The Templeton's

It Feels Like Home

2015-11-13T14:03:00.002-06:00

Wow!~ I cant believe how happy being back to blogging makes me. You see I kind of lost a little of myself this past year. As most moms do we are asked and expected to be pulled in a million directions and sometimes we lose site of what was important to us. Some days just my to do list overwhelmed me so much that I forgot to remember what filled my cup, what fueled my passion. That my friends is not a fun place to be and it took a lot of reflection, prayer and questions to find out what I wanted from this thing called life. To be honest I have let the comparison thief take away more time from me that I would ever care to admit. I have prayed wondering what is wrong with me that sometimes I have a hard time seeing the blessings that are right in front of me and spend more time thinking about what I am missing.

I realized that for me I have to ask God every day to do his will and to make me an instrument of His Peace. I have to commit to waking up everyday and deciding the person I am going to be with the help of God. I tend to make life so much more complicated than it is. For me this next year is going to really be about simplifying. I want to focus on experiences rather than "stuff". I want to make memories that the kids will tell their kids. I want to always be an example of someone who is so far from perfect but with the Grace of God has overcome and will remain faithful. I want to be KIND. Oh goodness I want to be kind, kind to myself, kind to my children, kind to my husband, family, the stranger in the aisle at Walmart. I want to finally allow myself to be the person I am with all of my imperfections and sin. I want to live freely everyday~!

I certainly didn't mean to get this deep on my first post back :) I hate that I missed a year and a half of blogging but that is ok. I am doing this for our family so that when time has dimmed our memories and my babies are no longer babies but having their own babies we can all sit around and pour over these memories that we made together!

Easter 2014

2014-04-21T15:49:00.000-05:00

Easter is definitely becoming one of my very favorite holidays EVER! There is just something so relaxing and fun and meaningful about the whole holiday! It of course is all about Jesus! It is the reason for everything! I love that my kids are really learning the real meaning of Easter and Palmer knows the whole Easter story! I love that we have a church to go and worship an awesome God!

I also love our family traditions that we do every year without fail even though Mamaw is probably worn out! haha

Here are the cousins with their rabbit suckers! They thought they were hilarious!

Tex and I outside of church! I was a little psycho about pictures this year and I didn't hesitate to be a little bossy about it!~ haha Not one more holiday was going to go by with just a few pictures!

The whole family outside of the church. I was so proud of my father in law, he preached 5 amazing sermons over Saturday and Sunday!!! He is such a blessing to our family and all that know him.

My little baby Chan Chan! I could literally eat this child up, she is at the absolutely most fun stage ever!

Sweet Ann Mason, she was such a big, good girl this weekend! She loved hanging with the older girls and they treat her like one of them!

Katelyn helping Chandler before the big Easter Egg Hunt!

Our tradition at mamaw's dyeing Easter Eggs!

Palmer loved everything!

The kiddos and I, daddy had to work :( but we still had a blast!

I mean really? I can't help it she is too cute!

All of the girls and their favorite egg. Yes, don't ask... I pulled up after getting everyone lunch and my 5 year old had on a sports bra. I made it VERY clear that this was a one time deal!

Have you heard of Orbies? Well, I never had but my kids loved them! They are these silicon little balls and they filled a pool with them and they had games and prizes at the Easter Egg Hunt, I couldn't get Chandler out of there! haha

Katelyn and Chandler!

Someone got a swing from the Easter Bunny and she couldn't be more excited!!!

This years Easter theme.... Chevron, she looked so pretty!

Our 79th attempt at a family pic!

Tex and I, I don't think I could do this life without him. He is such a rock for our family we are truly blessed!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Spring Break 2014

2014-04-17T14:32:00.001-05:00

Well we survived Spring Break 2014!! I must say that spring breaks now are totally different than spring breaks of the past. No beer with cereal, no spray painted t-shirts, no driving the strip blaring rap music! HA HA

With little ones I don't necessarily use the word vacation because let's be honest...Three kids under the age of 6 in a car for 9 hours and then going to the beach everyday is wonderfully exhausting! Mother nature was NOT on our side for the trip we literally pulled into sun and 75 degree weather changed into our bathing suits and walked outside just as a storm was blowing in. That storm didn't stop for 3 whole days!

Somewhat of a beach day! These kids were freezing, I was wearing a sweatshirt!

We made the most of our rainy days and went to the gulfarium, science museum and ate at some great restaurants.

Our fam at the gulfarium!

This girl didn't care rain or shine, sand or pool she was LOVING life!

It is hard to see but this is a tornado simulator and it gets up to 75mph winds ALL of my kids wanted to go in with Sarah and I think from this picture Chan changed her mind about halfway thru!

Palmer.... my sweetest boy beach bum!!!

Ahhhh A toddler, hot pink and a tutu OH.MY!!! I cant get over her cuteness, I LOVE this age!

The last day was beautiful of course! These kids were good as gold on the beach!

Ok so here is the story! All of the kids wanted to be "buried" up to their necks so we took turns burying everyone, even Chandler was helping. After we got done I look over and Chandler is laying on the sand and trying to burying herself so we helped her out, she thought it was funny minus eating the sand!

It was a good trip but it also felt good to come home and get in our beds :) There is no place like home!!

Catching Up

2014-04-03T10:32:00.003-05:00

Finally I am getting a chance to catch up!!! Our Internet as been down at our house for what feels like ages and then the more time that has past the more anxiety I get about getting the blog caught up! Nothing truly exciting has been going on but it just feels like we are busy :) I think once the weather FINALLY gets nice we will all feel like different people! So here is what has been going on!

Chandler's Hair has clearly been growing! Girlfriend has bed head just like her momma and brother! Ann Mason can sleep for days with straight hair!

Annie and Katelyn got a girls night out and my 5 year old picks turquoise cheetah nails for her polish selection. Why not? Isn't that the first choice for most 5 year olds?

This is my attempt at family pictures! Yes, I was that mom before church on Sunday that may have been so frustrated that I cant get ONE picture out of these three that I shed some tears! Is it that hard people? haha

Chandler has recently sported her first pony and pig tails! She is getting so big, it makes my heart hurt!

Talk about heart hurting.... this girlfriend and sassy pants registered for Kindergarten and went on her kindergarten tour!!! With Palmer I was worried about he will adjust with Ann Mason I am worried about how the school will adjust! haha She had no nerves and walked thru that school like she owned the place!

Before we left, she looked so cute!

We got to reconnect with some dear old friends that we had not seen for years! They too have 3 kids under 6 so you can only imagine how this crazy slumber party went! Right when we saw them it was like old times! So thankful for reunions like this!

Other than that we basically been hot messes. We are tired of being in the house and really, really ready for spring!

Tomorrow we are off to the beach and I couldn't contain my excitement if I tried!!!!

Living with Purpose-Family Fun Night and Redecorating

2014-03-07T14:26:00.002-06:00

WE have been BUSY! This momma has gone on a bit of a rampage... more on that a little later! My new goal for 2014 was have one special family fun night a month. Last month we went to Louisville to spend the night and this month we bought tickets and went to Evansville to a hockey game. It is just a night to "splurge" a little bit and hang out with the kids doing something that we typically don't get to do.

Annie and I eating at the smiling moose deli! That place is SO good!!!

My co-worker and Ann Mason's new bestie was there with her husband so we all sat together!

Palmer was one happy dude! He gets way into the players, their stats, their backgrounds, etc... He is definitely my little analyzer!

Chandler stayed with Mamaw and Papaw and from the looks of things she probably got the best end of the deal. They literally spoil her rotten and papaw follows her around taking videos of her! They make things so easy for us! haha

Well, about this time every year I get a house re-arranging/re-decorating kick! Thankfully we have a barter and trade page on facebook for our city that is fairly popular! At least I am resourceful... any one that knows me knows that once I get an idea in my head there is really no rationalizing and the results are immediate! haha

I have been wanting to basically purge the WHOLE house. I am not a clutter person and I happen to be raising 2 (not sure about the third child yet) mini pack rat hoarders. I was DONE! Anything that was missing a piece or hadn't been played with in 6 months was donated!!! I went a little crazy!

Some of the items for Goodwill. This was JUST out of Palmers room!

Again the trash pile, just out of Palmers room! Every one's room got the same purging except sadly my own room! That is going to take a while just with the closet alone!

So for as long as I have owned a home and decorated it I have always been very matchy, matchy. The woods all had to match, pillows, etc... well I don't know what is going on with me or if it is the pinterest era but I am LOVING all things NON matchy! Lo and Behold I found a consignment store right by my work that has old furniture that people have painted and re-done and they are selling these pieces for next to nothing. So I took pics of a lot of our current furniture and placed it on the facebook page and between Friday and Saturday made almost $500 and sold everything!

Here are a few pics of what I am talking about. I bought this little white distressed end table. I LOVE how they don't match, this is so not me!

One of my favorite purchases is this old refinished desk. It is beautiful in person and probably the heaviest piece of wood furniture we own!!! I need to buy it to house this little guy....

MY NEW CAMEO SILHOUETTE!!! You all have no idea how excited I am about this!!! I am going to be learning all weekend how to use this baby! I am sure I will post many projects!!!

Here is Palmer's new dresser! I sold one that we had bought at Target 7 years ago and got this. It gives his room so much more character. He says it's old, I say its great!

This is a terrible picture of Ann Mason's room and I will be taking more as soon as her bedding gets in... but we sanded and refinished a headboard that has been in the Templeton family for decades and decades, I bought her a turquoise vintage dresser and a white distressed night stand. I am madly in love with her room!

I am just loving adding character to our house. We are still waiting on a few things to come in like our chevron rug for the living room and some curtains but I am SO excited! I am also a little worried that I might vinyl the whole house with my silhouette! haha

Exciting things to come! Happy Friday

Living with Purpose- Getting my craft on

2014-02-25T13:03:00.002-06:00

2014 was a year that I wanted to focus on things that I have a passion for again. Crafting, reading, getting healthy, family time, time with my husband, etc... Being more intentional on what I am choosing to do with my time. I have always LOVED crafting and decorating. It makes me happy!! So far it is only February and I have been crafting and decorating away! I love it! Here are some of my latest projects.

Ignore the big cheesy grin, the girls were making me laugh. This is my cross that I created!! My friend invited us over and her husband had cut some shapes out of plywood and we started with a blank canvas and painted away. I was so happy with how this cross turned out! It will be my door hanger for Easter!

I finally tried my hand at a burlap wreathe! It wasn't as hard as I thought. I went pretty simple for my first one, there are so many cute ideas out there! I plan on adding a few more trinkets to this depending on the holiday!

Our master bath and bedroom were the VERY last things in our house to get decorated at all! We have a lot that we want to do to our house but for the most part every room is decorated and looks put together until we make the updates in the future. I hung this in the bathroom to organize all of my jewelry. It is super cute and I love that it makes my jewelry so organized!

We have a huge bathtub in our master bath but we didn't have anywhere for towels when you were taking a bath. I hung the shelf and added our initials and it really made that empty space behind the bath have a purpose, I love the way it turned out~!

A "T" wall. I saw the idea on pinterest. Some people love it and some people hate it. I think it is cute but decided to go small scale but it definitely added some pops of color to the wall!

This is my vintage window I found here at the consignment shop. I put a mini burlap wreath on it with a turquoise T and it made a huge difference on this wall!

All of these things are just little projects or crafts here and there but I forgot how much I LOVE doing this stuff! I can't wait to take more pinterest ideas and bring them to life during this year!!!

FIVE

2014-02-24T14:17:00.000-06:00

Life has been crazy full! Wonderfully full, chaotic, blessed, stressful and all of the above. I guess that is life, right? My firecracker Ann Mason turned 5 on the 16th. It just cemented the fact that time passes way to quickly!! FIVE always seems like a hard birthday for me. We are stepping away from toddler/preschool years and venturing off into elementary school and it just seems like a big jump especially to this momma's heart!

Oh Ann Mason there are NO words to describe your spunk, enthusiasm, passion, opinions and SASS!!! There are days where I feel I am doing an injustice because I don't know how to take all of your boldness, awesomeness and sass and direct it towards the good in everything. I was so the opposite of you when I was little and I am in awe of what a big personality you are capable of even at the age of 5!

Most little girls turning five are into princesses or crafts. You are in to chevron and monograms! Seriously?? I know this is part of idolizing your amazing 11 year old cousin. Thank goodness Katelyn is a saint and has the heart of gold and is the best possible example I could have ever picked for you because she is your role model in every way!

This year was our "off" year on having a big birthday party so Ann mason invited two of her best girl friends to swim and then go back to our house for chevron cake and presents. It was perfect!

KK, Ann Mason and Annie Kate

Momma and the birthday girl! Swimming in February you realize how much some vitamin D would make you feel 100 times better!

The chevron cookie cake, she LOVED it!

The cake shot! Sweet, sweet girls!

This is Ann Mason in the after math of her presents which included but was not limited to a new wand (to beach wave curl her five year old hair!) a chevron monogrammed scarf (because every five year old should have one, a monogrammed chevron ipod cover (again just what every 5 year old asks for... I should also make a statement clear here. The ipod is used and Santa scored it for $50, we are not that family!! A purse, a new outfit and some $$$ cold hard cash! She got all dressed up and we took her friends to the mall to go spend some of her birthday money and Palmer saw her like this and said "Wow, Annie you look like you are going to Hollywood!" I thought I would die. Sweetest thing ever!

And..... when she woke up the next morning she had a power wheels Cadillac escalade surprising her in the middle of the living room! (another AMAZING score by mommy and daddy. I was SO excited that my boss gave us this for FREE because she was moving!!) Ann Mason about died, she LOVED it. It is awesome, equipped with leather seats, radio and two seat belts. This scene happened all morning before church! Her and Chandler did not move from the car! This may be one of my favorite pics EVER!

Did I mention Neenie and Pop were here which made the whole weekend that more AMAZING! We had the very best time in the whole world!!! I swear yall I do try and take pictures of Palmer but he refuses and is too busy memorizing every stat of every NBA player imaginable!!! He is still momma's boy but he will not take his picture!!

Sunday Ann Mason had to show off her new ride so she went and picked up her buddy Annie Kate down the street. I have a feeling this wont be the last time these two are up to no good in a car!!!

I loved this! They were laughing and giggling the whole ride!

It was just an awesome weekend with both mine and Tex's family celebrating Ann Mason's birthday and just being together!!! I definitely sat back and relished in the moment, we are very blessed!

Family Fun Weekend

2014-02-11T12:30:00.001-06:00

January kicked off yet another one of my living with purpose ideas.... I want to travel more. By travel I wish I meant to white sandy beaches foreign countries but as a mom of 3 little ones under 6 it means hopping in the mini van and getting to the best destination within 2 hours of hour house :)

January's Family Fun Weekend started in Louisville! Louisville was the kid's first home and now it is more like a second home to us. We LOVE going to visit and seeing our forever friends there. We even splurged and got a hotel with an indoor pool! WOOHOO!

First stop was to meet baby Linley. Jamie and I go WAAAAY back, like Best Big and Lil Award for our Sorority!!! (hee hee I couldn't resist) Jamie is the friend that even though you lives miles away there never feels like any distance between us. I was so excited to see big brother Grayson and new sweet baby Linley. Can you tell the girls liked her?

Oh Wait! Aunt Blakers LOVED her a lot!!! It is good for me to get my baby fixes and walk away :)

Chandler actually was the one that was obsessed with Linley, wanting to hold and just point at her face!

After time with the Elmers we thought it would be fun to take the kids to the old Spaghetti Factory. They loved it! They may or may not have annoyed the people eating in the trolley train by walking thru it about 5 times!!

Ann Mason and I getting ready to enjoy a GOOD meal!

This captures ol Chanlder right now. Enamored, Obsessed, In Awe of her daddy!!! All Daddy, All the time!

And of course my precious guy, this kid wont take a "serious" picture to save his life!

It seems like this is tradition now, the kids LOVE to ride the luggage carrier. Are we the only crazy people? I was horrible at taking pictures. Saturday night after dinner we got to see our dear friends Nikki and Jon and their two boys. They graciously came to the hotel and went swimming!! It was so good to see them but bittersweet because I forgot how much we missed them! Sunday morning we got up and headed over to the Prather's house for some play time! My kids LOVE the Prather's house it is like Toys R Us! haha

Other than family fun weekend it has kind of been bummer winter month! It has snowed and iced and snowed and ice to the point where Palmer didn't go to school for 6 straight days. I am SO over this weather, I want flip flops and a tan!

Here are the girls in their toboggans and coats. They only lasted about 5 minutes!

And while this picture does look pretty once you see it everyday for the last month you dream about blue skies, sunshine and green grass!! Bring on the Spring!

Living With Purpose-Getting Healthy

2014-01-28T12:08:00.000-06:00

My journey to becoming a healthier family has a lot of proponents to it! It is a total lifestyle change. I will start by giving some ideas of things that we have changed food wise! It is a slow process, one that requires research and some dedication!

1. The first thing that I found to be the MOST helpful was Meal Planning and Food Prep. This has been our families key to eating good for the week!

I start by filling out my Meals for the week on my nifty little template and also list out all of our groceries! I have began to only shop the perimeters of the grocery store!! I was so proud of this list because the frozen food section was completely blank!! We are not perfect we still have pizza night (the delivery kind :) every Friday night but we are SO much better than we used to be!

Once I get the groceries I usually take a few minutes each night to pick out our meal and go ahead and thaw, marinate, cut, dice, etc... the ingredients. I usually do this after the kids go to bed. Not only does it help us not use the excuse of "we don't have anything ready to eat" but it frees up time with the kids!

2. We just recently really started experimenting with our middle child and what causes triggers in her behavior. It seems she has an extremely high sensitivity to dye, sugar and caffeine in the foods we were giving her. I had NO idea that the package of cinnamon rolls and Red, Yellow and Blue dye in them! I have become very intentional about trying to buy organic snacks, check ingredients and go back to the "basics" of cooking. No more processed waffles or pancakes. I use Bisquick mix and make them "homemade"

Example of our dinners now. Salmon, homemade broccoli casserole with NO cream of anything, Edamame and brown rice...

3. Probably my favorite habit I have made is my morning tradition. Every morning I start off with a HUGE glass of lemon water. Lemon water has SO many health benefits. I love the taste and everything about it!

After my lemon water I go straight to using my magic bullet for my "green smoothie" My recipe is usually 1/2 unsweetened almond milk 1/2-1 cup of Vanilla Greek Yogurt, 1-2 cups of fresh baby spinach and then any fruit you choose! I PROMISE you can not taste the spinach, even the kids LOVE them!! They taste delicious!

The last thing that I have done is been very intentional about my vitamins. Thru this process I had blood work done and found out that I was extremely deficient in both Vitamin D and Vitamin B two Vitamins that can cause a lot of unwanted side effects if your body doesn't have enough. I started taking the right dose of both vitamins and I also started researching different seeds and supplements. I am a huge fan of Chia Seeds. I add these to my smoothies, salads, etc... I can honestly say that this year I have been sick less than any other year in the past! I rarely get my sinus infections that had become a monthly problem, I don't get as many headaches and just all around I feel SO much better!

It does take time and it is more expensive in some ways but once you get the hang out of it and you realize all of the benefits and how much we save not going thru fast food places or out to eat all of the time it is well worth it! I am loving our lifestyle change and I love that my kids are starting to ask "is this healthy?" It is a great foundation for them to have a good relationship with food and fitness!

Living With Purpose- Family Time

2014-01-23T14:03:00.000-06:00

As you know my theme for 2014 is Living With Purpose! I started reading this blog http://www.handsfreemama.com/ probably about 8 or 9 months ago. Every post stung, brought tears to my eyes and resonated so deeply with me that I could only try and change my path! I was thrilled when I found out that she was writing a book and pre-ordered it! It was definitely worth the wait. It is the type of book that you will want to re-read, highlight,dog ear and memorize ever page. It is common sense in a world that is anything but. It brings you back down to reality and helps you realize what and who are important when our world is trying to convince us otherwise! It is in my opinion A.MUST.READ for every person!!

With that said I have really tried to remember to be intentional, present in my actions especially when I am with Tex and the kids. I am just like everyone else... easily distracted by my phone, social media, household chores, this, that and everything in between. What may come easy for some people doesn't always come easy for me.... stepping away from a mess to just sit down and play a board game DOES.NOT. come naturally to me. This is a huge life change for me that I hope to improve each day....

So we have been dedicating a lot more time to pure family time! Putting the phone away, turning off the television and ipad and actually enjoying each other!

Since Chandler got sick and we didn't get to go to Georgetown we wanted to do something fun with the big kids! We went ice skating. It was SO much fun! I think I enjoyed it more than they did even though I am 33 and still skate with a milk crate :)

My little ice fashionista, she killed it on the ice!

Palmer, my sweet cautious boy! He loved it but was scared to fall but once he got the first fall out of the way I think he realized he was going to be fine! Such a great family night where the distractions of social media and household chores were not present!

Since we can't go "out" all of the time we are really trying to make some time at home to quiet the electronics, sit around the table and do some activities. I am slowly finding that I love board games and crafts just as much or more than I did when I was little!

We are rainbow loom crazy at our house! The amount of rubber bands I find on the floor on a daily basis is enough to make me coo-coo but another thing I am letting go of!

We finally mastered loom bracelets on our fingers. It is sad to admit that I might have graduated college but I have watched 17 you tube videos and don't understand how to make the bracelets with the loom but 7 years olds are mass producing these things all over the country! I finished mine via my own two fingers and I was so proud of myself! The kids LOVE it!

Another night this week was board game night which means Monopoly (we really have to step up our board game collection!) Other than Ann Mason sobbing every time she had to "visit" jail or pay someone their rent and Palmer trying to embezzle money from the "bank" into his "account" we had a really, really great time!

I am finding that we are much more happy as a family when we have spent time together with no distractions and presently interacting with each other. Not every day is board game day in our house. Yesterday we as a family failed miserably! Fits were thrown, voices were raised and tears were shed (by both parent and child) but one day or one moment is not going to define me. I wake up each day and ask God to just do a little better than I did the day before! This is a slow progress but one that is worth working on everyday as hard as I can!!!

LORDY, LORDY Look Who's 40

2014-01-20T14:25:00.001-06:00

Before Chandler got sick we were having TONS of fun :) My sweet sister in law turned 40!!! She looks amazing and is so young at heart, this girl is going to rock her 40's!!! We had a blast surprising her for her 40th birthday, she had no idea!

Here she is with her momma (my mil)

Tex and I getting to enjoy a nice adult dinner with NO kids!!

Kathy and I had a BALL making this poster for Tricia. It was of all her most embarrassing and sweet childhood photos! She loved it!

Tricia, myself and Tex

Of course in this family we celebrate birthdays for days and even weeks at a time! On Tricia's actual birthday we got to go out to a great restaurant here in town and celebrate again. This time the kiddos came!

Does this girl look a bit sick? This is the night that she woke up and had to go to the ER for croop and RSV! Coulda fooled me!

Sweet cousins. I cant tell you how sweet these girls are to each other. They might have a 7 year age difference but there is a bond so strong between them!

Happy Chandler, I love this girl to pieces. She is a daddy's girl and I suppose will be for life! She loves me too but daddy is where it's at! :)

This is my husbands picture taking skills! I swear he just doesn't know how to work my phone! This is the best shot we got! So blessed to have family here especially on the days I miss mine the most :(

PS the boys and men were there but obviously they wanted no part in the picture taking! I promise I didn't leave them out!

Double whammy!!

2014-01-16T13:46:00.001-06:00

We are experiencing a type of curse you would say. .. it has literally been happening for over two years. No exaggeration, every time we plan to see my sister who know lives in Virginia ; ( or my parents in Florida someone gets sick. Not just a cold but the flu or in this case we had to rush Chandler to the er Wednesday night and she has rsv and croop!! I must say three kids and countless doctors visit this was by far the scariest!! After two hefty breathing treatments and a steroid that has resulted in 4:46am wake up calls she seems to be feeling a lot better!!! I am so glad that she is better but there is a little piece of my heart that will be with all of the family we won't be seeing this year!! I think I am going to start celebrating the holidays in July!!

So far....

2014-01-09T11:12:00.000-06:00

So far 2014 has already posed, challenges, changes but also moments of joy and it is only Jan 9th!!!

Daddy returned home from his trip to Myrtle Beach for his grandmothers funeral. We were so very sad we couldn't go but 12 hours and 3 small kids didn't work out :( We ALL missed him dearly. It is the first time I have gone 5 days away from him with all three kids by myself. This momma was worn out!

The girls were SO happy he was home! He looks exhausted :)

We got to hang out with some great friends and have an awesome playdate while Tex was away! I was shocked how agressive Chandler was with Hudson. She was trying to hug and kiss him the whole time!haha He wasn't even phased that cute boy gets girls hugging him all of the time!

My dad came in. It is always such a great time when he comes in to visit and the kids loved it and he takes us out to eat! haha So thankful for him and the time we get to see him, wish it was more!

We treated ourselves to Texas Roadhouse, we don't eat out much anymore so EVERYONE including Chandler was very HAPPY!

I am trying to do something every week/every few weeks that is pin-spired aka something I saw on pinterest. This is our "gallery" wall in the bedroom we have one more thing to hang in the blank spot but I love how it turned out. We re-did our whole master bedroom and I am just in love! It was the one room in our house that after 2 1/2 years had never had a single thing done to it!

This next pic I am so excited about. I started working out Oct 30th, 2013. I met with a trainer twice so she could help show me some moves and take measurements, etc... She made me run a mile and I threw up twice! I am not kidding! I can now run 3 miles in 31 minutes! For those of you that know me know this is HUGE~! Within the first 6weeks of working out I lost 10 lbs and 11 inches!! It has been amazing. I can't wait to see where my fitness goals take me. I love it! I have some really bad "before" pics of myself but not quite ready for any "Afters" maybe some progress pics soon!

So that is what we have been up too so far in 2014 and I am probably leaving out 100 things!!! Here is to a good rest of the month!

Living with a Purpose

2014-01-02T15:22:00.000-06:00

Who doesn't love the start of a New Year? It feels like when I would get excited to go back to school because all of my notebooks were fresh and unused and my school supplies were just waiting for the first assignment! I am not a big fan of NYE, I actually loathe the holiday. It has been a day of bad luck for me for many years, but that is another post! ha

So back to the point, I love a New Year and a Clean Slate. For some reason this year I am very intentional in what I want for 2014. I realize that some things are out of my control but the things that are in control I want to be living with a purpose. That is my theme for 2014 (and yes, that rhymed!)

Matthew 14:8 said about Mary "she did what she could" that verse has stuck with me for months. I have a lot of grandios plans, big ideas that always get swept to the wayside for one reason or another. What I have realized is that when I think "go big or go home" what actually happens is NOTHING. For example, I love to do service work but sometimes I think I have to move mountains or start a charity and then I end up not giving back at all. When I heard "she did what she could" it hit me like a ton of bricks. I am a full time working mom of three kids and a wife. What I "can do" right now is limited but that doesn't mean that I can't do something! I don't know if any of this makes sense to you but I am fired up about it! ha ha

I am kind of following suit by not making resolutions but rather having goals and living more intentionally and with a purpose this year....

Some of the things I would like to set goals for are:

Growing my relationship with God and reading the bible more

Making Health and Fitness a HUGE part of our entire family, we have already started for about 2 months and can see huge changes!

I want to make more time for Tex and I. Quality one on one time where we actually talk and share and dream. With little kids sometimes your thinker is exhausted by the end of the night and we just stare at the tv or some form of social media and I want us to grow together!

I want to do things I love! I love to do crafts, make things, needlepoint, even. Just because I am a mom and work doesn't mean that I can't do things anymore that I LOVE.

I want to make some new connections and really focus on connecting with old friends as well. I thrive on connections with other people, girlfriends. I want to be better at nurturing those relationships!

I want to find ways to give back more and share with my children the importance of giving back. We did some things this year that deeply impacted my life and tried to get the kids involved. The sort of "got" it in a way but they are still young and I know in the coming years they will start to really understand the importance of giving back.

I want to travel more. It doesn't have to be big exotic trips but rather a road trip here or there with or without the children. Experience new places and things!

I want to find what my strengths are this year, really dig in and find out more about myself, what I really like and what I don't. It is sad but at 33 sometimes I don't know if my opinions were formed by others or are they are true to myself?

And lastly, I want to be a more patient and present mom. I rush thru so many days and I want to stop and take in moments with my children and appreciate even the most chaotic of days. I know this is easier said than done but I want to be more hands on and do activities and visit places with them. I want to grow their little minds while being a family.

I know it seems like a lot. There are going to be many days where I fail miserably probably at every one of these but as long as I do better than the day before eventually I will get there!

Here's to 2014!!!

Highlight Reel and What I Thought about 2013!

2013-12-31T11:07:00.000-06:00

2013

What a wonderful year you have been! There have been several years where I have been more than happy to wave goodbye and move on to a fresh year and new beginnings! Even though I love the new start and possibilities of what the year is going to bring I must say I will look back on 2013 with the fondest of memories!

I don't know if it is getting older or just our circumstances but Tex and I both feel so content with where we are in life. Sure there are things that we want to strive for career wise, personally, etc... but I guess we quit searching for our "next big move" or the "next big phase" in our lives and just started trying to live in the present and enjoy what we have.

We have amazing children, amazing families, amazing friends and an amazing God and when all is said and done that is all that matters in this life. Yep, 2013 has been a good year. We both have grown professionally and personally and can't wait to continue on our journey!

Here are just some of the highlights. Memories that when I think back to these days melt my heart and bring a smile to my face.

Chandler getting dedicated at church! Such a sweet and special day for our whole family!

Growing in my relationships with both my mom and dad. So blessed to have them both in my life. I think as we get older we appreciate our parents journeys more and more. I think we realize that they were just like how we are now. Parents just trying to do the best they could. They both loved us and still do unconditionally and I am so glad to have great relationships with them both now!

We also got to watch Annie grown up this year! She is still our spit fire and strong willed child but let me tell you... this girl has a confidence that I could have only dreamed about! I love it about her, I can't wait to see what she does with all of her passion!

Visits with forever friends, friends that have been in my life for 20 + years and making memories now with them and our kids. Priceless!

This picture just brings a smile to my face. It wasn't a hugely significant day but we took the big kids to an indoor water park and it was just a GREAT day. Just pure joy from all four of us. Days like these are such a blessing.

Watching this guy blossom!!! He has grown up so much and has branched out and tried new adventures and I am so proud of him! He is so very smart, creative and intuitive. He is going to do some pretty awesome things!

This stinker turning 1! What a bright spot she is to our whole family! I can't imagine our lives without our Chan Chan!

Of course our family vacation to Destin has to rank in the top 10 highlights for the year! It was AWESOME!

One of the most fun moments of the year was getting to surprise my sister for her 30th birthday in Washington D.C.!!! It was one of the best weekends ever!

Getting to be with family and seeing Matt and Kellye from California! Christmas is always a special time for us and we enjoy being together so much!

2013 it might be over but it will be a year etched in my mind forever! Thanks for all of the blessings and memories!!! Here's to 2014!!!

Christmas 2013

2013-12-31T10:12:00.001-06:00

Well, I am pretty sure I failed miserably at taking pictures over Christmas! You know what we win some we lose some, this year I lost at pics! Not to sound too Debbie Downer because we truly did have a wonderful Christmas based on the circumstances. First thing first.... my parents drove 9 hours to spend the whole weekend with us to do our Christmas. We have literally been counting down the days, everyone was healthy, happy and totally pumped about Neenie coming in. They were one hour away when I got the call from daycare that Ann Mason was running fever. An hour later my parents pull into town just as we were getting the positive flu results! I was crying, Ann Mason was crying and even the poor nurse started crying! This is the second year in a row that I didn't see my mom because of the flu :( We were pretty bummed to say the least but we really tried to make the best out of it. It was kind of a rough week in between really fun moments. Someone wasn't feeling good in our house pretty much every day but we still managed to get together and do some Christmas traditions!

The kids on Christmas Eve morning. They were super excited!

One of our traditions is we always go to Red Lobster. We LOVE it. No one has to cook, everyone loves their meals, we just think it is great! haha I eat Red Lobster once a year and it is always Christmas Eve!

Our annual family picture after Christmas Eve Service! So blesssed to have my husbands amazing family here in town. When my heart aches to see my sister and my mom it helps to know that they I am blessed with a second family here.

Oh these kiddos got way too much stuff! Santa changed his rules to 3 presents this year but that didn't stop all of the grandparents from out doing Santa :) haha That's what grandparents are for right? Well, one of the presents was a red rider bb gun! OMG! It is staying at mamaw and papaws but the boys thought it was the coolest thing ever!!

Even though there were moments when I had a pity party over sickness hitting our house and not seeing my family I couldn't help but look at my three amazing children and husband and not feel so blessed. We have so much more than we deserve!!

Redneck Polar Express

2013-12-19T10:40:00.001-06:00

We didn't do the traditional polar express with tickets, real trains, etc... let's be real money is tight this time of year and you have to improvise ;) In comes the mini-van, pjs, hot coco and Christmas music on the radio! The kids were super pumped last night and it was just such a nice night with just our sweet family really getting in to the Christmas spirit! There is one neighborhood where we live that just goes above and beyond on the decorations.We stop and get out and always look at everything, it is just amazing!

Palmer and Ann Mason by Santa and Ms. Clause

Palmer making his silly face at the north pole sign!

If you look closely Chandler, Me, Palmer and Ann Mason are standing at the entrance of "toyland"

They LOVE baby Jesus every year. We are really trying to keep the Christ in Christmas with really trying to talk about the true meaning of Christmas almost every night!

Sassy pants posing and SO happy! They loved it so much!

The best decorated house in our city! This doesn't do it justice!!! Chandler even loved the lights she just pointed the whole time!

I love these sweet memories with the kids, it was just a great night and we are SO ready to see family and celebrate Christmas!!!

Breakfast with Santa and Ugly Santa

2013-12-17T15:22:00.001-06:00

I don't know if we have had a lot of full moons lately, being cooped up in our house or the anticipation of Santa but my kids have been off the chain lately! Like balls to the walls CRAZY maniacs! It is almost like their little bodies are having out of body experiences and they can't stop! This weekend was NO exception. We made it thru though! First stop Saturday morning was breakfast with Santa. Let me just tell you that we had about 15 meltdowns and 10 threats of not even going but we pulled it together for a pic with the big guy!

My buddy and I eating our free donuts.

Ann Mason and I trying to smile, we had a tough morning (just being real here folks)

Bad morning, what? Whose stressed? This girl is a HOOT! She is SO happy about EVERYTHING!

The best our family had to offer that morning! haha

Let's just say it was one of those mornings that after Breakfast with Santa was over our WHOLE (including me and Tex) were taking naps by 9:45 am!!!

After naps everyone seemed to be having a better day!

Annie got to go to her best friend Addy's birthday party and paint a hair brush, it was so fun!

Then Saturday we were off to our first Ugly Christmas Sweater Party! I made Oreo Balls. Let me tell you that pinterest lies! When they say easy it means disaster!~ These looked terrible, embarrassingly terrible like a five year old made them but they were SO tasty!

Can you believe I actually took these out in public?

This is what they were supposed to look like? Seriously, what is wrong with me that I can't make an oreo ball?

Here we are in our tackiest of Christmas wear. It was SO fun!

Some of the girls! We had a great time and enjoyed all of the good food and company!

My spirits are a little brighter. I got my hair cut and colored last night (which doesn't that always make a girl feel better) AND picked up the very last presents for Christmas! Even got some wrapped. I feel a little more prepared today!

12 MORE DAYS!

In a Nut Shell

2013-12-12T13:46:00.000-06:00

Oh goodness! I have no excuse and a million excuses of why I haven't posted in 3 weeks! To be honest I am just feeling a little overwhelmed. Not necessarily in a bad way but more of just how did it get to be 13 days away from Christmas, where has the year gone, how did this happen, I have so much to do but not really that much to do kind of overwhelmed. Despite how over or under whelmed I am feeling from day to day life still goes on and I have three very spirited children that make sure that when my feet hit the ground I don't stop running....

So.... LONG over due here is what The Templeton's have been doing since our DC trip in a nut shell

Chandler tried cheese fries at Ritzy's and stinking loved them! A girl after my own heart. Carbs and Cheese!

I interviewed for a job for the first time in 10 years!! This is my old State Farm boss who is like family. I made it thru the first interview to possibly own my own State Farm agency one day!

This girl gets funnier and cuter every day. She learned how to "cheese" and this is what we get every time we take a pic!

My son is a Picasso! He seriously is in first grade and draws amazing with so much detail! He LOVES drawing, LOVES school and is just so awesome! haha He is a momma's boy!

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Well, let's see where to start here... Oh yeah, so first Ann Mason ran into the door knob (for the second time in her life) and gave herself a black eye (I can't make this stuff up!) THEN she CUT HER OWN HAIR at 5:50 am in the morning and looked like Joe Dirt. Business in the front, Party in the back! I was so asleep when she came in and confused by what was going on that I really didn't have a reaction. My lag time was way off!

In between the hair debacle I got to go eat Thanksgiving lunch with my buddy Palmer. This kid has my heart!

Back to the hair debacle! Mr. Steve our hair guy came to the rescue. Ann Mason got a bob and her bangs evened out. I guess you could say we may the best out of a bad situation. I keep hearing it could be so much worse and how great she did cutting her own hair!

After Joe Dirt she looked a whole lot like Julia Roberts from Pretty Women! Can you tell I had fun with this whole ordeal? Laugh or Cry I will choose humour 99% of the time!

We went to the annual Christmas Parade and literally froze our booties off!

Chandler was crowned princess of her Sunday School Nursery class and frankly I couldn't agree more! haha

Ann Mason and I had a date night and went to see the Nutcracker. Yes, apparently I am the only person in the WORLD that didn't realize they don't talk in the nutcracker! Oops! Luckily she loved it and it kept her entertained even without dialogue :)

We kept the tradition alive of decorating Mamaw's tree. See how it works is Mamaw feeds us a big free meal, the boys put up the tree and we yell GO and all of the kids put up all of the ornaments!~ I must say it is the most efficient decorating I have ever witnessed. Mamaw is such a good sport she even leaves the ornaments exactly where they put them even if that means 10 are on one branch!

This poor sweet girl literally has been the sickest I have ever seen her. Sunday she started running a fever of 104 and we got an antibiotic thinking it was just the winter time crud. Well, whatever she had was viral and it was brutal. I am pretty sure she had some kind of version of hand, foot and mouth but just in her mouth. Her fever broke yesterday and now she is covered in the viral infection rash but the worst is behind us, thank goodness!!

13 days till Christmas, every time I say that I get light headed!

The big SURPRISE!!!

2013-11-19T09:52:00.000-06:00

Better late than never! A few weeks ago Tex and I got to do something that we haven't done for 3 years!!! We got to travel by ourselves, no kids, no kid friendly restaurants just adult time! The best reason we got to travel was because we surprised my sister for her 30th birthday in Washington DC! I was like a kid in a candy store! I had only been to DC once on my senior year trip and Tex had never been so we were so super excited!

Here we are on the plane! There is no other person that I would like to travel with more than this guy. He calms my nerves, we have a blast together, we enjoy doing the same things, he is just my best friend! Good thing I married him! haha

Unfortunately I lost my nice camera. That was a TOTAL bummer but luckily I think I had uploaded almost everything on there except for this trip. So these pictures are going to make it look like all we did was eat and go out! haha We definitely did that but Tex and I went site seeing all day Friday and Saturday too!

So Ashley is NOT an easy girl to surprise let's just say that. I know she was hoping we would be there but I was trying everything in my power to make her think otherwise. We met at the hotel lounge and the other couple that was with us met them first (they weren't a surprise just Tex and I! haha) so they said hello and then I popped out from around the corner and screamed surprise!

I even managed to get a few tears from the birthday princess. I miss her so much and I was SO happy to be with her for the whole weekend!

We are two REALLY happy husband and wife right now! A whole weekend to ourselves (disclaimer we love our kids dearly but this was a huge special treat)

Ashley, Leslie and I. John and Leslie have been wonderful friends to Joe and Ashley and the minute we met them we fell in love with them. They are so fun and easy to be around and we just all really clicked and had a blast!

First stop was an upscale Mexican restaurant and yes this guy is making homemade guacamole for our table, yes I did almost pass out! Total heaven!

The group! We had so much fun. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. It was such a great night!

Here we are being silly. We haven't been out that late in forever and the next morning this is how Tex felt :) We got up and out though by 9 am and hit the streets!

First stop was Fords Theatre.

Where Lincoln was shot.

Then of course we had to do lunch at possibly one of the best pizza places I have ever eaten. SO good!

Of course we did the obligatory pic of the White House. Like I said most of our "touristy" pics were on my camera. We got to go to the Capital, Lincoln Memorial, Holocaust Museum, etc... No joke we probably walked 12 to 13 miles that day around DC. We didn't take a cab anywhere we just kept walking!

That night we got to go to the W hotel and hang out at the roof top bar. This was just the lobby. So beautiful!

The rooftop bar was amazing. We got to watch three helicopters bring the President over the river and the middle one land at the White House, pretty cool!

The group hanging out and having fun!

The girls!

The Merritt's and the Ballard's

Ashley making her wish! I hope everything she wished for comes true! It was one of the best weekends of my life. I was with my husband and sister who could ask for more! It was amazing! Tex and I definitely want to make it a point to do this at least once a year, just us!

Halloween

2013-11-13T10:25:00.002-06:00

I know that I have said this 1000 times but seriously how is it Nov 12th???? Where has this year gone? It seems like there are not enough hours in the day! :) Halloween has come and gone and as with every year the kids had a BLAST!!! I wasn't sure how Chandler would do this year being only 14 months old but girlfriend rocked it out! She probably went up to 15 houses, got her candy and threw it in the bag! Luckily we got away with her only eating one sucker!

CUTEST.FLOWER.EVER

What is this I have in my hands?

This is my friend Sarah's daughter. Sophia, she has to be the busiest, most hilarious, into everything little girl! This was her, a hot mess, after only 10 minutes of trick or treating!

Trying to get a picture on the hayride!

Let the craziness begin!

Palmer and his cousin Ethan aka the Grim Reaper

Sweet KK as the nerd helping Chandler at every house! This sweet niece of mine is gold!

Chandler does not want for ANYTHING! It is going to be bad, she is primped, pampered, loved, kissed, held constantly. We are creating a monster but so far this "monster" has been the happiest most laid back angel ever, let's hope it lasts!

Taking a picture of this little flower is almost impossible these days!

Oh this boy! My little star wars clone!

Me and my little wonder woman! She definitely has super hero energy :) We had to monitor her candy intake after trunk or treating. Ann Mason doesn't process sugar well!!

The boys! I hate to say it but boys Halloween costumes are just no fun (for the moms anyways) especially when this mom was SO wanting a family "themed" halloween! Is that too much to ask? My kid had no part of it!

Sweet Addison and Ann Mason these two have become best buddies!

Halloween was great. It was a busy week but the kids loved every minute of it. We paid for it that weekend though! We all needed to detox from sugar and get to bed on time!

Fall Activities!

2013-10-29T12:55:00.000-05:00

I love this time of year! Fall Festivals, pumpkins, soup in the crock pot, cooler temps! All of it! However I don't like my babies being sick! This sweet, smiling girl had bronchitis this weekend! I call her my angel baby even though she can be feisty she is the sweetest child in the world!

So Tex and I took turns staying home with this sweet girl and rotating doing all of the fun activities with the big kids!

Friday was the fall festival at Palmer's school and since Tex took the kids that = no pictures :( He is such a good dad but I think tickets, screaming kids, mass chaos and 3 hours worth of fishing games and cake walks...Tex came home with a look of terror on his face. I think he needs back up for the next fall festival!

Saturday was my turn and it was carnival time! It was cold but the kids had a blast! They rode every half falling down carnival ride!

Palmer and his cousin Ethan riding a roller coaster!

Ann Mason and Allie riding the carousel! Girlfriend wasn't scared of anything even when the Ferris wheel stopped at the top with her in it for what seemed like 10 minutes!

Happy Girl!

Annie, Palmer and their buddy Preston!

Ann Mason with the big girls! They are so good to her and always let her tag along! I am pretty sure she doesn't realize she is 4 and they are 11!

Sunday was church, lunch and our first Halloween party of the week! I initially bought this costume for Chandler, I don't know what I was thinking but I obviously bought the wrong size and when Annie saw it she immediately changed her tune and wanted to be wonder woman. I couldn't think of a costume more fitting...

Palmer was a star wars clone trooper. I have to be honest and say that boys costumes are just not fun. I had envisioned a whole family theme of characters and my children quickly squashed any idea of us all dressing up like Toy Story or the Wizard of Oz or something cute and fun like that :)

Seriously only Papaw would convince Ann Mason that hillbilly teeth was the best accessory for her wonder woman costume. Whatever he says goes!

All of the kiddos at the Halloween party!

This girl was the youngest one and one of only two girls at the whole party. Do you think it stopped her from dominating? Um, no! I was such a passive child that sometimes I don't know what to do with such a confident and spunky little girl!

Ann Mason "mummy"fying a little boy

She had it down!

These boys love each other! Make a group mummy!

The end product!

Halloween corn hole :)

The weather is threatening to ruin Halloween! I just want to have one good night to let the kids go trick or treating! OMG I can't wait for you to see Chandler's outfit if she doesn't rip it off! She hates it, thanks so much to Lindsey for letting me borrow it!

Paradise Picture Overload

2013-10-24T12:25:00.004-05:00

I am trying to get all of these photos in, I went photo crazy!! I have hundreds of pics, love it! Here are some more from our trip. We ATE so much food, I am paying for it dearly now! In fact that will be a whole other post with before and progress pics. I am starting a journey to be a healthier, stronger, leaner me!! Here are MORE pics from our wonderful trip...

Oh my that little face in the right hand corner just melts my heart. She is the most amazing little girl ever! Oh and the guy next to me isn't too bad himself :)

Attempting a family pic, why does Chandler look so dang mad? haha

This picture wont be as hilarious to you as it is to me but the Prather's have been some of our oldest and best friends. They were both in our wedding over 9 years ago and we have always kept in touch and been close. This picture is of Palmer and Will (aka Brandon and Tex) this cracks me up! They are seriously little clones even their personalities are so similar to their dad's!

Here is Lindsey and I, we had such an awesome day just hanging out with the 4 of us and all of the kiddos! We miss them so much, I wish we still lived in the same city!

In my opinion the coolest of the sand sculptures... despicable me minions! The kids thought they were totally awesome!!

Everything about this picture I love! These three girls are forever best friends!

So blessed to have such strong, amazing influences in my life!

My momma! Wish we could do this daily!

Of course we had to hit up the outlet malls! This diva scored tall boots and a new shirt! She is a hot mess when it comes to fashion!

The hubs and I beach side!

Annie and I!

Our attempt at a family picture!

Mamaw and Papaw with all of the grand kids!

This pic is so sweet! Palmer was SO embarrassed when I showed him this picture. They do love each other so much!

I am telling ya'll this girl didn't mind the sand at all! Love those sandy rolls!

Paradise

2013-10-21T11:58:00.000-05:00

It has been 17 long days since I posted. 9 of those days were spent in paradise! Seriously Destin, Fl is my slice of heaven. I may be partial since I have gone down there every year most of the time multiple times a year since I was 7! In fact my family loves it so much my mom moved there 12 years ago.

This was our one family vacation that we were able to take this year and it was MARVELOUS!! We had the best of both worlds. We had Tex's family down there in one condo, my mom and my extended family that live down there and then our immediate family had our own condo! So, we spent all day on the beach and going out to eat with family and friends and then we had our "down" time at night just to ourselves to do bedtime, etc... This worked amazing for our family!

There was a sand castle artist there from Georgia who would literally sculpt a different artwork everyday it was so cool and the kids LOVED it, they even got to help one day!

Oh my kids were in heaven. They LOVED every minute on the beach with family and their cousins. I literally did not hear a peep out of them all day and we stayed on the beach from 9-4 every day, it was awesome!

Let me just talk about this beach bum for a minute! Most kids (including my older children) HATED the beach at this age. Saying Chandler LOVED the beach would be an understatement. People around us were talking about her by the end of the week saying that they have never seen a baby LOVE the sand, water, sun that much in their lives. Girlfriend would walk around naked most days and had a blast! This is her eating her very first sucker on the beach! She would literally roll whatever food she had in her hand in the sand and then eat it!

This is how my snuggle bum would take naps almost every day. Neenie was a good resting area. She just melts my heart, we were blessed with a laid back third child!!

Chandler and I trying to take a picture, she isn't much on looking at the camera these days :)

My in laws and their baby girl! So fun to have everyone down there!

Both families. I LOVE this picture. I think in the 15 years we have been together this was the first time we have a picture of both sets of parents with us!

This girl Killed it on the beach! She had style, shades and sun kissed skin! She had a ball every day!

I have never seen this boy So happy in my life. He skim boarded 24/7 and never stopped!!

I can't even put into words what a wonderful trip it was. I HAVE TONS more pics to share. To watch my children LOVE the beach as much as their momma does was priceless. To have 9 days to spend with my husband, children and family was priceless! It was hard coming back but it was nice to be home at the same time. I still don't think we are fully back to our normal routine! haha

Tuesday Ramblings

2013-10-01T15:14:00.001-05:00

Well another weekend came and another weekend passed! I shouldn't sound so un-enthusiastic but this weekend was filled with anticipation of VACATION! I literally can not wait to leave and spend 9 glorious days with my family, relaxing and soaking all of their little sandy, giggly bodies in!

These are the only pics I took the entire weekend for a few reasons.... 1. We didn't do anything too exciting other than I cleaned out closets and caught up on ALL of our laundry which to me is seriously exciting! We did go to church and both of the girls sported their rain boots since we got probably 2 inches of rain that morning :)

Ann Mason sporting her skinny arm and rain boots, she much prefers a dress to go to church but because of the rain we were a little more casual!

This picture makes me smile even though it is a little blurry. The chunky thighs, the ear to ear grins from both baby girl and daddy and the adorable rain boots! This girl has her dad wrapped around her finger, he literally picked out the boots by himself, I forgot that she even had them!

The next two pics are the very reason my picture collection is so sparse these days. There is no getting Chandler to cooperate and or sit still for 30 seconds. Here is her reaction everytime Ann Mason tries to hug or grab her, which is every 5 seconds so I kind of don't blame her for wanting to scream!

Yet another example.... she is constantly in motion. No longer are the still, adorable pics of an immobile little baby!

This is SO random but I had to wear uniforms all during high school. While I LOVE the idea of uniforms I now despise khakis and a solid color shirt because I wore that every day for four years. My husband is obsessed with khakis. I know this is not a bad thing but I want him to have a more casual look sometimes you know, warm up pants, nike t-shirt and tennis shoes! We finally bought him some new tennis shoes and guess what? He actually loves them! NOW if I can just get him to wear warm up pants and not khakis with them we will be in business! haha

Oh my this boy makes my heart leap! We have been doing AWANA's for the past month and it has totally changed my kids lives. Seriously my kids are on fire for Jesus, it is the most amazing and awesome thing I have ever experienced. While they go to their AWANA'S classes I get to do a women's bible study so we are all getting filled spiritually. Palmer earned his first badge last week and was SO excited. It is the most wonderful thing seeing your children excited to learn about God!

We are on a serious Vacation countdown. My to do list is a mile long but it will be worth it when we are on the beach!!! I am planning on taking LOTS of pictures!