Summer is over and Whole30 has arrived

Summer is officially over here not because the weather has changed but because I am back at work!  Jack started Pre-K 4 weeks ago and is loving every minute. He is growing like a weed and I dread the amount of new pants I am going to have to buy.  We are all doing well and its hard to believe that we have been in our house over a year now. I love having a house even with all the fun "home ownership" things that go along with it.  

Since we are pretty settled in the house and back to work/school we thought it would be a good time to shake things up a bit. Well its probably more honest to say that 6 months ago I bugged Brian about how bad our eating habits were and that he needed to read a book.  "It Starts With Food" is the book and here we are 6 months later ready to make some changes.  We also picked up the "Whole30" cookbook and it will be our best or worst friend over the next 30 days.  The easiest way for me to describe what we are doing is this:  Eat meat, eat veggies, eat fruit, use good oils for cooking and real herbs/seasonings. That's is.  No sugar, no msg, no processed, no dairy (yes this means I am learning to enjoy black coffee) and you do all of this for THIRTY days!! In a row.

So here we are on Day 1. We have had 2 meals and a plan for supper.  Today was easy..why? Its Labor Day and Brian and I were both off work.  Tomorrow..well that's another story.  But we are working the plan and praying for healthier habits to stick.

I will be posting our menu/food things on instagram here  if you care to follow along!!

Hope this finds you well.  Blessings!

Summer 2015

Wow, summer is most certainly upon us!  Year 18 of teaching wrapped up for me the first week of June and we quickly went into vacation mode!!  We spent 3 days in Glen Rose, Tx enjoying a MUCH slower pace of life then returned home to start painting the inside of our house. We have been homeowners for almost a year now and while there is much to keep up with we would not change a thing.  The month of June is almost over and I cannot believe it!! My "To Do" list is quite not DONE!!   Jack just wrapped up 2 weeks of swim lessons and he did so well!  My little reserved guy is thrilled with himself that he can go under water!  He is growing up quick.

Hope you are having a great week.

Granddad turned 90 back in May so we headed up to Oklahoma for the party. 

Our niece, Alexys, graduated from high school so a trip down to Navasota was in order. 

A stop at the George H. Bush Presidential Library. 

He ordered ONE Choo Choo Train

Our first vacation stop was for ice cream, of course. 

Fossil Rim Wildlife

All the animals were this brave. They knew we had food. 

Riding through Fossil Rim Wildlife Preserve 

He had to brush ALL the goats! 

Hello Mr. Zebra. One of the MANY  animals we saw and fed!

Naptime on the couch like a big boy. 

 Vacation week wrapped up with a Train Theme.  A train ride up to Denton for lunch and ice cream then the Chuggington Live show.  Let's just say Jack was in heaven!

Wow..its been forever

So the last time I posted on my blog I had EVERY intention of starting up more frequent updates...well you can see how that worked out!    Life has been busy.  In the past year we have vacationed in San Antonio, bought a house and moved, I started a new business and started a new school year, Jack has turned 4 and we are currently wrapping up the school year!  Those are just a few of the things we have experienced.

I truly am planning on updating my blog, links and all, and getting back at it!!

Summer is super close!!  Cannot wait!!

Easter Sunday

Jack loves his Maddie dog. Maddie is not quite sure some days. 

8 Years

January 14, 2006 was our wedding day.  Its hard to believe its been 8 years since we said "I do".  I cannot imagine being on this journey of life with anyone else.  Brian is my amazing husband. ( I should tell him that more often! ;-) )  I look back and see all that God has done in our lives and I am so thankful that the Lord knows what he is doing.   I am thankful for all the good times, the hard times and the down right "this stinks" times because it brings us to today and it keeps our eyes on the future.  I am thankful for the son we have and the joy he brings to both of us and others everyday.  I am so very thankful for Jan 14, 2006.

Happy Anniversary to my man, my hubs, my best friend. Thank you for being you. Thank you for working so hard for us. Thank you for making me laugh. Thank you for putting up with my craziness (this happens often). Thank you for loving me...just as I am.  I love you.  Here's to many more years.

Words, Words, Words

This guy has found his voice and the words, sentences, phrases, and adorable-ness pour out daily.  I love this picture because I know he is saying, "whook, mama, whook".  Just before J turned three is seemed his vocabulary exploded and that explosion has not stopped.  We love the way he talks and his excitement in learning.  So here are a few of our current words/phrases/vocabulary..in all their cuteness!!

Whook!!= look
Twismas Twee= Christmas Tree
Mah-ee Mah-ee= Maddie Maddie (this is our dog and he has to say it twice every time)
Mere= Come here
Chawkwhat milk= Chocolate Milk
Eww-sic=Music
Beagle= Bugle
Tub-uh= Tuba
Biolin= Violin
The Cow= Chick-fil-a
Play= McDonald's
The Trees= the movie "The Lorax"
Choo Choo= the movie "The Polar Express"

I am loving this age and I know one day I will miss it dearly.
Have a great week.

5th Post of the Year!???!!! What??

Yes this is only my 5th post of the entire year!! I blame Facebook, Twitter and Instagram on their immediate response, contact, communication gratification!  ;-)  I honestly enjoy blogging and am not sure why I don't more often. 

Its New Year's Eve Eve and I cannot believe that 2013 is about to come to a close.  We have enjoyed a wonderful holiday season from Thanksgiving, J's birthday, to Christmas.  My mom, stepdad, and nephew joined us for Thanksgiving and they returned at Christmas along with Brian's mom and stepdad.  J could not have loved Christmas any more than he did this year.  The true wonder of the season really grabbed him. He loved every Crwismas Twee he saw and was sure to declare such at every corner.  We went to the Bass Pro Shop in Grapevine Christmas Eve morning and J was most interested in the choo-choo train, the water wheel and the fish.  Santa Claus was ignored along with the reindeer carousel!

J turned three just before Christmas and we celebrated this year with family time.  The day of his birthday we had a party at daycare with his friends and then dinner was at GattiLand where he learned to play Skee Ball with Daddy.  The next day we took him to the Dallas World Aquarium and he loved every moment.  The monkeys climb trees, Dory fish swim and we even found Nemo.  Dad of course loved the sharks and I just loved my son seeing a whole new world. 

We have a few days left during our Christmas Break before the spring semester starts up and I hope to complete a few projects around the house and encourage potty training.  We tried this morning to get J on board with the idea and he wanted nothing to do with it.  We have all the incentives in place and we are encouraging and being patient until J decides he is ready.  I know I am going to blink and this potty training thing will be nothing more than a blip on the radar of life.  My boy is growing up and he amazes me everyday. 

So here is to maybe a bit more writing in 2014, maybe I can at least blog once a month!
Happy New Year! May 2014 abound in God's blessings. 

Our Family Pictures from this year. Photographer Rachel Ledbetter

Fall Festival at Church

A Sunday afternoon at the park

J stealing my phone and taking a "Selfie". His favorite pastime

The School Year Has Begun!

So this pretty much wraps up every afternoon in our household.  We are 2 weeks into the official school year but J has been back in the groove for 3 weeks now since I had a week of inservice. We all come home pretty tired but J is always drained.  The other day I looked over and he was all cuddled up with his lovies and blanket so I had to catch this moment.  Most days we come home and "Tales" is requested as in Veggie Tales.  Then we enjoy a little supper and some play time before bath and bed.  Our evenings are quick but sweet and usually filled with lots of giggles.