Random pictures

My sister has been asking for a belly picture. I recently just "popped" out to where you can tell it's a pregnant belly and not some extra goodness. Ezra actually took these pictures for me. I think he did a great job! The other three are pics of Emersyn and her cute pony tail, that lasted about 30 minutes (she was in a mood ;) and my sweet boy Ezra before they went to school and MDO.

18wks

you can kinda see the belly better

Such cuteness eating her muffin

isn't she all grown up with that hair!?!

How handsome is he!?!

OH I COULD JUST EAT THEM UP!! I LOVE 'EM!!

Beth Moore and Chicago!

This past weekend, Me and two other girls headed for CHICAGO! We left very early Thursday morning and arrived in Chi-Town by 9am! Pretty sweet deal. We had all day Thursday and Friday in Chicago to explore. Thursday consisted of EATING OUR WAY thru Chicago! We dropped our bags off at our hotel and headed for Gino's East, to try out the pizza. Now, after waiting 45 MINUTES for the pizza to cook, we were very ready to dig in! The pizza at Gino's was okay, not that great.  We were somewhat disappointed. That definitely did not stop us from digging in to find more good food.

In front of Sprinkles

We headed to SPRINKLES for dessert. Sprinkles is a famous cupcake joint that started in Beverley Hills and now has expanded to a few different places. Dallas, TX has a SPRINKLES spot, but I had never been. The cupcakes were OH.SO.DELICIOUS!! We got an assortment of 6 to all taste and share. We did do a little shopping on Magnificent Mile (our hotel was only on block behind the mile) and ended the night with a light dinner at Cheese Cake Factory. We were all soo tired from the flight and travel. No lie, we were in bed, lights out, ASLEEP by 830!!

Looking good on the Segway!

Allison, me and Jennifer in front of Buckingham Fountain (married with children fountain)

We are so cool

Night of the Museum Museum (Field Museum)

The Bean

Friday started off with a nice breakfast at Corner Bakery. We then headed to Millennium Park for our next adventure. We booked ourselves on a Segway Tour. It was probably one of the best things I have done! Super fun, and a great way to see the city! We were such pros at driving the segways that we even stopped, got ice cream, and ate the ice cream while driving. I recommend doing a Segway Tour wherever you go visit!! After the tour we were ready to eat again. We went to a local Chicago Dog joint, that was suggested to us by a local. It did not disapoint! SO GOOD!

Standing in plexiglass 103 floors up!

Me in the plexiglass box

With full tummies, we headed to the Willis Tower (formally known as the Sears Tower) to see Chicago from 103 floors up. This was a pretty neat experience and way to see all of Chicago. We finished the day with more shopping and food!

First in line to see Beth!!

Our seats were 4 rows back from the stage in the Mosh Pit!

Travis Cottrell and the worship team

Beth Moore with the Cowboy Stadium behind her because that is the total amount of people that viewed her live simulcast

Isn't she so cute!

Saturday morning was another very early morning. We were ready, dressed and in a cab by 5:30AM! We were headed to Rosemont Theater to see BETH MOORE LIVE!! If you are not familiar with Beth Moore, she is an amazing Women's Bible Study leader and speaker. I have done a couple of her bible studies. God has truly blessed her with talent! She has such a love and passion for God and Women. We spent all of Saturday in God's presence working through the Praise and Worship team and Beth. I was in tears during most of the Worship, completely being filled with the Holy Spirit! Such an amazing experience!
It was one of the best trips I have been on. I went with some of my closet girl friends and was just truly blessed and thankful!

Pre-school and MDO

Finally! Here are pictures of Ezra and Emersyn on their first day of school! Ezra is going to Oak Hills Church Pre-school 3 days a week. I was a little hesitant at first to put him in 3 days, but the LORD knows what he was doing when he put Ezra in this class. He absolutely LOVES IT!! I can't imagine him only going two days. He is so excited when he gets there and super happy when you pick him up. He tells you all about his day and wants to know when he can go again. He is definitely at the age where he needs this and really WANTS to do it. Ms. Nancy, his teacher is so sweet and perfect for him and his first time. I feel truly blessed to be a part of this program at our church and am thankful everyday!

Ezra and his busy bee tote

Finding his name on the bee hive (he can do it all by himself!)

Emersyn started MDO at the WEE School two days a week. She cries a little when you drop her off, but the rest of her day is filled with fun, friends and learning. When I pick her up at 12 she is so excited to see me, but you can tell she is happy and had a great day. She is usually OUT and asleep when we are only a block or two away from her school. So, you know she had a good, busy day!

Not so sure if she should go in!

Emersyn and her teacher Ms. Susie

some friends in her class

I am extremely happy with these two programs and enjoy being a work again for the little time I go. However, it is a BUSY BUSY, CRAZY schedule that we are going to have to get used to. Especially being pregnant through this. I know we will adjust and LOVE it! It is definitely going to make this pregnancy go SUPER FAST, and I am not sure if I am ready for that yet. But, God is good!

Labor Day Weekend

Ezra, Sydney and Hailey eating ice cream

We had such a GREAT labor day weekend! We were very blessed to have the Garrison's invite us to their lake house in Horseshoe Bay. So, we packed up the car and headed to Marble Falls around lunch time on Saturday. It was such a great trip. We went last year with them, too, but it wasn't that great of a trip because the kids were little (the Garrison's have twin girls and a new baby girl, ella) and Emersyn was a baby. So, we felt like the whole time we had to go do stuff to entertain them. They were too little to really enjoy the boat and swim. And, at the end of the trip, everyone ended up getting the stomach bug and throwing up. So, needless to say, I wasn't sure if I was looking forward to this year's trip or not. Well, we had a blast! The kids got along so well. We stayed at the lake house the whole time, even cooking all of our meals there. It was great. Saturday we just unpacked the car, blew up the swimming pool and prepared for dinner. The kids spent most of Saturday fishing off the dock  with Brent and Rob, and even caught a good amount of perch, a good size bass and catfish! Ezra was able to cast and reel his pole in, and wasn't scared when there was a fish on the end of his pole (last year, he was!). The twins are experts when it comes to "handling" the fish, literally! They would name their perch, hold on to them so tight, and pretend play with them until the poor perch went to perch heaven! It was pretty cute to watch. Saturday night we took the boat out to drive around and watch the sun set. Sunday morning, the boys got up early and went fishing for the morning. When they got back, we all ate lunch and the boys helped the little ones fish off the dock again while Brent took Ezra out on the Jet ski and kayak. When Emersyn and Ella woke up from their naps, we loaded up the boat and headed out on the lake. We stopped at the Marina store to get ice cream then headed for the sandbar. We parked the boat in the water and went for a swim. All the kids loved this! Emersyn even was very excited about this. She didn't want me to hold on to her, but let me compromise with her, but holding her under her armpits. She wanted to splash and swim like the big kids! After we were done swimming, we got the tube ready for some good times. Brent and Ezra were the first ones to go on the tube. Ezra wasn't really sure if he wanted to do it, but he did it a little bit, then wanted back on the boat. The girls and Lisa then loaded up on the tube and did a great job! They even hit some good waves! We headed back in to start getting dinner ready, and I am sure more fishing off the dock was done! That night all the kids were in bed, asleep, by 8! It was great evening of talking and watching TV for the adults. Monday morning, the boys got up early AGAIN and went fishing, but this time with a guide. They were gone until lunch again. They caught a good amount of fish. Brent caught a good size bass. While they were gone, Lisa and I were getting everything ready to pack up and washing towels and sheets. When the guys got back, we were able to eat lunch then load up the boat one more time for an ice cream stop and a swim. While we were out this time, we got rained on. So, we decided to head back home and finish packing up. It was a great, great weekend!
Thank you Garrison's!!

Hailey's fish

Rob's fish

Comparing sizes!

on the kayak

Emersyn's first time on a boat

Ezra LOVED it

Lisa, Ella (on lap) Sydney, Hailey

Sydney fell asleep

Best buds

you can't see, but ezra just caught a fish on his pole

going on the jet ski

emersyn took a lap too, but didn't like it

the catfish ezra and brent caught

Emersyn lovin her ice cream!!

Ezra and Brent tubing!

Dove Hunting

Loading up in all their gear

Brent took Ezra dove hunting this past Wednesday for his FIRST time! It was really cute. The boys went to Academy where Brent got Ezra a camo shirt (we had one for him, but it didn't fit anymore), ear muffs to wear while they shoot the gun and a fake dove to bring in the real ones! Ezra came back super excited! He kept putting the ear muffs on and screaming "mommy, can you hear me?" It was pretty funny. He looked so cute and like such a big boy. They headed to Fredericksburg that afternoon and went hunting at the tank. Brent's grandma Eilers's cabin has a big tank that the dove like to hang out by. So, Uncle Johnny, Adrian, Brent and Ezra went hunting. They had a great time. Ezra loved running to go get the dove after they were shot down. Brent said he wore his ear muffs the whole time and wasn't scared when the guns went off. I stayed home with Emersyn and did some shopping. However, the whole time I was covering those boys in prayer! It is such a great thing that he gets to do these things with Brent, but makes me so nervous! They had a great time and got like 7 dove total. Brent did a great job taking pics for me!

he didn't want to take them off

one happy little boy

but..still my sweet little guy

checking things out. Love the hand on the hip!

picking up the doves (hopefully they washed hands good)

love this picture