Time Travel: Back to May

How is it that May feels so far away already?! In case you are wondering, yes, May was quite the busy month as well!

Adorable!

It is actually very fitting for me to be writing/reminiscing about this May because that is when I walked at graduation for my Masters degree. Unfortunately, I had yet to defend my thesis. Well, guess what?! Four months later and I FINALLY completed my thesis defense!! Whoop! Whoop!

But back to May, shall we? First, Baby W turned four months old. I just want to go back and time and squeeze his adorable cheeks! These sweet little babes grow too fast and those baby rolls just did not stay long enough!

Our Lil' Pistols

Next, I graduated! Well, like I said, I walked the stage. But, my diploma will be in hand here soon! We met my family at the university for the ceremony. Then we stayed the weekend at the Big Texan in Amarillo, ate at their restaurant for basically every meal, and got to check out Cadillac Ranch! The restaurant was yummy, but the hotel was kind of ick. It was decorated Western style, which looked cool, but they should have saved some money on the decorating and bought some updates. The housekeeping was also questionable. It was certainly not the cleanest place I've been to. B found half a chicken nugget under the bed and took a big bite out of it. Bleh!!! 

Official Master Graduate right here!

We also got to hike some of Palo Duro Canyon! We weren't there long so we didn't get to see much, but it was beautiful. We'd love to go back sometime when we have some time to actually camp there. If you haven't been there, I'd highly recommend it. We just stayed the day, went horseback riding, and on a long hike. Only half of us made it to the end of that hike... It was super hot and I was packing W on my back. He is such a sweaty baby so I was worried about dehydration and sunburns. Hey, don't judge a sleep-deprived, nursing mother! A six-mile hike was not the best idea in that heat. For an infant or a toddler. My mom and I only made it about halfway before we decided to turn back. But the rest of our crew made it! My ridiculous father made it sound like the trail was the shortest they had, but he definitely lied. There were other, shorter options we could have taken. So next time we go, I'm trying out the shorter trails... And maybe the longer one again when it's cooler! And after I workout some... Ha!

We got this!

Gammy & B

Beautiful views

The ones who made!

Mid-May was fairly "quiet." Just the typical staying up to all hours of the night putting the final touches on my thesis (even after I had walked at graduation), dealing with allergies (did I mention they were vicious this season? I had to wear my big, fat glasses to my graduation for Pete's sake!), and wrangling two kiddos.

This was the last 15 minutes
of one flight.

The end of May, I flew to my parent's house to spend Memorial Day Weekend. Jeff was busy at work so I flew by myself for the first time with two kids in tow! What an adventure... There were some people who looked obviously annoyed about the fact that I had two small children on the plane, but we also ran into some of the kindest people who were sympathetic to my situation as an out-numbered parent. If you ever see a mom, or dad, trying to get through security or drag two littles onto a cramped plane (seriously, could they make those seats any closer together?), lend a helping hand. Offer to put away a bag, share a snack, or just flash a kind smile. Please, do not stare at me like I am the most annoying person on earth. Unless, of course, you are the 12-year-old boy who got stuck next to my 2-year-old on the flight. Your prepubescent glare of annoyance I can deal with and understand. Everyone else who is old enough to act like a grown adult, deal with it. You were that young once and caused your mom grief in public. I'm doing the best that I can here and trust me when I say that I'm more embarrassed than you know when my 4-month-old is throwing a hangry fit and my 2-year-old is yelling the Mickey Mouse song as loud as he can while kicking your seat. It's a serious travesty they don't make those airplane closets, I mean restrooms, big enough to hide in.

The boys actually didn't do horrible. They had their moments, but we made it there and back with no major injuries to body or dignity. A big thank you to those kind souls and their polite words of encouragement along the way!

For Memorial Day Weekend, my family rented a lake house to celebrate my parent's 30th wedding anniversary and my Mom's 50th birthday. I made them a little (well, a kind of long) video to take a walk down memory lane together: 

We had grandparents there, aunts, uncles, cousins... It was just like the old days when our families used to get together for the holidays and just have fun! There was even a lip sync contest. Haha! I'm not sharing the video evidence for that one!

Fishing with Uncle Austin.

He loved the slip-n-slide!

I LOVE this picture of my Mom.
Look at how happy and beautiful she looks!

Teta Autumn's overalls double as a baby carrier!

My Nana and Papa and all their great-grands!

The Waylan Family after 30 years
(minus the son-in-law and future daughter-in-law)!

It was an exhausting weekend (and an exhausting month), but we had a blast! It's hard to get whole families together these days. Too many grown-up responsibilities! Don't you wish you could just go back to being six years old? Snacks, naps, no mortgage or worries... Those were the days! ;)

So that was May! Did we slow down after that? Not really... Join in next time to find out what we were up to next! And if I ever actually get caught up to our crazy present day adventures!

Cuties

"Why Can't You Just Listen?!" and Other Mom-Things God Probably Thinks

What is it with kids and NOT listening to what you are telling them to do or NOT to do?

"Clean up your mess."

"Don't hit your brother."

"Go wash your hands, please."

"Don't run out into the street!"

"DON'T pee in that potted plant!"

"DO NOT touch that poisonous snake!"

So many do's and don't's, right? It's a lot for a little kid to learn, but you'd think by the 156th time you ask them not to climb your stove, they'd catch a hint. I don't know about your two-year-old, but mine likes to not just ignore what I'm saying at times, but continues to stare right at me while he does whatever he knows he's not supposed to.

Legit example #42: 

"B, don't go near that electric socket with those keys."

*B (the 2-year-old) continues to walk towards the only unprotected socket in the living room I just used to plug a vacuum into*

"I'm not kidding. Please listen."

*B has the "are you talking to me look" now*

"Do NOT put those keys near that socket, mister."

*what these keys? okay... proceeds to pretend he is unlocking the socket*

"NO!" *running to snatch away keys* "What did I tell you?! That's dangerous! Why can't you just listen?!"

This is the exact reason B only has plastic keys to play with. In a perfect world, every electric socket would be closed at all times, the vacuum would never get left out, and my home would be covered in bubble wrap and padded walls, right? Ideally, my son would listen at all times as well. Not going to happen. 

Give me fruit snacks now!

Now why didn't I just stop him to begin with? First of all, I don't have 8 arms. Many times moms (or dads) have their hands full. Maybe you're messing with raw chicken for dinner or a crying baby you are trying to feed. Whatever it is, we can't always be our little one's shadows, following them around with a bandaid and lollipop, hovering over them just waiting for something to happen. And if you are, you are clearly superhuman and therefore have no purpose in reading my silly shenanigans anyway. Only Wonder Woman could nurse an infant and lasso an ornery toddler at once. Hm... maybe I need to invest in a lasso.

But more importantly... children NEED a chance to make that choice - whether they are going to listen and obey or completely ignore you and do their own thing (regardless of the consequences, you know, like electrocution). I'm convinced that toddlers are the most irrational beings on the planet, but they have so much to learn so we try to give them the benefit of the doubt. I obviously have my child's best interest in mind when I tell him not to mess with an electric outlet and he knows by now that he will get into trouble if he does not listen, yet he still blatantly disobeys! And my level of frustration only rises the more I tell him not to do something and the more dangerous that something is! I'm trying to save your life, kid!

Now let's think about older children, teenagers, adults... we all do the same thing! Doesn't it seem like your children like to do the exact opposite of what you say? And, as a kid (and perhaps still now), don't you remember that urge to do whatever it is you know you aren't supposed to? Mom said not to steal the sugar jar and pour it into my mouth, but it tastes so good! The forbidden is so enticing!

Here's where I'm going with this. We are currently studying Genesis with our youth group on Sunday mornings. We are only on Chapter 2, but already you can see how saturated with theology the first couple of chapters are. It's thick, y'all! Don't even get me started on that here.

Our study guide asks about the "tree of knowledge of good and evil" and why God put it there. There are so many questions surrounding this! Why did God put it there in the first place? Why didn't He just let them eat from it? Or just get rid of it all together? And why on earth didn't Adam and Eve just LISTEN to Him and NOT eat from that dang tree?! Things would be so different if they had.

Yes, we have an innate rebellious nature (just look at my toddler), and God knew that when He created us, but that is the beauty of it all. By giving Adam and Eve the choice to obey or disobey Him, He only proves His love for us by multitudes because He created us to have our own free will. The tree and its forbidden fruit reveals this. God could have easily not created it, not given them the choice, just as easily as He could have forced them to obey Him. But He didn't. Instead He let them decide. Just as He still allows us to decide for ourselves whether we will follow Him.

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
"but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." - Genesis 2:16-17

Now you might try to argue that God set them up for failure because He knew that they would disobey Him, but He also warned them and it was the absolute ONLY thing in the whole garden He told them not to touch! Geez, Eve! Geez, Adam! Could He have just told them, rationally and reasonably, "Listen, y'all. I'm putting this tree here to allow you to exercise your free will, but DO NOT eat from it or you will surely die. And when you do eat from it, then I will be lenient with you and banish you from this paradise forever. Oh, and did I mention that your wrong decision will enter sin into this perfect world that I created, it will stain humanity forever, but I will eventually send my only begotten Son to suffer and die for you and your sins so that you might still have a chance to live with me in eternity?"

"What the what, God?" I'm paraphrasing here, but I'm sure Adam and Eve would have hypothetically responded to God in a similar manner. Point is: I might as well try to explain to B what it is like to get electrocuted or hit by a car or burnt alive. It's not a concept he is going to grasp because he cannot yet understand the magnitude of one horrible decision. Unlike us mortal parents, however, God is ALWAYS in control. We can't see the big picture like He can, so our job is to trust and obey.

 I swear sometimes I can hear God saying exactly the same thing I tell my own children: "Why can't you just listen to me?!" And like my children, I have the freedom to choose my path while God continues to love me unconditionally. You know what brings Him joy, though? When we listen and obey. Why? Because it is our choice. You know what I'm talking about, parents. Doesn't your heart just soar when your child abides by your teachings and chooses for himself or herself to obey? All that worry, love, and time you invested into teaching your child wrong from right shines through when you see them make the right decision. At my current stage in mommyhood, those proud moments involve watching my son play kindly with his little brother instead of ride the infant like a horse or choosing to blow his nose instead of eat his boogers (it's the little things, y'all).

Those sweet moments.

Am I going to pause the moment and remember that my children have free will the next time they are disobeying me? Maybe. Maybe not. But it makes great reflection when thinking later, "Why can't you just listen?" They can and they do... at times. My job as a parent is to teach with consistency so that they know what to expect when they have decisions to make. And to beam with pride when they make good decisions. Because we, as parents, feel loved and appreciated like that. 

So does God. How do you show God that you love Him? Just like your children, your little, everyday decisions matter. What will you choose to do with them?

Your word is a lamp to my feet

And a light to my path.

I have sworn and confirmed

That I will keep Your righteous judgments.

I am afflicted very much;

Revive me, O Lord, according to Your word.

Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord,

And teach me Your judgments.

My life is continually in my hand,

Yet I do not forget Your law.

The wicked have laid a snare for me,

Yet I have not strayed from Your precepts.

Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever,

For they are the rejoicing of my heart.

I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes

Forever, to the very end. - Psalm 119:105-112

This Week's Recipes on Pinterest

So I discovered a new trick on Pinterest. I'm sure someone has thought of this before, but for some reason this light bulb is just now turning on in my head.

I try to meal plan at least weekly so I'll write down in my little planner what we are having for dinner each night. I like to try new recipes a lot. Like to the point where I can't always duplicate our favorites because we've gone through too many to remember what we had. Haha. Months from now, Jeff is going to ask about those chicken taco things we made that one time. And I'm going to say, "Which tacos?" The ones I made in the crockpot that time, the ones we tried at so-and-so's house, or the ones I made while we were living at that one house? This is just what heaps of recipes, multiple moves, and a career that involves a plethora of potlucks will do to you...

That's what makes Pinterest so awesome! Instead of printing out recipes and losing them (I only record the absolute best in my personal recipe book) or flipping through the dozens of recipe books I have crammed in a closet, Pinterest keeps it in digital form for me! A blessing and a curse this technology is! I probably haven't figured this out before because I try to limit my exposure to Pinterest. Haha! Inevitably, I will go on there to "meal plan" and an hour later I'm still looking at some pin about the 101 pictures you can make with your child's footprint. But I digress...

Of course, there is also the issue of forgetting what board I put a recipe on or having such a full board that I have to scroll for years before I find it (I will miss it at least twice in my scrolls). SO... I created a Weekly Recipes board! It's easy to duplicate pins and put them on multiple boards, so when I do my meal planning, I just copy the recipes I want to try that week to the new board and remove them when I am done! They are still saved on my original board, but I have quick and easy access to them on my Weekly board. And I don't cook a Pinterest recipe for every meal, so there's only what I need on that board. Maybe now my "Favorite Recipes" board will actually turn into my favorite recipes I've actually tried and not just what I want to try!

Now I realize that there are websites you can subscribe to and save recipes to, but they usually cost money. It's awesome that they can also generate a grocery list too, but then I have to add random stuff to it anyway. This is free and flexible.

I'm a fairly organized person, but as our little family grows, I'm learning that what I thought was organized before kids just turns into chaos with them. A little at a time, I plan to get things figured out, save money, save time, and save my sanity. Any tips or tricks of your own would be very much appreciated!

As you can see, this week I planned to make Beef and Broccoli, Chicken Tortilla Soup, and Chicken Tacos. The tacos, which look absolutely mouth-watering, have been pushed to next week, but the other two were delicious! The Beef and Broccoli was a bit runny, but still yummy over a bed of white rice. The Tortilla Soup recipe I actually just used as a base to make up one of my own. I've tried a bunch of different tortilla soups and I had an idea of what I liked from them all, so I made a few changes to this recipe in order to put all my favorite pieces together. Maybe if I can figure out how to take some Pinterest-worthy, fancy photos, I'll try to duplicate that recipe and share it here! Maybe...

I just typed into my search bar: "how to take fancy blog photos". Ha! 

Time Travel: Back to April

Let's stay in the present for a moment so that I can wish my baby sister, a big

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Love you, Aummie! ;)

Okay... time to hop in our DeLorean, punch the gas to 88 mph, and head back to April of this year!

First "big event" in April: Waylan turned three months! Just looking back on his pictures from then, he was SOO chubby! I can't believe he is already slimming down and working on his toddler figure! In April he was so chunky that I had the hardest time cleaning his fat rolls out and he would get little rashes sometimes if milk got stuck in there. Haha! Gross!

Also, it was his first Easter! Of course big brother had the most fun with all the candy, easter egg hunts, AND drumroll please... Bennett got a real Easter bunny! Growing up, I always begged for a real bunny on Easter (I also wanted a pet duck, haha), but the Easter bunny would just bring me stuffed animals instead. Now I understand why! I'm so glad Jeff is in charge of the thing because I think it poops more than my two kids combined! When Jeff is out of town, I have to take over cleaning its cage and it is pretty annoying. The thing is cute, yes, but I have had the WORST ALLERGIES of my life this year and messing with a shedding bunny and hay is not fun. Bennett was obsessed with the movie Sandlot around this time so he named the bunny Baby Ruth. Ha!

Right after Easter, Jeff had to do a week of Air Force Reserve duty. I had a two-year-old I was trying to potty train, a three-month-old who liked to eat a lot (though he's always been a great sleeper!), and I was still furiously working on my thesis because my graduation was the next month. Oh, and did I mention it's been the WORST ALLERGY SEASON EVER?! This was around the time that I absolutely could not wear my contacts because my eyes were so itchy and swollen. Not fun, y'all. Not. fun. In September, I'll still be trying to recover...

 

My Nana with my babies.

Y'all I can't even with these chubby pictures of Waylan that I'm looking at. Those cheeks!

Cruisin' with cousins.

Gotta get a picture with THE bird!

Papa and Waylan
at Waylan's KuKu!

Mid-April we took a trip to visit my family in Northeast Oklahoma! My grandparents, aunts, and cousins got to meet little Waylan for the first time and Bennett had a blast playing with all of his little cousins! I guess they would be second cousins? My cousins' babies... so that makes them Bennett's second cousins or my second cousins? I think there might be a "once removed" in there somewhere? Uh...

This whole trip was probably one of my favorite things all year (post-Waylan, of course) because we got to meet up with my favorite college roomies and having a little college reunion with all of our families! Y'all, my friends make some of the most adorable babies. Just saying. We met up in Branson, Missouri for the weekend and just hung out. We were supposed to go to Silver Dollar City, but that got spoiled with a rainy forecast. With a bunch of babies, we skipped the theme park and went to the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. Always interesting/kinda lame and always overpriced. But it was time spent with great friends that we just can't see very often. We all live in different parts of the country and even different parts of the world now. So any chance we get
to see them is a blessing. :)

Roomie Reunion!

That was about it for us. Another busy month on the books.

Away from home, however, my baby brother got engaged in April! The boys get to be in a wedding next year! Aww! Can't wait!

Uncle Austin and Aunt Jenna

Geez, we have some catching up to do, don't we! And, yes, I'm in the middle of updating our blog. It's time-consuming! I'm slowly getting it to where I like it. :)

Easter 2015

Time Travel: Back to March

Let's take it back a bit, shall we? Let's see, the last time I wrote was in February describing Waylan's birth. Boy, that was a lengthy one. Not much to say about February. It was cold. It snowed. Oh, Bennett did make his first snowman! (I'm looking back at my saved pics now...) Waylan got fat real fast. But he was sleeping through the night by around eight weeks! Just like big brother!



Now onto March! That was a great month. Every March we head down to Texas to hang out with my awesome family and go to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo! That is some good times, y'all. If you've never been to the Houston Rodeo, you are missing out. If you've never been to any rodeo, you are missing out. Being raised in Texas and now living in Oklahoma, this is serious entertainment. Some people live and breathe rodeo. It's what their kids compete in and it's what they spend loads of money on. You know how obsessed people get with team sports? Football, competitive cheerleading, traveling baseball teams. It's something like that. It is just a whole other culture. And I love it! It's got its own lingo, traditions, values, and dress. I have to calm down now because the anthropologist in me is coming out. Seriously though. It's a legit subculture here in America. Look into it!

The boys and I spent a total of two weeks in Houston. The first was all rodeo fun. Then Jeff had to head home for a mission trip to the Dominican Republic the second week. We, of course, had a blast at the rodeo. I think we went three days in a row. They were kind of long with a two-year-old and two-month-old, but we made it. Waylan loves stroller rides. And Bennett LOVED the pony rides. We have horses here, but he had never ridden before. He even made sure that he was wearing his cowboy hat before he got on. Haha! He wouldn't get on without it. I cannot wait until he is old enough to participate in the mutton bustin' - he is going to LOVE it! He already practices by trying to ride our boxer at home. That crazy boy.

The rest of the fun was watching bull riding, calf roping, barrel racing, and eating lots of yummy fair food. You are not allowed to go to the rodeo without eating roasted corn and a two-foot corn dog. I've been going to the rodeo all my life, but this was the first year I really took the time to walk around the shopping area. Holy cow! That place is HUGE! If you have a shopping addiction, enter at your own risk! Luckily for me, I'm poor and had no money to spend, but they sure do have some cool stuff! Jeff said for Christmas he just wants "rodeo money" to spend there next year. I'm game!

And you can't forget the concerts!! With two little minions to take care of, Jeff and I only made it to one out of the days that we went, but it was awesome! If you haven't seen Zac Brown Band in concert, I highly recommend them. They played everything from bluegrass/country to heavy metal songs. They really have a great range of talent and can basically play anything.

The week Jeff was gone on his trip, the boys basically continued to be spoiled by my parents. There was bike rides, a zoo trip, a museum day, and Bennett's first trip to a Chuck E. Cheese's. Yup. Going to my parents is basically like going to Disneyland...

We had such a great time in Houston, but we were glad to get back home after two weeks being gone and glad to see Daddy again after his week-long trip! My mom drove back with me and the boys and the trip was SO MISERABLE!! I think the boys were just exhausted and they were not traveling well at all. After non-stop rain and a few meltdowns (mostly from the kids), we finally just stopped at a hotel to rest and stretch. The kids ate and played, then we headed back out that evening and got home late. Here's to hoping that our next trip to Houston, which is coming up very soon, will be much easier. The boys love car rides, but that one turned into a 16 hour trip! No, thank you.

In our rodeo get-up!

Well, that about sums up March 2015 for us. The other two weeks of that month were nothing compared to the middle two. We just out-did ourselves with those. I'd like to think that we rested and relaxed the other two weeks of that month, but I know it's not true. At least I didn't. I was in the thick of writing my master's thesis.

Jeff playing with some kiddos in the DR.

Join in next time when we travel back to April!!! ;)

Blogging Sabbatical

Ha! Sabbatical... Ok, so I was in no way resting over the last (1,2,3...) six or so months since my last blog. To better explain my absence, I'll put my excuses in nutshells for you:

{newborn}
{toddler}
{master's}
{thesis}
{ministry}

FYI, these are nutshells -->  {} {} {}

Lazy Butt

Yup. Never a dull (or sane) moment in this house. As you may have gathered from my last post, there's a new baby in the house! Granted, he is going on eight months old now, he's still new and adorable in my book. Update on Waylan? Did I mention he's adorable. He is so chill and happy it's ridiculous. His fits really only come when he is both tired and hungry. In fact, he is sort of lazy. He sits up and plays with toys just fine. He even scoots on his butt a bit to get to things and is already trying to pull up on things. But the kid refuses to crawl or even roll over! If he falls on his back he just kicks and laughs until he gets mad enough to say something about it and big brother comes over to try and pick him up. That's usually when I have to intervene because a two-year-old picking up an infant is never a good idea. Neither is letting said toddler ride a tummy-timing-infant like a horse. In case you were wondering...

Mud Bash 2015

Speaking of Bennett, THE two-year-old, that boy can go from being the sweetest little thing in backwards jeans and cowboy boots to this strong-willed, crazy child who likes to talk back. My mom always said I was going to get my payback when I had kids... I thought I had at least twelve or thirteen years to wait for that smart aleck attitude! Nope. Bennett will go from being my little helper and picking up his toys, to yelling "NO" at me over something silly (you know like going to the bathroom or eating a certain food item he has been asking for all afternoon). And you know how he talks back to me? His two favorite bratty phrases are, "YOU, Mom!" and "Fruit snacks?" That's right, ladies and gentlemen, my two-year-old is basically a miniature teenager in disguise... a very cute disguise... God, I love him though. At least he is finally potty-trained (um, minus night time). And my boys absolutely adore each other. It cracks me up.

Perfect Angels

As for other updates in our lives, after four years of filling out paperwork and checks, and waiting to hear something, we have, most unfortunately, been forced to "terminate" (as they termed it) our adoption through Ethiopia. This brings up tons of emotions, so I will write more on this later. In the meantime, we cannot afford to start another adoption from scratch at this time, but we still feel called to help children in need, so... we are training to be foster parents! I'm both incredibly excited and freaking out all at the same time. But, more on this later.

Since I'm so far behind, and I need to update our blog for ourselves anyway (did I mention I turn these into photo books for our family each year, something I am also behind on...), I think I'm going to go backwards and let you know what has gone on for the past six months. Maybe a post per month. Starting in a couple of days. Maybe a week. I dunno. Now that I've finished my 120-page thesis, I may need to get my writing fix and start blogging more. You know, blogs about DIY projects, new recipes, and parenting advice - heck, maybe I'll become a know-it-all mommy blogger, take a picture where I'm actually wearing makeup and have my hair done, and write like I have this parenting thing figured out... HA!

Whose wedding are we at?? ;)