Happy Friday, y’all! Even more than that, it’s Good Friday. As strange as it sounds, I love this day that demands our attention to the death of Christ in order to understand the significance of Easter Sunday. Jesus died on that cross for us, but three days later, He rose from the grave and gave hope to us all! Hallelujah!!!

So speaking of things I love, I am bringing you a post of all of my favorites lately from the month of March. Because as crazy as it is, we are entering April, friends!

First up on the list is just how big Caleb has been getting! It’s so fun to see how much more he’s able to do on his own now. He is indeed a big kid! And he LOVES preschool so much. Every morning he asks, ‘Is this a preschool day?? Please, please, please!!!’ So hands down, that’s a fave for him, for sure.

---

My second favorite is that my sister came to Colorado at the beginning of the month! Her job brought her to Vail so of course I wasn’t going to let her be that close without going to see her! I grabbed my friend Heidi for a road trip and headed up for a sleepover in the mountains. It was full of her fun work event, ice skating, and getting to sleep in and lay around. My kind of sleepover! (Also I’d like to note that I have not ice skated since elementary school and I pretty much rocked it. Boom.)

The drive home was definitely not a favorite. It was my first time to drive down a mountain pass while it was snowing and turning into not the greatest conditions. There was a trailer in front of us totally out of control, but thankfully I had Heidi to talk me off the ledge. This Texas girl still has some snowy mountain driving to get used to.

---

Getting mail has got to be one of my love languages. ESPECIALLY if it’s a package. So maybe I should say that gifts are my love language. Because the other day, my mom randomly sent me a new hat. And guess what? I felt loved.

Isn’t it cute? And I definitely include myself in that ‘y’all.’ 😉

---

If you’re from Colorado, chances are you have found yourself at Casa Bonita at least once. It’s kind of a rite of passage even if the food is absolutely terrible. Welp, I’ve only lived here 2.5 years and I’ve now been 3 times. Yup, that’s too much. But it’s become an annual thing for the student ministry and Caleb thinks it’s awesome, so I self-sacrifice and go. (I’m still waiting for my trophy.) So it’s absolutely not a favorite for me, but it is for the kiddo. Think cliff divers, arcade, caves, puppets, basically all kinds of randomness and you’ve got yourself Casa Bonita.

This guy begged to ride this car all night long and when he finally did, he begged for me to take the coin out so it would stop going. The poor kid is NOT a dare devil.

---

On St Patrick’s Day, we celebrated with a dance party with a bunch of friends. If you know Caleb at all, you know he LOVES to dance. So it was pretty much the best night of his life.

We were laughing because the kid has got game. One of the little girls was being held by her mom and he went right up and asked her to dance. We of course may not think that’s as cute when he gets to high school. 😉

---

So about the cutest thing ever happened in March and that was Caleb’s preschool Spring Program. The classes had been practicing all of their songs and they were beyond adorable. He was not happy to dress ‘fancy’ but he would do pretty much anything to make Ms. Paulette happy.

He has sang all the songs for me previously but his main focus up on the stage was the motions. He concentrated so hard to do them while watching his teachers that he pretty much forgot about the whole singing part. Every once in a while, he remembered and belted it out. Either way, it was absolutely adorable!

Him and his bestie hammed it up after the program. Since both of their daddy’s had to stay at church to work, we took them out for fro-yo. And that’s when the craziness REALLY ensued.

The sugar high came on quick and crazy so we ended up corralling them to the car. Apparently fame + sugar makes 3 year olds do crazy things!

---

On Palm Sunday, Nick got to preach which was a huge favorite for all of us. It was such a gorgeous day after church, we had an impromptu photo shoot. Which I’m sure the boys just LOVED.

---

Easter is coming which has us all excited! Since it was spring break this week, a friend had an Easter party for the kiddos. They colored, hunted eggs, made resurrection rolls, and played together. Fun morning for all!

---

So I know I’ve mentioned Ms. Lauri here lots of times because she really is an amazing blessing to our family. Well it’s been her desire for the past few weeks to buy Caleb and Hava light-up shoes. And who were we to stand in her way of happiness? So off to Walmart we went for them to choose. And let’s just say, the joy on all three of their faces were totally a favorite!

---

We decided to have a family fun day since it was Caleb’s spring break and we didn’t want that to mean he just had to sit at the church office all week while we worked. So we took the day off and planned some fun things. As not fun as it sounds, we started the day with Caleb’s first ever dentist appointment. He did great and actually may have had a little fun!

Next we tried out Denver Biscuit Co for the first time and oh boy, did it live up to the hype! Nick got a biscuit sandwich that was beyond huge (not pictured), Caleb got a biscuit completely saturated in strawberry sauce and whipped cream, and I got shrimp and grits in a biscuit bowl. We completely covered the spectrum and all were DELISH. We will for sure be back.

Next on the agenda was a trip to Board Game Republic! This place has a million games and also serves food & drinks. We sat for two hours and played all the games Caleb wanted. Pretty sure it was the little guy’s heaven. And if you love board games, it would definitely be yours too. The place was really cool! All that to say, our whole fam would say that it was a super fun day!!!

---

And that was our March, friends!!! (That was quite the lengthy recap so it may just be my mom still reading.) We will be attending our church’s Good Friday service tonight and Easter service on Sunday morning. If you don’t have plans to attend one, I highly encourage you to find a church in your area and show up! This is a great weekend to find out all that God did for us through His Son. You do NOT want to miss it!

Happy Easter everyone! Praise God for the cross!

Linking up with Andrea and Erika

If we are gonna be honest here, mommin’ ain’t easy. There are tears and sweat all kinds of involved. Let’s be real, all the body fluids are involved. But even when it’s hard, even when I’m exhausted, even when I feel like I’ve gone way past the crazy mark… it’s worth it. Because of this.

This adorable (sometimes insane) little 3 year old belongs to me. And no matter if I’ve washed my hair, if I’ve yelled like a crazy person, or if I can’t even do a Pinterest craft.. he thinks I’m awesome. And he tells me constantly. Praise God for the grace of kiddos, amiright or amiright?

I wanted to do a quick update on this little guy because he is SO FULL OF LIFE. He feels all of his feelings in a BIG way. (Which can be a bit exhausting at times if we are being honest.) But it also makes him have such a sweet heart with a sensitive spirit. One of my favorite things that I never want to forget is sometimes he calls me ‘baby.’ And only me. We have absolutely no idea where he got it from (possibly Nick?), but he does it anytime he is trying to comfort me or sweet talk me into something.

‘It’s okay, baby.’

‘Can I do that, please baby??’

This kid is going to be a real charmer. We’re in trouble.

Don’t worry though, he is still all boy. We are all about dinosaurs, superheroes, cars, balls, trains, rough-housing, and Mario Kart. He makes things roar or race constantly. Because life is just more fun when you are running from point A to point B.

Caleb has also gotten himself quite the imagination. He is always playing in some creative way or making up some silly conversations for his toys. One of his newest things after getting a cash register for Christmas is charging money for everything. We constantly get told, ‘That’s eleven dollars!’ (And yes, it’s usually always exactly eleven dollars. Random.) He then puts the pretend money in his pretend wallet. And where he keeps his wallet changes. Sometimes it’s in his mouth, sometimes in the ground, sometimes in his belly… all really totally normal places.

Another thing he LOVES to do is take pictures on our phones. And talk to Siri. Is it ridiculous that this next generation will never know a world without Siri? Absolutely. But if my non-stop chatter of a son wants to use all of his words on a robot in my phone, then who am I to stop that friendship. He gets a friend. Mama’s ears get a break. Win win. (Side note: I’m not real sure photography is in his future.)

Caleb absolutely LOVES Awana at church. If he could go to Cubbies everyday of his life, he would be all in. It’s absolutely precious hearing him learn verses and see him so excited for a program dedicated to scripture. Plus give this kid a theme night and he’s all about that life.

Preschool is his FAVORITE. I’m pretty sure he wishes everyday was a preschool day (because he only goes on Tuesday & Thursdays). It for sure helps that his all-time bestie is in his class. We laugh because Caleb and Hava are definitely the best of friends, but half the time they may not even talk to each other in a group setting. They just know the other is there and all is right in the world.

I hate to break the news to my Texas peeps, but this kid is an all Coloradan boy. He loves him some snow. Playing in it, throwing it, and the newest: sledding in it. He got a sled for his birthday (because that’s a thing here in the mountains) and we finally got to take it out in the latest snowstorm. Let’s just say he cried when we had to go back inside.

Have I mentioned how much Caleb loves his daddy? It’s safe to say that Nick is the fun parent and I’m not even mad about that. And I’ve said it a million times but if Caleb grows up to be just like Nick, I consider that a win.

So yes, mommin’ ain’t easy. But I wouldn’t trade it in for the world. Parenting this little guy may help me recognize all of my flaws, but it also pushes me to be a better person for him everyday.

Thank you Jesus for the gift it is to be a mom. May I be more like YOU everyday so Caleb will see you in me. Amen.

Y’all. We were all about all of the Christmassy things this past weekend and I loved it. Caleb is to the age where he gets totally pumped about all of the things so it makes it so fun to share with him.

First up was a visit to Santa on Friday. We’ve done this every year he’s been born and it’s always a favorite. The first year he spit up on the big guy (being 2 months old and all), the second year he screamed in his face, and then last year he smiled so adorably. So we were excited to see what this year held! JoJo met us there which excited Caleb so much that he couldn’t decide which was more fun… seeing Santa or seeing JoJo!

These genius people hand out glasses to keep the littles entertained while in line.

We tried to do all of the things to pass the time. Taking lots of pictures seemed to be our solution.

Caleb brought his Jett figurine from Super Wings to show Santa since he was asking for a Jett that transforms (or in Caleb’s words, ‘Jett what transforms’). Better educate Santa so he gets the right thing, I’m guessing. He was SO excited and sat right up on Santa’s lap. He did a great job of taking pictures and telling Santa what he wants. He even let Santa hold Jett and play with him. All of it was so great until we saw the picture…

Neither him or Santa look like they’re having a great time. Even though they totally were! Too funny. Then the photographer insisted on a group shot. Because he clearly knew how to do his job (besides the above pictures clearly).

After Santa, we took a family pic and Nick did his best Caleb smile impersonation. These boys. Can’t take them anywhere.

We had lunch with JoJo and then headed to the mountains. We wanted to have a family day so we thought it would be fun to look around the shops in Idaho Springs and then have dinner at Beau Jo’s with their infamous mountain pies.

On Saturday, we had the student ministry volunteer Christmas Party. But major picture fail on that front. Then on Sunday, we had the Christmas Party that Caleb was BEYOND excited for. Our church did a Christmas Sing-Along that was super family friendly with kids in their Christmas jammies, fire pits for s’mores, hot cocoa bars, fun Christmas songs, Christmas movie clips, and snow! To say the kids had a blast would be a complete understatement. This event was a huge hit with everyone of all ages!

Caleb and his bestie Hava pretty much think they own the church. Which is fair since Hava’s parents both are church staff too. Church rats to the core.

But give them some snacks and put that first Christmas movie clip on and they were all in.

And then snow!!!!

After the sing-along, Caleb and Hava had a blast on the stage steps. Because again with the thinking they own the place.

Then we headed outside so Caleb could roast his first marshmallow for s’mores. Which he kept calling mushrooms. I was about ready to find a mushroom for the kid because I was so confused about what he wanted until Heidi stepped in and suggested a marshmallow. Good thing because that’s for sure what he wanted. And he was a BIG fan.

It was a such a great end to a festive weekend! I sure do love getting to experience Christmas through Caleb’s eyes!

Just call me nosy, but I love reading other bloggers’ day in the life posts. I’ve done two of these in the past and it’s so fun to go back and read what our everyday life looked like at that point, especially since the little guy is always changing! It’s basically just a play by play of a regular day in our lives. Nothing special so if this sounds incredibly boring to you, please feel free to skip. 😉

Day in the Life: March 2017

Day in the Life: April 2016

So both times I’ve done this before, it’s been on Friday’s. This time I thought it would be fun to make it a Sunday since ministry is obviously a huge part of our lives so why wouldn’t I document a really important day for that! I did somehow forget how busy those days can get so there were definitely times I forgot to take any pictures. Whoops. But here we go.. a day in the life of us from this past Sunday!

I am most definitely the first one awake in my family. I do this intentionally because mama needs some quiet time. First things first is shower. Then directly to…

Ahhh coffee. In a Christmas mug. My heart is full.

My Advent study started this day and I’m SO excited. (Especially sitting next to the Christmas tree.) I love doing a study during Advent season because it’s such a great way to prepare and focus my heart during this busy, chaotic time. Because I never want to lose sight of the reason for Christmas.

Then this guy is awake! Looking adorable and so big in his Christmas jammies. First stop is the potty for him and then to the couch. He loved being able to sit by the twinkle lights of the tree too. I’m raising him well. 😉

Literally the only time I take selfies of just myself is for one of these day in the life posts. For real. Check my social media if you don’t believe me. Ha! We all got dressed and ready for church! On Sunday mornings, I lay out Caleb’s clothes, Nick gets him dressed, then I do his hair. It’s a beautiful partnership.

Then we are on our way to church! (We are at a red light.. don’t freak out.) We have to get there SUPER early for all of us to be able to ride together but it’s totally worth it.

This guy wanted his own silly picture. Gotta love 3 year olds.

Nick had to head straight to a meeting when we got to church so Caleb and I explored the church to check out all the Christmas decorations. Our church looks absolutely amazing for the Christmas season and it for sure gives us all the feels.

First stop, the worship center. When the lights are down and the shades are closed, it looks absolutely magical.

We stopped by the photo booth because holy cuteness. And now a tree just like this lives in my house because I have the best boss in all the land.

And this is where the pictures stopped for the time being. A stop by our coffee shop, chatting with all the people, and then dropping off Caleb at his class. He stays for both services because I man the computer check-in station for first service and then we attend the second service. He gets to hear his bible story twice but yet when I ask what they learned about, his response is ‘Jesus and God.’ Ahh, the Sunday school answers start early.

We did have a photo shoot in the middle of the services for the children’s ministry brochure. And guess who got to be a super hero!

Clearly he wasn’t into it at all.

After church, we head to Walmart!

Grocery pick up for the win.

Caleb completely passed out on the way home. While eating Cheetos that he found in his backpack from Halloween. Because multitasking.

Once we got home, I got busy with all the things. Unloading groceries and putting them away, unloading the dishwasher, just all of those really fancy kinds of things. During all of this, Caleb ate lunch and went down for his nap.

Also, I baked the brownies for my high school girls event that evening.

Then it was time for my lunch. After all of that kitchen business, I wanted something simple so a breakfast sandwich it was. (Also, RIP Yeti cup. I’m pretty sure I left it on the roof of my car the very next day and now it’s gone forever.)

I enjoyed my lunch on the couch by the Christmas tree and football because it was Sunday after all. Caleb has been trained to know that we watch football on Sundays so not to ask for any of his shows. Brainwashing at its finest.

As much as I love my husband and his love for football, I chose to watch my show on the iPad instead. But we were still in the same room so it counts, right? And yes my taste in shows might equate that of a high schooler. Don’t judge.

When this little guy woke up, he and his daddy played Jets. Because he is obsessed with Super Wings and loves playing out the episodes. And it’s pretty cute to watch these two to play with them together.

Then it was time for me to head back to church for a high school girls event. These boys were working hard in the yard when I left. (Or one of them may have just been playing.)

I set up the table in the youth building as cute as I could for a fun dinner with the girls. It’s an event we do once a month called Tacos & Testimonies where we eat tacos (obviously) and then a woman from the church comes to share their faith story with the girls. It’s always such a sweet night together. I was there for quite a few hours and headed home around 9.

Nick and I chatted a while until I headed to bed to watch more Riverdale. And now I’m proud to say that I’m officially all caught up. Then it was off to bed! No picture happened but it was around 11:30 which is actually VERY late for me. But that’s what happens when you really need to know what’s going to happen with Archie & the gang, especially with the Black Hood on the loose. (Not a Riverdale fan? Your loss.)

But all in all, a pretty basic Sunday for our family! 🙂

Linking up with Sarah and Victoria for their fun Christmas link-up!

Who else is SO READY for Christmas?? As soon as we got home from our trip, we unpacked our bags, cleaned the house, and put up Christmas decorations. Alright, not immediately.. but it all did happen within 24 hours of being at home. 🙂 #sorrynick

We already recapped the beginning of our trip, but I can’t leave out all of the rest of the fun. We seem to pack so much in and take a million and one pictures that it just becomes a lot. So sorry in advance. I promise I’ll go quick.

On Sunday, our Aunt Jan and Okie Dokie came to visit. This is my mom’s best friend since 5th grade which totally gets me excited thinking about going to visit my friends years from now and their kiddos. (And yes, we call him Okie Dokie. It was Uncle Tony but we were kids that couldn’t say it and now it’s just a thing. Which we love.)

On Monday, we drove down south and spent the day with MiMi and G-Daddy. The kids had a blast baking cookies with MiMi and playing with G-Daddy. It reminded me of the days we would spend at my Meemaw & Grandad’s house growing up.

That evening, we went to a Christmas lights display and basically had it all to ourselves. Which basically gave Caleb the feeling that he could run as fast as he wanted so you could hear me shouting lots of ‘Caleb! Stop!’ So that was fun.

On Tuesday, Nick and I went to a different part of Houston to meet up with a team from our church that was helping rebuild a church after the hurricane. It was so neat to see some of my people from Colorado loving on people in my home state. It was a lot of hard work and they rocked it!

On Wednesday, we spent a good part of the day having scooter races. It was Maddie’s turn to shout ‘Caleb! Wait!’

We also ran over to see Nick’s uncle! He had spent time with his uncle and aunt earlier in the week, but Caleb and I still wanted a chance to say hi. Can you tell these 3 Jones boys are related?

And then a night of Mexican food. Nick and I realized that we had a pattern while we were there of Mexican food, BBQ, Mexican food, BBQ, Mexican food, BBQ, etc. It is the Texas diet after all.

Then it was time for Thanksgiving! Which equaled lots of people, lots of food, and lots of fun. I sure am thankful for all of these people.

Then on Friday, it was time to head home! Caleb wanted it to be made known that it was his favorite to ride on the luggage cart at the hotel. And his special 3 year old bed (AKA a sofa bed). #thelittlethings

It is always great to spend time with family. I made sure to let them all know that Colorado is also always open to visitors. 😉

On to Christmas now!!

Welcome back to my little piece of the internet. I am indeed still alive. It’s just been a crazy couple of months, but I’m glad to be back. Especially for the holidays! Since I’ve been here last, we have done MANY things. I think I need to accept that I should quit saying ‘it’s a busy month’ because they are all busy months and that’s just our life. 🙂 I’m sure I will update on some of those things soon because my child did turn 3 after all. Probably going to want to document that.

But first, we will start with our road trip to Texas! I know, I know… it seems like we go to Texas every other month these days. And in 2017, that very well may have been the case. It seemed to be the year of weddings which we just can’t miss those.. especially when the little guy is the cutest sign holder in all the land. However, this trip was for Thanksgiving and we decided to drive! In the words of Caleb, ‘ If we took a plane, we would be there more fast.’ Thank you 3 year old for pointing that out. We knew we would be there long enough to make the drive worth it so we split it up into two days and the little guy actually handled it like a champ! (Nick and I did too just in case you were wondering.)

On the Thursday before Thanksgiving, we waited to head out until after Caleb’s Thanksgiving Feast at preschool. They sang 3 songs and it was pretty much the cutest thing ever. He loves his teachers and his friends so it was fun to watch him in his element.

Then it was Texas, here we come! First stop, New Mexico!

We finally arrived in Amarillo where we stayed the night! A quick trip to dinner at Torchy’s..

And then on to the hotel! (My stepdad is a rockstar and set us up for the hotels on the way there & home so major thanks to him!!) Caleb was OBSESSED with the hotel room, especially the lamps. Apparently he can’t reach any lamps at home to turn on and off so he went to town doing that there. And now I’ll be sure he can continue to never reach lamps at home.

The next morning, we started off the day with Texas shaped waffles! It’s pretty much a rite of passage for every Texas hotel that offers free breakfast to serve these. And this little guy ate the entire thing. #whenintexas

We made the rest of the trip and were SO glad to make it to Houston! The next day was going to be a big day because we were headed to my college to do a reunion with my sorority. This is the first reunion we’ve had since I graduated so it was so fun to catch up with people I haven’t seen in years! A trip down memory lane is always a good time. 🙂 We tailgated at the Homecoming game which was quite the adventure since my best friend & I coordinated the whole thing. (Really she did it and I was just her moral support. #gojen)

This girl sure knows how to put together an event. I was more than happy to be her partner in crime.

I was an officer my senior year and it was so fun to catch up with my officer crew! We are pretty sure we were the best officer core to date and obviously the most humble too.

Needless to say, we realized quickly that I’m pretty sure all we used to do at our events was take pictures. Glad to see we kept the tradition alive.

We then headed into the football game which I can confidently say 85% of us could have cared less about. Just more time to talk! My sister and bro-in-law went to the same college too and they were also at the game.

I am so thankful for friendships from college that I can still call my very best friends. These girls have walked through a lot with me and I sure am grateful.

It was such a fun day full of laughter and memories! It’s safe to say we are clearly not in college anymore but I think age has done us all well.

I’ll be sure to recap the rest of our trip later because we were still in Texas for one more week! I promise we did more things with our child after that. 😉 But don’t worry about him, he was doing just fine getting his grandma time in…

Some big things have been happening around here. Our little baby headed to preschool last week. When I went back to work a year and a half ago, the most amazing person watched Caleb for us which was such an answer to prayer. But now the little guy is finally old enough for our church’s preschool and is dying to be around other kiddos. So off to preschool he went! Which made me realize that it was beyond time for a Caleb update! To see past Caleb updates, see all about the two’s and all about the one’s.

For his first week of school, I thought it would be fun to ask him questions and then see how his answers change every year. He’s not quite 3 yet (Next month! What?!) so I wasn’t really sure how it would go, but it did not disappoint. 

What is your favorite color? Umm… grey. 

What is your favorite food? Yogurt raisins

Who is your best friend? Maddie Moo

What is your favorite thing to play with? Dylan… Is that my cousin? 

What is your favorite animal? Zebras. Hey! We went to the zoo to see the zebras and see ALL the animals! 

What is your favorite movie? Veggie Tales

What is your favorite book? ABC book with the apple in it and the girl on it and the umbrella

What do you want to be when you grow up? Uhhhhh….. Like you. Yes I want to be like you. 

Who is your favorite person? Mommy

What is your favorite toy? My horse JoJo got me. 

This guy loved this ‘game’ and wanted me to continue to ask him a million questions. And I promise I didn’t persuade him to choose me on those answers! Daddy was in the other room so I’m thinking out of sight, out of mind. 😉

This guy is FULL of energy. Sitting still and watching a movie is not his jam AT ALL. He wants to be playing and talking. At all times. He still has so many words. And questions. About everything. 

He loves to sing and dance. Some of his favorite songs right now is Wheels on the Bus, Lift Your Head by David Crowder, and he can always go for some Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars. Safe to say the kid likes a wide variety of jams. And he wants the volume UP. I don’t think I’ve listened to the radio this loud since I was in high school and thought it was cool to possibly bust out my ear drums. Apparently the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…

He loves to know how everyone is doing and sounds like such a little grown up sometimes. He will ask ‘Mommy, how did you sleep?’ and ‘Tell me bout your day’ and ‘How are you feeling? Not super great?’ And he expects answers. 😉

He loves to be out and about and going places. He’s always asking where we are going that day and often cries when we leave places because he wants to stay. We are the kid at drop off that runs in excited but cries at pick up because we don’t want to go home. Extrovert much? 

He also LOVES a party. The good thing is that anything can really suffice as a ‘party’ to him if it includes at least one person outside of mommy & daddy. Right now he keeps asking for a party at his house just like Mrs. Lauri (because we just attended her son’s going away party at her house). He saw that tons of people came to her house and he wants in on that action. Good thing his birthday is coming up. 🙂

He is LOVING preschool. He tells me all about circle time, the colors and shapes they are learning about, and how Mrs. Paulette says to ‘zip your mouths.’ He also explained that in circle time, you can sit criss cross applesauce or legs out straight. He sits legs out straight because he tried criss cross applesauce and he just can’t do it. (This is all him reporting this.) Preschool is only 9-12 so he stays for extended day until 3 since I am at work. Let’s just say that we are still getting used to the whole no nap thing on those days. We are definitely nowhere near dropping a nap by evidence of these past 2 weeks. Little Mr. Extrovert NEEDS his rest to recharge. 

We are praying for a great year for our little guy and so excited that he is in the same building as us! We can’t wait to see all the ways he will grow and learn this year. Our little baby is about to be 3 years old on October 1st so apparently he’s determined to keep growing up…

Linking up for Friday Favorites with Erika and Andrea

Happy Friday y’all! It’s been a busy week starting to get back in the routine of the new school year to come. I have LOVED seeing all of the back to school pics of all the kiddos & students on their first days of school. How is it already that time?! But let’s be honest because I’m so ready to say good-bye to summer and hello to fall! Give me all of the boots, sweaters, and pumpkin things! 

But while we are waiting for the beautiful season of fall (or at least it’s beautiful in Colorado), let’s talk about some of our favorites lately!

Daddy is home and we are LOVING it! Caleb is still constantly checking that when Daddy goes out the door, he’s coming back the same day and not 16 days later. So we have made sure to get some good family time in to enjoy that we are all back together. (And before the craziness of the school year begins.) Its for sure been a favorite! 

We’ve gone to the amusement park with the youth group…

Gone on a family hike….

And we went to the splash pad in downtown Denver.

Last weekend, some of our favorites came to visit.. G-Daddy & Mimi! 

We got lots of good time in at the playground…

The little guy schmoozed them into taking him for a bike ride…

More playground action (because someone has SO MUCH energy)…

And then the big event was riding a train!! We went on the Royal Gorge Railroad which is a 2 hour ride on a steam train that takes you through a beautiful part of the mountains. 

We had reserved seats but then you can also walk to the open-air car and walk all around. Both inside and out, there were people over the speaker explaining everything that you were looking at. It was so great! 

We all LOVED it! I’m not really sure if G-Daddy or Caleb loved it the most. We might just have to call it a tie with their silly faces…

Back at home, the little guy had deemed Mimi the reader of the stories every night…

When you have breakfast with the grandparents, you get to have a drawing contest and eat the silliest pancakes ever…

Our last night together we had a great dinner at one of our favorite places, the Farmhouse at Breckenridge Brewery. 

It was such a great visit and good-byes are never easy for the little guy. He’s still asking why they left and when they are coming back. 😉 Obviously, the visit was a favorite! 

So now it is time for another weekend and we are ready to have some more fun! Happy Friday everyone! 

Linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci.

I have always been so thankful for the town that I grew up in because of its diversity (and it’s great football team but that’s not the point of this post). I was never aware of the exact percentages of each ethnicity represented, but I know that it was pretty diverse between White, Black, Hispanic, & Asian. At times in school, I would even find myself the minority in some of my classrooms but these were the people that I had grown up with and all that I knew. I never knew any different. Going off to college, even though it was not an all-white college, I still remember being surprised at how many white people were everywhere. Now I find myself in Colorado in a land of white suburbia (or so it seems). 

And here I sit for the past year while watching the news and reading the articles full of racism, hatred, and desperation in our country. It absolutely breaks my heart and sickens me. However, I have the privilege (the white privilege) of crying while sitting safely on my couch because this is not my reality. As sad and horrible I find it, I do not know the heartache or worry of watching my teenage son walk out the door while I fear his safety in situations where he should feel safe. I will never know the angst of my family being treated less than just because of the color of our skin. And these are just the everyday occurrences. This does not even count having to endure watching a hate rally while horrible people exclaim that they are the superior race, not my own. No, I will not know how this feels. I can only try to imagine and fathom the heart-wrenching emotion that comes with all of this. 

But I can’t sit silently. Silence indicates that I am okay with hate being spread to certain people in our country. Silence indicates that even though I may not agree with them, I don’t care enough to say or do anything about it. Silence means racism moves one step closer to winning. No, I can NOT sit silent. As a follower of Christ and a person that does not believe anyone reigns supreme over anyone else, I am called to action. I am called to love. 

It is clear in the very beginning of the Bible that we are ALL made in God’s image (Genesis 1:16). In Acts 10:34, Peter says, “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” If God does not show partiality, why do we as people feel like we are able to do that? Are we claiming to know better than God? In John 13:34, Jesus commands us “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” He is commanding us to love like He loves, which includes showing no discrimination over anyone else (James 2:9).

As we read and study Scripture, it is clear that we are being called to show love to EVERYONE. People that are different from us. People that may not be easy for us to love. That means loving and praying for the people that are consistently victims and also for the people that are the attackers. This does not mean it’s a love that excuses behavior, but one that holds them accountable to those behaviors and prays for transformation of hearts. 

So how do we do this? I do not even begin to know the answer to this. I’ve been in a safe little bubble for so long so it’s hard to even know where to start doing my part for reconciliation. But I do know that there are people I love and people I don’t even know that are hurting. 

So to my friends that this is your terrifying reality everyday, tell me what I can do. Forgive me for my lack of action in the past. You already have my love and my prayers. But I know you need my actions. Teach me. I AM WITH YOU. 

And to my white friends, step up with me. It’s time we stop sitting idly by and hoping that everyone can just get along. To those that are Christians, you don’t even get that option. God is clear in how He has called us to live this life. Let’s do just that. TODAY.

‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:23

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” Romans 12:9

Welcome back for round two! If you missed the first part about our trip in Houston, you can check that out here. Or you can ignore that altogether and just read all about the part of our trip in Dallas/Fort Worth. But first let me just say that last year when we did this trip, I tried my best to see as many people as possible that we miss immensely. This year none of that was really able to happen due to a stomach bug, a crazy acting little guy, and a super exhausted mama. As much as we would have loved to spend that time with everyone, sometimes plans just don’t work out. 😦 But there’s always next time, right?? 

So on Monday morning, we packed up all of our things and 3 children. This of course only took about 4.2 million hours because it takes about a bajillion things to travel with 2 toddlers and a baby. But then we were ready to go! We had already planned to stop in Huntsville which is where my sister and I both went to college because we promised the littles that we would let them visit the big statue. They were PUMPED to go see the big Sam Houston. Or Uncle Sam as Caleb called him. 

They thought the face statue was so silly and loved looking up his nose. They are obviously very mature 2 year olds. We made this stop last year and Y’ALL. Look at the difference in these kiddos. 

Seeing the actual statue blew their minds…

We took our now annual picture in front of the statue. And let me just say that it was the epitome of herding cats. And we love the new addition to our picture. 🙂

There’s a cute little visitor center house that has a lot of cute games so we let the kids run some energy out. Thankful it was overcast so we got a bit of reprieve from the feeling of being on the surface of the sun.

This year we decided to actually go visit our college campus. We picked up some lunch and took it to campus for a picnic. And let me just say, college students thought it was just totally normal for three children and two moms to be hanging around. Especially when I ran through the student center with the two bigger kids because someone was exclaiming that she had to go to the big girl potty. #allthelooks

Then it was back on the road! By the time we arrived to their house, we were all DONE. Tears may or may not have been involved… and not just by the children. 

The next day, Ashley and I both did not feel super great. She was able to rally a little better than me but I was pretty out for the count most of the day. Thankful for my sister, bro-in-law, and of course Maddie that kept my little guy entertained while I felt like death. I’m sure baby Dylan did his part too. 

The next day we were all back to normal and headed to the place where you take children when it’s 100,000 degrees outside. Story time of course! 

That evening, we did the next reasonable thing to do. Swim!!

The next evening, I had the opportunity to have another girls night. We kept it low key by just hanging out at one of our houses. But my bestie is pretty much the queen of hostessing so it didn’t look the least bit low key and instead all kinds of adorable.

I also got some girl time with this little one before the big girls showed up. 

Just sitting on the couch and talking with these friends was so needed. They have always spoke so much wisdom in my life and people that I know pray fervently for me. I am beyond grateful for their friendships. (And beyond sad to miss seeing one of them!)

While I was hanging with them, Caleb was having the time of life with Maddie Moo in a splash pad. #squadgoalz

The next day we did a bit of shopping to get Maddie ready for school. The whole crew in a cart together was quite the experience. 

We then did lots of playing and pushing around baby Dylan. 

That evening, Uncle Chris became a hero by taking us all out for ice cream at a cool nitrogen sub-zero ice cream shop. I’m not even going to pretend to really know what that means but there was smoke and the kids loved it. 

The next day G-Daddy and Mimi came up for a visit as one of their many stops on their road trip! Let’s just say, that gave the kids all the feels. 

The rest of the evening more of our family came over for a shrimp boil. It’s rare for us to all be together, but we sure love it when we are. We know that it would make Meemaw and Grandad very happy. 🙂

Then Sunday was our last day! Uncle Chris started it off with a fun farewell drive around the backyard. In their pajamas because we like to keep it classy. 

It was off to the airport and there’s no pictures of the tearful good-bye because seeing two 2 years old cry about being separated will just about break your heart.

After he calmed down, we managed to have a fine time in the airport while we waited to go home. It is his second home after all.  

Although we were so sad that Daddy wasn’t home yet, we made the best of the next two days until he arrived! And kept up with him thanks to technology. 

He came home and then our lives were complete. 🙂 Don’t mind us while we are out having fun being all together again!