my new favorite find

i LOVE coffee creamer....even though i know it's not the healthiest thing. but i can't help it. i love creamy, milky, sweet coffee. i was so excited to find this new coffee mate natural bliss. it is good! the flavors i saw were sweet cream, caramel and vanilla. just wanted to share!

random pics

a little guy and a big flag

my wonderful, beautiful college young life girls...i LOVE these girls soooo much! a yummy reuniting dinner at shoguns.
muffins...this little man loves muffins
taking a rest on our long morning walk
the kirby vacuum cleaner demo on my rug....eeeewwwwww...can we say dog hair?
a morning walk (benjamin had a little tummy bug so we took morning walks to pass time and keep boys apart)

hangin with the hull's

a couple weeks ago we went to mckinney to visit our great friends, the hulls. they moved there last summer and we had not been to their new house. as you can see from most of our pics we ate and swam! you can also see our chuy's creamy jalapeno dip making from this post.

we love hanging with audra, libby and chip.

the boys loved playing together and played the ENTIRE time we were there without one argument or disagreement. it was wonderful!

audra and me

the boys

the boys and their "light savers"

(they played star wars, buzz lightyear and legos the whole time)

all the kiddos

eating frozen yogurt

i forgot swimmer diapers so B had to wear a regular one...it got too full...and started leaking!

love these legs an

and this face!

yummy dip (chuy's creamy jalapeno dip)

my friend elicia makes this amazing dip! so on our visit to see the hull's we decided to try it. i didn't do step by step pics but you'll get the idea. i'll include the recipe at the bottom. and it makes a TON!

and it tastes sooooo unbelievably good with these yummy tortillas from FRESH:

Chuy's Creamy Jalapeno Dip

1 quart mayonnaise

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup jalapenos (canned) and a little juice

1 cup green tomatillos (canned)

1/2 bunch cilantro

3 packs Original Hidden Valley Ranch Mix

*drain jalapenos and tomatillos really well

*mix ranch mix and buttermilk together first

*put all ingredients in the blender or food processor and mix

ENJOY!

pirates

kylee came to play...then she became a pirate...

special things

hello,

i wanted to record a few special things today:

1. my sweet samuel rode his bike for the first time without his training wheels. he has been begging us to take his training wheels off and we have been putting him off telling him that he probably needs to be older or we will have to go get the tools out, etc. but kyle finally took them off and he did it!!! he is so proud and so excited! his exact quotes are: "i can ride my bike with two wheels!" AND when i told him how i just couldn't believe it, he responded very nonchalantly "yeah...it's impressive." it is impressive and it makes me sentimental about how he is growing up.

2. i have officially stopped nursing benjamin...i think!? i've been nursing him only a night for over a month now. he loves it so much and it's our special/sweet/ funny time together. i think i have told you about how much he loves his boppy. he gets so excited when i take him into his room, turn on the "rain" sound machine, sit down and pull out the boppy. he literally giggles and smiles. we have our little moments while he is nursing too. he'll look up at me or laugh or grab my nose or pat my neck or play with my hair. he is 14.5 months so i guess it's time. :( i nursed samuel until 14 months and i was ready to give it up but something now makes me reluctant. and it's not like he is my last baby. i just love spending that time with benjamin. there are some pluses to weening like freedom and change in routine at night...for example kyle put him down tonight and that is a sweet time for them to share....since he has probably only done that 3-4 times since B was born. (which if you are doing the math you will realize i have not been away from benjamin for more than a night at a time and probably only a few times in his 14 months....YIKES...i need a girls weekend!) anyway, i just wanted to "journal" this so i wouldn't forget.

3. benjamin is finally repeating words....he said "mamma" "dada" "daddy" "mom-me" he loves to "talk" but rarely do we know what he might be saying. he also loves to roll his finger over his lips and make noises. i taught samuel the "sprinkler" dance the other day and today we were dancing in the car to the beiber (oh yes!) and samuel and i started doing the sprinkler and so did benjamin! he loves to copy actions or tricks more than repeat words. it was cute!

4. and finally....we closed on a new house today! we are moving! we are not only moving to a new (new to us) house but we are moving to the house i grew up in. we are thrilled and i think it is still soaking in for me. we won't move until we do some reno-projects so it's a little delayed but we are so blessed and i think i am overwhelmed with how special this is for us. we can't believe God has allowed us this huge blessing. samuel is very ready to move...he asks us over and over "when are we moving?" "i want to move today!"

that's all for me for tonight...i'm beat...going to sleep :)

everybody needs a tank top...

psalm 100

i read this today and i love it...i just wanted to type it out so i can continue to think about it and soak it in! i hope it blesses you today like it has me.

psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
² Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.