Spring Loaded and Daddy's B-Day

We had a fabulous weekend! The weather was gorgeous, we spent time together out in it, and we got to celebrate Daddy's birthday and the start of spring! Friday night Jeff and I attended a Sunday school event with a few couples from our class. Our class is huge so they have what is called Dinner Eights, which is when 4 couples get together for dinner and get to know one another at a deeper level. Saturday was Jeff's b-day and his first as a Dad. He enjoyed sleeping in and some quality time with the boys while I went to a friend's baby shower. After I got home, our little family of 4 went out to eat at....

Yes, I took this picture myself, and I am quite proud of it and the other one I got of the boys and their b-day daddy in front of the giant horse statue! We also got daddy some fun balloons, cards, and this...

Sunday after church we attended our church's big pre-Easter egg hunting and spring fun filled extravaganza. It is called spring loaded and we have been in years past without kids. But it is SO much more fun with kids!!

Our kids are way into all things inflatable!! "A" spent half the time on this giant slide....Check out his belly flop attempt!

"J" rode this train twice!!

They did also actually hunt eggs, but it didn't quite capture their interest as much, though the candy was a winner! I got these cute soccer ball baskets at Hobby Lobby and I love them! I wish I could show you the awesome pics of the boys enjoying their first Easter egg hunt, but I will eventually be able to share them so stay tuned!

In other news, the tooth fairy graced us with her presence this week, TWICE!! "A" is robbing the poor thing blind! But oh that toothless grin is priceless!!

We also got the joy of looking for the "lost" tooth which was never actually found! We think it went down with the first bite of cheerios or fell out in his sleep! Oops! No worries, we made a replacement and the tooth fairy was gracious to still leave a dollar, but she did write "A" a little note of warning on it! Thankfully the second tooth was pulled by the sweet nurse at school, so we didn't have to worry about any more incidents of disappearance! It was such a fun "first" memory for us! Keep reading bellow for our post on our boys other recent first, a trip to the Rodeo!

"Cowboy Texas!"

They have been talking about the Rodeo at school and "A" regularly comes home singing "Cowboy Texas, Cowboy Texas!!" at the top of his lungs, usually doing a little lassoing dance move! It is hilarious! Anyway, we finally had a chance to make it to the Rodeo on its last weekend and had a great time experiencing the Houston tradition, and another "first" with our precious boys! It was a bit of a wet afternoon, but still a lot of fun!

The "birthing center" was a little over our boys head, but they did enjoy seeing the baby animals ever so briefly!

We explored the age old question of what came first, the chicken.....

or the egg?

Were terrorized by hungry goats at the petting zoo!! Really, we were! One tried to eat my shirt and they kept pawing at Jeff for food. You'd think there weren't 500 other people trying to feed them at the same time!

At least this sweet little one was gentle and by far my fav!

Along with this one dozing by the donkeys!

And this one hanging out by the hay!

Okay, maybe I liked all the animals except for that one pesky, scary goat! This pig also stole my heart! I love animals that are so ugly it is cute!

And my hubby....well, he loves candy! Especially the kind you buy by the pound! He's smiling...on the inside!

After church on Sunday, we went to the Gospel Brunch at House of Blues. I did not take this picture and it looks like it is a bit out of date because the fashions were not this outrageous!

Besides the boy's frequent trips to the restroom, we all enjoyed the food and of course the live gospel music! The family that sang had us all singing, dancing, and having a great time! Our boys danced and clapped like pros! After the brunch, we decided to go to the zoo since we were so close by. We had fun, but I'm glad we had the membership and didn't pay for admission because our boys acted much less like this.... Remember this sweet pic from our last trip to the zoo!

and much more like this....

I'm pretty sure they were just wound up from the fun filled weekend we shared!

A+J=BBall Stars

The boys finished up their first season of "organized" sports a couple of weeks ago. They started to get the hang of basketball towards the end and "J" even made a couple of baskets in the games. Not an easy feat for a kid 1/2 the size of all the other kids! "A" on the other hand preferred to win over the crowd with his charm and dancing skills instead of his athletic ability.

We were just grateful no one got hurt and our boys learned about being a part of a team.

During the last game, "J" was much more interested in snack than actually playing. Here the sweet assistant coach is showing our lil' #7 how much time is left before it is over. Shortly after this "J" sat down in the middle of the court and refused to get up off the floor.
Except for this brief moment when he made a "play" on one of the 4 girls on his team! That's our lil' Romeo!
Each of the boys enjoyed post game team parties and received this trophy. It's a bobble head and a very cute one at that! Next up, soccer! We are pretty sure this sport will be a hit with our boys since it is 98% running, which is their favorite past time!

Super Weekend!

This was a gorgeous weekend to be outside with what hopefully is the beginning of spring time weather and we took full advantage of it! AND we got our Daddy back after 2 months of crazy long work weeks! We are talking 75 hours a week and mostly 7 days a week working! The boys would see him a few minutes each morning, but that is it. We all missed him dearly and I truly struggled through basically single parenting. My parents helped a lot and sweet friends encouraged and prayed for us which made all the difference. I thought/prayed a lot for single moms, widows, and families whose loved ones serve our country far from their families.

We celebrated and reconnected by eating out and playing! We also had an amazing family photo session at beautiful Herman Park on Saturday. One of our fellow church members that I follow through blogger but had not officially met until our session is beginning a photography business. We were one of the lucky few who got in on her amazing offer of a free session to jump start things and build her portfolio. Boy were we lucky! She captured our family in action, enjoying the outside and each other-just what we wanted!

She was a joy to be around as well. Our boys immediately connected to her warm personality! I definitely recommend her to any one that is in the Houston area! You can view her blog here and there are a few more photos of the boys there. I can't wait to see the rest of our session, but the previews will hopefully hold me over!!

After the photography session we rode the train around the park and then went out to eat and for frozen custard! What a super weekend!

LOVEly Weekend!

We had a great Valentines weekend! Jeff is still working a ton due to the end of year 10K report scheduled to be completed (hopefully) next week. I was a little nervous he wouldn't get off work in time Friday night for us to go out for our Valentines dinner. We had already reserved and paid for the kids to be cared for at Parent's Night Out at church, so I really wanted to get to utilize it. Jeff did have to work a hour or so late, but we had plenty of time to have dinner at "Our spot", the Grotto.

Here we are enjoying our favorite dessert, the Italian wedding cake! YUM! You will notice in this post that I am quite the food/animal photographer. Try not to be jealous, but it's true, I have skills!

Jeff had to work after the boys basketball games Saturday afternoon, but Sunday we celebrated as a family.
It started with my attempt at a creative "I heart U" donut breakfast and goody bags for my littlest Valentines. The boys have wanted to go to the zoo for weeks, but Jeff's work schedule made that difficult. So, Sunday afternoon we surprised the boys with a trip to the zoo. It was a great way to spend our first Valentines Day as a family of 4! How lucky am I to have 3 sweet valentines?
Meerkats are very popular at our house!! Jeff and I even got hooked on their "reality show" a couple of years ago and were bummed when it ended!
Daddy giraffe and baby were super cute!
But not as cute as my sweet boys, walking hand and hand. Our new header includes a close up of their sweet hands. Totally melts my heart! Yes, J has a monkey "leash", no we didn't have to use it. He loves his Curious George back pack so he wanted to wear it anyway and we tucked the tail in so it didn't drag the ground. Yes, we are "those parents", but you would be too if your kid was known to take off running at Olympic medal worthy speeds with no regard for his personal safety!
I like this photo of the stoic tiger, J's favorite.
Both boys loved the monkeys, all different varieties! These guys' eyes cracked me up!
As did the pouty lip of this little gal apparently sad to be single on V-Day.
The boys could have watched the orangutan swing around all day!
TOTALLY captivated!
This king of the jungle was also very popular with our boys! We visited him and the tiger a couple of times! We didn't quite see everything in one day even though we stayed until closing. No worries though because we got an annual membership and will definitely be back soon!

Happy Heart Day!

Happy Valentines Day! We have begun the celebration with donuts, goody bags, and have plans to go to the zoo a bit later on. I couldn't be happier to be sharing Valentines Day with all 3 of my loves!

Daily Dependence

So I try hard not to get on soup boxes on here because in general I don't want to offend anyone, but today it may seem like I am on one. Perhaps I am, but what I really want to convey through all of this is our faith in God's sovereignty and our love of our precious boys.

We are going through a particularly difficult junction in our journey as a family with daily reminders of how fleeting it all could be. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think this particular experience is not something most families encounter. Perhaps just foster/adoptive families and families who journey through life threatening health issues share this practical daily need to treasure every moment. We are in the midst of doing just that and truly I am so grateful that I have the honor of spending every day with our boys, especially at this time of uncertainty. Speaking of uncertainty, it has placed a tremendous strain on all of of our earthly relationships. Friendships that once brought mutual encouragement, have become distant and injured by very vulnerable emotions. At the same time, a couple of friendships have flourished and grown and provided me in particular an outlet to share my heart freely without fear. For these I am very grateful. One sweet friend recently drew my attention to the verses that follow the verse we have on the boys wall. I have begun praying this truth over us and our boys. The entire passage of Isaiah 43 is awesome but here are some particularly powerful verses for our present circumstance:

When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.

³ For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.

⁴ Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
and people in exchange for your life.

⁵ Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

Through these verses I am reminded of God's characteristic of sacrificial love which protects His children at all costs!

While praying recently about our situation and seeking God's wisdom. He very clearly gave me another verse which I pray many times a day to center myself on His sovereign plan for our family and His ultimate will to receive glory. Again, the entire chapter brings comfort but this little phrase is always on my lips:

^{Psalm 46:10}

"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

Please continue to pray for us as we grow closer to God and to one another during this difficult time of uncertainty. Your prayers and encouragement on our behalf truly mean more to us than we can express!