dance for me...

one of my favorite things about mclain is that he can entertain himself. it's nice to be able to brush my teeth, make a snack, fold those pesky towels or put his laundry away without having to take him with me or have him cry while i sneak away for a few seconds. but what i love most is sitting back and watching him entertain himself. watching him learn. those wheels are constantly in motion. and i love it.

he loves his buddies. he loves to stand. he loves to stand in his crib and pick-up his buddy, drop him and pick him up again and do it over and over and over.

 drop. pick-up. repeat.

drop. pick-up. repeat.

 

as he gets older, he gets wiser. he's trying new things. and we love watching him figure it out.

 

unfortunately, this new game does not allow me to reheat my coffee for the eighteenth time.

 

hugs and kisses~m, s, mc, b, b, m, t, b, n, m, bc and t



turkey + taryn + zach

we had a wonderful thanksgiving with family. there was no shortage of attention for mclain and no shortage of pies for matt. matt was in charge of the green bean casserole (he makes the very best!) and i made my grandma's 5 cup salad (she was the very best!). the food was amazing-as always. the card games were endless and fun and mclain's first talent show was a success! 

on saturday we traveled down south for our good friends' wedding. every detail was perfection!

we had such a great weekend from the turkey to the vows and the pies to the campfires, we are so thankful to be blessed with such amazing family and friends.

thanksgiving donuts*free babysitters*talent show*hand and foot*cruisin'*goodbye thanksgiving, hello christmas*great bridge in llano, tx*moo*outdoor wedding*tarynpluszach*manly men*long drive home

 

we hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving!

hugs and kisses~m, s, mc, b, b, t, m, b, m, n, bc and t

 

p.s. there are a lot of great pics of the wedding at #tarynpluszach on instagram!

santa?! i know him!!!

what a weekend!!!

we started it off with a red cup! we met santa and his reindeer! we had cherry pie for breakfast :) we had family movie night with a fire. we heard one of the best sermons...ever. the raiders didn't win but the cowboys did and my fantasy team is still too close to call. i didn't win in our not-so-friendly family card game but matt did...so i guess if i'm gonna lose, it should be to him. but biggest of big news...mclain finally. FINALLY. got his first tooth AND finally. FINALLY started crawling!  what a weekend!!!

 

 

 

 '

 

hope y'all had a great weekend! happy monday to one of our favorite weeks of the entire year!!!

hugs and kisses~m, s, one-toothed mc, b, b, m, t, m, b, n, bc and t

shop small business saturday

such a great idea! i love that small businesses are getting their own day! but what if it wasn't just a day?! what if we made more of an effort to support the 'mom and pops' as much as possible? 

i've just recently been on a-support the locals and etsy shop owners-kick. i don't know if it's moving to lubbock and dreaming of a simpler life, joining the blogging community or the many failed pinterest tests that are the reason for this new found kick? but it has been fun to explore lubbock and support the locals in the process! 

 

on saturday, november 24th (the official shop small business saturday) we will be driving across texas in order to celebrate the marriage of our two dear friends. unfortunately we won't be able to do a lot of shopping but we will make sure to stop in coleman, tx at one of our favorite small businesses for lunch and most likely some tasty pie.

 

some of our small business faves.....

1. anniversary necklace 2. the choc'Late mousse
3. west texas best kept secret 4. drive-in

5. RubyJames bracelets 6.local farmers

7.owl soda fountain and grill 8.mclain's turtle costume

if you're in lubbock this weekend, don't forget about holiday happening! great stuff from a lot of small businesses all in one location! who says you have to wait for 'shop small business saturday' in order to support your mommas and pappas?! 

hugs and kisses~m, s, mc, b, b, t, m, b, m, n, bc and t

as of late

1. fireside 2. lefty eating the rainbow
 3. 'what's this?' 4. peggy sue
5. brrrrrrr... 6. bond...james bond
7. too early for christmas stamps? 8. seriously, what color?

 

happy friday y'all!!!

hugs and kisses~m, s, mc, b, b, t, m, b, n, m, bc and t

a roller coaster of emotion

when the doctor put mc in my arms all i could see was him. everything around me blurred and the only thing in focus was that little babe in my arms. now, it could have the immeasurable amounts of love that i didn't know i was capable of or it could have been the generous amount of oxygen i was loaded with-i had to wear an oxygen mask while pushing because i was getting light-headed and losing steam. i'm not certain what caused the myopic vision but i do remember thinking, "this boy is all mine...forever....i get to keep him and i'm never letting go". and then it hit me, it took all of 5 minutes before the baby blues set in..."he's going to go off to college. he's going to get married. he won't stay with me forever.". these were just a few of the ridiculous thoughts that brought me crashing down. so that's what people mean when they speak of a roller coaster of emotion? it's not a fun roller coaster, it's more like sitting in the last seat on the texas giant. it's brutal. all of the sudden it seemed perfectly reasonable why sybil stone (from the family stone) wanted her sons to be gay or why some mom's let encourage their 35 yr old sons to live at home. they want to keep their boys close. they want to be needed.  doesn't it seem a little selfish? yes, but isn't their selfishness justifiable? yes. and i can totally relate. i carried this boy around for 9 months. i kept him safe. we did everything together. we ate breakfast, lunch, dinner and several snacks together. we went on walks together. we got heartburn and hiccups together. we lost sleep together. we watched our saturday morning 'gilmore girls' marathons together. he came to work with me. he was the peace amidst the 7th grade madness (i still have nightmares of my 6th period class). these women are selfish and so am i.  i want to be the only woman he ever loves. i want to keep him forever. i want him to need me. i want him to be a mama's boy. i know what you're thinking...."this poor kid doesn't have a chance."  don't you feel sorry for him? don't you want to rescue him from his crazy mother?

after a little time and a lot of prayers, i finally got it "together". praise be to God that the baby blues doesn't last too long (even though it feels way too long when you're in the thick of it). i realized i need to take the focus off of me and my needs and instead, focus on mclain and his needs. i spend time praying for wisdom, to know what my role is in this boy's life. praying for strength in letting go and giving him to God. praying that mclain may know and love Jesus.  praying that mclain may love himself and others well. praying that he may end up with someone who makes him a better person and loves him more than i do and that he accepts nothing less. am i still selfish? yes. am i perfect? no. is mclain perfect? yes--well, he's pretty stinkin' close :)

~s.

his little praying hands! this picture is an oldie by goodie. it's the wallpaper on my phone....so he can still go everywhere i go ;)

God is good....

can i get an AMEN!?

 

matt got a job! a job that he is excited about. a job that he is perfect for.

 a job that will let him keep his beard! thank you all for your support and your prayers.

cheers! 

hugs and kisses~m, s, mc, b, b, t, m, m, b, n, bc and t

moments in time...

you know i LOVE mc's smiles...but there is something to be said for the candid, no counting to three, no one saying, 'cheese', just life being lived-photographs.

these are a few of my favorites, snapshots of moments in time.... 

maybe i prefer the candid shots because i always feel so awkward smiling for the camera. or maybe because matt is the most impatient person to photograph. seriously, he will smile for the first three pictures and then he's over it and all you get is this...

 

 

look at buster and mclain, they are so sweet, not a clue their picture is even being taken.

 

hugs and kisses~s from, m, s, mc, b, b, t, m, m, b, n, bc and t

 

p.s. yes, this is a ploy to show matt my amazing (teehee) photography skills so i can get a super fancy camera :)

 

again! again! again!

when we find something that makes him laugh.....
we do it over. and over. and over.

 

hope y'all had a great weekend! happy monday!

hugs and kisses (and lots of laughter)~m, s, mc, b, b, t, m, m, b, n, bc and t

 

life lately

 

making pops feel better

my new j's

humiliation at the hospital

my pops makes the best pizza!

tootie made tasty soup, thanks to slc foodie

if you wanna win, put me in

watching pops hoop

learning how to throw a spiral

mastering the 3 point stance

 pops enjoying my misery

my first halloween festival

waiting for the trick-o-treaters

hangin' with my pops

 jack-o-laterns are the best!

happy friday! hope you have a great weekend!

hugs and kisses~mc

 

thank you for your smiles!

the last eight months have been the most incredible 8 months of our lives. we are beyond blessed. he spoils us. he laughs at our jokes. he loves being around people. he's learning to wave 'hi' and 'bye'. he's observant. he's working on his indoor voice. he loves his puppies, his kitties, his turtles and his buddies. he loves well. and he hugs well. we are thankful for the smiles he gives us first thing in the morning. for the smiles he gives when we get home from work. and for the smiles he gives us every other moment throughout the day.
we are spoiled. we are blessed. we are thankful.

mc, thank you for these past 8 months. may "the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you."
Numbers 6:24-25
hugs and kisses~pops and tootie