Paradise

It has been 17 long days since I posted. 9 of those days were spent in paradise! Seriously Destin, Fl is my slice of heaven. I may be partial since I have gone down there every year most of the time multiple times a year since I was 7! In fact my family loves it so much my mom moved there 12 years ago.

 

This was our one family vacation that we were able to take this year and it was MARVELOUS!! We had the best of both worlds. We had Tex's family down there in one condo, my mom and my extended family that live down there and then our immediate family had our own condo! So, we spent all day on the beach and going out to eat with family and friends and then we had our "down" time at night just to ourselves to do bedtime, etc... This worked amazing for our family!

There was a sand castle artist there from Georgia who would literally sculpt a different artwork everyday it was so cool and the kids LOVED it, they even got to help one day!

Oh my kids were in heaven. They LOVED every minute on the beach with family and their cousins. I literally did not hear a peep out of them all day and we stayed on the beach from 9-4 every day, it was awesome!

Let me just talk about this beach bum for a minute! Most kids (including my older children) HATED the beach at this age. Saying Chandler LOVED the beach would be an understatement. People around us were talking about her by the end of the week saying that they have never seen a baby LOVE the sand, water, sun that much in their lives. Girlfriend would walk around naked most days and had a blast! This is her eating her very first sucker on the beach! She would literally roll whatever food she had in her hand in the sand and then eat it!

This is how my snuggle bum would take naps almost every day. Neenie was a good resting area. She just melts my heart, we were blessed with a laid back third child!!

Chandler and I trying to take a picture, she isn't much on looking at the camera these days :)

My in laws and their baby girl! So fun to have everyone down there!

Both families. I LOVE this picture. I think in the 15 years we have been together this was the first time we have a picture of both sets of parents with us!

 

This girl Killed it on the beach! She had style, shades and sun kissed skin! She had a ball every day!

 

I have never seen this boy So happy in my life. He skim boarded 24/7 and never stopped!!

 

I can't even put into words what a wonderful trip it was. I HAVE TONS more pics to share. To watch my children LOVE the beach as much as their momma does was priceless. To have 9 days to spend with my husband, children and family was priceless! It was hard coming back but it was nice to be home at the same time. I still don't think we are fully back to our normal routine! haha

 

Tuesday Ramblings

 

Well another weekend came and another weekend passed! I shouldn't sound so un-enthusiastic but this weekend was filled with anticipation of VACATION! I literally can not wait to leave and spend 9 glorious days with my family, relaxing and soaking all of their little sandy, giggly bodies in!

 

These are the only pics I took the entire weekend for a few reasons.... 1. We didn't do anything too exciting other than I cleaned out closets and caught up on ALL of our laundry which to me is seriously exciting! We did go to church and both of the girls sported their rain boots since we got probably 2 inches of rain that morning :)



Ann Mason sporting her skinny arm and rain boots, she much prefers a dress to go to church but because of the rain we were a little more casual!  

This picture makes me smile even though it is a little blurry. The chunky thighs, the ear to ear grins from both baby girl and daddy and the adorable rain boots! This girl has her dad wrapped around her finger, he literally picked out the boots by himself, I forgot that she even had them! 

The next two pics are the very reason my picture collection is so sparse these days. There is no getting Chandler to cooperate and or sit still for 30 seconds. Here is her reaction everytime Ann Mason tries to hug or grab her, which is every 5 seconds so I kind of don't blame her for wanting to scream!  

Yet another example.... she is constantly in motion. No longer are the still, adorable pics of an immobile little baby! 

This is SO random but I had to wear uniforms all during high school. While I LOVE the idea of uniforms I now despise khakis and a solid color shirt because I wore that every day for four years. My husband is obsessed with khakis. I know this is not a bad thing but I want him to have a more casual look sometimes you know, warm up pants, nike t-shirt and tennis shoes! We finally bought him some new tennis shoes and guess what? He actually loves them! NOW if I can just get him to wear warm up pants and not khakis with them we will be in business! haha 

 

Oh my this boy makes my heart leap! We have been doing AWANA's for the past month and it has totally changed my kids lives. Seriously my kids are on fire for Jesus, it is the most amazing and awesome thing I have ever experienced. While they go to their AWANA'S classes I get to do a women's bible study so we are all getting filled spiritually. Palmer earned his first badge last week and was SO excited. It is the most wonderful thing seeing your children excited to learn about God!

 

We are on a serious Vacation countdown. My to do list is a mile long but it will be worth it when we are on the beach!!! I am planning on taking LOTS of pictures!  

A Little Slice of Random

 Well, there is not too much to report around here....

Starting Thursday Chandler started running a REALLY high temp even on antibiotics. It pretty much continued around the clock for 4 days!

 

This is our neighbor "Uncle Matt" he is the funniest and sweetest 23 year old guy and Chandler LOVES him! He went outside to watch the football game and sat down with her and he was gone for like 30 minutes and when we went out to check on him this was why... he was too scared he was going to wake her up! This is how she spent most of the weeeknd. Asleep, pitiful, cranky with a fever. It was for the birds I tell ya!

 

It wasn't until Monday that this happened....

She broke out everywhere and after a little research we realized that she had Roseola. I mean really, could we get anymore random? Poor thing! Luckily when the fever breaks the rash breaks out and it is pretty much over!

Thankfully this poor baby woke up clear today with a smile on her face! It was a rough weekend with lots of snuggling. It was kind of nice (not her being sick of course) but just having down time. I needed it, my mind and body needed it!

 

Yesterday I took off a little early to go get Chandler from Mamaw's house but the stinker had fallen asleep so.... Annie had, had a pretty rough morning. Being the middle child is hard and when you are the strong willed middle child it is even harder. So, I decided to pick her up with an open mind and heart and forget how terrible the morning was and just really focus on her! It was AWESOME! We stopped and got a snack at the gas station (for some reason to my kids that is better than ice cream) and then we went home laid on a blanket and painted her toes and nails and talked. She said "Mommy, I love you so much I wish we could do this everyday" me too baby girl, me too!

We then decided to walk to Mamaw's house which is probably a little less than 2 miles away but between being completely out of shape and pushing a 45 pound child and a double stroller that weighed 25 pounds I was worn out!!  But then I saw this...

And realized God is Good, no matter how out of breathe I was!!

 

Last but not least I am NOT a fan of school pictures. I just think they are dated and in this day and age we take so many pictures that the school pics just don't really do it for me especially not at the outrageous prices they want us to pay! But then I got this.... OH MY WORD, why does he look like he is 10? It broke my heart, he looks SO old! Words can not describe the way this boy has his mama's heart!

 

And guess what..... it's HUMP DAY! WOOT WOOT!!!

Comfort Zone

I will be the first to admit I love my comfort zone and I have realized that the older I get the smaller my comfort zone becomes. I have never been a risk taker,  I like to try new things less and less and change usually gives me anxiety but it seems like lately I have had a tugging at my heart that keeps asking me to step out of my comfort zone. It seems like these doors keep on opening and Tex and I keep on walking thru not knowing what is on the other side. It is testing both of our comfort zones but we both feel very driven to keep stepping out...

 

Yesterday Palmer inspired me!! I watched as my non-risk taker, structured, planner child spontaneously decided that he wanted to run a "running club" race because his cousins were. He had NO idea what to expect and for Palmer that meant LEAPING out of his comfort zone.

 

This race meant hundreds of kids everywhere, bull horns and pure chaos. I could almost see Palmer waving goodbye to his comfort zone thru his eyes. You can tell in this picture the excitement but the concern of not knowing what was to come. I watched as his little body lined up with hundreds of other kids to run a race where he did not know the track or even where it ended. I watched as he quietly but persistently waited for his best friend to get there so he could have a small sliver of comfort standing beside him in this big and uncomfortable moment. Most importantly I saw him be more brave than I could have ever imagined. Even a year ago Palmer would have NEVER been able to do this... the crowds, the noise, the bull horns, the uncertainty, simply it was just too much.

 

 

But yesterday he made the decision to step out of his comfort zone. I watched as the bull horn sounded and all of those kids took off and Palmer went right along with them. I watched until you could not see his little body or red shirt anymore. I watched for any glimpse that I could catch of him on the other side of the path behind the trees and over the bridge. I watched as children started to run thru the line and I felt myself tense up. Is he ok, is he tired, is he crying and about that time I spotted him. I watched as his red and sweaty face turned that last corner and the absolute determination in his eyes and he knew in that moment that he had almost made it. This was his very first run/race ever and he finished in the top 20. I could see the sparkle in his eye and although he didn't say it I could see in his face that he realized he could do things he never imagined. He also realized that he loved running, the excitment, the people, something he would have NEVER found out had he not  gone in with blind faith and was willing to try something new.

 

I feel like Tex and I are trying to be like Palmer jumping feet first into new experiences not knowing the path or even where it ends. Each time we do this it seems like we learn a little more about ourselves and the direction we want to be growing toward. Stepping out of your comfort zone is scary especially for personalities like mine and Palmer's but I keep getting the feeling that if God keeps sending me the message to step out of my comfort zone and keeps on presenting us with opportunities to do just that, then we can't lose when we are doing God's will and not ours. Palmer taught me a lot yesterday and showed me that when we do step out of our comfort zone great things can happen!

Blake Shelton

 

This weekend I got to go on a girls road trip to Nashville to see Blake Shelton. It was great! We stayed in an amazing hotel, went to dinner and had a BLAST. I do have quite the bone to pick with Blake. I spent months listening to his new cd and had every song memorized and I LOVED them. He sang 2 songs off of his new cd!!!! I was SO mad at him! It was still a good concert but I was REALLY hoping for all my favorite songs!

 

Kelly and I at the concert. We had not been out without kids in years. SO much fun catching up with my oldest and best friend!  

Sarah and I waiting for Blake to come on!!  

Dinner at Margaritaville, no high chairs, chicken fingers or meltdowns! We all laughed cause we ate our food SO fast. I think we forgot that we weren't on a time limit to get out of the restaurant before someone started throwing food or crying :) 

The Best Shot I could get of Blake. haha 

Jamie and Sarah downtown Nashville. It was SO fun and such good people watching. The outfits that 80% of people wore... WOW!!! 

In our hotel before going out!  

More Pics 

Kel and I after we got ready!  

Our hotel was so nice and this was literally the view from our room. The vanderbilt football stadium, so cool! 

As much fun as I had at the concert I missed my babies and husband! We had a great sunday and ended it with Chandler eating her first McD's ice cream cone. Talk about one mad baby, when it was gone she was fit to be tied! I love these moments. Home is definitely where my heart is for sure. I think all moms/girlfriends need a night away but it is the best feeling to come home to smiling faces, big hugs and the words "I missed you so much"!!! 

One and Six

Yesterday was one of those not so fun days when we took 2 out of 3 kids to the dr to knock out their well visits for the year. Fortunately for Palmer his 6 year old check up was a breeze, not shots, no pokes, no pricks... Sadly Miss Chandler did not have the same good fortune.

 

I loathe one year old shots. They are terrible, they make them feel horrible but I know they are of course a necessary evil.

 

Here is my sweet, happy girl for the only 5 minutes she was happy!!



My sweet happy girl was MAD, screaming, feisty, kicking, purple face mad and we hadn't even gotten to the shots!

Here she is before her shots! Luckily, we survived. She had a long night and a bad morning but I am thinking by tonight we will be better. Little did we know she also was battling 3 molars coming in and an ear infection. I felt SO bad for her!

Here are her stats. We knew she was perfect :) but apparently she got lucky and got her daddy's genes. The nurse said she is going to be tall and skinny, words that this momma has never heard in the same sentence! ha! After a lot of tears and screams we calmed down and made it out just fine!

 

Palmer was next! This kid is just plain cool. He has literally matured SO much over the last year it makes me want to cry. He is just easy and I love him with all of my heart and soul. He is killing it at football and I LOVE to watch him love a sport. He is killing it at school and I LOVE to watch him learning to read and his passion for books. I had and still have a passion for books and I can still remember vividly the book fair coming to school every year and I could have spent hours in there and he is the same way! Year Six for Palmer has rocked! I am SO proud of him!

 

He looked great and was right where he needed to be with height and weight! He is developing well, eating right (well as much as a picky six year old will eat) and just right on track!

 

TGIF is all I have to say :) The weather is beautiful and I am ready to enjoy the weekend!!!

What I've Been Up to Wednesday!

Oh my poor blog. I have missed writing and yet every time I think about posting it makes me overwhelmed. It seems like my work/life balance is a little off these days and the calendar continues to fill up and I continue to not know how I am going to manage to get everything done. In the end it always gets done but sometimes you just don't think it is possible!

 

I thought about doing multiple posts to catch up but then that seemed too daunting. My main question right now when I get presented with a new request, task, responsibility is "does this cause more stress than it's worth" if it does I am trying to say no or it can wait. We will see how this goes :)

 

So here is a recap as to what we have been up too! It has been a wonderful few weeks and even though I feel busy and not put together and unorganized at times I realize that this is it... this is what life is all about!

 

We got a date night out for my birthday!! It was wonderful to have a night just to enjoy each other and some friends without the worries of high chairs, chicken fingers and meltdowns! haha

 



 

We spent labor day weekend literally at the pool!!! It was glorious! I am a water women! Being by any body of water makes me happy!! We swam till our hearts content. The kids were in heaven!

 

When we weren't swimming and running we got to have moments like this... I love this picture! We need to have more lazy days and I know winter will bring more downtime and then I will wish it was summer and busy again! haha

 

We celebrated my 33rd birthday!!! This was a priceless moment. I have loved my 30's so far and I am sure 33 will be just as great!

 

Palmer scored his first touchdown and the whole family was their to watch. Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, etc... he was SO excited!

 

Uncle Matt and Kellye came in from California. It was a short trip but any time we have with them is precious. The kids love them so very much and so do we. Seeing them once or twice a year is hard but we soak up every minute when they are here!

 

My girls grew up?? What is happening? Especially Chandler in this picture, she is a brown biscuit and not a baby anymore :(

And last but not least yesterday Tex and I celebrated 9 years of marriage! It seems unreal and then again like it was yesterday! We have grown up so much since those carefree days of our early 20's. I wouldn't change a thing. Throughout it all he makes me laugh and is truly my best friend. In the end that is all you have left when all is said and gone. I love him with all of my heart and am so blessed with a beautiful family! Can't wait to spend the next 60 together!

 

Well, I am sure I left out tons but I feel better :) I am off to Blake Shelton concert this weekend. I don't think I have been more excited about a concert in a long time! Who am I kidding, I don't go to concerts anymore! I can't wait!