Bits and Pieces - a little this and that from June

June was a wonderful month- Adam and I are both off for the summer, and we are relishing in the lazy days, making plans on the fly, and all the relaxation that comes with that. Here are some bits and pieces from this first month of summer 2012:

Caught in action- I basically let her have {controlled} free reign when it comes time for me to cook dinner. Whatever we can find to keep her content while mommy can't give her the attention she is wanting. ;)

Times at the duck pond....we go on almost daily walks and have quite the following of a few families of ducks. MC wants to eat the bread that we bring to feed them instead of giving it away, but she enjoys waving at the ducks and getting in the middle of their fun. They are pretty used to us and will surround us like we are their owners, it's great!

First adventures in finger painting. I made some homemade finger paints last week for some outdoor fun. The recipe can be found here. It was something I had pinned on Pinterest and couldn't wait to try. They were a bit goopy, so MC wasn't quite sold on the texture, but got into it for a bit. She doesn't seem to enjoy sometimes being too sticky/messy-- unless it is sand/dirt or occasionally food. However, she doesn't seem to enjoy keeping her hands dirty for long in any case. However, we did end up having some fun...looking forward to the next attempt!

Pardon the blurriness, but this is a glimpse into one of her favorite sleeping positions now. Very often we will find her foot in between two of the crib slats, then when we try to move it, the foot is back before we can make it back to our room and turn the monitor on.

Proof that she does have hair coming....

Playtime with Uncle Gareth when he came into town.

Discovering Sesame Street.

Then --of course there has been the zoo....

Hope your summer is off to a sweet start!

Fighting away a case of the fears.

Fear is real. {As if I probably needed to tell any of you that} However, there have been so many lingering traces of this in me lately, that I felt compelled to share -- just in case some of you are in the same boat.

If you are a parent, you constantly have fears that surround you about your children and you do the best to block them with your heart- trusting that you are making the right decisions and that it is okay for mistakes to happen.

If you are not a parent, you still have fears about your future- what will come next? is there going to be a job? Did you make the right choice? etc...

And then, for some of you, you may rarely operate in this fashion and you have complete and utter faith or you are just amazingly strong and/or a carefree risk taker.




We have currently fell into another season of waiting. With the decision for me to stay at home came the decision to sell our home to move closer to Adam's job. For any person that has ever tried to sell a home, you know that it means more upkeep of the daily chores and a constant need to be reliant on others' opinions in order to make your next dream a reality.

It has been almost 2 months and after an attempt to sell our home ourselves and some navigating of the ways of the MLS and realtor system- we are still waiting. There have been no personal showings and after an Open House with some traffic- there has yet to be anymore. I keep trying to battle the fears that we won't sell our home, that we won't be able to buy a new one, etc... and trying to find peace in the fact that I know that God has the perfect buyer out there and the perfect place for us. It is just a matter of when. And, that is the hard part- when you have a schedule and there seems to be another one trying to take over.

I battle the fears of the unknown, things changing, relationships operating in different ways, and the other usual suspects that might creep up when you have to move to somewhere new.

Now, we aren't moving states. We aren't even moving to the other side of our state. However, it is just far enough from where we are now for things to be harder than they once were.

But, about a week or so ago, I decided to fight this case of the fears head on--and not alone. At a recent church celebration- two women approached me with words that they felt the Lord had given them to share with me. I know they were from him because these are two women that I am only acquaintances with and rarely see. They are women whom I see in passing and have had only a handful of conversations. They snapped me out of it and later I was led to this gem:

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children...For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. - Romans 8:15-17

I do not want to be a slave to fear anymore. I want to trust his timing in this season. I want to grab hold to the truth and the place that he has put us in at this moment. All things work together for good- and we  have seen the evidence of it. Provision is real. Fear is real. But, I want to choose to operate in the reality that freedom and provision are our inheritance. I want that for my family. 

And, it is out there for you too- out there for the taking.

And on a side note...so is our house ;) so if you are looking or have a friend that is looking for a place where the University of Oklahoma resides-- let me know, I can hook you up. 

Here's a peek:

Birthday Blessings

My husband does many things right. {As evidenced in my previous post} However, when it comes to my birthday, he truly knows how to do it up and boy, does he ever bless me!  I'm still not quite sure how I got to be so deserving in his eyes.

The morning started off with some baby snuggles and after her morning feeding he asked me if I was ready for my present...Of course! He had been asking me if I had wanted it for nearly two weeks, so I was definitely ready.

He reached into his night stand and pulled out a slip of paper...it was a clue, and the hunt began.

After several spots to places around our home, it lead me to a Wheel of Fortune clue on his iPad. {Side note: We don't have cable anymore, so one of our evening obsessions is Wheel of Fortune} I quickly figured out the clue that lead me to open an app. Inside the app was a little confirmation for this ticket....

Coldplay. Tickets. For. Me! What??!

We love Coldplay. In fact, "Green Eyes" was the first song we danced to on our wedding day. We saw them a few years ago on their Viva La Vida tour when they came to OKC, and it was amazing. It was one of the best concerts, if not the best- that I had ever seen. So, when Mylo Xyloto came out a while back, I started searching for when their touring dates in the states would be. After my search,  I  hinted to Adam that their nearest destination would be Dallas {and it just so happened to be the weekend after my birthday}. Knowing that we are saving up $$ for other things at the moment, I did not think that it would become a reality {even though we do have a trip budget}.

I guess I was wrong.

He arranged for a place for the bug to stay {what grandparents are going to say no, right?} and said that we would be heading out the next day with a hotel booked for the night.  Along with a few must-stop places on our journey....

In-N-Out Burger. Best fastfood burgers...hands down. He likes 'em.

We ate at a pizza place called Sfuzzi's in Downtown Dallas before the show. Talk about yum! And yes, that is an egg on our pizza and yes, it was good.

Then, it was time for the show.

They didn't disappoint. Plus, one of the opening bands, Wolf Gang, was pretty good too- you should try and check them out here if you haven't heard of them. You'll thank me later.


One thing that was unique about the whole concert was that they had these wrist bands that activated at different points during the show. They were synced to the music and it was overall pretty awesome. Here's a snip-it:

This was the first time I had left the little bug overnight with someone other than Adam, and only the second time overnight. There were a few tears, but  we made it. I think it was good for us to get away for a bit- to transform from mommy and daddy to just husband and wife for 24 hours. Plus, she had a great time with Ouma and Oupa, and didn't seem to miss a beat.

Plus, the reunion was pretty sweet once we got home.

Thanks for the birthday blessings, hubs-- from the breakfast with my two loves to the birthday road trip, my cup runneth over. Hello, 28!

Da Da: Love

I once saw a post on a friend's Facebook page that said something to the effect that loving your partner takes on a whole new meaning when you see your child in their arms. This was pre-MC days and I can remember thinking about how sweet and wonderful a sentiment that was. However, knowing something is sweet and actually experiencing it are two entirely different things. Now that I am a mama, let me say, I have experienced it and it is more sweet and wonderful than the words can ever imply. 

You enter in a marriage because you love everything {or, almost ;) everything} about them. You imagine what your life will look like- the adventures you will take, the hardships and joys you will endure, and everything in between. You may even go as far as to dream about what your kids will look like and what family will really mean with that person. And then you add another person to it all...and reality kicks in. Big time.

My reality turned into a pretty sweet one the day that I married the future "Dada" of my little one. 

He went from being my fun-loving husband and best friend, to my other pair of hands, the interceder for when I reach my limit, and the fun-loving dad of my daughter. My friend was right. I love him more now and in a way I didn't even know existed until a little over a year ago. I'm so glad we got to celebrate him this weekend. I know that our dads here and those that we miss are SO proud of you. They are happy that you have joined their ranks-- and we are too.