is it fall yet?

fall is my favorite season! i've heard that a person's favorite season is the same season they were born in. since i'm an october baby, i love all things fall...football, pumpkins, autumn colors, pumpkin spiced lattes, halloween, carving pumpkins, thanksgiving, pumpkin pie, apple pie, tv's fall lineup (where i reunite with all my long lost friends/famous people/actors/fictional characters) and who doesn't love the cooler weather?! but when does fall start? the first day of school, the first gameday, labor day, the day your favorite show premieres, or september 22nd (which seems way too far away if you ask me)?

what's your favorite season? 

what are some of your fall favorites?  

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

what they don't tell you...

our baby girl is one month today. it's amazing how perfectly she fits in our arms, our hearts and our life. we love her so much and are so grateful that God has entrusted us to be her pops and tootie.

why did no one ever tell me how great motherhood is and the joy that children bring to your life?

matt and i wanted to travel before having kids, but what i didn't know is that i would much rather travel with them. even though we won't be trekking through europe anytime soon, i'm still excited to take them camping, or to a rangers game, tubing down the guadelupe, seeing the ocean for the first time, snowboarding or seeing their eyes light up the first time they see time square at night....and further down the road, going on cruises, drinking our way through wine country and eating our way through france and italy.

8:30 on a friday night--no where else we'd rather be.

saturday morning snuggles and cartoons.

dining alfresco.

dancing in the park with this fine young gentleman.

i've said in the past that i had no idea what i wanted to be when i grew up or what purpose my life had, but once i became a mom it all made sense. i want to share life with them. i want to explore and rediscover life through their eyes.  i want a simpler life. i want to slow down and take it all in. i want my love to be a verb, an action. i want to collect memories instead of things. i don't want to have a career to have more money, a bigger home or a nicer car. i want to spend my days loving on my children like no one else can.

i feel like it was a big secret about how great being a parent is....so i'm hear to tell you, if you have the opportunity to be a mom, you will not regret it and it will surpass your greatest expectations~or your money back guaranteed :)

i'm making sure my children know how thankful i am to be their mama--no secrets here.

hugs and kisses~m and s

happy, happy, joy, joy(land)

joyland is a small amusement park that is maybe 1/25 the size of six flags. i used to make fun of its smallness and 'fair-like' rides. but i have grown to love it! its retro vibe, its perfect mix of charm and 'fear for your life carni rides'. i'm not sure if it's that lubbock has become 'home' and anything lubbock has a special place in my heart or if it's because i'm a mom and joyland has a variety of not-so-scary, kid-friendly rides (except for the giant dancing dragons ride), but i now consider myself one of joyland's biggest fans. thanks to marmee and grandad and their love and dedication to the lubbock lions club, we got to go for family night...for FREE!!! and i'm all about free entertainment :)  

good times were had by all, until next family night...

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

ten on 10

one. this video is a must see.

two. baby girl is two weeks old today....she sleeps about 23 of the 24 hours in a day.

three. this video is also a must see, the editing and footage is a little rough but his smiles in the middle make it all worth it....consider it a clip from a documentary. raw and edgy.

four. four more weeks until the first tech home game....time to get serious about tailgate planning....anyone have a space, a tent and a smoker they want to let us borrow? we can provide the pirate flag and all things necessary for double t wraps.

five. aplin needs these sandals for next summer...i might also need a matching pair.

six. mclain is OBSESSED with strollers (like, stalks any person pushing a stroller in a public setting, kind of obsessed) and i think i've found the perfect stroller he can stroll Buddy in.

seven. i follow this family on instagram. i find them so inspiring, and find myself telling matt stories about them as if i actually know them. crazy how instagram makes you feel so connected to people you've never even met! here is a yahoo video about their journey.

eight. in the past two weeks, we've had eight people/friends/family/strangers bring us food. thank you, jesus for good friends, family and complete strangers who have so graciously fed us.

nine. this past week, i had to got to drive with matt and aplin up to pampa for matt's work--i don't remember the last time i was so excited about a road trip, the journey, not the destination. just being, talking, listening to music with matt--and sleepy aplin in the backseat. even though we had to drive the 3 hours back in separate cars, the 3 hours driving there, together, was so worth it. it was a great day-date including a yummy lunch at 'the coffee shop' in downtown pampa. if you're ever in pampa, you must eat there and tell them mike and shannon or matt and shayna sent you--they'll have no idea who you are talking about.

ten. ten days until we get to go to joyland--for FREE! i've been waiting all summer for this!

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

baby girl is here....and she has a name

she arrived eleven days early.  i guess she was as anxious to meet us as we were to meet her.   

i haven't blogged in a while because we were using all our spare time preparing for baby girl's arrival, spending time with mclain and watching all the episodes of 'new girl' for the fourth time. needless to say, we were busy. since she has arrived we've been spending our time loving on her, feeding her, staring at her, feeding her holding her, feeding her and watching mclain love on her. he LOVES to hold her, point out all the body parts on her face and give her aggressive, slobbery kisses. i'd have to say my favorite part of being a mama of 2 is watching mclain love on his baby sister. 

to be honest, i was a little apprehensive about having another little.  life was so good as a family of 3, i couldn't imagine it getting any better. but God has bigger and better plans than i could ever imagine. he has definitely blessed our family of 3 to become a family of 4 and she fits so perfectly. okay, enough with the babble here are some pics of our first week as a family of 4!

*preparation is key* 

*37 weeks*pinks and purples...oh my*dream sweet dreams, baby girl, your crib is ready*

 *she didn't have a name for the first 20 hours of her life*love at first sight*

*i wish i could've seen mclain's face when he saw his baby sister for the first time*

*meet Dorothy Aplin White, her friends call her Aplin*the first time her saw her up close*

*ready to go home*our family of 4*

*also, i'm convinced mc grew 6 inches during our 2 day stay at the hospital*

*39 weeks (or 4 days old)*papa came to visit*

*ruby red slippers (courtesy of her pops)*first night in her big girl crib*

*aunt ellee came to visit*he LOVES to hold her*

*marmee and grandad make being a mama of 2 very easy :)*one week old...already*

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

thank you to all our friends & family for your well wishes, thoughts and prayers...this girl is loved by so many.