giving thanks.

(linkers with some of his best pals at lunch recently)

gosh. we have some great friends. and some really great family. we are blessed. it's fun to see link becoming buds with my friends kids. not to forget that he is totally adored by his older cousins, and trust me, the feeling is obviously mutual. they have so much fun when they all get together. :) it's a-mazing. i am thankful.

i have told friends lately that i feel like i am always sweating. and that is not just because i love to work out. that's because i have the most. active. toddler. that has EVER lived! (i swear, some days it feels like it. :)) but you know what? i could not be more thankful for that fact. link is a healthy, happy, energetic little boy and i thank God everyday for this incredible gift. i thank God i get to watch my parents be his hunny and papa. that i get to see his face light up with joy when they walk in the room and i feel a lump in my throat because it touches me so. being a mother is a wonderful gift, like none other i have experienced thus far.

i thank God for my husband, my little boy, all of my family, friends, church, home, all of it. i believe life is all about perspective, and even when it gets tough sometimes, from where i'm sitting, life is pretty, pretty (insert larry david voice) good!

"Attitude" by Chuck Swindol The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important then appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our ATTITUDES.

i remember...

a time not so long ago...

when i said i will never:

- stay home on a weekend night (haha...and i thought i would hate it. that's even funnier.)

- not be a totally focused career-woman (hiiiii, link!)

- put my kid on a schedule, b/c isn't that so annoying?! haha. (can i also say how thankful i am for "healthy sleep habits, happy child"??? maybe the best book ever!? dr, weissbluth, we love you.)

- work-out in the mornings...(coming from the woman who now runs at dawn and gets to the gym the moment the childcare opens. at 8am. :))

- continue in my baptist-raised tradition with my own family (if you know me well, you can ask...it's been a long journey over the last year...fair to say, i'm baptist. an apathetically democrat voting, not-your-typical-baptist, but none-the-less, baptist, mama)!

and so much more. life has changed a lot, and really most all of it has been good. :)

but so much has changed so quickly. and not that i was ever the type to tell other parents, friends, family, how to live their life or raise their kids, but inside i had my own thoughts and opinions on the above and so much more. it's amazing, the more i give of myself, the more i discover about myself...and the more i let go and give, the more i learn. i know that i have by no means figured it all out, but it is nice to see myself discovering new things. i just gained another year and can't wait to see all that is in store for me to learn. on my own, with my family, and with my friends. i love and am thankful for you all. :)

a disco dancin' halloween

disco man.

when the nightfall hit, we were all dancin' fools.

dinner and passing out candy

yoga to prepare for his big dance moves

good times :)

beautiful days

the weather right now in texas is nothing short of spectacular. not cold, not hot, just right. i want to be outside ALL THE TIME. and we are outside quite a lot around here.

today has been a fun day. i've thought a lot lately about how much fun we are having, link as a toddler and all the fun it entails. i want to remember some of these seemingly ordinary days on down the road, so i want to document them now and then in an effort to remember the regular days, not just the big occasions.

so i started off with a morning jog (link in the BOB), a trip to the gym, and then link's nap. pretty standard day for us around here. but after, instead of our usual lunch at home, we took link for his first trip to deep sushi in deep ellum. yummo. then we went to main street garden downtown for a quick playtime before jay had to go back to work. when we got back, i loaded link back up in the stroller and we walked up to greenville to society bakery to split a chocolate chip cookie (also YUMMO). all afternoon link was all smiles, happy shrieks, lots of "talking" and head bobbing, just so happy. and that makes me happy. so now we are back and he is down for his second nap of the day, and i am working around the house (or blogging, ha).

this is a day that i am thankful for. this is a day that i will remember (mainly b/c i am writing it down!). every day i have with my precious little boy is a gift and i do-not-ever take it for granted how lucky we are that i have this time with him. i know i am going to look back years from now and realize how quickly this toddler time flew by, but it's little days like these that i hope i can recall with ease, as these are the kind of days i love most. :)

hunting in the gardens for treasures (mainly rocks and acorns) ha

we don't walk much anymore, we RUN!

toddler playground. genius.

RANGERS!!!!!

jay's birthday was yesterday, and all he wanted for his birthday was tickets to game six. my big brother jarrod came through and last night, for jay's birthday, we witnessed history. i've spent so many years watching, working for, and loving the rangers. i don't ever miss opening day and every year i have held on to the hope that this could happen. and so it is. THE TEXAS RANGERS ARE IN THE WORLD FRIGGIN' SERIES!!! my goodness, i am beyond excited. and what a birthday treat for my hubs!!

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, YOUR TEXAS RANGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tulsa time

we went to tulsa last weekend and visited some of our cousins. coney islander, utica square, BBD, visits with old friends, shops on peoria, a couple of runs at riverside park, and beautiful time with family. so much fun. i love tulsa, and the peeps in it. ;)

the above pic is of asher and link, so precious. asher is the quarterback of tulsa raiders 4th grade black, and he is AWESOME! ash had a great game and they won big. link was very excited to have sideline passes. we get perks since asher's dad (my bro, josh) is the head coach. ;)

josh and ash-man, our QB stud

link liked running on the track

cute kids

carter, link, josh, audrey, caroline and asher

first trip to the state fair and cotton bowl

this time last year was the height of swine flu, so there wasn't a snowball's chance we were taking our brand-new baby boy out to the fair. sooo, his first trip happened last weekend. and my-oh-my did we have fun!! we saw the ferris wheel, big tex (who was a big hit with link), and he loved seeing all the rides that spin and play loud music. he loves anything loud and crazy, much like his parents. ;)

we also took him to the baylor v tech game. we lucked out at the last second with some VIP lounge seating (read: place for a one-year old to run around) and decided to give it a whirl. he did great! he would sit for periods and watch the game, the band, the people, then he would get up and run around like a wild man! it worked out great and i think he ate about 5 of the complementary brownies. he was WIRED! ;)

meeting big tex

ferris wheel shot :)

watching football with daddy. all is right in the world.

BOOMER SOONER

one of my two favorite weekends in dallas is coming to a close and OKLAHOMA won! all is right in my world. :)

seriously, some of my favorite things all come together at once...lots of friends, lots of passionate college football, and the state fair. what could be more fun?? we lucked into some 50 yard line seats and i have to say, we were very lucky! there could not have been a better seat in the house. we had so much fun enjoying the day and most of all the SOONER VICTORY!!

28-20, sooners win.

the party

before i get to link's big birthday bash, i just have to say, it's fall, ya'll! how awesome is this weather!!?!? loving it. we started fall with link's party, then this week we had our first trip to the pumpkin patch at the arboretum, and this weekend is OU/tx. yay! i love this time of year!

bubbles, balls, and birthday cake was the theme...we should have added balloons, b/c the kiddos loved all the balloons, too. gosh we had a great time. so many of our friends and family members came to celebrate with us, and link soaked up every moment. we had a kid's wonderland set up with a zillion balloons, ball pits, bubble machines going everywhere and tons of toys to play with. then to top it off, lots of cake! we could not have had a better set up and are so appreciative of all the friends who came to share this special day with link.

he tried to eat the whole smash cake. loved it. :)

playing in the party favor/ball pit with lily and eve :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LINK!!!!!

i'm not having a lot of the sadness i hear a lot of moms talk about when their babies turn one. of course it has brought a lot of reflection, like that a year ago this was about the most miserable i have ever been. couldn't wait for baby boy to get here, 9 months pregnant in the heat, a herniated disc in my neck...and the list goes on. :) but it was all worth it. and now, here we are a year later and mom and dad to the most precious boy i know.

dear link,

happy birthday!! this year has been nothing short of spectacular. the light that you bring to our lives is indescribable. the love we feel for you is deep and unconditional. seeing you learn and grow at such an amazing rate is so much fun. you are a ball of energy and i am just trying to keep up. i don't want to miss a moment!

your dad and i want so much for you. i pray that you will always have the energy and zest for life that you do now. i pray that you will allow the Lord to work in your life, that you will grow to love him intimately and always seek His will first. i pray that you will find yourself surrounded by great friends, that build you up and laugh with you. i pray that you will have confidence, knowing that your parents love each other and love you, no strings attached. i pray that you will thrive as you grow to be more independent and that you will embrace the gifts God has given you. i pray that your dad and i will make good decisions as we raise you. that we will listen to you with an open heart and mind, and you will know that you always have a voice. i pray that as your parents, we will earn your respect the way our parents have earned ours. i pray that you will love God with all your heart, and that you will find yourself constantly seeking His face. i pray that i will leave a legacy for you that you can be proud of, and that someday, when you have a family of your own, you will want to emulate. just as my parents did for me.

so much. we want so much for you. please know that we will always give you your space, so you can grow on your own. but know that we are here for you always. may your life be filled with love and laughter. you are our joy, and we love you with all our hearts.

happy birthday, son.

love,
mom

"and jesus grew in wisdom, and in stature, and in favor with God and man." luke 2:52

two things...

first, i'm re-reading a book right now, one of my favorites, intimacy with the almighty. just read one of my favorite quotes in the book:

...what you long for, unless i miss my guess, is intimacy with the almighty. you want to be profoundly aware of His presence, in touch with Him at the deepest possible level, thinking His thoughts, gleaning His wisdom, and living as close to His heart as humanly possible, operating your life at the nucleus of His will. i desire the same, i freely admit.

i'm jumping up and down with my hand in the air, screaming, "that's me! that's me!" such a good book. i highly recommend it.

second, i love the below picture. it was taken last night at a dallas contemporary arts event. and i love it not because i think it is particularly spectacular of either of us, but because it shows us being us. happy, laughing, and together. i love, love my family and spending time with all of us together, but it is nice for jay and i to get our own time now and then. and we did last night. and we had a lot of fun. :)

winner, winner, chicken dinner

this is the title of an email i received this a.m. from the hubs. apparently he entered my sweet son and golden retriever, owen, in a contest given by the austin american statesman. and forgot to tell me. or else i would have personally voted for, along with begging you all to vote for, our kiddo and pup...but oh well, they won anyway!

jay got an email this morning and realized he forgotten about it altogether. too funny. anyway, we are going to take a little road trip to austin for a free family photo session, courtesy of the austin newspaper! how hilarious is that?

holiday weekend

we had a great weekend. opening weekend for college football, birthday parties galore, the fort worth zoo, meeting baby caleb (peavy), and mom and dad's night out in fort worth last night with friends! a good time was had by all.

baby caleb peavy, my friend jill's third little boy, in from san antonio!

walking around at our favorite park this afternoon

he loved all the animals on his first trip to the fort worth zoo

he already knows it. the first day of college game day is GLORIOUS!

p.s. now that he is really walking, link is wearing shoes a lot more. we have lots of shoes for him, but only one pair for "new" walkers, a pair of 12-18 month "pedipeds." they are already squishing his toes, so we need to buy some new ones. how long did your kids wear the thin soled shoes like this? any other brands you love?

stonewall babies

hey kids. do you know anyone that lives in the m-streets area (specifically for stonewall jackson elementary school) of dallas? if so, please tell them to look us up on facebook, stonewall babies.

i, along with two other girls, am helping to re-start the early childhood PTA for stonewall jackson, formerly known as GWRA (there is still an active yahoo board for the group, but no activities). sooooo, we had our first event today, a play group, and had a great turnout! but we want to grow more, so please tell your friends in our area about us. and if you live in the area, come to one of our upcoming events!

find us on facebook here.

spread the word! and if you don't live in the area but would still like to be involved, feel free! the more the merrier.

eleven. exactly one louder.

or in this case, one older AND one louder (if you haven't seen spinal tap, you don't get it, but trust me, it's funny). link, you have found your voice this month!!! and you know how to "talk" much LOUDER!! ;)

goodness gracious! my baby is so near one and i can't take it!! each month that goes by, he gains more and more independence. now that he is fully mobile and able to walk, this has taken on a whole new meaning. he is captain crazy pants busy - everywhere we take him we get comments and folks are wide-eyed with his energy level. it's EXHAUSTING and so much fun.

so here are some things i want to remember about this time in your life, link.

- you are starting to walk. it's precious, the confidence this has given you and the fun this has brought to all our lives.

- you eat. and eat and eat and eat. when we sit down for a meal, you start slapping the table for food, and you DO. NOT. STOP. until we take you away from the table. at most restaurants, i bring you some sandwich meat, fruit, cheese, crackers/bread, a full container of puffs, beans, some sort of veggie...and you eat it all. THEN, you eat an entire kid's meal. it's unbelievable. several people at restaurants have made comments in amazement (like, "does he need a shovel?"). i'm wondering how much you will eat as a teenager?!? my goodness, boy.

- your precious sounds and words. you've got dada and mama down. you say ball all the time, but not necessarily always directed at an actual ball. :) you're starting to say hi, which is hilarious because you LOVE the "h" sound and drag it out a loooong time. you love to make snake noises, ("ssssssssssssssss") and are absolutely in awe when someone sounds it back to you. you will mimic pretty much anything we say to you to the best of your ability, and you seem to love this sense of the beginnings of true communication. i bet! it's nice, isn't it?

- you absolutely love, love other kids and people. you smile and wave, giggle and grin and just get so excited to see people paying attention to you. you LOVE to flirt with girls. i'm in trouble. :)

- you adore music of any kind, dancing, and bobbing your head to the beat. awesome. baby einstein has you wrapped around it's warped and weird little finger. but it's okay - you also love the rolling stones, beatles, U2, justin timberlake, beyonce, and the black eyed peas (you should see him shake it to "single ladies"). ;) you light up like a christmas tree when you hear one of those videos start. you love elmo (especially elmo's potty - son, if you want to be potty trained now i'm okay with that. haha) and nothing is as cute as seeing you dance to the sesame street theme song.

we are starting to plan your birthday party and although you don't know it's coming, i know you will have so much fun. :)

we are blessed and thank God for every day with you. happy eleven, sweet boy!

2010 College Football Season for Housewives: What you need to know…

It's the first post by me, Jay!

With the 2010 College Football Season looming upon us I felt like this is a perfect opportunity to help guide our readers through the basics of what to expect from your husbands’ and your teams this year. Hopefully this will give you some tidbits that might help out when your husband starts ranting or raving about his team or their opponents.

Teams – In Alpha Order

Baylor

Preseason Ranking – Not Ranked

Outlook

This is shaping up to be an interesting year for the Bears. Everything hinges on QB Robert Griffin’s health. He is practically the entire team. True this team is much better than it was 10 years ago, it will only go so far as Griffin can take them.

Best Player

QB – Robert Griffin – Athletic kid with world class sprinter speed and a decent arm.

Offense Rating – B (with Griffin) Defense Rating – C-

Schedule

Predicted Wins: Sept. 4 Sam Houston St, Sept. 11 Buffalo, Sept. 25 at Rice

Predicted Toss-ups: Oct. 2 Kansas, Oct. 16 at Colorado, Oct. 23 Kansas State, Oct. 9 Texas Tech (in Dallas)

Predicted Losses: Sept. 18 at TCU, Oct. 30 at Texas, Nov. 6 at Oklahoma State, Nov. 13 Texas A&M, Nov. 20 Oklahoma

Best Case Scenario Record – 7-5 Worst Case Scenario Record – 4 - 8

Oklahoma

Preseason Ranking – 8

Outlook

Coming off the disaster of 2009, losing Sam Bradford for the year finally turns into a positive with Landry Jones gaining a full year of experience. While the Offense will be good, the Defense will decide the outcome of the Season. Oklahoma’s defense should be among the top 3 in the Country. Oklahoma holds the longest home winning streak in the Nation with 30 consecutive wins in Norman.

Best Player

WR – Ryan Broyles – Fast kid with nifty moves.

LB – Travis Lewis – 3-Year Starter that will spearhead the unit.

Offense Rating – A- Defense Rating – A

Schedule

Predicted Wins: Sept. 4 Utah State, Sept. 11 Florida State, Sept. 18 Air Force, Sept. 25 at Cincinnati, Oct. 16 Iowa State, Oct. 23 at Missouri, Oct. 30 Colorado, Nov. 13 Texas Tech, Nov. 20 at Baylor

Predicted Toss-ups: Oct. 2 Texas (in Dallas), Nov. 6 at Texas A&M, Nov. 27 at Oklahoma St

Predicted Losses: none

Best Case Scenario Record – 12-0 Worst Case Scenario Record – 8 - 4

Southern Methodist

Preseason Ranking – NR

Outlook

Did SMU win a bowl game in 2009? You bet they did! After years of struggling and churning through coaches year after year SMU seems to have found the right guy to return the program to glory after the death penalty 25 years ago. June Jones has the Ponies headed in the right direction and look for a repeat bowl birth in 2010.

Best Player

QB – Kyle Padron – Former Southlake product that lit it up in the Hawaii Bowl.

RB – Shawnbrey McNeal – Dual Threat out of the Backfield.

Offense Rating – B Defense Rating – B

Schedule

Predicted Wins: Sept. 11 vs UAB, Oct. 2 @ Rice, Oct. 9. vs Tulsa, Oct. 30 @ Tulane, Nov. 6 @ UTEP, Nov. 20 vs Marshall

Predicted Toss-ups: Sept. 18 vs Washington State, Oct. 16 @ Navy, Sat, Oct. 23 vs Houston, Nov. 26 @ East Carolina

Predicted Losses: Sept. 5 at Texas Tech, Sept. 24 vs TCU

Best Case Scenario Record – 9-3 Worst Case Scenario Record – 6 - 6

Texas

Preseason Ranking – 4

Outlook

Losing in the National Championship to Alabama without Colt McCoy was very tough for the Longhorns because they rarely lose bowl games. Although it will be tough to replace the Seniors McCoy, Shipley, Cosby, and Kindle, this is Texas though and they truly don’t rebuild they reload. Garrett Gilbert will have some ups and downs at QB but will benefit from a relatively weak schedule to start and a very good Offensive Line. The Running Backs are going to have to step it up. On Defense, this looks to be a top 3 unit again this year.

Best Player

QB –Garrett Gilbert– Helped by a very good O-Line he has a great Arm

LB – Sam Acho – Great speed with a nose for the ball.

Offense Rating – B+ Defense Rating – A

Schedule

Predicted Wins: Sept. 4 at Rice, Sept. 11 Wyoming, Sept. 25 UCLA, Oct. 23 Iowa State, Oct. 30 Baylor, Nov. 6 at Kansas St, Nov. 13 Oklahoma St, Nov. 20 Florida Atlantic

Predicted Toss-ups: Sept. 18 at Texas Tech, Oct. 2 Oklahoma (in Dallas), Nov. 25 Texas A&M

Predicted Losses: Oct. 16 at Nebraska

Best Case Scenario Record – 12-0 Worst Case Scenario Record – 8 – 4

Texas A&M

Preseason Ranking – Not Ranked

Outlook

Coming off a disappointing 2009, the Aggies are very hopeful that their offense can keep progressing like it did last year with QB Jerrod Johnson. The Aggies were absolutely horrible on Defense last year and hope to get much better. Look for a ton of points to be scored at every Aggie game.

Best Player

QB –Jerrod Johnson– The most experienced returning QB in the Big 12

Offense Rating – A Defense Rating – C-

Schedule

Predicted Wins: Sept. 4 Stephen F. Austin, Sept. 11 Louisiana Tech, Sept. 18 FIU, Oct. 16 Missouri

Predicted Toss-ups: Sept. 30 at Oklahoma State, Oct. 9 Arkansas (in Dallas), Oct. 23 at Kansas, Oct. 30 Texas Tech, Nov. 13 at Baylor

Predicted Losses: Nov. 6 Oklahoma, Nov. 20 Nebraska, Nov. 25 at Texas

Best Case Scenario Record – 9 - 3 Worst Case Scenario Record – 8 - 4

Texas Christian

Preseason Ranking – 7

Outlook

The Frogs finally pushed their way into the BCS in 2009 and looking for a repeat performance in 2010. Although they lost a few key players, QB Andy Dalton returns and the boy just doesn’t lose. TCU will play anybody, anywhere and have a chance to make a splash the opening game of the season with Oregon State a favorite to win the PAC-10 this year.

Best Player

QB –Andy Dalton– He wins football games. Period

Offense Rating – A Defense Rating – A

Schedule

Predicted Wins: Sept. 11 Tennessee Tech, Sept. 18 Baylor, Sept. 24 at SMU, Oct. 2 at Colorado State, Oct. 9 Wyoming, Oct. 23 Air Force, Oct. 30 at UNLV, Nov. 13 San Diego State, Nov. 27 at New Mexico

Predicted Toss-ups: Sept. 4 Oregon State (Arlington, Texas), Oct. 16 BYU

Predicted Losses: Nov. 6 at Utah

Best Case Scenario Record – 12-0 Worst Case Scenario Record – 8 - 4

Texas Tech

Preseason Ranking – Not Ranked

Outlook

Who cares what happened in the 2009 Season. The Red Raiders fired the most successful coach in school history for locking a rich kid with a high profile daddy in a closet. What a mess. It looks to be a rebuilding year for the Raiders in 2010 with new coach Tommy Tuberville. He’s a good coach but it’s going to take some time getting his house in order in Lubbock.

Best Player

QB –Tyler Potts– Had an up and down year last year but should be improved.

Offense Rating – A Defense Rating – B

Schedule

Predicted Wins: Sept. 11 at New Mexico, Oct. 2 at Iowa State, Nov. 6 Missouri, Nov. 20 Weber State, Nov. 27 Houston

Predicted Toss-ups: Sept. 4 SMU, Sept. 18 Texas, Oct. 9 Baylor (in Dallas), Oct. 16 Oklahoma St, Oct. 23 at Colorado, Oct. 30 at Texas A&M

Predicted Losses: Nov. 13 at Oklahoma

Best Case Scenario Record – 9-3 Worst Case Scenario Record – 6 - 6