1st day of school

Lily and Luke started school on the 7th of September. Lily is in the Pre-K class this year and Luke is in the 2 year old class. They were both so excited and had great first days. Luke thought the stamp he got on his hand was the coolest thing in the world. And Lily can already rattle off all of her classmates names. Both of their teachers are very sweet so it should be a great year. I just can't believe next year Lily will be in kindergarten! Amazing. They look so big in these pictures.

Luke's 2nd birthday

On August 11, Luke turned 2!

I love this little guy and his excitement for life. He is into all things boy: cars, trucks, dinosaurs, balls, etc. His favorite thing right now is "playing catch" with the football while wearing Lily's princess bike helmet as his football helmet. I guess when you're the little brother you gotta improvise sometimes.

We did a swim party at my parents' house with family and friends. Our friend Stephanie made cute little sports cupcakes. I wish I'd gotten more pictures, but it's so crazy in the moment (you moms know what I'm talking about). We did get some video of him blowing out candles and opening presents.

The morning of his birthday we filled his bed with blue balloons (his favorite color) and sang "Happy Birthday!" when he woke up.

Lily's 4th Birthday

On March 28, we celebrated Lily's 4th birthday! We began the day with our Breakfast Cake tradition. You can tell she's proud to be 4!






Party at the Park
We celebrated with friends at a park by our house. It was a beautiful day outside, but the wind was out of control. The pavillion we were in served as a wind tunnel making it very chilly. The kids stayed in there just long enough to eat pizza and cake and then headed back out to play. Thankfully it felt great in the sun.

good friends

Evan and Lily

Luke enjoying some cake

opening presents

the rose that Evan gave her

saying thank you with a hug

Luke exploring the playground

Family party at home

a lily for Lily

crashed on the couch post-party

Snow Day

I have never seen so much snow on the ground here in Dallas. What a fun surprise to wake up to a blanket of white everywhere. As it continued to snow throughout the day, I felt as though I were looking out the window of a lodge in Colorado rather than my own house. Didn't it break some snowfall record in Texas? It is one thing to go somewhere like Colorado and experience such beauty, but truly unique that we got to see our everyday world as a winter wonderland. The buildings and trees that I'm so used to driving past looked glorious in their coat of white. The shops that we live by felt like a ski village with the pockets of snow everywhere. This much snow was just begging us to come and build snowmen and make snow angels. We bundled up the best we could and headed out. Lily was in heaven. Luke enjoyed it for a while. But he wouldn't keep any gloves on so he was done once his hands got too cold. Here's Lily and Daddy's snowman:

Snow angels

Luke on a cracker break

sweet glimpses

This morning was a lazy one. Josh and I got up with the kids, and he made his famous "egg creation." After eating, we switched from cartoons to music and sipped coffee while watching the kids play. Lily then told me to "be busy" so she and Dad and Luke could play farm animals in her room. I didn't take offense but rather saw it as an opportunity to get some things done downstairs. I started picking up the kitchen when the song on the ipod caught my ear.

It was a familiar one that I hadn't heard in a while so I grabbed my mug and sat down to refresh my memory. I can remember the first time I heard it was back in college when Josh and I attended Bent Tree Bible a few times. For whatever reason, this song has always struck a cord deep within me. Maybe it's the clever phrasing of the words or the evolution of the sweet melody. I just think it's such a beautiful analogy of our lives- moving through different seasons of celebration, change, heartache, growth. I'm reminded that through it all the Lord is at the center. Just as He orchestrates every minute detail of every season change, He is also beautifully arranging the components of my life, providing purpose for each season though I may not see it now.

On another note, this song prompts me to look for Him in what I can sometimes consider the mundane. My friend Kristyn was sharing with me a passage from the book Cold Tangerines. (I haven't read it yet.) In it the author shares about a hectic season in her life when she was so busy racing from event to event, that one day she looked up and saw the tree across the street was the most magnificent shade of red she'd ever seen. She hadn't even noticed it starting to change and was reminded she had lost sight of what was most important. Far too often I get so caught up in the motions of my day that I fail to even think on the Lord. This is a call to see Him in His creation. When I do stop and gaze at the vast sky or admire the rich shade of red on a leaf, my heart is drawn to worship.

Today, through a song, I saw sweet glimpses of Him. My heart was stirred and longed to be near Him. Thank you, Lord, for using your gift of music to draw me unto you.

Every Season - Nichole Nordeman

Luke is 15mo old

Luke is fifteen months old today. I'd hoped to blog more about his developmental milestones, but, like too many other things in my life right now, I didn't follow through. So I thought I'd take this opportunity to highlight my sweet boy.

Dear Luke,

Happy 15 months today! What a blessing you are to our family. Countless times everyday I thank God for your little life. Your personality is definitely coming through these days! And apart from being a sweet Mama's boy, you also have a goofy side too! In fact, today Daddy and I sat and laughed as we watched you and Lily chase each other around the house, screaming and giggling. You love to run and shake your head back and forth with your tongue hanging out until you get so tickled at yourself you usually fall down. But that hardly slows you up as you're back at it again in seconds!

Probably my favorite thing you're doing right now is hugging. At any given moment, you will bee-line it to my legs and crash into them, squeezing for dear life. And I melt when I'm holding you and you wrap your arms around my neck and lay your head on my shoulder. I could stay there for hours. But you're not just partial to me, you have hugs to share with Lily and Daddy too. There's nothing sweeter than to see you and Lily embrace in a full-on bear hug. I'm praying that you and Lily will be more than just brother and sister- but best friends too. It seems like you're off to a good start there.

Your big sister seems to be your hero right now. You like to do whatever she's doing. Whether it's washing your hands at the sink or sitting on the couch or reading books- you're right there behind her wanting your turn. Lily is a sweet big sister to you- most of the time. She's quick to step in and defend you on the playground when other big kids are around. Always looking out for her little "Lukey-boy." That's what she calls you and I constantly have to clarify when people ask her your name and then look confused.

Walking is now old hat and running and climbing seem to be new found interests. The stairs in our new house are your peak of choice although I'm always there to bring you back down to base camp. We haven't had a tumble so far!

It seems that everyday you're learning and attempting new words. Some new to your vocabulary are: wa-wa: water, ball, please, more, dog, nite-nite, bye-bye, and several animal sounds, but my favorite is "hot." Everything that is set before you regardless of its actual temperature is "hot." You point to it and say "hot" which sounds more like "ha" and then proceed to blow on it at least twice. It's so great and cracks me up every time.

Luke, I am so grateful and humbled to be your Mama. I pray for you everyday, that you would love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. That He would be your everything. I pray that you'd have friends to walk in deep, honest Biblical community with. And that one day the Lord would provide you with a godly wife who loves Jesus and wants to follow Him with you.

I'm thankful for the 15 months we've had together and pray and hope for many more to come. You and your sister stir my affections for the Lord, and for that I'm grateful. I hope that one day as a parent you can understand the joy that I find in being your Mama.

I love you.

Halloween

This year since we are in our new house (!!!) we decided to stay in our neighborhood and try and meet our neighbors. The Rogers and Joys came over for dinner and then Lily and Josh went trick or treating while Luke and I stayed home to hand out the treats. We got a few pictures of them in costume, but they're just so hard to catch these days! Lily is a Thumbelina Fairy and Luke is a puppy dog. Lily has said several times today, "Man, I can't wait to go trick or treating again!"

Luke and Addison (a chick)

Noah (a nerd) and Lily