Becoming More

At the end of August, my church held it's annual Women's Conference. We always have some pretty amazing speakers, but this year was quite spectacular, as Lysa Terkeurst was our special guest. Becoming More was the name of the two-day conference, and she certainly gave some insight and wisdom how to do just that. I was so convicted and encouraged by the challenges Lysa brought. And because I was one of the emcees of the conference, I also had the privilege of getting to eat lunch with her and getting to visit with her one on one. Icing on the cake! She's a godly woman with and amazing story who just has the mentatlity of "saying yes to God," even if that means stepping outside her comfort zone. I pray that's the kind of woman I can be.

Goodbye Baby Tooth

No, her gap isn't growing! But, Maia did loose her first baby tooth in August. She has been waiting for a while for this day to come and fortunately it wasn't the least bit traumatic. The "tooth fairy" (which she knows full well are mom & dad) brought her $1 for her tiny tooth.

First day of 1st

On August 22nd, Maia began her 1st grade year of school. She's a little sleepy eyed in the pictures, but she was very excited. She was not as excited when she found out the next day, that she'll now be having homework every night! But overall, she is once again loving school. My prayer is the same as it was when she began Kinder. I'm so thankful for the teachable moments God gives us through Maia being at Sam Houston. I pray we never waste them.




Maia gets her own desk this year and gets to keep her supplies in her desk. Moving to the big time... :)


Waiting patiently for class to begin

Preschool Choir Graduation

In August, Maia ended her 3 years in Preschool Choir with a cute little graduation ceremony. She loved being in there and learned so much. We so appreciate Mrs. Smith's dedication to these little guys and girls, and know she loves each one so much.






Maia sure loves Mrs. Smith!

Happy 3rd Birthday Josephine Rose

On July 30th our Josie turned 3. Its so true that time truly flies when you have young children. It seems like such a short time ago that she came into our lives. Then we blinked and now she's 3, going on 13, I might add! I posted a while back about her little personality and the joy the little stinker brings into our lives. A few comments we hear on a regular basis about Jojo are: "I can't believe how light her hair is." (she had very dark hair when she was an infant) or "Look at those big, beautiful, blue eyes!" and one of our favorites, "She is an independent little thing, isn't she?" To which we can only agree.
I love this girl more than I could ever put into words, and secretly love that she prefers me above all others! Thank you, Holy God, for blessing our family with this child, and all the lessons you're teaching us through her. Help us to raise her in a way that glorifies you.


In keeping with the tradition of writing the number of favorites according to ages, I'll share three of Josie's favorite sentences at this stage in her life. I can only assume they are her favorites since she she says them several times a day:
1. "I can do it myself!"
2. "I can't be happy right now."
3. "I'm not little, I'm big."

Party Time!

Everyone came together to help our little lady bug celebrate her 3rd birthday. This poor child was chomping at the bits for months, wondering when her "birfday" was coming. We began telling her in July, so then when she found out it was July but not her birthday yet, she was a little confused as to why she was still having to wait! But I think she'd agree that it was worth the wait. Of course we were so blessed with the generosity of our family and friends, as they gave to our sweet girl. Thank you, to all those who came to celebrate this precious life and especially thank you, to Papa and Grandma for hosting yet another pool party at your house!

Time for Presents

Feeling crafty, again

Every so often I get the bug. You know, the creative one. I have that condition where I see something that looks fairly simple to do and think, "I can totally do that." My attempts usually fall way short of the original concept. But, I definitely enjoy giving it my best.

Sewing is something I don't often have a lot of time for, but the more I do it, the more I love it. I've been trying variations of these appliques for a few months now and I think I'm improving... :) At least, I am more pleased with the results each time I complete one.

With the summer, I've had a little more time to bust out my sewing machine, and here are a few things I worked on for some cute little girls I know.








The girls wearing their new shirts



Up next, I'm contemplating trying to make some ruffled leggings or a dress with a layered bandana skirt. Can't decide. I know you'll be waiting on pins and needles to find out! :)

And here are the ones I did for my two favorite girls in Houston




For Jillian


and for Lauren

New York City, Baby!!!

In May, my sweet husband let me pack up and leave him and the girls in Texas, while I hopped on a jet plane for NYC.

Back in September, my sister Amy, who is a theater teacher for Midland Christian School, began planning a theater trip for her students to New York. Well long story short, I got to tag along as a chaperon, and for FREE!

The trip could not have come at a busier time of year, but I was very thankful for the opportunity. We had loads of fun and every single one of our four days was jam packed with sight seeing, shopping, theater, workshops, etc.

Thanks so much to my sweet husband for playing Mr. Mom to our girls for four days and to Amy for including me in your trip! You two are the best!




I can't think of a better way to start the trip off, then by going to see Wicked. I had very high hopes for this and it did not disappoint! Probably my very favorite part of the trip.


We weren't allowed to take pictures during the performance, so this is the only shot I managed to get. It's the curtain on the stage, which is a map of Oz. In the center is the Emerald City.

Day two began with a quick visit to Strawberry Fields in Central Park. Then on to 5th Ave, the Met, a Theater workshop and Empire State Building. Very full day!


This is the Dakota Apartment building - where John Lennon was shot in front of and where his wife Yoko Ono still owns and resides on the very top floor. I think our guide said it was the largest apartment, by square footage, in Manhattan - or something like that.


In front of the fountain at Lincoln Center


Can you hear the theme music to 30 Rock?

Radio City Music Hall

One of the big highlights from the trip was getting to visit the Radio City Music Hall. I truly had no idea how large this historic building was. It's been pretty much kept in it's original state since it opened in the 1930's and has a ton of history. Not to mention, is the home of the world famous Rockettes!




This is a lounge room where the performers go to relax. Sort of a green room I guess. All the furniture is original and though famous people are aloud to sit on the furniture and touch it, we were not. :(



Amy and I posing with an actual Rockette. Great for the self-esteem.

The Met

Visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is something I've desired to do for about the past 8 years. On this trip I finally got too. Unfortunately, we were only there for a little over an hour. You can probably tell just by looking at the outside, that isn't nearly enough time. I could've spent all day and still not seen everything.
But nevertheless, we walked as fast as we could, getting as much in as we could and trying to take it all in as best as possible.
Here are a few highlights. Obviously the pictures do absolutely no justice to the pieces themselves.