Moments of Grace and Chesterton

Thanking God...

::for His Will.

::for His Grace and Patience.

::for His Love and Mercy.

::for our little family.

::for time with our family that are not near.

::for my vocation of mother and wife.

::for my husband - our rock.

::for new days.

Praying...

::for our little family.

::for family that aren't near us but are always near our hearts.

::for grace in my vocation.

::for a special intention.

::for Bobbi and her family.

::for a dear friend.

::for patience and love.

::for a thankful and joyful heart.

Pondering...

My boys see such joy so easily in our day to day. They see adventure in jumping from low stools and running into a pile of pillows and blankets. They see a cave to climb through when under the kitchen table and are so curious about whats behind every closed door. Around every corner is adventure. Praying that I be able to see more of the incalculable wonders that exist within our own little family. Praying that I take more moments to explore the pile of blankets and empty boxes. Praying that I don't steal their present and day-to-day fairy-tale with my own selfishness, unwillingness, and stubbornness. Praying I see more of the adventure we were all born into.

Loving this quote...

From the Kitchen...

::making spaghetti tonight. I make the sauce from scratch so it's always a little different every time. Depends on my mood. More basil? More garlic? Mushrooms? Onions? etc etc It helps that both boys chow down every time I make it.

Captured...

Not much. Not only did I take a blogging haitus but I also have not touched my camera since we got home from Christmas travels. The day after we got home we all tested positive for the flu with the toddler tacking on an ear infection of his own. Since then I've just been trying to find my groove again.  We passed on a house during that time (our second one) which was disheartening. I feel like January has been the month to try and get out of feeling in slump.

Hopefully, I'll be able to bust out my super mama cape and have a wonderful February. This North Texas January weather has not been fun either. At. All.

***

Head on over to Jenny's and Sarah's for more Moments and Chesterton :)

7QT: The skies above are blue...

I'm back from my blogging hiatus and it feels so good to be typing! I've honestly had so much to blog about just haven't had the time, energy, or brain power to focus. Not to mention, lots of places to start had me overwhelmed a bit. And there was the flu that knocked us all on our rear for a good two weeks. Oh, and the crazy-mad teether that felt the need to party hard all night every night for longer than my sleep-deprived brain would like to recall. Haha. Moving on now! Here I am and I'm excited!

At last, another beautiful day in a year to remember has come along. It's our anniversary! Four years ago yesterday, we said, I do. Our love was bound and we became one. We became one. I knew you. You knew me. We loved and loved and loved until our hearts burst that day. The joy I felt on the day that we said I do was so beautiful. I was radiating. I was glowing. All was beautiful and perfect, joyful and blessed.

Welcome to my little memory lane of a post about that very fine day that brought a joy in me that I had never known before.

--- 1 ---

I loved our details. They were sweet. Simple. And filled with love.

The detail in the cake matched the lace on my dress. Made me smile.

My GeekMan doing what he does best and me doing what I love to do but don't do enough of - read.

These were just a few of the little things that made the day just a little sweeter.

--- 2 ---

I loved that I got to wear my mother's wedding dress. The same dress that my grandma made for her. And love even more that this same grandma did the alterations for it to fit me. A gift that I will always treasure more than I can say.

Love that we took pictures down at the grove. The only thing I love more than avocados are grapefruit! We went to where grapefruits abound. And it was beautiful.

--- 3 ---

I loved getting married in the parish I grew up in. So many fruits happened in this holy place for me. Being able to marry before God, family, and friends is more than this woman could ask for.

--- 4 ---

I loved being with him. He made everything perfect. He made everything beautiful. He who God decided to share with me in a very beautiful, mysterious, and glorious way.

--- 5 ---

The moments. I loved the moments.

Right after we walked down the aisle into the dressing room. We hugged it all in. I didn't want to let go of him. I was so happy.

Our first dance as husband and wife. On the bridge. Away from it all. Just us. Dancing. Enjoying. Loving.

My grandpa had passed away the year prior to our wedding. You can imagine why having his brother there meant more to my heart than any will ever know. I was heartbroken knowing my grandpa wouldn't be there on my wedding day. It was sweet how God had them be the couple who had been married the longest. We had special moments of wisdom with him and his wife. Such a gift.

--- 6 ---

Outdoor January wedding in South Texas. It was perfect. A sweet day with a light breeze. It wasn't too hot and it wasn't too cold. It was perfect. Just how I had prayed it would be.

Oh and the Dancing!!! Dancing is fun. But, dancing outside - so much fun! We had a blast! And, I loved having all my Ags there! The Aggie War Hymn was incredibly special that night.

Ha! This awkward moment brought to you by us. It took him FOREVER to get that thing off! Awkward... Haha. As awkward as it was, I was laughing and dancing the whole time.

Did I mention I love dancing?

Well I do.

Especially with this man!

--- 7 ---

The celebration!!!

And, the fact that the celebration didn't end that night. It's been going strong for four years. We've even managed to add two little ones that can party harder than any college student I've ever known. These boys take "party all night long" to a whole new level, for sure!

But, I love them for it. I love that they joined our party. I love that they are a beautiful result of the very same party that started four years ago. And, I most especially love the love and our God that keep the celebration of our life always beautiful.

Thanks for stopping by!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

TT: Bare Bigfoot

Linking up with Cari for Theme Thursday. The theme is bare or bear.

We've had some pretty crummy weather over here. It's cold, it's not cold, it's cold and rainy, rainy and cool, fog, blah, blah, blah...yuck, yuck, yuck... Give me snow and freezing or give me warm and breezy, but this yuck is no bueno! I haven't seen much of any sun lately, which hurts my soul. Being sick last week with the flu for all hasn't helped either.

All this to say, I have not been great about capturing memories with my mama toy. Therefore, I present to you an old picture of Bigfoot's bare footsies. The boy is almost always bare. It's how he rolls. Most especially because if he is wearing socks you can almost guarantee the boy will take a spill that will open some major flood gates. It just isn't pretty. (Yes, we're that coordinated family.).

Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll get back to taking pictures and practice so I can get better at capturing our moments. I also have so many pictures to blog after making our rounds for the holidays. Not to mention, the three updates for sweet Linus I have yet to post! Oye! I am behind on our little online space of life, but determined to get back to it.

Get over to Cari's to check out some more fun bare/bear photos from other much more talented photo-taking lovelies!

2013 in 13: Thankful

We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. -Romans 8:28

January: Waiting on our Sweet Pea, date night for our 3 year anniversary, Texas winter, time outside, a boy, and his sticks.

February: Our little Lovebug/Sweet P/Linus was born.

March: The boy has personality

April: My baby isn't a baby anymore.

June: Lots of traveling, toddler turns two, and lots of lovely family time.

July: Lots more family time, traveling, and our youngest was baptized.

August: Brothers, time at the beach, lots of family love, lots of traveling, and growing.

September: Birthdays, Beach, Family, food for all, and lots of fun.

October: Home, time with friends, and memories.

November: Brewery fun, Bible Study Family Vacation, Christmas cards, Thanksgiving family fun, and so little time.

December: Colds and allergies that rocked any plans I had for December, Icepocalypse 2013, no Christmas tree this year due to the craziness, lots of traveling, lots of gifts, lots of smiles and hugs, and Flu for all four of us that completely wiped out the later end of our  December into the new year.

Bonus: 

Seeing Sister Kathleen this year was definitely one of my highlights. I've missed her terribly since we moved from College Station to Dallas and I could not be more happy that she was able to meet our boys! Praying that the good Lord bless us with another reunion in 2014. Either way I will look forward to our phone conversations in the new year. She will be in my prayers and I know our little family is always in hers.

So very thankful for another beautiful year filled with everything that it needed to be filled with. His Goodness, Mercy, and amazing Love abounding as always.

Thankful.

(Head on over to Dwija's to see more fun 2013 in 13 fun!)