then the kids played for a little while before it was off to the next event.

"happy birthday to you!!!"

we came back home to find uncle sean and nana at our house. uncle sean was working on the chair to go with the desk that nana and gramps gave o. he also brought a barbie birthday gift for o. she loves anything barbie!!

b stopped by and brought part 2 of olivia's birthday gift from she and pop and to wish her a very happy birthday. in addition to the awesome american girl bed, pop and b gave olivia some money to go shopping and buy some new clothes for school. the money was not in a card, but b hid it in a "quilt making kit" so o had to dig through all the pieces and find it. it was so cute and o is excited to make the quilt too!!

to end the night, we continued our tradition of going to benihana with nana and gramps. this year uncle sean was able to go with us too!! dinner was yummy (as usual) and olivia had her third serving of ice cream for the day. :) (only on your birthday is that close to being acceptable.)

as olivia climbed into bed that night, i wished her a happy birthday one more time, and she responded, "mommy, i think this is the best birthday i've had yet!!" i think i might have to agree. :)

our sweet olivia! we can't believe that you are six years old today. you have so many people in your life that love, support, and celebrate you, but no one loves you more than your daddy and i. our hearts grew bigger six years old when we saw you for the first time and they have not stopped going since that moment. you teach us about compassion and how to love others by your example. you challenge us in the questions you ask and your perspective on life. you are truly a gift from God. we are so lucky that He chose us to be your mommy and daddy. we love you so much!! can't wait to see what you will accomplish this year. happy birthday!!

baylor homecoming is...

2011-11-07T08:32:00.000-06:00

friday night bonfire with family...

o, kk, j, and abby.

jack and pop happy to be together watching the bonfire.

our whole family. not a great picture, but had to include it. :)

early saturday morning snuggled up together at the parade...

so fun that it was cold this year and we could all snuggle together under our baylor blankets waiting for the parade to begin.

sarah, christman, and me. we are waiting for the parade to start too!

photo opts after the parade on the beautiful baylor campus...

our future baylor bear? love this pic. the building behind her are where i spent most of my college days.

our little family.

taking a piece of the parade home with us...

the girls were so excited that they were given a piece of one the winning floats from the parade.

a high-five and picture with bruiser...

the kids always love the chance to talk to bruiser and pose for a pic.

cheering on the bears to another victory at the game...

hate that this one is blurry because it is such a cute one of o and mark.

"sic em BEARS!!!!" says jack with his foam bear claw. thanks pop for the bear claw.

baylor homecoming is one of the most fun weekends of the fall for our family. we love seeing friends from our college days, running to familiar faces everywhere we go in waco, and we LOVE make lasting memories with our bowlin/fifer family.

let the birthday celebration for 6 year old olivia begin...

2011-11-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

because birthdays are a BIG deal around here there will be multiple posts to capture how we celebrated our olivia this year. she is loved by many and spoiled by all of them, especially on her special day.

two days before her real birthday, olivia got a big package in the mail. it was from her b and pop and her first exciting birthday gift. it was something she has been asking for a long time. she was THRILLED when she opened the box and saw the red american girl box. inside the box was this...

a bed for her AG doll, emily!! every night since opening this gift o gets emily dressed in her pajamas and tucks her into her bed right before she hops in hers. so cute!!

then, the next day (one day before the real birthday) nana came over with olivia's gift from gramps and nana. this one required some assembly, so nana and i worked all afternoon so olivia would be surprised when she came home from school. we didn't meet our deadline, but olivia was very patient and waited for about 30 minutes after coming home and then she walked in her room to find this...

a desk in her room!!! complete with tons of new markers, colored pencils, crayons, and a cool magnetic board to display her work. she LOVED it and she and nana immediately started creating a piece of art.

see what i mean! it is not even her birthday yet, and already she has everything she could ask for and feels so special. up next, birthday DAY!!!

trick or treat...

2011-10-31T23:20:00.000-05:00

that is about all we did to celebrate halloween this year. now that the kids are getting older, o is in kindergarten, we don't have our playgroup get togethers AND o caught a yucky stomach bug on october 30 so she didn't get to go to our church's pumpkin bash or go to school on halloween, halloween night was the ONLY time we put on costumes and got all dressed up. luckily, o was back to her sweet self and was able to trick-or-treat that night. we headed over to the fifer's house to spend the evening with abby and kk (rara and christman too!). it was lots of fun and i was glad we were able to dress up at least once and snap some pictures!!

my darling ladybug and ferocious dinosaur.

did you know that a cowgirl and a ladybug could be bffs?

the crew before meeting up with boys next door and heading out to fill our pumpkins.

these two sure love to be together. the biggest and littlest.

"trick-or-treat"

happy halloween!!!!

my gram millie...

2011-10-27T15:51:00.000-05:00

is no longer a lunch date or phone call away, and that breaks my heart when i really think about how deeply i will miss her always being here for me. but i was privileged and so blessed to have had so many years with her and now she is with jesus and that is really something to celebrate. we shared a very close and special relationship. i will never forget the many ways she influenced who i am today-- love friends like family, treat yourself to a new outfit from time to time, stand up for what your are passionate about, and be generous with your life, love, resources, and talents. tuesday morning she passed away and tomorrow we will celebrate her life at her memorial service.

i love you gram!!

On October 25, 2011 we lost a strong, fun, feisty, and lovedmember of our close family. Mildred “Millie” Terrabassi passed away tocongestive heart disease after 95 years of caring for every one of us. “I am soblessed to have been loved so truly and so deeply.” These simple words by hergranddaughter, Stephanie, encompass how Millie lived each and every day of herlife. The love she showed to each individual person in her life brought warmthto the hearts of everyone who knew her.

Mildred Terrabassi was born August 29, 1916 in Kingston,Nova Scotia. From an early age, however, if you called her by her given nameshe would quickly correct you. “The name is Millie,” she would say. She madeher opinions clear and was not ashamed to tell you, and show you, the thingsshe cared mostly deeply about: her family, her faith, beautiful clothes,crunchy Cheetos, peanut M&Ms, giving generous gifts, toasted sandwiches, andfashion advise.

Millie’s love for her family went beyond the typical familyrelationship. Every member of her family felt profoundly special to her. After acommon family get together, each personwould leave with a token of how important they were to her life. Her son in-law,Mike, would walk away smelling of White Diamonds perfume and feeling like hewas the best “white” pizza maker in the world, the way she lavished over it.Her granddaughter, Stephanie, would walk away with the feeling she had justspent time with her best friend, someone who had been by her side and lovedevery important moment in her life. Her great-grandson, Jack, would leave withred lipstick all over his smiling face and a lollipop in hand that he foundtucked away in Gram Millie’s purse… saved just for him. Hergreat-granddaughter, Olivia, would leave feeling like the most beautiful girlin the world, because that is what she was told by Gram Millie every day. Shewould have the prettiest dress tucked under her arm and a matching bow alreadyin her hair. Her grandson, Sean, would leave knowing it wouldn’t be long beforeMillie called his phone, wanting to know how his day went. Even though he justleft her, she wanted to keep up with every aspect of his life. Her daughter,Nancy, would leave knowing the strength her mother showed everyone else waspassed down especially to her, a legacy she will always cherish.

Millie leaves her loved ones behind to join her husband,Terry, of 67 years and her son, Bobby, in God’s kingdom. While missed greatly,she will never be forgotten as the memories, the unconditional love, thelipstick stains, and the scent of her perfume will linger for a lifetime.

state fair highlights...

2011-10-13T23:04:00.000-05:00

our trips to the state fair are becoming some what predicable, but they are still so much fun!! this year we went with b & pop (we missed the fifers-- sniff, sniff) and headed down to the fair grounds one afternoon right after we picked up o from school. the weather was perfect, the crowds were small, and the corny dogs were delicious. here are the highlights from our trip to "the great state fair of texas" (that is what olivia calls it!!)

o's first choice at the midway- generic dumbo ride. she loved it just as much as she did in disneyworld. :)

next up-- o and j in the miller lite bumper cars. this pic was before the ride really began. once it started they were both giggling and laughing the entire time.

the guys rode the log ride- jack, mark, and pop. olivia is not a fan so b, olivia, and i just watched and took pictures. :)

finally time to eat!! pop and o enjoying their corny dogs soon followed by the best cinnamon roll ever!! later a fried moon pie for mark and a carmel apple for me. i am pretty sure the kids ate something else too, i can't remember.

no trip to the fair is complete without a picture in front of big tex. say "howdy!!"

our car-loving jack could not get enough of the car show. o loved climbing in and out of the cars too. what is it about being a kid and pretending to drive that is soooo much fun?

then off to owen's farm to feed the animals. always a highlight for the kids. i just hate the smell and feel so dirty when we are done. :)

and of course we had to go on trip to the "little hands farm." the kids worked hard on the farm-- picking fruit, milking the cow, feeding the animals, and planting some seeds.

after all that we headed back to the kiddie midway to spend the rest of our coupons on a few more rides then we waved good-bye to the big ferris wheel, said "see ya next year!" to big tex and headed home.

celebrating baby w...

2011-09-27T22:37:00.000-05:00

my best friend stacie is expecting her first little baby girl in early december. i could not be more excited to meet this sweet little one and watch stacie become the most wonderful mommy ever!! this past weekend several of her close friends hosted a baby shower in her honor. since stac is a teacher and her mom is one of the most talented educators i have ever known, we thought a book themed baby shower would be a perfect way to celebrate baby and mommy-to-be. i was lucky enough to host the party at my house, but each of these ladies played a HUGE role in making the shower a success...

allison, cathrine, me, stacie, erin, kandy, and kristy

here are some of the little details from this special afternoon...

the food table-yummy! all our food coordinated with a children's book. jamberry cheese dip, chicka chicka boom chicken salad, the very hungry caterpillar fruit salad, tops&bottoms veggie tray and salad, and we didn't forget dessert- pecan bars and pinkalicious cupcakes.

fancy nancy beverage table (beverage is the fancy word for drinks) :) and my favorite detail- the bookmark and book garland. we had this strung in several places throughout the house.

here is a close up of the garland. we gave the bookmarks as favors to all our guests.

each of the guests wrote their wishes for baby w and we made them into a little keepsake book. i loved reading everyone's wishes. they were sweet, creative, and some were hilarious. :)

everyone was very generous and gave stacie such wonderful, heartfelt, and practical gifts to help her prepare for baby w's arrival.

and each guest also brought a book in place of a card to build baby w's home library. we hope that she will enjoy these books for years to come.

it was such an honor for me to apart of this special day for stacie. she has been a loyal and faithful friend for more than 10 years- attending more showers for me than i can count. :) i hope that she felt loved, supported, and celebrated. now we wait... and pray for baby w to make her way into the world.

happy baby shower stac!! i hope you are preparing little waddell for how much her auntie steph loves her and will want to hold her. love you sweet friend!!

go team lyon!!

2011-09-18T22:01:00.000-05:00

in case you were wondering... the soccer season is going great!! o is loving her soccer friends, has scored a few goals, and looks ADORABLE in her game day uniform. here are a few pictures from the first couple of games. go team lyon!!!

olivia, liza, and kingsley- sweet friends!

getting a little pep talk and game plan from coach john.

love this one of olivia and ava encouraging each other with a "5."

action shot of o kicking the ball. good form, right?

and this is the priceless look of o coming off the field after scoring her first goal- proud and a little embarrassed with all her cheering fans. :)

jack @ the gym...

2011-09-12T23:31:00.001-05:00

now that olivia is in school and her activity (soccer) is in the evening, it has freed up some time during the day for jack to have some fun when he is not at preschool. the sad truth is, olivia and her interests have been our priority for the at least the last year or two, so now it's time for jack. sure jack and i did little gym when he was teeny, but it has been a while since he took a class. he just turned 3 and we (our family) are not ready for the commitment that comes with team sports,(weekly practices and games AND equipment) soooo gymnastics it is!! sure it is not the most manly of sports, and mark gave me "that look" when i suggested it, but it is once a week, for one hour, in an climate controlled building, AND my/his friends are there too!! we went to a trail class today to see if he was going to like it... and he LOVED it!!

stretching and doing a great job listening to his coach.

all smiles and very proud of himself at the end of the class, about to get TWO stamps for a job well done!

the class was great. his teacher was very sweet and encouraging. jack has already told olivia all about his class and is asking me when he gets to go back. yay!! :) sooo, monday mornings you'll find jack @ the gym.

jack's first day of preschool...

2011-09-07T23:45:00.000-05:00

was great!! sadly, i don't have many pictures to document the morning... jack is not into pictures at all right now.

this was what he did when i asked him to pose for a picture before leaving for school. :(

with a little bit of bribery... i got this!! :)

then we found his hook and he proudly hung up his backpack, and decided his napmat needed to go on the ground.

and finally it was time for him to go into his class. he was greeted by his sweet teacher, ms. wilson and she told him to find his name and put his lunchbox in its special spot. he gave me a quick wave good-bye and then was off to follow ms. wilson's instructions.

before i knew it the hours had passed and it was time to pick him up. he came running to the door with a big grin on his face and couldn't wait to tell me about all the fun he had. that made me smile! once again, i am so thankful for loving teachers and a smooth transition to the start of another school year. jack is going to have a wonderful year as a REAL preschooler.

jack's turn...

2011-09-01T18:00:00.000-05:00

for the back to school activities to begin! he has been asking everyday since o started kindergarten when he gets to start school. i am as pleased as he is to say that TUESDAY is his first day. i have loved spending time with him these last two weeks, but it will be good for both of us to have two days a week where we get a little time apart. :) and school is so great for him- structure, socialization, art, music, gross-motor, etc. today we went to meet his teachers and explore his new classroom before the official first day.

it was a little strange to walk into this familiar place and only have ONE preschooler holding my hand, having only ONE classroom to visit, and ONE set of teachers to meet and greet. each day it hits me in a different way, i have a KINDERGARTENER and a PRESCHOOLER. i am now split between two schools- two worlds- elementary (the real world) and preschool. :)

he has two very sweet teachers- ms. wilson and ms. taylor. kk had these two ladies as her 3 year old preschool teachers and LOVED them. jack thinks it is really fun that he and kk will have had the same teachers. :) he was very shy and timid at first, hiding behind my legs and squeezing my hand. soon enough he was feeling comfortable and started playing and looking around his new classroom!! he only let me take one picture...

i'm hoping for one with his teachers the first day of school, but not setting my expectations too high. :)

we are looking forward to a great year- jack's first year in preschool! (it's officially called preschool now, not mothers-day-out.)

another first...soccer!

2011-08-30T08:35:00.000-05:00

olivia decided trade in her ballet and tap shoes for soccer cleats this semester. her big cousin abby plays soccer, kk was going to play, so it is only natural that olivia wanted to give it a try too! we had our first soccer practice and she LOVED it!!

there is a super talented and sweet mom i am naming our official "team photographer." she has an amazing camera and loves taking pics of the girls. here are a few of the pics she took from our first practice...

listening to uncle, i mean, coach christman! :)

most of her team, team LYON!! ava left before the picture was taken. :(

there is a perfect mix of new and old friends!!

see she loves it!! she needs some practice, but we were so proud of her for listening to her coaches and trying very hard through the whole practice. o is my child who doesn't love to sweat, be hot, or run too much- all things required for soccer, so i could not be more shocked by her enthusiasm and smiles in these pictures. i am so thrilled that she is loving it. there are so many benefits to soccer- learning to play on a team, new friendships, a fun way to get some exercise, and spending time with kk, just to name a few!!

here's hoping that the rest of the season goes as great as the first practice. go team LYON!!

the first day...

2011-08-22T21:29:00.000-05:00

of kindergarten was FANTASTIC!!

here is our sweet kindergartener ready to walk to school...

she was so excited to get to school and begin this new chapter in her life. i was so thankful she was full of smiles. such an answer to my prayers!!

we arrived at her school, posed for a few more pictures...

in front of the school. (i hope to take this pic every year. she looks so small now, that will change.)

then after a short walk from being greeted by the principal to her class it started to hit me-- this is really happening!! she is going to be in school 5 days a week, all day!! oh my!!

she was thrilled to see her teacher and even let me take ANOTHER picture.

o & ms. pattillo. isn't she darling? the teacher and o. :)

she found the perfect hook for her backpack, found her name tag, and then her spot on the carpet, and diligently began reading at the books waiting for her. such a good student!!

as we waved good-bye one last time and walked out of the building, i have to admit, i was a little teary-eyed. a bit unexpected from me, and i continued to fight some tears as we walked home. i just can't believe that she is almost 6 years old and in kindergarten!!

i wondered all day what she was doing? is she was meeting friends? did she like her lunch? will she want to go back tomorrow?

when i greeted her after school, she was still full of smiles and stories from the day!! success!!

after school, we had a date with the fifer girls and all the grandparents at mcdonalds for ice cream and to tell everyone about the first day. the kids were more interested in the ice cream and playing, but their faces lit up to see all the grandparents there to give them hugs and smiles.

at home i made a special "first day of kindergarten dinner" for her. she had picked the menu a few days ago (spaghetti & meatballs, ceasar salad AND fruit salad, bread, and chocolate pudding), but i surprised her with a few (last-minute) decorations to make dinner feel extra special. :)

i am so thankful that day one was a success from every aspect. i am humbled that the lord gave me the gift of this sweet little girl to love and experience life with day after day. i am reminded that he gave me this gift with the promise that he is there at each step of the way, always watching over her. he is always near. thank you god for your indescribable gift and your faithfulness, unending love, protection, and hearing my prayers.

daddy day in oak cliff...

2011-08-20T20:43:00.001-05:00

saturday is referred to as "daddy day" at our house. sadly, it is the only day of the week that we have a long, uninterrupted time with daddy. weekends that we are in town or don't have plans (which seems to be just a few) we try to do something fun, just our little family. today after olivia got her back-to-school haircut (shout out, missy!!) we loaded up and daddy took us down to his new favorite spot in dallas- oak cliff! yep, mark is officially in love with this part of town. he has a new business venture in this part of the city so he spends several hours a week down there and comes home raving about "the best cup of coffee" he has ever had or the "neat ambiance" and one of the many fantastic restaurants he has discovered.

we arrived on the streets of the bishop arts district around 11:00 am, and although we were all pretty hungry our spot for lunch wasn't open yet sooo, we walked in and out of the quaint little boutiques and ended up at the soda gallery...

this place was filled with nostalgic candy and every kind of bottled soda you can imagine! the kids shared a bottle of orange crush. mark chose a yummy grape soda. and i picked vernor's (ginger ale from my childhood in michigan, mmmmmmm!)

we had finally killed enough time and eno's was open!! we walked across the street to this italian kitchen.

everything on the menu looked delish and everyone was smiling when our food arrived at our table. every bite i put in my mouth was great!!

we were stuffed from lunch, but we had walked by this place...

dude, sweet chocolate

and thought it seemed like the perfect spot to grab something sweet.

the kids got these homemade marshmallows that were super tasty. can you tell o thought they were good?

we ended our trip at urban acres market store. it is a local, organic farm to market store with coolers filled with farm fresh eggs, milk, and cheese, bins overflowing with organic peaches, plums, oranges, and tons of veggies, plus freezers stocked with grass-fed beef, farm-raised chicken, and shelves lined with a great variety of gluten-free products.

our good friends own this business and mark has joined them in this business venture. you should should check it out if you are into local and organic food. :) we picked up a few things and can't wait to enjoy them this week.

what a great day!! can't wait for our next oak cliff experience. i am certain it will be more good food and great times with my little family. :)

vegas vacay...

2011-08-17T16:50:00.003-05:00

mark and i just got back from a fun little get-a-way to las vegas!! it was such a treat to have time away and have uninterrupted time to talk and spend time together. we celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary early this summer (june 23) so we used that as our excuse to plan a vacation for just the two of us. it was a really great trip. again, i didn't take many pictures, but at least i have a couple to remember our trip.

mark in front of our hotel, aria. beautiful wall of water.

i was obsessed with the BEAUTIFUL hydrangeas at the bellagio. they are my favorite flower and were gorgeous there.

frog singing "what a wonderful world" at the wynn.

my new favorite activity in vegas- BINGO!! i recognize this makes me an old crazy lady, but i loved it. mark was sweet enough to play with me. he liked it too, i think! :)

just one picture to represent the AMAZING food that we had while we were there. this won my vote for the "best presentation" for dessert. funnel cakes with delish dipping sauces. yummmmmm!!

while we were away the kids had their own vacation staying with all of their favorite people- b and pop, chrissie, the fifers, and ending the week with nana and gramps. i am so thankful for a family that loves being with our kids and is willing to have them so mark and i can get away.

a summer recap...

2011-08-08T16:16:00.000-05:00

so i have been terrible this summer about taking pictures and keeping up with the blog, SOOO i am going to post some pretty terrible iPhone pics and try to do a quick recap to "catch up" on the blog. here we go...

after VBS in early june and our trip to north carolina the rest of the summer went a little somethin' like this...

olivia went to art camp and cheer camp with kingsley. she loved them both!!

o at art camp. terrible pic, i know.

(long story about why i don't have cheer camp pics, but it involves traffic and jack throwing up everywhere in the car!!! my sweet sis-in-law took pics for me, but i don't have those on my computer yet. :))

we spent fourth of july at the lake with the bowlins, but one of the highlights for the weekend was we all (blanchettes, bowlins, and fifers) met to see cars 2.

my dad and rara really wanted to see the movie with jack, so the only logical solution was to all go together. jack LOVED the movie and i think the rest of enjoyed it as well. it was a fun afternoon.

the other BIG news of the weekend was olivia trying to do the kneeboard and being super brave!! she is still working on it, but i am so proud that she keeps trying!!

we spent time with b and pop at their house and had a few bubble baths in their "jet tub."

we started updating our kitchen. that was a large part of my july. (more on that later) i spent lots of time looking at paint, tile, and granite.

i was able to use my creative side and make a few decorations for a special baby shower.

there were a few pedicures scattered in as well. olivia might love a pedicure as much as her mommy. :0) kk loves them too!

and of course we swam a ton! it seemed like the only thing to do to beat the heat and the kids LOVE it!!

so that about sums up the summer. it has been fun, hot, at times frustrating, but overall it been a good summer. we have been able to spend time with friends, have lazy days at home, time where the o and j play together or fight together, and special days filled with laughter and memories. yay for summer 2011! can't believe it is about to be over. :(

a north carolina retreat...

2011-06-28T15:27:00.000-05:00

we all (my little family of 4 and blanchette family- mom, dad, sean) traveled to north carolina for a little retreat with some great friends that are like family to us. the cattels are the greatest group of people in the whole world. they are all super fun, the best host when you spend an entire week with them, and you just feel good when you are surrounded by them. this visit to north carolina we spent our time here...

the house

the view

the private beach

at their BEAUTIFUL lakehouse about an hour or so from their house in raliegh.

it was the perfect spot to relax for a week, while laughing and catching up with dear friends.

the kids and i traveled with my mom and brother, then a few days later my dad and mark joined the fun. (dad and mark had to work a few extra days in the office.) the kids loved being with uncle sean- they always do. and they really loved rolling their new suitcases through the airport like grown-ups. thank you nana for those!! :)

once we arrived in north carolina we immediately loaded up the cars and headed to the lakehouse. jack and i got to ride with my "baby bff," kristen and her baby jack. (yes, we both have jacks.) her jack cried most of the trip because my jack was scaring him. :( baby jack was not used to having a big boy in the backseat with him. ha! :) and my jack was potty training and so i think we pulled the car over at least 3 times for jack. it was eventful and hilarious. between all that we did manage to have some great conversation too. i sure love her!!

we quickly settled into the house and then it was a week filled with...

smiles...

a ton of playing in the lake...

o and j playing on the beach. they did this for hours each day.

mommy and jack tubing. he loved it and so did i!

sean and aunt cheryl, just looking happy!

several bocce ball games...

spending time with best friends

uncle gary and dad- best buds!!

playing with baby jack (olivia's favorite)...

cute "baby jack"

some boat rides...

early morning fishing trips...

my dad

uncle gary with his catch of the day

roasting marshmallows...

and eating some really great food, thanks to chef sean and his amazing culinary skills. (sorry no pictures, but trust me it was some good eatin'.)

it was a really great week. i loved that it was so comfortable (the people and the space), everything moved at a slower pace, and i was constantly surrounded by love. to me it was a perfect vacation.

mickey mouse birthday bash...

2011-06-06T12:37:00.007-05:00

was this past saturday to celebrate jack's 3rd birthday with friends and family. like last year, we had our birthday bash with one of his besties, mckenzie. it was a great day at the spraypark and there where lots of friends to play and celebrate with. jack had a blast and hope everyone who was able to come had fun too!! here is the birthday party in pictures...

the birthday girl and boy!

our little family!

cupcakes! (there was other food too, but these are the most important!!)

mickey buckets for everyone to play with in the water.

the birthday boy having so much fun running through the water.

a little bit of chaos!

friends big and small!! :)

birthday wishes!

some super cute towels to dry off! thanks moonbeam for the shirts and towels. :)

party favors! (choice of: mickey beach balls, sunglasses, or bubbles)

and then it was back to b and pop's house to open gifts with just the family. my favorite wrapping job was done by olivia...

she worked so hard decorating this bag with jack doing all of his favorite things- playing sports and driving a car. so cute and thoughtful!

the CARS at northpark...

2011-06-06T11:51:00.003-05:00

were super exciting!! BUT we only got this close...

because the rest of dallas was just as excited as jack was to have an up close encounter with these famous guys- lightening mcqueen, mater, and the new star: finn.

it was my mom's FABULOUS idea and i just knew it was going to be so much fun, but with the heat and the forever long line, the kids looked like this after waiting only about 15 minutes...

so we opted to sneak one more peek from behind the rope, waved good-bye, and in jack's words said, "see you in the movies!" and left.

it wasn't exactly what mom and i had imagined, but it wasn't a complete disaster either. oh well!

memorial weekend...

2011-05-31T21:39:00.004-05:00

was relaxing, reflective (for me), and wonderful. we spent lots of time at the lake with my family (the blanchettes- the whole clan) eating, cooking, laughing, swimming, and just loving being together.

***many thanks to cecily for the the pictures of my kiddos. i love them. :)***

and i was convicted time and time again throughout the weekend of the incredible gratitude i have for the brave and courageous men and women who serve in our military.

i tried to explain to these two precious children how we are to be grateful for those that have served in the past, like their great grandfathers in world war 2 and their gramps in vietnam. i hope they respect and remember those that have died in combat protecting our country and our freedom. i told olivia how we don't even know them but their indescribable sacrifice needs to be remembered and honored. and i hope they learned that we are to be grateful for those that are serving and protecting us right now.

happy memorial day!!

jack's REAL birthday day...

2011-05-25T08:01:00.006-05:00

was so much fun!! we celebrated our big 3 year old boy with just our little family on saturday, his real birthday. jack picked the agenda, but we all had a fun day.

our birthday boy. 3 years old!

the day started at krispy kreme donuts. jack LOVES sweets, so donuts for breakfast are a favorite for him. he also loves machines, so watching the donuts being made on the krispy kreme assembly line machine makes this extra special. we had a fun morning at the donut shop.

jack with a glaze mustache and daddy being silly wearing the hat.

j and o looking cute in their hats.

while we were there we planned our next stop. since jack received a toys r us gift card from uncle mark, (thanks uncle mark!) we decided that we should stop by toys r us and pick out a new toy. after about 45 minutes of walking the aisles and pondering what to choose, jack and mark ended up with a new train set. i say jack and mark because i think mark might be just as excited about the purchase.

then it was time to head to the mall. a few weeks ago jack and i were at the mall running some errands and as a reward i let him go into the disney store for a few minutes. while we were playing in the store he discovered their "build a car" section of the store. he wanted to build one that day, but i suggested that we come back on his birthday. well he did not stop asking about building his own car, so today was the BIG day. he had lots of fun picking out which car body he wanted-- lightening mcqueen, of course.

then he chose the tires and rims and put those together.

finally it was time for the power tools. he was so excited to screw the chassis into place. (i did not even know this word until saturday. it is basically the "insides" of the car.) he got the whole thing together and was so proud until he realized that it had no power. we were trying to save a few dollars and not do the remote control version. jack was not pleased with this decision. we were suckered into changing it out for the remote control version, so we got to build the car all over again. that was fun for jack!!

then it was time to try to it out. it was fun and fast. he was a very happy boy!!

and of course we had to get at least one family picture...

while we were in the disney store jack got another surprise. our helper gave him a happy birthday button and then asked us to go into the center of the store. they put jack's name up on the screen and everyone in the store wished him a happy birthday. it was so fun!! i love that disney is all about the little details. jack was a little overwhelmed and nervous with all the attention, but i know he felt special. :)

it was lunch time after our disney store adventure so we went up to the food court and had a little lunch before heading home for a good afternoon nap.

it was a great day celebrating our jack-jack. he gets funnier everyday and always keeps us laughing. i can't believe he is 3!!! happy birthday sweet boy!! we love you! mommy, daddy, and olivia

olivia's last days at ccdc...

2011-05-24T17:07:00.005-05:00

were so sweet!! it has been the perfect preschool for her. i feel like god answered my prayers when olivia was given a spot in the baby room 5 years ago. ms. stacy and ms. sharon cared for her in the sweetest ways. they encouraged her to crawl and even walk that year. then she moved up to the toddler 1 class. ms. pam and ms. melissa always had a fun story to share about how olivia talked all day and made them smile. her first year of "real" preschool brought ms. anderson and ms. lacy into our lives. they made learning so much fun! you never really knew what crazy hat they would be wearing or what the room was going to be transformed into for the week. they also loved olivia for exactly who she was. her 3 year old preschool year we were once again blessed. ms. cavenaugh and ms. goreshi gave olivia the perfect environment for her to gain a passion for learning and school. they also taught her so much about jesus through the songs they sang, and stories they shared, and their example. and that brings me to this year's teachers- ms. clark and ms. bosch. these ladies are so special and that is exactly how they make olivia feel, like she is the most important student in the class. her days this year have begun and ended with GIANT hugs and smiles from each of them. ms. clark has challenged olivia in all the right ways and encouraged her to be the child god created her to be. ms. bosch has connected with olivia and her love for learning. i know she has spent so much time nurturing her. this little school has the most encouraging and loving staff. each of olivia's teachers have been such a blessing and helped shape her love of learning and the little girl that she has become.

on tuesday of last week we (the parents and families) were invited to a celebration. olivia and all the 4 year olds sang several of their favorite songs they have learned through their years at ccdc. olivia LOVES being on the stage and singing, even though she gets nervous. :)

then after the singing and dancing, each child was called up to get their award and a cross necklace for completing preschool. they don't really call it graduation, but i guess that is what it was.

waiting nervously for her name to be called.

she walked so fast that we didn't get a picture of the award or necklace exchange. :)

the fun then moved out to the courtyard where we had a big family picnic with all of her friends from her class, their families, and of course ms. clark and ms. bosch.

o and ms. clark

o and ms. bosch

it was a special day. the last two days (wednesday and thursday) were filled with lots of fun and soaking in all the friendship, laughter, and love that olivia has experienced over the last several years.

i was really fine on the last day. no tears or anything. i credit this to several different things. first, jack is going to be there again in the fall so i don't really feel like i am closing this chapter completely, yet!! i am a super slow processor. it will probably hit me in about a month the reality that olivia is going to school 5 days a week and we are moving from one "stage" of life to another. and finally, she is so excited and ready for kindergarten!! i know she is going to LOVE it!!

so another milestone is met, this one like so many of the others, with joy in my heart and gratitude that i have been given the priviledge to be called mommy by this special little girl and get to experience all that her life is right along side of her.

cousin love...

2011-05-09T07:23:00.001-05:00

"To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there. "

~Barbara Bush

mother's day...

2011-05-08T23:00:00.000-05:00

mother's day was a special day for me and for the multiple generations of great mothers that i celebrate on this day.

the day began as most sundays do at our house, mark wakes up SUPER early and gets ready to go to church to begin band rehearsal at 7:00 am. he usually leaves the house around 6:45. later the kids and i make our way out of bed and start getting ready for church too. while we were in the middle of our "typical sunday morning routine" my first surprise of the day-- mark came home with breakfast tacos for everyone!! yummy! then surprise number 2-- he stayed home and helped get the kids ready for church and we all rode in ONE car to church!!! i know this doesn't seem like a big deal, but this was the best gift for me. thanks babe!! before we all got in the car he took a few pictures with kids and i. yay for surprise number 3!! i never think to take pictures WITH my kids. :)

then after church we {our little fam of 4} had a lovely brunch/lunch on the patio. it was a perfect sunny afternoon and so relaxing. the food was pretty good too. i loved being together with all my favorite people. surprise number 4!! (sorry no pictures!)

then we were off to celebrate with my family for the evening. we had a low-key afternoon hanging around the house and then about 4:30 the grandmothers arrived. olivia and jack played in the pool, we sat around and chatted, and the guys {my dad, mark, and my brother} made dinner. i am pretty sure my mom helped with the meal too, but the guys did most of the work.

me, gram lois, gram millie, and mom

my mom and her mom. (i love this picture and all that it represents to me.)

olivia and uncle sean. (just a cute pic of them after o got out of the pool.)

we sat down and enjoyed the yummy lasagna dinner around the big dinning room table. we thanked god for the His many blessing especially the moms sitting around the table. there were 4 of us- me, my mom, my dad's mom, and my mom's mom. i am so blessed to have each of these woman in my life. each of their examples have played a HUGE part in the woman that i am today and especially the mother that i am to my children. what an honor to have them in my life and to celebrate with them today. after dinner there was dessert and a few gifts exchanged to each of the mom's around the table.

what a great day! after we got to my parents house, i stopped counting the number of surprises because there were too many. i am so grateful and blessed. :)

i can't end this post without a mention to my mother-in-law, marsha. we did invite her to spend part of the day with us, but she and danny had the chance to go to the maverick's game so it didn't work out. i am so thankful they went because they were able to witness the mavs beat the lakers in a 4 game sweep. it was a great game!! all that to say, my MIL is the BEST!! i truly feel like a daughter to her, not a daughter in -law. she is an incredible mother. i am so grateful to have her wisdom and example as i raise her grandchildren. she always has an encouraging word to give and you always leave her presences knowing that you are deeply loved. i think that was her secret to raising such great children herself. today i thought about her often and celebrate the fantastic woman, mom, and friend that she is to me. love you b!! :)

to all of my friends that are mothers, i hope that you were pampered, loved, and honored today. to those of you who are missing your mom today, i pray that today was not filled with too much sadness and you were able to recognize the numerous ways that she impacted your life and the person you are today.

happy mother's day!!

center stage...

2011-05-07T22:30:00.000-05:00

olivia took to the stage once again for her dance recital. this year she has been in a combo, tap and ballet class, so she was in TWO dances at this year's recital. same costume, just a quick shoe change from pink ballet shoes to shiny black tap shoes. she had a BLAST! it is so much fun to watch her on the stage and feel all the love and support from her BIG ol' family.

she LOVES to get all dressed up in her costume and put on her stage make-up.

it is becoming a tradition that we do make-up and hair with kk at her house and then ride down to the theater together. just another fun memory they get to make together. :)

she and kingsley were getting excited as we entered in the theater for dress rehearsal.

i think it is really neat that they have the recital downtown at the Magestic Theater. it feels so special and very new york inside.

a few of her fan club members waiting for the show to begin.

christman, jack, and abby.

finally time to take the stage to perform.

i love the smirk on her face. so proud, excited, and having fun and yet a little embarrassed all at the same time.

after the show the WHOLE family was waiting for the girls as they came down the stairs. here they are greeting their fans!!

this might have been the best part for them. the pictures do not capture the giggles, smiles, and joy they had at this moment.

and they LOVE all the flowers.

and then we headed off to dinner at mariano's to celebrate our dancing clowns!! such a fun night!!

thank you to...

nana and gramps

b and pop

chrissie

and the rest of the fifer gang for supporting our little dancer and making her feel so special on her big night.

olivia, we love so much and are so proud of you!! your "toothless" smile shined so bright on that stage. it is such a joy to watch you have fun and make such fun memories.

love~ mommy, daddy, and jack

a visit from the tooth fairy...

2011-05-07T07:44:00.004-05:00

well, our not even kindergartener has recently received a visit from the tooth fairy. actually, the tooth fairy has come three times in a little over a month!! i just can't believe how fast the teeth a falling out!!

it all started on spring break when olivia's middle bottom tooth came out while she was eating a granola bar. this one took me completely by surprise. she had been telling me it was loose, but i had no idea it was that loose!!

then about a week ago the top ones started getting really wiggly. of course, she didn't stop touching them so those babies were ready. sunday night she pulled out top tooth number one. :)

the tooth fairy was very generous when she made her visit to take this tooth. $5!!! she was so excited and came running out the next morning to share her loot!!

after the first top tooth was out the other one loosened up very quickly and became a snaggle tooth for a few days. then on thursday morning at school, olivia let her teacher pull it out. 2 front teeth out in less than a week!! the tooth fairy's budget did not have time to recover and left her $2. i thought that was great, but she and daddy were both disappointed. geesh!!

it has been really fun to hit this milestone and relive the excitement of visits from the tooth fairy. this is the beginning of so much transition that is on our horizon. kindergarten in the fall and now her appearance, as well as her attitude, maturing from a little girl to big girl. a part of me wants to be sad and hold on to my little girl, but i know that god has great plans for her and the woman she will one day become, so i am thankful that i get a front row seat and have the opportunity to be apart of her journey.

jack-isms...

2011-05-01T14:17:00.001-05:00

i know wrote a post similar to this about olivia when she was around 18 months old. jack is just now getting his moment (at almost 3 years old), but i guess that comes with the territory of being the second child. ha! :0) my mom mentioned the other day that i needed to blog about the funny things that jack says so that we will not forget them. let me first say that jack says something funny about every hour, so there is no way to record them all, but he has a few "phrases" that he has coined that i never want to forget...

(if you are not family, you probably don't care or think these are nearly as adorable as we do, so feel free to stop reading now.)

"i can't like it!"-- rather than saying "i don't like it." or "no thank you!" jack says "i can't like it!" he has been saying it for quite awhile now. i think gramps might like this phrase the best, he has worked it into his vocabulary, but we all think it is pretty funny.

"la-la"-- his nickname for his sister, olivia. it is so sweet to hear him say it and really he is the only one who calls her that, which i love. olivia has a ton of nicknames which i am sure will start to fade away, but i hope jack never stops calling her "la-la."

"mr. the king"-- the veteran race car from the movie CARS. jack is slightly obsessed with the movie and all things related to CARS. he never leaves home with out a car, preferably lighten mcqueen in hand and knows almost every word of the movie by heart. i thought that all of the characters in the movie referred to this character as "mr. the king" but apparently not! to everyone else, he is "the king" to jack, our little family, and mater (the funny tow truck in the movie) he is mr. the king.

walking backward-- this goes with the obsession of CARS. this is not something that jack says, but rather some he does. he walks backward, like mater (funny tow truck) and quotes a line from the movie, "Ain't no need to watch where I'm goin'; just need to know where I've been."

"clause it!" or "closet!" -- this is used instead of the word "pause" when he is watching a show that he would like for me to pause while he runs to the other room for a moment or comes to the breakfast table in the morning.

"do you LOVE _____?"-- this is a phrase i hear at least 10 times a day. when ever i am doing something jack walks into the room and asks, "do you love making the bed mommy?" "do you love holding me?" "do you love driving your car?" "do you love cooking dinner for us?" i don't have any idea where he got this, i am sure i say it and don't realize it, but i know i don't say it that often and not for doing chores!! it is sweet that he is always concerned about how i am feeling about things. :)

"squareheads"-- probably the newest jack-ism, discovered just days ago while he was having a snack at nana's house. she was giving him quaker oatmeal square cereal. after finishing his portion he looked at nana and said, "nana, can i please have some more of those squareheads?" now he refers to all square shaped cereal as "squareheads."

i know there are more, but those are the ones that i have thought of for the moment. as i write this i am so thankful for the joy, energy, sense of humor, and the happiness that jack brings to our family. thank you god for allowing us the gift of having him in our lives and to watch him grow.

easter sunday...

2011-04-24T22:03:00.000-05:00

was packed full of church, family, food, easter baskets, and egg hunts OH and a few pictures to capture and remember all the fun we had!! here is our easter sunday...

easter baskets before church...

celebrating our risen KING, SAVIOR, and LORD at church with our family plus nana...

our little family

olivia, nana, and jack. we LOVE that we get to see nana at church on sunday mornings now.

then it was off to b and pop's house to celebrate with the bowlins and fifers. lots of fried chicken, easter baskets, sweet cousin pictures, and an easter egg hunt in the backyard. a really great afternoon...

uncle christman and jack. pop is back there too!

after the egg hunt picture. you can't tell but they had full baskets.

sweet cousins dressed up in their easter best.

the fun wasn't over yet! we loaded up and drove out to allen to celebrate that evening with the blanchettes. we had more yummy food. more family! more easter basket surprises! and one more egg hunt!

olivia and gram lois.

gram millie and olivia.

olivia with her third basket full of easter eggs for the day. she was LOVING it!!

jack and nana counting and checking out all his eggs.

what a wonderful day filled with so many reasons to be thankful. most of all i am humbled and grateful to know Jesus Christ personally. i am so grateful He desired to have a relationship with me so He lived a perfect and sinless life on earth, died on a cross, was buried, and rose again so that i might have life abundantly and eternally with Him. HE is what today is really all about and the reason we celebrate. to HIM be the glory and honor for all that He has done and for all the blessings He pours out to us. hope you and your family had a special day celebrating today. happy easter!!

introducing...

2011-04-17T17:04:00.001-05:00

my newest favorite thing...

my new iMac!!!!!

she doesn't have a name yet, but i love her all the same. my last computer was "honey." she was named after my favorite type of apples- honeycrisp. i'll let you know when i have given her a proper name, but until then you (mom and uncle mark- the only two people who are still actually reading this) can read all the new blog post i have been writing to try and catch up.

oh, and if you have any name suggestions, i'd love to hear them.

in and out again!

2011-04-13T17:16:00.001-05:00

poor little jack had to have surgery again!! in october 2009 jack had ear tubes put in and his adenoids taken out. that was a successful surgery, but since then the tubes in his ears fell out the fluid in his ears has returned. :( his ent has been monitoring the situation for a while and feels that it would be best for jack to have a second set of tubes put in his ears. this will allow him to get off of the medication he takes on a daily basis as well as allow him to hear more clearly (the fluid was minimally affecting his hearing). during our last visit to the ent, right before scheduling the surgery, she mentioned that she thought his adenoids had enlarged again as well. so those have to come out too! that all happened about a week ago, and today was the day for surgery.

we woke jack up early this morning, put him in some cute jammies and headed for the surgery center. he had no clue what was about to happen and was loving the waiting room filled with toys, places to climb, and movies to watch.

soon we were called back to see the doctor and meet with the anaesthesiologist. after a brief meeting with each, answering the same series of questions about 5 different times, they brought jack in the "silly juice." within minutes he was "drunk" and very relaxed. hilarious!! :)

dr. coffey, his ent came in and carried him back to the operating room. about 30 minutes later she came back and told us everything went perfect and that jack did a great job. relief! a few minutes later we were able to go recovery to see him and hold him. relief again!

jack did so great coming out of the anesthetic this time, so it was not long before they were pulling out the iv and we were loading up to come home. nana was waiting for us (she took olivia to school for us). jack was happy to see her and i was happy she was willing to stay for the day and help me catch up on laundry and organize a few things around the house.

we are thankful that jack did so well in surgery and hopeful that this will make him stay healthy for a long time! we go back soon for a follow up visit and expect a good report!!

once again, we were in and out of the surgery center in a few hours AND and jack has new tubes IN and the adenoids are OUT!!

a budding artist...

2011-04-06T17:00:00.000-05:00

if you were to ask olivia on ALMOST any given day what she wants to be when she grows up, she will say she wants to be an artist. she always reminds me that the special gift god gave her was to be a really great artist! i couldn't agree more. :)

last week at school her class has been learning about all different famous artist while they have been studying the letter A. while learning about these artist they have been creating their own masterpieces. the parents were invited to an "art walk" at the end of the school day to see all of the art on display. it was so neat to see olivia's art. she was so proud to show off her work.

i don't remember all the artist they studied. clearly, i don't have a true appreciation for REAL art, but i am a HUGE fan of olivia bowlin!! here are a few of her masterpieces...

not sure which one is hers, but she said this one was really fun to make.

this is a monster! made with watercolors and crayons.

olivia's most favorite medium to create art- markers and plain white paper. the girl LOVES to draw. these were some of the pieces she was most proud of.

i loved comparing olivia's piece to the other students in her class. it fits her personality perfectly. her art is very organized and the only one like it on the whole wall.

disney on ice, toy story 3 style...

2011-04-01T16:31:00.006-05:00

was so much fun!! both of the kids love toy story (it is the best gender neutral movie ever) and so i was pretty sure they would love this live show on ice. pulling in the parking lot at the american airlines center always means that fun is waiting inside. the kids are fortunate to have seen the circus, a past disney on ice show, and some basketball games there.

nana decided that she wanted to go and see the look on jack's face as he saw woody, jessy, bullseye, and the rest of the crew skate right in front of him. his reaction did not disappoint. he was pointing and yelling in excitement for most of the show.

we watched the show with friends sitting on all sides of us...

mickey and minnie opened the show. who doesn't get excited when they see mickey and minnie and all their friends- goofy, donald, etc. ...

jack's favorite part was the "evil zerg shooting at rex and buzz saving rex."

olivia thought ken and barbie's skating was the best! they did some impressive tricks.

i always laugh at spanish buzz and ken's fashion show.

friend heather organizes ordering masses of tickets so we can see fun shows like this when they come to town for a super discounted price AND go during the day. she is the best!! it was a great day and an event my kids are still talking about. :)

daddy daughter donut date...

2011-03-31T19:00:00.000-05:00

olivia made daddy this very fashionable invitation to a very special event at her school-- donuts with dads. notice the rainbow colored tie daddy is sporting. the invitation is glued to the back!:)

olivia is always thrilled to have a special date with her daddy (yes, they do it often), but she was SUPER DUPER excited about this one because she was the one doing the inviting. :) she also loved that daddy was going to get to take her to school, meet her friends, see her classroom, and meet her teachers. sounds exciting, right! :) the few details i got from the morning go as follows-

olivia's version: "mommy, we ate donuts and drank juice. i got a plain one and daddy gave me water, not juice. daddy had a donut too. we sat by kk and christman."

mark's version- "it was good. we ate donuts and had juice. then olivia showed me her art work. she is the best artist in her class!"

mark's last statement makes me smile. i love that he truly is blind that other children in the world might be more talented or more special than his own children. but i think that is just the way it is supposed to be. :) and honestly, olivia feels exactly the same way about her daddy- no one in the whole wide world has a better daddy than she does!! as i took their picture and sent them off on their morning date, i thought about how great their bond is and how thankful i am that olivia has a daddy who loves her unconditionally, that is her biggest cheerleader, and that understands her in a way no one else can- their personalities are SOOO much alike. he always knows exactly how she is feeling and exactly what she needs to hear to be comforted, encouraged, and feel loved. one day olivia will be able to look back and be truly grateful for her daddy and the unending ways that he was there for her, but for now just thinking that he is the BEST daddy in the whole wide world is more than enough thanks and gratitude and one of my greatest joys to watch every single day!!

san antonio trip, again...

2011-03-27T15:35:00.003-05:00

last year about this time we took at trip to san antonio with our friends the herridges and it was a complete success (click here to see that post), so we decided to try our luck again this year with a similar trip. most of the elements were the same- we stayed at the herridges house (brad's parents), plenty of downtime to just hang out, good conversation, delicious mexico food enjoyed on the patio, and a couple nice dinners out with babysitting provided by mama merle and grandad (brad's parents). doesn't it sound great? it is! some of the highlights for our little family were...

lunch on the fabulous patio of la fonda...

yummy and so relaxing.

followed by cupcakes from the cutest little cupcakery down the street...

olivia loved her neapolitan cupcake. mmmmmm!

jack really enjoyed his too, but only AFTER he got over his fit from us not buying him the GIANT cupcake he had his heart set on. we are mean parents, what can i say! :)

and on saturday we decided to try fiesta texas with the kids. last year we had a great time at sea world, but didn't really want to do that again. we had a really great time and the kids had a blast!!

greeted into the park by tweety bird. a great start to a fun day!

olivia, jack, and grant on the teacup ride. the very first ride of the day. :)

not sure the official name of this ride, but it was olivia's favorite.

grant and o loved the kiddie roller coaster. this was HUGE for o! we were so proud of her for giving it a try. of course, she loved it!!

we all rode the carousel. jack especially loved the ride and the horse he picked out all by himself.

jack and grant on a kiddie version of the "cliffhanger." i love this picture of the boys. :)

and i finally, the most hilarious picture of the trip...

yes, we were suckers and bought this, but we were all laughing so hard we couldn't leave without it. you can't really see everything that is going on, but basically i am terrified that jack might fly out of the boat (notice his arms trying to grab onto something), mary is holding on to him for dear life. olivia is screaming in terror because this ride was pushing her low risk-taking limit a little to far. mark is trying to have fun while comforting and reassuring olivia the entire ride. and brad and grant are just loving the ride and have no idea all that is going on behind them. i am sure it will only be funny to us, but even today it can me LOL. :)

it is weekends and get-a-ways like this that recharge my spirit. we left san antonio, driving north on i-35 energized, thankful for deep friendships, and grateful for the chance to get away to laugh, enjoy one another, and make memories together.

**i took a bunch more pictures, but my camera computer are still not getting along so not all the pictures made it onto the computer. camera and computer are currently in remediation for their issues, and we are hopeful that soon they will be best friends again.**

spring break 11...

2011-03-21T16:00:00.000-05:00

i was still without a camera for spring break this year, but we did have some fun so i want to make sure i document it. the pictures i do have are all from my photo friend extrodinare- misty!

we started out the week with a fun overnight at b and pop's house with the cousins and rara. we packed a lot in 24 hours and had so much fun!!! you can click here (sarah's blog) to see pictures from our time. we watched movies in the "movie theater," made s'mores in the firepit in the backyard, played hard, swam in the hot tub and even made a fruit pizza. it was great to have some good quality time with some of our besties and have a fun change of scenery for a couple days.

the rest of our week we had planned to spend time with the haynes crew who was driving across the state from el paso. the haynes gang was hit with a fever virus, surprise trip to the er, and some car issues so those plans were altered quite a bit. olivia had been counting down the days until she would see lilli and i was just as excited to see the haynes girls, so we made it work and did get to spend a day with them in allen. i figured the kids were already on antibiotics, we're safe! ha! i know that is not really how it is supposed to work, but oh well. the kids had a blast playing together and i was in heaven sitting and chatting with two of my dearest friends in the whole wide world.

whole kid crew! these kids are going to love eachother no matter what! their mama's will make sure of it. in all reality, they really do have so much fun together.

lil and olivia so excited to be there, even if it was laying on the couch. poor lilli. :(

"the littles" as we refer to them. posing in all their moonbeam cuteness.

"the bigs" or baby bffs. what a trio they are!

for the final days of our break we headed out to the lake and farm to spend some time with my family. it had been so long since we had been able to get away, so it was a PERFECT ending to our spring break.

a picture perfect day...

2011-03-21T14:01:00.003-05:00

we made another trip to the dallas arboretum this time to see dallas blooms. it was BEAUTIFUL!!! i have lived in dallas for most of my life, have a membership to the arboretum, and yet i have never been when the tulips were in full bloom. we are usually a week or two late with our spring visit to the gardens, but this year it was perfect timing!! i am so thankful for the morning we spent walking around, taking pictures, and playing in the wide open spaces.

i of course wanted the kids to get all dressed up in their easter clothes so we could get some easter pictures with the flowers as our backdrop. with a little bit of bribery o and j did pose for some pics. i think they look so cute in their pastels. asking them to pose together is still too much to ask, but we did get some good individual shots.

nana came too. she is always so helpful when i am determined to get pictures of the kids AND she loves the arboretum, so she is always up for a visit with us. bonus for nana this trip, she got in a few pictures with the kids. they sure love her, if you can't tell from the HUGE smiles on their faces when they are with her.

then after pictures, we did a wardrobe change so we could really play and enjoy the rest of our time.

we walked around and thru the azaleas...

jack walking thru the flowers and in no mood to take more pictures!! such a boy!!

olivia posing around the pink azaleas.

we played in the fairy tale playhouses...

jack in the "jack and the beanstalk" house.

olivia reaching for rapunzel's hair.

and we ended our trip throwing pennies in the fountain, making wishes...

awww, spring is really here and i am so thankful for a fun morning with my mom and my kids.

a dinner date with millie...

2011-03-01T15:05:00.000-06:00

terrible quality iPhone pic, but too cute not to share.

the kids and i went out to allen for a special dinner date last night with gram millie. i know i have talked about gram millie on my blog before, but i'll fill you in again. gram millie is my mom's mom, my grandmother, and great-grandmother to o & j. she is an amazing lady. since she doesn't read my blog it is ok for me to reveal that she is 94 years old (i think that is right, it's at least close.) and going strong. she has had a lot of changes in the last several months. she lost her husband (papa terry), moved to assisted living, and moved away from all of her friends. all in all she has handled all the change amazingly well, but she still loves a little extra attention, so we were excited to have the opportunity to get her out of her house and spend some time with her. we had a great evening. she wanted to go to cheddar's, so cheddar's it was. after dinner, she told the kids we could get dessert, so we introduced her to the famous cookie monster. we should have ordered 2 because i think they have shrunk in size and between the 4 of us it was GONE in minutes!! yummy!! i know she had fun because on our way to take her home she was already trying to plan our next dinner date. we dropped her off, said our good-byes, and headed back down 75 toward home. on our way back to our house olivia kept talking about how much she loved gram millie. of course, jack chimed in too, agreeing with his big sister. as they were talking i too felt so grateful for the relationship we have, the love that is shared, and the incredible gift she is to our family.

i'm gonna take another short break...

2011-02-24T20:22:00.002-06:00

but this time it is not because of space on my computer, but because i don't have a camera or a computer.

about a week ago our house was burglarized and the very mean people who came into our house took my camera, computer, new iPhone, cash, the tv from our bedroom, and some jewelry. basically most of my favorite things- if i'm being honest. we are all fine, just annoyed and feel a little violated. in reality, it was a pretty no big deal burglary-- we were not home, they only took a few things, they didn't trash the house, no one was hurt, and the kids were not freaked out by the whole ordeal.

so i am going to take a little break, but i will be back soon. promise. i'll have a new computer and camera. :0) trying to see the bright side of things.

around the house...

2011-02-09T15:06:00.000-06:00

yes, that is where we have been for the last several days due to ice and snow. we have had the craziest winter weather here this year. i'm not sure about you, but when i have lots of time around the house it causes me to clean out, move things around, dream about the potential in our house!! if you are feeling the same way you should check out fifer renovations and fifer furnishings for inspiration. i am lucky to call the owner family (christman is by brother in law) and have several pieces of his furniture in our house...

our mantel...

tv armoire...

doll house bookshelf...

and jack's bookshelf...

these are the pieces in my house that i am satisfied with and know i will have forever.

i have a LONG list of things i would still love for christman to renovate- the kitchen, laundry room, and all the bathrooms. due to budget issues those will have to remain in my dreams for now, but if i have to stay in this house another day i might start the projects myself. :) kidding, totally kidding, that would be a HUGE disaster.

snow days.s.s.s...

2011-02-05T10:27:00.002-06:00

yes, there were 4 of them!! i will admit that it made me a little crazy to be stuck in the house for fours days, but we did have some fun in the winter weather while it made it's 4 day stop in north texas!!

jack and o right before we headed out to play in the snow!!!

we loaded up and went for a walk around the neighborhood. we were some of the very first people to make footprints in all the beautiful snow. jack got to ride in our "texas sled." :)

then we all laughed at mark when he took a fall while pulling the wagon. there was still all that slippery ice under the crunchy snow.

and we ended our adventure with some family pictures...

What a fun day and fun memories that we made together!! Yay for SNOW!!!

(now it can melt and we can all go back to work and school!)

2010 in review...

2011-01-03T20:44:00.001-06:00

it has become a tradition our the blog that i take a look back at our year and pick out a picture or two from each month that makes me smile and represents a special memory. {click here} to see 2008 and {here} to see 2009, but now on to 2010 in review...

january
our little family of four went on our first family vacation to disney world.

february
snow!! and lots of it!!
o loved the snow and building snowgirls. :)

march
bowling with the bowlins-- fun family times.
trip to san antonio with the herridges. it was a super trip that ended with...
the mens baylor basketball team in the final four!! we headed to houston to cheer them on. go bears!! sic em'!!

april
celebrating easter at the lake with the bowlins and fifers. so much fun!
jack in his suit on easter sunday!! so handsome!!

may
olivia's first dance recital at the majestic theater downtown.
jack and kenzie's 2nd puppy paw-ty at the little gym.

june
the beginning of a summer of fun at the lake.

july
fourth of july at the lake with the blanchettes- fun, fireworks, and family.
olivia was a beautiful flower girl in aaron and sabrina's wedding.

august
one last family trip to the lake before the summer comes to an end.

september
the kids were loved playing in the backyard on a warm afternoon, especially swinging. i remember thinking about how thankful i was to be a stay-at-home mom to be present for moments like this.

october
my little spider and black cat enjoyed lots of pumpkin and halloween festivities.

november
jack moved to a big boy bed. he is growing up so fast.
we had a special family dinner to surprise grandma and grandpa.

december
said good-bye to my precious grandpa. oh, how i miss him.

another year filled with so many blessings, but this year also had it's challenges. we remain grateful to god for his faithfulness, love, mercy, and grace through it all.

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22- 23

christmas day...

2010-12-26T23:10:00.001-06:00

goes a little something like this...

mommy gets up and puts the muffins and sausage balls in the oven, early, like 6:30 a.m.

kids wake up and walk out into the living room and see this...the gifts that santa has left for them.

olivia's gifts from santa- a REAL digital camera (pink of course!), a REAL fish, and a microphone.

a BIG basketball goal, a REAL basketball, and a BIG firetruck that makes noise. :)

we play and pose for some pictures...

then we dig into our stockings and see what santa has left in there...

this year the kids were most excited about the candy canes-- really??

while looking at our stockings olivia remembered to look at the plate of cookies she left out. here is what she saw...

empty glass of milk, half eaten cupcake, nibbled cookie, and a dirty wet towel.

o was really thrilled that santa used the towel she left AND the reindeer ate the reindeer food we left for them in the front yard. ;)

then the kids open a few gifts from mommy and daddy.

now it is time to get dressed and load up the car to head to allen for the "blanchette christmas" at nana and gramps house. more family. more gifts. more food. and lots of fun!!

the ridiculous amount of gifts! there are a TON of people, but really this is might be a little much. (oh, i should mention that my parents "cut back" this year!)

side one of the study

side two- the gifts that made it under the tree.

gramps and jack diggin' into the stocking candy. jack knows who will open his candy for him every time-- gramps!!

daddy posing with the "cool" snowflake glasses. stylish don't ya think?

olivia and gramps with the BIGGEST gift under the tree- the princess art kit. olivia could not wait to rip open this gift. good thing it lived up to her expectations. she LOVES it!! way to go gramps (and nana).

mom and gramma. this picture makes me miss my grandpa. :( his presence was missed for sure.

one of mark's gifts from chrissie... now everyone will know they are entering a baylor lovin' house. sic em bears!

jack's favorite gift-- the rescue station!! thank you nana and gramps!! :)

then it is time to load up again and go to b and pops for the "bowlin/fifer christmas." repeat-more family. more gifts. more food. and lots of fun!!

***by this point in the day everyone is tired of me taking their pictures, and honestly i get lazy with the camera. that does not mean we are having any less fun or enjoying ourselves any less, just less documentation. :)***

o with her stacks of gifts. she was ready to open them up!!

jack had the "gift opening" thing down. he was even getting pretty good at the bows by this point in the day.

inspired by jack's love for the hotel robe at the beach, b got the kids all monogramed white robes with matching slippers. so stinkin' cute!! great gift b!!

and to end our evening with the bowlins and fifers we opened our stockings. :)

and after an exciting day we head home full of gratitude for family, an abundance of thoughtful and generous gifts, and remembering that this day is really about the birth of our savior, jesus, whom we desperately need. we ended our day by reading the real christmas story (luke 2) and thanking god for all of the blessings he gives us, but also for his son and the love, grace, and mercy he shows to us.

our prayer is that your family had a day filled with fun, family, and some gifts, but that you would know the incredible love that can only be found in christ through a deep and personal relationship with him, who's birth we celebrate today!!

merry christmas to all and to all a good -night!

a typical christmas eve...

2010-12-24T23:30:00.000-06:00

for our family goes a little somethin' like this...

our little family gets to hang out for most of the day, and then get dressed to meet the WHOLE family at church for the christmas eve service.

and i make my kids take the obligatory picture by the tree. if only they would pose together- maybe next year!!

then after church we go out to dinner with our traditional group of friends- the hopkins, the guys, the bowlins, and the newlyweds- the lassiters!! we went to our traditional spot- maggiano's. yummmm! (no pictures sorry!)

then we come home and the kids open one gift...

christmas jammies. this year they matched! both o & j were excited about that!

then we set out cookies and milk for santa. olivia decided that santa might need a towel this rainy christmas eve, so we left one of those too!

then daddy reads "the night before christmas."

then we tuck the kids into bed, santa makes his visit, mommy and daddy fall into bed around midnight, and then the excitement and traditions resume in the morning (around 7:00 AM).

merry christmas eve!!

the rehearsal and the real thing...

2010-12-20T09:46:00.000-06:00

i can hardly believe that the wedding between ivy and drew is actually happening. they have been apart of each others lives since they were born (literally) and years and years of crushes on one another, and finally they will be husband and wife.

first the rehearsal...
drew and ivy asked mark to help with the music and order of their service as well as sing.

here he is practicing with one of ivy's friends. they sounded great!!

then after running through things a couple of times and working out some details we were off to the rehearsal dinner. the lassiters hosted a lovely evening with beautiful decorations...

us at the rehearsal. (not real sure why the pic of mark and i is larger than the rest, oh well.)

yummy mexican food. and there was lots of laughter and even a few tears as we wished ivy and drew many many years of love in marriage.

and then it was wedding day!!!

i didn't take one picture. sniff! sniff! i was just enjoying every moment. but her photographer did an amazing job capturing the day. ivy wore the same dress her mom and grandmother wore. so sweet. she had one of her friends design a reception party dress that was just darling and she wore some amazing red shoes. really the whole event was just great!!

here is my favorite one...
but click here, for a few more images from the day. they are amazing pictures. :)

happy marriage ivy and drew. we love you so much and are so thankful to be apart of your lives and your wedding day.

hopkins lassiter wedding continues...

2010-12-18T13:00:00.000-06:00

with a manicure and pedicure party for ivy and all her best friends. ivy is truly one of the most precious people i know and that is clear by the friends that she has. she only had three bridesmaids, but still wanted to include all of her friends in the wedding so she had the rest of the girls as honor attendants. it was a joy for me to help host a manicure/pedicure party and get to spend friday morning before the wedding with ivy and all her friends. her friends are just as darling and gracious as ivy.

ivy and turner appreciating the little details- ivy's new monogram on the coffee cups. :)

the shower in pictures...

hostesses-- joanna, michelle, kathy, and me (ivy's in the middle)

drinks- coffee and punch in these fun cups.
spread of food-- muffins, fruit, cinnamon rolls, sausage balls
flip-flop favors

and of course manicures and pedicures.

what a fun morning!! the girls were off to the bridesmaid luncheon and i will see them all later at the rehearsal...