Us

This is us. While we have our 3 incredible blessings we try not to ever forget what is at the core of it. As believers our goal is God first, spouse next, kids, family, etc. While that all sounds good it is challenging to always walk out. We had built in date nights prior to Sam. The boys would go off every other weekend with their dad and we would have that one on one time together. Now when they leave we have our precious Sam. It is a sweet enjoyable time however we are working on how to have some date nights again. My mom comes each Tuesday and lives an hour away so as wonderful as Grandma is we will have to find someone else for those nights as Grandma has a life too. We went to a wedding recently and they came and stayed with Sam and Jacob. It is easy to just keep going on and not taking that special time apart but if we do we know that we would not be taking that time and energy to pour back into what is at the core of this family....us.

Happy Fathers Day to Trae!

Trae has had the incredible blessing, privilege and huge amount of work of raising 3 boys. While my boys are close to their dad and see him often Trae married into a family of young men who would be watching him and seeking relationship with him. It has been a journey and it is still a work in progress. I heard once that blended families take a while to actually blend and I think that was wise advice. When you live together that can happen quicker and the boys both have a special relationship with Trae. Andrew and Trae share a love for electronics and movies. They often talk about those things and try to hit a show out occasionally. Jacob and Trae play basketball together and Trae tucks him in every evening and they read a book together. They are currently reading Chronicles of Narnia-The Voyage of a Dawn Treader. Jacob treasures that time and Trae does an amazing job. Of course Sam and Trae have a very close bond and have since day one. It is so sweet to see Trae with a baby. We are so glad that we said yes to God and opened that door to having another member to our family. Sam turned 5 months today. This picture with Trae and Sam is 4 months old but it was too sweet not to include!

Happy Fathers Day!!!

Happy Fathers Day to our dads! We wish the miles didn't put us so far apart. Know that our heart is thinking of you and hoping we can see you soon. Have a blessed day!

Sleepy time....

Sam is a good sleeper. He sleeps all night long and has for several months. Praise the Lord! Although I do have to say that I think good sleepers are made not born so I am patting mom and dad on the back too. He typically sleeps from 8pm-6am. This week Sam has been turning from his back to his stomach and than back again from his stomach to his back. It has made nap time a bit interrupted with this new discovery however we are working through it.

Our QT kid!

Our sweet Sam loves to connect with people. We joke that with us as his parents he will for sure be a quality time person. We can already see that in him. When we spend time with friends and family he delights in connecting with everyone, listening and taking it all in. It is amazing how young he is and that he desires to be apart of things. He has been this way since about 2 months old. It is my hearts desire for my son to realize what really matters in life. That his heart is drawn toward relationship above all else. First with his heavenly Father and than with family, friends and the people the Lord will put across our sons life.

Sams new favorite Goodwill find!

I love a bargain! Most of our baby items have been gifts, garage sales, Goodwill or Craigslist. This is a infant activity toy that Sam loves. It was $3 and retails for $65 on Amazon! Woo hoo!!! It has already brought hours of fun.

Summer cooking....

We love good food. Trae is a joy to cook for. He does eat out a lot (being in sales it is part of the job) and is always grateful for good home cooked meals. Above is a few of our favorites that we are enjoying for the summer. I have a new chicken salad recipe that we are loving and is a cool refreshing meal for our hot Texas summer days. I am a huge advocate of whole grains and therefore I now make my own croutons. I can make sourdough or something specific for a meal but I love having a season whole grain one on hand for everyday. Grilled sandwiches are another one of our favorites and perfect for summer and not heating up the whole kitchen. The bottom picture is one of our very favorite salads. A friend made it at a gathering and said she never gave

the recipe out to anyone! Somehow I managed to be blessed with the recipe and I have promised her to never give it out!!! We are hoping to use our grill more too!

Time flies....

This was Sam 4 months ago. He was about 3 weeks old. From the very start I tried to savor every moment, every cuddle and each memory. Having older kids (17 and 11) I know how time flies......never to return. Love this sweet picture of our sweet Samuel Ace.

Less is more!

Sam seems to be a bit hot natured like his daddy. He loves it when he is free of clothes. Especially in our Texas heat. We have already had days in the 90's. Love our sweet boy!