christmas.

15 months old on xmas morning - and loving his toys!

christmas eve was spent with just the three of us. link, jay and me. we went to our awesome church, wilshire, for the christmas eve service. watching link's face light up during "silent night" with candlelight all around us was definitely a moment. one of those that pulled me in and brought tears to my eyes. link knew this night was special and it definitely was for us, too.

after the service we went to the grape. what a wonderful place and so close to home. love it. we came home, put the boy to bed, and started our work as elves. jay had a couple of clark griswold moments putting together the toys. but heck, jay has clark griswold moments everyday, which is part of why we love him. but seriously, what a great night. a great time of worship, a great meal, and spending time with my husband preparing for our child's christmas. beautiful.

so christmas morning came, and just as we expected, link was THRILLED to see his new toys. we had so much fun here and then headed to my parents for time with some more family, games, more presents, and some seriously good home-cooked food.

still loves the car and his stocking

with big o on xmas eve

i love christmas. it is such a wonderful time for reflection of our faith, time with family, and lots of fun!!!

what a weekend...

we had the link family christmas, went to the big 12 championship, and ran the rock! WHEW! let me say before i even start, that is too much in one weekend, even if it was reeeeeaaaally fun. :)

so friday we just played around at my parents house, had christmas dinner and opened presents. link had such a blast. he LOVES his big link cousins (all seven of them). and they all get the biggest kick out of him. after all, it's been several years since we've had a baby around, so it's pretty fun for all involved.

HOOP IT UP!

SLAMMA JAMMA with josh

papa taking caroline and link in the wagon :)

saturday we shopped here in big D, had dinner at the new babe's chicken house in arlington, and headed to the big 12 championship! it was so much fun and an incredible game. OU and nebraska are old rivals and to have nebraska's final game as a big 12 participant played against OU was fun for all involved. we got hooked up with great seats from our friend, craig (thank you!) and took most of the fam. BOOMER SOONER!

big 12 trophy presentation

sooners take the field!

OKLAHOMA, BIG 12 CHAMPS, AGAIN!!!

after a VERY short nights rest at my parents house, we were up bright and early to head back to dallas and run the white rock marathon relay. i really wish i had more pics of the day. it was my nephew, kyle, dad, brothers, (josh and jarrod) and me, running in that order. everyone runs between 5 - 6.5 miles to complete the race. it's like a scavenger hunt getting everyone in place and jay did a great job helping us out and getting the rest of the fam to different locations to cheer us all on. white rock is such a great event and this is definitely something we will all do again. the family that didn't run all seemed to want to participate next year because it is just so fun! we had a goal to run it under 4 hours and beat our own goal, which was exciting!! i got to finish the race, which was so much fun. there were thousands of people cheering us on at the finish line. what a pumped up feeling that was! great event, great cause. and can you believe we didn't take ONE picture? we may have to pay to order a few since we were too pooped to remember!

we wrapped it all up with a trip to our favorite spot, mi cocina, after the race. it was a GREAT way to start off the holiday season and totally got me into gear. december, i LOVE you! not only do we get to share the advent season spiritually, but it is such a wonderful time of year to enjoy our family and friends. good times this weekend and good times ahead. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

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?