So thankful.

So...figured I should get Thanksgiving posted before CHRISTMAS happens...one week?!  How did this happen?!

We headed to Tulsa to be with our extended family on my mom's side of the family for a couple days.  As always, it was a wonderful time filled with excellent food and company.

Not many pics taken...so in no particular order...

Our winnings from the gaming we did.  My mom doesn't mess around when it comes to prizes.  She had some amazing prize packs!

 

We were addicted to a game called "What's Yours Like?"  I totally recommend it. I played it awhile back with friends and have been on the hunt for it ever since. Target has it now! Get it in time for your Christmas gatherings!

 

The kids traveled very well.  Our Thanksgiving indian even took a little nap on the way.

 

Reesie was too into the movies to sleep a wink.

 

Thanksgiving dinner was so yummy--I look forward to my aunt Pam's stuffing all year long!  The kids had their own fun little table.

 Reese and I were in hog heaven, but even with the excellent spread...Cade still needed a little probing to partake.

 

Note to self, a behind photographed in a small chair is never encouraging.

 

The kids taking down Nathan.

 

Can't pass up a quick light tour through the Rhema campus.  The kids were so impressed!

 

Papa dropping some knowledge on Reese.

 

Pam made us these darling pillows!! Don't you love my KSU one?!  Pam and Brooke have started "Uniquely R's" selling their super cute home decor.  Wish I lived closer to take advantage of all of their fun stuff!

 

 

We enjoyed getting to spend time with the Oklahomans and appreciate them opening their home to us...we're not the easiest house guests at this phase of life. 

 

We all have so much to be thankful for and I pray we realize that not only on Thanksgiving, but every day. 

 

Christmas?  One week?!



MOPS: The MomCon

Mom's going away for the whole weekend?!  McDonald's for every meal!!

 

 

When our church launched an evening MOPS group, I contemplated whether this would be something I'd enjoy.  A moms group?  Is this for me?! 

With Matt's schedule, when Cade came along many of my evening activities went good-bye.  I was thankful to see something offered, with childcare, in the evening for working moms.  So I thought, what the heck, I'll try it. 

I never could have imagined how much I would benefit from joining MOPS.  The friendships I've made, the relevant programming, the supportive mentor moms, and the resources...I could bust into infomercial mode right now!!  I'm so thankful for my evening MOPS group! And so thankful I had the opportunity to attend the MOPS International conference. 

 

The line-up of speakers was amazing!  Beth Moore, Lysa Terkeurst, Jen Hatmaker, and other big names with inspirational messages...just for moms. 

 

 

Free time included pedicures and good food...that I did not have to cook, clean up, or force anyone to eat.  And a huge thank you to DeAnna (event planning goddess) who may or may not have hooked us up with parking passes and coffee shop treats!!!

The weekend culminated with the Mom Prom...it was 70s themed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of MOPS.  Don't ask about our outfits.

 

The theme for MOPS this year is "Beautiful Mess: Embrace Your Story" which is very inspiring in itself.  Hey, everyone has their own messes, even if they're not broadcasting them over social media.  Everyone is just trying to do the best they can as a mom.  We've all got stories of our triumphs...and plenty of stories of our defeats.  Embrace them all.

 

I enjoyed the MomCon very much but was happy to return home to my family and even happier to know that they survived without me.

 

Kinda.

 

 

Snow Angels?

We woke up to a dusting of snow a couple Sundays ago. Cade was so excited and insisted on making snow angels. 

He also insisted we all participate. He even offered to photograph me. I feel he captured the moment accurately. 

Reese just kinda writhed around on the ground. But she enjoyed it none the less. 

Our snow angel attempts stayed on the driveway for a day or so and each time I saw them I couldn't help but smile remembering the sweet moment that our random snow angels created. 

Accessories By Cade

Cade's quite particular about his fashion choices. 

And his choices are quite unpredictable. 

Like this ensemble for instance. 

He made his Indian headband at school for Thanskgiving and the leg warmers and finger-less gloves were a gift (for Reese) from my grandmama. He loves to pair them with his Spider-Man rings for a full-on junk gypsy look. 

And with Reese's golden cheesy smile, she can wear whatever she wants. 

Reesie Speaks--All. The. Time.

Look out for this one.  Keepin' this one handy for the high school slide show one day.

 

Our sweet Reese gets more hilarious all the time. She's talking up a storm these days, I'd say about 85% is comprehensible jabber. I often look to Matt like, "What is she saying?" to which he shrugs his shoulders. Kinda makes me feel better if he can't understand her either.

 

She loves to put stickers all over her body.  Specifically on her "belly."  Don't know about this one. 

 

Some of Reese's common phrases:

-Cade is being mean.

-Daddy, where are you?  (A good 30 minutes after Matt has left she starts roaming around the house looking for him.)

-Mommy, what are you doing? (Whenever I'm not in the same room as her.)

-Eat, eat!

-Shut the door!

-Let go!

-My turn! (Many exclaimation points, she seems to be yelling all the time.)

-We don't bite. (She says this but doesn't fully grasp it yet.)

-I want that! (When toy commercials are on TV...she learned this from Cade.)

-Watch a show?

-Color?  (She LOVES to color right now.  Too soon to tell, but I'm anxious to see if she's right or left handed.  She will hold it in her right but then switch it to her left when she sees Cade using his left hand.)

 

Even if I can't always understand what she's saying, I just love hearing her sweet little voice.  So innocent and precious.  If only I could bottle it up and save it for those sassy years that surely are a-coming someday!

Fall Festivities

Perhaps I'll just be doing seasonal posts from now on?  Four posts a year?  Would be easier that way. 



We enjoyed our very FIRST trip to the pumpkin patch!  I really wanted to go last year but knew I needed to wait until the kids were a little older to enjoy it more.  We purchased that KC Pumpkin patch Groupon and joined the Heine's for the adventure.  Tangent: we LOVE hanging out with the Heine's.  I was thinking the other day how Jessica and I have been friends for over 10 years and we still just have so much in common.  She always knows fun things to do around KC for kids, and is just a rockstar in general.  She's one of those people who you just love being around.  She's awesome at life but not in a "make you feel crappy about yourself" kinda way.  She's inspiring, thoughtful, and all in all what a great friend should be.  I'm so thankful for her.

And our kids adore each other as well!

Reese is such a dare-devil, she didn't think twice about going down the big slide.  And Cade didn't think twice about NOT going down the slide. 

Cade loved the sandbox with all the trucks and the train.

We took a quick spin around the zoo one weekend when they were offering hay rides and random fall activities.  The hay ride was the highlight as we saw NO animals out and about while we were there.  (Shocker!!) But we did have an up-close encounter with a smelly monkey.  (Shocker, again!!)

One October weekend we had the privilege of joining Matt's family in Topeka as Matt's dad was inducted into the Washburn Hall of Fame.  Cade even got to go onto the field with him!

 

Another Fall highlight was attending Lawson's first birthday party, which was football themed!

 

Now, bring on the holidays!  I'm definitely decorating for Christmas within the next two weeks.  Because if I'm going to store all those blasted decorations and go to the effort to get them all out, I'm leaving them up as long as possible!  (Not a big fan of holiday decorations here, could you tell?)

 

We've had a fun fall so far, we look forward to Thanksgiving with family (it really will be here before we know it!), and we hope for a winter filled with snow days off of school!!!

Tricks and Treats 2013

We had a wonderful Halloween with our sweet fairy and fierce Ninja Turtle!

The day started with both Matt and I getting to attend Cade's "Harvest Festival" at his preschool. It's the first "party" they've had so I debated about whether I should wait to take off work to attend a party later on in the year, but once I thought about it, I decided I'm probably going to attend all parties. Why not? I'll set aside a day off and take it 2 hours at a time to attend the special events at his school. As a working mom, I often feel guilty that I miss out on the little things like dropping Cade off and picking him up from school. But I'm thankful that Matt has the flexibility to be able to spend that time with Cade. So I will join them for the parties and be appreciative of the opportunity to do so.

A peek into Cade's classroom.

Trick or treating is such a strange concept, if you think about it. Knock on doors, take their candy, move on. The kids started off a bit confused because they always want to go in people's houses and hang out. They're a social bunch.





We made it around our culdesac, then headed over to join some good friends for the fun. Cade loved getting to trick or treat with his friends and felt like such a "big kid." Reese just loved getting candy to put in her bag, which she wore like a purse. Once it got dark we headed up to the gym as the Pioneers had their first game! I was a little skeptical but it was actually well-attended and was fun to see all the college students in costume.

 The kids were pretty tired but we made it until half-time and then made our exit. I'm not sure why I go into each basketball season thinking it will be easier to corral the kids...each year it definitely gets harder. Reese loves to move all around the bleachers, up and down the aisle and in and out of chairs. Luckily I have a lot of help from some of our favorite Pioneer fans!

And, note to self, no full-body costumes next year...Cade definitely had to pee in someone's yard (after dark, behind our car, it's fine, Mom) and poop TWICE at the game.  Live and learn.