What a weekend!!

I have had THE most amazing weekend, and it is still not over!

This Thursday kicked off the first night of Pink Impact, my church's woman conference.

I cannot even put into words what it meant to my heart and spirit to be there. Ahhh, it was SO refreshing to step away from folding laundry, studying and all the other overwhelming facets of life, to soak in the splendor of my Lord.

The first guest speaker was Beth Moore!! The house was jammed packed. Jill and I met my friend Paige, and 2 of her friends Megan and Brittany there. "Bethy" as we have lovingly nicknamed her, was simply perfection. I have read so many of her books and done several of her devotionals as well as watched her teaching on tv...to hear her live was nothing short of a blessing. I think we all laughed as much as we learned!

The one and only blurry picture I got of Jill and I before one of the sessions.

I am so thankful for a friend like Jill. She is so much more than a friend to me, more like a sister. We enjoyed spending this time together worshipping the Lord, catching up with each other, indulging in Starbucks and sharing our adventures and advice as wives.

Gateway (my church) is huge as you can see but I love what our pastor, Robert Morris says. We are not a "mega church" we are a "small town". When you think about it, in a small town you know everyone...you watch out for each other, you love each other and enjoy living life together. Despite the size of the church I have made so many amazing friends (like Paige) who I never would have met if it weren't for Gateway.

Worship was led by Kari Jobe ( my favorite!!). The presence of the Lord was all in this place. It was awesome to get to worship with my sisters in Christ who were from all walks of life, different age groups with different stories. There is just something beautiful about coming together as ONE.

The conference was Thursday night through Saturday morning so Dwight was on solo parenting duty. He did great! The pastor of Pink prayed for us as the conference was closing that we would have grace on our husbands/families if we came home to a house a little messier than normal since we hadn't been there for a few days. I fully expected there to be some dishes in the sink, laundry on the couch (did you see the last post?!?!) and children running around in their pjs. Ha! I prepared my heart to offer some of that grace...but I didn't have to. I came home to a SPOTLESS home. NO dirty dishes, NO dirty laundry, NO tv on (Dwight was outside playing football with the boys), and a bouquet of fresh flowers on the table. WOW!! I was humbled and told my sweet husband how much it meant to me that he not only allowed me to get away for a few days, but kept everything in order while I did. Hubs and the kids wrapped up their game, came upstairs and he cooked us all lunch!

The boys and I took a nap while Dwight went to coach a couple of games. After we woke up and got ready, we joined daddy at his last game of the day. Go Knights!!

We came home and I let Dwight have some free time after the boys were in bed and I stayed up till 1am writing a paper over ethical and legal issues in group counseling (exciting, huh?!). Today, Dwight let me sleep and took the boys to their grandma's so they could go to church while he goes to work and I write yet another paper...14 pages long. This is my LAST week of class before finals then this semester is OVER!! I am so thankful to be able to continue my education but man is it a lot of work. :)



A little bit of this & a little bit of that

This is a random post full of random pictures with little glimpses of our daily lives that don't really belong in a post of their own, so I'm throwing them all together! :)

One evening last week Tristan begged me to make Jello. Dwight was at work and I was working on homework but how could I pass up an opportunity to bond with my little buddy before putting him to bed for the night? This boy LOVES himself some jello!

Saturday before the wedding shower my mom and I went to get our hair done. I had a few inches chopped off and she got some layers and a trim. It was much needed and we decided to do it more often. There is nothing better than a good hair treatment!

My loves on Saturday walking to the car. I think we spend half of our time in a line. Ha!

This is Kris. She is a dear, dear friend of mine. We met about 2 years ago when she was the leader of my life group at church. Her testimony is beyond amazing. It is so sweet to see how the Lord has blessed us and where our lives have come. At the time we met, she was praying for another baby (she has 3 daughters, 1 who is in Heaven) and I was praying for a godly man for Tristan and myself. Two years later... she is 8 months pregnant at my wedding shower. God is good!!

We both got hair cuts. Dwight did Tristan's though. :)

I came home one day and this is what I found. Dwight is SO good at helping me around the house. There is nothing he won't do. We take turns cooking, doing dishes, laundry and taking care of the kids. Well, this day I walked in and he had been washing clothes...that stool is where he would sit and fold them. ha!  BUT, his process was delayed when he went into the kitchen to cook lunch and broke one of our glass cooking dishes. So, when I walked in he was sweeping the glass off the floor and this mound of clothes was just sitting there. It made me smile, though. Its the thought that counts! :)

2 days a week I don't go into work until 2pm so I get to spend the morning/early afternoon with Tristan. Tuesday we decided to bake cupcakes. He was the best little baker I've ever seen!

Oh that sweet little face...I cannot get enough of it!!

Tonight is the first night of Pink Impact and Beth Moore is Speaking. Jill and I are SO excited!! I took tomorrow off from work so I get to enjoy a 4 day weekend since I am off Mondays. I am ready to be relaxed and replenished through this conference. I have 2 papers to write this weekend but no matter what I am finishing up the kids room. Its almost summer and I'll get about a 3 week break from school so I plan on painting & decorating mine and Dwight's room as well as adding some finishing touches to the kitchen/dining room and living room. There just aren't enough hours in a day!

Sunday, FUNday!

Our weekends are usually jammed packed but Sundays seem to be the busiest.

We go to church, Dwight works for 2 hours coaching his bball team and its Brianna and Amari's last day with us so we usually have something fun planned. This Sunday was certainly no exception!

Our church has 3 services on Sunday morning and we have been going to the 12:30pm one. It allows time for us to sleep in, eat brunch, get ready (with minimal threats!) and to church still loving each other. Ha!

My little men before church. :)

Look who else decided to wear a sweatervest (and I didn't even ask him to). :)

After church Dwight had to coach so the kids and I grabbed a bite at Raising Cane's. These 3 are bestfriends and do such a good job entertaining each other, and me!

This little boy melts my heart. He calls me "Tiffy" in the sweetest little voice and constantly wants me to give him hugs and kisses.

This little girl is my very own Barbie doll! She is sweet, smart and beautiful.

This little boy is a hoot. I took 5 pictures trying to get him to just smile normal, but this is what I got. I love him!

After lunch we ran to Target...notice what aisle we are on?!? Cars. Ha! The boys got to pick out one car each, Brianna got some nail polish and they each got a new outfit. Don't worry, I got a few treats for myself too. :) They were such good little shoppers!

After we killed 2 hours, daddy was ready to be picked up and we all 4 went to Grapevine for Day out with Thomas. After a quick wardrobe change we were on our way! Here they are on the shuttle, can you tell they are excited?!

Grapevine put on such a fun family event. We all had a wonderful time eating, playing at the train stations, getting tattoos, bouncing in bounce houses, and of course, meeting Thomas.

Brianna and Sir Topham Hat.

 The boys were not so sure of the conductor!

Time to slide!

Thomas!

Amari is obsessed with horses and he spotted some across the street that he could ride. How could we resist? Off we went to ride the miniature horses.

Tristan was not so sure about them. The worker put him on a horse and he said, "I want the smaller one." So he took him off and put him on this little guy. Ha!

Amari aka THE happiest little boy. I think we may be having a cowboy party for him this year...I can see Mimi now, calling around local ranches/petting zoo's to get horses for the day. ;)

Miss Brianna...poor thing started crying immediately after being put on the horse. Her and Tristan remind me a lot of each other. They are both very gentle and timid at times. Dwight ended up walking with her, I with Tristan and Amari didn't want anyone by him!

Afterwards we walked around some more. Amari spent a lot of time in the stroller. I think we wore him out!!

Tristan and Brianna after the magic show. I don't know who laughed harder at the jokes/tricks...the kids or daddy. Ha! We all enjoyed it, but espeically Dwight. :) 

Showing off their tattoos!

I think the double stroller would've been handy, however it would have been awful to push and maneuver around all those people.

What a fun Sunday we had!

Celebrating our marriage

Saturday afternoon was our wedding reception/shower thrown by 3 of my best friends.

It was such a blessing to introduce my husband to more family and friends and meet more people from his side. Get ready for picture overload!!

My mom did the dessert table. It was perfect and delicious!

I loved all the personal touches. Everything was beautiful.

The food (my favorite part)!

Drink station. Tea, lime water and "DBU punch"

The sign in station for people to leave us encouragement/words of wisdom.

 

My awesome hostesses! Trish, Jill, me and Krystle.

Sisters!! Ashley, me, Melody and Natalie.

Us with our beautiful momma!

We loved visiting with all of our friends/family. It was so much fun!

**Sisters**

You might be wondering where our babies were...well, here they are! :)

I love this girl.

The kids spent most of their time playing in here. They were SO good, as usual.

 

My love. Unfortunately our pics together turned out mostly like this...

Getting ready to cut the cake.

I love his smile!

My college roomie/bff/cutest pregnant woman ever. Ty will be here in no time!

Ash helping her self to some food. There was tons to choose from!

Opening presents!

After we socialized, ate, cut cake and opened presents most of us wandered out back to watch the kids play. Here we are with Dwight's dad and stepmom.

 

We had a super busy weekend and I have two more post I need to get up. One about our Day out with Thomas and another about finishing the kids room. My goal is to have them both up by the end of this week...you know, in between writing a paper, studying for a test, doing a book report. Ha! But for now  :)I am off to go on a date with my hubby! Hockey game and dinner.