the vanderveer's

aloha

2012-01-31T09:32:00.000-08:00

joey and i are one lucky couple. with some great friends living in maui and a dad who works for the airlines we were able to escape to maui for an awesome vacation!

our 1st day, we enjoyed the beach with candise (while jerm slept after working overnight) and boogie boarded a bit.

that night we grilled out on the beach....

and the boys (of course) hacked a bit (with a hacky sack that is).

the next morning we snorkeled in the chilly water....we saw 3 eels(ew!), this turtle, and a bunch of beautiful fish!

that afternoon, we went on a whale watching boat. and saw some spectacular breeches! don't know if you can see in the pictures very well, but this was just one of many whales we got to see.

our 3rd day, we drove the road to hana. a very scenic, very windy road. but it was so fun to get the "insiders" tour from jeremy and candise who showed us some amazing things.

rainbow eucalyptus..gorgeous!

jeremy got a little nervous when they couldn't find us in the bamboo forest

after a 2 mile hike we made it to this 400ft waterfall...

thats joey in the lower left side of the picture

our last stop on the road to hana was the black sand beach

there is a place at the black sand beach where you can snorkel in caves. so us 3 crazy people decided to give it a try.

i made it through 3 rooms and then returned to the safety of candise, but it was a really cool experience.

our last morning in maui, we paddle boarded. fun, but a workout! as we were paddle boarding, the coast guard kept flying over. after we got back to shore, it turned out that there had been a tiger shark sighting at a beach a few miles down the road and they were looking for it. a little scary but don't worry, jeremy says its a very docile shark :)

after another beach picnic, we headed to lahaina where the adriches honeymooned in 2011. here you can jump off black rock so of course, we had to give that a try too. this is joey jumping. i jumped too but from a much lower place (about where joey's feet are in this picture). i think im losing some of my guts as i get older and that makes me a bit sad :(

it was a great trip and i really think the best part was getting to spend so much time with joey, candise, and jeremy. can't wait to see what God has planned for them and our future church in maui (just dreaming here people, just dreaming!)

mahalo

it's legendary!

2012-01-16T14:36:00.000-08:00

our family of 4 hit the fort worth stockshow a few weekends ago. farmer gra mostly hung out in his stroller while big bro max enjoyed the petting zoo, bumper cars, the tractors, and baby animals.

a fun family day was much needed and much enjoyed!

5 months

2012-01-16T14:30:00.001-08:00

gra continues to make us smile. he is a pretty laid back kiddo who loves his bottle, his paci, his daddy and especially his big brother max. our "graham-a-tron" is sleeping from about 8pm-6:30am and has 5 bottles a day. he is nearing the 20lb mark which means a carseat switch will be happening soon so we practice sitting up several times a week and i think he will be doing it on his own very shortly. he puts anything and everything in his mouth so i think teeth are also on the horizon. we adore our smiley big boy!

date 1 of 12

2012-01-16T14:27:00.000-08:00

the perfect date includes 3 things. no makeup. sweat. and my hubby. and no i don't mean that.

a personal training session at la fitness to get out butts back in gear and ready for the beach.

yep, the beach in Maui actually. bc in 6 days we will be going there to visitor our friends jeremy and candise!

ringing in 2012...vanderveer style!

2012-01-04T14:37:00.001-08:00

this year was the 1st in 7 that we did not have a new years eve party. living in a smallish apartment and joey having to work the next day both contributed to this. we enjoyed a day at home, practicing bike riding and watching movies. my sis kacy came over and we had a picnic dinner while watching captain america. in bed by 10 and i'm not going to lie, it was kinda nice.

but i'm not that old and so next year, i hope that the party tradition will begin again!

12 dates for 2012

2012-01-04T14:33:00.000-08:00

1-a personal training session

2-denton sweethearts ball

3-main street arts festival in fort worth

4-fiddler on the roof at the campus theater in denton

5-a progressive dinner

6-rock climbing

7-celebrate freedom concert

8-bushwhaker wine safari

9-breakfast in bed

10-evening of memories

11-dallas public artwalk

12-movie night at home

let the holidays begin!

2012-01-04T14:29:00.000-08:00

i really enjoyed the holiday season this year!

a few weekends ago, we went to main street in grapevine to check out the holiday decor.

this is what happens when you try to get a 3 year old to pose for a pic with his brother!

(yes, that is max running away in the background)

we celebrate jesus' birthday with my moms family on the sunday before christmas.

here's the boys and their aunts working hard on gingerbread houses!

loved gra's little outfit!

then it was christmas eve eve and time for our family of 4's christmas. we tried to let max join us for the slumber party in the living room but when he was still up jumping on the couch at 11:15 we had to send him off to bed.....he woke up to a yummy family of snowman pancakes.

max loved helping gra open his gifts

and gra loved eating the green "grass" from one of his presents

the big boy on his bike!

then it was off to my moms for christmas eve hoopla and christmas morning.

joey and max making their 'man' faces

i wasn't good about taking pics the rest of the day, but we opened presents with my dad and stepmom and also with joey's parents. all in all a fun, crazy day!

then a few days after christmas, we headed out to dallas to see the trains at northpark with joey's family. max really liked them and gra got a good nap while we looked around so all in all not a bad 1st time to see the trains.

hope everyone had has happy of a holiday as we did!

merry christmas!

2011-12-15T11:32:00.001-08:00

to all our blogger friends:

merry christmas!

gra's dedication

2011-12-15T11:30:00.001-08:00

we had gra dedicated at our church this past sunday. for me, it was a very different feeling from when we had max dedicated because at that time we were searching for a church home. but this time it felt like we were home. crosspointe has seen us grow into our roles as pastor and pastor's wife. they have seen our 1st born grow from infant to preschooler. they have been by our sides through the difficult birth and recovery of gra. and now they will be by our sides as we raise up our new little one to become a man after God's own heart. we love the people at crosspointe and i feel blessed to have them (and our other friends and family) pray for our son's salvation and help us as we parent both our boys.

our family told us that afternoon at lunch that when our pastor brian was commissioning us, max was nodding and saying yes right along with us. i had explained to max earlier about the dedication and how it is our job as parents and big brothers to tell gra about jesus and how much he loves us. and i think he kinda got it.

4 months

2011-12-15T11:28:00.001-08:00

HE IS SO BIG!

weight: 18.4lbs (97%)

height: 27 inches (97%)

head circumference: 43 cm (77%)

gra is now wearing 6 month clothes and size 3 diapers. he absolutely adores max and wants to watch him play all the time! he is still on a 3 hour schedule and is doing much better taking naps. he can do tummy time for about 15 min before he gets frustrated and has recently taken an interest in 'bubble guppies' and 'sesame street'...no baby einstein for this guy if his big bro has something to say about it!

3 years

2011-12-15T11:27:00.001-08:00

weight: 36 1/2 lbs (88%)

height: 39 1/4 in (86%)

max continues to be one well spoken little boy...

our doctor says he talks at the level of a 6 year old.

he still loves cars, is into stuffed animals. and likes to tell us his favorites (which change almost daily). he has recently caught 'bieber fever' and requests justin songs often. he loves to dance and sing!

we are so proud of our little man.

jingle bells

2011-12-15T11:14:00.000-08:00

our holiday season is in full swing and has been for several weeks. the first week in december was max's program at mother's day out. i snapped a few pics of the boys before we left the house.

then it was off to the program. i snuck up to the front to capture a picture and saw max ask one of the teachers to pick him up so he could see his mommy and daddy. he never saw us while singing 'jingle bells', but at least i was able to get a picture!

then we headed to downtown denton for the christmas tree lighting and wassail fest. we didn't know much about it so we missed a lot of the fun stuff, but we did get to meet santa, listen to some jazz music, and say hi to the mellow mushroom.

31 and counting

2011-12-15T11:12:00.000-08:00

my 31st birthday has come and gone. and if the candles on the cake (look closely!) are any indication of how crazy the past year has been, then we must celebrate this year more then others in the past.

joey surprised me with a coffee date on my birthday and it was a much needed breather for both of us. he asked how he could pray for me and the emotions took over. i don't really know where to start with the drama that has unfolded in the past year. and i don't really know where to begin to pray about it. but i do know that i don't want to brush aside any of the feelings and get in the way of what God wants to show us. so that's where we will start this 31st year, with one question, "Lord, what will you show me?"

thankfulness

2011-12-02T12:46:00.001-08:00

thanksgiving brought its traditions of the turkey trot, eating too much, and enjoying friends and family but something special to me was said when we were celebrating with joey's side of the family.

his mom was trying to get us to all go around the table and say what we were thankful for. this family is not one for the serious conversation so needless to say, no one was really taking it seriously. then, joey's dad pipes up. "i'm thankful that my dad and aunt kyle are still on this side of the dirt." the man who jokes about everything made the most sincere comment he has ever made about me. and the funny thing about it is that his comment said it all.

i still don't think that joey and i have grasped how sick i really was. how close being septic can bring you to death. how our lives were turned completely upside down for nearly 2 months. how we could of never made it without God's sovereignty and the help of our family and friends.

and how thankful we should be each and everyday to wake up breathing

and start our day with 2 awesome kids.

3 years old

2011-11-21T13:18:00.001-08:00

max will be 3 tomorrow! to avoid confusion and so we could really celebrate his day, we kinda pretended his birthday was on saturday. we started the day with some cuddle time with his little brother.

followed by his breakfast of choice pancakes

and then opening presents from mommy, daddy, and gra

after no nap (at some point during his nap we heard him singing "i'm ready for my birthday!"), we headed to the park for his birthday party. we did a sports theme and basically the kiddos just ran around playing with balls, in the sand at the volleyball court, and on the playground. the weather was perfect for a outdoor november birthday party.

this kid loves stuffed animals and i have no idea where he got this bc his mommy is not a big fan. he now needs about 10 animals before he will go to sleep, including still beloved puppy.

LOVE LOVE LOVE his expression. he was working so hard to get that candle out!

max, you are such a joy to your daddy and me. you make us laugh with your dance moves and desire to entertain anyone who will watch. you are so well spoken and very smart. we love you!

PT

2011-11-15T12:54:00.001-08:00

notice what's on my nearly 3 year old? that's right. big boy underwear. we started training a few weeks ago and after a few discouraging days, he now really has the hang of it. i am so proud of him and so glad to only have 1 kiddo in diapers. now to start weaning off the potty prizes!

3 months

2011-11-15T12:51:00.000-08:00

gra is an awesome 3 month old. he is still a chunk and in the last week has started sleeping through the night (YEAH!). he is alot more smiley then max and also fights his naps alot more then his big brother did. he hates to be left alone in a room and hates having a dirty diaper.

i can't imagine our family without this cutie!

the park with pumpkins

2011-11-15T12:47:00.000-08:00

fall. the arboretum. pumpkins. face painting. picnics. friends.

zoobilee zooe

2011-11-15T12:37:00.000-08:00

anybody remember that show?

i for one remember it as the lamest kids show every (well that is until the wiggles came along!)

but i digress....we try to go camping every year with joey's parents but this year the camper did not cooperate. so instead we did a "staycation" and headed to the fort worth zoo for a day of fun!

"mom, where are we?"

we heard both the elephant trumpet and the lion roar!

when we went to seaworld in the spring, max would have nothing to do with the birds. but this time he loved it!

we really enjoyed the texas wild part of the zoo...even gra!

and what zoo trip would be complete without a ride on the train. thanks ana, papaw, and grammy...we had a blast!

happy halloween!

2011-11-02T12:30:00.000-07:00

ROAR from our little dinosaurs!

we carved pumpkins at my moms house on halloween eve. here is our little owl family in our jack-o-lantern.

on halloween, we went trick or treating with our friends the mcclendons. jack and max have become great buddies so it was a fun night.

my sisters also joined us for the fun....but secretly i think they just wanted to raid max's candy!

bryan and bluebell

2011-11-02T12:22:00.000-07:00

on our way to san antonio, we stopped in bryan and visited the other vanderveers...as always we had a fun time. max adores his cousins and we loved visiting their youth group and seeing the awesome ministry they are doing there. no pics got captured though :(

the next day we took a side trip to the bluebell factory in brenham. it was a fun little tour followed by the best ice cream in the country.

not sure what music was playing on the bluebell commercial but max had to dance to it...love this little music talent!

someone had a little too much ice cream i guess!

sea world with the stewarts

2011-11-02T12:14:00.000-07:00

our family was in much need of a little getaway so we headed down to san antonio with our great friends, the stewarts....

the boys had a blast together!

these guys were ready for a delicious breakfast at the gunther house

max's shamu mustache

our favorite part of sea world...the dolphins!

this captures it all to me...2 great daddy friends with 2 great little buddies

the end to a great vacation...if only it had lasted about a week longer!

2 months

2011-10-20T09:50:00.000-07:00

we've got a chunky monkey on our hands.

at gra's 2 month appointment, he

weighed 13lbs 12oz (91%)

was 24 1/2 inches long (93%)

and his head circumference was 41 1/2 cm (83%)

as a comparison, max weighed just a bit more then this at his 4 month appointment!

he is a healthy little boy and the only concern is that one of his eyes tends to drift and has trouble tracking and focusing. there is nothing we can do about this until he is 4 months old so our prayer is that the problem solves itself before then.

church shower

2011-10-20T09:42:00.000-07:00

as a pastor's wife (and a christian), you are expected to serve others, but this past weekend several of the ladies in our church served me by throwing a shower for gra. it was a good time of fellowship and fun and i am so thankful for their thoughtfulness in celebrating him!

too bad the guest of honor did this most of the party!

pumpkin patch

2011-10-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

one of my favorite things to do in the fall....the ol' pumkin' patch!

max tried really hard to pick up a couple pumpkins, but after a few attempts failed, he decided kicking them would be a bit better!

in the hay maze

the cutest little pumpkin i know!

our attempt at a pic of both the boys :)

date 1 of MUCH NEEDED!

2011-10-06T11:09:00.001-07:00

awww, breathe. enjoy a glass of wine on the patio with your husband. talk about the past, the future, the struggles. but above all else, know that without this man, you could not of made it.

i love you joey. thanks for knowing that you can't just do that.

glimpses of freedom

2011-10-06T11:08:00.001-07:00

getting the news that my iv was not going to be removed in 3 weeks, but that i would have it for 4 was very saddening for me. we had made so many fun plans for that weekend to celebrate "the end" and even though many of those had to wait, we did have do one thing that gave us a glimpse of freedom.

septic

2011-09-29T16:53:00.001-07:00

this is the one week anniversary of my iv removal.

it has been so nice to not have to carry around a backpack.

it has been so nice to be able to play with max.

it has been so nice to get out of the house (even if it is mostly to physical therapy).

it has been so nice to hold gra AND walk around (i hadn't done this since he was born).

it has been so nice to sleep in the same bed as my husband.

but what hasn't been so nice are the incoming medical bills. the thoughts of "what if?" haunt me during the nights when i have trouble sleeping.

the truth is, we will never have the answers. i can only hope that from aug 15, 2011 until the end of this journey, glory will be given to God.

i wanted to post a few pics to remember the seriousness of what it meant to be septic, and to hope that it is one thing that never happens in this family again.

lazy friday morning

2011-09-21T10:24:00.001-07:00

it was max's idea to take a picture of us hanging out and watching shows on friday morning. still in amazement that God has blessed me with all 3 of these guys!

back to school

2011-09-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

max started back at mdo a few weeks ago, but with all the craziness that's been happening around here, i didn't get any pics. lucky for me, his daddy was willing to snap these a few days ago.

showing off his "bumblebee" (transformers) backpack. he and joey went out on a special daddy/son shopping trip to pick out a new backpack. i must say, this is not what mommy would of gotten, but he is proud of it and that's what counts.

i can't believe how big our 1st born is. he is more precious to me then ever and i love to see his funloving personality. he loves to make us laugh and is a very talented singer. the boy LOVES to sing and really has a good little voice and ear for music. we are excited to see what he does with his gift in the future.

almost 1 month

2011-09-10T14:13:00.001-07:00

i cannot believe how much has happend in the last month of our lives. it has crawled at times, and flew by at others, but on friday, we had a really good day as a family (FINALLY)!

we took Gra for his 1 month appointment.

he weighs 9.4 lbs (51%).

he is 21 1/4 inches long (50%).

and his head is 38 cm around (65%)

after his appointment, we took advantage of the weather and stopped at the park to let max play. you can picture it. joey carrying a baby carrier and keeping up with a 2 year old. me, with my walker and anitbiotic iv backpack, trying to find a place to sit where i can watch my boy play and still be comfortable. but by far, the most interesting part was sharing "what happend?" with the moms and grandmas that were also at the park. all i can pray is that my attempt at having a positive attitude was evident and that my faith and trust in God's plan showed as i shared a bit of our last months journey with strangers. joey and i continue to talk about what God is teaching us and even though much remains a mystery, we are just thankful to have a God who loves us enough to teach us things and love us at the same time.

are we done yet?

2011-09-02T15:56:00.000-07:00

so the last 3 weeks since graham's birth have been very, ummm, eventful. here's a breakdown:

aug 15- a beautiful boy arrives!

aug 16- we will be in the hospital for at least a week while graham gets antibiotics for group b strep. by 3pm this day kyle can no longer walk due to severe pain in her legs.

aug 17- the pain in kyle's legs has moved to her pelvis. she is using a wheelchair to visit gra for his feedings.

aug 18- an xray confirms that kyle has strained her pubic symphasis. her knee is hurting a bit but it is guessed that is from over compensating due to the pelvic issues.

aug 19,20,21- we settle into a routine at the hospital. gra is doing awesome and kyle is moving like a 90 year old with walker.

aug 22- out early due to good behavior!

aug 23, 24, 25-with help at home, we are making it. max is getting used to being a big brother, gra is nursing great, joey is super helpful, and kyle is trying to balance rest and pain.

aug 26, 27, 28- kyle's knee is giving her more trouble and getting more and more swollen.

aug 29- kyle goes to the ortho. her knee is drained of fluid that is sent off to the lab.

aug 31- the labs show a bacteria is growing so kyle is put on an antibiotic.

sept 1- the antibiotic is not killing the infection. kyle is sent back to denton regional to have a scope put in her knee to get it cleaned out (her 1st surgery ever!)

sept 2- the "plan" is given. we will be in the hospital til tues at least. kyle will be on iv antibiotics another 2 weeks at least after that.

this plan is an answer to prayer as now we know when this might all be over. but it does come with some bad news. kyle will no longer be able to nurse gra and she is sad about this. he was nursing so well (this was a huge struggle with max) and she was so excited about this, but God has a different plan and she is now ready to fight this infection and put all her energy into that. please pray for her to be confident in her decision and to rest in God's plan.

we have been blessed with a beautiful family that is being taken care of. we have been blessed with drs who will work aggressively to kill the infection and get kyle back to normal. we have been blessed with prayers, food, and help from everyone we know. please continue to pray for our beautiful boys and that we will all be home, healthy and together, soon!

he's here!

2011-08-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

Graham David Vanderveer

born Monday, August 15

at 7:59pm

8lbs 1oz

20inches long

Our recovery has had a few challenges so please be praying for us.

Graham will be staying in the hospital for at least another week so that he can be given antibiotics through an IV to fight off an infection

(possibly GroupBstrep but that is still being determined).

I separated my pubic symphasis and am not able to walk unassisted.

My recover from this will be 3-6 weeks.

Please pray for Joey as he will be needed much more during my recovery and Gra's.

Also pray for big brother Max, as it is a challenge enough to add a member to your family, let alone with an extra long hospital stay and an injured mommy.

God has truly blessed us and we are thankful to Him for loving us and giving us a precious gift!

maternity and max

2011-08-02T12:22:00.000-07:00

about a month to go before Graham Vanderveer will be making his arrival. and yes, i'm feeling okay. i have my moments of discomfort of course but nothing to complain about. i am so thankful that i am so much healthier with this little boy then i was with max. (at this point with max, i had already been on bedrest for a week with high blood pressure). my sister-in-law took some pics of us when we went to visit them a few weekends ago. here's a few highlights:

(umm, yeah, they look alike)

it's his special day

2011-08-02T12:16:00.001-07:00

this is our brother-in-law JD. he is a wonderful man, the most selfless man we know. and he has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. his surgery to remove the tumor will be on thursday and beyond that we know nothing about the future. well, i can't say nothing. we know that God's name will be glorified no matter what. no matter what, God's name will be glorified.

join us in prayer for JD and his healing. you can read more about his story here:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jdneinast

"staycation" at the gaylord

2011-08-02T12:06:00.000-07:00

bc God has a perfect plan and knew what our summer would hold this year, He gave my mom the idea of taking a "staycation" to the gaylord...it was a wonderful time to just relax and spend time with our family.

"hello gold cowboy and tall cowboy!"

the fam: jd, kacy, scooter, mom, me, max, and joey

(my sis amy was at a rehearsal dinner and of course my bro tyler is living in taiwan)

about to enjoy the friday night fireworks from the comfort of our air conditioned room...

...enjoying his treat after the fireworks

on saturday we hit the new waterpark at the gaylord...max loved the lazy river so much, joey enjoyed the zipline, and i was thrilled that they offered poolside service so we didn't have to wait in line for our lunch :)

btw, our son did close down the lazy river by spitting up a bit in it...the lifeguards in us just couldn't let it go so we ended up reporting it....but don't worry, it reopened after just a few minutes :)

some summer fun

2011-08-02T11:57:00.000-07:00

after the craziness of june (which creeped its way into the beginning of july) we have been having some time for summer fun....

a trip to bryan to see our favorite cousins!

some fun at the waterpark with luke!

(we have been swimming alot and im proud of my little fish max!)

and family camp at our church!

max loved the worship that his daddy lead us in....he loves the village kids worship cd and now has almost all the words memorized!

girls trip 2011

2011-08-02T11:37:00.000-07:00

well, i had great intentions of blogging about my recent girls trip, but for some reason the pictures will not upload...boo! oh well, i'll just write the highlights....

-celebrity sighting: while having lunch in austin on our way, we got to see jesse eisenburg (of the social network) handing out pizza

-compression hose: what the girls got to see me in on our way down/back and each night...this was our way of not repeating "the swelling" of our vegas trip in 2008 and it worked like a charm!

-pool side service: we stayed at la cantera and it was a great resort, and what made it even greater was the adult-only pool complete with poolside drink and food service...what a luxury

-the never ending battle of the sexes game: in an effort to get free drinks (ice cream for me!) we played battle of the sexes...all i can say is that i hope i do not play games like old people when i am old bc they cheat and take FOREVER!!!!! (we did end of winning though so it was worth it!)

-watching 2 guys hit on 2 underage girls who are at a bar with their dad: ummm, yeah, needs no other explanation except that it was hilarious. almost as funny as lyndsay's comment about the all star baseball game :) :) :)

can't wait for girls trip 2012!

showering baby #2

2011-07-09T14:17:00.000-07:00

baby boy number 2 has still not been named, even though i set a deadline of todays shower. but i think we are starting to narrow down the choices...finally!

max is insisting that the baby's name is jesus. sorry dude, this was no immaculate conception :)

some very special friends threw an awesome brunch in honor of baby #2 at joe t's in fort worth. yummmmyyyyy!

the wonderful hostesses lynds, kristin, andrea, and kristin (and a 33 week pregnant me!)

yummy treats and friends jessica and kate

the family table

allison, diana, emily, me, lynds, kimberly, and molly

showing off the fabulous gift card wreath that surprised me! i also got some super cute onesies and diapers/wipes.

hannah, me, jessica

father's day and the fourth

2011-07-09T14:06:00.000-07:00

since joey was in zambia on father's day, we celebrated both before, during, and after his trip.

g and pop helped daddy raise money by buying max a flying monkeys tshirt

while joey was gone, we had dinner with my dad and stepmom in the square in decatur. they were having a cowboy festival so after dinner we enjoyed some of the fun!

after joey got home, we went to the movie tavern to see cars 2. happy late father's day!

and on to the 4th of july! what better way to spend these hot summer days then in the pool.

max loves to swim and is quite the little fish. i guess swimwithkyle.com does work :)

showing off his "tricks" with daddy

and finally we enjoyed the lake cities 4th of july festival with our church family. max enjoyed the fireworks and let us know that "i not scared".

i love my family (even if we are hot and sweaty!)

june 2011

2011-07-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

so, our life has been just a bit crazy the last month. it's funny bc i thought last summer that june was nuts with a 2 week trip to honduras, swim lessons, a sinus surgery, and a new job. not true, my friends, not true. summer 2010 had nothin' on summer 2011.

here's the short version of our lives in the last month and why i'm so happy to be entering a new month and hopefully a more simple one too.

week 1: 1/2 of our move, joey's birthday celebrations, dinner with lots of people to say hi and goodbye, and part time swim lessons

week 2: full time swim lessons, joey's preparation and then bon voyage to zambia, a drs appt for me and baby, and father's day fun

week 3: still in the pool 6 hours a day, husband still on the other side of the world, a tenant to lease our house is found, a planned drs appt for max, and attempts to keep my sanity by spending time with friends

week 4: swim lessons complete, husband home and safe, a spontaneous drs appt for max, packed and moved our entire house in about 2 days, and trying to get settled in a new home

oh and did i mention, that i'm 32 weeks pregnant today, it's also our 7th anniversary, and we have a huge church event on monday that joey is doing on his own bc the other pastors are out of town.

so, i'm ready for july and hopefully some rest. and that starts right now. we are taking a break from the chaos and escaping into the world of some beloved disney characters with our car obsessed little boy.

changes

2011-06-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

not sure i'm ready for all the journeys we will be taking this summer.

journey 1: joey's trip to zambia. although i'm not a worrier by nature, this is definitely a trip that is bringing that out in me. please pray for peace in all 3 of our hearts as it is difficult to know whether we will get to communicate at all during his trip.

journey 2: the move to denton. by God's grace, we have been given the opportunity to live in an apartment complex and do the apartment events in exchange for rent. after a year of trying to sell our house, we will be leasing our home and moving to Denton in late June. please pray for our transition.

journey 3: becoming a family of 4. i'm so excited to welcome our little man into the world, but part of me is anxious for max. we are preparing him as much as possible, but with the other 2 adventures of the summer happening with this as the grand finale, we want his little heart to adjust well. please pray for him and us, along with a continued healthy pregnancy.

happy birthday to joey!

2011-06-07T13:29:00.001-07:00

looking good for 33 huh?!?

it makes me laugh bc max's eyes are on the cake!

a boy after his daddy's heart (or should i say stomach!)

wedding bliss

2011-06-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

we've been BUSY lately, but 2 of our busy weekends were filled with wedded bliss!

our good friends jeremy and candise got hitched....we are so happy for them!

and the next weekend joey sang at a dbc leaders' wedding. tysen was one of the ring bearers and he and max had a wonderful time entertaining us all during the reception!

happy mom's day!

2011-05-10T11:31:00.000-07:00

we had a really relaxing and fun mother's day weekend!

1st stop was max's MDO tea for mommies...it was cute and he was excited that i got to come to school with him (even if it was just for a bit)

then on friday morning, we headed to the botanical gardens in fort worth for a picnic

this 2 are my favorite guys ever!

then sunday morning i woke up to these cards. my super creative husband made the letters from cars, a perfect touch of max's love of cars and me :)

camping

2011-05-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

camping is becoming a favorite family time for us. thank goodness ana and papaw have a camper to keep this momma happy!

4 boys in their camping chairs....too cute!

before our "hike"...it was more like a nature walk

papaw's ears make great handles

these 2 decided to show us the white trash side of camping. i think this is the dirtiest our kid has ever been, but im pretty sure this isn't the 1st time tysen's been pants less :)

B is for Boy!

2011-04-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

with max, it was a surprise until delivery day, but with baby #2 joey was calling the shots. at our sonogram, he asked the tech to write down a B or G and put it in an envelope for max to open and read to us.

drumroll please......

it's a B!

max's little bro is due on august 28th and we couldn't be more excited to see the 2 of them together!

easter

2011-04-26T11:02:00.001-07:00

max had been a little sick last week so i wasn't sure how easter would turn out this year, but we managed to have some fun anyway.

we had a worshipful easter service at church, followed by lunch out to celebrate my moms birthday, naps, and then a low key easter egg hunt.

and what's easter without a family picture!

rangers game

2011-04-26T10:56:00.001-07:00

excuse the order of pics..they go from last to 1st but blogger is not letting me correct that :)

once again this year, my mom got to throw out the 1st pitch at a rangers game.

max shows off his baseball card from the rangers mascot

the fam

how max warms up for the game

just the 3 of us

sea world

2011-04-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

this year, we decided to take a small trip to san antonio as a family of 3. we had a fun time and it was great to get away and spend some special family time together.

at fazoli's in waco on the way....why do they not have these in our area anymore? delicious!

our 1st day at seaworld

they had a new bay of play sesame street kids area and max loved it!

our 1st show azul

we loved feeding the dolphins so much that....

....we went back on day 2

max was not a fan of the aviary area, but joey was quite the bird whisperer

cookie!!!!

riding his 1st roller coaster....he really enjoyed all the rides

watch what you say

2011-04-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

yesterday at walmart

max: mommy, i am SO tired of the whining.

mmmm...wonder where he's heard that.

shirts to support zambia

2011-03-29T14:49:00.001-07:00

make custom gifts at Zazzle

joey's going to zambia and we need you!

2011-03-29T14:45:00.001-07:00

here's an email joey sent earlier today about his upcoming missions trip to zambia!

Hello friends and family, I am seriously humbled as I write to you now. 10 minutes ago, I found myself weeping in my office. And I am more convinced now than ever that God's will is for me is to visit the orphans of Zambia in their distress (James 1:27). It is a strange conviction to have as I look up and see that I am still $2,515 short of my goal with the April 1 deadline 3 days away. I certainly don't want to seem naive, but I do believe that all things are possible with God. And I don't want to claim promises that He hasn't made by saying "I know God will raise $2,515 in 3 days!" But from where I sit now it seems irrelevant whether I make this trip or not. I will go. If I reach my support goal or not I will go at some point. It's a relief to realize that Gods desire to rescue and redeem His children in Zambia doesn't depend on your check or my making the trip. He will accomplish His purposes with or without us. But I want to be in on it. I wasn't sure of that a week ago. I was doubting God's desire for me to go because the money wasn't coming in. I'd been half heartedly asking God to give me His heart for His children in Africa. And I had been occasionally praying for God to provide the money. But I don't think I was really ready to be serious about it. I think I was waiting to see if "I" could actually make it happen first by bringing in the money. At our last Zambia meeting the speaker reminded me that Satan wants me to be discouraged and to think that God doesn't want me to go. I decided to start asking God seriously if He does, in fact, want me to go. So I've been praying. And I've seen that Satan can be quite convincing. "God would have provided the money by now if He really wanted you to go...Kyle will be very pregnant by June, what if she needs you..." But I continued to ask, "God, do you want me to tell them about Jesus. Do you want me to show them Your love?" And today, 10 minutes ago, I asked "Do you want me to tell them that You are their Dad?" And I started to cry. I know that He is the Father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5) and that they need desperately to meet Him. I stopped praying and started to look at a book with some pictures and stories of some of the of the Zambian orphans. The tears came again as I looked at the cover and was overwhelmed with the thought that God loved His daughter, that little African girl in the picture. And I am floored at the prospect of being part of God's process of revealing Himself to others just like her. His answer to me was yes. So I'm ready for the final stretch. And I hope that you can be in on it with me. Thank you so much for reading this email and for being willing to consider your part in what God wants to do in Zambia. If you've already given, thank you so much. If not, please pray. If you are undecided, I hope you'll continue to pray about that decision. You can make contributions online at www.camplifezambia.com/joey . There is also a fun way for you to buy a silly Tshirt or hat that will contribute to my support at www.joeyvanderveer.com/fmwhy . I certainly don't want to pressure anyone but I may be calling some of you over the next two days to see if you have any questions for me and just to follow up on this email. I'd love to talk to you more about this or Zambia in general if you want to talk. 817-907-6357 Thank you
our family would greatly appreciate your support!

spring break

2011-03-18T13:50:00.001-07:00

this was our first year for joey not to be off for spring break, and ill admit it it was weird. we still managed to have some fun though.

my mom, amy, max, and i went to the fort worth museum of science and history. although it wasn't max's shining moment there or at lunch after, we still managed to have a little fun.

and then on joey's day off, we went to the amon carter for a family funday and had a picnic after. it was a gorgeous day...until that hour and 15 min drive home-boo traffic :(

the weekend was filled with fun though....my little sis is engaged! we are all so excited! she and uncle jared are so fun and i know max will be the cutest little ringbearer ever!

date 2 of 12

2011-03-18T13:47:00.001-07:00

since a few of our dates dont fall into the "safe" category for a pregnant person, we are spreading them out a bit. so this date was supposed to an omni movie, but once again, the vanderveer budget got in the way. no biggy though. we just took it old school with the dollar movie and a little boston market. hey, its the time together that counts right!?!

update on the preggo

2011-03-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

things are good in the pregnancy department. i was super tired my 1st trimester and was suffering with alot of headaches up until about 2 weeks ago, but now things are back to good. i am 16 weeks and as you can see look to be about 8 weeks further along then that (well, at least compared to my preganancy with max). at our next appt in mid april we MAY find out what we are having, but that decision is still up in the air. i'm letting joey decide and he said "i'll decide on the way." but don't worry, when we know, you will know.

what spells max?

2011-03-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

M-A-X

and he knows it. along with all of his letters and most of there sounds.

now go ahead, think im one of those ex-teacher moms who spends hours with my toddler working on flashcards. nope. all i do is talk to the kid. and boy does he listen. we love him.

back to the real world

2011-03-07T11:55:00.001-08:00

so i just wrapped up a 12 week substitute job, and boy was i ready to be done. i loved seeing my friends everyday and making some extra money for our family, plus it was only part time and i had an aide so all in all not too bad of a gig. but i like my real world better. the world were i wake up to max talking or singing in bed. the world were i can go to the gym when its not too crowded. the world were i can go to bible study and play dates. i love this world as a stay at home mom and am continually blessed to be able to do this.

valentines

2011-02-16T12:31:00.000-08:00

the valentines tradition continues....italian food at my moms. this boy was very happy about his new cup, the pizza, .... ...and elmo card!
with valentines falling on a monday, i decided to go simple with dinner and get a heart shaped pizza from papa murphy's. i think this will become our vanderveer tradition bc it was super easy and delicious. well, our tradition until my husband decides to start cooking! :)

date 1 of 12

2011-02-16T12:26:00.001-08:00

january was a very tight budget month at the vanderveer house so we decided our 1st date of the year would have to wait for valentines day... this restaurant (the dallas location) had been recommended to us so we decided to give the one in sundance a try. the food was melt in your mouth good, but the portion left this preggo a little hungry.
after dinner to headed to barnes and noble for some book browsing and coffee.
a fun way to kick off a year of dates!

a day at the zoo

2011-02-16T12:13:00.000-08:00

a last minute decision led us to the dallas zoo on a gorgeous saturday...it was a much needed day of family time and i am so glad we made the effort. we took the train (max loves it!) and only paid $10 to get in (the admission price for jan/feb)!max was roaring for the tiger to hear but "he don't talk mommy"

they had a cool giraffe patio where you could buy food to feed the giraffes and see them at eye level...

this chimp was max's buddy. we got to see them "train" the chimps

(and we also saw one chimp throw a fit and slam his hands and feet against the glass-intense)

in the children's zoo area they have a nice playground area...max thought he was so cool when he got into this egg. but not as cool as the nachos that daddy bought for us while he was playing :)

coming in august!

2011-02-10T17:38:00.001-08:00

baby #2!

the worst part of allergies

2011-02-10T17:33:00.000-08:00

so far has been this.... that's right, bruises on my little boy's arms from the attempt to draw blood today...that's right attempt. after many tears and lots of poking his little veins did not give enough blood to retest for his allergies. so now we have to go back next week and try again. poor little guy.

the season of 30

2011-02-10T17:27:00.000-08:00

at the end of a great week being iced in, we celebrated my best friend lyndsay's bday...her 30th!

we got to celebrate in sundance square at an amazing condo owned by her friend's employer. even though it was bitterly cold, this view of the espn stage made us feel like we were a part of the superbowl fever.i'm the oldest of these 4 so i'm excited to begin this season of celebrating turning 30...so far it's been a blast!

and here is lyndsay being super embarrassed at pete's piano bar...we thought he would just sing a happy birthday tune...little did we know this guy would get ridiculously dirty. oh well, live and learn!

ice ice baby

2011-02-03T12:46:00.000-08:00

its been over a month since ive posted to this blog. it's not that things haven't been happening...in fact we've been busy.

i am long term subbing for a prek class in the mornings. joey is growing his position and responsibilities as a worship pastor. and max is growing like a week and talking like a...well, he talks ALOT.

but today, on the 3rd day of "ice storm 2011", i just had a few random things that i felt the need to say.

1) i want to be a stay at home mom forever. i hope that i never have to work full time again.
2) joey is a truly great husband and an awesome dad. and my best friend. i'm glad he is in the midst of his dream job.
3) God always provides. always. always. always.
4) i wish i had taken max swimming over the winter more because he has forgotten all his skills. i only hope that his swim instructor mom can help him remember.
5) more then i ever thought possible, i have enjoyed relaxing these last few days. it is truly a blessing to be able to sit still and relax. and even though i have a 2 year old and my husband is out of town, it is a blessing and i will think of it as nothing less.

12 dates for 2011

2010-12-27T13:20:00.000-08:00

1. dinner at Taverna in dallas
2. Omni
3. horseback riding
4. mainstreet arts festival in fort worth
5. camping trip to Lake Ray Roberts
6. outdoor concert
7. speedzone
8. frisco RoughRiders game
9. dancin' at Billy Bobs
10. Public ArtWalk in dallas
11. barnes and noble open mic night
12. snow tubing

merry christmas!

2010-12-27T13:10:00.000-08:00

a few highlights of the holiday season:

max "performs" at his MDO program. he sang "jingle bells" and he cried "we wish you a merry Christmas".
hanging out watching elf while daddy makes our snowman pancakes.we used this cute advent sticker sheet to count down to christmas. max loved putting the star stickers on each night.
showing off a few of our fun gifts/dates.

max received many cars!

what a big kid...

with a cute bow butt!

the big 3-0!

2010-12-06T14:05:00.000-08:00

on december 8th, i turned 30. weird. that's all i can say about it. i find much joy in my last 30 years and am happy with where my life is, yet it is still a sad thing to say goodbye to your 20's. i mean so much happened then. college, marriage, a kid. and even though i know the next decade will be filled with so many blessings, i can't help but feel weird about the big 3-0!

we began our celebrating at my moms house. this picture makes me laugh!
since we had gone on a cruise in november for my birthday, i didn't think i would have a "party", but when i thought about celebrating with this special friend (we've shared our birthday celebration for 5 of the past 7 years) i couldn't help but want to celebrate with a yummy dinner in dallas.

after dinner, some of us walked around highland park and came across this dude....the creepiest santa i have ever had the pleasure to meet. we smiled sweetly nonetheless.

but when the lap sitting turned into hand rubbing and knee bouncing we knew it was time to say "to all a goodnight!"

a progression of pictures

2010-12-06T14:02:00.000-08:00

i had to get our little 2 year old to pose for a pic in one of his new outfits.

looking at the progression made me smile.

2 years old

2010-11-30T12:48:00.001-08:00

max, the most awesome 2 year old we know.

at 2 years old, our boy is

36 1\2 inches tall (90%)

weighs 30.2 lbs (76%)

and continues to have his daddy's brain at 50 1/2 cm (90%)

at max's appt, dr. david (or goliath, as max called him-i think the bible story is taking over his thoughts just a bit) was astonished at how much our little boy talks. apparently, its not typical for a barely 2 year old to have over 100 words, speak in sentences, and answer adults questions. so proud of our little talker (and already praying for his school teachers to understand that being a blabbermouth is not necessarily a bad thing!)

this boy fills our hearts with so much joy.

it's christmas time in the city!

2010-11-30T12:38:00.001-08:00

first stop, the light parade in downtown fort worth.

i believe this will be a new vanderveer tradition...next year we plan to get there a little earlier with chairs and hot cocoa.

next stop, the christmas tree farm.

max and i checked out mainstay farm in cleburne on a "field trip", and i believe this will also become a new family tradition.

the next day it was time to get our family tree. but let's all hope this does not become a tradition. :( around midnight that night, our tree took a tumble. being the night owl that i am (ha!), we left it there until morning. needless to say, our tree is now securely anchored to the wall.

and a 3rd new holiday tradition, a visit to bethlehem....with my bapa and nana, aunt kacy and uncle jd, and a whole lot of cousins.

happy birthday max!

2010-11-22T12:10:00.000-08:00

i can't believe our boy is 2! joey can't stop saying "he's so big!" and i agree. max is just as cool as a kid can be and we love him so much! we celebrated with an art party...max loves to color and play with playdough so we invited all his friends over to join us for some fun!

max loves pizza (and these 2 best buds too!)

opening presents was CRAZY!

max even lost it for a few minutes but luckily, he got back on track and opened all his awesome gifts!

bc of his allergy to eggs, we decided to do ice cream sundaes.

this boy loves himself an ice cream cone!

date 11 of 12

2010-11-22T11:55:00.001-08:00

and what a date it was! we began our 4 day date in 1st class on a flight to miami.... day one was spent enjoying the art deco area of southbeach
and getting it started right at the buffet on our cruise!

day 2 in key west florida...we walked to the southern most point of the continental usa and tried to get some key lime ice cream :(

that night was formal night and a small, early birthday celebration for me

day 3: scooters in nassau, bahamas...need i say more....so so fun!!!!

day 4 was spent relaxing on coco kay island and winning 3rd place in the volleyball tornament :)

it was a great time to relax, eat, take naps, eat, get a little sun, and eat!

the joys of friendship

2010-11-10T17:40:00.000-08:00

no explanation needed. just a great day with great friends.

halloween: take 2

2010-11-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

sunday night, we gathered at my mom's house for dinner and trick or treating
aunt amy (as a tridelt), max (the pirate), and g (the pumpkin)

have you seen these on cars?!!? no way did my kid just walk up to it and say hi!

the whole gang hits the road

Happy Halloween!

halloween: take 1

2010-11-02T11:27:00.000-07:00

over the weekend, we hit 4, that's right 4, fall festivals.

friday night: lake dallas trunkortreat and the boys school carnival

saturday: dbc's fall fest and venture community's fall fest

we had fun at all of them but chasing max (and his nearly 2 yr old attitude) around was a little tiring for me!

these are the pics from saturday morning

the 1st of many random meltdowns during the day

(but as soon as the train starting moving, he loved it!)

the cowboy and his horse

date 10 of 12

2010-11-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

our #10 date had a very different look then a typical vanderveer date.

part 1 of our date was a random afternoon movie (the social network-very interesting to me)
part 2 was max's fall party at MDO

the costume parade...our little guy was not a fan of seeing mom and dad and not being able to go say 'hi!

part 3 was a small shopping spree. while max was at school we hit the stores and then after school, we hit the mall playground (and some more stores) as a family.

pumpkin patch

2010-10-15T11:44:00.001-07:00

we decided to brave the flower mound pumpkin patch but this year we went on a thursday morning....much much better idea! it was so empty for our 1st hour so max just got to 'go fast' (run and run)!

every time max sees mickey he says "hot dog" bc of the hot dog song on the cartoon....guess i've got some teaching to do before our 1st disney trip!

the boy did not want to stop for any pictures....the 1st sign that he is about to be 2

we ran for the hayride line as soon as they opened it to the public (and it didn't get stuck in mud like last year) so it was a success!

max had no problem saying 'cheese' for the nice lady who took our picture (of course :)

'hi elmo' 'hi cookie'

this cracked me up...i showed him where to put his face,

but of course he just found his own peek hole!

'e see barney'

i'm loving these fun family times with our big boy! i can't believe how different this fall has been compared to last year....God has truly given us a great gift in max!

tyler state park

2010-10-15T11:34:00.001-07:00

for columbus day weekend, we went camping with joey's parents at tyler state park. it was such a fun and relaxing time....and max had a blast!

on our way there we ate at a mexican place in canton.

max has a new like for chips and hot sauce.

playing with the trucks papaw got him. max pretty much drove these or cars around the campsite the whole time we were there!

singin' by the campfire

max say "marshmallow!"

checking out the wildlife...there is a raccoon in the tree if you look closely. funny story: on night 2 of our trip, a very curious raccoon snuck up to our campsite and was very interested in the chair i was sitting in. he was also very interested in my father-in-laws hand and ended up giving it a nibble! what a crazy memory!

the family

there was a great playground that we rode our bikes to...max loved it!

papaw, max, and ana at the rose gardens in tyler...i must say, it was a bit disappointing but we asked around and many people in tyler was worried bc the roses weren't really blooming like they should of been for the rose festival the next weekend....

reenactment of the raccoon story

we took a paddle boat ride around the lake.....it was hard work for these 2 guys, but also hard work for me bc the whole time max just wanted to "go swim".

what a great mini vacation!

big tex

2010-10-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

we headed to the big d for the state fair last week...we took the train and max loved it! he kept saying "i see the choo choo." (see means 'hear'-we are trying to teach him the difference)

meeting elsie the borden cow

we enjoyed the traditional corn dog and funnel cake, along with fried frito pie and a fried twinkie...yum!

max LOVED the petting zoo

this guy was our family's favorite!

this is our little farmer at the "hands on farm"- a must for any fair goers with little kiddos...so cute!

the bird show was fun too....right before it started a sweet older couple gave max a toy truck so he was way more into that then the birds.

one tired, but awesome little boy!

i'm loving joey's new schedule with thursdays off...it is giving us some awesome opportunities for good quality family time like this wonderful day!

date 9 of 12

2010-09-29T11:39:00.000-07:00

the perfect date includes: this guy
this pumpkin spice latte

this chick-lit book (and a thought provoking book)

and this 'arrogant b******' written on the tshirt of a man reading poetry.

the people we see on these dates just keep getting better and better.

the "working" mom

2010-09-21T09:59:00.001-07:00

yesterday was my last day as a working mom. and by working, i mean out of the house substitute teaching in a kindergarten class for the 1st month of school. bc as a stay at home mom, i work. i work hard to keep max safe, healthy, and joyful. i work hard to keep our home organized and clean. and i work hard to make joey feel relaxed when he comes home from his job.

but let me tell you, i do not work as hard as the working mom. and by working, i mean the out of the house working mom. the one who has to get herself and her kids out of the house by 7am, go to work all day, come home and do housework and cook dinner, get the kids in bed, and then get everything ready to do it all again the next day. they work harder.

so to all my friends who work in the home....let's remember how blessed we are to have the opportunity to be at home. praise God that He has provided for me to be home with max....He truly is a God who hears the desires of our hearts and blesses us with them.

maxisms

2010-09-21T09:47:00.001-07:00

max is talking so much...he's a little copycat these days and just soaks up what is going on around him.

-when he start starts to fuss for something we will say, "ask nicely." to which he responds "nicely." he will also respond this way when i say "how do you ask?". "nicely."

-the other day, joey and i were having a discussion at the kitchen table and max was playing in the living room. our discussion was about intimate issues. the next thing we hear is "sex, please. sex, please." guess it's time to start spelling things.

-"e, play whoa." e is max's filler. he says it before everthing. and whoa is a game he likes to play with joey in which they throw themselves into things and onto the floor while saying "whoa!"

-anytime joey and i give each other a hug or kiss, max wants in on the action. "e kiss mommy. e kiss daddy. e hug mommy. e hug daddy." what a sweet boy!

mr. v and mrs. v

2010-09-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

we just can't get the teacher out of us. this was the other day, when max and joey came to visit me at the school i was subbing at.
what a perfect student!

what a hot teacher!

1st day of school

2010-09-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

max started mother's day out a few weeks ago and is doing so well! he goes each tuesday...joey takes him and picks him up so i really do have a day off! with his kermit sleeping bag...my mom got this at a resale a while ago and it was perfect for his nap mat.
"come on daddy!"

about to go in...max, have fun and make good choices!

best buds

2010-09-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

these two are so fun and love each other so much!

it's awesome to watch them become the best of friends.

i love barney!

2010-09-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

it's hard being a samari warrior...

2010-09-21T09:23:00.000-07:00

...just ask max. for his cousin's bday, we put max in a little Chinese outfit (a gift from my bro when he studied there) and a white headband....as you can see, the headband failed.
we took it off....but snuck it on later....
and once the party started he was all smiles (and so was the bday boy)!

friends that are girls

2010-08-17T12:02:00.000-07:00

what would i do without my girlfriends? their companionship means the world to me. each of their unique places in my life are essential and i love each of them for it.

to the one who calls it like she sees it: thanks.
to the one who loves my son like her own: thanks.
to the one whose adventurous spirit is much like my own: thanks.
to the one who cries at everything: thanks.
to the one who wants me to hug her: thanks.
to the one who is always upbeat: thanks.
to the one who helps me be a better mommy: thanks.
to the one who loves dessert as much as i: thanks.
to the one who asks the good, and by good i mean tough, questions: thanks.
to the one who gives it all away: thanks.
to the one who gives sincere compliments: thanks.
to the ones who pray diligently for me: thanks.

you know who you are. but now you know how much i love you.

when the circus comes to town...

2010-08-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

last week we took max to see the elephant parade in fort worth. when the circus comes to town, they make a big deal of walking the elephants down mainstreet into sundance square. here we are, sweating it out while waiting for the entertainment to start.
max and daddy watch the clowns that performed before the elephant parade.

here they come! right after this pic, max said "elephant" and made a trumpet sound while lifting his arm like a trunk. so glad i remembered to teach him to do that :)

the elephants were bookin' it. i was really surprised how fast they were 'parading'

at the end of the parade route the elephants ate dinner and we left to have dessert!

bbb

2010-08-10T13:43:00.001-07:00

Big

Boy

Bed

he was SO excited! and he is doing pretty well. staying in bed at night seems to be no problem. its the waking up at 5am to play that is causing us a little trouble. and he took a long time to fall asleep at his nap today. but i figure in a week it will be like he never was small enough for a crib.

date 8 of 12

2010-08-10T13:34:00.001-07:00

this date, like many others, did not exactly as planned. joey had planned for us to go to the amon carter museum in fort worth, but when we pulled up it was closed. i had been the one to look up the times online so i was the one to blame

lucky for us, our tummies were full from this place... ...the love (burger) shack. it is in this cool new area off 7th in fort worth. i wanted to go here bc the chef is tim love (from top chef) and it was very greasy and very yummy.

so since the museum was closed we tried a few more things (movie, bookstore) but nothing was available so we skipped straight to dessert at this place....
...oh my goodness! 2 delicious cookies with delicious ice cream makes the most delicious ice cream sandwich! joey and i were relieved to find out there is not one closer to us (its a family owned place) bc i know i would want to go here everyday in the summer. mmmmm...im craving a sammie right now!!!!

max at the movies

2010-07-26T11:17:00.000-07:00

here's max (and daddy) at the veggie tales jonah movie. max did pretty well for the 1st 45 minutes and then started to get a little bored. it was fun though and i'm glad we took him to a free movie 1st. i guess toy story 3 will have to wait a little longer.....

date 7 of 12

2010-07-19T13:15:00.001-07:00

for our 7th date, i had planned a trip to the waterpark. since our summer has been so crazy, we decided to make it a family date and take max with us. i didn't get any pics but i did have joey make this video of our 19 month old swimming. someone has his mom's genes!

date 6 of 12

2010-07-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

june was a CRAZY month for us so we saved date number 6 for our 6th anniversary.

we kept it simple with dinner and a movie, but i can't imagine spending 60 more years with anyone else. i love my husband and am blessed that he loves me too.

la cieba, honduras

2010-07-07T14:28:00.001-07:00

the 1st 2 weeks of our summer were spent in honduras visiting my sis and bro in law.

i'm going to be brief in my synopsis of the trip... max spent 10 hours in this carseat in a dirty rental van with no ac....welcome to honduras!

the next morning we were so glad to be in a house on the beach...

...the beach was nice but it was so HOT!

checking out a tide pool with daddy

this hammock was awesome! we all spent some time reading and relaxin' in it.

1st family pic of the trip

the 2nd day at the beach we took a boat to cayos cochinos...AMAZING!

our big kid

getting ready to snorkel...it was beautiful!

max checks out our lunch...fresh, and i mean fresh, fish.

we spent alot of time on the porch and in the pool

after 3 days at the beach we head to danli

we stopped in comeyagua for the night

and enjoyed some soccer and bean dip!

more driving the next day...danli or bust!

danli, honduras

2010-07-07T14:16:00.001-07:00

our 2nd week of our trip was spent in kacy and jd's hometown, danli. joey's 1st meal was a kiddie plate

max and his new friend abi enjoy the music at church...max danced like crazy during the worship and literally "shout"ed for joy!

at this point on our trip i am very stressed, tired, and sick...but luckily sunglasses and a smile hide all that!

we visited the school where kacy and jd work...the kids (and max) loved to dance to the songs joey played.

this bird was in our hotel lobby one afternoon when we came back for naps..what a fun surprise!

this is what the restaurant gave us when we asked for a child's seat...this was followed by the night our son turned into a sassy kid!

more songs and dancing with the kiddos at school...and when we left the school this day, we had a fender bender; my moms response "go, go, go. just drive scooter. don't stop"...now that's a memory.

we enjoyed spending time with kacy and jd's honduran family (arturo, ruth, noemi, and abi). arturo taught joey a worship song after our final meal together.

the families

(in front of the walls that my family painted while we were there)

our last night was spent in a 4star hotel in the capital....it was such a nice way to end our trip.

when we turned in the rental car the cops just happend to be standing nearby...but my little sis amy was freakin' out bc she thought we were in trouble!

bye guys!

what 2 weeks can change

2010-06-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

ALOT.
we went to honduras with an 18 month old.
we came back with a sassy, face-making, boy who talks, talks, talks.

max grew up so much on our trip. his 1st visit to a foreign country will get its own post soon, but i had to document the amount of new words he learned on the trip....way too many to count!

he can now say every single family members name (both sides). he even saw a picture of tysen and without any prompting pointed to the picture and said "tysen"...whoa kid!

you ask him any question with "how" at the beginning of it and he will say "good"....i mean, "how was your dinner?" 'good' to "how is your poopy diaper?" 'good'...it's hilarious!!!!

and then there's the word "yes"...he has never said it, ever....he will nod yes, but say 'no' when he means yes. but then just yesterday..."max, say yes." max "watch" (while nodding his head yes). "max, say yes, yes" max 'watch, watch'(still nodding).

at least he's not saying "no" to everything!

dad's day

2010-06-24T12:59:00.001-07:00

our father's day was super low key, but we still enjoyed a nice breakfast

and a new max face to love.

i love these guys.

my husband is 32

2010-06-24T12:55:00.001-07:00

even if these pictures from his birthday dinner don't seem to show it!

it's amazing the way these 2 act with each other and around our friends....i mean amazing!