the rains family

Stationery card

2011-12-22T17:27:00.001-06:00

Sparkle And Shine New Year's Card

Browse Christmas invitations and holiday cards by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

thankful.19

2011-11-20T11:16:00.002-06:00

we spent the last day (and a half) driving to destin, florida to spend a week's vacation for thanksgiving! we are here safely, so i'm thankful for that!

our "home" for the week in destin
{taken last night when we finally arrived around 10:30 pm}

the girls did relatively well in the car. we had our moments with rylie - a very long trip for such a tiny girl - but all in all it was a really good drive.

jason and i were talking about how much we enjoyed the trip with our little family. even though it was long and tiring, we had some really sweet moments with the girls. we stopped friday night for dinner in canton, texas at dairy palace. this is a place very near and dear to our hearts. i grew up stopping at dairy palace every time we were on our way to pine cove (an amazingly fun christian camp) in tyler. as jason joined my world and my group of friends, he learned about the love for dairy palace on trips to do work crew at pine cove with our 20s group at church. we couldn't drive through canton and not stop at dairy palace. even though we really didn't have time for it, we were so glad we did.

we had the most fun, sweet time with our girls. everyone was happy, and obeying (!!), and giggling, and being silly. it was one of those moments i just wanted to suspend and hold onto for a bit longer.

i am so thankful for my family. i love that we can be so silly together and that we really enjoy each other. i hope the girls continue to think we're lots of fun as they grow up. :)

{and i am VERY thankful for our first day of vacation today... can't wait for the fun i know this next week will bring!}

thankful.18

2011-11-20T09:59:00.000-06:00

one of my best friends has a sweet baby girl, evie claire, who is 4 months younger than rylie. sami and i have known each other since we were 15, and were fast-friends from the moment we met. the Lord has been so gracious to walk us through similar journeys at almost every stage of our life for the last 15 years. the walk of mommy-hood is particularly sweet to walk with a dear friend.

my in-laws left for florida early friday morning, so rylie went to have a playdate with evie while jason and i were working. sami sent me this super cute picture while i was at work.

evie claire & rylie elizabeth - november 2011
"two little who's from who-ville"

when i walked in the door with rylie, sami said that evie was wearing the very same pajamas! how precious is that?? :)

it is very fun to watch our baby girls play and giggle with each other. i pray that they grow to be sweet friends and love each other as much as their mommies do. i pray that their love for Christ creates a bond in them that lasts a lifetime.

i am so thankful for these two little girls and their baby-friendship. and i am always thankful for evie's mommy, and the amazing friend and sister-in-Christ that she has been to me. :)

thankful.17

2011-11-20T09:16:00.001-06:00

{i started this post actually ON the 17th, and then got distracted... so it's a few days late.}

today {november 17th} is my (not so) little brother's 25th birthday. i can't believe we're "this old" already. it seems both like just yesterday, and like worlds away, when we were running around the neighborhood playing "war" with our neighbor-friends. :)

i am so proud of the man my brother has become.

he is a terrific husband to my sister-in-law, katie. he showers her with love, affection, gifts, and praise. i love watching him love her. :)

he serves others well as a firefighter. he takes care of me by mowing our yard randomly, just because, or helping jason fix my car or random things around the house.

he is a great friend and confidant to my husband. jason loves him so much, and i love how much fun they have together and how much they trust each other. i have so enjoyed the last few years as our relationship has evolved into a true friendship instead of simply "siblings."

and, he is an amazing uncle to my girls. emma and rylie LOVE their uncle cory. he is gentle with them, but firm, and oh-so-much-fun. emma knows when uncle cory comes around that he will chase her, throw her, spin her and give her as many piggy-back rides as she wants! and he loves them so much. i love seeing him in a new light as the only uncle to my girls. watching him with them, i can't wait to see him become a daddy someday. i know he will be wonderful.

emma with uncle cory & aunt katie
at her "alice in wonderland" 5th birthday party

happy birthday, cory jeff! i love you so much, and i am so very thankful for you.

thankful.16

2011-11-17T11:36:00.001-06:00

i am thankful for a great team to teach with. pre-k at LHE is sometimes crazy, with our whirlwind days being so busy, taking care of kiddos, and all the deadlines and "other stuff" that piles up daily. i know that without this group of ladies, it would be a lot less fun! :)

love you, telsa, vanessa & pam! i am very thankful for each of you, and how God is teaching me and growing me through our relationships. :)

vanessa, {veronica }, me, telsa & pam (L to R)
christmas 2010

thankful.15

2011-11-17T10:19:00.000-06:00

i'm thankful for housework.

i know. that sounds crazy - especially coming from me!

but, to get ready for our destin trip, we've been doing tons of laundry and just trying to get the house completely cleaned so that we don't come home to a mess. i've been really stressed out, and overwhelmed with the amount of work to do and kind of grumbling about how i'm so tired and i don't want to have to do it all, and how it's going to get done, etc...

but then i realized - housework means a house to clean. it means i have a home. a home that i love and that i want our girls to love and take care of. no housework would mean one of two things: 1) we're so rich that we have a housekeeper to do it all for me, or 2) we have no home at all.

honestly, even though a housekeeper would be amazing... i don't know that i'd want one ALL the time. i feel like that would make it way too easy to be removed and uninvolved from anything going on in our home. just a thought...

and obviously, we are very blessed and fortunate to have a home. sure, it is smaller and not as "fancy-shmancy" as the home we love to dream of having one day, but it is our home, and it is wonderful. it is filled with love, laughter, memories and blessings.

and i am very thankful for that. :)

thankful.14

2011-11-14T23:53:00.001-06:00

i am so thankful that vacation is only 4 days away!

that's right... four days.

then, i will be on my way to destin, florida with my family.

we will be staying in this incredible house:

our rental house in destin. no joke.

and spending lots of time here:

i literally cannot wait. friday, come quickly!!

thankful.13

2011-11-13T22:29:00.000-06:00

today, i am thankful for the perfect health of my beautiful baby girls. i am thankful for God's provision and blessings in our lives.

a girl i know had a baby boy on september 3rd of this year. baby william is now just a little over 2-months-old. a few weeks ago, he was diagnosed with a genetic disease known as SMA1, also known as Werdnig-Hoffman disease. most children with SMA1 have a lifespan of only 12-18 months. this means that beth, her husband mark, and their 2-year-old daughter charlotte only have about 10-16 more months with this baby boy.

baby william: tiny fighter

i canNOT imagine. i just can't.

i have been checking beth's Facebook page several times a day since william was admitted into the hospital in october. the doctors thought, early on, that he had botulism... which is scary, but is totally treatable with medication, so that option was full of hope. the news of SMA1 is devastating. there is no cure. there is no treatment. there are only methods of making the child as comfortable as possible for as long as they have. and they don't have very long. 12-18 months is not very long. our time with rylie would be just about up, if not already. i couldn't reconcile that. i'm not done being rylie's mommy. i'm sure beth and mark feel the same way. and for 35 days beth has been sleeping at the end of her baby boy's bed at children's hospital. for 35 days they have been functioning in a "new normal," surrounded by machines and cords and doctors and nurses... and waiting. just waiting for time to be up. and still striving to be mommy and daddy to a 2-year-old baby girl, and to trust the Lord with the life of the boy they so badly want to see grow up.

how do you survive that? how does your chest not just cave in from the weight of that situation? how do you keep breathing and functioning as a mommy, a wife... a person?

my heart has been so heavy for this family. so heavy. i weep when i read their Facebook statuses, updating friends and family on the grim details of this new world that must seem like it just can't be real.

and i realize... i am SO blessed!!

i truly have nothing to {really} complain about. it's such a crazy realization... that i get so wrapped up in my dreams and how they're not coming true; in my expectations that don't get met; in life's disappointments. and really - it could be so much worse. i could be soaking up every minute of my daughters' lives because of the reality that each one could very much be her last. and while that is technically true for all of us, i have never been told by a doctor that there "really is nothing we can do," and that i should try to make my child as comfortable as possible, for as long as we have left. i have never been told that i will never get to see my child take her first steps, or ride a bike for the first time, or start kindergarten, or grow to be an adult. and suddenly, all of my "burdens" seem so bearable.

i have a family who loves one another. we have gorgeous girls who are as healthy as can be! and even though i don't what the future holds, i can at least dream of what they will look like as young women and who they will be!

praise the Lord for their protection and their help.

praise the Lord!!

thankful.12

2011-11-13T00:07:00.001-06:00

today felt a lot like this:

yeah. not so good.

today, i am thankful for second chances. that "His mercies are new every morning."

so we can start fresh tomorrow and seek out moments like these:

thankful.11

2011-11-12T00:15:00.000-06:00

i am thankful for the ability to read, the love of reading, and any time i get to enjoy it! :)

granted, life is SO busy right now, that it takes me for.ev.er to finish any kind of book. i read quite a bit this summer to take advantage of my "time off." i finished the help in september, and that's the last book i've read. i really want to start the hunger games series next... i'm thinking of getting the audiobook for jason and i to listen to on our way to destin for our thanksgiving road trip! :)

if i could... i would love a cozy little "reading corner" in my house, like this:

...or this...

...or heavens! this would be just divine:

can't you just imagine lounging in this backyard bungalow with a glass of lemonade or a cup of hot tea, spending hours snuggled up with a book?

mmm. heaven.

(i'd totally be thankful for that, too. :)

thankful.10

2011-11-11T23:58:00.000-06:00

i am thankful that emma kate gets to be in dance this year. every thursday, she gets to dress up like a ballerina and learn to pointe and twirl and chasse across the dance floor at ms. tanya's house of dance in allen. emma is in a class with one of her best friends, haley. it's so fun that they get to dance together! :) after 30-minutes of ballet, the girls put on their tap shoes and shuffle-ball-change their little hearts out. :)

with our budget, the fact that she gets to be in an activity like this is a huge blessing. she loves it, and it's really fun to watch her dancing with her little friends... i can't wait 'til her first recital... we'll see what kind of dancer my little one turns out to be. :)

this picture is from her very first dance class. i just love it.

tiny dancers with ms. tanya
{emma is in all pink}

i don't think there's anything sweeter! i am so thankful i get to share these moments with her.

thankful.9

2011-11-09T21:19:00.000-06:00

that sonic ice... mmmm.

as trivial as this may seem, i am very thankful for sonic drinks. particularly vanilla dr. pepper, vanilla ocean water, or strawberry limeades. :)

there is a sonic about a block away from my school, and a sonic run (especially during 2-4 pm happy hour) is always the go-to when we are not having the best day. those sonic drinks have a way of making teachers happy.

i don't know if it's the amazing sonic ice, the styrofoam cups, the happy red straws, or just the deliciousness of the drinks themselves, but they can lift my mood in a heartbeat. :)

(fun fact: it is true that styrofoam cups and straws DO, indeed, make every drink taste better. the sonic ice helps, too.)

so, here's to sonic drinks being so close to my place of work. and to aides cool enough to make the run. and to the fact that they are cheap. and delicious. and make the last hour or two of teaching a rowdy little group of 4-year-olds way more bearable. :)

thankful.8

2011-11-08T22:37:00.001-06:00

i am thankful for tuesdays... at 9:00 pm, to be exact. when i'm curled up on the couch in my pj's. it's just about my favorite time of the week.

it's the best. show. ever.

i mean, really. it's the best ever.

maybe it's silly to be thankful for a tv show, but today, i am. :)

thankful.7

2011-11-07T21:54:00.000-06:00

on november 7th, 7-years ago, i married my best friend.

mr. & mrs. rains - november 2011

today, i am thankful for 7 years of marriage to one of the best men i know. i am thankful for almost 10 years of "togetherness" with him. i am thankful that we still laugh and have fun together. i am thankful for the home we have built together... for our two beautiful daughters.

i am thankful for him. my sweet husband, jason lynn rains.

love him so much. :)

thankful.6

2011-11-06T23:59:00.000-06:00

today, i am thankful for productivity.

jason and i got to sleep in (until almost 10 am!!) and then spent the day doing laundry and organizing while the girls played outside in the backyard. we cleaned out and organized the pantry, which was LONG overdue... there was a box of thin wheats in there that expired in 2009!! ha! listening to them squeal and giggle and play together was glorious. since the weather was so nice, we left the back door open and they just came in and out of the house. we made a run to the grocery store before dinner, so we're all set for the week.

we have lots more to finish before we leave for destin in 2 weeks (i want to leave & come home to a CLEAN HOUSE!), but i think we got a lot done today!

and i am thankful for that!

thankful.5

2011-11-06T01:18:00.000-05:00

so... even though this one is technically being posted on november 6th, it still counts for the 5th for two reasons: 1) because i haven't gone to bed, yet, and 2) because it's my blog and i said so! :)

i just got home from an incredible date night with my husband of SEVEN YEARS, celebrating our anniversary. we had a most delicious dinner at Gregory's Bistro in the square in downtown mckinney. we drank great wine, ate even greater food, and had sweet conversation. then we went to see a movie - like, a grown-up movie... without talking animals or princesses of any kind! we watched some of hollywood's finest (i.e. george clooney, ryan gosling, philip seymour hoffman & paul giamati!) in "the ides of march." some pictures were posted on facebook, and i got many sweet compliments... maybe i need to spend more time on hair & makeup more often?? :)

and now, we're home. the girls are spending the night with "nonna & grampa" tonight. and it's daylight savings night!... which means one more hour of sleep, technically... but even more because there will be no little people to wake us up at 7:30 a.m. on-the-dot asking for the iPad or to watch Netflix on my iPhone. (hallelujah!)

so, tonight, i am thankful for date night. and anniversaries. and really yummy food. and once-in-a-while childless nights. and the end of daylight savings. and sleep.

and my husband. (and the last 7 years.) :)

goodnight!! i'm gonna get a start on that "extra hour." :)

thankful.4

2011-11-04T23:58:00.000-05:00

sweet friends welcoming McKenzie & McKinley Smith to the world! :)

i am so thankful for the community that God has been gracious enough to surround us with. my family has some of the most amazing friends we could ever ask for. i mean... look at the picture above... how much joy, love & awesomeness is captured in this shot?? :) of course, there are more people that are very important to us not pictured here, but this group is especially precious because of the time that has been invested in so many of these relationships, and how God has intricately woven our lives together.

i have known several of these friends roughly half of my life... i have grown to realize that these types of friendships - those which are not only friends from childhood, but are also still very meaningful and thriving - are very rare. when jason and i talk about the fact that we have not just a couple "best friends," but at least 12 people that we would consider close enough to hold this title... we are just blown away.

and these are not just friends who we enjoy to hang out with every once in awhile. these are friends whom we have prayed with, prayed for, laughed-until-we-cried with, cried-until-we-laughed with, waited in hospital waiting rooms to meet new babies with, played endless hours of silly board games with, broken bread with, bore burdens for, stood beside while marriage vows were exchanged, worshipped with, parented with, walked through marriage with, sought counsel from... lived life with. i do not know many couples my age that know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there were at least 5 or 6 couples who, at the drop of a hat, would do just about ANYTHING for them. we know these friends would offer their homes if we needed it, clothe and feed us, drop everything and bring us dinner and listening ears if we're in need... be Jesus to us.

and even beyond all that, they LOVE our girls. and it is such a sweet thing to watch our girls "grow up" with all of their children. at one child's birthday party, recently, a grandmother commented to the birthday girl's mom, "you have a very "productive" group of friends!" haha! it's so true, as there are a total of 11 children (one 5-year-old, and ten under the age of 2!) between the 7 couples in this picture (and only 5 of us actually have children)! all of our children are roughly the same age, and they are beginning to interact more and more, just making things more and more fun. :)

...AND... they're all really cool. :) each one of these friends are amazing men and women of God. i love them immensely and admire their passion for the Lord and their commitment to living for Him.

i know what we have may not last forever. people move away and live intervenes. i pray that we have many more milestones and years to share with one another. but i also praise Jesus for the influence they are on my life, my husband's life, and the lives of my children. i know that these relationships are extremely rare and precious... and i cherish them with all my heart. :)

thankful.3

2011-11-04T23:03:00.000-05:00

i am thankful for Fall; for cooler air and crisp, blustery days.

i am thankful for the need to wear a sweater, and for feeling cold in the morning.

i am thankful for Fall for a few reasons:

1. it got as high as 114 degrees in dallas this summer.
2. pumpkin spice lattes
3. pumpkin flavored anything
4. a light jacket or sweater is needed, but its not cold enough for my bones to shiver yet.
5. my uggs are now appropriate footwear again
6. i think the clothes are super cute!... jeans, sweaters, scarves, layers, layers, layers...
7. comfort food... yum!
8. fall means thanksgiving, which means the beginning of the christmas season... and my absolute favorite time of the year is from thanksgiving day until christmas eve. :)
9. daylight savings time ends, graciously giving me ONE MORE HOUR of sleep on a very special saturday night

...and i'm sure there are many other reasons that i'm thankful for fall, but i fell asleep, somewhere between numbers 3 & 4, last night while i was writing this post, so i just need to get on with it. (for the record, i am troubled, immensely, that "thankful.3" is now not going to show up on november 3, 2011. i really was liking the look of the post number matching the date... and now that is messed up. but i'm getting over it and moving on! i don't have to be a slave to perfection!) ;)

...yay fall! :)

thankful.2

2011-11-02T22:10:00.000-05:00

{betcha thought i wouldn't even make it to day 2, huh?? ;) well, here i am!}

i thought day 2 would be fitting to declare my undying thankfulness for TWO of the most precious gifts God could ever have blessed me with.

emma kate {5} & rylie elizabeth {16-months} as "alice"

oh. my. goodness. how i LOVE these two little girls!! they bring me so much joy with their sweet, silly spirits. i love their snuggles, their laughs, their kisses, their faces, the way they feel when i hold them tight, the contentment on their faces as they sleep, the way they look at their daddy... i love every itty-bitty thing about them!

i could not even begin to imagine the blessing of motherhood when emma kate entered our lives 5 years ago. and although being a mommy is not the easiest job in the world (i think every mommy would agree that it brings many not-so-great days), i 100% believe that it is, by far, the most rewarding. God has taught me so many things about Him through my journey as Mommy to my two beautiful girls.

and, what a JOY to watch them grow together and develop a relationship. i sat in the living room tonight just watching them play and listening as girlie squeals and giggles filled our house. i know we probably have many bickering moments ahead of us, but i can't think of much that is sweeter than seeing your children grow to love one another. i pray they continue to develop a friendship that will be grounded in Christ, and will endure anything! sisters are so fun. :) and i love watching them laugh together.

i am thankful for the blessing of being their mother.

thankful.1

2011-11-01T22:03:00.000-05:00

ok. so i miserably failed at keeping up with my blog since my ONE post at the beginning of the summer. because i'm amazing. and busy. and just had a million things going on to keep me from posting.

and because i'm a perfectionist and i wanted to have everything set-up and available to be able to catch up on EVERYTHING i'd missed posting on over the previous year. and since i didn't have that together, i just. didn't. do. anything.

story of my life. {sigh.}

anyway...

i really want to start fresh, even if i can't catch up on everything i've missed. :) so since today is november 1st, bringing thanksgiving oh-so-near, i have a desire to post something i'm thankful for, for each day of the month. for 30 days. and maybe my blogging habit will pick up again.

until i miss a day and get overwhelmed with the idea of making up for each day i've missed so i can have 30 posts in numerical order... ha!

but onto the real reason for this post... :)

thankfulness.

i am immensely thankful that this year is so much better than last year at this time. last year, rylie was almost 5 months old, and i was just over 2 months into my first year of teaching, and emma was having a hard time adjusting, and things were just. so. hard. i felt like i was barely surviving.

this year, i am SHOCKED at the fact that i have just over 30 working days left in this semester. which means it's almost half-way over!! and, sure, there are stressful moments, but it is nothing like last year. and i am SO thankful for that.

i truly believe that God knows there is no way i could possibly endure another year like last year, and in his graciousness, He granted me the strength to power through this year, and allowed it to be much more manageable than last. i have hope for the future with what this year has been already, and am actually excited about continuing with my students through june! :)

and for that, i am VERY thankful. :)

2011-06-18T10:34:00.000-05:00

wow! praise the LORD.

this literally was THE hardest year of my entire life. i guess that's obvious by the fact that i haven't posted at ALL since right before school started. :)

there is so much to share and catch up on... i'm home with the girls this summer, and really enjoying just being mommy and wife for awhile. something i've never really been able to do. i'm hoping to get to post a bit each day to share some highlights of the year, (the whole first year of sweet rylie's life!), and to share our summer fun. :)

on a creative note, i am LOVING a free online photo editing site i've discovered - www.fotoflexer.com. i used it to create my new blog header, and also the pretty little ditty proclaiming the arrival of summer (and freedom), above. :)

check it out.

super fun. :)

dedicated.

2011-05-02T23:01:00.000-05:00

i can't believe it has been nearly 6 months since i last posted. poor rylie doesn't really even exist according to this blog!! i cannot WAIT until june, when i have much more freedom and can finally begin to share on this blog again!

needless to say, this has been a ridiculous year full of struggles, but also lots of joy. :)

one of those joys is our sweet, precious baby girl, who almost isn't a baby anymore! rylie is 10 months old already! we can't believe how quickly time has flown! she has made the craziness of our past year seem that much sweeter. :)

and, on mother's day this sunday, we will be dedicating our sweet rylie elizabeth to Christ before our friends and family.

i made this invitation to keep for her scrapbook. a digital version will be going out to friends and family.

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

happy new year!!

2010-12-29T13:32:00.001-06:00

Happy 2011 New Year's

Holiday cards personalized with your favorite photos.

View the entire collection of cards.

emma words.

2010-08-07T11:35:00.001-05:00

a few days ago, emma was in her bathroom by herself. it got very quiet.

when jason called her name wondering what was going on, she came out of the bathroom very quickly and warned:

"daddy, don't see the mirror.... don't EVEN see the mirror!"

{needless to say, daddy promptly when into the bathroom to "see the mirror." fortunately, it was just very wet. there are much worse things that have been all over that bathroom mirror than water.}

we are still laughing about it. :)

pumpkin fills.

2010-08-07T10:51:00.001-05:00

i was emptying out the camera today in an attempt to finally update the ol' blog-a-roo, and i came across some really precious gems - one of which being this video. :)

this was filmed only about 2 weeks after emma kate's 3rd birthday. we were making jack-o-lanterns. her first ever, in fact. i was about half-way through my last semester of college at TWU, and i was also about 6 weeks pregnant with our sweet rylie.

my, what a difference 10 months makes - especially in the growing-up of my "baby" girl!! i was shocked as i watched, how young emma looks and sounds in this video. her voice sounds so baby-ish and although she's always be very advanced verbally, i couldn't believe she sounded this young so recently. her vocabulary and sentence structure is so "toddler-ish!" it seems like a lifetime ago... and its only been a few months.

anyway, enjoy this little peek into a sweet family memory. i'm so thankful i found this!

{aren't you a bit ready for fall, now?} ;)

summer fun.

2010-07-02T17:02:00.002-05:00

since i am now the mommy of a 3-and-a-half year old AND a newborn, i'm sensing the need to be equipped with some fun things to do to keep my oldest little princess entertained and feeling special this summer. rylie is still at an age where it will be pretty easy for her to tag along to most things we do, so these activities will be perfect to do with emma. i'm hoping we can hit up some of them with daddy, too, to make it a full-family affair! :)

i found the following summer activities on a mom's website called "around town kids." (click here for more information and lots more activities!)

::: summer movie programs :::

cinemark's summer movie clubhouse :: click here for more info

schedule for the cinemark movies 14 theatre in mckinney:

schedule for the cinemark legacy theatre in plano:

schedule for the cinemark west plano theatre (used to be tinseltown):

studio movie grill's 2010 summer children's series :: click here for more info
tickets for these 11:00am showtimes are $1/child and $2/adult

"planet 51" (6/28-7/1) (PG)
"kung fu panda" (7/5-7/8) (PG)
"madagascar 2" (7/12-7/15) (PG)
"monsters vs aliens" (7/19-7/23) (PG)
"ice age 3" (7/26-7/29) (PG)
"rugrats in paris" (8/2-8/5) (G)
"cloudy with a chance of meatballs" (8/9-8/12) (PG)
"muppets from space" (8/16-8/19) (G)

the village at fairview's free family movie night :: click here for more info

the new village at fairview shopping center in allen, texas (at stacy & 75) is hosting a free family movie night on the first saturday of each month.

may 1 - september 4 at dusk :: the grand commons stage at the village fountain

upcoming movies:

june 5 :: where the wild things are

july 3 :: cloudy with a chance of meatballs

august 7 :: monsters vs aliens

september 4 :: up

::: summer reading programs :::

half price books :: click here for more info
all kids 14 and younger can earn a FREE $3 gift card each week by reading for 15 minutes a day.

reading with ringling :: click here for more info

kids can earn a FREE circus ticket to any dallas/fort worth ringling bros. performance in july & august by simply doing their library reading! enroll with the librarian to get started. frisco, mkinney & plano libraries are participating, plus many more in the area.

local library

most libraries have summer reading programs and weekly storytimes for younger children. check with your local library for details.

**both barnes & noble and borders books have summer reading programs going on, but they are for grade-school aged children. since emma doesn't fit into that age-group, i didn't include them, but if your child is at least in first grade, i would say totally check them out!**

::: family fun & learning :::

frisco fire safety town :: click here for more info
safety town family nights :: friday nights are FREE :: 5-8pm during june - august

::: farms & orchards :::

:: to buy or pick your own fresh fruits, veggies & flowers ::

dallas farmer's market :: 1010 south pearl street :: open daily 7am-6pm
frisco farmer's market :: every saturday 8am-1pm :: frisco square
mckinney farmer's market @ chestnut square :: saturdays 8am-noon or @ adriatica :: thurs & sun 1-5pm
plano farmer's market @ fairview farms :: daily tues-sun (closed mondays) 8am-9pm :: 3314 north central expressway, suite 100

arlington:
gnismer farms :: pick your own berries :: 817-469-8704

balch springs:
the merry berry farm :: pick your own blackberries :: mon & thurs 5-8pm :: sat 8am-12pm :: 971-286-2287

roanoke:
henrietta creek farms :: pick your own apples, peaches & veggies :: open daily from july-october :: 9am-4pm :: 817-439-3202

farmersville:
rjr farms :: pick your own veggies :: open sat, sun, mon 11am-8pm :: 214-542-7866

gainesville:
red river peach orchard :: pick your own peaches starting june 17th :: open 8am-1pm thurs, fri & sat :: $1.50/lb :: pack a lunch for a picnic :: they provide free lemonade :: 940-612-6200

lavender ridge farms :: pick your own veggies :: open fri-sun 9am-5pm :: 940-665-6938

sanger:
duck creek blackberry farm :: pick your own blackberries :: $15/gallon :: open tues 6-8pm & sat 7am-noon :: 940-458-3217

sadler: (north of gainesville, south of oklahoma)
the berry patch :: pick your own berries :: they'll provide a gallon container for you to use while you pick :: 903-564-6228

i'm hoping to hit up some of these fun things this summer with our girls... hopefully you'll find some fun things to do, too! :)

happy summer!

mostest.

2010-06-27T00:30:00.001-05:00

rylie is here! and things have been a little busy, to say the least. and through it all, i have been so concerned with making sure emma gets enough time, love & attention to ensure she does not feel replaced at all by her new baby sister. really, it's a self-inflicted anxiety. i have actually been missing emma over the last few days. i'm just craving time with her, and feeling a little wistful for the way things "used to be," although that is so entangled with joy for "the way things have become." emma is actually dealing wonderfully with this "little" transition. the love she has already for her sister is overwhelming. we are so thankful for it.

i will post, soon, about rylie's arrival and all that has happened over the last week, but i wanted to share this sweet moment. so i don't forget it. :)

this afternoon, i got to take a shower... my first since we've been home. {i know, it's gross, but it's the reality of being the mommy of a 5-day-old.} as i was finishing up, emma came in, just waking up from her nap and asked if she could join me. usually, this would be almost a burden for me, since i am admittedly a bit selfish of my shower time... it's one of the only blocks of time i get that belong solely to ME. but, today, i saw it as an opportunity to steal some one-on-one moments with my emma-girl.

and i'm so glad i did, because this precious conversation took place:

me: {kissing emma on the forehead} i love you, emma-bear.
emma: i love you too, mommy!
me: emma, do you know how much i love you?
emma: yes... i do.
me: you do? how much do i love you?
emma: mommy, you love me the mostest.
me: {tearing up beacause i'm so relieved she knows this & because i gave birth 5 days ago} that's right! i do love you the mostest! do you know why i love you the mostest?
emma: because you do, mommy. because you love me. because i'm your baby. and you always love me.

then she smiled at me the sweetest, most confident smile, gave me a big kiss, and went back to playing with her "ariel" doll in the water.

and that's all i can ask for. that she is sure of my love for her.

and it seems like she's got it down. :)

blessed.

2010-06-13T00:26:00.001-05:00

we were so blessed last night to have beth of beth moore photography take some incredible family and maternity pictures for us! she is such a sweet heart, and obviously so talented.

these 6 pictures are just a sneak peek of what's to come... i am in LOVE!

this was emma's "excited face." classic.

could she BE any cuter?
by far my favorite picture of emma.

ever.

baby rylie belly.

i heart this one.

j + s = baby r

our family of 4!

what do you think??

the best part is, beth is coming back within the first 10 days of little rylie's life to do a newborn session! i cannot wait... it'll be so neat to look back on these pictures - rylie is IN MY BELLY.

and so soon, she'll be in my arms.

baby face.

2010-06-13T00:02:00.001-05:00

again, i've been horrible about keeping up with this. i have so many blog posts rolling around in my head that i mean to write but then i never do because something else becomes a priority.

and i feel awful that the last several have had nothing to do with emma... she can't take the backseat already!!! rylie's not even HERE yet! :(

so, i'm really going to try and be better about blogging - however rylie will be gracing us with her presence within the next 2 weeks, so i may go on a bit of a hiatus for awhile... you know how those newborn days go... and if you don't know from experience, well... just trust me. ;)

so once again, here are some sonogram pics of our sweet rylie-girl. these pictures are absolutely amazing because you actually can see her face. i mean her real face. they are regular sono pics... it's just amazing!

the following pictures are from our sonogram on 05.05.10 - 33 weeks:

here, she was suckling and sticking out her tongue a lot... we caught her in mid-tongue-sticking! :)
(it does look a little like something from a horror movie; as if her jaw were unhinging...)

her cutie little foot - looks so much like emma's feet - long & wide :)

rylie's profile - looks like she has mommy's nose! :) and cute pouty lips...

our first look at her face. literally her face. we can see her eyelids, nose, chunky cheeks, beautiful lips and little heart-shaped chin. she looks like a little baby doll!

another look at her face... can you see her eyelashes? isn't that wild???

another profile picture - definitely mommy's nose. and apparently angelina jolie's lips... goodnight, baby girl!

i could look at her sweet face all day (soon, i'll be able to)! :) she has the fullest lips ever - daddy is SO in trouble!

this is one of my very favorite pictures... it's two different shots of her lips. you can see almost up her nose. in the left picture, you can see her eyes a bit too, in the shadows...
how gorgeous are her lips???

these next pictures were taken at my last sonogram on 05.26.10 - 36 weeks:

sweet profile - sucking her thumb!

another shot of her face

angel face

another profile.

that was probably our last look at our baby girl until she blesses us with her presence in this part of the world. we can't believe that's in only 2 weeks!!!

we think rylie will be just as big and strong as her sister - at 36 weeks they "measured" rylie to be around 6 lbs. 9 oz., which is exactly what they measured emma to be at 36 weeks!

emma was 7 lbs. 12 oz., which i know is almost 8 lbs.... but she was also 21.75 inches, which is SO long - so she was pretty long and skinny... so i'm not worried about having a big baby. :) i know i can do it!

we can't wait to meet our rylie-girl and introduce her to her big sister... who is going to be the best big sister ever, i'm sure! :)

baby girl.

2010-04-12T09:38:00.001-05:00

these are our most recent sonogram pics - they were taken on march 24, 2010, at about 27 weeks. it was actually a surprise sonogram. i had been feeling some pressure and stuff that i didn't remember feeling with emma. when i expressed my concern, dr. hsu wanted to go ahead and do some fetal monitoring, a sonogram and an exam, just to make sure what i was feeling wasn't contractions or pre-term labor.

and we were fine. :) my fluid level is great, baby rylie is movin' and groovin' like a little diva, and there is no progress whatsoever... which is GREAT news at 27 weeks... maybe at 37 weeks, if i hear that there's no progress, i'll be a little frustrated. :) but for now, it's great!

right now, we're 30 weeks along - that leaves only 10 weeks - 70 days!! - until we are expecting to meet our sweet baby girl! we can't wait to meet her and see what she looks like, and begin getting to know who God has already made her to be. what a blessing!

here are the pictures of our girl - we already think she's so beautiful - and just might have mommy's nose. :) it will be so fun to see how different/similar our two girls are!

sweet rylie's profile - mommy's nose?

touching her toes! :)

her little foot is on the right, her fist on the left

another profile shot - see her fist to the right?

and her eyelid, and her sweet lips & chin?

i LOVE this one... you can see her little poochy lips & her chunky cheeks!

creepy, i know... but look how you can see her eyes!

...in this one, too - you can see her left eyeball (the top one)

crazy!!!

still here.

2010-04-07T23:26:00.000-05:00

... that i am.

promise.

i have lots to blog about - i just feel like i never have enough time and want to save my über important posts for when i have enough time to really invest in them.

ha.

anyway, i promise to post pictures and stories galore. very soon. this week, maybe. or even this weekend.

stay tuned. it'll be worth the wait.

{maybe. hehe}

girlie.

2010-03-04T22:51:00.003-06:00

so this post is just over a month overdue. i'm dreadfully sorry. i wanted to include the sonogram pictures with our "gender reveal," and jason was just able to scan them and get them to me... so it's overdue.

i think it's so funny that with 34 votes on our little baby poll, the vote was split RIGHT down the middle, with 17 guessing girl and 17 guessing boy! really??? well, i guess there was a 50/50 chance... and 50% of you guessed correctly...

we're having another baby girl!

we have decided to name emma's baby sister, rylie elizabeth. we can't wait to see how God has designed her to be the perfect "new addition" to our little family.

here are the sonogram pictures of baby rylie... they were taken on january 28th - i was a little over 20 weeks along.

here is our sweet girl's profile... it's amazing how identical it is to emma's sonogram! hopefully i'll post that soon!

she's looking right at us! see her skull? kinda creepy, i know... BIG eye-sockets. :)

i love this little foot.

(her foot looks like emma's too!)

another face-to-face - see her big healthy brain?

she's so smart already! :)

another little profile shot. love those chunky cheeks!

see her arm up by her face? looks like she's already a little drama queen with her hand on her forehead, woe-is-me style

a shot of "the goods."

basically, her two little legs, like she's sitting on the screen...

the little "hamburger" lines mean girl!

and just in case you didn't catch it in the first image, the sonogram technician has spelled it out for you: "FEMALE." :) again, there's the little hamburger to the left of the telling letters. :)

so, another little girl for the rains family - maybe we are destined for spunky little princesses! :)

i'll post pictures of our super special reveal party soon. but now, i'm exhausted, and i'm going to sleep!

emma words.

2010-01-20T10:23:00.003-06:00

last week, when we were visiting jackie, michael, and baby eliana, jason and i were sitting cozy on the couch. jason was holding eliana, and i was looking adoringly at them - probably thinking a) how excited i am to have our own little one so soon, and b) how great my hubby is with babies!

emma sighed, gestured towards eliana, and, in all seriousness, said to me:

"baby... i KNOW you want THIS baby, but that's jackie's baby. you can't have her. we're gonna get our own baby really soon, ok? you just have to wait..."

i love my daughter's concern for my sanity. i may have run off with baby girl blow if emma hadn't been there to speak some sense into me. :)

baby eliana michelle.

2010-01-20T10:09:00.003-06:00

a new love has been added to our "family."

sweet baby girl

in daddy's arms

hi mommy!

we are so blessed to have an amazing group of friends. God has surrounded us with sweet brothers and sisters in Christ who are walking this journey of life with us, and it is a blessing to have the opportunity to walk with them, as well.

in october, our group welcomed miss shiloh ann smith to the world with reci & marc. she is such a joy!

2 weeks ago, we gathered in the waiting room at the medical center of carrollton, anticipating the arrival of eliana michelle blow. most of us were there all day, and it was a great memory, and i think, a great new tradition for the babies-to-come in the future! :)

eliana is perfect. just perfect. we are so happy for jackie & michael and cannot wait to see how the Lord changes eliana's life as she grows into a beautiful little girl and a woman of God. we're excited for emma to get to grow up with these girls, and to introduce our new little one to both eliana and shiloh in june!

life is so rich!

emma words.

2010-01-20T09:24:00.001-06:00

so, one thing i would like to do on here, is to take the time to record some of the funny thing miss emma says throughout the day. at three-years-old, she is constantly making profound declarations that boggle our minds... some are sweet, some make us laugh so hard we almost pee in our pants, some make us simply scratch our chins in confusion...

but either way, we for sure don't want to forget the words that come out of her precious mouth. because i know that so soon, we won't be shocked and awed by her words... because she'll be grown up, and it'll be normal for her to talk to much. makes me a bit sad.

anyway... a daily occurrence right now is for emma to call us "baby."
as in: "baby, i can't snuggle-nuggle with you right now, because i'm playing with my trains."

or as she is standing on my shins and i'm asking her to get off because it hurts mommy:
"baby, i'm not hurting you... i promise. you will be ok."

and she always has the gravest look on her face when she says it. too funny.

so, two nights ago, we were hanging out in the living room, and i was messing with jason by pretending to have things to talk about so he would pause the dvr. :) (i'm so mischievous.) finally, emma looked at me and exclaimed:

"baby - it's not ok! this world is MESSED UP!"

needless to say, jason and i lost it. where did she hear that??? oh my.

and so true! but hopefully she won't truly know the weight of her words for many years to come.

gender reveal invitation.

2010-01-18T18:25:00.002-06:00

i whipped up this little invite today for a gender reveal party we're throwing for our family next week after our "revealing" sonogram for baby rains. :)

i actually made this on powerpoint and just saved it as a jpeg file. i'm really excited about how it turned out... i think it's super cute, cheery, and fun. :) cupcakes will be a big part of the evening... our little announcement will be made with them!

can't wait!

cast your vote.

2010-01-13T16:10:00.002-06:00

i've added a fun little feature to our blog!

at the top of the right sidebar, you'll find a little poll, asking for you to make your guess on the gender of the little one growing inside me!

we go to the doctor to *hopefully* find out on thursday, january 28th, and i'd love to see what the popular guess is! :) make your guess, and sometime on the 28th or 29th (after we've revealed baby's gender to our family and closest friends), i will reveal the answer to YOU! (granted baby cooperates and lets us see his/her goods!)

so, go cast your vote... i want to see what you think! :)

{you can leave a comment with your guess, too... it'll be fun to see who's right!}

baby rains at 11 weeks.

2010-01-13T09:28:00.003-06:00

even though i am over 17 weeks now, and we'll be having another sonogram in a couple weeks, i wanted to update with pictures from our LAST sonogram, which was at 11 weeks. our baby has grown SO much since then, and i cannot WAIT to see how. :)

here is our baby:

12/1/09 - 11 weeks exactly
:: about the size of a fig ::

you really can see the little one, now... see baby's head, and little legs & feet at the bottom?

baby was kicking and squirming like crazy! :)

you can see the profile a little better here... little nose and mouth/chin... and his/her tiny forehead... it's amazing to me that this little human really exists - and is fully formed - yet still only 1 1/2 inches long!

baby rains turned to look at us full-on! do you see his/her eyes?? baby still kinda looks like an alien, here... but we love our little alien! :) hehe

baby rains was moving his/her arms, too... you can see a tiny hand right up by his/her head... it was amazing!

baby rains, just over 1 1/2 inches long, is now almost fully formed. his/her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under his/her gums, and some of his/her bones are beginning to harden.

baby is already busy kicking and stretching. these movements will become more frequent as his/her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. baby rains is even starting to have tiny hiccups! :)

we can't wait to see our little one again on the 28th... AND find out if baby rains #2 is a girl or a boy!

any guesses??? :)

christmas card 2009.

2010-01-13T08:59:00.003-06:00

this post (like all others coming soon) is super overdue!

this was the christmas card from the rains family this year... i designed it at vistaprint.com and think it turned out really great - especially for what it is! the colors on the actual card are SO much more vivid and festive... the scanner didn't do it justice. :)

...and i love this picture for 2 reasons:

1) emma's smile is simply irresistable! it is definitely kiss-worthy... and we laugh, because she totally looks like she came right from an episode of "toddlers and tiaras!" don't you think? :)

2) this is our very first picture as a family of four! our friends, the stewarts, snapped this photo at a trip to the big orange pumpkin farm in october - right after we'd found out about the little bean growing inside of me. so fun!

missing.

2010-01-05T11:12:00.000-06:00

i know, i know... its been nearly two months since i've posted! i must say that i have excuses... good ones, too! i mean, finishing school, graduation, being pregnant and exhausted, having a 3-year-old, thanksgiving and christmas, a trip to destin, a new year's trip to ohio for a funeral... whew... its been one crazy 2-months!

but they are over now. and i am done with school.

and currently, i am home. in a quiet house. with my daughter at mother's day out.

and no homework to do! :)

so, i promise... i will be catching you up on all of our adventures from november and december... this week!

promise.

right now, i have to finish some plans for lindsey's 21st birthday. fun stuff.

there will be posts about that too, i'm sure of it. :)

what a gift.

2009-11-11T13:33:00.004-06:00

"who can know motherhood but a mother? how could anyone explain the quickening of a child in the womb, the ache of sorely taxed hips or the waves of labor pains to anyone who hasn't given physical life to another? on the other hand, what person can fathom the depths of joy that attend motherhood in its glories? can anyone who is not a mother imagine the delights that come from the very existence of one's children?

what a gift."

- GK

i found this quote today, and i loved it. maybe because i am a mother, or maybe simply because i am pregnant & emotional...it brought tears to my eyes.

i have no idea who "gk" is, but obviously "she" must be a mother...

f i v e.

2009-11-08T20:22:00.006-06:00

our wedding day :: 11.07.2004

2009 :: still best friends.

2009 :: still enjoying life.

5 years later :: october 2009
{our first photo as a family of F O U R}

yesterday, jason and i celebrated our first major milestone as a married couple (aside from babies & buying our first home)... our 5 - Y E A R :: A N N I V E R S A R Y.

it sounds so strange to say we've been married for 5 years - i feel like i walked down the aisle just yesterday. it's crazy how quickly life goes by. sometimes i want to just press "pause" and sit and enjoy it for awhile ya know? i mean... 5 years ago, today, we were spending our first night of our honeymoon at disney world... our second night together as husband & wife (or ever, for that matter)! we had only dreams and hopes for the years to come.

today, 5 years later, we have a home, a precious daughter, a little one on the way, a job full of opportunities, 6 weeks until college graduation, and a whole group-hug full of the best friends and family we could ask for.

we have cried, stressed, laughed, prayed, dreamed, prayed and grown a lot. God shows us how to love each other the way He designed a little more every day. it's really neat to think that i've gone through so much of the important stuff with jason... and to think about how much more we'll go through together. it's nice to know it will be him. i couldn't think of anyone i'd rather face this life with!

five years. we've come a long way. i can't wait to see how far He'll take us over the next 5 years. :)

happy anniversary, love! i am so blessed by your love and friendship, and the father you are to our children. i love you!

peanut baby.

2009-11-06T20:45:00.004-06:00

baby rains at exactly 7 weeks

on tuesday, jason and i had the blessing of seeing our new baby and hearing his/her heartbeat for the first time! even though we've been through this once before, with emma kate, it was still such a miracle and a precious moment to listen to the tiny beating heart of our baby.

right now, the baby is about the size of a blueberry, but will double in size by next week! {in the picture, our little one looks a little peanut-esque, don't you think?} i love getting updates from the bump & baby center, telling us how our little peanut baby is growing this week.

this is what baby center says is going on inside my body, right now:

"Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body."

isn't that just incredible? i am in awe of God's work in our lives from the time we "arrive." :) i cannot wait to experience this little one's growth over the next 8 months... i wonder if i'll be able to tell differences between this little one and emma kate, even while he/she is still in the womb?

what do you mamas think? what was your experience?

oh, and just in case you couldn't see baby rains in that picture, the sonographer was kind enough to point it out with an arrow and the word "baby." just in case.

{jon lilley found that pretty humorous. he likes to think about how funny it would be if the arrow said, "turtle" instead of "baby." ha!}

new look.

2009-11-06T20:19:00.003-06:00

i have seen a few friends give their ol' blog-a-roos a cute little facelift using shabbyblogs.com, so i thought i'd give it a try.

i'm super happy with the new look! {and it was easy, too!}

what do you think?

paperbag books :: group lesson plan.

2009-10-24T12:52:00.007-05:00

this is for my group from dr. haag's class!

sorry these wouldn't upload any other way... i hope this isn't too confusing.

here are the directions for how to make our paper bag books:

here's what you'll need:
- 4 standard lunch-size brown paper sacks
- scissors
- hole punch
- ribbon, yarn, twine, a shoelace :)... something to tie it together
- decorative scissors (optional)
- glue stick (or glue dots, something strong)
- colored cardstock, scrapbook paper, construction paper, etc.
- white printer paper/copy paper

1. Hold the bag so it is still flat. Using the scissors, slice the closed edge of the bag, so that both ends are open. Do this to all four bags.

2. Fold the bags in half, so that there is a crease in the center, and the open edges meet.

3. Punch holes (with the bag folded) along the spine.

4. Nest the folded bags inside each other and tie them together through the holes.

5. Glue a colored piece of paper (big enough to write questions on) on each right-hand page of the book, and on the front. There should be 8 pages with colored paper on them, including the cover.

i thought the students could write a couple words to describe themselves on the card in the cover pocket. :) mine says "girly, mommy, wife, loves pumpkin-flavored things!"

6. Glue a white square of paper on each left-hand page of the book, for illustrations. There should be 7 pages with white paper on them.

7. Slide scraps of paper (about 4.75"...long enough to see without digging) into the pockets.

8. Write (or print out and glue) questions on the colored pages, illustrate accordingly on the white pages and write the answer or response on the card that slips into the pocket... And you're done!

I hope these direction make sense!!! If you are having trouble, please let me know and I'll just make a book for you and you can fill it out when we meet early on Thursday. :)

If there are different questions we want to ask (we need one more question) please let me know, so everyone can plan accordingly! :)

This is super simple... mine would be TONS cuter if I were doing it as a scrapbook or something... they're great little gifts for friends or kids or family members. :) Have fun and let me know if you need help!

four.

2009-10-18T20:07:00.004-05:00

we are so excited to announce that around june 22nd of 2010, our little family of three will become a family of four! : )

we are beyond thrilled and thankful to our God for creating the precious life growing inside me.

emma is constantly talking about the baby she has started calling "baby jacob," and how she will be a "big sister princess."

we covet your prayers during the next 8 months, and i'm excited to share our little journey with you! (you can follow along with the little ticker i added on the sidebar ----->)

3 years.

2009-10-05T23:11:00.005-05:00

emma kate turned 3 years old today... three. years. old.

i can't believe it. 3 sounds so - old! well, not old, i guess... but it definitely does not sound like a sweet baby girl. i don't think we can say that we're the parents of a toddler. doesn't 3 qualify a kid as a "preschooler?"

we love the little girl that our emma is becoming. she is such a joy. and when i think back on the last 3 years, its hard to believe that the tiny baby we held on october 5, 2006 is the same child that we kissed goodnight, tonight, in 2009.

here is a little timeline of emma's life in pictures:

our sweet baby girl, right after she was born:
thursday, october 5, 2006
6:34 pm
7 pounds, 12 ounces
21.75 inches

emma kate, after we brought her home from the hospital. so tiny & sweet! (i wonder what she's dreaming about...)

6 months old
april 2007

9 months old
july 2007
(look at those little toothies!)

our princess on her 1st birthday!
october 5, 2007

18 months old
april 2008
(changing so much, already!)

at her 2nd birthday party!
october 5, 2008

our fairy princess at her 3rd birthday party!
october 2009... three years later.

she is our biggest joy in life. we love her more than we can ever say. it actually physically hurts when i think about how much i love her... i just can't put it into words.

it has been so amazing to get to see glimpses of God's love for me as my Heavenly Father, through my love for emma as her mother. i love how He has used my role as a parent to reveal Himself to me over and over again.

i thank my God for blessing me with my beautiful daughter.

what did we do 3 years ago, before emma was here? it's crazy to think about...

i cannot imagine my life without her.

lolli dolls.

2009-09-14T23:40:00.006-05:00

i have officially found the cutest little creations ever.

ever.

a little etsy shop called lollipop workshop, where these precious "lolli dolls" come from, has just taken a few whistful moments of my life.

a birthday girl lolli doll
(she is completely customizable for your favorite bday girl!)

another sweet lolli doll as a cake topper

would you not have LOVED this as a little girl?
i am pretty certain that i would have stared at her endlessly...

...and what about this wedding cake topper?
also customizable - and i think as cute as can be!

i think these cupcake toppers are adorable.

they can hold candles, too!

and the gift wrapping? genius. love it. precious.

i follow a blog called bakerella. if you haven't read it, you should. she is too cute, and always whipping up some amazing baked treats! the creator of lolli dolls sent bakerella some custom goodies the other day, and she posted her surprises on her blog:

bakerella's very own lolli doll, made to look just like her!
(notice the "bakerella" sign!)

here's the little lovley holding a tray of her famous cake balls

the teeny-tiny dessert table.
i am in awe of the detail in this precious work of art!
(also featuring the cake balls & her even cuter cake pops)

a lolli doll b.f.f. for bakerella's little niece & assistant chef :)

the lolli's and their dessert buffet, together.

i mean, really... does it get much cuter?

i would like to be completely irrational and order one for emma's birthday. :) however, i am restraining, simply because i can hear the shock & border-line-rage in jason's voice as he asks exactly how much i spent on that little cake topper for our 3-year-old. :)

i wish i had thought of these cutie-patootie gifts, i bet they're SO fun to create!

lolli dolls? yes, please.

school girl.

2009-09-01T15:53:00.005-05:00

emma started the new year of mother's day out today. she has been so excited to "go to school," and was all giddy while we were getting her dressed and getting all her "gear" together. :)

here are some pics from this morning:

big girl all ready for school
[she looked in the mirror and said "i'm a princess!"]
...because skirts/dresses always mean you're a princess! :)

so silly!

cutie backpack

nap mat that my mom & i made last year for mdo
and the lunchbox that matches her backpack!

emma & mommy

really wish she were looking at the camera in this one!

walking with daddy
[she's SO grown-up!]

all lined up!
her classmates this year are:
anna, aslan [like the lion?], caden, camryn, chloe, emma :0),
jack, jackson, lucian, olivia, samuel & zoya

emma's little cubbie
[she found her name all by herself!]

nesting.

2009-08-12T14:43:00.005-05:00

my sweet friend michelle & her hubs jeremy are expecting chloe faith, their first baby, in october. our group of girlfriends from church through her a shower on sunday, and we had a cute little project.

we had all the guests make a page for a blessing book for chloe & michelle. everyone wrote a prayer or a character quality that they hope miss chloe has... or some encouraging words for michelle as she journeys through the transitions of mommy-hood.

here is the little directions page i made for the blessing book station:

chloe's crib bedding is from pottery barn kids & features whimsical little birds
in blue, green & coral so i tried to go with that theme...

i made front & back covers for the book, too, and tied it off with a sweet little ribbon:

front cover: mommy & baby chloe
"for this child, i have prayed." I samuel 1:27

back cover: little horton family :)

i really hope michelle treasures her little blessing book. the blessings, prayers and wishes written for this little family are all so sweet... chloe faith is already so loved!

i'll post pics when the little chick-a-dee arrives. :)

3 new posts below. :0)

2009-07-14T10:10:00.000-05:00

she's excited.

2009-07-14T10:07:00.004-05:00

this is what emma's reaction was when i told her we get on our airplane to florida tomorrow. we've been telling her for weeks about this trip, and she keeps asking how many days... 10 more days, 4 more days, etc...

today, the count is down to ONE. and she's excited. :)

travel bag.

2009-07-14T09:59:00.004-05:00

i ordered this bag from etsy.com for emma kate, and it came in the mail yesterday! we were so excited to get it - isn't it SO cute??

it's the perfect duffle for trips and future sleepovers. :)

i highly recommend this little etsy boutique... click here to browse their cute things!

(in the meantime, this sweet little bag will be on an airplane to florida with me and emma tomorrow morning!)

fancy toes & butterfly chairs.

2009-07-14T09:46:00.004-05:00

my mom introduced us to her favorite nail salon right before my brother's birthday - elegant nails & spa by firewheel. it is so great! they even have the sweetest mini pedi-chairs in the shape of pink & purple butterflies!!!

yesterday, "nonna" (jason's mom) took me and emma to get our toes done before our trip to florida. needless to say, emma loves having her nails done... what girlie-girl doesn't? maybe we've started this habit a little too early... haha, but its so much fun. i can't wait for special mommy-daughter days in the future!

here are some pics from girlie day:

emma in her butterfly chair...
what little girl wouldn't LOVE this chair?
(from when we went with my mom)

this is the life!
how many 2-year-olds have two pampering assistants??

yesterday, getting toes done again...
concentrating so hard.

pretty toes!

boy, oh boy.

2009-07-11T12:37:00.006-05:00

i have had the pleasure of creating some new invitations lately... both for baby boy showers! :)

here is my latest work:

this first one is for my friend, sunny, who is due to meet her baby boy in mid-september. sunny and i have been friends for around 7 or 8 years... we started dating our husbands during the same week, and got married a month apart! :) i am so excited to meet her little guy, and so blessed that we are still in each other's lives.

her nursery is vintage cars, airplanes and trucks... so cute! i loved this invitation when i saw it... and thought it was perfect!

this invitation was made for a sweet woman from church. she and her husband are in my parents' small group, so our families have known each other for years. her niece is having a baby boy, and carol asked me to do the invitations!

i love the whimsy in this turquoise & lime stroller invitation... so cute!

you can "stroll" on over to my emma kate designs blog to see more of my work. :)

have a great weekend!

what a man.

2009-07-07T16:58:00.007-05:00

mmm. just look at him. what girl wouldn't swoon over that slightly-toussled, bad-boy vibin' hunk-ova man?!

and really, the more america got to know mr. wes hayden from austin, texas, as he dabbled in lovin' on jillian, it was just by chance that he gained some publicity for his album comin' up, right? i mean... he only told us about his new song and new album once ever 5 minutes througout his time on abc's "the bachelorette."

it's not his fault that such a beautiful (and probably pre-written & ready-to-go) song needed to be played on tv about 10 times within the first 3 episodes. and who woulda thunk that his entire band would just happen to be available to give jillian a little mini-concert during the home-town date?

and the whole girlfriend thing?? maybe noone told wes that not only should he not be on a dating show on national tv while he's dating/in love with laurel from back home, but that it's probably not something he should share with all the guys that are also pining for jillian. and maybe no one told him that when he's trying to lie... ahem, i mean... explain the whole girlfriend-misunderstanding to jillian, that he should refrain from using the term "girlfriend" to describe said "laurel." and maybe noone explained that jillian would indeed view this little tv show one day, and that his true colors would eventually be visible to her and to all of america.

you can't blame him really. i mean, what an honor to be named "the first man in bachelorette history to make it all the way to the top 4 with a girlfriend."

and i don't think there's ever been a man more excited at the rose ceremony, knowing he's going home, because as he told us all, when he got home, he's "havin' a LOT of {insert 3-letter-word that rhymes with /x/ here}!" what a gentleman. really.

what girl wouldn't want him?

here is one of wes' shining moments from last night's episode:

"i don't know much about the music scene in barcelona, but uh, i had a song on my 2nd album that was actually #1 in chihuahua, mexico, so i feel at home, ya know, livin' around spanish people."

i mean, he's right. the market in chihuahua, mexico is very competetive... or so i hear. and it is only natural that he would feel "at home" with an entire race of people, simply by having a popular song in one of its descreet citites. and what better time to plug your album, yet again, than when you are supposed to be discussing all the reasons you love the girl that 3 other guys are vying for?

hmm.

maybe miss laurel from austin knows something we don't.

because i sure don't see any redeeming qualities in this guy...

thank you, jillian, for sending him home.

i will be enjoying the remainder of this season's "the bachelorette," sans-wes!

glorious.

2009-07-07T16:35:00.003-05:00

last week, when i got into my car at around 3pm after school, this is what my poor little jetta read the temperature as being:

106 degrees.
i mean... i knew it was hot. i burned my bum through my jeans on my charcoal gray leather seats... but oh. my. goodness. 106 degrees? that should be illegal.

so, imagine my delight when, on monday of this week, the weather had changed dramatically after some much-needed rain on sunday! as i walked around campus at TWU, there was a beautiful breeze... the air was almost "soft" it was so comfortable. this is what "miss etta" the jetta told me the temperature was at 3pm on monday:

86 degrees!
20 whole degrees cooler than it was only a few days before!
isn't that crazy? and man... those 20 degrees make a HUGE difference!

it was a MUCH needed break from the endless weeks of over-100-degree weather we've had so far this summer.

and it was glorious.

i could live days like that everyday... but it probably won't happen in texas. :)

...and she's off.

2009-06-28T14:59:00.004-05:00

jason's sister, lindsey (emma's "aunt lulu") left for new zealand today. she will be gone for 7 weeks on a summer project with campus crusade for christ, international. she will be part of a team of 10 college-aged believers ministering to the students at the university of victoria in wellington, new zealand, and also helping with the new zealand campus crusade national winter conference.

of course, we will miss her very much! lindsey and i have grown so close over the years, and especially over the last year, since she's been back in texas. she and jason are SO close... he loves his little sister so much. and emma... well... she just adores her "lulu." she'll miss her tons, that's for sure. however, we are so excited for this journey she will be taking, and to see how God will work in and through her during her time away from the busy-ness of life here in "dallas."

please be praying for our sister, as she grows in the Lord and serves Him overseas. pray that she has the time of her life, and comes back renewed, refreshed, and excited about the work He has called her to do!

to follow lindsey and her teammates on this adventure, click here.

i've placed a link on my blog-list to lead you to the blog she and her team will be updating throughout their journey. i'm sure she would love to know you followed her trip and prayed for her while she is gone.

we love you lindsey! we know you will have a blast! soak up every moment... it'll be gone before you know it. :0)

daddy's day.

2009-06-24T12:30:00.006-05:00

emma is very, very blessed to have such a wonderful daddy! (and i am very blessed to be married to him.)

we got to celebrate "daddy" on sunday, and i think it was a great day!

we woke up early to go with jason's parents to the first service at woodcreek, but they had to wait until the later service, so we made an impromptu visit to our sweet friends the berardinellis, and coaxed them to come to breakfast with us! it was a great way to start our day... yummy breakfast at cindi's cafe in richardson... really sweet friends... lots of fun. :)

then, we headed off to church to do our normal sunday-thing.

we spent the afternoon taking naps and doing homework (guess who?)... we were so exhausted from katie and cory's wedding (which was saturday!), that we had kind of a lazy day.

we topped the night off with some great italian food at covino's with "nonna & grampa" (jason's parents) and "lulu" (jason's sister lindsey). it was a wonderful way to celebrate jason's dad, kevin... who doesn't love food and fellowship? :)

here are some pics from our special day:

the card emma made her daddy at church

emma & 2 of her favorite guys: grampa & daddy
(my daddy "papa" is the only one missing!)

we love daddy!

emma actually took this picture of us!

"lulu," "grampa," emma kate & "daddy"
after dinner at covino's

...and finally...

this picture is not from father's day, but it's really sweet. our family is so happy... we really love each other. we are blessed to have jason as our husband and father. he adds laughter to our home. he makes us smile. he is silly. he loves hard. he makes our family complete. we love him so much.

happy father's day, jason!
you are so loved.

hope you all enjoyed father's day... either celebrating the father of your little ones, your own father, or someone special in your life that played the role of a father. moms always get so much attention, but we need to remember how important our daddy's are. :)

have a great day!

kiss kiss.

2009-06-08T23:31:00.005-05:00

this is going to be a quick post because i have class in the morning!

emma has a new obsession. kiss. that's right. as in, the 80's hair band. lead singer gene simmons. this obsession began when adam lambert performed with kiss on american idol. she just loved their songs, and we were stunned when, 3 days later, she identified kiss by a picture on youtube! since then, she asks for kiss just about everyday. we watch the american idol performance over and over again, emma serenades us on her guitar, and she even talks to kiss on the phone! :)

she says, "mommy, kiss' eyes have black on them. they're so beautiful." (in reference to the black paint on their faces.

needless to say, kiss is not what we would expect our 2-year-old daughter to love, but its innocent enough. :) she only knows one song, and it's a great one!

here is a video that "nonna" shot during a poolside performance last week. :) i love how she's just mindlessly singing it!

enjoy! i hope it makes your day!

just in case you can't tell... she's mostly singing:
"i wanna rock & roll all night...
and party everyday!"

she's the best air-guitar player around, too!

bridal tea.

2009-05-25T10:52:00.006-05:00

i am so excited about the shower my mom and i are throwing for cory's fiance (my soon-to-be sister-in-law) katie! we decided to do a kitchen & recipe shower at the chocolate angel in richardson. it's this sweet little tea room with the most delicious food! the ladies at the chocolate angel catered mine & jason's wedding... it was beautiful!

anyway, i just wanted to share some of the details...

here's katie's invitation:

i think this retro-apron invitation is SO cute!
if you can't read it, it says:
"mix a sprinkle of love with a handful of kisses -
soon cory and katie will be
mr. and mrs.
but as we wait for that special hour
let's honor katie with a
kitchen & recipe shower!"

here's a picture of the chocolate angel's super sweet tea room:

isn't it just so beautiful?

i can't wait for the shower! i think it's going to be so cute... we're having "afternoon tea" with iced teas, tea sandwiches, pastries, tartlets, fruit, salads, etc... i love it!

i hope katie enjoys it... we really want her to just feel so special and loved. :)

i'll post pics from the shower after the fun!

go romo.

2009-05-17T14:20:00.007-05:00

emma loves romo. "romo" is her #9 romo cowboy's jersey... she loves to wear "him" whenever she can! at one point, i had to pry "romo" off of her, because she'd warn the thing for 4 days straight... luckily, we didn't have anywhere special to go! :)

here's the best pic i have of emma wearing her "romo." (notice the stellar soccer skills - child prodigy? i think so!) haha...

so, the other day, emma was wearing "romo" and admiring herself in the mirror. she smiled and yelled out, "GO ROMO!" i thought this was cute, and that she needed to learn a little cheer for her beloved man-in-blue. :)

so i taught her this:

"R-O-M-O, Go Ro-mo!"

(i even taught her the traditional "ready? ok!")

so cute! we practiced this all day, so we'd be ready to perform for daddy when he got home from work.

we were all ready to show jason our fun cheer... emma wanted me to do it first (just a bit of stage fright), so i started...

"ready? ok!
R-O-M-O, Go Ro-mo!"

and then emma proceded to do her version of the cheer...

"ready? ok!
E-R-E-R-E-R-E-M-G-B-D-H-P-R-E-O, Go Ro-mo!"

haha.

classic!

happy sunday,

jake boy.

2009-05-01T01:39:00.020-05:00

jacob andrew olson

4.20.2009 - 12:25 pm
6 pounds 12 ounces - 19.25 inches

our precious friends, the olson family just welcomed a new member to their little family. baby jacob was born last monday, and both he and mommy jerica are doing great!

jerica & erik have been sweet friends to us since 2005, when jason and erik worked together at AXA. we went through newlywed life together, our pregnancy with emma, the olsons building their first home, and then their pregnancy with jack, who is now almost 19-months-old. (his birthday is october 2nd, which is only 3 days before emma's - but of course a year later!) we have loved getting to know and love this family, and are so excited to experience this new stage of their lives with them. it will be so fun to watch jack be a "big brother" to baby jacob... whom he has lovingly nicknamed "jake boy." (how sweet is that?)

we are excited for you, jerica, erik and jack! and jake, you have one super cool family. at least WE think they're pretty great! :)

here are some pictures from jerica's blog, to introduce their new little guy to you:

baby jake with a cute little grin

erik, jerica & their new little man.
(doesn't jerica look uh-mazing? she just had a c-section!)

big brother jack being so sweet to his "jake boy"

sweet baby boy.

welcome, little man. we can't wait to meet you!

xoxo,

pretty paper.

2009-04-29T12:36:00.005-05:00

here are the latest invitations i've been working on through emma kate designs (aside from my brother's wedding invitations):

this sweet invitation is for brynn, our friends missy & brian's daughter. she's having an afternoon tea and 5-course dinner at the american girl bistro for her 8th birthday... isn't that so fun? i thought this invitation was perfect for a tea party!

this invitation is for the shower i'm co-hosting for my sweet friend candice. isn't it fun? i can't wait for our happy, pink & orange themed baby shower!

you can check out more of my work at my blog:
emma-kate-designs.blogspot.com

stylish.

2009-04-28T22:57:00.003-05:00

i'm making over my blog!

i'm not sure what i think about this new layout... any thoughts?

i have to re-do the header... i'm looking for some super cute digital scrapbooking pieces so i can make a new one to match.

but that's the kicker... it has to match. maybe that's what's throwing me off of this new makeover - the header doesn't match right now... PLUS, emma's picture is from when she was 16-months-old! aw, sweet little cutie... that was half her life ago! she's 31-months-old now... isn't that crazy?

anyway...what do y'all think?

gratitude.

2009-04-28T00:41:00.007-05:00

i re-discovered an amazing song by nichole nordeman tonight. it was perfect timing. my cousin, gloria had posted it on her facebook profile, and it really just spoke to my heart.

i feel like this song's lyrics were written specifically for me, in this stage of my life. i am really struggling with feeling contentment with where my life is right now, and having difficulty in completely trusting the Lord to provide for us... instead, i am wanting to control everything and dictate how He provides.

this song just ripped into the depths of my heart. i wanted to share...

"gratitude" by nichole nordeman

{listen to the song here.}

Send some rain, would You send some rain?
'Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade
Would You send a cloud, thunder long and loud?
Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
Surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid
But maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for You
How to bless the very sun that warms our face
If You never send us rain

Daily bread, give us daily bread
Bless our bodies, keep our children fed
Fill our cups, then fill them up again tonight
Wrap us up and warm us through
Tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs
Let us slumber safe from danger's view this time
Or maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
A lesson learned to hunger after You
That a starry sky offers a better view if no roof is overhead
And if we never taste that bread

Oh, the differences that often are between
Everything we want and what we really need

So grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace
Move our hearts to hear a single beat

Between alibis and enemies tonight
Or maybe not, not today
Peace might be another world away
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to trust in You
That we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream
In abundance or in need
And if You never grant us peace

But Jesus, would You please . . .

i am so foolish to think that i know best. and so foolish to worry about "what ifs." and so foolish to expect God to provide in the way that i think is best... because i know my way isn't best. but knowing that and living it out are two totally different things.

i pray this song continues to encourage my heart, as i strive to trust the Lord more and more. because really, i am blessed beyond what i could ever dream... in abundance or in need.

praying for daddy.

2009-04-22T23:22:00.006-05:00

jason wasn't feeling well today. he went to the doctor and they say he has an upper respiratory infection. poor jason. :(

emma was very aware that her daddy was under-the-weather, and was a very good little nurse to him. it's one of my favorite things about emma - she is so very nurturing and concerned about her friends and loved ones.

while he was resting on the couch this evening, emma ran to her room to gather all her blankets for her daddy, because she just knew they would make him feel better. :)

i snapped this sweet picture of jason's little caretaker getting him all wrapped up in her blankets, right after she prayed the sweetest prayer for her daddy:

this was emma's sweet prayer for her daddy:

"dear Jesus,
please make daddy feel better,
when he sleeps with my blanket...
and my other blanket.
amen."

it makes my heart so happy to hear her praying to Jesus. i know it makes His heart soar, too!

so sweet...

mercy. power. Life.

2009-04-13T22:58:00.007-05:00

for those of you who have followed my blog for awhile, you remember my plea for prayer for the larsen family back in the fall of 2008. lauren and matt larsen spent weeks in the hospital, by their baby girl's side, begging God for His mercy and healing for her. after suffering being born premature with an infection in her tiny body, pulmonary hyptertension, being in the NICU at children's hospital for weeks and weeks, being hooked up to massive machines that helped her fragile organs work, developing a grade 3 brain bleed, even having brain surgery and a permanant shunt implanted into her brain... after suffering all of that... precious baby Life Lucia Larsen was healed, completely healed by the power of our Great Lord.

her story gripped my heart and changed my life in a way that i don't know i can truly put into words. God shook my heart, my faith, my belief, my trust in His power. i am forever changed by the way God worked through this tiny girl.

i read a post from her mommy, lauren, on her blog tonight that spoke to my heart again. it was about God's mercy in their Life, and in her life, and how she is constantly amazed by her love for Life. and then amazed again when she realizes that this love for her child pales in comparison to the love God has for her. the Lord has taught me the same thing, over and over again, through my journey as a mother to emma kate. i am constantly floored and overwhelmed by the love i feel for my daughter. and then it hits me that God loves me in the same consuming way... only His love is more passionate, more complete, more selfless. His love is a perfect love. one of my most favorite thing about being a parent has been how God has revealed Himself and His Love for me through my motherly love for my daughter. i am so thankful that He so perfectly set it up that way. :) it has been so sweet to learn more of Him as i learn about being a mother, and about the love that is possible to have for another person here on earth. i wish that everyone were able to experience this kind of love. it is so sweet...

so sweet.

i wanted to share with you something that has further touched my heart and continues to remind me of my God's sheer power and perfect mercy.

lauren constantly updates her blog with pictures of her sweet Life. i love seeing her progress, her growth, her health, her bright smiles. she's perfect. she is like any other baby girl. she is like any other baby girl. how amazing is that???

that this baby girl, who was not expected to survive the first few weeks of her life, and then was expected to suffer great abnormalities throughout her entire life...

...only 8 short months later, is this baby girl...

...who laughs and cries and plays and is learning to sit up on her own and crawl and eat solid foods and cut teeth and say her first words and will eventually disobey her parents... who is perfectly healthy and normal... praise God for His perfect healing and mercy and power.

praise God for Life.

for more of the larsen family's journey with little miss Life:
A Royal Allegiance

for more pictures by lauren larsen:
lauren larsen photography

egg-cited about cupcakes.

2009-04-08T23:53:00.005-05:00

so, i know this is my first post in a long time... and it's gonna be a short one! this is my first night in forever that i haven't had tons and tons and tons of homework to do, so i got to spend a little time with my sweet family. :) we played a little when emma got home from the arboretum with nonna & grandpa, then we went to our favorite place - target! - for a little much needed grocery shopping.

when we got home, i had to get to work making cupcakes for emma's easter party at mother's day out. of course, i couldn't make just regular cupcakes - it's her first school easter party!

emma picked out the cake flavor - "funfetti" - and then i colored the frosting yellow, pink & blue. i used cadbury solid chocolate eggs (with a hard candy shell!) for the easter eggs on top. i think they turned out pretty cute:

what do you think? i can't wait for emma to see them in the morning when she wakes up!

eggs + cupcakes = 2 of her favorite things! :)

baby everett is here.

2009-03-04T08:53:00.004-06:00

since we have friends having babies every month until october, so far, we have another birth to announce! :)

our sweet friends, lisa & james burgess welcomed their firstborn, a son, into their arms and into their hearts on sunday morning.

(doesn't lisa look a.m.a.z.i.n.g. for just giving birth?!?!)

everett andrew burgess
3.01.09 - 10:52 am
8 lbs. 14 oz. - 20 inches

our "story" with the burgesses is a fun one - james was the store manager at barneys new york when i worked there in 2003 - 2004. for christmas 2003, before jason and i were engaged, both of our families were out of town for the holidays... we really didn't have anyone to spend them with, so james & lisa asked us to come spend christmas day with them. we were so overwhelmed by their offer, since up-until-then, we'd just had a work-relationship! we really enjoyed our day with them, and were excited at the prospect of gaining new friends, especially since they were married, and we were nearing that stage of our life together. james, however, had this "thing" about not being "friends" with people that worked for him (he's quite the professional!)... hehe... so when we got word that our store was closing in summer of 2004, and james took each one of his employees into his office to explain that he had found a new job, i wasn't exactly crying like everyone else - each girl before me came out of his office in tears, and i think my first words were, "so... can we be friends, now?" :)

after james' permission ;), we spent SO much time with the burgesses. james was a groomsman in our wedding, lisa helped out with a lot, and i think we saw them at least 3 times a week during our first year of marriage.

we are so grateful for their friendship, and so excited to rejoice in the birth of their son with them. it will be exciting to walk through the journey of parenthood with them!

we were blessed to get to visit them in the hospital on their first day together, sunday, and love on everett for a little while before visiting hours were over. he his definitely one handsome little guy. i'm already craving some more little-man-cuddles! we can't wait for emma kate to meet him!

and who knows... 2 years isn't THAT big of a difference... maybe emma will have an eye for everett sometime in the future. or maybe we'll have another little girl that can capture his heart! :) we'd be ok with being in-laws with them. :)

so congratulations, burgess family! we are praying for you as you introduce your new little one to your home and into our world.

we love you!

john 16:21
when a woman gives birth, she has distress because her time has come, but when her baby is born, she forgets the suffering because of her joy that her child has been born into the world.

psalm 127:3
sons are a heritage from the Lord,
children a reward from Him.

the final rose. part 2.

2009-03-04T00:15:00.003-06:00

so... i kind of ranted and raved a little bit ago. and i still think all those things. i still think the whole show is silly, and maybe a bit staged, now. i'm still sad that jason treated melissa the way he did. (and i'm bummed she didn't want to come on the show to talk about everything - but i TOTALLY understand why she wasn't ready to come back!)

BUT...

i have to say....

jason and molly are pretty stinkin' cute.

i mean, really, they are. don't you think? they totally looked really happy and in love, too. so, i guess i recant my statement about wanting molly to dump jason. who knows... maybe finding love actually is possible on a 2-month-long reality show. :) i actually do wish the best for them.

even if it's only to validate this show and make me feel better for watching it! :)

the final rose.

2009-03-03T21:29:00.003-06:00

so, just like a lot of america, i was stunned by last night's final episode of "the bachelor." first of all, let me say that i know being obsessed with this show is the silliest thing ever, and i'm actually a little embarrassed to admit that i watch it, but i just can't get enough of it!

that said, i absolutely loved jason mesnick all the way through the season, and i called melissa & molly being the final 2 by the 3rd episode. melissa was always my favorite, though. she's so sweet, cute, loves hard, is nurturing... she seemed to be everything that jason needed and wanted.

so, needless to say, i was thrilled when he turned molly down at the final rose ceremony, and i couldn't wait to watch him propose to melissa. i was SO happy for her... she was so excited and relieved - her dreams had come true.

at about 8:50pm, this is what america was watching:

(by the way, didn't melissa look gorgeous in her chic yellow gown?!)

he proposed. she said yes. they looked incredibly happy, incredibly in love...

so imagine my confusion when, fast forward 10 minutes to 9:00pm, and a very somber jason is sitting on a couch in an empty "after the final rose" studio, telling chris harrison that he's dumping his fiance for molly - the girl he just wasn't in love with 10 minutes ago (well, on tv).

it. was. excruciating.

i felt so awful for melissa. how utterly humiliating to be dumped on national tv, forced to give your engagement ring back to the man who promised you forever... and then he's making out with molly on the couch minutes later. i mean, really... who does that?

he completely gave up on melissa. he just gave up. how can you say you love someone and want to spend the rest of your life with them and then just throw it away - not even attempt to fight for her?

anyway, i was so proud of the way melissa handled herself - she let him have it. she tried not to cry, to not let him see how much he'd hurt her. i'm surprised she didn't chunk that ring right at his lying face!

she'll finally get to talk about it tonight on part 2 of "after the final rose" and i'm looking forward to seeing what she has to say. honestly, i'm also kinda hoping that molly has decided she doesn't want to work things out with jason over these last 6 weeks since the taping of his "dramatic decision."

...and i'm kinda mad at "the bachelor" for stringing us along like this and putting tv drama ahead of a sweet girls' heart. she shouldn't have had to go through that. especially not on national tv.

needless to say... i'm not a fan of jason mesnick anymore.

if the "shooper" fits...

2009-03-02T19:51:00.004-06:00

so, remember that little post from a couple days ago, where i totally raved about the etsy.com boutique "mom's blankies" and their cute little custom-made "shoopers?"

well... i got an email today from allyson from the blog, "a heart for home," telling me i had won the random drawing for their giveaway! :)

so as soon as the package arrives, emma kate will be toasting her little toes in these adorable little shoopers:

how fun is that??? :) i'm hoping our little princess loves her new slippers.

pink.

2009-02-26T15:52:00.004-06:00

so, usually, i love pink. it's my favorite color... but not when it comes to my eyes!

i was lucky enough to get pink eye this week. and not in just one eye - but both!

fortunately, i don't think jason or emma are going to develop the infection. i was so glad jason had some eye drops left over from when he had it several months ago. they were still good, so i started using them right away, tuesday night, when i figured out i probably had pink eye. i think i would have been m.i.s.e.r.a.b.l.e. had i waited until wednesday to go to the doctor and get some medicine.

i will say that i'm a bit of a whiny baby when i'm sick, so jason was really sweet to give me some much-needed sympathy. ;) but who enjoys enduring eyes that are swollen, achey, gooey, runny, burning, feel like there's sand under the eye-lids, scratchy, and a whole plethora of other gross, descriptive words??

i'm still wearing my glasses (which i hate), and had to throw away a brand new pair of contacts and a brand new tube of mascara, but i'm glad my eyes are "on the mend." hopefully they'll be back to normal, soon.

because you get a lot of stares when both your eyes look like this:

obviously, this is not a picture of my eye, but it is very close to what my eyes looked like this week. mine were, sadly, a little more puffy and goopy than these baby-blues. (p.s. i'm glad this isn't my eye, because i'd be suffering from more than just pink eye, if they were - i'd have some serious eyebrow issues!)

super cute giveaway.

2009-02-25T12:27:00.003-06:00

so, i was taking a quick homework break, and stumbled upon this cutesy blog called "a heart for home."

and, i was super excited that "a heart for home" is doing a giveaway from an etsy shop called "mom's blankies." (if you don't know what etsy is, prepare to spend a good part of the next hour browsing all the chic wares being sold by these creative, small-business owners!) i am loving etsy.com right now - very inspiring, and makes me want to figure out what i can sell!

"mom's blankies" is a super cute, online baby boutique with oodles of fun, cutey, chic, handmade blankies, lovies, headbands, burp cloths, hairbows, and (my favorite) "shoopers!" shoopers are these precious little handmade shoes/slippers. get it? shoes + slippers = shoopers!

so, i was really excited to find that "a heart for home" is giving away a free pair of shoopers. i definitely entered... and if you have a cute little one who might enjoy something fabulous to keep his/her little piggies warm, you should too!

click here to find the giveaway.

i personally am hoping for a pair of these pink, brown & green paisley shoopers. i think emma would love dancing around the house in these. :)

heart wrenching.

2009-02-18T23:58:00.004-06:00

i can't watch the news anymore. it's too heart-wrenching.

i feel like every other story is of some poor child (always almost exactly emma's age) who's been lost, stolen, abused, or worse... and i can't separate myself from their stories. i always personalize it, and my heart wanders to a place where it imagines life without emma.

tonight i saw the story of a sweet little girl, also exactly emma's age, who was playing in her backyard (in a house her family just moved into) and fell into the 10-inch opening of a septic tank whose cover was missing. her brother and daddy were playing football in the backyard, right there, while she was playing, and then she just disappeared... they reported her missing around 6:30 last night, and authorities found her, lifeless, in the tank early this morning. i don't know why it affected me so much, but i couldn't stop crying.

that poor family is spending tonight without their sweet girl. i can't imagine. i don't think i could breathe.

and although what happened to this precious girl last night was a horrible, tragic accident and not the act of an evil person, i can't help but think: what is it about all our sad news lately? has the world gotten that much worse, that it's now filled with evil people who do horrific things to sweet babies? is our media just buzz-crazy, completely callous to the way that details of these awful stories can affect people? or, because i'm a mother, have i just become much more aware and sensitive to anything that makes me fear the fact that i can't 100% protect my daughter forever, and that life is not promised to us?

i just feel sad now. sorry for such a depressing post...

my heart and prayers go out to the family of alisandra galvan.

sara needs.

2009-02-14T21:21:00.004-06:00

my sister-in-law, lindsey, posted this on her facebook, and i thought it was interesting, so i gave it a gander:

the directions:
type in your name and the word "needs" in quotes ("tim needs”) into your favorite search engine (i guess this is the p.c. way of saying "google"?) and see what comes up. list the first 10 and then tag 10 or more of your friends.

1. sara needs...a loving, playful home.
2. sara needs...a lawyer.
3. sara needs...your opinion on parents sleeping in your bed. (seriously - what???)
4. sara needs...twice as nice.
5. sara needs...Rabbis for human rights. (haha!)
6. sara needs...to discover experts in the area. (um, what area?)
7. sara needs...you. (you bet i do!)
8. sara needs...access to files and email stored on local machine under Jamies account. (why?)
9. sara needs...sara time. (haha! how did they know???)
10. sara needs...to drop a few lbs. (haha! again - how did they know?)

and, just for good measure:
11. sara needs...a MeMe. (cute, but jason's meme will do!)

hehe... pretty funny. :)

so, friends, what do YOU need?

correction.

2009-02-14T21:17:00.005-06:00

oops!

i totally posted the reyes' baby boy's name wrong...

it's not jacob andrew, as i previously posted - that's the name that our friends, the olsons, chose for their future-baby-boy (due in april).

naomi and matthew's little one is:

jacob david reyes

sorry guys! :)

baby beanbag is here.

2009-02-12T17:02:00.003-06:00

we are rejoicing with some of our best friends, the reyes family, today, as they welcomed their little boy, jacob andrew into the world this afternoon!

big sister abby (3) so desperately wanted to name him "baby beanbag," but for some reason matthew & naomi weren't in love with the name. ;)

i don't have pictures of the littel guy, yet, but here are some pics of the reyes family when they were "three." (or at least before #4 was outside of the womb, yet!)

our sweet friends - matthew, naomi & abby at abby's 3rd birthday party. if you look closely, you can see naomi's "baby beanbag" belly! :)

here's a more obvious picture of "baby beanbag" in all his glory before he entered our world. abby, of course, is holding her "baby patti."

we are so excited for matthew, naomi and abby, and can't wait to meet baby jacob! hopefully we'll have pictures soon. :)

jacob, you're one lucky little guy - you have one of the greatest families ever! you're going to have SO MUCH FUN growing up with them! we love you already!

- sara, jason & emma kate

happy valentine's day.

2009-02-11T22:43:00.004-06:00

emma is having her first valentine's day party at "school" this year, so she needed valentines to give to all of her little friends tomorrow.

and, of course, i went way overboard.

but this is one of the 10 cute little cards i came up with tonight. jason said i'm trying to make up for something i must have missed out on in my childhood. haha. i say i just like making cute things!

all 10 of them are different. i put magnets on the back of the cards for her teachers, so they can go on their refrigerator. :) too fun.

anyway, just wanted to share.

happy valentine's day!

goodnight, batman.

2009-02-04T21:17:00.005-06:00

another emma story for you, but before i tell it, there's a bit of a back story:

thanks to her daddy and nonna, emma is obsessed with batman. that's right, my 2-year-old, sweet little girl who loves big "kate bows" in her hair and the color pink is currently in love with all disney princesses... and batman. she talks about the cars blowing up and the helicopter crashing. she talks in this really funny low, deep voice, and says to her daddy things, like, "i'm batman. you're joker," and "you have to trust me." (on a side note, she also told jason, today while he was tickling her, "no, daddy, don't kill me!" there will be no more watching of "batman.") so, we've established that she's obsessed with batman.

now, onto the story:

in our home, at bedtime, we have this sweet little routine where we brush teeth, get emma's jammies on, sometimes read a story in the rocker, turn on her music, and then cuddle in the rocker until it's "sleepy time."

we also have this bedtime rhetoric (or anytime, really) that goes like this:

mommy (or daddy): i love you, emma.
emma: i yuv you.
mommy (or daddy): you're my best girl.
emma: you my best grill.

it's so precious, and so sweet, and usually i say it over and over again just to hear her say she loves me! :)

so, this is how it went a few nights ago, as we were rocking, before i laid her in her bed:

emma: seet deems, mommy.
mommy: sweet dreams, emma.
:::kiss:::
mommy: i love you, emma.
emma: i yuv you, mommy.
mommy: you're my best girl, emma.
emma: you my best batman.
:::smile:::
emma: goodnight, batman.

what an honor... i'm her BEST BATMAN! does that mean i'm better than batman? or does that mean she loves batman more than mommy?

i don't know... but either way... it made me chuckle a little as i tucked her in bed and kissed my little batman-lovin' princess goodnight.

kiss it.

2009-01-29T21:11:00.005-06:00

so, here's your laugh for today:

i was talking to emma today, asking what she did at 'school' (mother's day out). she told me she got a spanking on her "butt" (which i'm SURE didn't actually happen... she's just recently learned how to "tell stories").

when i asked if she really got a spanking, she said, "yes, mommy - it hurt!"

then she so sweetly bent over so her little tush was in my face and said:

"mommy, will you kiss my butt?"

...and... of course, i did.

because, who could resist that cute little tush?

back at it.

2009-01-27T21:11:00.004-06:00

school started back up for me last week at TWU. i'm in 15 hours this semester - 4 classes that i attend on tuesdays & thursdays and 2 online classes. i am already becoming very overwhelmed by the workload i have ahead of me... especially in my online classes. this art education class that i'm taking online is a bit ridiculous: a 46-page syllabus, in-depth assignments due all the time, a professor and 2 graduate assistance who all answer the same questions differently & can't seem to get on the same page... it's really stressing me out.

i'm afraid this semester is going to be so much harder than last semester. i feel like last semester was such a blessing, and so "easy" so that i would be able to be encouraged and gather the strength and motivation to finish out the next couple years.

this semester will be a tough one, that's for sure. i know i can do it, it's just frustrating when it seems that some professors are giving work that has nothing to do with our learning to be a teacher, but everything to do with simply taking up my time.

i hope i don't drive jason crazy by the end of may! only 4 more months to go, right? :) then i'll just have summer classes, and one more fall semester of classes, my student teaching next spring, and then i'll graduate may 2010!

so, yes, i see the light at the end of the tunnel, and i'm excited for that... but i feel like it's going to be a long road ahead...

ready. set. go.

2009-01-13T16:31:00.007-06:00

anyone who knows me, knows that i am struggling a lot with self-image. especially at the weight i'm at now, since emma's birth. i've cried about it, agonized about it, beat myself up over it, been disgusted, angry, frustrated, depressed - you name it! i've tried to eat better, started and stopped going to the gym too many times to count... and still i'm the same weight i was when i gave birth to emma 2 years and 3 months ago.

well, my wonderful in-laws got me a few training sessions with an IN-HOME personal trainer for christmas! it's pretty much the BEST gift EVER! i had my first session with christina today, and it was amazing. she gave me some AWESOME exercises to do at home, 3 times a week, that should take more than 30 minutes. SO easy, right? and we talked about food, nutrition, drinking enough water, etc... i really feel equipped to tackle this head-on.

i was so encouraged after my time with christina. i feel like for the next two weeks, until i see her again, i can TOTALLY stay on top of my fitness & food plan. i am so excited to conquer this little battle with myself.

here are the tools that will help me win:

1. drinking LOTS of water, 2. dairy (yogurt & milk)

3. snacks like nuts, fruits & veggies
4. eating every 2 - 3 hours

5. weight/resistance training 3-days a week,
6. cardio (usually with my stroller!) 5-days a week

i feel so ready to actually DO this.

and i think i can. no. i KNOW i can.

i am so ready to feel good about myself again, and i'm excited to get started!

so, feel free to ask me how it's going. i'll update here every week or two... just for some accountability and the such. but hopefully, this time next year... there'll be a whole new sara behind this cute little blog! :)

girlies.

2009-01-11T00:59:00.004-06:00

this picture makes me so happy. i just wanted to share it with all of you. :)

it's me and my girl, emma kate, with my sweet, dear friend melody and her girl, kate annemarie. melody & joel called us spur-of-the-moment one day at the end of summer and asked us to go to the dallas zoo with them and their two kiddos, grant & kate. we went, and were so glad we did. it was a great time, a perfect day, a sweet time with friends. i love fun memories like this. and its so fun to see our kids have so much fun together. joel & melody started hanging out with/kinda mentoring me and jason when we just started dating... almost 7 years ago! and they are still such an important part of our lives, even now. i love it!

this picture just captured the fun and joy of that time at the zoo. i really love it.

and i REALLY love the delucas.

baby boom.

2009-01-10T14:24:00.002-06:00

bear with me while i wallow for just a minute in my own self-pity/wanting what i can't have...

can i just say that EVERYONE is having babies.

to prove my point:
my cousin bess: baby ruthie, born january 7th
missy's sister ellie: baby "jake", born january 10th
naomi: baby boy (baby beanbag, according to abby), due in february
lisa: baby everett, due in march
jerica: baby boy, due in april
kristina: baby (we don't know!), due in may
candice: baby (don't know yet, but she says it's a girl!), due in june

so, every month for the next 5 months, we'll be rejoicing with sweet friends as they welcome a new little life into their family!

sigh. i'm not complaining. i'm just yearning. :)

maybe by this time next year, we'll be expecting our own new little life...

save the date.

2009-01-09T09:22:00.005-06:00

my brother cory & his fiancee katie are getting married in 23 weeks!

they came over last night to talk about save the dates and invitations. i'm working on their save the date right now. it's a super fun postcard, and i'm loving it!

click here to see the work in progress.

i'm so excited for my brother. he has found someone who loves him as much as he loves her. they are great together, and we can't wait for their wedding!

ruthie christine cave.

2009-01-07T22:28:00.005-06:00

a new baby has blessed the cave family.

my cousin aaron and his sweet wife bess met their daughter today! at 3:22 pm, ruth "ruthie" christine made her grand entrance into our world, weighing 6 lbs. 13 oz.

we are praising God with aaron & bess for the blessing of their girl. we can't wait to meet her, snuggle her and give her lots of hugs & kisses.

until then, here are some sweet pictures, so the world can see her perfection:

mommy, daddy & ruthie at christmas

bess carrying baby ruthie

aaron & bess being their silly selves
(they're going to be such fun parents!)

sweet girl

my aunt debra:::grandma

my uncle doug:::grandpa

fancy toes!

welcome to our world, ruthie christine.

i know ruthie & emma kate will have SO much fun playing for years to come. we are so excited about our growing family.

congratulations, aaron & bess! your girl is beautiful perfection!

all photographs by aaron cave
www.aaroncave.com

they love each other.

2008-12-29T20:12:00.005-06:00

they love each other.

one of my best friends, missy, has two of the greatest kids ever - brynn is 7 & aaron is 3. emma and aaron love each other. i mean, they really love each other! we are always joking that we've got to save sweet pictures and memories for their rehearsal dinner slideshow. but i'm serious... they love each other!

aaron is so sweet with emma. he's so gentle and patient with her, and he usually shares his toys. except for when he doesn't... but then, at least he's thoughtful enough to let everyone know that he is not going to let emma play with his toys! :)

missy called me tonight. aaron wanted to talk to me, and the first thing he said was, "sara, i miss emma." he told me he wanted to talk to her, so i went into her room where jason was rocking her for bedtime, and i told her aaron was on the phone. she immediately grabbed my cell phone (which was on speaker phone) and said, "oh, HIIIII, aaron!"

this is the precious conversation that followed:

emma: hi aaron!
aaron: hi emma!
emma: aaron, hi!
aaron: emma, what are you doing?
emma: hi aaron.
aaron: what are you doing emma?
emma: aaron, hi! i'm rockin'.
aaron: hey emma, you want to come to my house?
emma: yeah.
aaron: emma, let's go to target, and we can buy baby toys and big boy toys, and we can go to starbucks, and i will pay my money for you, emma.
emma: ok. i want starbucky's. (emma's pet name for starbucks.)
aaron: STARBUCKS! (as he starts singing at the top of his lungs and running around in circles.)
emma: starbucky's!
aaron: STARBUCKS! (still running and singing.)
emma: ok, i yuv you aaron, bye!

so there you go... let it be chronicled that my 2-year-old daughter, emma kate rains, just might be the youngest girl ever to be asked out on a bonafide date. and by a pretty studly 3-year-old, i might add! if they were in highschool, she'd be a sophomore, and he'd be a senior... that's pretty good! : )

not really sure this counts as a date? well, let's look at all the specifics:

guy asks the girl... check!
plans ahead... check!
target to buy toys... check! (girls LOVE shopping - how thoughtful!)
offers to buy her something... check! (baby toys for emma, big boy toys for aaron.)
out for coffee... check! (starbucky's, of course.)
offers to "pay his money for her"... check!

sounds like all the makings of a date, to me!

so, missy and i are going to start planning now, and come spring of 2028 (when emma's 22), emma & aaron will have the best darn wedding two toddler-sweethearts have ever had!

i'm sure they will be doing this many years from now.

emma berardinelli. i like it. :)

my nightstand.

2008-12-29T09:27:00.005-06:00

on the right column of this little blog page, i have a feature that lists the books that jason and i are currently reading. jason's nightstand is filled, with like, a million books. (and yes, he is reading them all.)

my nightstand, on the other hand, holds 3 books right now - figuratively.

since i just finished "call me hope," i decided i would finally finish the last one-third of "the shack," which i have been reading since sometime in the fall! it's a really great book, and i really was enjoying it, i simply got too busy with school and mommyhood to finish it. so... i was really excited to snuggle in bed with the last few chapters of this story... and i can't find it! i think the last time i saw it was when we went to visit the reyes family in san antonio. that was in november. i've looked everywhere. but no "shack." (naomi, is it at your house?)

and since i couldn't find "the shack," but was in such a reading mood, i picked up a book i've been wanting to read for awhile: "change of heart" by jodi picoult. she is my favorite author right now. such a great story teller, and all of her books make me think. i can tell this one is already going to be tough (emotionally) for me to read. it's about a woman whose husband and daughter was killed by their contractor while she was pregnant with her 2nd daughter, claire. the man is now on deathrow, and claire ends up having some problem with her heart and needs a transplant. as payment for what he has done, the killer wants to give his heart to the little girl when he is executed. apparently, while he is in prison, he begins performing some sort of miracles... and people start calling him a messiah or savior. sounds kinda "green mile"-ish. i don't know... you have to read a jodi picoult novel. then you won't even second guess this plot-line! i've read "my sister's keeper" and "the tenth circle" so far. both are amazing!

the other book on my nightstand is "your money or your life" by joe dominguez & vicki robin. i am participating in a "book club" called "sound mind. sound mom." we will be reading 6 books over the next 12 months. the topics include finances, parenting, relationships, keeping a clean/organized home, living green, etc. the first topic is getting control of your finances. i think jason and i are going to read this together. i've read the prologue so far, and i'm excited. it's not necessarily a book i 'won't be able to put down,' but i have until march to read it. i hope this is something i stick with all year, and don't just get the first book, not finish it, and do away with the whole idea all together. so ask me in march. :)

so, when i say there are 3 books on my nightstand, that's just the one on my blog. :) there would be 3, except that "the shack" is lost... so it can't be on my nightstand... but it's still on my mind to be read. there are, however, 2 books sitting on my actual nightstand right now. i put my glasses on them last night, when i was ready-for-bed enough to stop reading. :)

i know, i know. this blog was riveting. i know you're all just sitting on the edge of your seats until my next rant about the books i'm reading.

but now you can hold me accountable to finish what i've started. yes, that was my point in writing this all along...

call me hope.

2008-12-28T21:40:00.007-06:00

i have decided to "review" books here after i've read them... and this is the first installment! :)

i read "call me hope" on friday... that's right - in one day. i couldn't put it down. donna lent it to me. a sweet little book that was even signed by the author, gretchen olson. "wishing you hope!" was inscribed on the inside of the cover. i felt like she was speaking straight to me... throughout the entire book.

this novel was actually written for young adults, but it is very well written and an incredible story. it centers around an 11-year-old girl, hope marie elliott, and her struggle to feel loved and accepted by her verbally abusive mother.

this story explores the relationship between mother and daughter, and the challenges that come with it. it explores the confusion and pain of a little girl fighting for her mother's love, and believing that she can't do anything 'good enough' to win that love. it explores a mother's undying love for her child, even when she is so emotionally battered, herself, that she is unable to show it in the most healthy of ways.

hope finds refuge in secret places she creates for herself... drawing inspiration from anne frank's "diary" and the little boy from "it's a beautiful life." their courage and survival skills spurs her on to become not just "another victim."

i loved this book. it was sweet and powerful all at the same time, and it really hit home for me. i was reminded of several struggles from my past, and reminded of the importance of pursuing the ability to love others fully - both as a daughter and as a mother.

this simple story gave me a new outlook on the challenges that my mother faced as i was growing up, and opened my eyes to how easy it could be for me to face the same challenges with my own daughter.

this story allowed me to see beyond my own hurts, and realize that my story's outcome is my "choice." i can choose not to be a victim...

this story gave me hope.

gifted.

2008-12-28T19:38:00.007-06:00

well, christmas has come and gone. isn't it crazy, how quickly it is over, after all the build-up and anticipation? i am a bit sad that it is all over, but we had a wonderful christmas this year. emma had so much fun with santa and presents, and having mommy & daddy home to play!

we've had "christmas" with our family, my family, and jason's family (although there is another "christmas" with jason's family next week), and my family got me some great gifts!

i thought i'd share a few with you:

donna & kevin (my wonderful in-laws) got me this fabulous new rachael ray cookware set! it is my first matching set with lids and everything! i love them! (and they're green!)

jason got me a very thoughtful gift this year... since he HATES watching my girlie, romantic movies (especially period pieces!), he so selflessly selected an entire collection of jane austen dvd's! this set includes the classic bbc adaptations (mostly mini-series) of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, EMMA, PERSUASION, NORTHANGER ABBEY, MANSFIELD PARK, and PRIDE AND PREJUDICE! he also got me SENSE & SENSIBILITY (the one with kate winslett) and LES MISERABLES. we watched EMMA (with gwyneth paltrow) this weekend, and we are watching MANSFIELD PARK as we speak. he vowed to watch each and every one of them with me... what a great husband!

jason also has a talent for picking out super cute shoes that he knows i will love! these little peep toes will be so cute with a black dress or some jeans! (don't you LOVE the lacy bow?!)

ok, i think these just might be my new favorite shoes! they are SO cute with jeans (i wore them to church today), super comfortable, and the bright yellow makes me so happy. they come in black, brown & plum, too... hmmm... what is in my closet that just screams the need for plum colored shoes?...

and these... these just look super comfy, and like i can wear them in all seasons! kinda funky, too... great job jason!

my parents got me (among other great things) a fun, slouchy, yellow hobo bag similar to this one. (i couldn't find a picture of the exact bag, so i went for this one!) i love it because a) i love big bags, b) it's happy yellow like my shoes, c) i can use it ALL year, and d) i love big bags! so cute!

and one more noteworthy gift... jason stuffed my stocking with 60 $1-bills! the idea was for me to have cash to get to spend on whatever i wanted. $60... that's some fun spending money, huh? but what i think is so funny, is that he actually went to the bank and asked for $60 in ones... haha! i wonder what that bank teller thought jason was doing later that night?!?! i bet she giggled with her co-workers about it later... oh goodness... i wonder if i could find her and assure her that my sweet husband does not partake in those activities! :)

beautiful girl.

2008-12-28T18:13:00.004-06:00

last night, we we got together with some of my daddy's side of the family for a christmas celebration. it was coined the christmas "cave-in." (because my maiden name is "cave"... ha.) anyway, we went to my uncle doug (my dad's borther) and aunt debra's house. their son aaron, and his wife bess were there, along with their daughter gloria, who was visiting from north carolina. we miss glo! aunt debra's mom, dot, was also visiting, from arkansas, i think. another one of my dad's brothers, my uncle kevin, and his wife leslie were there, with uncle kevin's son tyler. my parents and brother, cory, joined us, and we had a great time. of course, there were MANY family members missing (my dad is the oldest of 7!), but we really enjoyed a time of catching up with family and sharing food and fun together!

my cousins, aaron and gloria, are both into photography, and were taking lots and lots of pictures. i don't know which one snapped these pics of emma kate, but i'm in love with them!

so, i thought i'd share. : )

i think she's playing the piano here... obviously concentrating hard on something!

playing aunt debra's piano

being silly

joy

(part of) the cave family

(from left to right)
top row: my daddy & mom, uncle kevin & aunt leslie, dot "me-maw" beck (aunt debra's mom), aunt debra & uncle doug
on the couch: bess (aaron's wife) & baby girl in her tummy, me, emma, jason, gloria
on the floor: aaaron, my brother cory, tyler

here comes santa claus.

2008-12-24T00:48:00.009-06:00

on monday night, we took emma to see santa for the very first time! she has seen pictures of him, read about him in books, seen him in movies, and sung about him in christmas songs, but she's never met him. so we decided to brave the lines at the mall 2 days before the jolly man in the red suit has to go back to the north pole and spread christmas cheer to boys and girls all over the world!

we went to willowbend, and stood in line for an hour-and-a-half. jason, as you can imagine, was less than thrilled. i, on the other hand, was enjoying every one of those 90 minutes! : )

willowbend was decorate in a polar express theme, and seeing as emma has a bit of a fascination with trains at the moment, she was really excited.

of course, she was even more excited to see santa.

here are some pictures of our fun, santa-filled evening:

willowbend had such beautiful trees & decorations up!

the conductor in front of the polar express.
it was "really snowing" at this part of the "exhibit." the snow just happened to be flakes of styrofoam that stuck to everything - including hair and christmas dresses - just in time for pictures! : )

the polar express at the "north pole."

waiting for santa with nonna.

"pull lever."
she could make the train "stop" in one area of the exhibit/line.

driving the train.

pretty girl.
can't WAIT to see santa!

"i see him! there's santa!"

when santa asked emma what she wanted him to bring her for christmas, she said, "ummmm... present."
hehe! so cute!

emma was SO excited to meet santa claus, but of course when we got up there, she freaked out and kept on saying "oooohhh! no mommy!" so, i had to sit on his lap with her. santa was a gentleman, though... don't get any crazy ideas! : )

santa complimented emma on her beautiful dress and pretty princess shoes. he also promised to bring her some snow to build a frosty, and an "ariel" (or how emma calls it, "a nemo-friend") doll!

the silly girl was too scared to sit with santa by herself, but she talked up a storm to him, and even gave him a big kiss on the cheek when we left! (she's such a tease!)

we had so much fun with santa! i can't wait unti she's excited to be able to tell santa what she wants and all that...

christmas is SO much fun with kiddos!

merry christmas!

christmas card.

2008-12-24T00:39:00.003-06:00

(i got this idea from my friend angela's blog!)

we couldn't afford to send christmas cards to all of our beloved friends and family this year, so i thought i'd post it on our blog, so everyone can see it!

Christmas Blessings!
--sara beth, jason, emma kate & duncan--

(for those who aren't sure, no, duncan is not a 2nd baby... he's our sweet little westie... but we didn't have time to take a picture that he could be in!)

youth ministry at it's finest.

2008-12-18T11:42:00.003-06:00

Bill the Elf from Woodcreek Students on Vimeo.

this is our church's youth pastor, mike, putting on an incredible show for our high school youth group at their christmas party. this might just be the greatest thing ever!

haha.

this is the guy ministering to our youth... : )

enjoy.

notecards.

2008-12-18T11:24:00.004-06:00

my daughter, emma kate, is in the promiseland mother's day out program at mckinney fellowship bible church. her sweet teachers are mrs. kruppe & mrs. hughes. they have taken such great care of emma while mommy is at school, and she loves them very much. every morning on her way to "school" she says, "i'm gonna go see mrs. kruppe & mrs. hughes and play with friends!" : )

since today is the last day of mother's day out before christmas, i made these notecards for emma's teachers for their christmas present. hopefully, they like their fun surprise. actually, i probably had more fun making them, than they will using them! haha, is that bad?

anyway...

merry christmas!

stocking stuffers.

2008-12-03T21:27:00.005-06:00

i am having so much fun shopping for gifts this year! my favorite part is actually deciding what to give my loved ones. i love thinking about things they may have mentioned that they want, or thinking about what they could really really use. i also love looking for fun, random, they-wouldn't-buy-it-for-themselves stocking stuffers!

i found this list today of great stocking stuffer ideas. i think i see many items on this list that i may add to MY christmas shopping list. : )

so, in the spirit of the season, i thought i would share it with you.

stocking stuffer ideas for adults:

Address/date book
Bath salts and spa items
Book embosser
Bookmark
Camera
Candles
Card games
CDs/DVDs
Cell phone or accessories
Chocolates and candy
Cookies
Memberships to a zoo or museum
Gift certificates
Golf balls or other hobby goodies
Hand warmers
Jewelry
Magazine subscription
Organizer
Ornaments
Picture frame/photos
Puzzles
Scarves and gloves
Snow globes
Soaps
Socks/slippers
Stationery or note cards
Tickets to a concert or sports event

stocking stuffer ideas for kids:

Coloring books or game books
Crayons, colored pencils, or markers
Diary or journal
Dolls or tiny teddy bears
Camera
Card games
Certificates to paint ceramics or make a bear
CDs/DVDs
Cookies/candy
Gift certificates
Handheld games
Jewelry
Miniatures (such as tea sets, doll furniture)
Mittens or gloves
Movie tickets
Puppets
Puzzles
Slippers
Snow globes
Sport cards
Stickers
Stationery or note cards
Theme park admission

so there you go. be inspired. may it assist you in making someone you love very happy... and their stocking very full!

stocking stuffer list from here

bringing back christmas memories.

2008-12-01T12:16:00.005-06:00

i am loving the old christmas movies that emma is obsessed with watching right now! currently, she's on a "frosty the snowman" kick. it really makes me so happy. i'm sure jason is getting tired of hearing that song over and over again (coupled by the dancing frosty that sings the song, rather obnoxiously, that is so generously on loan from nonna & grampa), but i am loving it!

do you remember watching those old tv specials when you were a kid? we would be so excited for them to come on tv. i remember my mom would have us fed, bathed, in our jammies, hair brushed, and we'd gather in the living room waiting for the once-a-year-showing of "frosty," "rudolph & the island of misfit toys," "santa clause is coming to town," "how the grinch stole christmas," and all those "charlie brown" specials... there might have even been some hot chocolate and cinnamon toast! such sweet memories.

i love the old animation and vintage clay-mation movies. and i love that my sweet girl is into watching them this year.

i can't wait to share more of my favorite christmas memories with her! and it's only december 1st - i have a feeling we've got a fun month ahead of us!

sleep talking.

2008-11-13T14:50:00.004-06:00

i was up super late monday night doing homework. when i came to bed at almost 1:00 am, jason had already been asleep for a good 2 hours. when i walked in the room, i thought he was going to jump up and try to fight me, he was so startled! but he finally laid back down, after some reassurance that it was JUST me, and went to sleep... or so i thought.

as i was washing my face in the bathroom i heard a sound come from jason in the bedroom. this is the conversation that followed between me and my very sleepy hubby:

jason: hmmmm...
sara: what'd you say, baby?
jason: hmmmmm....
sara: jason, did you say something?
jason: what?
sara: did you say something?
jason: no. i'm just humming.
sara: you're what?
jason: i'm just humming something.
sara: (silently cracking up) oh yeah? what are you humming?
jason: oh, it's just this song someone wrote.
sara: (slight pause to compose herself) yeah? who wrote it?
jason: you, silly.
sara: i wrote it?
jason: yeah... it's a piece of work!
sara: (almost losing it) what's the song called?
jason: what?
sara: what's it called?
jason: what is what called?
sara: the song i wrote... what's it called?
jason: what the he** are you talking about? you didn't write a song!
sara: oh....ok. (??????)

and then we went to sleep.

i hope that made you laugh as much as i did!

(and just so you know... that was pretty much word-for-word. no embellishment here!)