What's up....

Here is a little bit about what we have been up to during the last few months...

working hard to get ready for the arrival of our little one---this includes moving 3rooms around and losing some of my personal space-it is worth it! :)We are not near ready yet-but at least we have something started!

Sorted through all of the baby clothes from my niece and my daughter with the help of a good friend and marveled at how tiny they were and was thankful that we had saved so many of the clothes and blankets-and yes,we are having a girl!

Had a long weekend trip to the ocean in Carlsbad, CA-we visited Lego land for the first time and had some family fun! Caleb fell into the ocean on accident and got a face full of saltwater and sand:)




Halle played on the rec center basketball team for the first time and loved it! So proud of our play maker! She finished the season with the game winning shot in the final game of the season.



We finally got our first illness of the winter-but we are through it now and looking forward to Spring:)

Preparing for a little baby shower that my mom is throwing for me. I had gotten rid of all my stuff-never actually anticipating that we would once again be adding to our family.

Growing bigger and bigger each day....



Painting walls a light shade of pink for Halle's new room and planning to make new bedding for the new little one. It is still in the works;)

Purging, organizing, nesting


Planning a birthday bash for Halle at the end of the month-it is all about Olivia the pig this year and I cannot believe that my sweet little girl will be 8!

What are you up to??

Today I don't want to forget.....

.How beautiful this day was
.How blessed I am with the sweetest kids who bring me joy everyday in some small or big way!
.How excited I am to become a new mom "again" in just a few weeks
.How fun it was to shop with my mom-we found the most adorable little retro rocking chair for the nursery- and planned a darling quilt (my mom is the BEST and we are making the new baby's bedding together)
.watching my sweet Halle playing her heart out in her final basketball game-she scored a basket(her first in a game)in the final two minutes and the look on her face was priceless! (proud mommy moment)
.tucking my little boy into bed and wondering how he can manage to sleep with all the "stuffies" he must have surrounding him each night. Rex (pictured above)is his all-time favorite and goes to bed with him every night without exception. He usually sneaks out of bed to gather even more items to come to bed with him after I leave his room. He actually fell out of his bed the other night and I wondered if it was from the lack of room for him in his bed!
.feeling this little one moving and kicking around inside and realizing what a miracle I am carrying...and what a blessing it is to be able to experience this for a third time.
.How much I enjoy listening to Caleb singing around the house I've got the joy, joy joy, joy, down in my heart
.Hearing Halle sneak out of bed around 6:30am to finish up her Chapter Book(she is a complete book worm and I love that she enjoys reading so much!

I hope to have many more days ahead like this one!

Fun times....

We recently were able to go to the National Western Stock Show and have some good old western fun! The kids loved to feed the animals in the petting zoo and there were two very pregnant and very hungry goats that nearly knocked us down for our goods. I tried to capture some pictures of it all.....ENJOY!





We witnessed a prize black angus getting a haircut....




Have a great weekend!

These things make me happy...

I have not shared any pictures on here in quite some time and these just bring me happiness to look at them. They are some taken in December on our vacation and it was an afternoon where we played, swam, danced, sang, and ran around at a play area/pool and had a BALL! These pictures and memories just make me happy and put a smile on my face.

Some things I don't want to forget about this day:

-Halle dancing to "I like to move it, move it" and loving every second of it!
-The best swimming pool day on our entire trip and we took full advantage of the nice weather.
-Caleb and I braving it to go down the water slide, only to find out he had to go by himself behind me. He did it and had a huge smile on his face when I caught him at the bottom.
-Playing tug boat with both kids in the water
-meeting 2 families and listening to them tell me how cute the kids were and how fast theirs had grown up and to enjoy these days and moments like these ones.
-lots of laughter and dancing to the music the DJ was playing all afternoon
-an empty playground
-root beer floats by poolside
-the best pizza for dinner from Flippers Pizzeria
-watching Caleb and Daddy hang their feet in the hot tub and chat
-Caleb loving his feet in the hot tub and not wanting to leave the pool
-skipping Caleb's nap and then watching him fall right to sleep the moment we got into our car














Hope your week is a happy one!

been gone too long...

I am back to the blog after a long absence. I have had a very full plate all of this summer and the craziness is still continuing this fall---I cannot beleive that September is nearly over and October is just around the corner. Not to mention, Christmas, but we will just quit talking about that one and enjoy this day. Acts 17:27-28 He is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being....doing alot of living and moving in Jesus today! Maybe I wish there was a little less moving involved but, alas, there is lots of laundry to be done and that means 2 flights of stairs all day.
Over the last month we have been busy finishing up our first fix and flip property that closed last week and was lots of work but a success! I wish I had taken some before pictures.....but here are some of the highlights.




We have been working on our second simultaneously and it should be finished in 1 or 2weeks. Caleb turned 3 and we had to have a party to celebrate. It was oh so much fun and the weather cooperated giving us an outdoor park picnic which he really loved! He is still telling people about it-that is certainly a success in my opinion.






Which reminds me that I need to post about what he is like at 3 years old...I will work on that one. We had a visit from some dear friends from Missouri--Yeah! It was great to see them and their growing family.



I have been busy srapping with the Brand New October Kit from Freehand Scraps It is so cute! I wish I had some more time with it....but I have 4 completed layouts and one more that might come together tonight-we shall see. Here are some sneaks...It will be available on October 1st!! Don't miss out!




Last week, Halle had to dress up as a scarecrow or farmer for their seed time and harvest unit they are studying...she of course insisted on being a scarecrow, which is a much more involved and difficult costume to make. With help from my talented mother, we pulled it off and barely in time for her to showcase her cuteness. She was darling in her thrift store denim jumper complete with patches and hankerchief pinned in her back pocket, and rafia wrist and ankle bracelets along with hat and rafia hair....thanks Mom! You came through to make one 1st Grader very happy. She is missing the hat...I will have to have her dress up again and take some more pictures.

Tired...

I have really been exhausted over the last few days and seemed to be lacking my usual level of energy. I went to bed extremely early yesterday and already am headed that way tonight. I hope to refuel and recharge over the holiday weekend. We are full force in the school routine with our bedtime set earlier than it was all summer. Caleb seems to be the only one fighting the earlier time. Last night, we went to close his door after he had been in his room in the dark for nearly an hour and we heard a little voice say "don't close the door, I am sleeping in here" Too cute! I love to hear some of the things that are coming from his mouth these days. He speaks very clearly and is using full and very complete sentences. I just have to cherish every cute little thought and word that comes from him. I love how when Halle gets in the car after school he says "so, how was your day, Halle?" or "what did you do today, Halle?" Halle is loving school and really taking first grade seriously. Her best friend has gone to a different school this year, but other than that she seems to be loving and looking forward to each new day and what it holds.
She comes home each afternoon and goes straight to her room to grab a stack of books and then heads to the back yard to read books in the grass or sit on her tire swing and read for quite some time. She is reading fairly well. She struggles with some of the harder words but is making progress and enjoying the journey, and hey, isn't that what it is about in 1st grade?-making progress and enjoying small everyday successes.

Tomorrow is her first field trip of the year with a picnic lunch at the park near the school and an afternoon of playing with both first grade classes. She is really looking forward to it and the best part-we get to participate, and even her brother gets to tag along! Things have been extremely busy on the home and work front, not to mention the real estate investment we made in the early spring (and all the time devoted to that project), needless to say I am looking forward to an afternoon or at least an few hours free of the cell phone, email, and cleaning rags. My fingernails are currently worn down from all of the scraping of grout, caulk, and paint from surfaces lately. Well enough rambling....I will post a few quick pictures from our weekend trip to Tiny Town-it was so much fun-as usual. The kids were the perfect size and age to enjoy every part of the experience this time around. I loved watching them ride the train in the caboose together while we rode in the car in front of them admiring their bravery and watching their reaction. Caleb was afraid of the train at first but came off smiling.

I am holding onto the last few days of summer before fall comes lurking around the corner. My verse for the day...Psalm 147:3-5 "He heals the heartbroken and bandages their wounds. He counts the stars and assigns each a name. Our Lord is great, with limitless strength; we'll never comprehend what he knows and does." He is sovereign and nothing is too difficult for Him!

This first picture was in the tiny church and I told the kids to praise the Lord and this was their response...love the enthusiasm if only we would praise Him like that all the time.