open for business

Last Friday evening,  Jason and I re-opened our super exclusive babysitters club and watched my niece and nephew for the evening so my sister could take the night off and have dinner with a friend.  We had the whole evening planned out - rice and bean burritos with avocados for dinner and a surprise trip to get frozen yogurt for dessert.  When I told my sister our plans, the first thing she said was that Adelynn doesn't like rice and has always refused to eat it.  Say what?!  I refused to accept that fact and proceeded with our burrito making plans.  We decided our method would be to just give her the burrito and don't tell her whats in it.  Turns out, it worked like a charm.  She ate (almost) the entire thing and said that she loved it.  Operation rice-lover: success.

  

After dinner we loaded up the car and headed out for dessert.  This definitely put us on the top of the list for best Auntie and Uncle.  We had a grand time; sampling flavors before making our final choices, carefully selecting the perfect toppings, and enjoying every last bite until there wasn't a drop of yogurt left.  And we managed to make it through the entire evening with zero meltdowns.  I think it may be time to upgrade our babysitting status to child whisperers.  Maybe.  

a little backyard fun

It has been so amazing having my sister, niece and nephew in town.  Last week, I had everyone over for dinner and afterwards the kids ran around in the backyard until sweat was dripping down their brows.  Our neighbor's little girl, Ana, came over to play too.  Her and Kaleb are the same age and they always have a fun time playing.  Adelynn insisted that my brother run back and forth without stopping.  "Come on, Uncle Ryan!"  She just loves him so.  And of course Jack was in the middle of it all.  My heart is full.

slam on your brakes

A while ago, my high school friend Emily wrote a post about slamming on the brakes.  While reading it, I instantly thought of occasions where I wished I had done exactly that.  You see something interesting on the side of the road and hesitate for just a second and then the opportunity passes by.  

I remember last year while we were driving down to Panama City, we took some back roads and passed by this tiny post office building that was straight out of the olden days - I had never seen anything like it.  I said I wanted to stop, but Jason was hesitant and I didn't press the issue.  So I missed it.  And a year later I am still thinking about what an awesome photo that would have been.  

Needless to say, a few weeks ago when we passed this field of cows, we slammed on the brakes.  I mean, it's not everyday that you see horns like those (unless you are in Texas, I guess).  I am pretty excited about this new motto I have added to my life; it's time to start really living.  Thanks, Emily!

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i can't help but smile...

...because they are here.

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hooray for new landscaping!

When you own a home, it seems like the projects are never ending.  For the most part it is fun to fix things up and make it exactly how you want it, but the down side is that everything seems to to require a good amount of $$$.  We have been in our home for three years now and each year we pick a couple big projects that we will do.  Last year we put in wood floors, new grass and added a concrete slab.  

This year we decided it was time to fix up our landscaping.  We had let it get pretty bad...please don't judge. ha!  Since neither Jason nor I really had the time to tackle this job, we hired a good friend to do it for us.  We are super pleased with the end result.  And I am so in love with having trees now, I never realized before how incomplete our home was without trees.

Next year everything will be more grown in and look even more fabulous.  

Thanks Shawn for helping us out!!

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pool crashers

This past Sunday we spent a little time at my mom's pool.  You may notice that in the summer time, the pool is a constant theme for us.  When it's hot outside and the sun is shining, we can't think of anything better than being water side.  Pool or beach.  Thankfully, Jack shares our feelings about this.  I know he is wondering when we will take him back to the beach.  I don't think it will be this year, so the pool will have to do for now.

Thanks mom for letting us crash your pool all the time! :)

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that time i got all personal and stuff

Trying.

It’s one of those topics that most couples don’t really discuss or announce.  Once you make that decision to take the leap, it sort of remains a secret between you two until you have something real to tell.  That was our thinking, anyway.  And then month after month would go by.  So here we are, a year later and with nothing to tell. 

We have always known that we would like to have a big family.  When we reached the point of being “ready,” we were excited, anxious and scared all at once.  So we began trying to have a baby with high hopes.  We had a little bet going – Jason thought I would be pregnant within three months and I thought it would take longer.  Usually I am always happy to be right, but not so much in this situation. 

I have read that infertility is defined as the failure to conceive after one year of trying.  Two of the scariest words wrapped up in one definition.  Infertility and failure.  Sheesh…way to cut straight to the heart.  I have to say also that I don't totally agree with that definition.  I have not been to see my doctor yet, so our situation has not been officially labeled anything.  We feel it’s too soon to jump to any conclusions.  I try not to worry or think about it too often, but those of you who have been in my place know that is almost an impossible task.

We pray everyday for God’s blessings and still have strong faith that we have great things to come.  We know He has wonderful plans for our future.  Sometimes the waiting is just so hard though, but we will do our best to be patient and remain faithful.  We are still so excited for what the future holds.

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