Road Trip

We made a little Road Trip to Austin over the weekend.  One of the best towns in the State of Texas.  We spent our weekend with this sweet family.

They always graciously open their door to us, and never seem to be bothered by the circus that comes with having us around.  We love you Valles Family!

These two go all the way back to high school and are still best friends.  Something a little special about that.

We played King of the Playground at the Park.

We practiced swinging really, really high!

These shoes were made for walking and that's just what he'll do!  Holy Cow I was one happy Mama!!!

We hung out at really cool restaurants.

 

Sipped on Lemonade.

Made Silly Faces.

 Showed our mad Angry Birds skills off to the older ladies ;)

 

We road the train!

They gave it two thumbs up!

We balanced Water Balloons on our head.

We dodged Water Balloons.

 

And sometimes didn't dodge Water Balloons.

We Hula-Hooped in the backyard.

We had a fun, packed full weekend away.  The fun had its toll on us Sunday with two tired boys on our hands, but we've recovered.

Congrats!

Congratulations to our good friends, the Ford's, on the birth of their precious baby girl Madison Lynn!  I had the honor of holding her little 6 lb. 6 oz. self today and was reminded of the goodness God brings with new life.  One of life's sweetest blessings!

I Heart Faces- Slice of Life Photo Challenge

I like jumping in on the I Heart Faces Photo Challenges every now and then.  This week's theme is "Slice of Life"...I love that.  I keep my camera on my kitchen counter and those are the moments I attempt to capture around this house.  I love this type of photography because it tells a story.

In November, I stepped out of my comfort zone (of this house and my kids), and worked to catch the real life moments and interaction of these two sweet kiddos.  I had so much fun chasing after them and I am pretty sure they had fun too!  I thought this photo, that was snapped that day,  was an absolute  "Slice of Life" in the world of Ben and Bella.  Remember to head on over to I Heart Faces to look at all of this week's entries!

Flashback Friday

It's Friday and I realize I haven't made a single post this week.  A couple of my sweet friends have been doing Flashback Friday post and since I haven't had the camera out, I thought I'd give it a whirl.  I went through the archives of my Blog to pull out pictures.  I actually teared up looking at some of the pictures and posts.  Helps me to remember why I have this Blog...it is absolutely a documentary of my children's lives.  So thankful to have it and I need to not let life get the best of me and post more!  Anyway here are my Flashback Friday pictures...hope you enjoy!!

Ryder and Matt- 2008

Remember when this little man turned 1?  I saved the shirt and used it again....

....2 years later when this little man turned 1!

 Ryder and I- Spring 2009

Rustin and I- Fall 2009

Ryder and Rustin- Fall 2009

Ryder- Fall 2009

Baby Rustin

Alright...we're Austin-bound this afternoon.  I'm charging the camera battery so I should have something new to post next week!  Oh!  I am almost finished with Ryder's room!  Hopefully I can pick up the final finishing pieces this weekend and I'll debut it (hahha!) next week!  Hugs-

St. Patrick's Day 2011

Oh my how things can change in a year...Happy St. Patrick's day!

Wordless Wednesday with some Words

(Y'all this picture doesn't give the sand this boy was covered in justice.  My bathroom, where I unloaded him directly into the bathtub from outside, looks like we've been on the beach.  He LOVES the sandbox for sure!  R&R were blessed to have Ty, Charlie and baby Joy play in their backyard today!  It was a sweet surprise and Ryder has been talking about Miss Mary from the second she left.  He loves her...she's the sweetest ever and funny, too!)

Nine Dollars

Ryder thinks everything cost $9.00.  This was the best $9.00 (really $11.00) spent this week.  Two Bubble Blowers ($3 each) and Bowling Pin set ($5) courtesy of Wal-Mart.  I'm not a Wal-Mart fan, but they won my shopping trip today because I was too lazy to drive to any of the three adjacent towns for Target.  I loved these two finds...R & R love bubbles and what boy doesn't like to plow down pins?

To Be Continued....

It started with a broken bookshelf in Ryder's room on Friday afternoon.  Three and a half years of holding lots of books took its final toll.  I threw it away, stacked all of the books in the middle of the room, and then decided to start a room make-over.

My first idea was to paint the wall where the bookshelf had been...I had no clue when I suckered Matt into helping me it would be such a timely process.  Our goal is to paint a border on the wall, so that we can hang a group of pictures within, for a gallery effect.  Its complicated though.  There are three different colors of paint all going in different places.  Honestly, I may need Special Agent Oso's Palm Pilot to give me the 3-simple steps, lol.  Plus, I didn't count on it taking 3 days to tape it all off....my husband is the best ever!!  This is going to be a week long project....I'll keep you posted on the progress!

PS...Rustin had his first Physical Therapy session today and I got some great ideas to work with him on.  Our long-term goal is for him to walk 20-ft. without assistance or falling....right now he gets about 3 steps in.  Usually we hold his hand when he walks and today we started holding onto a wooden spoon (one end in his hand and one end in our hand)....gradually we'll (Matt or I or whoever is walking with him) let go of the spoon on our end in hopes that he'll keep holding on and continue walking rather than dropping down (as he does now when we let go of his hand)...a mental game of sorts.  He is making huge progress, but occasionally still has some tendencies which our Pediatrician wants a Neurologist to see him for.  That appointment will not be until the first part of May and we are praying that he is walking full-time when the appointment rolls around. 

 The little stinker was hanging out in Ryder's room with Matt (remember he's doing the 3-day tape job for my paint project, ha!) after his bath this evening, and I caught him standing at the sink...he was so incredibly proud that he had climbed up there all by himself!

Ash Wednesday plus a little Rustin

Its Ash Wednesday...the first day of the Lent which means there are exactly 46 days until Easter.  I love Lent and the time it gives us to reflect, repent and look forward to Easter.  I've been in a cloud today and haven't even really focused on this first day of Lent and repentance. 

Rustin had his 18-month check up today.  He is measuring up perfectly:
Weight:  22 lb. 11 oz.
Height:  32"
Head Circumference:  18.5 in.

I'm totally bragging, but y'all he's so smart!  He can count, identify letters, talks all the time and melts our hearts.  He still isn't walking and we are working towards figuring all of that out for him.  He'll start physical therapy next week and hopefully we'll get him to transition from crawling to walking.

I'm so sorry I've been absent lately and I desperately need to catch up on all of you.  I wish I could just pause life some days and take a huge breath and then slowly let it out.  I do know that all things are in God's hands and through him we can handle anything.  Hugs to you all!

Tasty Tuesday...Salty Brownies Edition

It has been soooooo long since I made a Tasty Tuesday post, but my morning was filled with Cake Balls and Monkey Bread.  Enough said.  How could my Tuesday get any better?  More importantly, how could I not make a Tasty Tuesday post. My sweet friend Danielle who writes the Salty Brownies Blog has promised to post a recipe for the Cake Balls we made this morning.  They look like this and taste even better!

 

She paired it up with some Monkey Bread which is one of my favorite things to bake on a Saturday morning.  The recipe I use is really simple:

• 3 (12 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough...these come in a 4-Pack
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. I use a Bundt Pan and always spray it with Cooking Spray.
2. Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag. Cut biscuits into quarters. Shake 6 to 8 biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix. Arrange pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan. Continue until all biscuits are coated and placed in pan. If using nuts, arrange them in and among the biscuit pieces as you go along.
3. In a small saucepan, melt the margarine with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the biscuits.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Pull off pieces and eat like this:

 

 This is Ryder's little Buddy and Danielle's son, James.  He is quite possibly the sweetest little 3-year old I've ever met!  Ryder and James both gave the bread the picky eaters stamp of approval!