dinner with becca

 

after many failed attempts to get together,

my cousin becca and i finally got our dinner date last night.

when my grandma heard that we were going to dinner together,

she offered to pay. 

it was such a blessing!

 we got dressed up and had some delicious pasta.

afterwards, we were ready for coffee,

but it was clear the waitress was ready to go home

and she shut down the cappuccino machine.

i'm not grown up enough to handle my coffee black,

so we paid our tab and had juussst enough left for starbucks.

score.

we sat outside and enjoyed the evening,

watching as managers closed up shop,

one by one.

that should have been my first clue that it was getting pretty late,

but since the starbucks by me closes at 9:30,

i thought it was around that time...

apparently i thought that for an hour.

my iphone met a watery grave yesterday,

so i didn't have a phone, and didn't check the time.

our conversations were rich,

sharing what the lord has done,

what he will do...

the changes he has made, the freedom being found...

it's always so, so good to share about him.

when i walked in the door, i glanced up at the clock.

it was almost 11.

shoot.

my poor husband had been up waiting and worried.

he had tried to call becca's phone for 30-45 minutes and the call wouldn't go through.

i understand the emotion behind all of the what ifs,

and i felt awful.

 i know i could have left that part out

and only shared that i had a great time,

but i screwed up and i like to keep it real,

so there ya go!

i'm really thankful for our time together,

and excited that now i get to see her 2-3 times a week

since i'm watching her almost one year old, noah.

don't tell her, 

but he's the best part. ;)

a year ago :: reminiscing

today, i had a brilliant idea.

i loaded up all four kids to go check out the new joann fabrics out east.

when we walked in,

i began reviewing my mental list of the fabrics i needed...

and then jax's arm got stuck

and ali's mosquito bite was wet

and ali needed fat quarters of this and that for her "kids"

and max doesn't like the sleep wrap anymore...

that part i've known for months.

my much needed concentration was elusive...

so i left without buying anything.

so now, i'm at home, drinking coffee while listening to the jordan howerton band and waiting for jason to get home so i can hit up hobby lobby & target.

for fun, i decided to see where i was a year ago today:

well, i was 20 weeks pregnant.

the day before, we had just found out we were having another boy.

so sweet.

i love my babies...but i don't miss being pregnant. 

at all.

am i the only one who thinks my smile in this picture looks like the grinch?!

source

my first baby boy was still so little...

ali still had a bit of baby fat left.

her hair was so cute at that length.

even sissy looked younger, but not much.

she's getting old enough that her looks don't drastically change it one year's time.

it's so strange.

she also had a loose tooth.

it makes me feel old...or basically that i don't feel old enough to be at this stage yet.

jason and i talk often about how we don't really *feel* older than when we were 18 or so...

just a lot wiser.

praise.the.lord.

but his hairline is receding, much to his dismay.

i just smile and say, "we're growing old togevers!"

(typo intended!)

and my body isn't bouncing back as fast this time,

much to the delight of all you haters who gave me a hard time after previous pregnancies. ;)

in the words of destiny's child: "i don't think you're ready for this jelly."

i put on a shirt from high school last night before bed.

it made me feel like the incredible hulk--like if i bent over it would split down the back.

yeah i'm bustier now because of nursing, but really?

it wasn't long enough to keep my tummy covered, either.

i was shameless, or the shirt has shrunk.

i know the answer, but we'll go with the shrinking theory.

anyway, i took it off and put a big t-shirt on.

that's hot.

so we're growing older and wiser and our kids are getting older.

i would be sad, and sometimes i get emotional...

but really?

it just keeps getting better.

these kids are a lot of fun,

and having my honey by my side makes all the difference.

easter day 2011

this post is going to be super picture heavy. 

i have to let the pictures speak for me for the most part.

i've been "sick" and it's now affecting my concentration.

for reals.

i have fluid on my inner ear, and i thought that maybe it was a blockage,

so i tried to fix it myself.

well, i got even more fluid in there and ended up with vertigo so bad that i couldn't walk.

i am on medication...that is almost gone...and while it helps if i religiously take it every 6 hrs,

i don't have a refill and immediate care won't do anything unless i pay another $90 to come in again.
(that's not going to happen since they already told me the first time they can't do much in that setting).

i found a comprehensive symptom list for labrinthitis,

and i have a lot of those symptoms, 

including difficulty concentrating, short term memory lapses, confusion, etc.

i have a hard time finishing a blog post,

so i hope you don't get too bored with me!

...in the mean time, if you think about it, say a prayer!

hopefully it will remedy itself in the next few weeks,

but jesus works better than medicine!

the kids woke up to their easter baskets filled.

we don't do much candy. they get plenty of that throughout the day,

but i like to have little surprises for them:

happy first easter, max!

they went on an egg hunt as soon as they were done with their baskets:

we were ready for church early, so i wanted to get some pictures:

this was ali's pose automatically.

i'm in trouble.

..aaaand then we were 15 minutes late for church.

after church was an egg hunt,

and then on to my mom's for another egg hunt,

and we finished up with church at our dear friends' house,

loving and praising the Reason we celebrate easter.

it was a long, wonderful day.

hmm..

so i ended up saying a lot.

if my pictures are speaking for me for the most part,

heaven help me.

the end.

jaxon (& judah)'s 2nd birthday paaarrrrtaaay!

since our boys are 13 days apart, kyle and i decided to have a joint birthday party for them this year.

it was a blast to shop, craft and plan together. in fact, it's sparked other ideas, but more on that later.

we met up at the building we rented and were crazy busy decorating and watching hail pelt our vehicles...

so busy, in fact, that we didn't have time to take any pictures before running home to pick our families up.

this explains the pictures with awful composition and awful everything else quality wise

(for freaks like me who notice these things).

i was in a hurry!

anyway!

the deets:

kyle did an awesome job on the table cloth!

cupcakes were done by kyle's sister, summer.

they.were.delicious.

jaxon's gift table

judah's gift table

my awesome husband's handy work

the guests (some of them, anyway):

isn't harper a doll?!

<3 <3 <3

madi, we need to talk about this duck face of yours. ;)

wittle drudders!

kyle, did you take this?!

my camera got stolen a lot!

happy birthday to you!

"give each other a hug!"

"pssh! i didn't wanna hug, anyway!"

mamas and birthday boys:

this out take cracks me up!

 

jax actually turns 2 on the 10th.

happy birthday, boys!