Easter 2013

He is Risen! We had such a fantastic Easter. I plan to post more on that soon, but for now I'm just uploading a few of my favorite pictures from the day. We have a busy week ahead of us with moving day on Friday, but I hope to blog more soon! As for now, Dwight and I are "sneaking out" (we are at my in laws) and grabbing a late night bite while the kids sleep. Happy Easter!

Preparations, Party & Performance

The past 2 days I have been running around like a mad woman preparing for Dwight to come home.

There is was so much to be done! Wednesday, I took Tristan for a hair cut. He did NOT want to get one, but he was in desperate need so I insisted. I told the barber I wanted it "really low" and he definitely followed my requests. Ha!

I don't think there is anything cuter than my boy with a fresh hair cut! ;)

I packed Tristan's lunch for Thursday and included this little note for his teachers to read him at lunch time. He is so excited for his daddy to come...almost time!

I have had this countdown on my phone since Dwight left in September. There is nothing better than seeing it go down to ONE day!!!

Today was Tristan's Easter party and performance at school. It was so much fun getting him ready for it. He woke up and was beyond excited to go to school. I love being a mom, there is just something so sweet about celebrating holidays with the kids.

I am one of the room moms for T's class. I have always said that it is really important for me to be able to be as involved at my kid's school as possible. I had fun prepping for the class party!

I picked Brianna up from school today at 11:30am. It was so good to see my girl! I was excited to show her the Easter "basket" I got her. One of the first things we did once we got home was paint nails, it's important, you know?! =)

Tristan's precious little class! We are so blessed to be apart of this school and to have met all these sweet kids and their parents.

Oh my little serious child...he is always in deep thought!

His teacher told me today how he knew the entire Resurrection story. It made my heart so happy to know that he really does soak up all the Bible stories we read and talk about.

Hunting eggs!

Since I picked Brianna up early, she was able to come to the party with me! She did such a good job helping me set up. :)

Bri Bri got to join in on the party celebrations!

No party is complete with out Pierce! ;)

His mom and I always say how cool it is that our boys became best friends and because of it, we are now friends.

Tristan BEGGED my mom for this awful hat while we were out shopping today. She of course said yes, and he has been wearing it around all day long. Mind you, its 70 plus degrees out. Ha!

Tonight was T's spring performance at school. He was just a tad bit tired/grumpy from his busy day. I was a little worried about how it would go...but he did GREAT! I just love the little outfit he wore. He will be sportin' it again on Easter Sunday and Amari and Brianna will be matching him!

I came into the living room before we left and these two were sitting on the couch with their arms around each other. People always ask if its hard for me to accept Bri and Amari, how could it be when a) they are amazing kids and b) my son absolutely adores them?!?

Tristan and two of his classmates before the show!

I told Tristan how PROUD I was of him!! He did a fantastic job singing to Jesus. I will admit, I got teary-eyed seeing him and all the sweet children on stage, singing their hearts out to the Lord. They are all still so innocent, sweet, and completely trust that God is who he says he is. I never want T to lose that passion.

Tristan and Faith!

More friends!

Tristan is about a head taller than his classmates, and so it begins! ;)

After the performance, the school had open house. Tristan enjoyed showing us all his beautiful artwork. I told his teacher that I can see why he wants to come to school everyday!

Love you bubba!!

Well, the countdown is coming to an end, Dwight will be here in less than 24 hours!! His flight comes in tomorrow night and I am soooooo excited! We are all five staying in a hotel for the first two nights he is home since we won't be moving into our new place for another week. Dwight thought it would be a fun "staycation" and much need alone family time for us, I agree! I am so excited to unplug, from the craziness of life and enjoy my sweet family for the next few days! I hope everyone has a blessed Easter.

He is RISEN. He is RISEN indeed!

The FINAL countdown!

Okay, FOR REAL...this is the last full week before the hubs comes home! His flight lands late Friday night. I can't even explain how excited I am!! It's been nearly 3 months since I've seen him in person. The next two weeks are going to be crazy busy, but I'm ready, bring it on! ;) Between Easter, moving, and getting back into the groove of things, there will be lots of (welcomed) adjustments.

But don't worry, I will take lots of pictures and update on here as soon as we settle in. =) I plan on enjoying my family and soaking up as much time with Dwight as possible. I have cleared my calendar; cancelled my appointments with clients, and gotten ahead on 2 weeks worth of homework so I don't have to worry about one.single.thing!

I got my hair highlighted by an awesome stylist/friend, thanks Lindsay!

It was fun to relax, catch up and get a new look in time for my hubby's arrival. ;)

Tristan asked me "mommy, can you rock me and watch Chuggington with me?" You better believe I said YES! Afterwards he got his aunt Ashley to join him. He is in a cuddle mood today.

I am SO blessed to go to an awesome church and be around awesome women. Our church is huge; 25,000 member congregation...you would think it would be hard to meet people and connect, but its not! We have what the church calls "Gateway Groups" and those groups range from scrapbooking, single moms, to men groups. The point is to find people in similar walks of life or who have similar interest and to CONNECT. My very first Gateway group was led by someone I now consider a very close friend. In that group I made life long friendships that I cherish. Yesterday, we had a reunion and it was so much fun! I think everyone but 2 of us have had more children/are pregnant since we met 2 years ago.

Here are *some* of the sweet little ones!

Tristan has a little crush on Hudson, but begged me not to tell her. I didn't, but I did snap a picture of them together just in case they get married one day...I would LOVE that. Haha!

Yesterday, Tristan and I also visited with Krystle and Titus.

These boys are super precious together!! Ty watches everything Tristan does, and Tristan is just ready for his little buddy to start walking/running around with him!

Dwight sent me this picture the other day and I nearly had a heart attack. I have given him strict instructions to stay off all snowmobiles or any other "dangerous" things. NO broken bones welcome in this family. Ha!

I was looking back at Easter pictures from the past four years. Each one tells a different story, and I was at such a different place in life (especially in the first three). It is so special to me that Dwight will be home in time for Easter, what a joyous occasion we have to celebrate together. The resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Thursday is Tristan's school Easter party, and then spring concert later that night. Its also the LAST night before Dwight comes home!!! I can't believe we've made it....this journey has come to an end. Thankful, overjoyed, blessed, on cloud nine, READY to start this new season in life!

Happy Wednesday!

Blessing in disguise

On a scale from 1 to 10, I would say I'm about a 6 on the "crunchy" scale. Ha!

I appreciate all things organic/all natural, and I have seen the benefits first hand. However, I do enjoy a cheat day every now and again, and I can't say that we are a 100 percent organic family...we probably never will be, but I plan to get as close as possible.

 

Today, Tristan and I had our monthly appointments at Dr. Beight's office. She is a wholistic chiropractor in our area, and one of my favorite people. This lady knows her stuff! I was looking on her wall and she has THREE bachelor degrees, along with her graduate degrees. I have nothing to complain about. Ha! Anyway, she is so much more than a chiropractor, she is an all natural doctor who has a passion for healing people through natural measures. God has used her to impart so much wisdom and positive change into our lives.

 

Tristan did fabulous today at his checkup! She said he was not deficient in anything so he does not need any supplements. However, his sleep has not been the best so she put him on melatonin and that should help. Bye bye dark circles under his eyes! ;) Also, she said he was testing with a high sugar level. Hmmmm...could last weekend have anything to do with that?!?! Sugar detox starts now!

 

 

 

It cracked me up that while we were in the waiting room, he picked up this magazine and asked if he could look at it. He already loves basketball!

 

 

 

 

Fast forward, 2 hours and Tristan was knocked down with a horrible stomach bug. It came out of no where. He is usually on a pro-biotic every day but we ran out about 5 days ago and I have slacked in getting more. Well, since then he got a horrible cold and now this virus. I will not be running out of that stuff anymore, it really works!

 

My friend Kris, who recommended Dr. Beights to me told me to get some peppermint oil and rub it on Tristan's stomach to help with the vomiting. I messaged my friend, Alyssa who I know is big into these oils and asked for some help. She gave us the hook up! She gave me some peppermint oil and another oil called thieves. She also sent a diffuser home with me so I could put the peppermint in it and let it blow into the air. Tristan had thrown up 5 times in one hour...until I rubbed the oil on his belly, feet and spine. He immediately stopped throwing up and fell sound asleep. The oils are by Young Living and are called Essential Oils. There are tons more that meet so many other needs and I plan on placing a big order soon!

 

 

Now, I am not saying that Western medicines doesn't have its place. I truly believe it does, but I also think we run to it when there are other, healthier/safer alternatives. Simple dietary changes, vitamin supplements and lifestyle changes will significantly decrease the need for prescription medicine and intrusive medical procedures. Again, I can testify to that first hand. I went from being told "you will need to have surgery(for the second time, and same problem)" to "wow, everything looks great there is nothing here to do surgery on" after being under Dr. B's care.

 

One thing I do almost daily is drink this smoothie. It is DELICIOUS! It's goat's milk (much easier and better for the body to digest, as oppose to cow's milk), yogurt made from goat's milk, fresh fruit (blueberries, blackberries,raspberries, strawberries, etc), a whole banana, 1/2 tsp of coconut oil, drop or two of honey and then you're done!

 

 

I titled this posting "blessing in disguise" because today was the day Dwight was suppose to come home. And while I would have LOVED to see, hug, and kiss my husband today, I am thankful he isn't here with all this sickness. I know I need to focus on taking care of Tristan and that would be hard to do if I was running to the airport, trying to spend time with my husband and readjusting to life all together. So, this time next week I will hours away from seeing my man and I can't wait! We will have all three kids for Easter and are taking a mini family "stay-cation"!

Randomness/Hubby Update

Prepare yourself, this is the most random blog post. Ha!

 

Sunday was St. Patrick's day and this is as festive as I got. =)

I am lovin' mint green everything this spring. It is so fresh and light!

 

 

I have been serving in the church nursery every weekend and on Wednesdays during morning Bible study since Dwight has been gone. It has been such a blessing to me, and took the focus off myself/situation and put it onto others. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to do this while my husband was away. However, with him coming home, I will not be serving as often. I am taking time off until I graduate and then volunteering once a month after that.

 

 

I literally do homework ALL the time. Dwight called me a few times the other day and would ask "what are you doing?" Each time my answer was "homework". He told me "babe, all you do is homework!" Trust me, I know!! Ha. School is literally my job right now, and it is full time.  The end is nearing though, and I am SO excited!!

 

 

 

I've been organizing and packing for our move in a little less than two weeks. I have bought some new decorations and extra things we needed. I'm ready to move in and unpack; not a fan of living out of boxes. ;)

 

 

The kids bathroom decor is duck themed, Tristan is so excited about that.

I found this cute little spout cover to go in it and a bunch of other cute decor. I think I'm all shopped out...no, that will never happen (although Dwight prays it will). Ha!

 

 

 

My supervisor was out of the office and in Dallas the other day so I got to use his office. I could get use to that more often! One day soon I will have an office of my own..

 

 

 

Poppy's birthday is two days after mine, so we celebrated Monday night. Mimi went all out (again) with a March Madness theme. He loved it!

 

 

Tristan thinks that every time someone has a birthday, it is his to share. He's had 3 celebrations this month; Dominique, Mommy and Poppy!

 

 

 

T made a bracelet at school on Tuesday, he was very proud of his work. He even posed with it for a picture! ;)

 

 

 

 

Tristan and I went to visit Faith today. They thought it was so funny that they both had on orange shirts (without it being planned). I love these two!

I went to Hobby Lobby (my favorite store!!) and found these adorable wicker Easter eggs. I had to get them for my mom. I told her it was a small token of thanks for ALL she does for us. =)

 

 

You may be wondering if Dwight is home yet, and the answer is, no. Originally he was suppose to be coming home around the 20th, but things haven't gone quite as planned. His team bought his ticket for the 29th and we found out about it afterwards. It's been a little disheartening knowing he could have already been home, but we are staying positive. He WILL be home next week and I am so excited!! He is getting some time to rest and re-cooperate and I am getting more time to get ahead on my school work and prepare for him coming home. So, the count down is back on!