{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!!!!

I {HEART} my Firefighter!

This past Thursday, my wonderful and amazing husband graduated from the Houston Fire Academy!

It was such a joy to watch this part of our lives unfold.

Like I have talked about before, this has been long awaited.

I am so proud and honored to serve a man who has sacrificially committed to this calling.

Earlier in the day, before the graduation ceremony, we got to watch David first hand in a fire demonstration.

My heart was filled with pride, while my eyes were filled with tears! .....Yes, it was a little scary for me.... BUT I know my husband has a passion for this.

.....Today .....Sunday......was his first day of work!! Crazy isn't it!

I awoke with him this morning at 4 am to see him off to work! I resisted the urge to take his picture all "uniformed" up!

......I am now on my journey of learning the steadfast faithfulness of our Father to see safety and provision over my husband!

I am {Dreaming}.....

Of This............

Or wait ....am I dreaming?.....or is this soon to be real.

Not sure?

Time shall tell................

Isn't she a beauty!