The new little in my life....

Grey Nicolette Granberry captured our hearts on April 5th, 2013. To say that I'm over the moon excited about my niece is an understatement.... She is the most precious blessing. She has a head full of dark brown hair, the sweetest cheeks and is teeny tiny. I love everything about her and I am thrilled to have her as my niece and a cousin to my P's.

My sister always says I was born to be a Mommy and an Aunt..... I was an Aunt before I was a Mom. Being an Aunt made me want to be a mom. There's something about being an aunt and being involved in your nieces and nephews lives that makes life that much sweeter. I can't wait to spend our lives with Grey {and her Mommy and Daddy, too :)}.

 

 

 

 

  

Spring Break in pictures

Our Spring Break went by too fast! We spent every day doing fun stuff with family and friends. We got used to playing outside in the gorgeous weather, staying up late and sleepiing in (for the P's at least). Come on summer!!!

Our spring break in pictures...

I hosted a Bachelor Finale watch party the first evening of Spring Break. It was so much fun hanging with my girlfriends :)  I just love Sean!

Sweet Gunner man (my BF Kristen's little boy) spent the day with us on Tuesday. He joined us for a play date with friends. He was a perfect angel and the P's loved having a "baby" to carry around.  

I took Payne and my nephew to the park to play a few games of baseball while my sister took Payton and my niece to a pottery place. That afternoon we went back to play tag and hide-n-go-seek on the playground with my niece and Payton while my sis got her grays colored :)   

The P's love it when I jump with them.

I snapped this once in a lifetime picture as fast as I could! Cuddles like this are rare.  

 

We went to Nocona to see our dearest friends Sophia, Lincoln and Staci. They lived across the street from us and moved to Pennsylvania in November. We spent the day swimming, playing in sand, bouncing in the bounce house, blowing bubbles, eating hamburgers and ice cream and going on golf cart rides. There's a void left without them here.  Bittersweet :) 

 

 

Before heading to Nocona to see our friends, we went to La Hacienda (my favorite Mexican restuarant) and picked up chips and salsa for Staci. She loved our surprise.



Payton climbed as high as she could on the play equipment at her school. Pretty sure this is a common thing for her but makes my heart skip a beat.

 

Slide races

Before heading down the street to play with friends, Payne geared up for the ride. As mad as I was when Brandon bought our golf cart (with his brother by side egging on the purchase :)), it has been lots of fun and very useful.

Over the weekend, we went to Houston to see my best friend, Jennifer, and her adorable girls Addie, Amelia and Caroline. Caroline was MIA during this picture. Payne did so well being the only boy. Addie kept telling him "Payne, I'm so sorry you are the only boy".... too sweet!

 

As always, it went by too fast. Until next year.....

What I'm Loving...

Happy Wednesday!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday is here.....

 

 

I'm loving..... that Lent starts today. No, I'm not Catholic. I grew up Presbyterian, my family switched to Methodist in middle school and now our family attends a non-denominational church. Last night Brandon and I discussed Lent....more like, I was questioning him what he was giving up this year until he gave me an answer :). So, we both gave up fast food. We don't eat fast food daily but when we do, it's more times than not, Chick-fil-A. My family and friends know that I love Chick-fil-A and Target. I'm not even sure what it is about CFA that I love so much other than their split tea. I do love their family friendly environment. It makes for an easy dining experience when they offer so kindly to refill my drink all the while my children aren't eating a lick of their food because playing is more fun than having fuel for energy.   

 

 

We are starting The Jesus Storybook Easter reading plan today. Payne loves this Bible. It is the best one I've found for toddlers.

 

 

 

I'm loving..... Caldrea products. If you haven't tried Caldrea's household cleaners, candles, etc.... you should. I get them at non-other than Target. My favorite scent is Hibiscus Yuzu.  It smells so good! I could bathe in it, it's that good! I've tried everything in this scent and the only thing I didn't like was the lotion. I was so disappointed. It had a bad aftersmell. I use the countertop spray every day after spraying my counters with a disinfectant. The smell stays around and makes your house smell fresh.

 

 

 

I'm loving...... spring shoes. I bought a pair of wedges, from Target (surprised?), because I really like wedges. I'm already a giant next to most average humans so adding inches to that will definitely make me tower over everyone, my hubs included. However, style is far more imporatnt than worrying about who the giant in the room is, right?

 

 

 

I'm loving....... Green Sparkly Earrings. This book is a fast read. It's written by "Big Mama" who just so happens to be from the greatest state in the USA, Texas! She tells tales of marriage, motherhood, parenting, friendship and everything in between. I would read parts of it outloud to Brandon and he'd look at me like I had 4 heads because he didn't think it was worth laughing so hard you cry like I did.

 

 

 

 

I'm loving...... that my little Payner hasn't given me fits this week on clothes! I've had the pleasure of dressing him like a little man all week.  No one warned me about little boys being adament about choosing their own clothes. Come to find out, it's pretty common amongst little gents. He is determined to wear black "pants" aka Nike gym shorts, Every.Darn.Day.  I'm as strong willed as he is and I will allow him to wear them but when we go out for church, parties, dinner, etc.... Momma is going to win. Now I understand why my friend Sarah (Mom to 2 sweet boys, Benton and Braxton) had play clothes and good clothes for her boys. Brandon is as particular about clothes as he is so it shouldn't come as a surprise but at 3 years old, really?!  I hope I'm not jinxing myself :/ Payton could care less what she wears so I get to live out my childhood dream of playing dress up with her every day. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Payton selfie*

Have a Happy, Wonderful Wednesday! I'm off to meetings and after those, it's smooth sailing towards the weekend!! 



What I'm Loving Wednesday

Wow! It's been a long time since I've blogged. It's one of my 2013 goals to get back to blogging and recording our life.

What I'm Loving Wednesday is a link up my SIL, Jaimee, has been doing for some time. I love reading about people, their interest, likes, loves, etc.... So here is my first What I'm Loving Wednesday :)

 

I'm loving.... Old Navy's new spring/summer line. I love stripes and polka dots...a lot.

 

 

 

 

I'm loving..... my Maybook fitness and food journal. It keeps me accountable on days that I feel like a slacker. My sister just got her planner and it's lovely, too. The size is perfect to throw in your purse and not too bulky.

 

 

 

I'm loving.... that we are making our dining room into a study! It means Brandon will be home a little more, yay!

 

 

 

 

I'm loving.....  my most recent read, One Thousand Gifts. I feel more grateful after each time I read it and it's changing my life.



Happy "What I'm Loving" Wednesday!

 

 

 

Something to blog about :) My niece!

So, I haven't blogged in a very long time. Actually, since Payton started Kindergarten. Now, she is 2 weeks shy of being done with Kindergarten! It's sad to think my little KG girl is going into first grade. It's also sad to think that I haven't blogged in almost 9 months. Nothing life changing has kept me from blogging; just enjoying every moment with my family and loving life, doing work (as my hubby calls it :)) and spending all our time with family and friends.

I decided to blog today for my sweet niece, Adelie. She had her 1st major surgery today to construct her an ear. She will have a total of 4 surgeries over the next 6 months to construct her ear cosmetically. You can follow her journey here.  She was born 8 years ago without an ear and without an ear canal. She has lived 8 years with only 1 ear and you would never know she had only 1 ear. She has excellent hearing and can hear better than most people with 2 ears.

She did wonderful during her surgery today. She is in her room now and will recover there for the next 24 hours then she'll head home to Gunter. Please keep her, my sister, my brother-in-law and my nephew in your prayers. The next few weeks will be tough keeping this active little gal inactive :)

It's amazing how God works through doctors to make everyday miracles seem so simple. We are truly blessed by His graces and especially our ADELIE GRACE :)

 Here are some pictures of my brave little niece and her new ear!

Before surgery

Her new ear! Her "special ear" is still attached and will be removed in another surgery. :)

KG for PG

Our sweet first born started Kindergarten on Monday! She was beyond excited on the eve of Kindergarten. I, on the other hand, was full of emotions and barely slept the night before. She woke up at 6:15 rarin' to go! Payton has NEVER woken up before 7:30 in her entire life.ever. We ate cinnamon rolls, got dressed for school and off we went to Rucker Elementary. We walked her into school and she acted like she owned the place. With her daddy in tow, she took us to her room. She got all settled, we gave her hugs, kissed her hand and she sat down to color. No tears, no looking back! I was relieved that she did so well!!

She told me after her first day of school that she wanted to eat in the cafeteria and that she definitely wanted to go back. Since then, she has asked multiple times if she could eat in the cafeteria. For some reason, I have had a really hard time with her wanting to eat at school. I do have the menu list but knowing that I didn't make it bothers me for some ridiculous reason. I think it goes back to the first paragraph of me freaking out that my first born is now independent (which is a great thing!) and growing up. Her desire for a "tray" will come true tomorrow against her Mama's will. Words cannot express her level of happiness! She told me she's going to get white milk, pick out her own food and get a cookie :)

We love Payton's new school! Her teacher is super sweet and her principal is really nice, too! She's one proud Rucker Eagle!!! The transition has been easy and worry free, other than the rantings about cafeteria food :) We're very pleased with Rucker Elementary and can't wait to see what the next year holds for our little Eagle!!

Heart Cinnamon rolls :)

Naked kiddos! They were about to get dressed for the big day!

It's official! 

Love her sass in this pic

Mommy and her #1

Daddy and his #1

We made it!

Off she goes

Almost there....

Sweet Mrs. M

Bye to my sweet P

Ready to learn!

God Gave Me You

While driving back from Houston last weekend, I heard Blake Shelton's version of David Barnes "God Gave Me You". I love it!! Makes me think of my Brandon who God Gave Me :) 

 

Napa

I've waited 29+ years to go to Napa! Brandon surprised me with a trip to Napa for my 30th birthday. He had it planned perfectly and I didn't have to worry about a thing but packing my bags. Payton and Payne stayed with my sisters, Susanne and Sarah, and my parents.

We spent 5 days in CA. We left Saturday morning at 6 a.m. to head to the Valley!! We spent our first night (Sat) in San Francisco. It was 56 degrees when we got there! From 100+ to 56 was quite a treat! We toured Alcatraz, walked a ton, ate fresh fish (yum!), dined at restaurants that we'd never go to with kids and enjoyed every minute adjusting to having no kiddos around. The next day, we headed to Sausalito before heading to Napa. Sausalito is the cutest little town. It's on the bay and has cute little shops, farmers markets and the best tacos I've ever eaten!

We headed to Napa on Sunday afternoon. We checked into our hotel on the Napa River, in downtown Napa. We went to dinner that night, drove up in the mountains and crashed b/c we had a day full of wine tours the next day. I have been dying to go wine tasting in Napa and Monday was the day! We, along with 6 other people, went on a wine tour to 1 large winery, Trefethan, and 3 smaller wineries- Hill Family, GooseCross and Regusci. We fell in love with the Regusci winery and wines. I've never liked all the wines I've tasted from 1 wine maker until Regusci. Every wine was delicious! We got to drink directly from the barrel and the wine was nothing short of divine! We had the best time getting to know the people with us and drinking lots of wine! We'll have lots of Regusci wines to share soon!!

Tuesday we had no plans so we headed to St. Helena, Calistoga and Yauntville, all just north of Napa. We saw tons of different wineries but didn't stop to taste b/c it was raining. We had a delicious dinner at a French restaurant. They had hands down the best french fries I've ever eaten! Who knew someone other than Chick-fil-A could get it right?!

The next morning we packed up and headed back towards San Francisco to catch our afternoon flight back to Dallas. We left Napa early enough to go back through Berkley and see the other side of San Francisco. We ate lunch at a sandwich shop in San Francisco called Ike's Place. It's not your normal Subway sandwich shop. A good friend recommended it to Brandon and I'm so glad we took his advice! It was so good! I kept telling Brandon that there's no way a sandwich can be that good but I ate my words b/c their sandwiches are divine!

I am so glad B and I got to go on a vacation with just the two of us. He made it by far the best vacation I've ever been on. I hope turning 30 is as fun as Napa!!! Cheers!

 Pier 41 looking towards Alcatraz

 B in San Francsico

 Guards tower at Alcatraz

 In the 60's/70's Indians took over Alcatraz after the prison closed.

 Showers.

 Cell....Seeing this is enough to make me never run a red light again!! 

 Bullet holes from a shoot out with the wardens and prisoners

 Payne's Birthday, almost 50 years prior, was a memorable day

 The Full House house in San Francisco

 Danielle Steele's home

 Sausalito, CA

 On the way to Napa

 Napa River....looking out from our hotel

 Our hotel is on the right and then there were townhomes, restaurants and

shops all downtown off Main St

 Trefethan Winery

 Regusci!