Falling

I loved the familiar feelings I had this morning. They are feelings that I experience each year as August comes to a close and September begins.

I loved hearing College Game Day on the tv as I walked through the house.

I loved knowing that football would consume my husbands day. 

I find some sort of odd comfort in the fact that my husband loves sports. It reminds me of my growing up and my dad. 

I loved the blue sky, sunshine and fresh air that smelled of change. 

Though warm, there was a briskness that has been absent for months. 

I loved that I contemplated between shorts and pants this morning.

I loved that pants won!

Fall is falling into place, just as it should. 

I love this time of year and I love changing seasons. With each season, I am reminded that change is good. It is inevitable and sometimes untimely, yet good for the soul; a simple reminder that I am not in control.  

Are you fancied?

Since I've been a bore lately, I thought I would fancy you with these...

Noah is potty trained!

I am so proud of him. He was such an easy subject to work with. I couldn't believe how simple the entire potty training process was for us. He and his daddy are at Jump-N-Jive as we speak celebrating his accomplishments!

The birthday boy and his his mini-me

Good morning my loves!

In the mornings we usually spend some time reading books, this particular morning Noah told me I could 'go cook in the kitchen because he and his KK needed to talk.'

When Kayt was born, Noah started calling her She-tah because that was the closest thing to sister that his 17 month old mouth could conjure up.  

Shortly after, she became Shetah to everyone. 

But now he's stopped calling her Shetah; now she is KK .

I have a feeling that she will always have a nickname from her big brother, but I have to admit that I was a little sad to have seen the first one come and go. 

Shetah-(n) a non-sense word that holds a very special place in my heart!

The 'almost birthday girl'!  

Isn't her bubba's hand on her leg sweet?

My girl.

Midweek Update

Wednesday already, really?

The last week has been such a busy one for us. I finished re-doing Noah's big boy furniture that my mom and I started last week and it is all in his room. He is SO proud of it! Sunday afternoon as Brad and I were putting it up, he was jumping up and down squealing with delight. Those sweet reactions make the hot hours in the garage working on it all worth it. I still have a bookcase that I am going to experiment with and a few wall hangings to change out, but  once I get it all finished, I'll show you. Don't get too anxious because my track records for completing a project falls somewhere in the months category. I am determined to have it done by this weekend though so I may need a bit of encouragement. 

We have all but 2 doors up, and those two have found their proper home, they are just not up yet. Something about hubby misplacing the other hinges and pins sounds accurate.  I know I made a mistake, but not having a pantry door almost two months is more than enough pay back. My spider-man-of-a-two-year-old has scaled the pantry shelves as his form of exercise far too long.  Please please learn from my mistakes. Do not, and I repeat, do not under any circumstances, no matter what form of insanity invades your sweet little mind, take the doors in your house off to paint them without labeling every single part.  Please people. It causes a lot of stress for all involved parties. 

I'm working on making Kayt's birthday party invitations. I can hardly wait to celebrate with my precious Kayter-Bug. (A hint into the party theme.) I need to have them finished by this weekend because all of my family will be in town and I can hand them out rather than mail them. I have alot of family; this would be very cost efficient. 

My family is coming in town because we are having a 90th birthday celebration for my great-grandpa. How great is that? We are also having family pictures made. My kids have 15 grandparents still living. Can you believe that? Since they will all be in such a close proximity this weekend, we have set up a time to take a generational picture with my children and all their grandparents. It is so special to me that we are doing this. That will be a wholelotta love in one place!

Play dates + having people over for dinner most every night + home projects to finish + fall kick off in the youth area = a very busy, entertaining week. 

This afternoon my kitchen was full with 4 adults and 9 children all ages three and under eating lunch. You can only imagine how entertaining it was. I remember at one point thinking of Brad eating lunch with friends in such a calm setting. We had such a great time though. Noah loves having friends over for meals because most of them eat a small portion and then run off to play. Not Noah. He eats his lunch and then goes plate by plate finishing everyone elses uneaten food. 

Wow, I had so much to say. Who knew?

Happy midweek!

p.s. I am going to India in January. More on that later...

Yikes

One month from today my baby girl will be a year old!

Where does the time go?

Gosh I love that little munchkin.

A Mom

I mentioned earlier in the week that my mom is moving.

She is leaving today and the reality is starting to set in.

I lived away from my mom for several years, but since we have moved 'home' I have had the honor of spending a lot of time with my beautiful mother. 

I remember growing up my mom would tell me she loved me so, so much. She would end the statement with you just cannot understand, but someday you will.

And now is my someday.

I didn't understand the unexplainable love for a child. It is an all-consuming, responsible type of love; one that sees a child's needs far above your own and exudes protection that knows no boundary. It is  not a foolish love or a fleeting love, but one that will last forever. 

I love my mom so much and I am so thankful that she loved me as a mother should. She protected me, nurtured me, taught me, trusted me, disciplined me, provided for me but mostly...she loved me.  

And loved me well. 

A mom is...

A back tickler

A nose picker

A boo boo kisser

An ear nibbler

A lullaby singer

A puppet on the finger

A book reader

A belly feeder

A drink fetcher

A baseball catcher

A hair fixer

A yogurt mixer

A bow maker

A gun-wound faker

An early riser

A late nighter

A paper grader

A bedroom raider

A wise word

A goodnight kiss

All the things that I would miss

If I wern't a mom.

I love my mom and I love being a mom.

Now, I understand!

-Please know that each time I write about my children or being a mom that I think of all the people who do not yet have children or would like to have children but are not yet able to. I never mean anything I write or say to be insensitive to anyone. This is the reality of where my life is right now.-

For my handsome hubby:

My husband is very like-able. 

Before I knew Brad well, I was so drawn to the fact that everyone liked him. Young and old alike enjoyed being around this guy. 

After I began to get to know him, I started to understand why his presence was so attractive. 

He is laid back and funny.  

He is optimistic and humble. 

He is approachable and loyal.

He does not seek the praises of people, he really strives to be honorable before the Lord. 

He is giving and genuine.

He is forgiving and spontaneous.

When I watch Brad interact with high-schoolers, joke with his friends or have so much compassion for a stranger I am so so thankful for him.  His perspective is steady and he is full of wisdom. He hears from the Lord often and clearly. He knows what is best for me long before I can accept it.  He encourages me in my gifts and always makes me feel so loved. 

When I was a little girl, I dreamed of the day I would marry the man of my dreams. Only I never knew the goodness the Lord had in store for me in Brad. He is more than I asked for. He meets my standard and then some. I have so much love for my husband. He is God's tangible evidence of his love for me. 

On his special day, I wanted to tell you how special my husband is to me. He isn't loved by just me, but by countless people. If all of my children turned out to be just like their daddy, I would be so thrilled. I want to be like him when I grow up too!

Happy Birthday Love!

p.s. My friend Magen is also having her baby girl, Anna Grace today. Please keep the Robersons in your prayers as they welcome Brad's little birthday buddy.

Night Terrors?

Has anyone ever had a child/children who experienced night terrors?

Noah has been awakened by bad dreams on and off for the past few months. When he does this, you can clearly tell he is not fully awake but is really bothered by his dreams. They have always been about animals. 

One particular day the kids and I were playing outside and a stray dog came into our front yard. It was very apparent that it scared Noah.  That night he awoke having a bad dream and talking about that dog getting him. 

We were at the zoo a few weeks ago and he loved looking at the tiger, but now he talks about the tiger every night. On one occasion, I woke up to him running through the house thinking birds were chasing him. Don't laugh.

He is wanting to sleep with us all the time.

Noah has always been a really great sleeper so it's pretty exhausting lately when it takes almost an hour to get him to sleep.  We've talked to him and tried to explain things. We have prayed for him, over him and over his room and bed. We have tried a night light, altering our bedtime routine, reassuring him and letting him cry it out.  I just feel like we have tried everything and nothing has appeased his sleepy-time anxieties. 

I know I have shared my struggles with fear in the past and lately I have wondered if my sin is carrying onto my offspring. I have spent hours praying against this, especially recently, yet I watch my two year old wake up in a panic some nights. I didn't really want to admit this, but I felt that to clearly give you a picture of what has gone on I needed to share my own burden in the situation.

If anyone has advice or ideas, I am all ears. 

I believe that this is just a season, yet I want to do the best, most effective thing for Noah. There is no doubt in my mind that the Lord cares for Noah's dreams and is bigger than any fear he may be carrying so I all prayers for him are welcome!

It's Sunday. What do you expect?

The past few days have been packed full of fun!

Last week we had 2 play dates with two of Noah's friends, Makinsey and Will. Will is Noah's bestest buddy, he will tell you so. I've made the mistake several times of calling Noah my buddy and he's quick to correct me. "I'm not your buddy, I'm Will's buddy" is the response I get every time. 

Will and Noah

Friday we went to Jump-n-Jive with our good friends, the Sparkmans. We took our lunch and had a semi-picnic.  It's hard to get little ones to pay attention to food when they are surrounded by 50 foot inflatables.  Noah and his daddy ha

d the best time! They conquered every slide and bouncer in the place. I even went on a few slides until I killed my wrist.  It's a work out climbing the steep stairs to the top of the way-too-fast-for-a-2-year-old slide. I now have a bulging knot sticking out of my wrist. I think I'm getting old.

Saturday we helped my mom pack. She is moving and will be a little over 2 hours away. I'm really excited for her and her new phase of life, but I am also really sad for her to leave. I love having my mom around. We have so much fun t

ogether and my kids are crazy about her! Two hours isn't far, but it is definitely further than 3 minutes. 

Saturday evening Brad and I attended a fund raiser shindig for Child Protective Services.  This is the second year for Havana Nights, and it is such a fun event. The entire night is based around the Cuban cigar smoking, mojito drinking idea. The food was great and I tried my luck at the Roulette table. 

I've come to one conclusion about gambling...I am terrible. No kidding. The odds are extreemly high that if you choose the opposite of whatever I chose, you will win. It is okay with me; I'm not much of a gambler.  I prefer Go Fish. Actually, I prefer Facebook.

It was a great night with a lot of fun people. I am al

ready looking forward to Havana Nights III!

Today we did the church, lunch, nap, clean, grocery store thing. Only we did it all in the rain. It has been raining here for the past 3 days. I  have loved the cool, drizzly days and nights.  It is a nice end to a stretch of blistering hot days.  I am hoping it will perk all of my plants back up.

And tonight we went to see my sister-in-law and nephew who flew in for the week from Austin. We are all really excited they are here. We love us some Ty-Ty!

This is the start to Brad's birthday week! His birthday is Wednesday so this is the day that I finally am able to start celebrating. I drive him crazy with all of my birthday hooplah, but I just cannot help it. It is the one day of the year that I get to do all of the fun things for someone that I wish I were able to the other 364 days. I promised him that I wouldn't throw a party this year. Every year he asks me not to, but I just cannot help myself. Something instinctively causes me to pick up the phone, call friends, order a cake and announce how important I think my husbands is. It makes Brad really uncomfortable. So this year I promised, NO party. Part of me worries though that he may actually be disappointed if I don't do something relatively big. I am just taking his word for it that he really doesn't want an earth-shattering blowout.

This would have been a much more interesting post if I could have shown action shots of all the fun. Maybe this week I'll pull out the camera ;)

Arte y pico

I have the memory of an elephant. 

The saddest part is that I used to have a great memory. Or at least I would like to think that I did. My best theory (I have a theory for everything) is that the Lord took my memory away in order to give my children a great memory. I'm okay with that.

I cannot tell you how many times lately someone has brought up an event or instance that has obviously been impacting and they begin to recall the events to me. I can tell by the excitement in their eyes that I too, should be remembering a play-by-play of what they are talking about. I do have wheels spinning in my mind, but they are saying something a bit different. Rather than recalling the event, my thoughts sound more like: Think. Think. Come on Ashley. You were there. Don't you remember? Just think."

Nothing. 

I can come up with nothing. 

It's almost as if I was never a part of large portions of my life. 

It frustrates me.

Kayt is asleep and Noah is having 'room time' so I decided to make myself a rare, late morning cup of coffee.  As I was brewing my joe, I suddenly recalled a thoughtful award that Tiffany at Southern Sass gave to me quite some time ago.

To Tiffany I would like to say thank you for your thoughtfulness.  At the time, we were in the middle of a busy traveling schedule and I remember thinking that when I got home and things settled down I would respond. And then I forgot. 

________________________________________________________________________

This is the beautiful Arte y pico Award! 

-Since I would consider myself a blogging-novice, I don't fully understand bloggy terms and such so the idea of awards is a bit unknown to me. None the less, I would never want to not pass along something that implies that someone thought of me. Especially someone I have never actually met!-

My 5 recipients for creativity, intellect, design or such are...

1)My dear friend, Lezlie Andrew is such a talented photographer and her work is amazing! Her talent is impossible to deny. She deserves more than a blogging award for her work, but since this is what I have to pass along I hope it will suffice. 

2)Magen's design on her soon-to-be-born daughter, Anna Grace's wall can't be passed up. You can tell from the pictures she is a great decorator and very creative!

3)I am very impressed by Emily's intent on learning so many new skills. Her aprons look great and her photoshop efforts are inspiring.

4)Amelia's blog is really fun to read. She is such a funny person; you can tell by her writing.

5)Brooke is new to the blogging world! Gotta welcome a new girl with a little love, right?

Thanks Tiffany!

Rules:

Pick 5 blogs you consider deserving of this award, whether for creativity, design, interesting material or contributions to the blogging community (no matter what language). Name each nominee and link to blog.

Show the award and include the name of the person you received the award from.

Link to Arte y Pico so that everyone knows the origin of the award

Post Rules

Good for my heart

Last night after Brad and I got in bed, we had a conversation that sounded something like this:

B: I'm so glad you are home. We missed you a lot.

A: Thanks! I'm so glad to be home, I think I missed y'all more.

B: And I just wanted to tell you that I really respect all you do. 

A: Thank you.

B: I mean, I've always respected it, it's just that you do a lot. It's non-stop.

A: Thanks for saying that. Yeah, non-stop would be a great way to describe it.

B: Oh, and I think Kayt is really going to like me.

A: (smile) goodnight

#1-There are times when a person speaks a few words that rest in your heart and mind for a long time.  These words are that for me.

#2-Brad tells me a lot how thankful he is for me and all that I do for him and the kids, but it's nice to know that when you are away, you're missed. And needed. 

#3-I think Kayt is really going to like her daddy too. She already likes him so much. It's pretty fun to watch this little girl steal her daddy's heart one smile at a time. 

#4-Brad summed motherhood up so well: Non-Stop

One more for team USA!

Not only have I been out of town for the past 5 days, I've practically been out of touch with civilization. 

Therefore, I missed the opening ceremonies and all Olympic events leading up to this evening. Let me just say that I was more than thrilled to plop down on my very own couch tonight to watch the American 'fab foursome' take home the gold in the 400 meter swimming.  

I tell you, this wonderful thing called the Olympics make me giddy!

No need to worry folks, I have the opening ceremonies recorded just waiting to be watched. 

Let the Games Begin

Is anyone else really excited about this?

I've been anticipating the Olympics for months. I love the feelings that the games stir up within me. Looking back on my life, I can distinctly remember snapshots of watching summer and winter olympics.  This is the only time I keep the t.v. on at all hours of the day just to insure I don't miss out on anything. 

I can't wait!

Pray for Brian

~~update: Because this is such a small world, I've found out Brian has a blog set up to track his journey.~~

www.brianblair.blogspot.com

During our church service on Sunday, I looked up and made direct eye contact with a girl who looked all too familiar to me.  I had no idea where I might know her from, but I knew that we had met before. I didn't think much of it until afterwards when I was walking out of the auditorium. Since we made eye contact for a second time, I went to her and introduced myself. She reminded me that we had lived across the hall from one another in our college apartments. As soon as she said that, it all clicked.  Her name is Shae and my roommates and I lived across from her and her friends for 2 years. We made small talk and caught up on where our lives had led us. She briefly introduced me to her friend, Brian. It was fun seeing her!

As I walked off Brian caught up to me and told me that although we had just met, he had a favor to ask of me. He said as though he was supposed to ask me to pray for him.  He went on to say that he had been diagnosed with brain cancer the week before and would be having surgery in Dallas this Thursday.  I don't know Brain at all. I don't know his story. But I do know that his eyes told of pain and fear and a desire for healing that seemed too heavy to carry. Brian and his surgery have been so heavy on my heart all week. I cannot tell you the amount of times that I have thought of and prayed for him.  If Sunday seems so long ago to me, I can only imagine how long this week has been for Brian, his family and friends.  

So, would you please join me in praying for this stranger that needs the hand of the Lord to perform on his behalf? 

Brian will be having surgery at 7am on Thursday.  

Thanks friends!!!

Just Thinking...

In the past 24 hours I've:

-done 7 (oversized) loads of laundry.

-changed more diapers than you want to know about

-cleaned pee off the carpet.

-laid on the floor so that Noah could practice his long jumping over me.

-built a house. (so what if it was with Legos)

-carried on full length conversations with 3 baby dolls at one time.

-gone through half a box of Kleenexes wiping a snotty nose

-cooked 3 meals

-took a shower with a fully clothed little boy

-used my mini-vacuum more times than I can count

-played soccer, basketball, frisbee, golf, and baseball

-the list goes on...

And you know what?

I love it. 

All of it.

I love my husband. I love my kids. I love what I do. 

I love that when my husband comes home at the end of the day and  asks me what I've done that day I can look at him with glazed over eyes and smile knowing he just wouldn't get it. Part of me thinks, do you really want to know? Another part of me thinks, if I told you you wouldn't believe me. Yet, most of me is just too exhausted to even give an account. So I usually just smile and say something to the effect of "Not much. What did you do?" And that is that.

There are days, like today, when the house is quiet during nap time that the only things that seems appropriate is to sit down and take my thankful heart before the Lord.  I love to know that I have two bedrooms, with two cribs, holding two babies that I just adore.  I love knowing that I serve a God who is faithful to an unworthy girl.  I like that it's okay to know and be comfortable with the fact that I am unworthy. 

What are you most thankful for today?

Scatterbrained Sundays

This seems to be where my Sunday evenings leave me...scatterbrained. 

*Last week was super busy for us. I have no idea what we did. How does that happen?

*We took the kids to an amusement park for the first time Friday night. They LOVED it! And guess who forgot her camera? Yep, I tell ya, I'm bad about that. 

I'll just paint a picture for you.

Imagine sweet Noah riding the boats round and round and round and round smiling and waving with each turn he made. He was so precious! 

Now, imagine Noah on the frog hopper sitting next to kids 3 times his age.  They flew 40 feet in the air and hopped all the way down. Can't you just see him? No? Well, he's the one crying and screaming "I not yike dis. I don't wanna be a frog! I need my mom. I not yike dis, no I don't, no I doooonnn't!"

My munchkin was so content to sit in her stroller and eat. She devoured a hot dog (yuck) and a few other items that I'm probably unaware of!  The girl's an eater.

I even managed to get a few rides in. Wouldn't you know the first ride I chose to go on got stuck mid-air. We hung horizontally, 50 feet in the air for over 10 minutes. When I finally got the operators attention to confirm that we were in fact, stuck he calmly told me that yes, we were but not to worry because he though he could have us down pretty shortly.  Trust me, that appeased all of my anxieties.

*We also had one of Brad's college friends staying with us. I love my husbands friends! Not love them, but love them. You know, like love them because my husband loves them type of love them. Yeah, that type of love them.

*Saturday we went to a family reunion. Family reunions equal akward fun! Pictures? Nope. Not there either. Oh well, I probably would have forgotten their name by now anyway. Except Kayt did look so cute in her turquoise skirt! 

*Every Sunday we eat lunch at my in-laws. It's become a weekly tradition that we all look forward to, not to mention the best meal we eat all week! And then Brad played golf with my brothers this afternoon.  

*This evenings been full of yard mowing, Otter Pop eating, baseball playing, laundry washing and house cleaning in attempts to get things back in order after our fun-filled weekend.

*Speaking of baseball, Noah makes me laugh when he gets all the equipment out and says "Okay mom. I'll be the batter and you be the glober (glover)!"  It's pretty cute; I'm not the pitcher, I am the glover. And he is GOOD at baseball. I pitch glove him the ball and he hits it the full length of our yard and we have a big yard.  My boy is super coordinated and athletic. I know I'm his mom, but I really do think he is.

*Are you bored yet?

--imagine me saying the next point in a voice that pleads for your help--  

*I need potty training help. Badly!  I'm going out of town on Wednesday and will be gone through the weekend, but plan on giving potty training our best efforts when I return. I've gotten advice from a few people, but I'm open to all that I can get. Does anyone have good advice or a must read? Please, please pass it on.  I beg you....

*Peace Out Home Slice.