{pRe}- {school}

Oh my goodness! I can't believe I just typed that as my title!

But yes folks' it is true! Yesterday we enrolled Ava in a pre-school program at a local church that will start in Aug!

My how time flies! I feel like it was only yesterday I was nursing this sweet little one and changing her precious "breast milk poo" diapers! ( those who have been there get my drift!).......And now we are entering the preschool world!

We were not sure if we were really going to go the whole pre-school route with her or not. But after much thought and prayer we have realized the needs of our child! ......She has a HUGE thirst for learning. Lately she has been so frustrated when she picks up her books and can't read them. I have been told by other parents of young readers that this is the first step in teaching them to read ......they have to be ready and willing. ( this will be our new journey at home, because I am well aware that reading is not part of the curriculum for pre-school!)

Ava caught on very quickly to learning her alphabet letters, and can tell you what sound each letter makes and sometimes a word that goes with each letter!  ( sorry....yes I am very proud of the little darlin'!)

Not only does she have a thirst for learning she is a very social child and LOVES social interaction with other children! So we felt it was important that she start learning to interact with other children in a more structured environment.

.............Now don't think I am throwing her in pre-school for them to take all of the work off of me at home and let them do it. ( a common misconception!)

 This is a very laid back program, and at this age {3} it really is more fun and play for them at school. She will only go 4 half days a week! That is what I LOVE! She will still have plenty of time at home with her momma! She will have to stay 2 days a week all day ( till I get off work!) ......But still all in all we are thrilled for Ava to get to learn and grow in this new experience. She was more than thrilled about going to visit her new school yesterday.

I am a very strong believer that every child is different and has different needs. So what is right for one may not be right for another. To be honest I was very reluctant to make this move because I wanted to make sure I was being a good steward of my time with her at home, and .......well this kind of thing cost money, so I did not want to be wasting money.

.....for a little bit of history, I started working part time ( 2 days a week) about a year ago, for the purpose of being called to be at home more with my family. I have absolutely LOVED every minute of this. Ava currently goes to a home sitter on the days that I am working. We have been BEYOND blessed with Mrs. Rachel. .....So naturally it would have been easy for me to just let her stay there for two days and then be with me the other days. ( which has been fun and exciting!)

But, I saw needs in Ava. The need to be with other kids, playing, learning, growing and experiencing new things!

So we shall see how this goes, and as always we will re-evaluated the situation as needed.

I will leave you with some pictures of our {Sweet Summetime!!!}

I think this is my FAVORITE pic of the summer so far! hahaha

{ Today } ....mostly in pics!

Today was a rather exhausting and busy day!

.....And I have forgotten to mention that we are back in our house folks!

David was at the station today, and I am having to learn to adjust to him being away for 24 hours at a time. ( but when he is off for 5 days in a row it is BLISS!)

I try to stay busy when he is working just so the day passes by faster.....but there was rain in the forecast all day today so I thought we better just stay in. Loading and unloading a toddler in and out of a carseat all day in the rain, has proven to be pretty miserable in the past.

Cute heart PJ's that are Ava's favorite!

BUSTED! Jumping on the bed

 BUSTED again pulling all of the bedding off of the bed!

Whew! Okay I am off the bathe the princess and maybe squeeze in some reading.....started reading Crazy Love......and it is crazy good!

{SuMmeR}

( pic was taken at my best friends wedding in April)

Well I figured that is was about time to update this blog of mine! I have taken a little hiatus from the blogosphere! I was becoming a little overwhelmed with the blog world. Of coarse I have still been reading my  "must have" blogs, but a little break was definitely needed.

So......let's see, what have we been up to???

In a few short weeks we will be moving back into our house. I think my heart just skipped a beat typing that! We are soooo excited. There really is no place like home. For those of you that have been keeping up with the " we will be selling our house saga,".....yes our house is still for sale. We will continue to leave it on the market when we move back in. It may sell fast, it may not! Whatever happens is well with our soul. I love my house, and it is prefect and fine for us, we are just hoping we can upgrade to something larger with room to roam!

On another fun SuMmer note....Ava started swimming lessons this week.

I finally had my I am so proud and in awe of my little Ava moment. Yes, I have always been proud and in awe of her....every single day. BUT this week it was taken to a whole new level. A big girl level!!! You see, her mommy decided it was best to put her in the preschool ( ages 3-5) class instead of the waterbabies class ( ages 18months- 2) With Ava being right on the cusp ( almost 3) I decided that she needed to be with the preschool class. This is a class where the parents are not in the water with them. We talked about it with her the week before, prepping her and telling her she would be swimming with her friends and her teacher.

I am pretty sure on the first day of class I was WAY more nervous than she. BUT when her name was called to go line up with her class for the very first time her face lit up! She got up, walked over there and said "bye mommy!" There was just something about watching her cute little swimsuit booty walk over there that made me a little teary!

And then it was time to get in to water! ......She did it! ( she could barely touch, compared to the others in her class, but she held her own!)

I don' think she quit smiling the entire class! I mean like ear to ear grin.

We sat and watched in amazement of this little girl that she has become. I felt like on of "those" parents, you know ...the "that's my kid!"

On another summer note, we are headed on vacation next week! We rented a little cabin on the river in the hill country! I will be sure to update with pics when we get back. ( I don't want to say where we are going till we get back, just in case there are any weird blog stalking crazy people out there! :)

I will leave you with some pics of Ava at her swimming lessons! And I promise to be back with an update soon.

gOoD nEws!

Yesterday we got some great news from our renters!

Originally their lease went through Aug..........BUT they called and are needing out in June!

So.........we get to move back in 2 months earlier than expected.

This comes with a bitter sweetness........of coarse we will LOVE being back in our own place, BUT it has been a blessing to get to share Ava with my mom and dad, and my grandfather; who lives with my parents.

Yes, it has been a crazy ride, and a  bit crowded at times, but the relationship that Ava has gotten to establish with her Grandma, Pops and Papa is one that will be cherished forever.

So in a few short months........we will be back in our HoMe....living as one CuTe little family! I must say that there is something great to say about living with family....you always have help!

Thanks Mom and Dad ( Grandma and Pops) for opening up your home to us!

......As I was browsing my pictures to find one of our house, I came across one of my favorite pictures of Ava!

SpRiNg

I love that spring is finally almost here!.....In Texas it pretty much is here already!

Of course I love spring because of all of the crisp newness that is in the air, the blooming flowers and whatnots......BUT  I mostly love spring because it means the start of my thrifting season begins.

This morning was an absolutely beautiful and perfect morning to venture out to some local estate sales that were happening.

On another exciting note; my sister and her families farm was featured in an article in the Texas Live Magazine! I am so excited for them and the amazing growth that their farm is experiencing.

{Simplicity}

For such as small word, this word is something that can be very complicated!

I have been seeking {simplicity} in my life.

Not that my life is overly stressful....but I think we all have room to {simplify}

So what would {simplicity} look like in my life?

Would it clean out my purse removing all of the spilt raisins from snacks bags, or sort through crinkled receipts?

Would it cross off afternoons of running "errands?"

Would it mean organizing or not organizing ALL of the pics on my computer? ( because it is getting on my nerves that I do not have a very good picture "system")

I am not sure!

Well I read something the other day that was encouraging, and it helped shed some light on this whole {simplicity} thing!


Simplicity does not just happen.
Simplicity has to be sought.
Sometimes it's found by saying "no"- by realizing that a night home isn't always a concession to selfishness but a much needed time to be still, to slow down. Sometimes it's found by saying "yes" - by making the brave decision to take control of the things in your schedule that are robbing you from the peace of doing less, thanks to the option of doing everything.


At times God helps us succeed in bringing order into our lives, and sweet simplicity follows.Yet when order has disintegrated into near chaos, he can show us - if we will let him- how to rescue simplicity from the jaws of runaway activity.


Simplicity is his promise.... a peace he reserves not only for those who appear to have it all together, but for those of us who just seem to have it all to do.


So true and so encouraging!


" Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yolk upon you  and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew11:28-29


"Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the worlds gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful." John 14:27



So I am praying for God to teach me what {simplicity} looks like in my life!

Last month while we were in Houston for David's graduation we stayed a few nights in a hotel!


This was not any old hotel .....this place was pure perfection in my eyes! This place was full of so much detail.


We stayed at Hotel Icon in Downtown Houston. If ever in the area I would highly recommend this place. Even though it was a very nice hotel, full of business people, the hotel was more than accommodating to us with our little toddler in tow. Not your typical chain hotel, more of a boutique hotel!!!!

And the best part is.....we only paid $80.00 a night. A typical night is around $200.00!

How did we manage this??

Well, thanks to my amazing sister in law for this resourceful information, we went to priceline.com and bid on a room! ..............It is so super easy and it is not a "gimmick!" It is for real. All you have to do is pick the area that you are staying in, and select 4 star hotel ( 5 star is usually not an option!) ..............The only catch is you have to pay before you know where you will be staying.......BUT with a 4 star hotel at 80 bucks a night......can you go wrong???

This has opened up our world to perhaps a few more little weekend trips here and there! Thanks Grace!

Ava's reaction to the hotel was extremely precious!!!!

What is it about hotels and girls...........they makes us giddy! .......even at the age of 2!

All she wanted to do was take a bath in the gigantic bath, and she was totally beside herself with the complimentary rubber ducky!

She was just so darn cute!

Here are some pics of this amazing place!!! Sorry the pics are not that great....i needed a wide angle lens to really capture the beauty of the room as a whole!


And let me just say these pics will NOT do the bathroom justice!!! It was BEAUTIFUL!!!!