{A year??}

 Happy Wednesday, friends!! Has it really been almost a year since I've blogged? I would ask where the time has gone, but I know the answer. We have a 14-year-old (gasp) with a very busy social and sports calendar. He keeps us busy and on the go. But...I wouldn't have it any other way. Watching Mason grow into the person he is today has been such a gift. I am completely undone by the love of God and that He saw fit for us to be Mason's parents. It will always be the greatest joy of my life. I am living the life that I dreamed about for so many years and that will never be lost on me. To say that I am proud of Mason is an understatement. He's kind, respectful, and just an all-around great kid! Anyhow, more about Mason later...believe me, there's plenty to come.

From our summer cruise to the Bahamas!

{Jeeps at the Lake // August 1st}

Back on August 1st one of our favorite Jeep groups had a weekend at the lake. We weren't able to camp with the group, so we just went out for one evening. 

ONE SEC EVERDAY // JUNE 2020

Here's a look at our month of June according to the One Sec Everyday App! I love that this app reminds me to make a conscious effort to take more videos every day. I'm usually just a photo snapper, but I love looking back on videos so much! June was full of spending time with God, sunsets, hanging out on our porch, Jeepin', birthday-ing, beaching, friends, and home projects. 

{Weekend Wrap-up // Working in the garage, lake, Sunday Funday with neighbors}

It's been a minute since I have done a "weekend wrap-up"! We had a pretty good one, so why not share?

{Don Juans Grand Opening // June 2020}

One of our favorite restaurants from our hometown recently opened a second location about an hour from us near Cedar Creek Lake. Nathan and I have so many memories of this place (at the Grand Prairie location) and have gone there for as long as we can remember. The grand opening for the new location just so happened to be on a Friday (Nate is off on Fridays) and so he and Mason were able to go!

{ONE SECOND EVERYDAY // MAY 2020}

Here's a look at our month of May via the One Sec Everyday App! I love that this app reminds me to make a conscious effort to take more videos every day. I'm usually just a photo snapper, but I love looking back on videos so much!

{Currently // May 2019}

Happy May 1st!! I have mixed feelings about this month!! I am super excited because it's the last month of school (bring on summer!!!!), but then it's bittersweet because it's Mason's last month at his current school. He will be turning 9 on the 25th of May and will start 4th grade in August. Which, is at a different campus! How did we get here so fast? I don't even want to think about it. So, instead, let's take a look at what's currently going on.  Here is a look at what I am currently admiring, playing, borrowing, remembering, and finishing.

{January, February, March and April update}

It has been quite a while since I have touched this space! While I have thought about blogging many times throughout the last few months, there just wasn't enough time in the day. But I do know that when I go to look back at my blog one day I will be sad about the gaps that I missed. So, I am going to make an attempt to make time for my little corner of the web. I have a lot of catching up to do so I am going to catch up on the highlights from each month.

{Summer update // We got our CJ 7 back!!! }

Wow...another month (plus) has passed since I posted last. I thought I was going to be able to keep up on this blog, but then life happened. We've been on several more trips and just haven't had the time to dedicate to this space. I do miss it, so I am going to try to get back into the blogging world. Try, being the keyword here. So, what have we been up to?

{Catch-up Post}

Mercy, it's been a minute since I've visited this space. Life has been busy! I know that's so cliche, but seriously, it's the only explanation I have. I didn't plan on quitting this blog, a hiatus just happened. So, what have we been up to since I last blogged on April 25th?  Let's see...

{What's Up Wednesday // January}

Joining in for the first time ever for What's Up Wednesday! And I'm writing this on the day of! Better late than never, right? I've been so tired lately and blogging has been put on the back burner. I'm wide awake at night and can't sleep, and then so tired the next day. I'm so ready for this to be a thing of the past. Anyhow, here's a look at What's Up Wednesday...

{From the cutting room floor // What we've been up to}

Since my blogging hiatus I feel like I have so much to catch up on. My camera roll is about 5200 pictures deep and so many of them have not been shared anywhere. Today I wanted to share some pictures from the cutting room floor and what we have been up to the last few months. This is going to be the most random post, so bare with me!

{Five Things bringing me joy right now}

Time for another round of five things that are bringing me joy right now. I wrote a post like this a few months ago {H E R E} and I decided I want to do this every couple of months. Life often gets busy or mundane and so I want to focus on the happy. A heart check, if you will.

{Taking Stock}

{Currently}

Loving // Life, my boys, our new church, the rain

Making // Crafts, DIYs {mostly furniture and pieces for the house}, lists

Reading // The Bible// She Reads Truth // Simply Tuesday

Looking forward to // Our vacation...even though it's not for several months. We are going somewhere new and can't wait to explore and take pictures!!

Wishing // It was vacation time! And that my hair would grow!! And that someone would come and paint my kitchen cabinets for me. Any takers?! ha!

Enjoying // My boys! And how sweet Mason has been lately. He has the most tender heart and I just adore every minute I get to spend with him. And I'm enjoying every time that he reads to me. It just amazes me how fast his reading has taken off.

Wondering // If I will ever get caught up {housework, laundry, blogging, etc.}

Hoping // to get more involved in our new church.

Marveling // at the grace God gives daily.

Smelling // Tiki Colada...a new candle I picked up at Walmart. It smells amazing and makes me want to get to the beach asap.

Thinking // About anything and everything. This mama brain never shuts off.

Feeling // Grateful, yet undeserving. Always.

Praying//  For a certain situation to work out without any hurt feelings. For peace and guidance with the decision that has to be made. 

What's currently going on in your world? 

{Oh life!!}

Howdy everyone!!! Goodness, I have neglected this space something fierce lately. There is just so much going on lately. I know I said that on my last post...but FOR REAL! Just not enough time in each day!

What have we been up to?

For the last couple of months I have been busy planning an engagement party {along with 5 other bridesmaids} for my best friend since 2nd grade! It feels so good to finally be able to talk about her getting married. It was a secret for so long. But, my best friend is getting married!!! And I am her Matron of Honor!! I feel so blessed and so honored. Eeek. 

Anyhow, we had their engagement party last Saturday and it was a huge success!! Everything was so beautiful and perfect and I think Kristy has a very talented wedding party! The party was held at T&P Tavern in Fort Worth. Her cousins own it and it was the perfect venue to hold the party!! We had cupcakes and a popcorn bar and T&P catered all kinds of appetizers. It was amazing!!!



And while we were at the party Nate's mom let us know that Mason wasn't feeling too well. He was running a low grade fever, had a small cough and just wanted to lay around. He actually even took a nap - over 2 hours. He never naps! So, Nate and I worried about him the whole time we were there. And then it felt like the longest drive ever to get home. We picked him up and brought him home. He took some medicine and within 30 minutes he perked up and was happy and talkative. We watched the Lego movie in our bed and cuddled. He went to sleep after the movie. He didn't run fever throughout the night and woke up Sunday feeling better. We took it easy, though! And I kept him home Monday just to be sure. We really think it was just terrible allergies. He's back at school today and I am hoping he's doing fine! 



So glad he's back to himself! I just hate when he doesn't feel well. Breaks my heart into a million pieces.

We've also been spending a lot of time at the gym. They have a childcare area, but we try to not take Mason every day. Nathan and I alternate with gym time and our classes too! So far I have done Pilates Fusion and Zumba. Pilates Fusion was my absolute favorite class. I can't wait to do it again tonight!! So far I am down 12-14 lbs and lots of inches. I've been dieting pretty hard core for 3 weeks, so I was kind of disappointed with the amount I've lost...but Hubby reminded me that I'm turning fat into muscle and that's why the scale isn't dropping much. Bahh...I mean it's good, but I also want to lose more.

Other than that...oh you know....just planning a SECRET TRIP!!! More on that to come....

What have you been up to lately?

{Friday Randoms}

Happy Friday Friends!!!

What a week is has been. I mentioned in my Grateful Heart post that our Internet has been down since Sunday morning at 2am.  That's definitely not a good thing when you work from home. It's been an awful week. AT&T lied to us over and over and fell through on promises over and over. I spent the week working remotely from the coffee shop in town. Our company recently got a new mail cleaner and it's not so friendly with webmail. I would have to forward every email to my yahoo mail just to read it. I had to work my tail off to get things done. I skipped lunch every day except Wednesday. I went to get in my car to take a break from the coffee shop and get some lunch and my key wouldn't turn. Like at all. It took about 15 minutes before I could get it going. So many little things kept going wrong all week, it was just wild. By Thursday evening I was feeling quite defeated. I was on my way to pick up Mason and I just started praying. Out loud. I cried and prayed all the way to Mason's school. And I didn't ask him once why me? Why this? I just thanked him over and over for all of the blessings in my life no matter how rough my week had been.

And you know what? On my way home I saw an AT&T truck working. Well, actually they were packing up because it was close to 5. I got home and I had a Landline. And...I had green lights on my router. All except for the "service" light. We were getting somewhere. 

By 10 am today my Internet was up!! Praise Jesus. So faithful...all the time.

Oh, and my phone has been acting a little odd {iphone 5} and once it gets to 30% battery it just dies. Like shuts off completely and I have to plug in a charger to get it back on. Well last night I fell asleep with Mason in his room and didn't plug in my phone. It had 38% when I fell asleep, but was completely dead at 2:22 am. I couldn't get it to come on at all. I had to plug it up for quite a while before it came on. So today I ran by Tmobile and got a newer phone and didn't have to pay anything. Another God thing! 

Can I just say that I am so glad it's Friday? So glad.

Oh, last weekend we went to Nate's cousin's wedding on a ranch in Valley View and it was amazing. I didn't get a chance to post about it because of you know the having-no-internet thing. Mason was such a ham and danced with just about every girl there. He had a blast and was the life of the party.

Here's a little bit of what else we've been up to.

God painted some amazing skies this week // trying to look happy despite feeling defeated

my sweet boy and I one day after school // my favorite quote from the Thrive Moms Fall Retreat // we had to decorate a turkey for Mason's class and this was our masterpiece // mason had a dream that he was the green lantern, so he had to wear his green cape to school

Also, I want to encourage you, if you haven't already to watch the Thrive Moms Fall Retreat {online}. It's so encouraging and so uplifting and all around amazing. It will bless you in so many ways. 

Have a great weekend! Any plans? We don't! For once.

{Currently // Vol 2}

Reading // Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty - I'm only about 6% into this book. I don't know if it's because I am exhausted when I finally get to read a bit or what, but the book seems very hard to follow so far. I've had to re-read some parts of it. I'm not giving up though. I've heard good things about this book. 

Feeling // Grateful, yet undeserving. {always}

Eating // All things Fall and fried! ha. I say fried because we went to the Texas State Fair over the weekend and of course we had to try all of the new award winning fried foods. I'd say it was unanimous that our favorite this year was the Texas Bluebonnet. Other things tried by the family were the Funnel Cake Ale {actually had a good after-taste for a beer}, Fried Cookies & Milk, and Fried Gulf Shrimp boil. Of course we had to get a Fletcher's Corn dog...it's tradition!

Thinking about // This ebola break out and how a nurse is now infected with it after caring for the man that died of it last week. It's so scary and so sad! Prayers are with them all...the infected, those that cared for them, the families, ALL of them! 

Looking forward to // Jellystone Park this weekend for the Fall Fiesta! We may be knocking another thing off our Fall bucketlist as well!

Praying//  Lots of things! So many on my prayer list. Can I pray for you?

Listening //  Greater by Mercy Me has been on repeat lately! I just love it and the lyrics...man are they true?!!! 

Watching // Tons! I love that Fall shows have started back! Right now I am loving the Walking Dead, Grey's Anatomy, Parenthood, Scandal, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Resurrection, Forever, BlackList, Nashville, and Manhattan Love Story.

Loving // Life lately. I'm so blessed and just thank God every day for all that I have been given. I have a sweet little boy who fills my heart with so much joy, a husband that loves me something fierce, an amazing family, I work from home, Mason's school is awesome, our church is awesome. So much to love!  


What are you up to lately? If you've written a 'currently' post lately leave the link below! I'd love to read it.

{A Grateful Heart // VOL 6}

Linking up with Ember Grey for A Grateful Heart. If you haven't checked out this linkup I encourage that you do! We all have something to be grateful for, right?

+ church

+ grace

+ online friends that have become the best of friends

+ my husband and the way he loves me

+ suppers at the table with my sweet little family

+ the peony project community

+ reading "you are my i love you" before bed with my sweet little mason lane

+ this linkup

+ productive days and a clean house

What are you grateful for this week?

 

{Currently // Vol 1}

I've posted a few 'currently' posts on this blog before, but I want to make it a series. Maybe an every other week thing? We'll see....

Loving // That it's Fall. Pumpkin all day err'day!!!!!

Making // Lists. All kinds of lists; to do's, blog post ideas, crafts to whip up, recipes to make, events coming up, etc.

Reading // The bible/she reads truth // The Good Girl by Mary Kubica {still! It's taking me a while to finish this one} I like what I have read of this book, I just haven't had much time to sit and read lately. Fall is a busy season for us.

Looking forward to // All things Halloween/Fall related. Camping at Jellystone Park, Halloween parties, field trips at Mason's school, the pumpkin patch.

Wishing // It felt more like Fall temperature wise. I'm ready for boots and scarves!

Enjoying // The amount of family time we've gotten lately!

Wondering // How we're going to fit in all of our Fall bucket list in the 2 short months of Fall.  Since Hubby doesn't get home from work until almost 6 every evening it will be mostly weekends that we have to get in our Fall-ness.

Hoping // To start a diet and exercise regimen and stick with it.

Marveling // at the grace God gives daily.

Smelling // Caramel Pear Crisp in the Scentsy

Following // My lists.

Thinking // About anything and everything. This mama brain never shuts off.

Feeling // Grateful, yet undeserving.

Praying//  For peace about Mason's upcoming dentist appointment and his oral sedation.

What's currently going on in your world?