sunday snaps

#sundaysnaps | week in review

Julianna's parent observation night was Tuesday and she made us so proud with her amazing skills! Our girl is a natural ballerina.

The week before Christmas and 70 degrees, makes red lace up flats a necessity.

We had our staff Christmas party and put on our festive duds for the occasion! I love working with these amazing people.

Olivia had her Christmas express day at preschool this week and she got to wear her Christmas jammies to school. She had such a great time!

Olivia's parent observation night was on Friday and she is an amazing little tumbler. She's isn't a super graceful dancer but she has so much fun doing it and that's really all that matters.

We spent our Saturday shopping and eating out for dinner. This man is amazing dad and an awesome hubby. He is always such a trooper and I love him more than anything!

Saturday morning I broke my favorite Starbucks mug that I got for my birthday so we made a stop to get a new one since they were 30% off. We had to get a peppermint mocha while we were there. It tastes like Christmas in a cup to me!

Our last stop Saturday night was to ride through the neighborhoods to see the beautiful Christmas light balls. They were so pretty!

Tonight we went to the Denton Farm Park to take a ride on the Country Christmas Train and to visit Santa. This was our first ever successful Santa photo with both of our girls. They had a great time posing with Santa and tell him their wish lists. 

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.

1 Peter 1:8 ESV

sunday snaps

#sundaysnaps | week in review

Having little girls to dress is so much fun for me. Olivia and I twinned in our buffalo plaid skirts for a shopping trip. She was so proud to match mommy!

This Tuesday, the community group for moms that I lead, hosted our third annual baby shower for Jesus. We collected much needed items for the local pregnancy care center. I love being able to help other moms in my community.
Don't let this smile deceive you! This pretty girl had a terrible ear infection this week. Thank goodness for a doctor who squeezed us in and antibiotics.
Those sunglasses are to hide the bags under my eyes! Josh was out of town all week and I missed him {and his help} so much. This is the face of a tired momma!

And of course when Josh is out of town, not only Julianna gets an ear infection but I end up with the stomach bug. Seriously?! Moms don't have time to be sick. I spent as much time laying on the couch  resting {this was my view} as I could thanks to help from my mom and my good friend, Pam. The stomach bug is the absolute worst.

Thankfully it only lasted 24 hours and by Friday I was feeling better in time for the worship team Christmas party. I had to pull out my most festive pants for the occasion!

And I went into Target for paper towels and stumbled across these sparkly tops. I couldn't resist the gold leopard and silver glitter!

We ate an early dinner at PJ Changs on Saturday and Josh taught Julianna to use the chopsticks. 
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6

family: christmas 2014

We had a wonderful Christmas and we hope you did too! We learned more about the birth of our Savior, ate tons of yummy food, and spent lots of time with family! Julianna got sick during all the fun but we made the best of it anyways. Here is a recap of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day...

watching their videos from the North Pole.

checking on the cookies for Santa that they just put in the oven.

candlelight Christmas Eve service before going to my mom's for our traditional meal and gift exchange.

getting cookies + egg nog ready for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.

time for bed for these excited little girls.

the stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

Santa came! Santa brings an unwrapped gift to each of the girl's. Julianna asked for a bike and Olivia asked for things to take care of her babies with. Santa did good.

starbucks cup excitement.

a tiara for our princess.

he loves his under armour hoodie!

an Olivia book for Olivia. later than afternoon Josh took Olivia to his family's Christmas Day get together. Julianna and I stayed home in our Christmas jammies to nurse her back to health. she's thankfully finally feeling better today.

my Christmas goodies. Josh always does such a wonderful job picking out items for me. he is a smart man and stalks my Pinterest account for ideas.

the sweetest gift of all are these Kate Spade inspired earrings that he made! he saw the real thing on my Pinterest but decided he could DIY a pair himself. so he took a pair of cheap Wal-Mart earrings, a little super glue and glitter, and done! I love them and his thoughtfulness! he's a keeper.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our family to yours!

family: Father's Day 2014

Happy Father's Day to two of my favorite dads, my daddy and my husband! You are both wonderful examples of what a father should look like. You both work hard, love gently, and lead your family so well. I am so proud and thankful to have you both in my life. I love you both with all of my heart!

This is me when I was two with my dad and my oldest brother, Zach.

On my wedding day.

Such a sweet moment when Olivia was a newborn and Julianna was 2.

This past weekend at a birthday pool party. He's such a great daddy!

Our gifts for Josh. Energy drinks spelling out the word "Dad", a new awesome t-shirt, and a ladybug garden rock painted by Julianna.

Health & Fitness: Day 3 & 4 + Josh's Birthday

Maybe this wasn't the best week to start my exercise routine. It was the 4th of July yesterday and Josh's birthday today. We have been busy and both occasions involve delicious food! We made our cookout food yesterday as healthy as possible by using ground turkey instead of ground beef, the lasagna I made for dinner had lean ground sausage in it, and instead of cake, we went out for frozen yougurt to top off Josh's birthday.

But... no exercise yesterday or today. Well, not formal exercise. I took care of 2 little ones, does that count? I did squeeze in a few crunches and pushups while playing on the floor with the girls. I'll get back on track tomorrow!

Happy, Happy Birthday to my sweet husband! I love you, Joshua!

The birthday boy playing with fireworks on the 4th.

The 4th and Fashion

Yesterday, we celebrated our first 4th of July as a family of 4. The day started off with a "bang" when our AC went out upstairs at about midnight. Julianna woke up around 1:30am and never went back to sleep. Olivia slept as usual but Josh and I took turns with Julianna. I ended up on the couch watching Nick Jr. with her. She finally crashed for a nap around noon and I woke up up around 3pm. She wasn't happy with me this time! We ventured out to the Goodwill. I haven't been thrifting since before Olivia was born so I was very excited. We only stayed for about 15 minutes but I still managed to find 5 items that I loved. I'll show those off in another post. We also got Julianna a bag of Mega Blocks... I'm not sure who loved those more- her or Josh! We picked up a few items from the grocery store and went back home for a little cookout. We grilled ranch turkey burgers and also had potato salad, baked beans, and sweet potato fries. Delicious- and Julianna even ate! We had planned on having strawberry shortcake for dessert but we were all so full. I think that would be good for breakfast! Josh bought a few fireworks to shoot off with the neighbors. We thought Julianna would love them. We were wrong. She was okay with the idea at first but then we gave her a sparkler and she immediately grabbed the "sparkler end" instead of the stick. It happened too fast for us to stop her. A little burn later and she was completely scared and done with fireworks. She screamed and cried for 5 minutes so I took her instead for bathing and consoling. Oh well! We'll try again next year and maybe Olivia can join us instead of snoozing!

Speaking of being thrifty... 4th of July was the perfect chance to wear my blue and white striped shorts. I scored this Banana Republic shorts for $2.00 at the thrift store when I was pregnant. I was excited to pair them with a fun red top for the perfect 4th of July outfit. Thrifty and fashionable! :)

Anniversary Surprise Dinner

Yesterday, Josh and I celebrated 4 years of marriage. He's always been such a romantic guy. He loves doing special things and surprising me (yes- he is a keeper!). I'm not one who loves to be surprised though because I can't stand not knowing everything- I'm nosey like that. So I was a little difficult to deal with yesterday but he still pulled off a beautiful, romantic dinner for 2 + Livi. Livi and I met him at the park where we exchanged vows 4 years ago. He had a beautiful little table setup with dinner from my favorite restaurant as well as new wine glasses with our names and anniversary engraved (one of originals got broken) and a mini cake that was designed exactly like our wedding cake. He even arranged for our friend and the girl's godmother to take care of Julianna and put her to bed. It was so sweet and so thoughtful! What a wonderful way to celebrate our 4th anniversary! I can't wait for many more amazing years together!