less than 24 hours

while in nashville, mojo and i had a little getaway. a less than 24 hour getaway but wonderful nonetheless. it was hard to get there to be sure. abraham got a fever and was sleeping bad for a few nights so we put off going and then i booked our hotel and then 10 mins. later maggie walked down the stairs from her nap with a fever too. the stars were not aligning!! but my gracious mom encouraged us to go and that she indeed knew how to care for a little one with a fever.

so we drove into downtown and stayed at a little boutique hotel. i dont know what it is, but i LOVE staying in hotels. there is no responsibilites-no laundry to be done, no dishes to be washed...just being present... we walked to our old favorite sushi restaurant and ate way, way too much. but it was awesome...

then we went back to the hotel and ordered room service...fudge cake, amazing vanilla ice cream, white russians and vodka tonics....

the room was amazing...aveda bath products, pillows to die for, and a bed i didnt have to make....love it!

thanks mom and dad for letting us be "off duty" for a bit! we appreciate it!

2.

y'all. this boy is too cute for words. he is so tender, funny, and gives kisses freely. he has surprised us by not having any 'terrible 2' glimpses yet, which we were sure we would encounter. but he loves to please us and is quickly repentant if he is does something wrong. he loves to give hugs and is a major momma's boy, which i adore!
he loves for us to lay in the room with him while he falls asleep at night. he dies laughing when maggie smells her toes and loves anything that has to do with balls, trains, and all things 'boy.'
at dinner his food quickly becomes an "airplane" affect with airplane noises diving into his mouth. he loves to make us laugh. for instance, while in nashville my mom and i were cooking and the kids were playing with play doh, we then heard him say "where's my hand?" -we looked over and he was 'hiding' his fingers in the play doh! THEN we heard his high pitched voice say, "where's my nose?" and the boy had stuck his face into the play doh and kept saying, "where's my nose?"
he is too sweet for words, too kind, too tender, too funny. we are so very blessed with this little guy! he's growing up too fast!

                           abe actually took this self-portrait himself. i mean, isnt that amazing?

                                                          stuffing those cupcakes in fast.

daddy was sad to miss litte guy's bday party

          abe scored on bday presents. here is one where maggie is explaining how to use the frisbee golf.

and here we are in his new tent!

we love you so much Abraham!!!!

this season

this season. i want to remember this season because i don't want to forget how special it is. this season of seminary, although filled with unique stressors is such a sweet time. this season, daddy is home at dinner time and is home to tuck the kids into bed and read maggie as many books as she wants. after we graduate i am sure there will be nights where matt cant come home because he needs to visit people in the hospital, go to meetings, or prepare for a sermon. but this season, this season he is home. 
this season we are surround by families that are walking the same path. kids that are kind and compassionate and have tender hearts. i am surround by women who care about the things that make my heart flutter. women who share in joys and share in sorrows and carry burdens. this season, God has granted a slow pace of life. we wake early but our days are filled with fun and play and watching animals at the zoo and teaching the kids about dinosaurs, going to the library, and squeezing fruit at the farmers market. this season, the rhythm of our days is marked by nap times and snack times and play doh times. its not dictated by traffic or school or obligations.
this season is a season of stillness before the pressures of 'real life' and 'real ministry' come crashing in. and we are enjoying it, we are treasuring it, because we will only pass this way once. 

nashville

of course our trip to nashville was wonderful. its never long enough. so many dear friends i want to see, some many little family members i want to hug.
we got to go to the pool alot with my mom and meet and my sister and her kiddos. we got to eat lots of good food and ate our share of meat (we dont eat much red meat here at home but we do when we are in nashville!).  the kids love mimi and papa joe's house. there are familiar toys and a cat to chase around and a sandbox! not too much more kids can ask for. papa joe makes big breakfasts while i sleep in, not too much i could ask for too!
here is a glimpse of the kids with the braud family:

touch of sunshine

we recently got back from southern california and this time really wanted to move. the sunshine, the ocean breeze, the mountains, the sunshine! its almost too good to be true. actually, the housing market does make it too good to be true, we could never afford it! anyway, we had a lovely time with mojo's family and the kids got to see their daddy perform and we got to spend time with the Supertone's families, we feel like family and its wonderful to be with them!

abraham just would dig himself into the sand. it was amazing! what a little boy and a total doll!


maggie, of course, is an angel at the beach. she has her little shovel and bucket and goes to work on a castle. she could stay all day!


i love this photo because great grandma Emily is in the background completely covered because she thinks its cold and we are swimming! We love you Emily!

this is Huntington Beach. we go there at least once every visit because there is a restaurant there that has the BEST calamari in the whole world! on this day the weather was amazing and all the surfers were there and we got to spend time with one of my dear friends from nashville who lives in LA now. 

another dear friend Joy. her husband is in the Supertones. she is a kindred spirit. the kids and I spent the day with her kids down in San Clemente which is one of the coolest beach towns.

um, apparently the Supertones make cute kids because wow, arent they all just adorable!!!