molars... and fireworks from God

I have loved seeing everyone's pictures from their amazing 4th of July!

BBQ's, fireworks, parades, picnics, pool parties...SO much fun!

I LOVE the 4th.

The pictures from our 4th are a little different this year.

(my sad little punkin cuddling close)

Abigail's little body decided to finally bring TWO molars to cut through at the same time this week. I've read that its like a constant migraine headache in an adult because

it is so painful.

So along with that came fever, tummy issues, runny nose, major clinginess, no sleep,

and lots of tears.

(if you're a mommy you KNOW molars are no fun for anyone.)

SO, needless to say, we couldn't attend the fun things we had planned.

(esp with a fever in 106 degree heat outside. yes, 106.)

As with many days (ahem, EVERY day) of being a mommy,

sacrifices had to be made for the benefit of our little one.

But I at least managed to get a pic of her in her super cute 4th outfit...

trying on mama's flip-flops, one of the few happy moments of the day!

I was so disappointed we couldn't go see fireworks as a family...

I just knew A would LOVE them!

But we made the decision to put her down when she needed to sleep and

just wait til next year.

But God wanted to give us a little gift.

(just because!)

Abigail happened to rouse a little bit in bed right as we heard some fireworks from our house.

Parker went to get her and brought her in to the guest bedroom window...

where we got to watch a 20 minute magnificent fireworks show.

up close. out of the heat. in our PJ's. as a family.

Oh, and God didn't stop there...because we are in a two story house near the top of a hill,

we got to see not one, not two, but SIX fireworks shows going on all around us,

in our town and the nearby towns!

Parker and I were like little kids running from window to window trying to see the best ones.

SO. It turned out to be a great 4th! a little different than most.

A day of molars and tears, instead of picnics and parades.

But a night of cuddling and fireworks....just what we needed!

so for now,

we will push through the next few days of painful teething and

hopefully do lots of cuddling and resting with our bums in the air. :)

PS....

I am hosting an awesome little GIVEAWAY tomorrow (Wednesday)!!!

It's my first one ever and Im SO excited!!

Be sure to check back in and enter!!!

sharing a cup of coffee with other ladies over here today...

<

tuesday coffee date!

its Tuesday...time for our coffee date!

(or tea or coke, whatever floats your boat!)

If we were meeting for coffee today, I would tell you that Im tired but thankful today.

Woke up to nurse Abigail at 6:30 then couldn't go back to sleep like I usually do,

so I got up while she kept sleeping, and had my new favorite breakfast...

granola with vanilla yogurt and sliced strawberries.

SO yummy.

I ate a bowl and turned some worship music on and just sat on the couch,

tried to just BE STILL.

Prayed for the day, for my loves, and for peace.

Also read Psalm 37 and was reminded of how God has promised us so much

as His children.

If we were meeting up today, Id also tell you that yesterday marked 8 years since

Parker asked me to be his bride.

best. yes. ever.

I cannot believe how time has flown, and how much we have changed and

grown over the last 8 years.

(we will celebrate 8 years of marriage in August, wow!)

I love remembering the day he asked.

It was magical and full of love.

Im so thankful God gave me him.

I couldn't have imagined back then what a

beautiful little treasure we would be raising together.

Id also tell you that I have finally decorated for Easter and Spring!

I'm so inspired by the amazing ladies in blog land...

I have so many ideas and desires to try soon!

I am blown away by the beautiful decorating ideas floating around out there,

most of them homemade.

...but have to use what we've already got for now!

Did you know that I collected bunnies (anything bunny) when I was little?

I mean like, there are several large boxes of bunnies my mom just

passed to me from their attic.

cloth bunnies, paper bunnies, bunny statues, stuffed bunnies....

I was obsessed.

But it makes for some fun Easter decor.

I will share some more of my "personally vintage" bunnies on another post. :)

I also turned a silverware basket into an Easter decoration.

I just put some shredded paper in the bottom, candles on one side,

and pretty eggs on the other. it looks so cute and simple on my table.

hey, I'm trying. :)

Oh, and before we go, I have to tell you about Abigail's new favorite thing to do.

She loves to look at the duckies at the mall!

There is a tiny pond in the middle of the mall with ducks and turtles in it.

She is obsessed. Im wondering if we may be headed towards a collection of ducky stuff to go with all my bunnies.

Its the cutest thing...she goes crazy, pointing and giggling, even a little excited grunting.

The girl loves those duckies with a passion and everyone in the mall knows it.

We will go see them again tomorrow and I cant wait!

OK well I loved having coffee with you today.

Thanks for listening to me, whats up with you today?

Ive got a lot on my heart this week so maybe you can stop by again soon.

Be Blessed!!

for some more coffee today, visit here:

some afternoon caffeine...

I know its a little past "coffee time",

but hey, who couldn't use a little mid-afternoon caffeine kick?!

I myself am enjoying a Coke Zero right now, my new favorite attempt to cut down on sugar.

makes me feel better about the bowl of chocolate ice cream with chocolate syrup I ate after lunch (yes, you read it right)....lets just say its that lady time for me,

so I feel completely justified.

If we were meeting for cokes this afternoon, I'd tell you that even though I'm sad it got cold again (its supposed to be Spring!), Im kind of glad because I really don't have many short-sleeved clothes right now. Hoping to be able to get some soon, depending on $.

Speaking of $, the Lord is reminding me this week about the amazing ways HE has provided for us. In our times of having almost nothing, He has always come through. ALWAYS. It has sometimes been in the form of a gift from friends (we had some precious friends buy us a brand new dryer when ours went out and we had no money), or as an anonymous check (lots of stories about that), or even just an unexpected payment from a client. I am forever thankful for the people He has used in our life and for the supernatural ways He has provided for us.

(we literally had coolant appear in our car after several days of no AC, and no money to fix it, in hot August a few years ago...I will blog about that story someday soon)

all that to say, GOD IS GOOD. He NEVER fails us.

Our ever-so-deceitful enemy always tries to make us fear.

but....

HE is our Protector and Provider.

always.

On to lighter things, if we were sharing cokes this afternoon, Id tell you that i have LOVED watching my little girl play with my My Little Ponies that I had as a girl.

My mom busted a few of my fav ponies out the other day,

and I just had to pass them to Abigail!

SO cute and such a neat feeling to watch her play with something I enjoyed so much myself.

(sad thing is that several of my ponies used to be "scratch n sniff",

but now they just smell kindof old) :(

but regardless, SO fun!

Id also tell you that I redid a little area in the back of our house to be a play place for Abigail, now that she's getting bigger.

Its not much, I just used things we already had,

but tried my best to make it feel girly and fun for her.

Her own space.

So it MELTED my heart when the first morning after I set it up, she walked back there immediately after getting her up and was SO excited to play in her new space!

Speaking of her play place, little princess just woke up from her nap and I am being summoned to play. Glad I just had some caffeine with you! :)

Hope to catch up a little more and share more soon.

Have a blessed day!!

for some more coke or coffee,

visit here...

<

lets meet for coffee...

Mornin Ya'll! (yes, Im from Texas!)

This morning I am sitting down to enjoy a cup of coffee with you!

(well really a small soy chi tea latte... i don't drink coffee)

What are you having? do you drink coffee?

Dont know why I dont like coffee, I just dont,

but I am always up for a sweet something like chi tea or a delish white chocolate drink!

If we were meeting for coffee, or tea, today, I'd tell you that the weather is kindof weird this morning, nice and cool, but Im wanting it to be a little warmer.

its kindof cloudy, but don't see any rain yet!

Id tell you that this morning I've been listening to a new playlist I just made called "rest and worship". It has been really good for me as it really settles me and allows me to rest in Him, at least for that moment. How I long to allow more rest in my life. Real rest.

Believing God kind of rest. Knowing HE is in control kind of rest.

I know its there for me, I just tend to take the reigns and exhaust myself instead of just trusting Him. Hoping to have a little rest time today.

Id also tell you that I dropped Abigail off at MDO this morning. Im glad for the 5 hour break, but I also miss it when I don't have my usual sidekick around all day long.

She was so excited to go...she missed 2 weeks because of a cold, and then last week was spring break, so I know it'll be good for her today! She started walking since she's been to school, so I think today will be extra fun as she's able to explore and play on a whole new level...So happy for her!

On that note, I LOVE having a little walker around! My favorite part of her being a wobbly walker is the arms. They just seem to kindof flail and move as she learns to balance herself.

SO stinking cute.

Speaking of my little bug, she will be 15 months on Thursday! I know, I cant believe it either!

Seems like just yesterday that she was born on that snowy Christmas Eve.

Its been by far the best 15 months of my life, and I will blog about that on Thursday!

I love looking at old pics of how little she was. So sweet.

If we were meeting for a cup, I would tell you that I really should be going for a run or cleaning out closets today while Abigail is gone, but Im still working on the motivation for both of those things. Just feeling kindof tired today.

But maybe this tea will help!

I would also ask you to pray for our little family as God seems to be guiding us into a new season. Ill save details for the next time we meet, as it would be a whole other convo (or post). :)

Just pray for peace and guidance as we trust His plan and His leading.

Thanks for listening to me talk! Whats going on with you today? How can I lift you up in prayer right now? Just want to tell you that God's in control. He really is. Lets encourage each other with that, and help each other remember that He carries us and our burdens.

He makes our load light.

I've so enjoyed this time with you! Hope we can do it again soon...maybe next week?

OK, Have a blessed day!

If you need another cup of coffee today (it might be one of those days, right?), head over here...