he takes my breath away....

I’ve seen “those” movies…. You know the ones with overly romance guys, whoo-ing the girl with extravagant surpises: he’s standing in the doorway with flowers waiting to whisk her off on romantic jaunts, every moment planned just for her.

I giggle at these scenes in movies because it does not depict the typical, everyday life of the married couple. Not because the husband is a self-absorbed jerk or the wife is undeserving, but life is busy with jobs and the home and the kiddos and church and extended family and blah, blah, blah…. You know where I’m headed, right?!

And I am not a woman who shies away from acknowledging her birthday (today is my birthday, just fyi…), I am completely comfortable with my age of 33 and loving every (almost) minute of it. The Lord has seen fit to give me another breath, another day, another year in which to live each glorious, gifted moment to His ultimate Glory…. And I had big plans for today, BIG! The kiddos just started spring break, so we had the whole day to hang, enjoy the beautiful weather, maybe go out for dinner when my Man got home from work, it was gonna be wonderful.

Then the completely unexpected occurred……

He went for Man of the Decade today (ssshhhhh….nobody tell him that he had already won it, hands down!!)….. It was right out of a movie…..

A knock at the front door about 10:00am…. I open it to find him, my Man, my utterly wonderful husband standing at the front door holding 18 gorgeous roses (in all the most magnificent colors)!! We embrace, we kiss…..

I stammer something about how he should be at work and what’s he doing and these flowers are gorgeous and you are wonderful and joy rolls down my cheeks…..

This Man takes my breath away sometimes

He has arranged for someone, my sister (in-law), to be my ‘lady-in-waiting’ for the day, they will arrive at 11:00am to head to the first of many (many is an understatement) schedules appointments, just for me….

Could this possibly be real?!

I’m a bit off kilter, but so excited as he tells me to go get changed and he’ll take all the kids (I was babysitting today, so it wasn’t just ours…..)

The kids are all giddy and excited at this change in schedule and my Girlie wants to know Mama is going to go do and jealous because big brother ‘P’ was in on the secret all along, and ‘K’ is hugging and chanting “Happppppyyyy Ber-day, mama!!”

But this Man, just smiles big, hugs me tight, tells me how beautiful I am, how much I deserve this, enjoy and soak in all his love and he’ll see me later tonight…. An entire day?! Into the evening?!

I am whisked off to lunch at one of my fav places with my fav people, then to a spa for an afternoon of hair clipping, finger painting, back rubbing, then to one of my most coveted stores for shopping at my mama’s expense (happy birthday to me!!!!), to dinner, to more shopping, to a fabulous boutique expo, to one more gift revealed, then at the late hour of 8:30p I walk in the door of my home, my haven, arms laden with gifts and overflowing with grace….

And this final gift caused the joy to well up again… all my kiddos and this awesome Man of mine with candles lit singing and beaming and pictures frames with a special message for this monumentally blessed mama

I find words inadequate to describe how my heart is spilling with thanks for a Man who would take the time, precious moments to plan a day like this for me…every detailed laid out. It’s not the money he spent or even the gifts themselves, but to know that He took time to think about how to care for me in a way that we simply just don’t take the time to do much, takes my breath away. He sacrificed time and resourse to invest in surprising and pampering me, loved on me in such a profound way by going out of his way and saying “you first, my love”…..

So blessed….so blessed

catchin' up....

since i've been a tad inconsistent with my blogging for the last month (sorry, again...), there is a ton to catch up on, like....

....did i tell you that we had a baby squirrel?! yes, we did... past tense.... he had such a wonderful time playing with all the kiddos and jumping from drape to drape, eating hand-picked acorns and being the center of attention at 3rd grade show-n-tell, he (his name is Bandit) just laid down and fell into an eternal sleep dreaming of tall trees and yummy nuts from now 'til forever.... yep, he croaked passed away just days before we were to release him back into the wild back yard. it was actually very sad for our posse and my Man was conveniently out of town on business during the whole drama, leaving Mama here to handle the tragedy alone.... sorry if my sarsacm is dripping all over your screen right now, just wipe it off and find your happy place in looking at this adorable picture of Bandit and lil' Girlie

....i had an amazing 3 days soaking up the wisdom of Godly women at our church's womans conference! A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.!! the presence of the Lord so sweet and deep.... renewal that was much needed, insight that i had been seeking, dreams being revealed, and such a blast spending this time with my sister (in-law) M..... big God-sized dreams that seem impossible to me, but with God working through and the power of His Holy Spirit, nothing is too big for my God! can i get an AMEN?!! thanks :)

....there was a birthday in the house!!! our baby Girlie is now the big 9!! how did that happen?! she's 9, really?! aside from my denial that she's becoming a beautiful young girl and not my lil' preschooler anymore, it was a great week of celebration. yes, i said week long celebration: the family party on the 3rd, mini-celebration just our Posse on her actually birthday on the 5th and finally her friends came over for an evening that following weekend. wow, i'm tired all over again just typing that!

my sweet girl, Mama thinks the universe of your heart and soul! your eyes see right to someone's heart and your compassion is unmeasured. i love your delight in the Lord, how your voice rings sweet as you recite verses to me, God's secrets written on your heart...simply gorgeous is all of you, inside and out!

...and how could i forget the endless days of football practice and games for the ever-growing eldest, 'P'.... his dedication and perservance and hard-work this first jr. high season is stunning and inspiring to me. this was a lesson in preparation without much opportunity to perform....82 boys on the 7th grade team, so no one got to truly show their full potential, frustrating is the ache during games, but God is good and faithful and 'P' demonstrated great skill on defense (inside linebacker!) and he went uninjuried (yay!)....

and as soon as the season was finished the very next week began basketball tryouts (this is our sport, baby!!)...50 some odd 7th grade boys graced the court to compete for the coveted 18 spots. after a week long tryout, our awesome young man MADE THE TEAM!! so proud, excited, humbled, thrilled, anxious.... man i love you, kid!

....we went pumpkin hunting!!! no, this picture isn't from our evening at the pumpkin patch (those pictures may or may not ever grace the screen) but it was a superfabulous evening of corn mazes, corn boxes (think sand box, but with corn kennels instead!! it was great!), horse back riding, hay rides, feeding goats & sheep, bottle feeding a calf and a wonderful time around a bonfire roasting turkey dogs and marshmellows.but this picture is at a local farmers market and was however the perfect place to buy some perfectly orange pumpkins to puncuate our front porch...and for only $13 we walked out of there with 6 pumpkins and some "baby" princess punk'ins

'K' felt the need to put all the "baby" or small (we've been doing a lot of home preschooling about tall/short, big/small, etc.... so he's a little obsessed with grouping right now) punk'ins together or with a "mommy" pumpkin. you're so stinkin' cute Big 'K'!!!

that is most definitely NOT everything that's been happening in these parts, and i've had a bajillion and one thoughts and ponderings floating around my mind and on my heart.... i will share, promise... really i will!

i so want to share some my God-dreams that i feel being led towards, talk about the Mama's Day Out program i am starting, my thoughts on another Sister Party for the Christmas season and my complete obsession with a new holiday craft to make your home fantabulous!! and even if you never stop by again, just know this:

you were hand-crafted by the Creator of the Universe and He so wants to spend time with you today: just talking, singing, crying....He is never, ever far from His children. He's waiting for you.....

be blessed my dears!!!

i've got my groove back!

i am alive!! i know, i know, it has been an entire month since i last blogged, and i have so much stored up inside that i just might burst!! if you have been following me on Twitter, then you've been pretty much up-to-date with all events here, such as: packing, closing on houses, unpacking, basketball, pool, fatigue, rearranging for the millionth time, and so on.....

so yes, we sold our beautiful home on june 25th and that same afternoon signed the papers to purchase our new home. if you want a recap on our new home, i'll get there, promise!! and it has been absolute chaos since that day!! last minute issues with buyers, filling up a 24' truck two times to get everything moved and then fitting everything from a 2200 sq.ft. home into a 1500 sq.ft. home is proving to be a challenge....

however, here is our life in a few briefs photos over the last month! enjoy....

our new home is in between two parks! yes, we live smack in the middle of town now, instead of our backyard view being a cow pasture, but it honestly is even quieter outside than at the old house (aside from the ambulance sirens every now & again). but one of the super fun perks of our home is how close to the parks, the pool we are, and 'P's favorite: the locally owned donut shop!!

here's my lil' Lou-Woo Girlie playing and i swear that she gets more beautiful every single day!

big trees!! our home has 6 very large, old trees that are perfect for climbing.... this cute face was captured climbing trees while playing at the park though.... he's so stinkin' adorable and all that curly blonde hair, oh i just love it!!!

we are at the pool A LOT! ok, we weren't at the pool at all the first week we moved, and we might have gone during week 2 had it not been storming some every day!! geez, is it april showers in july?! but thankfully, it has cleared off this week and been very hot, so we have been living it up poolside....

our oldest, mr.'P', is always playing some sort of sport. he is very blessed with athletic talents, thanks be to God!! and since he is headed to jr. high this year (tear...) he had an opportunity to play on the junior high basketball team for a shootout tournament. they did amazing, playing teams from all over the area. we were incredibly proud of him and his hard work!

(he's the one in the front to the right, during warm-up drills before their 8:20am game.... which wouldn't have been so bad except this was day 3 of the tournament and last game from the night before didn't get over until 10:45pm!!)

and while we've been at the park, the pool and playing lots of basketball, there was SO much preparation for moving. have you moved recently? then you can relate to utter chaos that engulfs your existence has you pack up every scrap of your life and try to find a box to stick it in.

that last week prior to moving was hard for us: not only were we all a little teary still about leaving our home but my Man had a business trip that had been scheduled for months & months, so there was not any getting around the fact that he would be leaving that saturday morning the 19th and not return until 2 hours before closing on friday the 25th!!

so while i was doing this.....

....my Man had meetings with this man (yes, that's Jeff Gordon!)

...at all the places on the planet, he was here....

...oh yes!! he was at Disney World!! is my jealously seeping through your screen?! we had planned on escorting daddy down to florida, but with the move it wasn't even the tiniest bit possible. darn!

nevertheless, we survived that week without my Man around to help me with all the last minute preparations, but much thanks to my mama and my brothers & sisters-in-law... i got our new home painted that week and pretty much everything at the old homestead packed up.



but why is it no matter how well you think you've done in packing and organizing, that when everyone shows up to graciously help you in loading up the truck (twice...) that you "find" all these little things that you forgot about?! and with people calling your name from upstairs and downstairs asking "what do i do with this?" and "does this go in a car or get packed into the truck?" it feels that much more stressful..... and not to mention the crabbiest, most ungrateful buyers on the planet that decided to display there nastiest for all to see that day, too... but i'm not even going to tell you that story because then my hateful side will emerge and i'd like this post to be mostly 'cakes & pies' for you dear readers!!




so we got moved that very warm friday evening and had everything into our new home by midnight....


we had a birthday our first week here!! it was baby Big 'K's third birthday!! oh, how did he get so big? we had a toy story themed birthday, completed with a large buzz lightyear balloon floating around our home for days :)



here's sweet boy blowing out the candle on his birthday cupcake (we had his big party with family at nana's house the next day)....




and it is a tradition that began with 'P's first birthday, when they're little and don't have much of a say, we have a cheeseburger at mc-d's....


isn't his faux hawk hair-do just awesome?! i did actually have it cut that way because i think he wears it splendidly!



but before the birthday, before the move and before the paint, this was what my family room looked like... i so love the big picture window



and this is one of my bathrooms with its original 1961 pink floor tile (which i just adore, by the way!) and the original 1961 wallpaper (which i don't hate but can't wait to change!)

isn't it cute? can to see another sink in the back? there is a pocket door between them because there's a door from the master to the tub/sink/toliet area so we can have our privacy and if kids or guests need to wash up, brush their teeth or fix there hair they can still do that! neat, huh?

and here was my kitchen/dining prior paint and such.... it is now two delicious shades of purple and i can't wait for ya'll to see it

so in a nutshell that was what the last month consisted of... well i do have a video post for you that will walk you through the house now that i've had three weeks to organize, paint some more, decorate and re-organize again...

i've also been spending much time in the Word and in prayer, writing and trying to keep my thoughts positive. it has been a challenge to stay in a 'cupcakes & pie' sort of place when it's all a mess and there is a long list of things that need updated or fixed in a 50 year old home, but i am beginning to feel like this is "our home" and being home with my kiddos is such a wonderful blessing, even when it's hard

i have also been working on some crafts and sewing projects and i would love to reward one of you!!

here's a sneak peek....

curious?

good!!! there's a post prepped and scheduled for tonight at 9p cst and you can see the prize and enter to win!!

i can't wait to start reconnecting with everyone again and i have several posts i've been preparing that i want to share with you, so swing by tonight and enter to win!!!!

love ya much!

party on!!

birthday weekends are extraordinarily fun but completely exhausting.



our oldest kiddo, Master 'P', is now 12 years old... how is that even possible?! i'm really old enough to have a 12 year son?! in baby 'K's words "no way!!"



how could he be 12 when i was just holding him in my arms and patting him to sleep... he used to need me to read him stories, to help him brush his teeth, hold his little hand to cross the street... and now? well not so much.

i know, i know, this is the natural course of growing into being a teenager and eventually into an adult


by God's beautiful grace, P is growing into an awesome young man!!

his sense of humor is witty & on all the time, he is always on the move: riding his rip-stick or bike, he always has a basketball under one arm or is dribbling wherever he goes, he is sensitive to the needs of others and always seems to know when his sister & brother need some attention, he is totally okay being by himself but loves to entertain a crowd with a joke, he is a fan of KJ52 and Skillet, addicted to his PSP, a lover of the Lord, learning his place & purpose, he still gives me hugs and tells me he loves me

i want so much for him...

i mostly pray that he follows God with all that is in him, wherever it takes him, as long as he walks the path blazed by Jesus

while i am thoroughly exhausted after celebrating with his friends at Incredible Pizza (we were there for 3 hours and trust me 'K' was truly mad when i pryed him out of the game room), the next day spent playing on his new mountain bike, then all our family over for a barbeque (whew!! fun but tired...) and some yummy ice cream cake!! and a little Guitar Hero showdown :), it is completely worth it to celebrate that amazing day i became a very blessed mama 12 years ago...

happy birthday kiddo!! the best is yet to come... and i can't wait!!