A SWEET end to a PERFECT weekend!

This weekend Adam and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. We went to Austin, the city we lived in when we were first married. We stopped at all of our old favorite hang outs, reminisced about all the amazing memories we shared there and dreamed of moving back one day...ahhhh Austin is a special place and Austin just seems to represent part of who we are.
t is a fun, down to earth, active, adventurous, city. The people are just so special, no pretense, very relational, genuine and inclusive. There is a unique spirit of unity about the people/city that I haven't seen anywhere else and I have lived a lot of places.
Below is a list of some of the things we did:

Hyde Park Grill: This was and is one of our very favorite places to eat in Austin, we used to eat here at least once a week. It is in a really old house in Hyde Park and is famous for their fries and fresh yummy food. Adam and I had a good time sipping Mimosa's and chatting about life.



4 Season's Hotel: the best location, great service, lush grounds overlooking the lake, comfortable beds, comfy robes, fresh squeezed lemonade, chocolate trays, chimenea's and hammocks, amazing spa, a salt water pool, good drinks at happy hour. We enjoyed it all!
The beautiful pool Yummy Chocolate plate in our room

Dessert: I don't think you could find anyone else who loves dessert like I do. Amy's Ice Cream has some of my favorite ice cream anywhere. We walked about 2 miles across S. Congress Bridge to get some and then we turned around and had smores at The Four Season's another 2 mile walk back. The distance I will go for good ice cream. Yumminess!

Park Benches: Adam loves cities and Austin is growing like crazy. We walked around and checked out all of the new development, mostly mixed use loft style housing. There were lots of cool new shops and restaurants to explore. We found a good little park bench and just enjoyed the view and conversation.

2nd Street District: This area was within walking distance to our hotel and is where one of our best friends Jake used to live. It was fun to explore again and see how much everything had changed.

Lambert's: I am not usually a bar-b-que person but Austin has some of the best bar-b-que anywhere. We had dinner at Lambert's an upscale bar-b-que place that has a really cool vintage vibe. It is located in an old warehouse style building that was built in 1873. I love the decor and the old Chicago style brick. We ate the worlds best corn muffins, and shared the Brown Sugar and Coffee Rubbed Brisket. Goodness!



Town Lake: Town Lake is in the heart of downtown Austin and we watched the fireworks over the lake. It was beautiful! We loved watching the hundreds of kayakers on the lake, they had the best view by far. We also walked past a dude selling Michael Jackson t-shirts out of his old school Adidas bag haha. It wouldn't be Austin without the weirdo's. I almost bought one but Adam put his foot down.



Jo's Coffee: We ate breakfast at our favorite little coffee shop and enjoyed their iced turbo's and breakfast tacos. We sat outside at the bar and met a cute little labradoodle named Joey....very fitting huh =) We saw one of the actors from Friday Night Lights. So funny cause we saw him the last time we were there. He must love this place as much as we do.


The weekend couldn't have been any better. Thanks to my hubby for planning such a romantic, thoughtful and much needed get away. We enjoyed our time together, and were very thankful for the grandparents who babysat. We arrived home to see the most beautiful sunset from our patio. Adam got some great pics.




We thank God for his goodness to us through so many seasons both difficult and good and look forward to what lies ahead over the next 50 years together. I love you hubs!

Father's Day and Grandfather's Day

Dad- Congrats! This is your first Grandfather's Day and your 27th Father's Day. You have been and continue to be an amazing father to me. Thanks for giving me sound advice, wisdom and direction through the years. Thanks for always telling me how much you love me and how proud you are of me. Thanks for encouraging me to strive for greatness and to not accept mediocrity. Thanks for teaching me that relationships count and that I should never compromise my integrity. Thanks for teaching me strength, endurance, ambition, and perserverance and for helping to shape me into a confident and optomistic women who loves the Lord. I love you and thank God that your my dad and Harper is blessed to call you her favorite grandpa Mike.
Adam- It has been so much fun to watch you be a daddy. You are patient, caring, kind, sweet, intentional, loving, fun and a great role model for Harper. Thanks for putting her first and for making an effort to engage with her every day. I know that she will grow up to respect and honor you because of your faithfulness to God. She is blessed to call you her father!

What would life be like with 3?

A few weeks ago 2 of my best friends came to visit us and brought their sweet babies Crew and Adley (16 months old). Our husbands were out golfing and we were at home playing with the babies. Things were going great, all the babies were having fun and enjoying one another. Around 7:00PM things started to go south quickly =). Out of desperation haha (am I exagerating a bit?) We decided that it would be fun to throw all the kiddos in the bath tub. They were having a grand old time splashing and playing. We got them out of the tub and then decided to keep them contained in my bedroom until our husbands got home. As you can see we tried to make light of the situation and decided to act as photographers for the new reality show " America's Next Top Baby Model." As you can see we got some funny pictures of the three of them together. For a second I got a glimpse of what life would be like with 3 babies under 2. Fun, Crazy, and Entertaining to say the least!

Organic Food Local Co-Op

My mom has been researching organic food and healthy eating for about 10 years now. She recently gave me a book called Gorgeously Green and it discusses the benefits to living and eating naturally and eco-friendly. When she first gave me the book I was like yeah right mom this is such the "in" thing to do right now and wasn't sure if I believed the hype.

The more I have read the more my eyes have been opened to the use of harmful pesticides and nitrates in our foods. I am encouraged and moved to eat better and be a better steward of the land that God has given to us.

We are on a budget like lots of other young families and eating organic foods can be expensive. Adam and I started researching local co-ops that you can purchase locally grown organic products from. We were surprised to find that there is one right here in the Dallas area called The Movement Dallas. You can check out their website here: http://themovementdallas.wordpress.com/

They charge $25 a year member fee and then you pay $50 for each share/bundle of produce. You pick up your produce every other week and it is seasonal fresh organic fruits and veggies. Here is a list of the recent share/bundle. It appears to be a ton of food for $50. You can also purchase meets, cheeses, and dairy products as well. We will definately have to learn how to cook with these seasonal ingrediants but are looking forward to trying it out.

Basic Share $50
Beets 1 bunch
Broccoli 1 bunch
Cabbage, Green 1
Carrots 2 lb bag
Garlic, White 2-3 heads
Lettuce, Red Leaf 2
Onions, Yellow 3 lb bag
Peppers, Bell, Green 1 lb
Potatoes, Yukon Gold 3 lb bag
Spinach 2 bunches
Tomatoes (Regular) 1lb or 2 ct
Banana, Green 3.5-4 lbs
Grapes, Seedless, Green 1 bag (approx. 2 lbs)
Melons, Cantaloupe 1
Peaches 5-6 ct
Plums, Black & Red 1 lb

Harper 9 months

Harper was 9 months old last week and she continues to AMAZE me. She weighed 18 pounds at her check up and is in the 45% now for height and weight.

* She loves new faces and puts on a show for most anyone that shows her attention
* She loves to move around on her tummy yet isn't officially crawling yet
* She loves her highchair and has been feeding herself finger foods for the last month (she loves bananas, cheerios, strawberries, cheese, chicken)
* She enjoys the pool and likes to splash in the water
* She laughs out loud and sometimes hysterically
* She pulls herself up on furniture
* She loves to be read to and loves being around other kids/babies

My Knight in Shining Armor is the BIG 28

Today is Adam's 28th Birthday. It is hard to believe how fast time has gone. We met each other in college when we were just 19 years old, fresh out of highschool. A lot has changed since then and life just gets sweeter each year. I love you Adam, I love growing older with you. Happy Birthday Hubs!

What God is doing....In Me

So lately we have been so busy with friends in town, family get togethers, graduation celebrations, birthday parties etc. I haven't spent as much time with the Lord lately and I can tell and I know that others can tell too. My attitude has been a little negative and I have definately felt frustrated, and weary at times lately. I tend to get in this cycle and it is a hard thing to break.

Our life feels balanced and then I allow appointments, friendships, my own demands, and desires to throw things off kilter. I have a really hard time opperating in the middle. Things in my life tend to be all or nothing. I am working on trying to consitantly maintain balance and boundaries in my life. I know this is something that I will always be working on. I usually get to a breaking point and then take a few days to rest and relax before I am at it again ahhhh. I admit I am EXHAUSTING at times =)

I know that God wants me to have balance in all areas of my life and I have seen the ways that he is changing and growing my heart. I struggle with wanting to fix things for others, wanting others approval, chasing the desires of this world (material possessions), not wanting to miss out on anything and I know that many of these things take up much of my time.

I believe though and have HOPE that God is changing me. Over the last few months God has consistantly brought this verse to my mind over and over again.


Ezekiel 36
I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and to be careful to keep my laws.

I love this verse because it gives me great HOPE. I know that I am far from perfect and I know that God is perfect and that he can bridge the gap in my heart, He can bridge my insecurities, and my faults.

I so often pray that God is giving me a new heart and a new spirit inside me and that I am following his decrees more closely today than I was yesterday or a year ago or 5 years ago. I don't want to be the same. I constantly want to be changed, to be better, to be more loving, generous, kind, faithful, caring, thoughtful, quiet hearted, a better listener, and a more teachable person.

Thank you Lord for the work you have done in my selfish heart. I pray that you would continue that work until completion, until the day I get to see your face. You are a good God.

There are days that I get down on myself and the fact that my struggles and faults are so apparant but then I am reminded that that is why I need you in my life. Thank you for your grace and your patience and your willingness to love me where I am.