New Pool

He played in it for an hour!!(That is long for him!!)

So I went shopping today which I shouldn't of done when I saw that our house taxes are raising $5K next year. (There is no way!) 

But this picture made it all ok.  It doesn't even have the water in it.

Life as a Stay at Home Mom

Wow before Tyler was born I thought being a stay at home mom was going to be the easiest most amazing thing.  Not that it is not but it is a lot different than I thought.  Thank God I have an amazing little boy that makes it all worth it.  I thought I would wake up every morning and go workout, clean the house during the day, and cook dinner at night.  My gosh so opposite!! I wake up and I am exhausted, on a good day I get a shower, and I cook maybe once every other week.  Let's not talk about cleaning!  My house is so gross I can't believe I let Tyler crawl around it everyday.  I have been sick more in the last 3 months than I have been in the last 30 years. But before all of you start going "cry me a river"  trust me I know how blessed I am to be able to stay home.

I would not give up for the world the naps I take with Tyler daily, the outings and playgroups we go to every week, the daily changes and milestones that happen right under my all watching eye.  It is not easy but I would not trade it for the world.

Young Life

Wow what a big part of our life Young Life is.  Aaron and I are Young Life leaders in McKinney. We focus on the Junior Class at Boyd High School.  We have been with these kids since they were Freshman.  These kids are amazing.  They are truly good kids.  Sometimes I wonder why the Lord choose Aaron and I for this ministry.  I am so not worthy!!  I meet with my girls on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at Starbucks, Sunday night at Campaigners, and every other Monday night at club.  My girls love to stop by and talk, hang out, pray etc...  Aaron is great with his guys.  He is such a great spiritual leader.  He leads most of the bible studies on Sunday nights.  He has such a great grip on his theology.  

This summer I have 6 girls going to work at different Young Life camps all over.  Praise God!! That is amazing.  I pray on a regular basis I am leading these girls in the right direction.  I pray I am having those tough conversations when needed.  I pray I make this ministry about God and not about me.  It is amazing how this ministry has changed my life.  I finally am in a good place with my walk.  I am more confident spiritually than I have ever been.  

I do admit it has been hard at times.  Especially with a new born this year.  But these girls are so worth it.  They threw me a baby shower when I was pregnant.  They beg to babysit all the time, and they even come over just to help at night sometimes when Aaron is out of town.  I have even built relationships with their parents.  This ministry makes Mckinney such a small town.  I can't wait to see the kids grow up into amazing parents and spiritual leaders in their communities.  

Praise God for everything! Praise God for a the blessings he brings.

9 Months Old

Tyler is 9 and 1/2 months old.  He is so much fun.  He is so close to walking.  He walks all around the house on his walker.  His has started grunting.  It sounds like he is always pooping it is actually really funny.  He is finally eating great.  We give him many different types of table food.  Probably things we should not be giving him! :(  He still hasn't met a stranger.  I guess he is social like his parents.  He says BA BA BA and MA MA on occasion.  He loves balls.  He rolls them around the house and chases after them all day long.  He can also climb the stairs.  Which is so scary because he still has not learned the proper way of getting down.  Tyler loves his PAPA.  My dad comes by as much as he can and Tyler just lights up.  My dad plays with him the whole time he is with him.  My dad can't wait to take him fishing. Tyler wakes up at 5 every morning which is so rough.  I am ready to ween him. Only 2 1/2 more months.  I am counting down the days!! He loves going to play group and our church nursery.  He has some really good friends he plays with every week.  I cherish every minute with him.  He is such a blessing and an amazing addition in our lives.

On The Road Again

Tyler in Childress at the Park
My new SUV

A long day at the casinos!

One of the many cool hotels in Vegas

Aaron and I took vacation this past week. We could not decide what we wanted to do. Our child hates to sleep so we knew any real vacation was out of the question. Aaron's job just keeps getting better and better. Because he travels he has many free flights and hotel stays. So we wanted to a least get out of Dallas for a bit. So we went to the extreme. We bought a used Nissan Armada in Las Vegas and decided to drive it back and make a vacation out of it. We went back and forth trying to decide if we should go or not. Tyler hates the car and he was really sick the week before. We finally decided to make it happen. We stayed in Vegas the first night. It was really cool to see the buildings and the amazing hotels. We almosted got mugged though so we decided to take off to Flagstaff, Arizona. Aaron was so excited about going to Arizona and it ended up being really smelly and really boring. Don't try to take an 8 month old to the Grand Caynon. At that point we were focused on getting home. We had fun though. We enjoyed driving and playing stupid games like, "If you were going to be eaten by a shark, tiger, or bear, which one would it be?" You can learn a lot about someone with these types of random questions. We played games with Tyler, had picnics, and laughed a lot. So all and all our long road trip was a good vacation. But I have to say there is no place like home.

I love my health!

Wow it has been a rough week.  Tyler is sick again.  He has been sick almost every other week since Thanksgiving.  I thought breastfed babies didn't get sick!!  We have been through RSV, Colds, Stomach Viruses, Ear infections, and Teething.  I think I am going to go to school to be a pediatric nurse! (LOL) I should be an expert by now.  The hardest thing that comes with dealing with a sick baby is the worrying.  I worry about everything.  I think I have aged 10 years in the past week.  I made my first visit to the emergency room this week with Tyler.  I think the doctor thought I was a little crazy but I just needed some assurance to know Tyler was o.k.. (I know it is going to cost me crazy money for that little bit of reassurance!) My sister tells me you never stop worrying that it is just motherhood.  I have learned to appreciate the good and healthy moments. I wish there was a crazy overreactive mom hotline I could call sometimes.  Luckily I have some close friends and family that help me get through the hard times.  Everyone tells me I won't be as bad with the second one. 

The Fun Times

(He was so mad at me!)

Being a mother has been challenging but so wonderful.  Aaron travel's so it gets tough sometimes but he is such a huge help the days he is in town.  Parenthood requires a lot of team work.  We finally feel like we are getting it down.  Tyler is a little toot.  He now screams when you take things away from him.  He will pull your hand away if you are blocking him from grabbing something.  He is so fun though.  He loves the dogs and they are so put out by him.  He loves his baths and he loves to chase mom and dad around the house.  His little laugh just makes us melt. He is 8 months today and I cant believe we have made it this far.   Life without a child seems so boring.  This week we are taking a 20hr road trip and Tyler hates the car!!  Wish us luck.