"A praying life isn't simply a morning prayer time; it is about slipping into prayer at odd hours of the day, not because we are disciplined but because we are in touch with our own poverty of spirit, realizing that we can't even walk through a mall or our neighborhood without the help of the Spirit of Jesus."
Paul Miller in A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World
That's were I'm at and that's where my heart is. I can't last 5 minutes into my day without Him. It's hard but such a good place to be. Needy. Yep, feeling very needy.
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Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
School's Out!
Today was Holden's last day of school. I love his little school. Have I mentioned that before? :) We are going to miss this place. After recently looking at some other programs, I've come to realize that maybe I've been spoiled by this place. The great set-up, curriculum, teachers, SECURITY (I'm a bit of a secrutiy FREAK when it comes to dropping off my boys somewhere!). But I've found a little school for next year and I'm hoping it will be another perfect fit. So I just need to bite the bullet and enroll them before they no longer have space for us. I'm just realizing that it's hard to let go of a place that's become so comfortable and positive for my Holden (and for me!). Oh school (that I will not mention the name of because of my security-freak-tendencies), we are going to miss everything about you!And here is a picture of Holden, Ms. Marilyn and Ms. Shelly on his last day of school!
And as a little flashback, here was his first day of school this year. And here was his last day school last year. He's changed and grown so much!
And as a little flashback, here was his first day of school this year. And here was his last day school last year. He's changed and grown so much!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Organic Co-op
A friend recently told me about the organic co-op she had joined. Here is where she directed me, which is basically just for the DFW metroplex. There are a gazillion in the metro, so you just have to find the one closest to you. And our co-op is only a 2 mile drive away! So for 6 weeks, we're trying it out. We pick up our fruits and veggies every other Tuesday. I think we might need to add an extra fruit share, which I can easily do later. But for $25 (since we opted for a half share rather than a whole) we received the following.
1 head of lettuce, 1 head of bok choy, 1 head of broccoli, 2 cucumbers, 3 roma tomatoes, 6 carrots, 7 potatoes, a bunch of cilantro, 3 green onions, about 1 cup of green beans, 6oz blueberries, 4 bananas, 3 apples and 1 cantelope. And obviously it's all organic. I think that seems like a pretty good deal. But if you just whipped out your calculator, you may decide otherwise. To be honest, I'm not a great price watcher. I mean, when Sprouts has grapefruit for 11 cents each, I know that is a fabulous deal. But alot of times I just buy what's on sale and what we need. But I haven't been buying much organic fruits and veggies because of the significant price increase. But this house has been inhaling tons of produce and probably with some pesticides along the way. So no more pesticides. We're trying this out. And I'm pretty excited about it!
1 head of lettuce, 1 head of bok choy, 1 head of broccoli, 2 cucumbers, 3 roma tomatoes, 6 carrots, 7 potatoes, a bunch of cilantro, 3 green onions, about 1 cup of green beans, 6oz blueberries, 4 bananas, 3 apples and 1 cantelope. And obviously it's all organic. I think that seems like a pretty good deal. But if you just whipped out your calculator, you may decide otherwise. To be honest, I'm not a great price watcher. I mean, when Sprouts has grapefruit for 11 cents each, I know that is a fabulous deal. But alot of times I just buy what's on sale and what we need. But I haven't been buying much organic fruits and veggies because of the significant price increase. But this house has been inhaling tons of produce and probably with some pesticides along the way. So no more pesticides. We're trying this out. And I'm pretty excited about it!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Busy Week!
Last week was a busy one. Not at all busy by most people's standards. But a little busy for us. Thursday Holden finished swim lessons. I thought we were only on week 3, but last week was week 4. So now they are over. And I'm pretty sure he would still drown if he fell in the water. So I'm not going to sign him up for swim team anytime soon. :) But Ms. Jennifer said he made lots of improvements. This time I was smart and let Pax play in the water during the 30 minute lesson. He likes the water, but doesn't LOVE it like Holden. As we all know by now, Holden takes it to a whole other level.
On Friday, I kept 2 little boys for a friend. I used the television to help me entertain. :)
On Saturday we drove to the other side of the metro and got to spend some time with M, Pax's birthmom and her family.
They even shared a strawberry icecream cone.
This was even after I mentioned that he wasn't crazy about icecream. He sure made me look like a dummy. Maybe he prefers it in a cone??? No idea. Before Saturday, I thought he didn't like the coldness.
And on Sunday we hosted a cookout for our church cell group. It was nice weather. Maybe not hot enough to break out the pool, since a storm was rolling in. But we did it anyways. Look at all these little boys! 
On Friday, I kept 2 little boys for a friend. I used the television to help me entertain. :)
On Saturday we drove to the other side of the metro and got to spend some time with M, Pax's birthmom and her family.
They even shared a strawberry icecream cone.
This was even after I mentioned that he wasn't crazy about icecream. He sure made me look like a dummy. Maybe he prefers it in a cone??? No idea. Before Saturday, I thought he didn't like the coldness.
And on Sunday we hosted a cookout for our church cell group. It was nice weather. Maybe not hot enough to break out the pool, since a storm was rolling in. But we did it anyways. Look at all these little boys! 
Holden's "performance".
Last Wednesday I was invited to Holden's school to observe his class during Music and Spanish time. It was a quick 30 minutes, but I loved seeing a little bit of what he does each week at school. I was completely prepared for the fact that he might not be his typical school-boy self with his mommy in the room. And I was right about that part. But it was still fun to watch, even if he acted a bit silly for me.
Music class:
Spanish class:
I have to say that I'm amazed what Holden has learned in Spanish class. To be honest, his class sat quietly, while Holden and his teacher showed off their Spanish skills. I recognized months ago that he knew his numbers (1-10). But he has also been working on his colors, days of the week and other things. This is something I want to continue to work on so his little brain doesn't lose this new knowledge. I can even hear him attempt to roll his "R" just like Ms. Es, his sweet teacher. It's cute!
I love this little school! Holden has been here 1 day per week since he was 18months. So I'm a little bit sad that neither of the boys will attend there next year. And the only reason being, that I would have to commit to 2 days per week for both boys and I'm just not ready for that. But I think that I may have found us a new school where they can go only 1 day per week. I will know for sure tomorrow!
We were told not to bring siblings last Wednesday which made things a little tricky. But I was able to drop of Pax with Lauren since it was a short little diddy. I wasn't sure how he would handle the drop off since it was a new environment and he leans towards being a mommy's boy. There were no tears at all. And Lauren reported back to me that they had a fun time of playing "pull the slinky and let it go" and also coloring. Thanks Lauren for watching Pax on such short notice.
Looks like he was well-loved and cared for!
Music class:
Spanish class:
I have to say that I'm amazed what Holden has learned in Spanish class. To be honest, his class sat quietly, while Holden and his teacher showed off their Spanish skills. I recognized months ago that he knew his numbers (1-10). But he has also been working on his colors, days of the week and other things. This is something I want to continue to work on so his little brain doesn't lose this new knowledge. I can even hear him attempt to roll his "R" just like Ms. Es, his sweet teacher. It's cute!I love this little school! Holden has been here 1 day per week since he was 18months. So I'm a little bit sad that neither of the boys will attend there next year. And the only reason being, that I would have to commit to 2 days per week for both boys and I'm just not ready for that. But I think that I may have found us a new school where they can go only 1 day per week. I will know for sure tomorrow!
We were told not to bring siblings last Wednesday which made things a little tricky. But I was able to drop of Pax with Lauren since it was a short little diddy. I wasn't sure how he would handle the drop off since it was a new environment and he leans towards being a mommy's boy. There were no tears at all. And Lauren reported back to me that they had a fun time of playing "pull the slinky and let it go" and also coloring. Thanks Lauren for watching Pax on such short notice.
Looks like he was well-loved and cared for!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Family Vacay (part 2 of 2)
On our last full day in San Antonio, we ventured across the highway (only a 5 minute drive away) to Sea World. The weather was absolutely perfect all day long! With Holden's passionate obsession of all things water, I had a hunch he would love it. I didn't realize that we could have brought the boys swim shorts and they could have had their own water fun at the park. So we weren't prepared for that. But with all of the water fun at the hotel, it was perfectly fine that we stayed dry one day. It had been since our childhood since either Jeremy or I had been to Sea World. We both agreed that it had changed and grown so much. It ended up being the perfect outing for our little boys. And I had alot of fun seeing them experience so much fun! 
I wasn't trying to match my little boys. But I wanted them to wear fish shirts. You know, being at Sea World and all. I noticed every other mother had that same idea. :) So both of their fish shirts just happened to be green w/navy stiching. Weird. Oh well.
We had some time to kill before we could see Shamu and the seal's show. So we started out with a 4D Sesame Street show. There was thunder in the show. And it was loud like most movie theatres tend to be. At the point of thunder, which was early on, Holden took off his glasses and turned around in Jeremy's lap where he couldn't see the screen for the rest of the show. Pax just thought the glasses were annoying and refused to wear them. Which is terrible because that little boy LOVES Elmo. And Elmo was literally 2 feet away from our faces (with glasses on). :)
Next up, we had some lunch and the boys played on the nearby playground. My once timid little boy is finally becoming brave in play area like these.
Finally it was time to see the Shamu and the killer whales. The boys sat and watched in amazement. It was so much fun to see the looks on their faces.
From my childhood memory, I remembered Shamu much bigger than what she was this time. Though I'm sure the killer whales aren't smaller these days. It's just funny how as a child those creatures seem enormous. And I've carried around this distorted image in my head for years. Not that they were tiny, by any means. And I would NOT be willing to ever jump in the tank with them.
After the amazement of the killer whales, we headed to Sesame Street's Bay of Play at Sea World. We rode some rides:
Holden road this little roller coaster several times. Pax was not tall enough to ride. So Jeremy and I took turns taking Holden, while Pax patiently waited.
Here you can see Holden and I in the 4th cart waving. He was so brave to let go and hold his arms up in the air with his daddy. Cute! :)
And then it was off to the horseys (as the boys called the carousel). :) Pax rode these over and over at times when Holden rode the roller coaster. 
Here Pax is pretending that the blue horse is trying to bite his hand. He really is a funny kid. :)
Later we rested for a funny seal and walrus show. See this cute picture and this smiling boy? Well apparently he was tired. Right after this picture, he laid his head on my chest and slept through the entire show.
We left the park around 5:30pm. Neither of the boys had a nap (except for the cat nap Holden took) and they did so well that day. But by the end of it, they were done and were ready to go. I tried to get a picture in front of Sea World right before we left. Bad idea. They were over it and were not willing to look at me, much less smile.
It was a great day and Sea World was such a fun place for the boys. This entire trip will defintely need to be repeated in the near future.
The next day, we packed up our belongings to head home. Ho-hum (said sounding very sad), I wasn't ready to leave all of the fun. But since Jeremy wanted to remain employed, we had to come back. Here the boys are posing for me one more time before we left the hotel.
It was such a fun getaway. And we had 6 solid days of family time. Can't beat that!
I wasn't trying to match my little boys. But I wanted them to wear fish shirts. You know, being at Sea World and all. I noticed every other mother had that same idea. :) So both of their fish shirts just happened to be green w/navy stiching. Weird. Oh well.
We had some time to kill before we could see Shamu and the seal's show. So we started out with a 4D Sesame Street show. There was thunder in the show. And it was loud like most movie theatres tend to be. At the point of thunder, which was early on, Holden took off his glasses and turned around in Jeremy's lap where he couldn't see the screen for the rest of the show. Pax just thought the glasses were annoying and refused to wear them. Which is terrible because that little boy LOVES Elmo. And Elmo was literally 2 feet away from our faces (with glasses on). :)
Next up, we had some lunch and the boys played on the nearby playground. My once timid little boy is finally becoming brave in play area like these.
Finally it was time to see the Shamu and the killer whales. The boys sat and watched in amazement. It was so much fun to see the looks on their faces.
From my childhood memory, I remembered Shamu much bigger than what she was this time. Though I'm sure the killer whales aren't smaller these days. It's just funny how as a child those creatures seem enormous. And I've carried around this distorted image in my head for years. Not that they were tiny, by any means. And I would NOT be willing to ever jump in the tank with them.
After the amazement of the killer whales, we headed to Sesame Street's Bay of Play at Sea World. We rode some rides:
Holden road this little roller coaster several times. Pax was not tall enough to ride. So Jeremy and I took turns taking Holden, while Pax patiently waited.
Here you can see Holden and I in the 4th cart waving. He was so brave to let go and hold his arms up in the air with his daddy. Cute! :)
And then it was off to the horseys (as the boys called the carousel). :) Pax rode these over and over at times when Holden rode the roller coaster. 
Here Pax is pretending that the blue horse is trying to bite his hand. He really is a funny kid. :)
Later we rested for a funny seal and walrus show. See this cute picture and this smiling boy? Well apparently he was tired. Right after this picture, he laid his head on my chest and slept through the entire show.
We left the park around 5:30pm. Neither of the boys had a nap (except for the cat nap Holden took) and they did so well that day. But by the end of it, they were done and were ready to go. I tried to get a picture in front of Sea World right before we left. Bad idea. They were over it and were not willing to look at me, much less smile.
It was a great day and Sea World was such a fun place for the boys. This entire trip will defintely need to be repeated in the near future.The next day, we packed up our belongings to head home. Ho-hum (said sounding very sad), I wasn't ready to leave all of the fun. But since Jeremy wanted to remain employed, we had to come back. Here the boys are posing for me one more time before we left the hotel.
It was such a fun getaway. And we had 6 solid days of family time. Can't beat that!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Family Vacay (part 1 of 2)
On Monday we returned from a little family getaway in San Antonio. Because we caught a great deal at a good time, we were able to stay at this amazing place. And I think we're ready to go back. It was such a family-friendly hotel and I hope to be able to go again in the future. Our plan was to stick close to the hotel and play play play! They had several pools, a lazy river and a small beach. So we were excited to let the boys have tons of time in the water and to enjoy some quality family time and relaxation. And also some friendly time because these guys met us there! We always love our time with these special friends!
We left our home on Wednesday morning and made it to San Antonio that afternoon. It was a cooler day and not one to be splashing around in the water. So we toured the hotel and let the boys play in the sand playground.
On Thursday it rained cats and dogs throughout the morning. So we headed to downtown San Antonio to play at the Children's Museum. The boys loved it!
Thursday afternoon our friends arrived which was so much fun! So we spent that afternoon and evening hanging out with Josh, Amanda and Camryn. And we ended the evening with Mexican food! Where else would you go when visiting San Antonio?
On Friday, we were finally able to play in the water. Well, this was actually the hot tub. And goodness, Jeremy and I are PASTEY white. Not as much anymore. We did get a little sun last week.
Then we wandered over to the lazy river and beach.
And later had ourselves a little beach picnic!
That evening before bed, Holden roasted his first marshmallow alongside his daddy. :)
Just another one of the fun family events this hotel does each night. And then he partaked in his first ever s'more. Mmmmmmmm! He loved it!
Saturday was a little more of the same. Swimming:
And later, a dinner out of Mexican food again!
The next day our friends headed home and we had one more day of fun. Sea World! Since I have a ton of pictures going on here, I'm saving Sea World for a post all its own. We had 6 full days of family time. We needed it. Not that our boys were always smiling, as they seem to be in the pictures I chose to post. :) But the constant time together was still a really good thing for us. I was NOT ready to come back home. But I suppose that all vacations must come to a close. Our day at Sea World is coming up.
We left our home on Wednesday morning and made it to San Antonio that afternoon. It was a cooler day and not one to be splashing around in the water. So we toured the hotel and let the boys play in the sand playground.
On Thursday it rained cats and dogs throughout the morning. So we headed to downtown San Antonio to play at the Children's Museum. The boys loved it!
Thursday afternoon our friends arrived which was so much fun! So we spent that afternoon and evening hanging out with Josh, Amanda and Camryn. And we ended the evening with Mexican food! Where else would you go when visiting San Antonio?
On Friday, we were finally able to play in the water. Well, this was actually the hot tub. And goodness, Jeremy and I are PASTEY white. Not as much anymore. We did get a little sun last week.
Then we wandered over to the lazy river and beach.
And later had ourselves a little beach picnic!
That evening before bed, Holden roasted his first marshmallow alongside his daddy. :)
Just another one of the fun family events this hotel does each night. And then he partaked in his first ever s'more. Mmmmmmmm! He loved it!
Saturday was a little more of the same. Swimming:
And later, a dinner out of Mexican food again!
The next day our friends headed home and we had one more day of fun. Sea World! Since I have a ton of pictures going on here, I'm saving Sea World for a post all its own. We had 6 full days of family time. We needed it. Not that our boys were always smiling, as they seem to be in the pictures I chose to post. :) But the constant time together was still a really good thing for us. I was NOT ready to come back home. But I suppose that all vacations must come to a close. Our day at Sea World is coming up.
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