Play Date Time!

Tonight we had a play date with our friend Lacey and her little next door neighbor. Carter LOVED playing with her and I think that she had a pretty good time too! I got a new camera for my birthday from all my family members and let's just say that I have already gotten my moneys worth in a week.

I thought I would take you through my week in pictures......................

                          Mommy wanted a picture but Carter wanted his dum dum!

                                      

Grandma Niece tells Carter a secret while he spent the night at her house!

I love to play in Uncle Jacob's room! It has LOTS of things I should not play with!

                                                            Acting like a puppy dog

                                                                 Mommy can I fit in here?

                                                            No! I can fit in here.

                                                                       Being silly!

                                                     Getting kisses from my doggie!

                                                              Play date Time!!!

                                          She wanted me to drive but I could not reach the pedals!

                                                             She was having a blast!

I pushed her to the door when Mommy said it was my bed time.

Come back soon!

Trunk or Treat

This week we went to a Trunk or Treat with Tiffany and her kids. It was held in a small town where she grew up in the downtown area. I did not plan on going and didn't have Carters costume with me so we borrowed one of her old ones and he was a little  monster. It was super cute and he really enjoyed seeing all the people dressed up. He used his manners and in his little voice said Thank you each time someone gave him something. I was such a proud Mama! They were all asking how old he was because he was so little to say thank you.

On another note........ I went to see Beth Moore two weeks ago and I will just say it was a life changing event for me. I love her and have always enjoyed her bible studies but seeing her in person was completely different. I felt like everything she said spoke right to me. I am sure that everyone felt that way but for me it was just what I needed to remind me of what is important in life. If you ever get the chance to see her go! I promise it will be worth it!

Today is Halloween and this year will be Carters first time to go trick or treating. We are going to take him to some family members houses and then out for a little while in our neighborhood with the Mashburns! We love hanging out with them so it should be fun.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM OUR LITTLE MONSTER!

October is here!

 

October is finally here and we are so excited! We went to the Texas State Fair to see the OU vs UT football game and had a blast. We left sad since our Horns lost but it was still fun for just the two of us to go and hang out. The weather has finally started to cool off and now it is only in the 80's mostly instead of over 100! This makes it easier to play outside when we get home for a little while which is Carters number 1 thing to do these days.

We are looking forward to Halloween this year and dressing Carter up in his doggie outfit and going to visit some of our friends and family. I know that he won't understand the whole night but at least it will be fun for pictures. And speaking of pictures I have finally talked Ryan into getting me a new camera for my birthday. I am choosing between a Cannon and a Nikon. Any suggestions?

Look what I learned how to do!!

I did some work to my blog today! I have a lot still to do but it is getting more personality!!!

Words, Words, and more Words........

Carter seems to be making leaps and bounds in his vocabulary this past week! It is super cute and we love it but it is just one more sign to me that he is no longer my little baby. He is not only learning to speak his words but he is also learning how to sign them. This week in sign language he mastered the words Banana, down, and cookie. He can speak the words more, shoes, down, and half way say Banana. He loves bananas can you tell?!

Each day he seems to get more interested in repeating what you say to him and then saying it over and over again. He is also still on his kick of grouping all his toys in sections of his play room and bringing some to put on the coffee table in the living room. I am not sure why he does this but it makes us laugh all the time.

Ryan did not have football on Friday this week since he had a Thursday night game and that meant we could hang out with Daddy all weekend!!!! That was really a special treat for all of us. What did we do? Well we watched the first two dvd's of Lost season 6 of course. We are hooked on this show and now we have to wait until Tuesday to get the next disc in the mail. We also watched our Horns get beat pretty bad on Saturday which changed the mood in our house to say the least.

Off to play with the little one now. Have a wonderful Sunday. I hope God shows you his love today!

Is it Fall yet?

Carter has a NEW best friend!!!

GRACIE

I love summer because I get to be off with Carter but boy am I ready for the Fall weather to hurry up and get here. Football season is in full swing now and we are trying to attend both nights of games but most of the time we only make it to the Friday night game. Carter loves going to the games and he is really into the noise of the crowd. Every time they yell he yells and every time they clap he claps. It makes me laugh to see him interacting with them so much. As soon as the weather gets a little cooler I think that we will make it to both of the games but until then it is just way to hot!

Carter has finally found a love for Gracie! Not that he did not love her before now but he really just was not that into her. He now thinks that she needs to follow his every move. He brings her with him by leading her around the house by her necklace. It really is the cutest thing. She goes with him 90% of the time and the other 10% she refuses by sitting down and not moving! He has also begun to use her as a stool to climb on the couch. When we see him do it we tell him that she does not want him to stand on her like that. We say that hurts her feelings but he just laughs and laughs and pats her head and does it again when we are not looking.

The hunt for this years Halloween costume has begun and I still have not found anything I just love. I am thinking that since his first word was DOG we should find a little doggie outfit so I will continue to search for one. What are your kids going to be for Halloween? I put up Carter's Halloween picture from last year so I could enjoy it all over again!!!

God is so Good!

Look who has some hair to work with now!!

Have you ever had a day where the words God is so good just ring in your heart and come right out of your mouth? This is how I have felt the past week. I have been full of joy not only for myself but for others as well. I started feeling like this when I decided to grow in my walk with the lord and it has continued from there. I have been doing pretty well with my quiet time, trying to spread the love of Jesus,and  not talking negatively about others or myself. I know that I have not posted about what I have done so far but I started a new job and things have been super crazy for me. The new job is awesome and I know that this is where God wants for me to be right now. Carter is adjusting well to spending the morning time with Ryan since I have to leave before him now and he is in charge of getting Carter to daycare. The drive is not much fun but I do get in a lot of quiet time during the morning drive.

Our house is STILL on the market and we continue to pray that the the lord will send someone to buy our house so we can start to focus on the new house we are building. Lets all pray hard about the house selling and moving in on schedule to the new house. This will make more time for Mommy and Carter.

Football season is here and that means Ryan is back at work all the time. We miss him but we know how much he loves his job so we will just hope December gets here quickly and they play well and win lots of games so he is in a good mood! :)

Enjoy your Monday! I am off to try and find some new recipes for our house. If you have any good ones or know of a good website let me know.

Kick off Day!

Kick off day is tomorrow! I am excited to start this journey but nervous about starting back to work and keeping up with everything. I think making time to do all the things on the must do everyday list is going to be the hardest for me. The fasting from certain things will be easier for me. However, not speaking negatively about things, people or myself will be a challenge. I am also going to try and redirect negative conversations so we will have to see people around me act towards that.

Today was a great day! Carter and I went to the water park with my mom and brother Tyler and my best friend Tiffany and her two boys. We had a blast! Carter loves the water park and going in the kid pool and lazy river. We both are sure going to miss being able to go all the time since I have to start my new job on Monday! After the water park Tiffany and I and the kids went to look for a daycare for her younger son that is closer to our new school. We had NO luck! She is really wanting a great pre-school type setting and just has not found the right one yet. I am really trying to be encouraging for her since she is getting very discouraged now that school is about to start.

To end the great day we all went and picked up Ryan from the house and we went to eat at one of our favorite restaurants Freebirds! It was great and Carter loved the beans which was a new food for him. We drove around for an hour looking for a coldstone creamery that has not closed down so I could have my last sweet for the next 60 days. It was yummy!

Hope everyone had a great Friday!

Fasting for me!

I decided to go on a spiritual fast to grow in my relationship with the Lord! I know that this might not be for everyone but this is what I think I need to do for me and since this is my blog I decided it was OK for me to blog about my experiences along the way. I am not going by any certain plan. I did read about some on the Internet but after reading about different ones I came to the conclusion that really it is about fasting from certain things, praying, and journal about your time fasting.
So I am giving up the following things...
1. Alcohol
2. Negative speaking- about others and about myself mainly because it causes no good outcomes and I feel bad after doing it
3.Sweets!

Here are some things that I decided to do everyday...........
1. Spend quiet time with God for at least 30 min
2. Make a positive comment about or to at least 3 people a day
3. Spread the word and love of God at least once a day
4. One Random act of Kindness a day

Everyday I am going to blog about how it went that day and if I was able to meet all the fasting requirements for that day. I am going to try my very hardest but I have never fasted before so I don't really know what I am in for. I do know that God and I are on this journey together and I am hoping that at the end of the 60 days I will have grown in my love of the Lord and he in his love for me. I am hoping you will want to join my on this adventure!

All my love,
 Jen

In need of a few things..............

1. A new look for my blog!
2. A new church home........... somewhere around Allen if you know any places to look let us know :)
3. someone to buy our home so we can continue our move to Allen
4. some new clothes......... bad!!!!! Mainly because all mine are big YEAH!!!!!!
5. some new things for my 6th grade classroom since I have taught 5th for the past 3 years
6. some mirrors to go in our bathrooms at the new house
7. RACHEL on big brother to go away

What do we have now?

This is what we look like all the time in the car now

Yesterday we went to see Aunt Lacey and go swimming! It was so much fun. Carter loved her community swimming pool and they had a splash park attached to it and that was fun too.

This morning we woke up with a slight fever and what I think might be an ear infection. Can you still get ear infections with tubes in your ears? He has been messing with his left ear and this seems all to familiar. So needless to say we are off to the doctor today at 4:30 to get him checked out. So today I am spending some time cleaning the house and then holding Carter a lot!!
We will see what the doctor says but hopefully he won't be to sick.

Disney World gone mad!!!!!!!!

WOW!!! We had a great time in Disney World and are finally back home. I was hoping to be able to post while we were gone but did not have Internet connection. Carter did way better then I had expected. He was awesome on the long 20 hour car ride both ways. Driving at night was what really saved us. He was able to sleep most of the way which saved us from having to entertain him for such a long ride. His very first ride was Haunted Mansion! He never cried on any of the rides and loved them all but his favorite was by far It's A Small World. He laughed and clapped the whole time we were on that ride. If the line had not been forever long we would have taken him on it again. Ryan and I enjoyed this trip more than any other time we have been to Disney mainly because we were able to see his little face light up throughout the whole trip. We know that he won't remember this time but we will and we will have lots and lots of pictures to prove how excited he was.

Here are some pictures of Carter's first time to Disney!

Eating at rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney

Taking in the wonders that are Disney!

Look Mommy I am sitting in my own seat like a big boy!

Is it time to go in the pool yet?

I LOVE THE SLIDE!!!

Silly boys!

Having a Blast

We love Disney!

This picture says it all!

Day oh Fun!

Today was a Day of Fun for Mommy and Carter! Grandma Necie came with us and we all went shopping!!! I know that I won't be able to lug him around and shop with me forever so it was fun to do it today. We went to get a new dress for the wedding rehersal tomorrow and my mom got a new dress for the wedding. Then we just went to look around and Carter was great the whole time. After we dropped off Grandma Necie, to finish cleaning out my younger brothers room before he gets back from church camp, we went to visit one of Carter's fav people. CRYSTAL!!! She is so great and her kids miss Carter so much that they played very well with him the whole time Ryan and I got our hair done. Ryan got his hair cut for the wedding and I got my color back!! It was fun to try something new for a few months but I just did not feel like myself so I went back dark.

I tried so hard to find my dress I got for the rehersal online and show you a picutre but I could not find it. I will take a picture in it tomorrow and post it. Still no clue what I will do with my hair but I know that most of it will be down. I am hoping to find a really great picture and bring it with me. I love weddings they make me want to renew my vows right away. There are so many great ideas that I have now that I am already married. Maybe I should just plan other peoples weddings in all the spare time that I seem to have. My friend Lacey who is getting married this weekend really does help plan peoples weddings on the side while her real job is teaching Kindergarten. She seems to love it! I know that she has prob. gotten tons of wedding ideas for her wedding! I can't wait to show you pictures from this weekend. I know that it will be a great wedding!

Wishing you a great FRIDAY!
JEN

On the other side of the rainbow

YEAH! Each day is getting better and Carter and I are able to get out and go play this week. Yesterday was a crazy busy day for us and I missed my blogging for the day. I was really bummed when we got home at 11pm last night and just had to go to bed.
We started our day by going and playing at Tiffany's house with her two little boys.Carter really enjoyed his time playing there even though we had to cut it short. It was so cute to see him play with the big boys. Then we were off to see Mason and play in the play in the water. He had a great time and Mason played so well with him. It is going to be so much fun with him getting to grow up with his cousins near by to play with. We went to Allen to hang out last night and have such a great time. By the time we got home Carter was out and had a great day playing and hanging out with mommy and friends.

I am still getting ready for the wedding I am in this weekend. I have not found a hair style that I just think would look great yet but I am still looking.
Tonight Ryan is going to make me a special hamburger that we saw on Man VS food. I have been waiting to have it since the surgery and now that I can eat better not great but better he is going to make it for me. It was on one of the episodes and has cheese cooked inside the burger so when you eat it the cheese flows out. We will see how it goes. I will let you know!

Any special hamburger recipies you love?

Summer is here!!!

Summer is here and this is Carter's Favorite place to hang out!!

Cater and I have started our summer finally! I am not 100% back to normal and from what the Dr. and others who have had this surgery have told me it might take up to 2 months to feel normal again but I am feeling much better! I am able to eat a little more each day. My throat is begining to unswell and the pain is still there but nothing like it has been the past two weeks. Carter and I are going to have fun today just playing around the house and we are going to stop by and visit one of Carter's fav people Mrs. Crystal after nap time.

Here is the little monkey at the water park the day before my surgery.

getting better every day!

The throat is getting better each and every day! I am so glad because I have been sooooo bored in the house and have planned some great things for Carter and I this week. We are going to the splash park with Tiffany and her kids.... the zoo with Aunt Leslie and the cousins.... the water park and Carter will get to spend the night with Grandma Niece on Friday night while Mommy and Daddy go to the wedding rehersal for Lacey and Rodney's wedding this weekend. I can't wait! The dress we are wearing is AWESOME!!!! I am not sure how I am going to get my hair done for the wedding yet but I am getting it back to it's normal color this week sometime. I have enjoyed the change and have loved getting to see what it would be like to have lighter hair again but I have grown into the darker hair and it is just way more me so I am going back! I am thinking I will have it down for the wedding with maybe a little in the front up. I really don't know so if any of you have any suggestions just let me know.

I have misplaced my cord that uploads all my pictures so I am going to work on finding that tomorrow. I have lots of Pictures to upload. I want to do a post on how much Carter has grown since he has turned 1. Today he is 14months old!!! My baby is getting older every day.

Tomorrow will start my summer even though it really started 2 weeks ago. The surgery was rough but I feel like I am on the home stretch now.

Hope everyone had a great Father's Day!!!

one week down.........

and I literaly mean down! I have not left the house since last Tuesday when I went to have my tonsils out. This is the longest hardest recovery that I have ever had to go through. Everyone told me how hard it would be and to expect to be in pain but this is way worse. The first few days were rough but once I hit day 5 it felt like nothing I had felt before. I can hardly swallow but have to drink at least 5 of the huge cups they gave me of water each day. Otherwise I will have to go to the ER. It is hard to stay awake but it is hard to sleep as well. SO.......... I am ready to have this over with and be back to eating. I miss playing with Carter and I do try and play with him for a little while each day. Ryan has been here most of the time. He had to work yesterday and half a day for the rest of the week.
Please pray for me to get better soon!

Another thing must come out

SO after way to many throat issues the Tonsils are coming out. Tomorrow morning is the big day so please please say some prayers for me. I am very nervous about this surgery. Out of all the ones I have had this is the one I am most nervous about. Everyone that I talk with about it says it is way bad!!!!! Prayers are needed!

Carter will be going to my Mom's so Ryan can just take care of me. Poor Ryan. He is not looking forward to this either.

Any tips that you have are great!!!!

End of the year.........

The end of the year is quickly coming to an end at school and things are sure moving along. I have started packing up my classroom a little every day after school so that I won't have to do it all at once. I am dreading having to move all my things. I did not know how much I had gotten over the past 5 years.

Carter and I went to the splash park with Tiffany and one of her little boys on Friday after work and he had the best time! I can not wait until we can go to the water park every day!! He loved the water and did not want to leave when it was time to go home.

Busy as a bee.....

This should be my new saying since it is the end of the school year for me and things just don't slow down. The closer that it gets to the last day of school the busier my days get. I am so excited to say that I have a new job for next year........... I will be teaching in Allen ISD 6th grade!!! God is moving in our lives and we are along for the ride.................

Carter turned 1!!!! He is so much fun these days. He has totally gotten his little personality going on now and I am thinking he is a good combonation of both of us. Laid back like Ryan but loud like me. He is walking and pretty much running now and he is a little follower where ever we go. He has really started playing with his toys now and it is so cute to watch him.
Today I am going to upload pictures and will post them later tonight.
How are things with you?

Cruise 2010

And now back to blogging!

Here are some pictures of our wonderful cruise!!!!!!!!

PS! Guess who is turning 1 tomorrow