Wordle

To: Mommy

From: Gabrielle 

Happy Mother's Day

{Please excuse the poor quality scanned image}

I treasure this thoughtful gift from Gabrielle and have it proudly displayed in our kitchen.

It encompasses all the words that quickly come to mind when she thinks of me. 

I adore that she included dogs because our family has a shared love for the 4 legged fuzzy friends :)

What I love most about this simple piece of "art" is that all these words also describe her. She is 

Beautiful, Christian, Clean, Fair, Happy, Loving, Organized, Silly, Sweet & Trustworthy. She is also extremely artistic, creative, compassionate and a loyal friend to a fault. 

You can go here to www.wordle.net to create your own. 

I think they would make an awesome gift for any occasion!

Embrace the Camera: June 17, 2014

 I both give and receive worship through song. 

The song that has currently been speaking to my heart is "Let Them See You by JJ Weeks". 

Let them see You in me

Let them hear You when I speak

Let them feel You when I sing

Let them see You 

Just let them see You in me

Who am I without Your grace?

Another smile, another face

Another breath, a grain of sand

Passing quickly through Your hand

I give my life, an offering

Take it all, take everything

Let them see You in me

Let them hear You when I speak

Let them feel You when I sing

Let them see You

Just let them see You in me

This is my prayer.

I am imperfect. 

He is perfect.

His grace is sufficient for me; His power is made perfect in my weakness. 

Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me. 

2 Corinthians 12:9

Let them {my husband, my children, my neighbors and friends ... all those I encounter} see Him in me.

Gabs, Boo and Little Miss,

Mommy has many shortcomings. I'm impatient. I'm quick to raise my voice. I often rush bedtime skipping stories and prayers. I say "no" a lot. Although I am all these things and I'm sure you could/would add more I thank God that he has entrusted you to me. You are each amazing and bright and beautiful beyond words! I know I have done something right in parenting you while on this earth because you know and love the Lord. My heart's desire is that you learn to know Him more through me - through my actions, words, expressions of love to you and those around us.  I am imperfect, but I am a work in progress seeking His hand in parenting you for you are His. A gift to us. The best gifts!

I love you to the moon and back, to the highest mountain, to the deepest and widest ocean, to infinity. 

{Dawson says this each time he says his goodbyes}

Embrace the Camera: April 3, 2014

I snuck away with this handsome young man last Thursday for a mommy/son date. 

{I'm so glad I did because I've been super sick ever since.}

 This little man of mine shares my love language of physical touch. 

He is a master snuggler, kiss giver and is never shy of sharing his love for me verbally. 

He's a keeper! 

Boo, 

Thank-you for being the best sister sandwich handsome brother in the middle!

Muah!

Mommy

Embrace The Camera: March 2014

It's been too long since I've been intentional about getting IN the picture with my littles. I resolve to make a better effort of doing so this year.

Little Miss momma assisting in bottle feeding Makayla {and hamming it up for the camera}. 

My sweet babes on Valentine's day.

Life is a beautiful mess with these three but is full of love because of them!

I soaked in every.last.second of this cuddle season with my baby girl. I wasn't ready to let her go when she let loose. She's growing leaps and bounds right in front of our eyes and is no longer our tiny little love. She still asks us to "Hold you me" on a regular basis and insists on her nightly cuddle seasons with her Daddy which melts us both. Thank-you Ms. G for confiscating mommy's phone to take this picture :)

Embrace the Camera: January 16, 2014

I very much dislike being in front of the camera. It's not my thing but I'm vowing to do a better job of getting in the picture with my monkeys this year. My kiddos will thank me someday for it. 

iPhone photo taken on January 11th at McKenna's birthday lunch outing to Fazoli's

Me and my Boo. A momma's boy in every way! 

He told me just this week, "Momma, I know what we'll do. When I get too big for you to hold, I'll just hold you." He showers me in endless kisses and jumps into my arms, throws his legs around my waste and squeezes in tight. 

iPhone photo taken January 16th while in route to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art for the Meadow Lane 3rd grade class field trip

I treasured the 3 hours today that I stole away with my #1. It isn't too often that she gets me all to herself and today she soaked up my full attention. She even cuddled into my lap on the bus ride home and drifted off as I stroked her hair. I was filled with gratitude in the moment that this beautiful girl made us a family. 

10 Random Facts

I am NOT a fan of a these type of things but allowed myself to get lured in by my once little neighbor girl, Becky Holtkamp Thim on a recent Facebook game/poll. Apparently if you liked someone's status when they listed their random facts about themselves then you in turn were given a number and were to post random facts about yourself. See ... lured!
SO ... I was given the number 10. 
10 things you may not know about me. 
1. My brothers are my biggest fans, supporters, encouragers & rescuers. In my perfect world we would all live in the same city (Brett and I currently do although on opposite sides of the state line).
2. Even though I wasn't given sisters by birth, God has blessed me with 3. My two amazing sister in laws, Linda and Teri and my little sister from another mother Molly Morris Conlon.
3. I don't live in fear however am learning daily what it means to live to fear the Lord.
4. I worked in the Oncology profession for years never imagining cancer would affect my immediate family. My mother is now a 2 year breast cancer survivor.
5. I grew up in corn country (Iowa) yet have never detasseled corn (that I have memory of). I have scooped manure and milked a cow 
6. I long to serve on a missions trip but am paralyzed at knowing how it will grip/rip my heart and wreck me for His good.
7. I wear my heart on my sleeve and am a highly emotional individual. It is how God designed me. (see #6 above) 
** Ann Voskamp states  "Tears are never a sign of weakness. Tears are always the sign of an open heart."  **
8. I have an irrational fear of a certain small, green, 4 legged creature that goes ribbit. (Ignore #3 above in this instance)
9. I always thought I'd marry a country boy/cowboy as I dreamed of ranch life and a field of horses but I met and married my city boy 14 years ago!
10. I moved 13 times in a 16 year time span and hope to not have to move again for years to come unless it is to Alabama to live closer to brother #2.

Reading #10 makes my head spin. 13 times!! Doing the math doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me as I lived an extended length of time at several of these. 3 1/2 years, 2+ years, 1 year, 5 1/2 years
Expanding on those moves ... 

1. I moved from my childhood home in Primghar, IA to Nebraska Christian College in Norfolk, NE
2. From NCC to a 2nd level housing rental with a roommate Michelle 
3. From apartment with Michelle to basement housing rental with Michelle and Marcy 
4. From basement apartment to (at times) cockroach infested apartment with (wish I could recall her name)
5. From cockroach infested apartment in Norfolk to Tulsa, OK in with Brett & Linda
6. From B&L's to 2 bedroom apartment with Michaela, the daughter of my boss at the time 
7. From 2 bedroom apartment to solo living in a VERY nice 1 bedroom apartment on South Peoria Avenue!!! This was an immense blessing for several years due in part to the amazing relationship I developed while working at the Children's Boutique in Utica Square and babysitting their only child, Christian. I was blessed to live in this apartment for 3 1/2 years if memory serves me correct.
8. From my 1 bedroom apartment in with a previous neighbor from the apartment complex, Armando for a short 6 month period of time 
9. From Armando's 3 bedroom home into Travis's 1st home (yah for marriage!) July 2000 - April 2001                                                                                                                   A little tidbit of info for our children years from now ... Daddy & Mommy's 1st home sold in a matter of 24 hours within being on the market           
10. From Trav's/our adorable 3 bedroom brick ranch home in Owasso, OK into our 1st home purchased together in Bailey Ranch Estates, Owasso, OK also known as our forever dream home. It was perfect in every way!  April 2001 - May 2003                                             The 09-11 bombing directly impacted Travis's job at the time where his #1 account was American Airlines. Our home in Bailey Ranch sold within 3 days of listing. 
11. From Olathe to Barrington Park Town Homes in Lenexa, KS from May 2003 - May 2004
12. From town home living into our new construction split level home in Foxfield Village Subdivision in Olathe, KS from May 2004 - October 2009 We brought both Gabrielle and Dawson home to this home.                                                                                       Although we were confident this home would sell very quickly as FFV was a highly sought after neighborhood at the time, we sat on this home for months before the right buyer came along. Take note - do.not.buy.a.split.level.home! We told ourselves this BEFORE purchasing it however fell in love with the neighborhood and don't regret our decision for a second. 
13. From Foxfield Village Subdivision to our current home in Stratton Oaks Subdivision in Olathe, KS in October 2009

What is something random about YOU that you are willing to share with me? I'd love if you left a comment sharing. 

Girls on the Run

I was so fortunate to join an amazing non-profit organization, Girls on the Run of Kansas City this Fall. We had six coaches and ten teammates sign up for the 1st season of GOTR at our elementary school, Meadow Lane. The Fall season ran 09/11 - 11/16.

{Picture taken after our practice 5K race on October 23rd}

The 10 week season ended in a celebratory 5K run at Arrowhead Stadium. Words can not express how proud I was of our team of 10 girls. Each of them ran the race with heart and determination to finish strong. I ran alongside MY girl and her sweet fellow 3rd grade friend, Lanie, and I am happy to report we ran the entire race {not without some tears of fatigue by Gabrielle)!

{A few of our girls pre-race with K.C. Wolf}

What is Girls on the Run you ask?

Girls on the Run is an after school program for 3rd - 5th grade girls that creatively incorporates running into lessons focused on developing essential life skills. Through interactive activities such as running, playing games, and discussing important issues, participants experience the joy of simply being themselves! The girls learn the importance of teamwork and cultivating healthy relationships. By gaining a greater sense of self-awareness and personal achievement, they are empowered to believe in themselves. The lessons inspire the girls to be strong, connected and self-confident young women. The goal of the program is to unleash confidence through accomplishment while establishing a lifetime of appreciation of health and fitness. The program inspires girls to be Joyful, Healthy & Confident!

Excerpt above taken directly from GOTR

One Girl.

One Mile.

One Victory.

You.

Gabi and I are already looking forward to the Spring season which starts in early March!!

{Parched} Pumpkin Patch

We picked a beautiful Saturday afternoon in late October and made the short drive to Schaake's  in Lawrence for our annual visit to the pumpkin patch. 

I snapped the obligatory photo 1st thing
How much fun would it be to carve that pumpkin above? OK, maybe not gutting it but carving it - shoot yeah!

Little Miss loved! this lion spring toy which occupied her while the bigs waited in line for the pumpkin launch nearby.

 Both kids gave it a valiant effort to hit a target.

 This child cracks me up! It's as if she is preparing to hike a pumpkin through her legs.

 Followed by her stance after commanding her sissy and her boy to "Come on!"

These photos speak volumes as to why I titled this post parched pumpkin patch. The kids were sports and walked rows and rows of patches in search of the perfect pumpkin to no avail. There were a handful of small green or yellow pumpkins and an assortment of flat white pumpkins which we all liked but not a one "acceptable" "pretty" orange carving pumpkin was to be found.

We did leave with a small assortment of pumpkins including a rather nice, large orange pumpkin (not pictured) that we selected from the pre-picked sale area. 

Travis & Papa were working this particular weekend so Mema accompanied us. More pictures to come in an ETC post. 

Birthday Blessings

With school back in full swing I am determined to dedicate a bit more time to keeping our family journal (aka blog) more up to date. In doing so I will be starting with "back log" so please bear with me as I document. As another mother put in words that ring true here as well "This is my story catcher, dream saver and family album." 

I am one blessed girl when it comes to girlfriends. I am a better wife, mother, friend and Christian because of these women. They encourage me, uplift me and enrich my life. They planned an entire day of fun in celebration of my 38th birthday.  They went above and beyond to show me love, share in laughter, and make me feel treasured and loved. 

Our morning began with a little beautification in the form of pedicures for Heather and Daina

and manicures for Rene and myself. 

Then it was off to breakfast and a morning cup of joe (an orange coolatta for this non coffee drinker) at Dunkin Donuts.

From there we made the 2 hour trek to quaint Jamesport, MO. We had lunch at the Country Cupboard Restaurant. The food was home cooked, filling and super yum. We then visited The Fabric Barn, the Amish country store H&M & Anna's bake shop {where Rene and I shared a delicious pastry that left you wishing for more} on the outskirts of town before touring the art & antique district. We made a few fun purchases & did a little wine tasting before stopping for fudge. We made a quick stop back into The Collection Wine and Gift Shop to purchase a couple bottles of savory wine before heading back to KC. 

Rene, Heather, Daina and myself 

After a wonderful day spent in Jamesport we all enjoyed our 1st dining experience at Blanc Burgers & Bottles. The atmosphere was loud and distracting (envision thee most loud, obnoxious fellow diner at the table directly next to us) but we laughed until I cried and devoured our scrumptious burgers leaving enough fries behind to feed the next party. Lesson learned one shopping basket full of fries goes a loooong way let alone two :) 

Lynelle, myself & Heather

We ogled window shopped at Anthropology then went to Forever XXI (much easier on the checkbook) before calling it a day.

I love these women and am so thankful to each of them for making this day a memorable one for me! Mwah!!!!

Color Run

I participated in my first organized 5K on Saturday, June 1st. The Kansas City Color Run or also known as the happiest 5K on the planet! It was held at Arrowhead Stadium. 

I ran with Heather Buelow and Daina Skorbutanas (soon to be Mrs. Justin Buelow!). I am NOT a runner. Shoot, I rarely exercise in any fashion. Within minutes of finishing the race, pain took up residency in my left knee. Heather was also experiencing discomfort. Fast forward to Saturday night and that knee pain kept me up all.night.long. I may have any cursed it once. Within a couple of days the pain/discomfort was nearly gone when I took it upon myself to re-"injure" it running after Little Miss at Science City. It is now back to normal PTL and the lesson I took away is this. I am no longer a 20 something year old and this nearly 38 year old body of mine let me know that :) 

It was an incredibly fun morning spent with friends and a great way to give back to the community in a very small way. We had a delicious post race lunch at Cafe Gratitude {I'm SO looking forward to going back.} I will definitely sign up for next years Color Run and may even allow the munchkins to tag along for some happy color action! 

Embrace the Camera: May 16, 2013

Muffins with Mom with our #1

I'm more convinced than ever after seeing this photo that I am in desperate need of a nose job {that will never happen}. The terrible teasing and name calling in school was for good reason.

Embrace the Camera: May 9, 2013

Dawson embracing the camera with me and Ms. Andrea during his preschool Mother's Day Tea. 

Photos taken Tuesday, May 7th

Embrace the Camera: January 3, 2013

I'm Embracing the Camera today with the hubs 

Photo taken at the 2nd annual New Year's Eve party hosted by the Hoods here in our n'hood

Eight is Gr8!

Happy 2013 peanut! Today is your 8th birthday. I know it is so cliche to say it, but really, time has flown by! I will never, never forget the joy and excitement we felt when we learned we were expecting you. It is the same joy I feel each year on your birthday as I reflect back on the blessing that you are to us.

Your Daddy and I recently stumbled upon a little video clip of you from November 2008. We watched it half a dozen times smiling, laughing, tearing up (me). It really caused me to reflect on the magnitude of my love for you and put me in a sentimental mood all day. Life isn't always a bowl of cherries between you and I. I struggle. We struggle together to love each other the way God wants us to. You are a mini me, plain and simple. I look at you and I see me. This is both good and horribly bad. You see, Mommy is flawed. I am very impatient, I have exceptionally high expectations, and I am somewhat of a perfectionist. I am highly emotional and oh so tenderhearted. Guess what? You are these things too. From a very young age you were advanced - an advanced talker, early to potty train, you were writing at a very young age, you picked up reading easily, etc. Mema says it best when she says that I need to remember that you are just a little girl. I push you and sometimes that can mean too far. We butt heads a lot. At times we have difficulty keeping our mouths shut and our emotions in check with one another. My way of showing you that all I want is the very best for you and from you has often come in the form of authoritative parenting. For this I am sorry. Mommy is doing a lot of heart change and am relearning how to love you fully. I thank God daily for you and am committed to pray on a more regular basis for you and for our relationship. I want for you to always feel like I love you best {just as I love Dawson best and McKenna too}! That's allowed you know? :)

Your current loves right now are: looooong hot showers; playing your DS/iPad/games on the computer;  you've taken a greater interest in music and photography and are always, always up for crafting and creating; you enjoy prettying yourself up with lip gloss, eyeshadow & blush and most recently wearing your Tommy Girl perfume that Terry & Barb got you for Christmas; but your favorite thing still remains having quality time with your bestie - Mema. She is an expert at filling up your love tank.

Gabi,  I am in awe of your beauty and your strengths.

May this year find me learning to love you even more! 

I love you much,

Mommy

Embrace the Camera: August 9, 2012

This week's Embrace the Camera is all about making memories with our crazed monkeys better known as our kids. I feel as if we have been robbed of our normal summer traditions (playing in the fountains, visiting the zoo, playgrounds, the library story hour in the park, spending a long weekend at the lake ... the list goes on) with the unbearable temperatures and heat index this year along with Travis's "new" work schedule. He was lucky enough to have this past weekend off of work so we planned a little impromptu trip to Springfield and then on into Branson for the day. This is a glimpse at how we spent our time.

A stop at Branson Landing to do a little window shopping, back to school shoe & sock purchasing and a couple of great clearance finds at Becks.

Then it was FUN for the kids at the LEGO Summer Brickation, one of four nation wide locations located right in Branson Landing. We have already made a trip to the local Target store in pursuit of pricing several of

 the sets on their wish list.

 

After our play time at the LEGO stop it was snack time. 

What better than a powder covered funnel cake and "sugar" (Sprite)?

We left Branson Landing and headed to the money pit The Track where it was gals smoke the guys on the race track. You had better believe we had the pedal to the medal all.the.way!

For those of you who may have noticed, yes I fastened my seat belt before take off.

 

DaddyO and Little Miss cheering on Sissy

After the gals versus guys race, we hit up the bumper boats and then the kids go carts where Gabrielle proved to be a NASCAR contender.   

We ended the day with kids choice for supper which led us to IHOP or

International House Of PiggingOut

where our kids can eat their weight in syrup pancakes and eggs. 

There was a storm a brewing while we enjoyed our supper and the heavens dumped buckets of rain on us on our trek back into Springfield but we made it back safe and had a fun time!

A Dozen Down and a Lifetime More to Go

July 7th, 2000 marked not only my 25th birthday, but the day that Travis and I said "I do" to a lifetime commitment to marriage.

This was one of our "wedding" pictures taken by a high school friend at the time of our post wedding reception in my hometown of Primghar, Iowa.  

For those of you reading that may not know we were married in Las Vegas so there wasn't a traditional formal wedding.

My 37th birthday/our 12th anniversary fell on a Saturday this year and my parents and my sister {in-law) gifted us their time to keep the kiddos so we had the entire afternoon and evening to ourselves. Hubs planned out the day and honestly I wouldn't have a changed a thing. It was perfect! Our first stop was at the golf pro shop at a beautiful course Travis had won a tournament at previously. He had a gift certificate burning a hole in his pocket so he chose a few new golf essentials and we were off to the Parma Woods shooting range. This was my first time handling or shooting a gun and I assure you it will not be the last. I really enjoyed learning the technique of loading the gun, proper handling, shooting, etc. Not to boast, but I was a pretty darn good shot for a newbie! We spent the remainder of the afternoon at The Springs Aquatic Center in the Northland. We had a ball relaxing in the lazy river, ripping our back to shreds on the water slides, polishing our teen year skills on the high dive, people watching and best of all just being together sans kids.

We cleaned up after swimming and had a great dinner out at Red Lobster. 

Lobsterita anyone? 

I made the mistake of googling how many calories you consume when drinking one of these. 

Any guesses? 

890!

We ended the evening at the Argosy Casino. It's funny how age can change a past time to an extent. It wasn't long before we concluded that we aren't so into walking around an ash tray feeding our hard earned money into cash eating machines that rarely pay back. We did have some laughs and made $25 stretch quite a ways.

This may have been an anniversary date on a dime, but I'm so thankful for our time "away." It was such a fun time filled with laughter, reminiscing and reconnecting.