The Reese Family

Our Temporary Home

2012-02-06T21:35:00.000-06:00

Well, we are here in Welch. It's been a crazy few weeks, but we made it. Leaving Round Rock was so hard- harder than I even thought it could be. Miss you Round Rock friends!

So we are here at my parents until we can find a place to live. We decided that we are going to go ahead and buy a house because it's a good time to buy and because we are tired of moving! We were hoping to find a place that is large enough for us to grow into and make our own. All the houses are older and need some updates, but we are ok with that. There was one I had looked at online and thought we would like, but it was way out of our price range. We looked at it and really thought it had potential, so we made a really low-ball offer and are waiting to hear if they accepted! It's got a lot of square footage and is really well-built. And it has a ton of closets! I think I counted 12 or something. Crazy. I will post pictures if we get it!

Please pray for us as we continue to transition. So far Daniel is having to be patient with the job as he learns the business, Addalie only has boys to play with, and the kids are not sleeping very good. But I know it will all get better. We have already loved spending so much time with family and I love seeing my kids bond with others. Asher has taken to his uncle Kanyon and both the kids love the animals that are always around! We will keep you all updated on the happenings!

Change is Coming

2012-01-13T21:37:00.001-06:00

I blame my husband. He's home a lot these days and has almost exclusive use of the computer. So if I haven't updated in a month, it's his fault. Now on to what's been going on this month. Here is the short version:
- 1st, we found out the Jada and Nick would be church planting in South Austin (we actually already knew this but wasn't public knowledge till recently). We also are quite certain Leah got a new job in South/East Austin
- We went to Welch for Christmas and decided that that area would be a great place to raise kids
- Early Jan, we went to Welch again and Daniel interviewed for a job at BE Implement (John Deer Dealership) and got the job. It's totally random for him, but a great job with benefits and good pay. He will get to work with a lot of technology that goes into these tractors
- Our lease ends at the end of January, so we decide to move!

And that's what's going on. We struggled so hard to make this decision because of how much we love it here, but we just decided this would be better for our family. It would be great pay, lower cost of living, closer to most of our families, and just a really good environment to raise kids. I know, I know, those of you who know me well are shocked that I would ever move back to farmville West Texas, but you know, things change. I couldn't wait to bust out of Welch and see the world. But I did see the world, a lot of it at least. I traveled more than most at a young age. I lived up north like I always wanted to, and you know, snow gets old after a few months. I helped plant a church. I've experienced some crazy times with Daniel living off nothing in rough places working three jobs and loved it. But now we are really ready to settle down and provide some stability for our kids. I mean, this is our 8th move of our 5 year marriage! Enough already!

And the best part is, there is a whole other chapter of our lives beginning. Daniel and I are so excited to be involved in the Emmaus and Prison ministries going on there, and we are thrilled to hang out with some of our good friends that live there. We have an opportunity to find a house we can grow in and make memories in. And hopefully, we will be able to travel even more than we have financially been able to now.

It's been a strengthening process for Daniel and I as we sought God's wisdom in this decision. We grew closer to Him and each other and can't wait to see how God will use us in another area as we continue to seek Him!

Asher's First Birthday

2011-12-11T01:12:00.004-06:00

We had a small party for him at our house, and themed it Winter One-derland. So fun. Asher enjoyed being the center of attention!

I can't believe it. Asher is actually a year old. That little surprise has given us a wonderful year and we are so thankful for him! He is joyful and loving, and seeing him and Addalie together makes me happier than I can describe.

The Party Favors

Ice Cream on his actual birthday

Cutest Birthday Boy EVER!!!

Our camera wasn't working well so we didn't get many pics of the actual party, but others did, so I need to get them so I can post more! It was a fun day!

2011-11-19T22:13:00.000-06:00

I'm afraid to admit it, but I've kinda lost that lov'in feeling with my blog. My affections now lie with Pinterest and all it has to offer. Sometimes people just fall out of love with certain websites, and unfortunately, you are affected. Though I don't think any of you sit on pins and needles waiting for my next post. But in case you are wondering, we are going to stay together for the kids sake. Blogging is my best way right now to document what they have been doing and how they are growing.
So what they are doing and how they are growing: They are doing wonderful and we are all happy and healthy. Except Daniel has been fighting these headaches and sinus issues, so pray for him! Asher has returned to his love of screaming constantly. CONSTANTLY! And it's these embarrasing, high pitched screams that are probably the cause of Daniel's headaches. But he is just as cute as can be. It's hard to get mad at him because he's usually just squealing out of glee. He is very close to walking as well! Maybe by his first birthday...

Addalie is hilarious these days. She is such a talker. She will go on and on and on about everything. She repeats herself about a hundred times for no reason. And she repeats whatever she hears, so that's always fun... That's all for now because Asher is doing some of that adorable screaming and I can't focus! Here are a couple of pictures for you.

Asher's first time up in the playscape. He is SUCH a boy!

Halloween

2011-11-08T20:36:00.001-06:00

I just can't seem to find time to say much, though I have a lot to say. Not that we've been super busy these days, but I just feel like God has revealed some stuff to me that I want to share. Maybe someday...

Till then, here is a picture of our cute kids on Halloween! They were Dora the Explorer and Boots! Addalie loved loved trick or treating and Asher didn't seem to mind having a costume on. He would crawl up on all fours and truly look like a monkey!

Happy Fall

2011-10-26T23:11:00.000-05:00

I love fall. I love it, love it, love it! I love the time between Halloween and Christmas. I'm so sad on December 26th when the festivities of the season are over. I'm such a child, and I hope it never changes!

I also love pumpkins. I love eating them and the way they look and their color. Addalie loves them to. She get so excited to the pumpkin patch and "sit on a big pumpkin and hold a little pumpkin." I don't know why that makes her so happy, but it does and she just goes from pumpkin to pumpkin sitting on them while she holds and cuddles her little one!

She is looking so big to me

Litte farmer boy.

I'm pretty sure he is the cutest boy in the world! He was such a good sport about this!

Long Post, Lots of Pics

2011-10-18T01:02:00.000-05:00

I wanted to break down our trip and blog by state, but I just can't seem to get around to that, so here is a rundown of the rest of our trip to New England:

Our first night out of Boston we stayed in Glen, NH at the Bernerhof Inn. This place was awesome. It had a really quaint feel, but all these really hi-tech amenities.

This was our room there.

Asher was happy to be out of the car! He and Daniel had some good bonding time on the trip.

It had a huge tub!

They had no cribs or anything, so this is where Asher slept! Don't worry, we left the lid open!

This was an absolutely gorgeous lake in Meredith, NH

One of the covered bridges we saw!

The backside of our second B&B- Starbuck Inn in Kent, CT.

Another covered bridge.

Part of the amazing countryside.

Ok, remember how I said we based a lot of the trip on Gilmore Girls? Well, I got to visit the actual town that Stars Hollow is modeled after! It was such a cute little place, and really did remind me of Stars Hollow. If it had a gazebo in the center of town, it would have been perfect! We had coffee at the coffee shop and bought some baby food at this tiny little grocery store that reminded me of Doosey's Market. It literally had like, 5 aisles and the 3 people that worked there wore their little aprons and gossiped about the townspeople as they worked! I loved it!

Daniel had to visit ESPN in Bristol, CT. We then visited Yale University in New Haven, but I didn't have a really good picture to post. We got T-shirts though!

This is a town called Essex in Conneticut. It was right on the water and full of old homes. It was beautiful!

That night we stayed outside of Mystic, CT at the Stonecroft Inn. We loved this place too. It reminded me of the Dragonfly Inn in Gilmore Girls! (I know, I'm a nerd)

The backside of the Stonecroft- It had really pretty gardens.

And this is were Asher slept that night! It was his best night's sleep on the trip!

I have yet to find anyone who knows what I'm talking about, but you know the Julia Roberts movie, Mystic Pizza? Well, we ate at THE Mystic Pizza! They had really good pizza, and I was so excited when I figured out the Mystic CT, was the Mystic in the movie. I'm slow on making connections sometimes!

On our way to Providence to fly home (which we got stuck in because our flight was cancelled) we stopped by one of the many lighthouses in Rhode Island. You can't really go inside any of the working ones though.. Oh well.

Asher loves the ocean!

That pretty much sums it up! Though we actually took about 500 pictures! We saw some of God's amazing creation and really got to relax and spend special time with each other and with Asher. It was a memorable trip!

New England Trip- Maine Highlights

2011-10-03T21:58:00.001-05:00

We loved Maine! We were only there for a few hours, but we ate as much lobster as possible while we were there!

It's tricky to get a good picture when Asher can't hold the camera too well.

Ok, so its confession time. Much of this trip was inspired by my love for Gilmore Girls. Yes, I watch it, we have the whole series on DVD, we thought about naming our daughter Lorlai. Just kidding, but I do like the show. In one of the later episodes, Lorelai mentions this place off the coast of Maine called Barnacle Billy's so I checked to see if it were a real place, and it was! It was in a little place called Perkins Cove in Ogunquit. We loved it!

This big guy was straight off the boat!

It was so pretty there!

The Atlantic Ocean! It was pretty overcast and rainy, but still beautiful!

Pictures don't do it justice. It was so quaint and picturesque. I loved the nautical look of everything.

We ended up buying some salt water taffy made right there by the ocean. We ate so much of it, I lost a filling in my tooth! It was good though!

New England Trip- Boston Highlights

2011-09-27T22:14:00.000-05:00

It's been a month, it's ridiculous, I know! But I'm back, and we're back from our trip to New England! We have tons and tons of pictures and we hit so many places, I'm gonna break this up. Starting with our first destination: Boston. In case you didn't know this, Daniel and I kinda met in Boston on a mission trip our sophomore year in college. We had such a good time and wanted to return to place our loved first bloomed! (jk, didn't fall in love till two years later!) We went to the church where we based our mission trip out of, went to a Red Sox game (they lost), and took a tour around the city!

I'm going to feature all the places Asher slept on this trip with each post. Here he is sleeping at Fenway Park!

That place is a circus on game day. It's definitely a fun experience. We went to Reds games all the time in Cinci, and they were barely crowded, no big deal. Oh my goodness, Sox fans are hilarious! The park was packed, and we loved just taking it all in.

Yawkey Way!

He was so good at the game. And the cutest fan you've ever seen!

The next day we went on a Duck Tour of Boston. Again, Asher slept, but with no pic. It was great to hear all the history of the city again and see the beautiful sights.

We went for a walk in the Public Gardens where they have these famous duck statues. Asher loved them!

Oh we all did!

Daniel standing next to Paul Revere's statue. Behind him is the Old North Church where the lantern was hung signaling that the Red Coats were on the move.

I think Asher liked all the attention.

We visited the Cheers bar. Well, we took a picture in front of it at least.

The Old North Church. It's in the North End of Boston, which is primarily old, narrow roads and full of Italian restaruants. We loved this part of town! We even witnessed an Italian fight! Except I'm pretty sure they thought they were just having a pleasant conversation about the game the night before!

Hanging out on Harvard Lawn. You feel smarter just being there.

More to come!

Laughter

2011-08-27T18:05:00.000-05:00

That's all!

My Royal Family

2011-08-22T22:21:00.000-05:00

My sweet friend Karie gave Addalie some princess dress up clothes yesterday and ever since, we are all princesses! She LOVES them. But she can't just choose a princess and that be it, no no, she must be all the princesses-AT THE SAME TIME!

Today I never even got the chance to put regular clothes on her!

Daddy has to be a princess too. And apparently princesses are supposed to sing princess songs.

This was a few days ago. She has been wanting tons of stuff in her bed with her to sleep. Notice the rain boots...

One day I couldn't find Addalie anywhere and was starting to panic. But this is where that little sneak was! She was being quiet as a mouse and thought she was hilarious!

This is what Asher spends his day doing. That and screaming. All the time. For no reason at all. Mom and Dad are about to go check ourselves into a padded room for some peace and quiet.

Crawling

2011-08-17T21:48:00.001-05:00

Asher started crawling a couple weeks ago! Addalie was very pivitol in this newest accomplishment!

Busy Busy

2011-08-02T22:39:00.000-05:00

I know! It's been forever! Don't even get me started on what I've been doing with my time. Mostly, I've been a mom to two extremely clingy children. I don't know what I did to raise such mama's babies, but they are, and there are times when, as much as I love them, I need them to be ok with being more than 3 feet away from me! Just call me pack mule.

That being said, it's super-busy ministry time at church and stuff. Daniel and I have taken over as coordinators of the pre-school ministry at church. We are looking forward to it, but right now is recruiting and planning time, so that's keeping us busy. I'm also trying to help out with our local MOPS group in preparing for the year there as well. It's been one of those times where I know I have 1000 things to do, but I don't know where to start, so I end up organizing my pictures online or something totally not urgent.

On a different note, the kids and I got a chance to visit Kyla in Houston and we had so much fun! It's rare to spend time with them without a bunch of other family around. Can I just say I'm in love with my two nieces? They are so sweet and cute! I hadn't gotten to spend much time with Micah and just loved getting to know her better! Alright here are some pics. I've got too long of a post to put captions. Just make them up for yourself!

And guess what we got? New Jet Skis! Here's the story: we recently sold my Rav 4 (tear), and Daniel happened upon this really rare coin at the bank one day. He bought it, and took it to a coin shop to find out that it's worth about $1400.00! How crazy is that? So Daniel got to fulfill a dream of his and is enjoying his new toys. And we are enjoying fun times at the lake!

Addalie and Daddy showing off their muscles.

Here are some random pictures of the family being together. I love these precious memories...

Addalie fights naps so badly, but is so tired she finally gives it up in the rocker.

Asher's first baseball game!

Daniel makes breakfast fun with brightly colored scrambled eggs. Addalie loves them!

Saying "goodbye" to my beloved car my dad bought me my senior year of high school. It was sad, but I made sure it had a nice new family to go home to! Don't know what's happening with my shirt in this picture...

Thank You IKEA

2011-07-11T22:25:00.000-05:00

Thank you IKEA for your cheap furniture and accessories that have become part of my home lately! Seriously, I've spent way too much time and money there these days, but I can't help myself! The place is a little addicting. I used to think I didn't like IKEA. But I'd only been in there to look for major pieces of furniture for my not-so-modern house and I just didn't think any of it was my style. Still kinda feel that way, but I had never paid attention to all the other stuff in that store! Now I'm in love and there is evidence of it all over my house.

We bought these colorful storage pieces to contain the caos that is our playroom most of the time! We spend so much time in here and it's really become a priority for me to make it nice. I just wish the rocker wasn't sorely out of place, but I need a grown-up chair in there too!

I love this little ledge on the wall. I think I want to put another one on the other side of the toys.

The reading corner is my favorite! It has Addalie's artwork above it and this chair is so cute! The orange shade thing comes down to enclose the child! Addalie can sit and "read" forever so I'm glad she has a fun place to do it!

I found this cute little guy for all their little stuffed animals. It needs moved over but the hook was already there...

Ok somebody please tell me how to help this room. The walls are green and I don't want to paint them. And I fell in love with this duvet cover and can't take it back. But nothing really seems to mesh in this room and I can't figure out how to make it better!

This room was not influenced by IKEA purchases, but I wanted to show it anyway. We got a bigger bed recently and with it a new bedspread! Our old one was too fragile and I couldn't keep it repaired. So I got a more casual, carefree one and I love it! Daniel, Leah, and I made the headboad. It' soft and cushioned and I think it turned out really well if I do say so! You can't tell, but it has another dark brown layer under the taupe one.

So I'm pretty happy with the updates around the house!

4th of July

2011-07-08T16:24:00.000-05:00

The 4th was a little of a bummer because there were no fireworks anywhere due to the fire hazard. But it was nice to have a day with Daniel off. We all got decked out in our patriotic gear and went to the worst parade ever in Round Rock. It's basically just a chace to advertize your organization and throw cheap candy. It was so so hot and Addalie wasn't really able to get to the candy, so we left early. But we got some good pictures first! Then we got to hang out with dear friends in the afternoon, so it was a fun day overall!

Look at Asher's cute shoes!

Addalie trying to see above the big kids.

Asher had fun, Addalie was not in such a good mood...

Saturday we hung out with the wonderful Kedroski's! We enjoyed swimming at Susan's brother's amazing pool and cooking out for dinner. I don't know what happened to all the swimsuits!

Welch Trip

2011-06-24T17:55:00.000-05:00

We had a great trip to Welch last weekend! I love to see my kids out on the farm where I grew up, playing on the same swing set and in the same play house I played in. The kids did great on the long trip and I was able to relax and read a book! How often does that happen?

So here are some pics from the trip...

I think my brothers like having another boy around after so many nieces!

Addalie was so exhausted but did not want to take a nap. She agreed to rock with Papa though, and it only took about sixty seconds for them to both be out!

Trying to swim in the cold kiddie pool!

It was too cold for Asher but he enjoyed hanging out with Nana!

You can always count on Nana to give the baby something Mama wouldn't want!

Addalie can't resist all th hats everywhere.

Ahh, some much needed down time with my boy.

Addalie loves rider the 4-wheeler, or as she likes to call it, the 3-liter! She can't go fast enough on this thing! Asher took a ride on it too. He wasn't scared, but didn't get too excited either.

And of course, we have to ride the horses! Here is Landon't new horse. He doesn't really have a name, so we just call him Grey. He is so pretty!

Yay! Uncle Ryan and Bonnie came to visit while we were there! So fun! We love spending time with them and are grateful they live semi-close to my parents!

More lovin from Nana

These girls were too cute together. Addalie loves playing with cousin Bonnie! They took like, and hour long bath together where there was constant giggling!

You don't even want to know how many shots it took to get this one.

Sunday was Father's Day and I felt so bad that Daniel had to spend most of the day driving home. I was so thankful to get to be with my dad on Father's Day though! That hasn't happened in a while! Here Daniel is with his adoring kids before we headed to church!

I am beyond thankful to my husband for the kind of Daddy he is. I couldn't ask for a more loving father for my kids. He is always creating fun memories for them and playing with them no matter how tired he is. Nothing makes me happier than to hear the laughter coming from the bedroom when he and the kids are playing together! He truly is the best dad in the world! Happy Father's Day Daniel!

This is just a random pic from today. I usually carry Asher in the sling while in the grocery store, but Sam's has the two-person seats, so we gave it a try. Both kids thought it was so fun! Could this mean improved trips to the store? I won't get my hopes up.

Jumper

2011-06-11T21:42:00.000-05:00

This boy absolutely loves his jumperoo. He goes crazy in it- this video is tame compared to what he can do! Too cute!

Picture Update

2011-06-08T23:22:00.000-05:00

This is what Addalie does for fun these days. She just loves hanging out in my bathroom!

Me and my girl

I'm telling you, it's always something! She was trying to put mascara on like Mommy. Btw, how do you like her new haircut? She looks a bit like me as a kid!

We went swimming with our friends Timmy and Emily today. Fun times!

Asher is so sweet these days! Here are some cute pics of him!

We started him on cereal this week! He loves trying to feed himself with the spoon. He doesn't seem to care that much about the cereal, he just wants to hold the spoon!

Addalie always ends up soaking wet when she's outside when Daddy is watering the grass.

2011-05-31T22:47:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry for the lack of pictures these days. I know that's all you come to my blog for, and I know I typically have little write other than what we've been up to and picture captions. But I would have to get up out of this chair to get my memory card, and I'm not sure I have any pictures on there anyway since we haven't brought our camera on the past two trips we've been on. We went to El Paso last weekend and East Texas this past weekend. We like the extreme sides of the state! They were both so fun and we loved seeing friends and family! I will get pictures from FB and phones and get them up, I promise. But for now, I just wanted to update and send my little random thoughts into cyber space!

Alright, so lately my life has completely changed due to two little gadgets in my kitchen: My Crock Pot and the Magic Bullet. I know, I know, who cares about what goes on in my kitchen? I'm just saying, it's revolutionized my day! I used to only use the crock pot for the occasional roast, but now I'm using it a few times a week! Dinner time is just not the best time of day for my kiddos. They both always want to be held and are bound to cause trouble if I'm not giving them attention. I would usually have to wait for Daniel to come home to finish dinner so he could help out. But now things are less chaotic. And it's easy to eat healthy because I almost never need to use any oil or butter. Checkout crockpot365.blogspot.com for some good ideas if you too want to use your slow cooker more often!

And thanks to the magic bullet, we've all been drinking healthy smoothies and yummy blended coffee drinks. I constanly have something to drink in my hand; I think I might could live on a liquid diet as long as I had a good variety like this! And I can sneak some spinach or something green in Addalie's smoothies so she's been getting more veggies. Anyway, that's what I'm thinking about this evening and I know it's totally lame. I promise to put pictures of the kids up soon and stop giving you these boring glimpses into my brain!

Scary Day

2011-05-27T15:30:00.000-05:00

So Wednesday was such a weird/scary day. Daniel was going to Lowe's to buy some wood to build a new headboard for our new bed. He was strapping the wood to the top of our car with a bungy (sp?) cord when the cord snapped back and hit him in the eye/forhead. He doesn't remember anything after that, but I witnessed my husband acting as if he had brain damage or something. He called me several times repeating over and over that he got hit in the face and couldn't see and he was at Lowe's in Hutto. He would talk for a while then hang up, the whole time not seeming to hear anything I said. I wanted to go pick him up, but he had taken the car with both carseats in it and I felt a little trapped. Jada happened to call during all this and was just down the street at HEB, so she drove over and watched my kids for me while I went to find Daniel. The last thing he told me was he didn't know where he was but he saw a wagon and a flag. The only place I could think of was The Salt Lick, which is on the way from Lowe's to our house. I headed that direction and intercepted Daniel at a Fire Station nearby. He had parked the car in the middle of the street, still running, and was walking around toward the fire station. I ran after him calling his name, but he never could hear me. I fireman came up just as I got his attention, and we both tried to figure out if Daniel was ok. Daniel continued to repeat himself saying he was hit in the face and was trying to find his way home but didn't know how to get there. I was really scared at this point but so happy to be with him. Although he kept forgetting I was there and telling the fireman to call his wife. He reminded me of that guy from 50 First Dates who forgets everything after like, 60 seconds and just keeps repeating himself. I felt so bad for him- he was shaking and seemed so confused! He had a hard time answering very simple questions, so they called an ambulance and took him to the ER.

By the time he got to the hospital, he was so much better and he checked out fine. Apparently he had a concussion though nothing came up on the scan and his eye was scratched up. He still doesn't remember anything between getting hit and ending up sitting in the fire station, but is perfectly normal other than that. I witnessed God taking care of our family that day. Jada never shops at HEB but just happened to be in the parking lot when I needed her. Aimee Hill happened to stop by to get something from Jada, so she was able to bring Asher to the hospital for me to feed him, Daniel was completely out of it, but drove a good distance without killing himself or anybody else. I treasure my husband so much and was reminded of how much I love him. That wouldn't change no matter what, but I'm sure glad he has full brain function!

New Things

2011-05-11T21:10:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to post some new things the kids are saying or doing these days. They are both at ages where it seems to be something new everyday!

Asher is finally rolling over! Not a lot, but at least we know he can do it! He gets really excited every time too. We got out the jumperoo for him this week, and he loves it! He stays really content in it for a while. He has also found his voice. I thought he already had, but now I realize he was just getting started! He squeals all the time! So much fun!

Addalie is saying the funniest things these days! The other night she came up behind Daniel, hugged his legs, and said, "I love you big Mister!" Where does she get this stuff? And today she was talking to my mom on the phone about Jesus, Mom asked if Jesus loved her (mom) too and Addalie said, "Jesus doesn't love you, he's my Jesus!" Not much of an evangelist yet, but we will work on it!

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T21:04:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness, I love being a mother. I was overwhelmed today at church at how good God has been to me! My family was wonderful to me today. Mother's Day began with Daniel and Addalie bringing me breakfast in bed, as well as a spa gift certificate! Then we had baby dedication at church where we committed Asher Daniel to the Lord. The rest of the day was spent with family relaxing!

I'm so blessed to be in a family of fabulous mothers. I have an amazing mother myself, as well a wonderful mother-in-law. My sisters are all such good examples of how to mother and I've learned so much from them. I hope I can be half the mother all these women are! I have so much more to write but Asher needs me and if I don't post this now, it will never happen! Happy Mother's Day everybody!

Easter

2011-04-30T22:07:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful Easter this year! I was so excited about this Easter because it was the first one where Addalie could really participate and we could explain to her what Easter is about. Of course she cannot fully understand (can any of us?) what Christ did, she has said several times when she sees a cross, "Jesus died on the cross!" So she has little seeds of understanding. I pray that one day she fully understands and celebrates Easter for all it is and because of what Christ has done for her personally.

We had the Shocks, Aimee, and Leah over for Easter dinner and an egg hunt on Easter Sunday. It was so fun to host at our house! We loved having everyone here and loved watching the kids hunt eggs!

I got these pictures in the opposite order I intended!

Asher loving on Aimee! She's become a part of the fam and we love having her around!

Everyone trying to fit in my little kitchen! We made it work!

Addalie and Emry were too excited to eat.

All the kids looking through their goodies.

Addalie got so excited after just finding a couple of eggs and we couldn't get her to hunt for any more!

So many of these pictures are of Addalie and Emry. I just can't help it, they are too cute!

Walking to their class together at church- they started holding hands all on their own!

All dressed up for church!

So handsome!

Showing off her pretty dress that Gran-D bought her!

See it's all backwards! Here Addalie is decorating boiled eggs. She had fun putting stickers on the eggs and getting her fingers as colorful as possible!

We hope all of you had a blessed Easter! We are so thanful for our Lord who gave it all for us to live in relationship with Him!

Family Time Around Austin

2011-04-23T22:21:00.000-05:00

Why is it that I feel like I have so much to say when I'm vacuuming or something, but when I sit down to write on the blog, I've got nothing? I have deep thoughts sometimes, I promise. I used to want to be a writer, so why does my brain feel empty now? Is that what happens when you have a baby? Anyway, here are some pictures of what we've been up to lately.

Asher decided to help Daddy do some yard work the other day!

Daniel has been trying to introduce me to Austin more, since I've now lived here for almost two years! So, we've been going to some family friendly Austin places lately, and they've been so fun! These pics are from Phil's Ice House and Amy's Ice Cream. They have a really cool playground that Addalie loved.

Daniel took this of the kids this morning! They love laying around in Mom and Dad's bed watching Barney!

My Joy

2011-04-19T21:04:00.001-05:00

I never thought I could love another child or be attached to another child like I was Addalie. She has been a constant joy to me since birth with her sweet personality and contagious smile. I know I sound like a proud mama, but I just didn't think I could have another child that I found as delightful as her. But here I am, with two absolutely delightful children, and I just don't know how I could ever be more blessed. Asher is such a sweet boy. He constantly grins and just seems like this sensitive, sweet baby boy that I can't get enough of! I need more hands and more time becuase it's so hard to divide it between my kids! I don't want Asher to grow up, but it will be so fun when he can participate in what Addalie and I are doing!

Please pray for me though because my first joy, Addalie, is a two year old who is pushing boundries and exploring all she is capable of right now! It's been quite the learning experience for me!

Asher loves it when I hold him up and tickle is belly with my nose. He giggles everytime! Oh, and look how he's grabbing my hair- like sister like brother?

Oh yeah, I took Asher for his 4mo appointment last week and here are his stats:

Length: 24.5 in 25%

Weight: 13 lbs, 13 oz 25%

Head: 42.2 cm 50%

What we've been up to...

2011-04-10T16:32:00.000-05:00

Horsing around the house...

Playing in the sprinkler,

Not sure how much we like it!

Having fun watching his sister...

playing with Barney in Asher's carseat,

Loving bathtime,

Training to be a Texas fan,

Playing a Zilker Park,

And just loving being goofy together! (yes Addalie dressed herself)

She keeps us on our toes!

2011-03-31T23:51:00.000-05:00

I seriously can't take my eyes off my two year old! She's sweet and doesn't mean to cause trouble, but she's curious, and wants to try and see just how messy things can be!

Today she found some grease from somewhere on the grill outside, and got it all over her. She was wearing a ton of white today too! We were just about to leave for our Real Life Group so we had to throw her in the bathtub and wash her several times before we got it all off. Crazy kid.

Here is the "after" pic. All clean!

And that's not all. Earlier today, she got into the baby powder in the bathroom. This mess wasn't quite so hard on the white clothes. Seriously, she's a delight, but keeps me busy!

Feeling Fancy

2011-03-29T22:18:00.000-05:00

Addalie got a super-cute new table, a tea set, and some dress up clothes for her birthday, and we wanted to try it all out with some friends. So we called up the Shock cousins and invited them to a royal tea party! They had to come in dress up clothes, but I had fancy shoes, jewelry, and hats for the kids to borrow if they wanted. Addalie made me wear a flower headband and heels, but I didn't get a picture! Jada got one though, so I'll have to get that. Anyway, the kids seemed to have a good time!

That night, I decided to bust out the fancy dishes and grill some filet mignons for dinner. We were definitely feeling fancy yesterday!

Camping and More!

2011-03-26T21:30:00.000-05:00

First of all, check out these cute pictures of my family! I never cease to be amazed at how much joy they bring me!

He has the most kissable cheeks!

And he loves his bouncer

Nothing makes Daniel happier then when he gets to cuddle with his kids. Side note: Whenever I have both Addalie and Asher in my arms, I usually say, "I love my two kids!" So now whenever I'm holding them, Addalie says, "I got two kids!"

Ok, so this weekend, we attempted our first camping trip as a family. Daniel and I both grew up camping, and we want to do the same with our kids. It was definately interesting! We were just there for one night, and let me tell you, camping is hardly worth the effort for just one night! But I still loved it and can't wait to make it a family tradition.

Addalie stayed dirty most of the time, of course.

Part of the fun of camping is eating and drinking all the time right? Addalie liked not having to wear a bib or use a sippy cup, and loved helping herself to whatever!

There were some relaxing times...

In my family, camping means target practice. It had been a while since I shot a gun, but I can still do it!

Addalie quickly got bored with few toys and children to play with and started saying, "I ready to go home." She even got in the car, and tried to drive there herself!

Wow, sleeping in a tent with a two year old... wow. She refused to lay down in her sleeping bag and go to sleep. She wanted to lay on the air mattress with mom and dad. But she won't just lay there, no no, she has to crawl all over me, pulll my hair, kick me in the face, kick Daniel in the ribs, elbow me, and cry every fifteen minutes no reason at all! Oh Asher, the three month old, was an angel. He layed on his little pallet and didn't make a peep, despite all the noise, until this morning. After his 6:30 feeding though, he just wanted to sleep with me. Here we are, after a rough night, on an almost completely deflated air mattress. Somehow, we are all at the foot of the bed. Notice Addalie still has my hair in her hand! I'm surprised I'm not bald after last night!

Fun times were had by all! Memories...

Addalie is 2!

2011-03-16T17:06:00.000-05:00

Our baby girl turned two yesterday! It is amazing how time has flown and how much life has changed since she joined us that Sunday afternoon. We knew life would be different and our priorites would change, but we never knew how much we were missing until that day.

We decided to have a party at our house and bring in a petting zoo since Addalie loves animals so much. We had a great time and she loved every minute of it. We were glad it worked out because if it didn't we might have ended up with a Barney party, and let's face it, that could have been traumatic for the adults.

Here is Addalie riding the pony.

Gran-D got Addalie her birthday outfit and she looked adorable. You might not be able to see it in the picture, but it has ner name embroidered on the front.

Addalie could not wait to get in with those animals. There was 1 goat, 2 sheep, ducks, baby chicks, chickens, bunnies and a rooster.

Addalie loved the goat. He was just 1 month old bounced all over the pen.

Here she is holding a "green" duck. Not sure why she thought he was green, but sure enough it was!

There is a story behind her cake, but won't go into all the details. Let's just say that this was her second cake, and Dionne McBride is awesome!

This was a very intense moment for all of us if you can't tell.

Believe it or not, Addalie did not get any cake on her white shirt.

Since the whole family was not able to make it in for Addalie's party we had a second party on her actual birthday. We had a joint party for Addalie and Ava who is turning 4 on the 28th.

Addalie loves having tea parties and now she has a table to enjoy them. Thanks Nana and Papa.

Family Weekend

2011-03-16T17:05:00.000-05:00

We had a great weekend with the whole family this past weekend. Here are some of our favorite pictures that were not apart of Addalie's birthday party.

Asher got a new toy from Pop & Gran-D, and he loves sitting on the floor and hitting all the toys. Finally something to keep him pre-occupied while we get some things done around the house!

Our little girl loves her playscape, especially when all her cousins are over.

Here is Nana and Papa with all their grandkids. It is impossible to get everyone to look at the camera, but they are all cute anyway.

We bought this tub for Addalie's party. She loves sitting in it and being spun around in it. So far there has been no throwing up.....

Here is Pop and his grandson.

We have another happy kiddo!

Asher was not feeling real well and just needed to be held by Gran-D during the party.

Addalie and her new chairs she got from Pop & Gran-D. Her and Emry will be basking in the sun this summer.

Cousins and Friends

2011-03-07T22:14:00.000-06:00

Addalie and her cousin Emry are best freinds. They love hanging out! Emry came over Saturday to entertain Addalie since I felt like we hadn't done anything fun for a couple of days. Emry had her tutu on so Addalie had to go put hers on. Then Emry started playing with a baby bottle so Addalie had to have one. They wanted water in them so they could pretend to be real babies!

Forgive my pictures. My camera battery is dead and so I had to use my phone. Anyway, the girls got out a bunch of blankets and we giggling like crazy on the air mattress when I found them. I don't know what was so funny, but it was pretty cute! I love that they have so much fun together!

Fun Day

2011-03-02T20:52:00.001-06:00

I think Addalie had a fun day today. I love it when Daniel has the day off because I feel like we can focus more on the kids and do more fun things. We played this morning, then Daniel took Addalie on a long bike ride to Jada's house. He hooked the trailor onto his bike and we loaded Addalie up with snacks, a drink, and books, and they took off! After Addalie took a nap, part of that nap being on her floor, we spent the evening outside swinging and playing on her playscape. Leah came over and we had a good time just all hanging out! I love time with family!

Sorry, I got these pictures in the opposite order of what I intended!

Addalie literally would stay out and swing for hours and hours. She loves nothing more!

Asher loves being outside too! I think he looks chubbier in pictures than he really is. Those cheeks are just too cute! His shirt says "Romeo in Training"

How cute is this picture?

Asher had a bad night last night and was so sleep deprived today. He fianlly fell asleep and slept forever in the recliner. You know he's out when he loses the pacifier and doesn't even care.

Apparently, Addalie went to her drawer to get out her favorite gown during nap and just couldn't make it back to her bed! She cracks me up!

Getting ready to go for a fun ride!

She was very focused on coloring this picture. She loves to color these days!

Asher has been spending more and more time in his crib. He loves looking at the aquarium. Yep, that's my little Stud Muffin!

Dress Up

2011-03-01T22:02:00.000-06:00

This is an example of what Addalie looks like from day to day. She always wants her pretty dress on, or her "ballerina" gown, and always needs a hat of some sorts. Today she had on her clothes, her gown, her robe, my gown, and my robe, all at the same time. I wish I'd gotten a picture of that!

Yeah, I'm Behind

2011-02-25T22:34:00.001-06:00

I'm behind on life. In the past two months I've had a baby, celebrated a couple of holidays, moved, and had about four different illnessess invade my house. I feel like everything I know or think about is all wrapped up in me. There is nothing beyond me and my family, and I hate that. There is a reason selfish people aren't as happy. God designed us to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, to live in community, to serve others. Last night at Real Life Group, we were presented with a free date night by the others in our group. I was so humbled and so blessed by it. I mean, I'm all wrapped up in my life and they were concerned about us! I'm so thankful for those guys, I can't even tell you.

Here is a random cute picture of Addalie rocking with her crazy haired dolls. She wears a hat pretty much every day.

Last week were were treated to a visit from Mama Brown and Papa Brown. They got to meet Asher for the fiirst time and see our new house. We spent some time in downtown Austin and just enjoyed hanging out! We love when family comes to visit!

Sick House

2011-02-21T22:24:00.000-06:00

We are sick here. We've been sick for three weeks here! I've never experienced this in our family before, especially with Daniel who is rarely sick. He's had like three different things and cannot seem to kick it. Please, please pray for us! We need to be better! The kids have actually been ok, praise God. Anyway, right now I'm functional, just not great, and I was able to spend some good time outside with Addalie today!

And now I'm unable to get any pictures off my card for some reason, and it's been one of those nights where I can't seem to get anything done, so I'm calling it quits. Good night!

Pics of the Kids

2011-02-13T23:45:00.001-06:00

I adore my kids. Everyday I look at them and can't believe God gave them to me to take care of. They are incredibly trying, especially my soon-to-be two year old, but all that fades away when they smile at me. Toeday Asher took a good nap and Addalie and I were able to just play outside together and we made some memories. I never want to forget her saying "Yay Mama!" as I took a turn down the slide, or her giggle as I pushed her higher in the swing. She then threw a fit when I had to come in to feed her baby brother, but I will try to just remember the smiles and the giggles.

Asher smiles alot these days too, but it's pretty difficult to get a good picture of it. But anyway, here are some recent pics of the kiddos.

Addalie has cradle cap pretty badly so we've been using dandruff shampoo on her. I leave the room for a sec and come back to find her squeezing the blue shampoo in the water. She loved taking a blue bath! And her whole body is flake-free.

Addalie loves sitting on the couch with her brother and covering up with the Superman snuggie. Asher is pretty fascinated with Addalie as well. By the way, I'm taking suggestions on what to do with my child's hair. She always looks like a homeless child these days!

Asher went for his 2month check up on Friday. He weighed 10 lbs, 10 oz (25 percentile) and was 23 in long (50th percentile). He got some medicine for his reflux, so hopefully eating will be a little easier on him, but is otherwise doing fantasitc!

So Much Has Happened...

2011-02-09T23:00:00.001-06:00

It's been literally ages since I updated this thing, but give me a break, I have had a few things going on! I mean, I have a baby, frantically look for a place to live, find one and move within a few days, and I've been without internet for a great deal of that time. So I think I'm doing pretty good here.

First of all, I now live in a house! It was really frustrating trying to find a place, and we thought we weren't going to find one in time. Then at the last minute, a house popped up that was a price reduction. I went to see it that day, and three days later, we moved in. It was like God hand picked the place for us! It's been great to have, get this, one floor! I haven't had that since we lived in El Paso. And it's fabulous! We also have this amazing playscape in the backyard for Addalie. She thinks she's in heaven with a swing set.

A lot more has happened lately, but I'm just going to post house pics now and tell you more later. I forogt to take outside pics, so I'll post those later too.

This is the dining room that we converted into a playroom for the kiddos. It's just to the left as you walk in the door.

The living room is at the back of the house. I couldn't get the pics in order, so bear with me here.

Thats the back door.

I love my living room. It's nice and cozy.

The kitchen is accessed from the entry hallway. It's not as big and wonderful as my kitchen in the apartment, but I still love it. It has a pantry! Haven't had one of those in a while either.

View of bedroom from master bath.

Biggest bathroom I've ever had!

We had to paint the kids room. It was bright yellow.

Addalie reading her books in the rocker!

Guest bedroom

We don't have a bed right now, so we just have a ghetto air mattress. We can sure make leftovers work can't we?

Kids and guest bath.

Addalie wanted to wear her birthday hat all day.

View from front door. This wide hallway goes all the way to the living room.

It's not a palace, but we are so thankful for it. Hopefully we will be here for longer than a year! This girl is tired of moving!

5 Weeks Ago

2011-01-15T09:48:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that our little boy is over 5 weeks old! It's even harder to believe that in no time he will be the same size as Addalie and we will wonder where the time went. Asher is growing like crazy is such a good baby. We had to take him to the doctor on Monday for a check up, and he weighed in at 9lbs 5oz, which means he gained almost 2 lbs in less than 3 weeks! We'll be starting him in on the weights soon.

For Asher's birth we were so blessed to have our great friend Susan take pictures for us. That was one of our biggest disappointments when Addalie was born because we didn't have anyone there to take pictures during or afterwards since we were in Ohio. Now we haven't been around a lot of birth photographers, but we can guarantee that Susan Kedroski is the best by far! We are so thankful for her and the memories we will always have from the moments she captured. Thanks Susan!

Here are some of our favorites....

Deciding on whether or not to have an epidural...

1:52 pm, Asher is here

Our Mommies

Addalie meeting her new bubba

Already a Texas fan. Hook Em'

And now here is our boy at 5 weeks

Lately...

2011-01-10T16:33:00.000-06:00

So I've been terrible about blogging, or communicating with the outside world in general. I've relied on Daniel to communicate with people and keep the blog up, and look how he has slacked this past week! Just kidding, I honestly don't know what I would do without him. Since we had Asher, we have truly had to be more of a team and I have a whole new appreciation for him!

So... what's been going on with us? Not a whole lot, really. We took a quick trip to Welch last week to see my parents and let Asher meet some family. I just needed to see my parents, you know? We are looking at houses to rent pretty often, and so far have come up with nothing. Unfortunately, we will have to raise our price range if we want anything decent. We have gone back and forth about possibly staying in this apartment, but if we are going to pay that much and are not doing CARES, we would prefer a house with a yard and no stairs! I had no problem with these stairs until I got pregnant, and since I've had Asher, the dislike has grown to hatred! I have a toddler who will hardly go up and down on her own, and when she does, it takes twenty minutes, so I give in and haul both children up and down two flight of stairs way too often. I've started neglecting the upstairs rooms because I just don't want to go through the trouble to go up there! Please pray that we find a house that works for us soon!

I'm still not in the swing of not working or not doing CARES. I'm grateful that I don't have to worry about it because the kids take up all my time, but it's the first time I haven't had a side job on my mind always. I am used to getting out more! I'm kinda ready for summer when all the moms from church have fun play dates and activities planned frequently! I mean, I'm super busy around the house, but I just feel better when I spend time out and about. Again, I think a yard would help! Ok, enough rambling about nothing interesting, here are a few pics! My mom threatened me not to put the pig tails one up, but what's she gonna do about it?

Cousin Bonnie

2010-12-30T21:35:00.001-06:00

We had more family come in town today! Ryan, Suzanne & Bonnie came all the way down from Earth to meet Asher and spend New Years with all of us. Addalie & Bonnie have been really cute and fun together.

Here are the girls in their matching Christmas pajamas!

Pop & Grand-D got Addalie a story book with their voices recorded on it. Here are the girls right before bed listening to it.

"Aunt Susu" made Addalie all kinds of bows for Christmas. Can you tell our girl likes to dress up?

Here are the girls chasing one of our remote control helicopters that we got for Christmas from Santa! Thanks Santa!

Can you tell a difference in skin tone??

This is how our girl rides around on her bike....when she isn't dragging her feet in water puddles.

And here are some pictures of our boy.......

Holding tight to his paci.

Happy 3 weeks Asher!

Christmas

2010-12-26T22:41:00.001-06:00

Well all our family is gone and it is just the 4 of us again. We had a great Christmas and are always sad when it is over. This year was a little different than most in the sense that we did not do any traveling. With Asher still being so young we wanted to make sure we were able to get into a routine before we did a lot of traveling, so we were fortunate that family was able to come see us.

Since we were home this year we were able to go to the Christmas Eve service at church which we have never been able to do. It was a great service and a great way for us to remember what this season is all about.

Here is our little family right before we left for church.

Our little boy has been very alert the last few days.

Our sweet girl all dressed up. We could not get her to smile for the camera though.

Not sure what was so funny.

You might think several things about this picture, but one thing for sure is that it is not a Snuggie! It is a fleece with sleeves!

Addalie got a kitchen from Santa this year, along with various other cleaning supplies. Here is the before shot.

Here is the after/

Family picture Christmas morning while we were all still in our pajamas.

Addalie got a 4-wheeler from Pop & Gran-D, She loves it!!

It didn't take long for her to feel comfortable on it. She will be jumping cars in no time!

We all got bikes this Christmas from Santa! Yes that is a large tricycle!

Addalie riding with her momma!

The whole family. (Minus Ryan, Suzanne & Bonnie)

Uncle Kanyon & Aunt Erica came for a quick visit on their way to Houston.

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Lights

2010-12-26T22:41:00.000-06:00

We went out and looked at Christmas lights tonight since we failed to do so before Christmas. Here are some pictures of the places we went.

This was in Cedar Park on Chinati Court. The whole Cul-de-sac particpated!

In each yard was a different sign like this from "The Night Before Christmas"

This is a massive oak tree at a park in Cedar Park.

The best part of our night was this house in Round Rock. If you are in the area you need to stop by to see this, they have several songs with lights synchronized to the music. The last show is on December 30th.

Kinect

2010-12-22T19:13:00.000-06:00

Gran-D and Pop bought and X-Box with Kinect the other day and brought it along for us all to enjoy while they are here for Christmas. Here are the girls doing some dancing! I think our little girl is a natural!

On an unrelated note, Asher went for a check up today and is doing awesome. He weighed in at 7lbs 6 oz and 20 3/4 inches. Our baby boy is growing fast!

First Bath

2010-12-20T21:20:00.001-06:00

Asher got his first bath in the tub this evening. We were more prepared with him than we were with Addalie: we had a space heater warming up the room, a more comfortable bath bed, and a big sister who was ready to help if needed..........and by help I mean making sure he had enough bath toys in the tub! Don't worry, no injuries tonight.

He had no idea what was about to happen......

Almost there.....

Not a happy boy!

Needless to say, our kiddos do not like baths...here is Addalie during her first bath. (Can you tell they are brother and sister?)

Calming down

Snuggling with his John Deere blanket, thinking of PaPa

On a side note, Addalie wanted to help get Asher's bath ready, so of course she has to wear a big bow on her head!

We have a sweet girl

On another side note....Addalie is almost 2! There are several pieces of evidence that have helped us conclude this fact...1) March is less than 3 months away, 2)she is absorbing everything we say. She is talking so well, learning all her colors and letters, growing like crazy and, 3) Getting into EVERYTHING! We have included a couple pictures of what she did just today....

She loves to clean, therefore she thought it was appropriate to pull out all the cleaning wipes.

She also loves to draw and color, since no paper was available, the kitchen floor should be okay right?

Somethings we did not get pictures of include, sticking her hands in the toilet then grabbing all of Asher's paci's, pulling the ornaments off the tree, constantly spilling drinks because she wants to drink out of the big cups, eating chapstick, putting on lotion, throwing all she can in the tub, crawling in Asher's bouncer, swing and bed, pulling the stocking down and getting hit with the stocking holders, pulling anything she can out of drawers, cabinets or the fridge, leaving books all over the house, using everything she can as a phone, and being the sweetest little girl in this whole world! She makes all bad days better!

All About Addalie

2010-12-18T21:04:00.000-06:00

Today was a day for Addalie. Since Asher has arrived Addalie has not had our undivided attention, for obvious reasons, and we wanted her to have a special day. She loves going to Hoppin Hippo, so we loaded up the car, grabbed some lunch and headed over. We were hoping that this would be a great way to wear her out so she would have a good nap, but I think at the end of it, we were more wore out than her.

How do you not smile when you see that face?

We tried several times to get a family picture, but Addalie had too much to do.

After nap she got her finger nails painted red.

Showing them off to Daddy!

Our sweet boy just hanging out.

Lazy Friday

2010-12-17T21:20:00.000-06:00

Believe it or not, when we got everyone dressed this morning, this was not planned!

It finally got colder than 70 degrees outside, so we decided to stay home, watch a movie and build a fire. It was a great night!

Asher didn't quite make it through the whole movie....

1 Week Old

2010-12-16T21:48:00.000-06:00

Our baby is already a week old today! I can't believe a week has already passed. It's been a blur of days and nights and not really knowing what day it is. But it's been great! Really, I feel so blessed to be home with my two kiddos. Asher is such a good baby. I feel like he's just like Addalie, except that he doesn't spit up on me every five minutes. Night times are not horrible, but not great. I don't know what happens, but he always seems to end up in bed with me! Basically, we have just been hanging out at home getting adjusted to life as a family of four.

Here are some cute pics of our boy!

Sleeping

2010-12-15T20:48:00.001-06:00

This is what our boy does best.

Here is Asher with the freakishly large baby Gran-D bought for Addalie.

Addalie has a new thing when going to bed. She wants all her babies and paci's when she goes to bed.

Photo Update

2010-12-14T18:29:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the lack of updating the last couple of days, we have been adjusting to life as a family of 4. Our sweet boy is doing great and being very easy, which you will never hear us complain about. Our sweet girl on the other hand is a different story. Addalie has been a little fussy the last few days getting used to sharing the house and our time with her brother, which we completely understand. She loves kissing on Asher and holding him, the only problem is she wants to carry him around like one of her dolls, which to put it mildly is not very gentle. We are praying for a quick adjustment!

Here are some pictures from the last couple of days......

These are pictures of Asher right before we brought him home from the hospital

Addalie was so excited her bubba was home, she wanted to hold him right away.

Besides pooping, this is what Asher does best.

Asher got his first football from Papa. He is already dreaming about kicking field goals and taking care of our retirement!

Addalie got some early Christmas presents since we won't be going up to Welch. Here she is wearing her new robe and holding her Madame Alexander doll from Meme and Grandad

Aunt Kyla stopped by for a quick visit. Addalie loves when Kyla comes to visit.

Yesterday we tried several times to get a family picture taken in hopes of using one for our Christmas card. Turns out we spent several hours trying to get this done and didn't use any of them: failure! This one turned out okay though....

Asher went for his first check-up today. He is perfect and weighed in at 6lbs, 11oz.

Before & Asher

2010-12-10T10:11:00.001-06:00

Sena ended up not needing to be induced the night before, so she was trying anything she could to speed up the process.

They knew her too well right from the start...

She didn't have stairs like she did at home so she had to improvise

Almost ready for his first bath

Addalie kept checking to make sure they were taking good care of her bubba

Still sleeping

The Lambs were the only visitors besides family we got a picture of with Asher..

During shots and bath..

First time Addalie got to hold Asher

Sweet boy..

Asher passed his hearing test

Asher Daniel Reese

2010-12-09T18:54:00.000-06:00

Asher Daniel Reese was born today. He arrived at 1:52 pm, weighs 7lbs, 19 1/2 in. long. He and momma are doing wonderful. Here is a little video of our boy coming into the world.

On The Way

2010-12-08T19:46:00.001-06:00

One last picture as a family of 3

One last belly shot.

IV in, monitor hooked up and the Sing Off on TV. Should be a good night!

Also, I will be updating Facebook more often than the blog, just because it's a lot easier. My profile is here

-Daniel

Ready

2010-12-06T20:39:00.002-06:00

We have been so busy this past week! We have completed our final major CARES events, which brings mixed emotions, attended birthday parties, gone to the doctor a lot, and more! First, let me fill you in with what's been going on with Asher.

I've been itching really bad for the past couple of weeks all over, and Daniel finally made me call the doctor about it. I felt silly because I was sure it was just dry skin. Turns out there is a condition called cholestasis (I probably spelled it wrong) where your liver slows down due to the pregnancy and it makes toxins back up in your system, thus causing severe itching. So I've been waiting this past week for bloodwork to come back to see whether or not I had this. I found out today that I am only in the beginning stages of it and it's not bad, but my doctor suggested we go ahead and induce since I'm full term and so uncomfortable. So... as of right now, we are planning on going in Wednesday night! Woohoo! It's baby time!

It's possible I could change my mind before then, so I'll keep you posted. I have mixed feelings about being induced. I'm really ready to have this baby and really can't imagine waiting any more, itching, and not sleeping. Plus, this week is such a better time for everybody than next week. But I really wanted to do this naturally like I did Addalie and labor at home for as long as possible. So everybody please pray that I go into labor naturally in the next couple of days!

Ok, so that's the update. Here are some random pictures of what we've been doing lately!
Pics of Addalie playing at a Gymboree birthday party! She loved it!

I'm so excited to have a mantal to decorate and stockings to put up!

Yes, Santa is my husband! He had to play Santa again this year at the Monterone Christmas party!

Addalie has her mama's Christams spirit!

Stylin

2010-11-29T12:15:00.001-06:00

We took Addalie to get her first haircut, that wasn't done by Nana, today. We went to this kids haircut shop called Snip-its. It was a fun place that Addalie just loved and didn't want to leave.

Here is the before......

She did pretty good throughout, but she did have to read a book to keep her busy.

Here she is watching a video while getting styled!

She absolutely loved having her hair blow dried. This might have been the third time she got it "dried". She kept laughing and saying again again.

Here is the best after shot we could get. She looks really cute!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-27T21:47:00.004-06:00

We were blessed this Thanksgiving to spend some time at home with Daniel's grandmother and his sister. Addalie loved having Gam around all week and we loved having some extra time to get some important stuff done. I think everybody learns pretty quickly that they better have patience for reading books over and over if they are going to spend any time with our daughter! Here is Gam reading the Boz book for the umpteenth time!

Addalie is always wanting to type or push buttons on something, so Gam bought her a little pink laptop. She loves to sit and type while Daniel or I am on the real computer.

She also got this ridiculously huge baby from Pop and Gran D while they were here. She (all on her own) named her Baby Reese. Here they are "rock rocking" while Addalie reads to her.

I've gotten to host Thanksgiving at my house for three of the five years since I've been married. I really love to cook Thanksgiving dinner and actually set a nice table and use my fancy dishes! Leah was a huge help! Gotta love thos French's Fried Onions!

This is what we had for Thanksgiving dinner per Daniel's request! Daniel is very thankful for beef.

Everybody is ready to eat!

Daniel and I got sick later that day with a stomach virus Addalie had earlier in the week, but other than that, we had a great Thanksgiving and we pray you did as well!

AHHH! (That was me screaming)

2010-11-24T21:11:00.003-06:00

Sometimes you just need to scream, right? Ok, I'm over it now, but that's how I felt this past weekend. Daniel and I had the opportunity as a CARES Team to attend a Weekend to Remember conference in San Antonio. We were really looking forward to just getting away together before the baby comes, but unfortunately, our weekend was tainted a little. We received a call on the way there that informed us that as of Dec 31 we will no longer be the CARES Team here, thus taking away our apartment. (Insert scream here) I mean, seriously, could the timing be ANY worse?

Basically, in an effort to keep a leasing agent here that could no longer afford to live here because of commission and budget cuts, management is allowing his wife to take over as activity director (not with the CARES program) in order to give them a discounted apartment and ensure that he remains on staff. It was painful news, and though we understand the business side of it, it felt really personal. We have a relationship with this family and with the other staff here. We were thinking we would have to move immidiately in order to get settled before the baby, and that would mean a lot of money to move that we don't exactly have readily available. I just cried and cried. I'm so tired of moving and I have loved this apartment. There is just no way we can pay the expensive rent on a two bedroom.

So we tried to not let it ruin the weekend. It was hard, but we really did enjoy it and had a relaxing time together.
This is a gingerbread house they were building in the lobby of our hotel. It was really cool and made out of tons of real gingerbread and icing. I wish we could have seen the finished product!

The huge lobby was already all decorated for Christmas. I loved it of course!

This is on the backside of the resort. It was like a sprawling plantation. We loved just walking around.

Me at 36 weeks! (I'm now 37 weeks pregnant!)

On a completely unrelated note, we are now able to put Addalie's hair in pigtails! She looks so so cute and like such a big girl! We cannot, however, get a decent picture of her with them!

Ok, back to our weekend. We got to make a stop on the way, (prior to the bad news) at an old friends that I hadn't seen since junior year of college! Susan was my boss at Noah Project in Abilene, and then I babysat for her little boy after she no longer worked there. I fell in love with this family and missed them terribly when they moved to California. Well, they moved outside of San Antonio and we moved to Round Rock, and we finally got to reconnect!

Little Zachary isn't so little any more! He was so big and just about the sweetest kid I've ever met. We looked at pictures from when he was a baby and he acted like we were best friends. It completely melted my heart!

So that's what we've been dealing with lately. We did meet with our manager and we worked out something where we can definitely stay till the end of January, so praise God for that! As for beyond that, I have no idea. We are most likely going to stop doing CARES because of the new baby, new situation, etc. and rent a house somewhere in Round Rock. Please pray for everything to work out. We were not at all planning on any of this and are really just trying to get through all the changes in our lives with as little stress as possible. We want to leave the apartment on good terms and be a good representative of Christ no matter what. Please pray for our relationships here and for peace in the next months. Sorry for such a long post!

Baby Shower

2010-11-09T15:40:00.004-06:00

Friday night was a fun night of celebrating Asher's upcoming arrival! I got together with some wonderful people from church and family at La Madeline for coffee, dessert, and diapers! Yes, diapers excite me these days! I felt very blessed that night and had a great time!

I will post pics of the nursery soon, but here is some of the bedding and the letters for his name made by my super creative sister Kyla!

How cute is this diaper cake?

And these are the lovely ladies who hosted the shower! I am so blessed to know each of them!

First Night

2010-11-07T23:10:00.001-06:00

Addalie slept in her new bed tonight for the first time. We tried it out last night, but she just wanted to play, and since we had to get up early for church we figured she needed some sleep.

Well tonight we tried it again. She played with her toys, sang to herself, read books in the dark, and flushed the toilet a couple times before she finally gave up a hour and a half later. It was fun listening to her on the monitor.

If you look closely, you can see some of the mess she created.

Sunglasses & a big girl bed

2010-11-06T20:40:00.001-05:00

So Addalie hates clothes. However, she loves shoes and accessories. Recently she only wants to wear her diaper, sunglasses, and some sort of necklace.

Nana and Papa got Addalie a big girl bed for Christmas. She got it a little early so she could get used to it before Asher comes. Here she is trying it out, while, you guessed it, wearing her sunglasses!

Story Time

2010-11-02T20:54:00.003-05:00

We went to story time at Book Pride bookstore in Georgetown today with Jada, Leif, & Emry. They have such a neat area for kids and the girls loved crawling in the little cubbies and reading together! They were so cute! Addalie crawled in first, then Emry said, "Addawee, stay there, I'm going to get you a book!" Addalie obeyed.

Our TV stand is lonely!

2010-10-29T20:07:00.004-05:00

Our house is pretty much free of electronics today! Last night we came home from a Halloween party to find that we had been robbed. I couldn't believe it. It's one of those things you think will never happen to you. They took both our TVs, all our computers, our Wii, dvd players, and even my Roomba vacuum! I thought they had taken some of my jewelry because it was all over the place, but it was all there! I don't own but a couple of valuable pieces, and those were the things that have sentimental value, so I'm so thankful they passed over them! It felt awful to know someone had been in our house, going through our stuff. We are usually home on Thursdays because we host a small group from church every week. But this week our small group helped us throw a big Halloween party at Monterone so we were all over at the Clubhouse. We were thankful to have everybody there helping us out when we found out we were robbed though.

I put some fall decorations on our TV stand to keep it from looking so lonely.

This is me making Addalie's Halloween costume. It's one of those times when I feel like a mom because my mom always made our costumes. I thought, "How many more of these do I have in my future?"

I was a chef with a "bun in the oven" for the party. The top part says "Bake with care. Cook at womb temperature for 7 more weeks. Expect finished bun by mid-December." I know I'm cheesy, but it was fun!

And here is my little Pebbles Flinstone!
Her shirt kept curling up too much b/c it was made from a cut up t-shirt, but hey, she's one, she can show a little belly!
Yes, her hair is orange. She loved it, especially since orange seems to be her favorite color these days. Her little boyfriend from church is Bam Bam, so we will get a pic with him and post it later!

All in all, it's been quite an eventful few days. The party took tons of time and preparation, and was a success! There were probably any where from 150-200 people there and we had a lot of fun! It was not so much fun to come home and experience the fear of knowing someone had robbed you, but we are so thankful it wasn't worse and none of us were home at the time. You know, looking back over the past few years, I've had a lot of things stolen from me. My car, two cell phones, my jewelry, our cars broken into, and now this. I think God is making sure I realize that material possessions are not important! Lesson learned! I am so thankful for what he has given me outside of material blessings. I have a wonderful family and our friends last night just made me feel so blessed. By the way, thanks to the Magees for the use of their computer to write all this on!

Oh, and if you are wondering, we did have insurance so everything should be taken care of :)

Rangers

2010-10-22T23:11:00.001-05:00

The Murphy's came over tonight to watch the Rangers head to the World Series.

Right before this picture we was taken, we were trying to think of something to mock the Claw and Antlers, but we came up with nothing.

And a picture of our girl sleeping tonight. We know.....she has a rough life!

Love, Asher

2010-10-21T16:54:00.001-05:00

We got to see our boy today!

Getting some Practice

2010-10-19T17:35:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Addalie's friend Timmy came over while his mom went and got some things done. Addalie loved having a baby in the house and just wanted to hold him and give him lots of love.

Don't worry Kristen, she was very careful!

Also, here is our sweet girl sleeping.

Mobile Blog

2010-10-18T17:55:00.001-05:00

This is our first update using our phone. I don't know why we didn't try this sooner since most of the pictures we take are on our phones. Hopefully This will result in more updates!

Addalie was helping out with laundry...

We set up Addalie's swing outside, so we have been outside a lot ever since. She would swing all day if we would let her. She is pretty easy to please.

This is Addalie sitting with Ms. Jane, our wonderful neighbor right below us. She gave Addalie a stuffed pumpkin for Halloween.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-17T20:47:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we finally, finally had a Saturday at home with no huge event or traveling going on! It was fabulous! We relaxed and did stuff around the house, and spent lots of time cuddling with Addalie, then we went to the pumpkin patch to let Addalie pick out her first pumpkin!

She loved all the pumpkins everywhere. She kept calling them "punkies!"

Hmm, smells good!

So excited!

Me at 31 weeks. Livin large.

Couldn't get her to smile for anything!

Feels Like Home

2010-10-15T14:28:00.010-05:00

I'm finally home to stay for a while! I feel like I've just been preparing for or recovering from one trip or another for the past few weeks. I've had a wonderful time at each place though. The first weekend in October I got to hang out with some of the greatest girls I've known. 12 friends from college and I met up at Rebecca Schaefer's family lake house to hang out for the first time in four years. It was awesome to be back with everyone! I am so thankful for the friends that God gave me during college. Each one is still walking with the Lord and doing well, and just as funny as ever! Can't wait to do it again!

This is one of my favorite pics from the weekend!

Last week my parents came downfor Keirah, Leif, and Emry's birthday party, then I rode back with them to Welch to spend some time with family there. I'm not getting to go back for Christmas because of the baby, so I wanted to see my grandparents and others before the end of the year. Kyla and her girls were there, and Landon was on fall break, so I got to spend time with more family than I thought I would!

Mom graciously gave me, Ava, and Addalie pedicures! Addalie loved how the foot scrub tickled her feet!

Kyla and sweet little Micah

With Mama Brown and Papa Brown!

And Meme and Grandad!

Addalie loved the horse's hair, and was frustrated that they wouldn't let her touch it!

She wore Papa out asking him to go up again and again!

I think Addalie would spend her life on the swings if I let her.

Just chillin with Micah!

Where's momma???

2010-10-01T17:50:00.003-05:00

For the second weekend in a row Sena is out of town and I get to keep Addalie and spoil her all weekend!! I figured since we hadn't posted in a while,(and by "we", I mean Sena), I would post some random pictures of our girl....

This is what I walked into this afternoon after Addalie woke up. She knocked over the lamp by her bed and broke it, and decided to throw everything else that was in her crib out. When I walked in, she was very proud of herself and said "Hi daddy"

We have stopped letting Addalie have her pacifier except at night and during nap. However, anytime she is in the proximity of her room, she starts saying "pappy? pappy?" and begins to look for one. They are usually under her bed because she throws them out!

Here she is in her wagon having a great time!

Hairy Man?

2010-09-26T21:16:00.006-05:00

It was a great weekend! I had the privilege of going on a retreat with some incredible women from church this weekend. The theme was Measureless Love and it was based on Ephesians 3. It was so awesome to look deeper into how great God's love is for us as well as get to know some of the women at church better!

Daniel got to stay home and keep Addalie, which he loved. He loves getting to spoil her! They went to the Hairyman festival (yes, that's the name) in our neighborhood where Addalie got to eat snow cones, go to a petting zoo, and ride a pony! They have an actual hairy man contest, but Daniel wasn't up for entering. Doesn't that just sound like a treat for the eyes? Who wouldn't want to watch a bunch of hairy men compete for who has the most body hair?

Saturday was also my hubby's birthday! Happy 27th Daniel! Our awesome friends John and April took us out for dinner that night to celebrate. Some other friends came along and we had a great night! Today was a busy church day as usual, then Jada and Nick came over tonight and we did crafts with the kids and ate yummy breakfast food prepared by the husbands!

Good weekend. Good friends. Good family. God has blessed us abundantly!

The Great Cauliflower Stand-Off

2010-09-22T20:38:00.004-05:00

That was during her happy time today. However, dinner time was not a happy time tonight. Addalie is a really good eater, but tonight she would not eat her dinner. And I'm really afraid she is trying to be a no-vegetable kind of gal, which really upsets me. She won't even take a bite of them, so I wanted her to try a bite of cauliflower because I didn't think she had even had it before. She absolutely refused and I told her she couldn't get out of her highchair till she ate a bite, just one. Is that asking too much?

So guess how long we sat there? About 35 minutes! It became less about me wanting her to eat a vegetable and all about her absolute refusal to obey! She just glared at me with this look that said, "I dare you to get me to eat that." She tried everything to get out of it. She hid it and said "All gone!" She put it to her lips and made smacking sounds, she threw it on the ground. She tried being super sweet to get me to get her out. She cried, she glared, she tried it all.

So who won this stand-off? I'm gonna go with NOBODY! She never ate, I got impatient, and she got a spanking. It was so sad. And a bit scary. I mean, what kind of stubbornness awaits me in the future?

27 Weeks

2010-09-18T20:05:00.003-05:00

Please ignore how ragged I look in this picture! I'd had a very long day and just took a shower and put on comfy clothes. I was just determined to get a belly shot and update this thing tonight! So here I am at 27 weeks. I can soon say goodbye to the second trimester and start counting down the weeks till delivery! I honestly don't see how I'm going to wait three more months! I'm so ready for Asher to be here I can hardly stand it.

2010-09-12T21:12:00.002-05:00

It's kinda hard to tell, but this baby's hair is sticking straight out in all directions. She's only had it for a few weeks, and already her smooth black hair is in dreads! I don't know how Addalie does it, especially since she really only plays with the hair during the night, but she can do a number on a baby doll's hair!We went to Colton Allhand's 1st birthday party yesterday and stickers happened to be in the favor bags. This is what Addalie did with those stickers on the way home!

She Loves to Clean!

2010-09-10T21:05:00.003-05:00

The list of things I have to do while Addalie is napping is growing longer. Now she won't let me sweep or vacuum anymore! She insists on doing it and has to do it by herself. Of course the vacuum is way too heavy for her so she can barely move it, but she actually makes some progress! I love that she loves to clean, but seriously, I can't get anything done!

2010-09-08T21:32:00.002-05:00

This is one of my new favorite photos! It's from when we were in El Paso. Don't I have the cutest family?It has been raining practically non-stop here for the past two days and we are all getting a little stir crazy. On our way in the house the other day Addalie ran out in the rain. She loved it! She was in new clothes and new shoes and got completely soaked. It didn't bother her a bit though! She of course had a fit when I finally made her come inside!

Galveston Trip

2010-09-07T17:01:00.005-05:00

We had a fun time this past weekend in Galveston visiting Kyla and Alan and celebrating Micah's first birthday with family. We took some time on Friday to hit the beach with the kids, and Addalie loved it! I feel like my child is really deprived of outdoor time. We go for walks all the time, but she has no place to just play in the dirt and the grass on a regular basis. Well, she got plenty of time in the dirt this past weekend! Emry loved looking for shells on the beach. Apparently, looking for shells requires one to be covered from head to toe in mud!

Addalie was having way too much fun to look at the camera. She would play in the dirt for a while then run to the water shouting "wawer!" Then she would yell "dirt!" and run back to play in the mud. She was too cute!

Here are a few of the super-cute pics of the party. Kyla is so talented when it comes to decorating cakes! She made this onesie for Micah to match the party stuff. She was too adorable for words! She even had little wings on her back!

New Toys All Around

2010-09-01T21:43:00.003-05:00

This has been such a weird and crazy week! We fly to El Paso on Wednesday to pick up our first new toy, a Toyota Sequioa from Daniel's parents! No, I'm lame and have not taken a picture of it yet, but I am seriously enjoying the extra space and the feeling of power on the road. I know it's not a huge vehicle, but I feel like I'm bigger than any body else. I rule the road people!

We left Addalie with her Pop and Gran-D and drove home on Thursday. Daniel left on Friday for a wedding in Dallas and I stayed here to host a CARES event. Then Bob and Dena came with Addalie and Gam on Saturday to move Leah into her new apartment. It was good to see Addalie after a couple of days! I stayed busy enough that I didn't get as sad as I thought I would. Of course, she came home with a few new toys of her own!

Books are always a huge hit!

She also got a new baby doll and stroller. Notice the baby's hair is already crazy! She helped her daddy put the stroller together, and then decided to push it around the wrong way. She loves them both! Thanks Pop and Gran-D!

We have spent the past few days at Leah's new apartment putting together all of her new toys and getting her settled. I get way too excited about new homes. I love getting them organized and decorating. I think I may have been a little too enthusiatic for the poor tired Leah. She would be exhausted and I was like, "No rest for the weary, let's keep unpacking!" Please don't hate me Leah. And know that you can change everything I did without your permission!

And late tomorrow night we are off to Galveston for my precious niece's 1st birthday party! As Addalie would say, we are always on the "GO GO GO!"

When you're pregnant...

2010-08-24T22:23:00.003-05:00

When you are pregnant, you can't sew fast enough to beat the expanding belly. Therefore, the dress that I started making at the beginning of my pregnancy goes to my much smaller sister! It looks way better on her anyway! I told her she didn't have to actually wear it, I was just trying to get back into the swing of sewing and made the dress for practice. But she wore it this past Sunday! I'm planning on sewing the baby's bedding and maybe a few other things, so I wanted to get my skill level up a bit. I used to sew all the time, but I got out of practice and forgot most of what I knew.

I know what you are thinking, I look MASSIVE next to Jada. I feel like my head is too small for my body. Maybe there will just be head shots from now on...

Update

2010-08-23T22:41:00.002-05:00

All is well at the Reese house! We have been pretty busy and have a busy week ahead. Daniel and I are so blessed and have the opportunity to fly to El Paso on Wednesday to pick up our new (well, new to us) Toyota Sequoia! Daniel's mom got a new car and we are buying from them and driving it home on Thursday! I can't wait to have a car that I can stretch my legs in a little, or a car that Addalie's car seat will fit in! I'll post a picture of it on Wednesday or Thursday!

God has been so good to us when it comes to vehicles. We will be making payments on this one, but it is the first time we have had a car payment, and we are getting such a good deal! Thanks Bob and Dena for being so generous! Daniel also sold his scooter (yay!), and has a buyer for his little truck. I get nervous about anything resembling a motorcycle, so I was ready to get rid of the scooter. Addalie loves music and found headphones the other day. Daniel hooked her up to his phone and she loved being in her own little world bopping along to her music!

She learned to climb up on the coffee table and was quite proud of herself. That's me feeling crummy in the background!

We went to the pool with several friends from church last week and had lunch there. I looked over and Addalie and Emry were sitting there sharing food! Here is Emry feeding Addalie.

She is so cuddly and totally into babies right now!

Fashion Show

2010-08-17T22:07:00.002-05:00

Addalie got some new clothes and I really wanted to see them on her, but trying them all on at once. Not a good idea. I did get to see these two on her, though that was a struggle! She is a girly girl, but is still too young to understand that it is fun to try on new clothes!

Complaining about the tags still attached.
This was really funny. I was trying to make things fun by pretending to do a catwalk, which she cracked up at. This is her attempt to do it as well! She had a little bounce in her step!

Play-Doh!

2010-08-16T18:30:00.002-05:00

Today was Addalie's first experience with Play-Doh. Of course all she wanted to do was try to eat it, but she loved it when I made it into a ball and we threw it around. She kept holding it up and shouting "geen!" We are working on our colors! It was so fun playing with her today. I don't feel like I've done a lot of that lately because we have been so busy, so it was great to have a nice, normal day here at home!

Daddy's Shirt

2010-08-15T22:53:00.003-05:00

Last week Daniel gave blood at our blood drive and got a free t-shirt. Well for some reason, Addalie fell in love with it and wanted to wear it all the time! There is a significant difference in the sizes that Daniel and Addalie wear, so it was a challange for her, but she was determined. She even had to have it to go to bed! It was so cute!

21 Weeks Pregnant

2010-08-05T20:40:00.005-05:00

Well I'm officially over halfway through this pregnancy! It's starting to get a lot better as far as how I feel. I rarely need to take an anti-nausea pill, though I do still have to eat fairly often or I feel sick. And I definitely look pregnant now! Here are a few pics:

We have been staying busy with lots of church stuff and CARES stuff. It takes a lot of time outside of doing events to just connect with people. We try to have people over for dinner a lot and we just get out and take walks to talk to people. Daniel has now gone full-time working for Primerica so that is keeping him busy. For those who don't know, he is still doing insurance, but he is also doing financial planning and investments. He is always looking for referrals and the opportunity to speak to people about what he does, so if you're interested...

Other than that, we are doing well and enjoying each day! Here are a few more cute pictures of Addalie! She is literally learning something new everyday and constantly making us laugh.

On Sunday in her new dress she got from Gam!

She loves laying in our bed and watching Praise Babies. She can now ask to watch it!

Just being sweet! She is so affectionate!

When we go for walks in the evening, she loves sitting on the curb and waving at everybody!

Pictures

2010-07-27T20:58:00.003-05:00

We haven't had much out of the ordinary going on here lately, so I just wanted to post a few cute pics of our Addalie! There is also a sweet video of her playing with her daddy! She loves to clean! It makes me so happy!

Happy Birthday

2010-07-25T12:55:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday Dad!

I Love You,

Daniel

Busy Days

2010-07-17T21:47:00.003-05:00

I'm tired. My body hurts. I'm whiny. It's been a busy couple of days here! Yesterday we had Music Under the Stars (CARES event) and lots of prep for today. Addalie and I also went to Josh and Kristen's to bring them dinner and we got to spend some time with little Timothy! He is such a precious baby!Today we had a big pool party (also a CARES event) where we grilled lots of hamburgers and hotdogs and played games by the pool for prizes. Tonight we went and got some stuff to spruce up our balcony got that all fixed up. I also had my first experience with Addalie pooping in the bathtub and had to get all that cleaned up. (no worries, I'm not posing a pic of that one!) I'm going to sleep well tonight!

Playing a huge game of Jenga at the pool party!

Happy Birthday Leah!

2010-07-15T22:37:00.004-05:00

Today was Leah's 22nd birthday! We went out for dinner at Chuy's (yum) and then came back for Leah's favorite, german chocolate pie. This was my attempt to make it special for her birthday. Key word being "attempt!" I just don't have Gam's touch when it comes to pies I guess!

Daniel thought it would be a good birthday "treat" to attack Leah with Ready Whip!

Baby Conner

2010-07-13T22:07:00.003-05:00

Tonight we got together with everyone from our Real Life Group for dinner and games. And we all got to hang out with the Scott's new baby boy, Conner! It was so great to hold a nweborn boy! I can't wait to hold mine!

She just loves hair!

2010-07-11T21:10:00.002-05:00

We were headed home from Jada and Nick's tonight and it was past Addalie's bedtime so she was tired and fussy. She kept reaching for me from the backseat and I finally realized she just wanted to grab my hair. Addalie has always loved hair and has to have it in her fist to fall asleep, so she has a doll with nasty hair in her bed to help her sleep. But Leah came to the rescue tonight and leaned over so Addalie could play with her hair. The fussing immediately stopped. I know, my daughter is quirky. Most kids have blankets or stuffed animals. Addlaie just needs some hair!

2010-07-10T22:45:00.003-05:00

We are so happy to have Leah (Daniel's sister) staying with us for a little while she transitions to moving here. Addalie loves having her around! And we are so thankful for her help around here too. All of the CARES stuff we have been doing this weekend wouldn't have happened as well without her!

Addalie loves playing with Leah on the air mattress!

2010-07-09T20:19:00.002-05:00

This is how we found Addalie sleeping last night. She started at the other end of the bed without that blanket. It's so funny to see where babies end up. It seems that she will be playing or something and just all of the sudden fall asleep where she is. I love watching her sleep. She's so cute and peaceful.

2010-07-05T20:30:00.003-05:00

Addalie tried corn on the cob for the first time tonight at dinner. She was so cute digging into that thing!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T22:43:00.002-05:00

We had a fun today celebrating the 4th of July. Addalie looked very patriotic as we headed off to church! It was so cute seeing all the kids in their red, white, and blue!

My little sweetheart.

She was a little hyper today! This was right after she walked around shouting and licking the wall behind her. I'm a little worried.

Addalie was so happy to see April after more than a month! She only wanted her tonight!

We had a great time having dinner with friends and then watching some fireworks at the 360 bridge. Addalie liked them as well. She just looked mesmerized the whole time! I don't contemplate my freedom as much as I should, but I did today of course. I'm more thankful than ever, I think because I have a daughter and one on the way. I can't imagine living in a place where I would fear for them. I'm so thankful they will grow up in a place free from oppression. Once agian, having kids has changed everything!

Exciting News!

2010-07-02T20:54:00.002-05:00

So I am officially crazy. Tuesday night I got together with a lot of other crazies from church and went to the midnight showing of Eclipse. You know I read all the books recently and rented the movies and yes, I became a fan. It was so much fun going to the movies with all these good friends! We played cards and Catch phrase waiting for the movie to start. We got there at 9:30 and the movie didn't start till 12:02. We were so doped up on caffeine that we were acting pretty hyper. So fun. And the movie was good too!And now for some exciting news! We found out we are having a boy! Yep, we went to an early ultrasound on Wednesday and it was pretty clear! It was just a quick ultrasound to figure out the gender, but we will go for a more extensive one on July 20th. We are so thrilled to be having a boy in the family since they tend to be pretty rare! The past couple of days, Leah and I have been looking for fabric to transform Addalie's very girly room into a boy/girl room.

His name is going to be Asher (something) Reese. We are taking suggestions for a middle name!

Addalie doesn't really know what is going on, but she knows that we are excited and acts very exctied as well!
My wonderful friend Jenny from ACU now lives in Austin so we decided to reconnect. She came over for dinner and it was so so good to catch up! Hopefully it's the start of lots of get togethers!

Rock the Rock

2010-06-27T21:39:00.005-05:00

We had a crazy but awesome week this week. Our church put on an outreach event called Rock the Rock. We put on kids' clubs in four different parks around the city and had over 200 kids show up. Several came to know Christ and several families visited our church today!

It was so much fun being a part of the clubs this week. We are here at Monterone ministering to a completely different demographic and it was nice to get back to doing some of the "mission trip" type work that I hadn't done in a while. It reminded me of so many of the people I had worked with at New Life Mission in Ohio and pulled at my heartstrings a little. I think I'd forgotten about how much I enjoy working in that environment. Some of the circumstances surrounding the work I did in Ohio kind of tainted my view of things toward the end of our time there. I hate that I had become a bit cynical and jaded, but those emotions were gone this week as we did Rock the Rock and God brought back the love I used to have for the people and the work.

Addalie enjoyed hanging out with Donna this week! She would swing with her as long as Addalie wanted!