Babies, Babies, Babies

Here are my little ones. She's 5 months in this pic and she is starting to get her own look.

Here he is at 4 months. They are still similar but he was HUGE at this age compared to my little petite baby girl.

I just had to leave you with my nephew. My sister sent me this last night and I could have laid awake all night staring at him. Totally delicious, completely adorable and I can't wait to get a hold of him!

o' naturale

I'm writing to be the last straw on the camel's back. Its time for you, yes you, to go aluminum-free if you haven't yet.

Such an easy way to eliminate harmful toxins from entering your body through one of your largest glands.

I saw this article online that tried 37 deodorants and ranked them.

I have also heard great things about the one below.
I used Thursday Plantations Tea Tree for a long time.

I will be honest, when it came to the Texas heats, there was many reapplications needed.

The Terry's have gone all the way. All the way to crystal deodorants. I have tried this in the past and it wasn't my bag. I gave it another whirl. IT WORKS!

Tips:

1. Before application, I use a wet wash cloth to wipe down my under arm (just make sure all is clean and clear)Wet the crystal.

2. Wet the crystal and apply liberally.

3. Then I wipe off the crystal with the wash cloth.

Joe and I are continually amazed by how well it works. Not to mention, how much we will save this year on deodorant. My crystal was $10 but I won't be buying any more deodorant until 2011.

Where God Speaks To Me

I have this trail that I cherish out here at the ranch. When I run, God speaks. When I run on this trail, He speaks even louder. The world gets quiet and my ears are more tuned to hear what He wants to say to me.

The horses, pigs, and cows along the way all look up from grazing as if to welcome me to my trail.

I love when the horses get in the pond for a little refresher; it is truly one of my favorite sights out at the ranch.

Right now there are thousands of butterflies. A reminder of how God can take any life and make it into a beautiful testimony of His grace and goodness.

This picture does absolutely no justice to how breathtaking these bloomed crate myrtles are. Its as if they are cheering me along and I can't even begin to imagine the beauty that will line the streets of heaven.

Then, these two cuties drove up and joined me along the trail.

Then, my little buddy hopped off to join me as I jogged along. As he boisterously yells, "Yea mommy exercise! Good job!"

"For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and the sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities- His eternal power and divine nature." Romans 1:19,20

Welcome Hayden Davis...

My littlest newest nephew was born on June 14th weighing in at 6 pounds even and 19.5 in.

So sweet of our Cindy to come up to the hospital! :) Steph makes c-sections look like a walk in the park! Such a rock star...

I can't wait to play with this little thing, have him over to our house, have cousin sleepovers and watch him romp with Isaac and Elyana. We love you little guy...

Going to the Chapel

My older brother took the plunge June 12th. They had a lovely service at Fellowship of The Woodlands and then had a reception at my dad's house.

My older brother is in the middle, his best man (left), and my "little" brother to the right.

Daddy's girl.

Beautiful bride.

Sweet baby girl taking a nap in the dressing room ;)

My boy making his ring bear debut! It was hilarious

My younger brother and his son.

Sisters <3

Uphill Climb

2009 I did not do much physical activity to speak of.

The beginning of the year I was still nursing and pregnant. At the end of the day, there just wasn't much energy left over. Then the doctors advised against any strenuous activity after our miscarriage. I was pregnant not long after that and with all the issues I had while I was pregnant with Elyana, there was only about a 2 month window that I was not on some form of activity restriction.

Basically, we had a whole lot of muscle atrophy going on.

Before I continue any further, let me first clarify that this little girl would be worth a lifetime of activity restriction.

Now, this mama has got to get back into shape. I can't be out of breath when I go up our stairs or when I swim a few laps. lame.

The first time I actually ran post-baby everything jiggled. EVERYTHING. Also, there was an insane amount of itching. I think my body was going into circulation shock because it had not had that kind of circulation flowing in so long. I had to literally stop running because I was really close to "death by itching." Not possible you say? It could have been possible that day.

I think I really thought that after a month of regular exercise that we would be back in business. Back to the glory days of a "runners high.' Body parts headede back to normal. Not so much.

We are the cusp of 5 months post baby and it is an uphill climb. A steep, treacherous, uphill climb.

So one of my most athletically gifted girlfriends, Cindy, is training for a sprint triathlon in August. She is one of those that she can go months without jogging and then head out and still run a 7 minute mile. She mentioned that I should do it with her.

300 yards swimming, 11 mi bike ride, 3 mi run. Why not take on a challenge, make myself look like an idiot, and finish in the back of the pack. Sounds fun.

If you're interested in joining us for a women-only triathalon in houston (one of the main reasons this baby sounds appealing) then let me know!

Here's to saying syanara to the squish!

Sweet Saints

Unfortunately, Joe's grandpa's battle with his health has intensified over the last month. He has lived with diabetes for the last 30 years. When he had quadruple bypass a month ago, the veins they took from his legs were incompetent due to the wear from the diabetes. The veins sluffing off have caused a stroke, minor heart attack, and then one top of both of those he had pneumonia. Grandpa Bob is one of the sweetest saints you will ever come across this side of heaven. He sang in a quartet and gave it his all for Jesus. Just as precious as can be. Our heart and prayers are with you, Grandpa Bob!

We had the wonderful privilege of visiting him in the hospital last week. He invited Isaac up to sit with him while he ate and they talked about horses, tractors, and lawn mowers (Isaac's favorite subject).


Elyana Joyce had the wonderful privilege of meeting her namesake for the very first time! Oh, it was a glorious meeting. Little girl sat content in Meemaw's arms for a long while. The two looked like they were born to be together.

I hope my little girl was soaking this in while being around two of the most lovely, Godly women I know!

Grassroots Leader in our Midst

This is my boy's favorite hat. Somewhere he missed the memo that the hope for a winning Republican ticket is not alive. Or maybe he's just rallying the troops for the 2010 mid-term elections. You decide.