I have to brag...

I am a lucky girl!!

I have an amazing family and awesome friends...and I don't take that for granted.

I started my new job Monday, its been a while since I have been in the professional world so I was in need of some professional clothes. I have plenty of dresses but I expressed (complained) to Dwight that I didn't want to wear a dress every day...Well, Monday at work he texted me "I have a surprise for you!"

After I got off work and rushed to get ready for class that I would have from 5:15pm till 10:30pm he greeted me with a homemade dinner packed and ready to take to school (delicious marinated burgers and chips). Then he told me he lost his phone and asked for me to look for it in this bag that was sitting near by. I opened the bag and there were 2 different pair of dress slacks and a new pair of shoes! Dwight has a great since of fashion and I can trust him (most the time, Ha!) to pick out clothes for me or the kids. He even got the right sizes...although he did confess to calling my mom for help on that. Since Tristan is not in preschool anymore he spent the day with his daddy and they both went shopping together for me. It definitely made my day and made me thankful for such a thoughtful man!! :) We laughed because I said he is like a stay at home dad right now. I asked him what else they did and he said "I gave Tristan a hair cut (we'll get to that in a minute), waited for the washer repair man to come to your apartment, then the stove repair guy, I cooked dinner...but I didn't get to clean..." I love it!! He definitely knows that just because you stay home does not mean you have the easier job!!

I also have to brag on how awesome my parents are! They kept Tristan today while I worked and I got about 10 picture texts of their day. :) Poppy was off work so that was a bonus for little man! My mom made apple crisp (Tristan's favorite breakfast recipe of my mom's), they went to the park and then had a Chick Fil A picnic in the backyard. Thanks Mimi and Poppy!!

Speaking of Tristan...he told his daddy "I want you to cut my fro-hawk off." So, daddy did and called me on my lunch break yesterday to tell me. I have to admit, I was sad, we worked so hard on growing that thing!! But, how can I REALLY be sad when A.) It's hair and it'll grow back. B.) Tristan's reason for cutting it was that he wanted his hair to be like daddy's. C.) He looks like a sharp little stud!!

I know Tristan enjoyed his one-on-one time with daddy. Dwight told me all the funny stuff Tristan said throughout the day...I love that they are bonding and building their relationship. Tristan saw a toy when they were shopping for me and Dwight promised him that if he was respectful and behaved the rest of the week, they would go back this weekend and get it. Needless to say, Tristan hasn't forgotten and has tried his hardest to be on his best behavior. :)

Lastly, I have to brag that I have an awesome new job. I really missed being in a professional work environment and I forgot how much I love having an office and communicating with adults instead of children. Ha! This week I am working full time because I am still training and learning the ins and outs of things, but next week I drop down to part time and I am ready for it. It's only Tuesday and this momma is worn out!! It probably didn't help that I didn't get home from class last night until 11:30pm and then had to be up at 6:30am to get ready for work. Even still, I woke up with a joyful heart because I am blessed!!

Tomorrow is Wednesday which means we are halfway through the week and getting closer to the weekend. We have lots of fun stuff planned like riding the Fort Worth train, family pics (that should be interesting with 3 kids under 5) and anything else we can do to enjoy this beautiful weather!

Brianna & Tristan

Brianna is Tristan's big sister. She is one of the sweetest little girls you will meet. If we ask her to do something, she does it- no whining. She is definitely a little mother. Sometimes Dwight has to remind her "Bri, Bri you be the sister, we'll be the parents." But her intentions are pure and goodness knows those 2 brothers of hers need someone to pull in on the reigns. :)

She is a girly girl to the max. Bri loves it when I fix her hair, paint her nails or bake a yummy treat with her. Its beyond refreshing to have a little girl around, I look forward to our time together. She is definitely a daddy's girl but we have a special bond. When we are out in public I get told all the time "your daughter looks just like you!" Even my mom can't get over how much she looks like I did when I was a little girl, I'll have to pull out some baby pictures and compare.

 

This weekend Brianna and Tristan got to spend some quality time with each other. Amari was with his mom and we definitely missed him! It did give these two an opportunity for some extra bonding and I think they enjoyed it! Brianna is always asking for one of the boys to sit on her lap so she can hold them...even though they are nearly as big as she is. Ha! 

The boys are certainly best buds, but their sister has a special touch. She plays so well with them and if they start to meltdown/have a fit, she'll give them the toy they want or move on with out creating a disturbance (music to my/Dwight's ears). These two played awesome together this weekend. I think they watched a total of 3 shows. I even offered to let them watch a cartoon and they said "No, we want to read a book." You can insert a "proud mom moment" here!! :)

Saturday morning Dwight and I took Tristan to my parents house and then spent some one-on-one time with Brianna, she loved it. Here she is listening to my ipod in the car.

Afterwards we went back to Mimi and Poppy's house for lunch. Her and Tristan played and played with each other and then with Poppy...apparently he is the funnest family member. :)

The sweetest thing was when I went to check on them Saturday night. I had put them to bed and sat down in the living room to do my homework but wanted to peak in on them before getting started. I opened my door and found them out cold, holding hands. It melted my heart. Brianna has such a tender heart and she is always making sure her brothers are okay. They sure are lucky to have her as a big sister. And I'm sure one day when she starts dating her 2 "little" brothers will be anywhere from 6'5 to 6'10 towering over their sister, protecting her from any and everything. I can't wait!

Sunday morning we went to church with Dwight's dad and step mom. Afterwards we came back to my apartment to grab lunch, change clothes and head off to daddy's game. Of course the kids found some time to play... Bri tried her hardest to get Tristan to play Barbies but after he towed her Barbie car, she gave up!

Dwight's parents met us after church to watch the game! We are so proud of Dwight. One of the owners of the team gave us his suite for the day. It was perfect!

Warming up before the game...

Here is the team! I wrote Dwight's name above him.

We enjoyed a full buffet of delicious food along with awesome seats. I could get use to this kind of treatment more often. :)

Both kids had SO much fun and did so good!! It was funny because they were more excited about the stamps they got saying that we were okay to be in that area, than the actual area itself. Ha!

We have had a super fun weekend and are ready to start our week, but before we all part ways-we are heading off to Mimi's for dinner! :)

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Krystle got back the professional photos from her wedding so I had to share some of my favorites!!

She was such a beautiful bride and I am so proud of how strong she is. She got married almost 3 months ago, saw her husband off to war and found out she was pregnant about 2 weeks ago.

I love her and I know God has BIG things planned for her sweet little family.

Love is in the air... :)

Life's happenings!

First of all, TGIF!!!

Second, God is good. I know I say that all the time, but it is SO true. I do not just think he is good because life is good, I KNOW he is good because through every step of our journey (good and bad) he has been right by my side. Life is a series of seasons...some more enjoyable than others.

 Right now we are in such a sweet season, and I love it.

I also love this little boy, A LOT. :)

Last week I put my 2 weeks notice in at the preschool I was working at and un-enrolled Tristan from it.

I didn't have a back up plan, I just knew God was asking me to step out on faith and trust him to take care of me- not a job, the government, my parents or Dwight.

Sunday I was told I did not have to work the 2 weeks I had agreed to. Honestly, I was relieved and at peace. I was trusting. Monday I turned my resume into a company, Tuesday they called me wanting to interview me, Wednesday I had my interview and Thursday they offered me the job. Seriously?!?

That is ALL God. I know how difficult it is to find good jobs these days and I am so thankful that not only did I find one, but days after quitting my last one.

I will be working at a State Farm insurance company in Colleyville part time. I absolutely love the people (I got to do a working interview on Thursday) and I could not ask for a better boss. In my interview he said "We are a God led company and I am very protective over who I let in my office." I am so grateful to work for them, especially part time to start off. I will get to spend tons of time with my loves and focus on school.

This is just a reminder that God knows what we need. He knows our heart's desire and it is his heart to give us those things when they are for our good. So, Tristan will be splitting his time with myself, daddy and Mimi. He is so excited!! I value education, for myself and my son. But, God reminded me as I went back and forth whether or not to take Tristan out of preschool; the most important thing for my 3 year old is to know that he is loved.

 It amazes me how smart he is, how much he has learned from structured environments...goodness knows he wouldn't have learned how to spell his name, count to 20, identify every shape (even the hard ones like octagon), say words in Spanish and more if it were just up to me. However, he has his whole life to learn textbook material. I only have 2 more years that I don't have to share him with school and I want to enjoy that time. I want to teach him things that his teachers won't be able to. I want to build his character, tell him how much Jesus loves him and how much his parents love him. I want to teach him how to be a little gentleman and treat others with respect. I want to focus on the heart, not the brain.

Who knows, maybe next year he will be in a 2 day a week mothers day out program- but right now we are enjoying his early "summer vacation". :)

We have A LOT of exciting things coming up...

new job

new (no) school for Tristan

new living space (after our lease is up in Feb)

new relationships

NEW season.

I don't start working till Monday so today Dwight and I are spending the day with Tristan and Brianna and getting some stuff done...we have plenty to do!!

We are family

Families come in all different shapes, sizes and colors.

Some are blended, some are more traditional.

Every family is unique and no matter how "normal" they may look from the outside, they all have their quirks.

I love my family, and everything we have gone through has made me love and value them even more.

Dwight and the kids spend a lot of time with Tristan and I at our apartment on the weekends.

There is never a dull moment when we are all together!

By mid-afternoon they are exhausted and I usually have to surrender my bed to 3 sleepy children. :) 

I have learned that with 3 children you have to be super organized.

Luckily, I have always been the type of person who has a to-do list, meals planned out for the week, clothes laid out the night before etc. Dwight laughs at me (but deep down I know he appreciates it. ha!) because I have snacks packed, sippy cups filled and clothes ready to go before any activity...it saves us a lot of time!!

Last Saturday night we went to the Dallas Legends basketball game with my parents, sisters and the kids.

We all had such a good time!

One of the kids favorite thing to do is to go to church. That makes our hearts very happy! My mom got them books on how God wants us to share with and respect others from the church book store. I don't know how many times we have read those books and referenced them. We really want the kids to understand that we treat people a certain way because God calls us to love one another.

I LOVE having a girl around. All those boys can get crazy!! While they are wrestling we are painting nails, fixing hair, or baking cupcakes.

After church and lunch at Mimi and Poppy's house, they can barely make it down the street before passing out. Its a hard life they live...! :)

Dwight is so good about playing with the boys. He will spend hours playing cars/trains, basketball, throwing the football or tickle monster. I know that not only do the kids love him for that, it will have such an impact on the people they grow up to be.

I don't know how many times in a day/week/ month we get asked "are they twins?" Don't get me wrong, they resemble each other (especially now that Amari has his hair cut) but twins...out of my little body?!?

No thank you. Ha!

So, I have been trying to gain weight pretty much since I had Tristan. I only gained 12 lbs when I was pregnant with him and once I had him, I lost 30 lbs. Sounds good in theory but when you were only 125 lbs to begin with...not so much. I say that to say, I have been working out with Dwight in attempts to pack on a few pounds. His bachelors degree is in Kinesiology so its right up his alley. BUT, I about died- like literally wanted to go to the ER after our first session. My abs hurt so bad I felt like I needed to puke. He kept trying to get me to go back to the gym because it would help break up something ( I don't remember all the terms used!!) and I wouldn't be so sore. I waited 5 days before doing so and found out..he was right! I have gained weight building up muscle and eating the right things, thanks to my personal trainer. :)

He even humored me and played "PIG" then helped me dunk after one of our work outs. Ha!

To say Poppy is happy to have another male around is an understatement. Ha!

My apartments has an indoor bball court so we all went and played basketball one night. Even Mimi got out there, one word - hilarious!!

Tristan is doing awesome with speech therapy. I have noticed that when Dwight works with him on his exercises, he does even better. So, last week Dwight took him to therapy and I stayed home. Sarah, the speech pathologist told Dwight that Tristan did the the best she had ever seen him do. What?!? You know that made his dad SO happy. Here they are working on one of the exercises together at home.

Mel and Dwight, these two are bffs...I have to remind her that she is not Kim Kardashian and he is not Lamar Odom. Ha!!

If you made it to this point of the post- you are a dedicated reader! :) I know this is picture overload but I don't want to forget all these things. I love seeing the things that God is doing in our little family and anticipating what else he will do in due time.

Happy Wednesday!!!

What a difference a daddy makes!

For privacy reasons, I will not go into much detail on how this blessing came back to being, but I will tell you that God is still in the business of making miracles happen...and Satan will do everything in his power to try and deceive you to make sure you do not receive those miracles. Over the past few months Dwight and I have gone through the process of co-parenting again. We have been through a lot and those closest to us know that, but they also know how deeply we desire to make this work for Tristan. Sometimes we don't understand why things happen in the order that they do but all I could think of during this time was the quote that says God has 3 answers to our prayer request. 1.) Yes. 2.) Not now. 3.) I have something better in mind. I feel like we fell under number 2...not now. We each had so much growing to do and although last time we were on the right track- we each became a distraction to the other and God had to separate us to complete the work he had started.Tristan is SO happy to have his daddy, brother and sister in his life again and of course that makes me happy! I have taken lots of pictures during this time but have only shared them with close friends and family. I will continue to share our journey as I feel led to by God and as Dwight and I discuss what is appropriate and what isn't to let people know. Our only purpose in exposing this part of our lives is to dismiss any shame that Satan would try to put on us or others because of the past, and to let our story be a testimony (and possibly a lifetime movie one day. Ha!)
So...here's what we've been up to!

Brianna turned 5 years old!!

We rang in the New Year!

Ate lots and lots of cupcakes...

Drank gingerale and said cheers for what 2012 would hold!

Made yummy treats...

Went out for ice cream (several times. Ha) !

Went to speech therapy.

Had surgery...

and got lots of TLC.

Had lots of brother time...they are definitely best friends.

Watched daddy play basketball, their favorite thing to do.

Received pretty flowers and a sweet note...

Got a hair cut (but we did not touch the fro-hawk...Tristan is obsessed with it. Ha!)

Watched more basketball...

Watching the game!

Tristan went to the dentist on Friday and did SO well. He got a full cleaning, floss, vitamin coating on his teeth and an examine and didn't cry once. He was such a big boy and made this momma very proud!!

As you can see we have been very busy!! We are so thankful that God has restored what was broken, in his timing and we are trusting him through this transitional time in our lives. We are off to enjoy this absolutely beautiful weekend! :)