5 boys, 3 girls, 2 adults

This past Saturday and Sunday our big yellow house went from four kids to eight kids! My brother and his wife went out of town, so we were watching their three kids, and my parents went out of town, so my youngest sister stayed with us too! Wow! We got a little tiny taste of a much bigger family!

***Do not attempt this without an amazing husband! Mine was by my side helping me the entire time! He even took care of a very disgusting potty situation at the restaurant! Yay for him!!!***

Saturday evening was my favorite time! We loaded up both vehicles (girls in the little car, boys in the suburban) and headed to the mall. The kids got to play at the playground first, then we walked all around, stopped at Auntie Anne's for 10 pretzels, and then our mall finale was a much-requested ride on the big carousel! On our way home we ate dinner at Texas Land and Cattle. Yummy! It was fun to ask for a table for 10 ... and then answer their question, "How many kids menus?" Umm ... don't laugh ... EIGHT!

Everyone was well behaved! Our only mini-disaster was when we were leaving the neighborhood ... the youngest passenger in the girl car brought along a Zhu-Zhu hamster, and the wheels got caught in her hair. I had to quickly pull over and rescue her with a pocket knife! Don't worry ... child and hamster are fine now!

Oh yeah ... my sister even came up with the idea to order 8 tiny ice cream sundaes after they ate their dinners (it was only 50 cents each to add them onto the kids meals)! I'm pretty sure fun was had by all! Good times ...

Pray for "The Up Family"

Our sweet friends (you can visit their blog here if you'd like to read their story) had to say goodbye to their precious 6 month old baby girl on Saturday afternoon. She's with Jesus now, but please keep her family in your prayers!

Top 2 Tuesday

OK ... so according to Taylor's blog (check her out at: "Jimmy Choos & a Baby Too!") we're all supposed to list our top two of something each Tuesday. This week she's asking for our top two dream vacations. So here goes ... another first ... my first "Top Two Tuesday!" (Just trying to follow Laura's wise blogging instructions. Wanna' make her proud! Silly girl!)

One of my dream vacations is becoming reality in just a few months! We are going on a trip to NEW YORK CITY AND THE BEACH!!!!!!!! Woo-hoo!!!!!!!! We get to stay in a nice hotel right in Times Square, do fun things with the kids, experience the city ... then drive down to a beach-front condo for a relaxing and wonderful week together!

Another dream vacation would be to go somewhere BEACHY ... beautiful ... relaxing ... all inclusive ... just hubby and I! Not sure exactly where, but I hear places like that really do exist!!!

Boots, Blankets and Beautiful Snow

On Friday I went to the mall with three of my little boys. We ended up at Gymboree, where I found a pair of cowboy boots on clearance that were just the right size for Dylan (6 years old). Upon realizing his brother was getting to buy something, Korbin (10 years old) immediately tells me something that he saw and really wanted to buy. His purchase was a blanket with a monkey on it (you know -- a newborn receiving blanket)! To be fair, my kids each have a special Gymboree blanket. We love them because they're just the right size, they're super soft, they last, etc.. For those of you who know Korbin, you are NOT allowed to give him a hard time about this! This was just funny to me because of how he talks so BIG lately - you know?! Football, rock bands, skateboarding, king of the world type of kid ... goes with Mama to the mall on a snowday and chooses a baby blanket!!! I love him!!! He's a tender sweetheart inside that macho exterior!!!

Ollie ended up getting Mama to buy him a new blanket too! Both boys love their newest blankets! Dylan LOVES his new cowboy boots! He wore them all weekend with pride!

Oh by the way, here's what our "Big Yellow House" looked like when I woke up that morning:




We enjoyed our Texas snowday!

My GIRLS!

Well after my first blog post I now have my first 2 followers, so I thought I should introduce them!

My super-wonderful sister is Tanya (check out her blog: The Life of Barrett and Tanya). I can't believe I am lucky enough to live in the same neighborhood with my sister and her husband! It's just what we always dreamed of! Tanya and Barrett live the next street over - we can actually see the tip of each other's roofline if we look out certain windows. I love spending time with my sis! We enjoy doing all things girly: going out to eat, nail salons, shopping, crafts/sewing (although she is much more talented in this area), etc.! We always have lots to chat about together! She is the greatest sister I could ask for!

My BFF next door is Laura (check out her blog: Cowboy Boots & Baby Booties). Hubby and I chose this lot for our forever house to be built on ... not even knowing that the people next door have so much in common with us! When we started building, we both had three kids. The day we closed on our house, I told Laura that I was expecting #4 ... and she whispered something like, "Shut up! Me too!" Our #4's were born 3 weeks apart - so they're great little baby friends now! Our fifth grade boys are even in the same class at school this year! It's just amazing to have her around everyday! We have so much in common and can talk about literally anything with each other! Oooo ... and I'll have to blog about "Salsa Day" another time ...

You'll hear me mention these two a lot more in the future - they mean a lot to me! How can I live so close to both of these wonderful girls in my life? One just over the back fence, and one just down the street! I don't think you're supposed to like your neighbors this much! So, once again ... I feel blessed ... and dreams DO come true!!!

My very 1st blog ...

Hello world (well ... at least my little world)! Welcome to my very first blog!

Lately I have found myself getting sucked into the land of reading about other people's lives through their blogs online. So naturally, I felt the need to document my own.

A few years ago I had a necklace engraved with, "Live the life you've always imagined." I guess I've always tried not to be afraid to reach for the stars if I wanted something badly enough (That doesn't even sound like it makes sense ... but I know what I'm trying to say. Can any of you read my mind?). Anyway ... I'm trying to say life has turned out beautifully! I am a happily married stay at home mama. We live in our dream home in the perfect neighborhood. Life is grand!

Does anyone else out there find yourself trying desperately, almost daily, just to be who you really are (Once again, this probably won't make sense unless you can read my mind!)? I have this totally super-amazing life where I truly couldn't ask for more ... yet I find myself continually falling short of my own expectations. On the surface it seems that other moms have it all figured out, so I suppose that I tend to disappoint myself when I feel like my cooking experience, motivation to exercise regularly, time management, personal style and housekeeping skills are less than perfect. I really, truly desire - with all of my heart - to be one of those moms who can do IT ALL, with grace! To let my life be a witness of the wonderful things God has done! Maybe that can be something that over time I'll be able to look back at this blog and see how I grew into that roll! You can all pray for me and I will be accountable to you here. Sounds like a good purpose to blog!

Hmmm ... kind-of an awkward beginning, but thanks so much for reading. Check back again soon. There's always so much going on here ... my next post is bound to be more interesting! Ha ha!