Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2

Look the little tribe of Benjamin leads the way. Psalm 68:27

Our Family

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"In everything you do, put God first and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success."
Proverbs 3:6

Sunday, October 26, 2014

We ♡ our 8 month old



This sweet little gal was 8 months old on the 15th! Sorry your mommy is behind on documenting. You love to giggle and talk. You are in motion non stop it seems. Eating so many new things and always willing to taste test. This whole family loves you Kenzie Pie!


Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Date time

who knew that we would have to do more planning to get a date night than our wedding? 
We enjoyed time stand up paddle boarding for our latest adventure. 

gratitude walk day 11

Today I am thankful for......
☆women of faith
☆awesome worship 
☆a 30 minute nap
☆me time at kickball 
☆early bedtime 

Monday, October 13, 2014

my original

My original pretty princess had a birthday party to attend this weekend. I think it's safe to say that she was frozen with excitement! 

gratitude walk: days 8,9, & 10

So getting caught up. ....
I am grateful for :
☆Sports that my kids seem to enjoy
☆volunteers that teach my kids those sports
☆a night at home with the kids
☆being able to freely worship 
☆my hubby coming home from his men's weekend 
☆family hikes
☆the ability to play with my kids
☆a pool day in mid October 
☆being able to wish my dad a happy birthday! 

Friday, October 10, 2014

Random shots from the past few days

shopping is exhausting! 

My baby girl is getting so big and squirmy!


My oldest baby is still a pretty girl. 13.5 years old


hands free mama

I finally started my journal with Kendall Bug. I  admit I was skeptical when I read it in Hands free mama but so far writing each other has been pretty fun. I am hoping to incorporate it into my life and schedule for all the kids too.
Stay tuned for more details after we have been doing it longer!

Gratitude walk: day 6 & 7

Ok so yesterday I  missed but for good reason!  So I am grateful yesterday and today for......
♡growth  (life) group
☆yummy desserts with friends 
♡laughter 
☆learning more about God's word
♡an impromptu lunch date with Ben
☆a husband who enjoys doing manly activities with Christian men
♡a church who knows how important it is to get men together 
☆early bedtime 

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

play hard, sleep hard

This girl is a force of nature.  I love her very big personality and how she keeps me on my toes.

Gratitude walk day 5

Today I am grateful for friends. 

Beautiful

Love all the beautiful weather and scenes the past few weeks! Two of these bushes outside our front porch.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

gratitude walk: day 4

Today I am thankful for crockpots, good food, and the people that I share them with. I'm  grateful for a husband who juggles his schedule to help out at the house.
Thankful for the ability to run and play kickball.  It may seem funny but hey I am lapping everyone sitting on the couch! And last but not least,  I am grateful for the Tuesday morning Women of Faith group that I belong to.

Monday, October 6, 2014

curls

Love this sweet helper of mine and her love of curly hair.

gratitude walk day 3

So tired tonight but I don't want to miss a day!
Today I am thankful for dirty rings in the tub because it means the kids have been outside making memories. 
It also means we have clean water to bathe in.
Grateful for a long overdue breakfast with a friend. 
Kymber's  giggles.
Kendall's face when she dances.
Morning  conversations with Isaac.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Fantastic Foursome

For our non Facebook family and friends.... I love when they play so well together!

"S" for sweet sleep

Kenzie at 7.5 months old dreaming of a Texas A&M victory! 

gratitude walk: day 2

You thought I forgot  already didn't  you! I  didn't I promise. 
Today I am grateful for a fun date day yesterday with my love. Some day (in the not so distant future) we are going to be a couple with grown kids. I want to know Ben and have already invested the time into staying a couple and doing things with each other.
 I am thankful that he pushes me out of my comfort zone and to do new things. 
I am grateful for a place to  worship and pursue my relationship with my Savior. 
Thankful for the ability to run and compete in sports.
Have you started your gratitude walk yet? No?!? Go start now!

Saturday, October 4, 2014

gratitude walk

One of our lead pastors encouraged us last week to complete a gratitude challenge. I like the idea of a gratitude walk but I get distracted easily and I learn better from concrete exercises. So here I am. For those that are annoyed by the daily gratitude challenges in November, I am going to warn you know that I am shooting for 3 months of daily thankful statements.
I am making it public to hold me accountable and on the blog so it is included in our daily life for my family to reflect on.
So here goes......
Today I am grateful for Kenzie. In the early morning hours (0420) when she woke up today,  I was thinking just how blessed I was to be her mommy. I never knew I wanted her and can't imagine life without her. Her adorable grin is there to greet me 99% of the time and her baby enthusiasm is hard not to giggle at. I have far too many friends who have lost precious children and even more who were never able to have them, not to realize what a precious gift she is to me.
So day 1 is complete. Here is my challenge to you.....join me on my gratitude walk and see what it changes in your life!

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Marriage Advice for my kiddos

Marriage is giving of yourself tirelessly down paths you’d never imagine to travel. Through sickness and pain, poverty and loss, it’s carrying the weight of another. It’s being the smile they see in the morning, and the body they hold close at night. It’s pure love. It’s standing together in the face of adversity. It’s riding alongside each other in a battle that threatens to tear down your marriage and seeks to grab hold of your faith. It’s strength under pressure.
~TimeWarpWife

I read this in my devotional a few days ago and wanted to make sure to blog it for our family journal. It is great wisdom my sweet kiddos. Don't ever forget it or take it for granted.
You don't always have to agree on every small thing but as long as you are on  the same page for your big picture you can make it through those battles.
Love,
Mom

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Love them with all my mama heart

These were supposed to be their homecoming outfits.....we turned them into 4th of July fun! These kiddos are so much fun....

My girls

The making of a picture

Trying to get all 4 kiddos looking good in 1 picture is quite a feat! I appreciate what photographers go through and why I like to photograph nature more than people.
This is the best one I got.....
The out takes......


Baby snuggles

She doesn't want to nap so we are making some memories.....


Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Redneck babysitter

Ever been so desperate for a shower that you use the baby tub to keep the baby entertained while you soap up? Yeah that was me today!

New hair-do

I can't believe my sweet Kymber Roo has enough hair to sport a side pony tail! I also cannot believe that she looks like a big kid not a toddler now!

Friday, July 18, 2014

Welcome home: part 1

Little did we know that our trip to the airport was going to be our official homecoming instead of R&R. I'm glad that the kids talked me into letting them get dressed up for the occasion.
These are the pictures from my phone with more to come from our good camera.















Rolling along

Guess who rolled over for the first time yesterday?

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Ben's view: Bell's palsy 2

Another update for those that have been asking.....
Ben is doing better. His speech is less slurred, he has a little movement in his face, and he can slightly close his eye. He is on his second round of steroids and anti-virals. The lymes test was negative. So no antibiotics at this time. He has referrals to an ENT & an audiologist upon arrival back to California.
He still has hearing sensitivity to loud noises.
Mostly the physician was hopeful with the improvements that he has made so far.  
We appreciate all the messages, love, and prayers. I will try to update again as he progresses!

5 months old

Kenzie was 5 months old yesterday. Our sweet girl appears to be teething. Lots of drool and stuffing anything and everything into her mouth! She has almost mastered rolling over and she is scooting around.
She is wearing her anchors away outfit in these pictures yesterday in honor of Uncle Daniel leaving for his next deployment.


Saturday, June 28, 2014

Ben's view: Bell's Palsy

I've put off writing this post for several reasons.....
1. Ben's not quite the shareholic that I am on social media.
2. We weren't sure what this would mean for his return to Afghanistan.
A week ago today, we went out on a double date with Ben's little brother, Daniel, and his wife. During our date, Ben began to complain of his lips and right cheek feeling "numb." I immediately thought he might be allergic to something but we finished our date with no other problems besides the "numbness." 
We got up on Sunday morning and Ben asked me if his eye looked funny. His right eye was indeed swollen and bulging a bit. We were then speculating on a bite of some kind. Ben began to have difficulty eating and drinking on the right side of his mouth. We went to church. By the end of church, Ben had a significant right side facial droop, slurring of his speech, right sided hearing sensitivity, and his right eye would not close at all.
We traveled to the ER at this time. I was concerned it was either a stroke or Bell's palsy.
Thankfully, it was Bell's palsy and we had family in town. Ben's mom and aunt took the kids home so I could be there with him. Daniel and Tina stayed there at the hospital with us. A huge thank-you to the Perry family who also stopped to see if I needed them to take the kiddos.
They immediately diagnosed him with Bell's Palsy. On visits to the doctor after the ER, they ran a blood test to check for Lymes Disease. (Sometimes thought to be a cause of Bell's palsy.)
What is Bell's palsy? Well it's a virus that is not uncommon but there is no known cause for it. 
It is the paralysis of (usually one side) the cranial nerve that controls the face. It typically resolves 3 weeks to a few months after the initial onset.
The ER doc suggested stress may have played a factor but again we have no idea what brought it on. That brings us to a week out from his initial symptoms.
Ben has been treated with prednisone (a steroid) which is the only medicine that has proven to help with symptom improvement. He is also on anti-virals which are standardly given but have not been proven to provide any relief. (Better safe than sorry!!) 
The biggest treatment right now has been his eye drops and a thick gel that he uses at night. His eye will not close on it's own. He has to manually close it or tape it down. Obviously he is being extremely careful with it so he doesn't damage his eye/eyesight. The eye doesn't bulge as much but still will not close. It is light sensitive and obviously irritated from the inability to blink and rehydrate on it's own.
It is hard sometimes to understand exactly what Ben is saying but hopefully that will improve as well!
It appears that Ben will not be returning to Afghanistan. It is hard to be excited to have him home for good under the circumstances but I am beyond grateful that he was here in the US when it happened and for the medical care he has received so far.
We appreciate your prayers for continued healing and I will try to update as he progresses.

So grateful for this man. Even though he is uncomfortable and obviously has some eating/drinking deficits, he has kept his sense of humor through it all. I am sure at some point it will make sense why this happened but for now I am glad that he can laugh despite the circumstances.

4 months

Kenzie pie, or KJ, or baby girl was 4 months old on June 15th!


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Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

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