Sundays

I have been really bad about posting to my blog lately!   I do want to get back to it though, so here goes a quick post!

Sundays are a favorite day in my house.  It's the most consistent day of our week. We go to church, every Sunday, no matter what (well, short of being out of town). :). Even if one of us is sick, the rest of us go.  It's just refreshing to know that we will worship, learn about and praise Jesus every Sunday.  And our kids love it!   

When we leave church, we have lunch. Sometimes at home, sometimes out.  Doesn't matter to us! We just have to eat.

Then, every Sunday afternoon is long run day for me.  It's amazing to start the week feeling like I can conquer the world.  It makes me feel good physically, and it is also always with a friend, so I get my girl talk in for the week. 

Then at night it's all about small group.  Meeting with lots of friends and talking about Jesus some more.  It just starts the week spiritually refreshed.  

Sunday is just a day of the week that we get emotionally, physically and spiritually ready for the week.  It's amazing to start the week feeling refreshed.  The kids benefit, our marraige benefits, and we benefit.  

Love love love!

Momma friends

When you make a decision to stay at home, you also make the decision to give up on your daily adult conversation.  So, becoming a part of a group of other mom quickly becomes your life line.  I have been blessed to meet  dozens and dozens of amazing women who I now call my friends.  Any day that the boys and I are bored, we can quickly have something fun to do with several other moms.   I tell every mom I know that decides to stay home that it needs t be your first thing to do, join a group.   These mom are people that I share my life with and who love my kids unconditionally.  

I'm sure I have talked about my moms group 100x but some weeks, and some months, God simply reminds me how blessed I really am.   And Corbin reminds me daily of his love for so many of his friends, who happen to be the kids of my friends!  

So this is just a really short shout out to all of you mommy friends of mine!  You make my life so much fun and you keep me sane on even the most insane days!

Life!

I have realized recently that we have something going on every.single.weekend for the next 2 months.  How is that even possible?  We have runs, vacations; parties, and so on...  This time of year gets crazy!

This weekend is the Texans run.  We get to run through the bull at the end of the run.  Our boys are joining us in the stroller and are so very much looking forward to it!  (This picture is from last weekend, when clynt and I got to go to the texans v. Titans game.  What a fabulous game to have been at!)

We also are heading to Shreveport for the duck dynasty run next month.  Our boys got beards/hats to join on that red neck run.  Corbin even wore hit to dinner last night.  The boy loves duck dynasty.  Every day he amazes me in how much he is like his dad.

Also in the next few weeks is my sisters baby shower that I'm planning.  I can't believe we will have a girl around soon!

That's just some of my weekends.  I love being busy and getting to do so many fun things with our boys, but I do look forward to a quiet weekend at home at some point as well.   

Our guys are now 2 and 4 (and almost 5).  Corbin is doing absolutely amazing in school.  He is a really smart little dude and really enjoys learning.  He amazes me every day in his abilities.  I cannot wait to see him in 5 years, 10 years, or even 20 years.  Every month he is a completely different child.  When he was 2.5 and completely rambunctious and I was pulling my hair out, my friend told me to not worry about it because a few months later things would be totally different.  Then, I didn't listen well and I totally did not embrace the madness, but now, I realize how right she was.  While Corbin can still be lively at times, he also holds doors for girls, listens to teachers, sits and reads, smiles at people when he knows it will make them feel better, hugs his brother (in between the sibling fighting) more than I could imagine, tells me he loves me 100x a day, and can just be one of the most love little boys ever.  He is still ALL boy but man has he transformed from his terrible twos days..

And Garrett.  I'm not sure anyone but me has ever seen his terrible twos side.  If he does something wrong, he most definitely still has a way to steal your heart.  He is potty training now (I forgot how much I loved that! :/ ). He can carry on full conversations and knows more every day.  He also knows how to get his way from people.  He is always available for a good laugh.  I'm loving wtching him grow and cannot believe that I will soon be applying him for prek 3 for next year! 

Life lately is fun.  Trying to embrace this phase of our lives has been a challenge, as we are always thinking about a year from now.. However, I know I will miss the innocence of our boys when they are 15!

PreK 4

Corbin started prek 4 this Wednesday.  Letting go is very hard for me and this was no different.  I cried and cried, but we made it through and he did great.

He is going to Lutheran South Academy 3 days a week.  It is a very nice private school with a fantastic program for prek3 all the way through high school.  Without getting on a soap box and too political because that is not my intentions of the blog:  I think it is sad that kids need preschool to begin with.  However since the government pays for for some to go to preschool, and not others, it seems (to me) that the others need it, in an attempt to not get behind.   I personally feel like preschool should either be provided to everyone or no one.   It doesn't seem fair that middle class America can't get the same early education as others.  Corbin's preschool is very expensive and we are making sacrifices to pay for it, but it just doesn't seem fair.

Anyways, I'm well aware that life's not fair and I am not saying preschool is right or not, I just wish that if its provided for some, it should be provided for all...

Back to corbin!! He did great and he looks so cute in his school uniform!  We are thinking the school will be a great fit for him this year! :). Here are a couple first day of school pictures... This year he said he wants to be a daddy when he grows up! So cute!  Last year was spiderman.  It'll be so fun to watch this through the years. :)

And the hubs caves...

I've been running for about 6 months now and clynt has been super supportive but shown little interest in going me.  About a month ago a friend gave us a double jogging stroller and so he went running with me and the kids for the first time.  We went about 3 times and then it stopped for vacation and so on and so on.  Last week he asked if we could go again and I said of course!  After several times of 1.5-2 miles I explained to him that I had to start training.  I have several short races coming up and then my half (13 miles) in January and possibly another half in December. So I need to be doing 3-4 miles several times a week to keep my endurance up a little so I can start increasing soon.  He didnt think he would get through 3 bc he has never run more than 2 and that was in the military 10 years ago.   However, he made it.  Now we are doing 3.1 (gotta add the .1 and make it a 5k, right?!).  

Since he is now running with me regularly, I surprised him with any runners favorite gift, A PAIR OF RUNNING shoes.. And just because I'm a Gel Nimbus girl, I decided he deserved a nice pretty pair too!!  :). He was shocked, but he is a huge fan of the colors :)

Also, in honor of my new favorite running mate, I signed us up for 2 races together.  2 that I know he will love! The Texans Football running with the bulls, and the Duck Dynasty Duck Dash.  I mean what men wouldn't like those 2 runs?!

But really, all money spending aside, running with my husband is more than just new shoes and races.  We talk about our day, talk to the kids, teach the kids about staying fit, relive stress together, challenge each other, and spend an hour as a family is no electronics or anything to get in the way.  It has taken me from running against a clock to running slow in order to make it more about a nice time with my family making healthy choice.  Our time isn't great since we are talking and pushing a stroller, but the time is so well spent.

Loving life!

Hawaii

This summer clynt and I finally cut the cord and took a trip (more than 2 days, which was only once) without our boys. My parents were renewing their vows and family and friends were all going so we booked us a room at a really pretty resort and off we went.  The resort turned out to be perfect.  We had an ocean view from our balcony, a really awesome pool to lay out at, a couple of tastes restaurants and it was central on the island of Kauai, so it was perfect.  We rented a mustang so with the touch of a button we could feel the amazing weather and see the amazing views and thousands of rainbows around us.  

The last time we were there, we did a lot of everything!  This time we decide to do more beach time, more restaurant exploring and only 2 activities that we hadn't done before.  Well, plus we we to a luau, which was fantastic!  We ziplined, which was an amazing adrenaline rush and so much fun!  We will most definitely be doing that again.  We also went tubing down the canals, which was through these tunnels in the dark and so that absolutely incredible!  

Clynt and I rented snorkels and went to some amazing snorkel spots.  We swam with sea turtles, thousands of super bright beautiful fish, and even a sea horse!  We swam around the side of a cliff and saw the Nepali Coast like (which is not drivable to) and it was absolutely one of the more gorgeous views ever.   

Clynt and I had more time with just us than we have had since having kids and it was so perfect.  Laying of the beach, listening to waves, looKing at the views and talking.  It was better than I fever expected.  We got up every morning and went to have coffee at a local spot, walk around the streets and shop, and just chill.  We would sit by the really cool fire put for a drink at night. And we would hang out with the chickens.  Only joking, however roosters and chickens run free on the island because of the lack of predators.

I could go on and on and on forever but here are a few pics, you get the point!

Catching up! (Broke. Arm)

 So it's been forever since I have updated my blog.  The summer has been busy with lots of vacations, sick kids, and having fun!  One traumatic thing that happened this summer was our sweet little man breaking his arm.  At the ripe age of 25 months he broke his second bone! At 13 months (yes exactly a year prior), he broke his leg.  That break was from falling down the stairs at our home and this time was from falling on the stairs at the park.  We were there for the farmers market on a Saturday morning while clynt was working.  Just so happened (praise God!) that my mom was with us.  He fell and let out a cry telling my mom and I something happened.  He calmed down in about 30 seconds so I strapped him in the stroller and started walking around with him.  He reached up for some cookies I was buying and the scream came again.   Didn't take anymore for my mom and I to realize it was broken.

Thankfully my mom just took Corbin to get house and I took Garrett to an urgent care.  The doctor looked at me like I was crazy because Garrett was acting like nothing at all was bothering him.  But, as they say, mothers know best.  I told him that Garrett landed on his elbow but I thought it was his shoulder that was messed up.  He assumed (even after my guess) that, if anything, it would be an elbow or wrist.  While the X-ray tech was doing the X-ray, I asked her if she could get some of the shoulder in it.  She complied and then when the doctor came in with the results, he says we need to do more X-rays of the shoulder because that's where the break was!  I was pretty irritated that he hasn't just listened to me, but oh well.  So the results were in and it was a break all the way through the humorous at the very top next to the shoulder.  He recommended we head to an ortho surgeon first thing on Monday.  

After many long phone calls with the tx children's office of orthopedics, I get him in for an appt and he says that he just needs a sling bc that bone heals really well.  We tried the sling for a day and he was completely capable of getting out of it and it was causing more issues (like a choking hazard) than it was doing good.  So we went for a second opinion who said to just take the sling off and try to keep him from jumping too much.  He also said it would heal perfect and shouldn't be a problem.  4 weeks later, we went for a check up and I'll be darned if it wasn't healed!  He didn't restrain the arm, even in the slightest.

But the whole deal is over and he was in great spirits the whole time. :). I'm sure that wont be his last broken bone.  Boys will be boys!