That's it. Nothing more exciting than life itself. Let's see... in the past 5 months we have been through job changes, vacations to San Antonio for our 20th Anniversary in March (I should do a seperate post on that!) and Fresno in May to see family and friends, moved another long-time friend couple out here (they bought a house .87 mile from us!! hehe), and have personally watched every single month God completely provide every penny we needed to live! That in itself is an entire post, but I will just say that God is SO faithful when we fully trust in Him! Through all the changes with jobs, we have not had the income we've needed but for "some reason" I never freaked out about it. Every month I would find myself saying "Ok God, this is it. There's no more. Next month is going to be bad." And next month there would be some other way he provided whether it was carpet cleaning for Sean, a tax return, a purchased house from our friends that moved here, an extra paycheck, etc. I can say that it has been truly FUN to watch what God does each month because many of the ways He has come through I did not foresee. And He always provided right at the last second. We never had anything to fear. And again, this month, I found myself praying again "Ok God, for real now, there really is no more extra money next month" and now Sean's promotion will give us exactly what we need from here on out (that story is also a miracle!). God is SO good and He loves us so much! We never need to doubt Him!!
Sean has done Real Estate, carpet cleaning (for a friend full time) and now he's back at REI in full swing! He's already applied twice for manager (RSM) positions, one in Southlake (opening soon!) and one in Dallas where he works currently. He did not get either but came the most close ever and had his best yet interview in Dallas. He is however promoting to Sales Lead in a few weeks (unofficially as of now but we are counting on it!) which is really the next smart step toward RSM. He absolutely hates the commute but is passionate about pursuing what he really wanted to do before he quit (finances forced him to change jobs for that season). Anyway! He is loving it and having fun. I just encourage him (and so has God!!) to spend that commute time praying, listening to worship and sermons. Use it as a time to focus on the Lord and strengthening his relationship with Him.
As for Emery, she just keeps growing in every way, shape and form. Not only is her body growing (in its own petite kind of way), but so is her independence, self-style, attitude, negotiating skills, opinions.... but also her love for life, friends, fun and cuddles!
Her favorites right now have been ...
1. swimming : she is a little fish that would swim all day if I let her! She can swim from the side of the pool 4-5 feet under water to me and, now, finally, can bring her head up out of the water but just can't keep it out. She is a very strong swimmer but we are still working on getting her to the surface and swimming on top. She thinks she can hold her breath forever but we have found it is not so. SO... we keep on learning and practicing! The last two times she has swam I was not there to see, but my friends said she was rockin' it so I can't wait to see if she has improved since my last time with her.
2. dancing : She just started ballet/tap classes last week. As much as she was very excited, I was probably still more excited!!! My friend taught me how to do a proper ballet bun, then I practiced (dress rehearsal!) the day before and then I was "on" last Tuesday. It took me about 5 min but the end result looked great!! Her first class ended up being a private lesson. I was very disappointed at first as I had built up this picture in my mind of a bustling studio and all these adorable little ballerinas running around and she would make lots of friends, etc etc. But once I got over that I realized this was probably a good thing for her to start. As excited as she was, once there she was very nervous. I think the one on one helped her relax and was more able to focus and listen to the teacher. Supposedly there is one other girl so we'll see if she's makes it this week. At the end of the season all the classes (there's 3) will come together for their recital. But for now, it's just Emery and Miss KaLinda!
3. Peppa Pig : It's been Bubble Guppies for 3 years now!!! Aside from a few movies she's grown to love over the past few months, I have not been able to get her to like anything else but BG! Until now... Peppa Pig, the adorable little piggy in the adorable English family of pigs. It's cute. That's all I have to say about that. :)
I'm getting really good at braids... it's all she wants every day!
Elsa (one braid) or Anna (two braids) LOL
Just a couple pics with her cousins while we were in Fresno.
(not all my pics transfered when I got a new phone. still working on that)
Here she is with Joshua!
And she LOOOOOOVED her cousin Jenna! Everyday she could hardly
wait for Jenna to get home from school!
Swimming with Jen Jen!!
Hanging out and getting to know her Grandma Dorene (here in Texas!)
Easter 2014
Our friends came to visit first to look for a house before they moved
and this is Jeeter waiting for them at the door... with Emery! lol
Swimming with our neighbor and friend at my weekly
swim date at another friends house.
And another swim date with Kathy, Julie and Tyranie and the kids
BEST of FRIENDS
I LOVE taking her for bike rides as a family!
And Sean finally set my bike up so now we can just get up and go!!
She put this outfit together... I added the jacket.
She went to dinner like this minus my glasses. LOL
My friend gave me a free month to bootcamp so I was back at it
for a few weeks with my best workout partner ever!!!
She would run, pushup, burpee, jumping jacks with me the whole time!!
Can't wait to join as a member! It felt like home!
modeling her super cute jammies!
fun times with daddy!
bath funtime!
I Love TV!
And here are some photos of her preparations for ballet
as well as her first day!
Her classroom
Getting fitted for ballet shoes
Ballet fun playtime with Ari (and I got a lesson in proper ballet buns!)
my friend, Karah, and pro-ballerina, teaching Emery some positions
Emery shopping for her tap shoes...hehe
This is what happens when you use a lot of product!!
My own finished ballet bun! not too bad....
On our way to dance class!
Mommy and Em in front of the Epicenter
Hamburger and ice cream after class!
And what about the mommy?? What is she up to?? Well really its just been the same ol' thang! Work is work. I say I just want to be home full time with Emery, but honestly after 5 days off, I'm a little ready for a break. Not necessarily a 13-hour-work-a-day-kind-of-break, but a little break would help. It has made me admire stay at home moms all the more for the hard work that they (we) do. It's not easy. In fact, comments have always been made about stay at home moms. That they don't work, they play all day, hang out with their friends (playdates), they swim, they do bible studies, they work out.... they don't do anything but have fun. Well in a sense that is true. So why am I always so exhausted at the end of every day if all I'm doing is spending mindless, 'relaxing' time with Emery and/or friends. Well, while their accusations come with a little bit of seriousness and sarcasm added with a little humor ("I'm just messing with you"), they are wrong! Point blank! And the Lord spoke this to me one day (yes, as I was lounging by a gorgeous pool, thank you Sheila!, watching Emery swim) And it's this.... Emery takes up every bit of space in my mind, every decibal in my ear, every ounce of energy I have. Why? Because I am constantly teaching, encouraging, inspiring, playing (very important for her development and sense of meaning), molding, reprimanding, discipling, comforting, soothing and cuddling, only to name a tiny few. Which might I add makes me feel extremely inadequate as a mom, ready to fail, only adding to my exhaustion! He showed me how I'm everything to her when we are home. He showed me how even in playdates, although I am getting some friend time, it is far from relaxing as we all are teaching our littles to play well together, to share, to give and not take, to think of others above ourselves... all of which are invaluable and necessary lessons for them later in life!!! I am raising an adult who will someday be somebody's mother, wife, friend, best friend, mentor, minister, teacher... and the list goes on! This is no game we're playing here. Brings tears to my eyes just rereading this! We all complain at some point! Sometimes daily! And yet, we get up again, each morning, and do it all over again. Why? Because when these blessed children of ours look us straight in the eye, take our face in their tiny hands, and say in their sweet little voice, "I love you mommy soooo much", it makes it all worth it! And so I have agreed to receive God's offer of mercy and grace for myself in this season of life called Mommyhood. God bless you moms everywhere!!!! (wow! that so could have been a seperate post! I never know what's going to come out when I sit down to write)
And on a lighter note.... Just some last fun pictures of adult time! Yes Sean and I do get it once in a while! We had one date night for my birthday down in the West 7th district of Fort Worth (other side of downtown) where we ate mediterranean food, listened to live bands in the street, then had ice cream at Melt, walked around the Water Gardens in downtown and then back up to Keller (our area) for starbucks. A week later we had the honor of going out again for my friend Jocelyn's birthday. This time we got all dressed up and went to the Glass Cactus at the Gaylord Texas for drinks and dancing (something we never do unless we're at a wedding! lol) We had so much fun with friends that night!!! Until next time.....
Brandon and Sean
Me and Diane
My super fun and crazy friends, Diane and Jocelyn
We like to dance... we like to boogie...!
Love this guy!!!
