November

It is hard to believe November is here! We have been just hanging out at home the past few weeks with a few visitors in between.

The past few weeks I have been trying to to do some fun activities with the boys at home. First, we tried a bubble bath toy car wash which the boys loved. Carter loved it because all of his precious cars got washed and Tucker loved it because of the bubbles. There was lots of water and bubbles everywhere, but thankfully it was an easy clean up. Tucker also thought it would be fun to eat the bubbles because he still to this day puts everything in his mouth. Next, we tried to make some edible finger paint. It was super easy and fun as well! Carter's favorite color right now is blue, so we got some food gel and dyed some plain yogurt blue and then they pretty much went to town. It started out so clean and really using just their fingers to paint, but then of course got a little crazy. Carter started clapping with the "paint" and taking whole handfuls of it, so of course little brother followed right along. We ended it after we ran out, oh and when Tucker decided to start painting his body. Nothing is really fun without a mess, so it was so fun to see them so excited about it. Oh and the best part was it was edible, so plenty was eaten as well! 

That first weekend in November we tried out the nature center in town. It was small, but lots of snakes, turtles, reptiles, and animals for the boys to see. They loved the big huge turtles the most! Bret got out of work early that Saturday, so it was so great for him to come with us. Right behind the nature center is a lake in town, so we walked over there after and the boys threw rocks and sticks in the water which is always so fun for them. 

This past week we have had lots of visitors come through which we LOVE! Our camp friends happened to be in town this week recruiting at San Angelo State, so we were able to host them while they were here Thursday night! Anna, Cole and Chief have been friends of ours since we started working at camp back in the day, so it was so fun to hang out and catch up with them! Our boys loved having friends over as well! We were sad to see them go after a night! 

This weekend my family came into town! My mom, my brother Frankie, and my sister Angie all drove in Friday night! Right away my mom had special surprises for the boys. They both got new spiderman pajamas which they wore all weekend long AND a new truck and motorcycle. Our boys are so loved that is for sure. Friday night we just had dinner here at the house and hung out and played all night. They came on such a perfect weekend because the weather was BEAUTIFUL. Earlier this week we had freezing temperatures, but this weekend was 75 degrees and beautiful so we spent so much time outside playing. Saturday morning we went to feed the ducks down by the river and walked around for a little bit. Carter also wanted to take off his training wheels and try to ride his bike without them, so we tried that as well. He did great for his first time! We went up to Bret's store for lunch and after that morning we ALL came home and crashed for nap time. That afternoon we played soccer outside and then all went to dinner that evening in town. The boys loved having Itsy and Aunt Angie and Uncle Frank here. Frank and Tucker had this funny "da" thing that they did all weekend which was hilarious. Carter was spiderman all weekend and our boys just keep us laughing with their funny sayings they come up with everyday. Tucker's newest words are "what you doing" or "my turn" or "give it back" or will say "mmm mmm mm" and pretend like he is eating your arm (ha) or our family favorite: I wubba! Which Bret was saying this week how he already says it better now:( sad day for sure.  He can pretty much just repeat anything now. It is so fun and awesome. Carter is just so smart and growing up way too fast. If you say something and he agrees now he will say "Si, Si, Si" in spanish which makes his daddy so happy because Bret wants him to learn spanish. Carter still loves going to school and loves his teacher Mrs. Amy. He also talks a lot about music class at school as well. He loves our church we go to here and always asks when school and church are. Well, he pretty much asks where we are going everyday. He is just Mr. Social and loves to go places and be around people. 

Thankful for where we are and for all we have. Bret's store here is always so busy as usual, but he has been able to hire some great people lately and it is going well. We will be heading to Grams house the week after next for Thanksgiving and can't wait to see all of our family there!

Cleaning our cars

….and eating the bubbles

Wanted to wear brother's PJ's

Whoa!

Turtles at the nature center

Finger painting fun

getting a little crazy

and both hands now

and now painting our body

Nap time with Itsy

Spiderman and Tucker's "da"

Sweet boys

New PJ's and motorcycle

T wanted to ride the bike too

Feeding the ducks

walking with Angie and Frank

Throwing rocks in the lake

End of October

These last few weeks in October have been really fun with all the fall festivals and activities going on at Carter's school. They had a festival across the street from our house at the Concho River Park with a bunch of bounce houses, games and a petting zoo I took the boys to one weekend. Bret met us there after he got off of work and he had so much fun pulling Carter in the slingshot one and Carter never wanted to leave. He probably said something like "I very want to stay here." Since he hasn't learned the word really yet he says,"I very miss you" or "I very want to____" all the time. It is pretty cute though.

The next week Tucker and I got to go with Carter to his field trip to the pumpkin patch. It is fun to watch him in "school" and how we interacts with his teacher and classmates. I am so proud of him and how well he is doing in school. The pumpin patch was fun for the boys and we ended up getting a pumpkin later that day because the boys loved them. Bret carved us our "monkey Jack-O-Lantern" as Carter called it and I will have to say it was a pretty great pumpkin!

This past week was Halloween and Carter had a Peek-a-boo path at school that he walked around and got tons of candy from. He definitely caught on very fast that everyone was passing out candy. He was one of the first ones through the whole path:) That boy loves him some candy. Thursday was actually Halloween and a church in town had a big fall festival that I took the boys to. It was perfect for them. Not too big and overwhelming, but fun games, bounce houses, and lots of candy to win! Carter was buzz lightyear this year and Tucker was our little fireman. Tucker, oh I cannot believe how much that kid is growing up. He is talking so much. Our favorite thing he says right now is "I wubba" When we say "I love you" to him that is what he says back. It is so great. We make him say it all the time. He can say so many words now and phrases like "give it back", "I want to see", "toothbrush", "watch a show", "chocolate milk or regular milk", "apple and Juice", I just can't believe how big he is getting. He will get his buddies and say "get in bed" when he is tired. He LOVES doing puzzles so much right and still loves to read his books. Carter and him have been playing together so much more lately. They love jumping on anything or off anything together. Pushing dump trucks around together or digging in the dirt, but its just so fun to see them interact and play with one another so much.

Grams also came in this past week which was so fun for everyone to have her here. The boys love it so much when she comes to visit. She played and played with the boys and Bret and I even got to go out on a date night. She helped me so much this week because I had hair cut appt, dentist, and dr. appt. We have a new doctor here in San Angelo and I got to meet her last week for my first appointment and everything sounded great at the doctor. The baby's heartbeat was around 140-150. It is hard to believe I will be starting the third trimester this week! Only 12 more weeks till we get to meet this little one. We cannot wait!

This past weekend was so much fun! Bret had to go pick up something in Abilene(about an hour and a half away) for his store, so the boys and I went with him and made a day of it at the Abilene zoo! It was  a gorgeous day for the zoo and such a fun zoo to visit! We loved seeing the giraffes, monkeys, fish, jaguars, lions, and cougars. The boys loved the raccoon and hawk too! It was a blast! Carter had the map the whole time so he navigated our way around the park for us which was fun! We got to go eat at Jason's Deli afterwards which I have most definitely missed! Love that place!

Today was Sunday and that is always our favorite day because we know Bret is home all day! Bret took the boys to the train park this morning and to get donuts! Kinda a family tradition here now to get donuts and go see the trains. I got to have the house to myself for a little while so got to clean which was great! During naps I went and ran some errands and got to just go around town by myself! We go to church here on Sunday evenings which we have really enjoyed and are so grateful we got plugged in with the 456. It has been such a blessing to be apart of that church.

Bret has had a lot of turnover these past few weeks at the store so we are praying God would bring some great workers and quickly for him during these busy holiday months! It is crazy to me that it is November now and we are starting month 8 of this process! November 1st marked four years for us in this CFA journey. We have been so blessed these past four years to have met the most incredible people and in the ways God has provided for us. I cannot wait to see what year five brings!

Our Monkey jack-o-lantern

Buzz and Our fireman

Fall Festival fun

Abilene Zoo

Looking at the fish

Tucker and Daddy

Family Pic at the zo

Checking out the jaguar

Abilene Zoo

Train park

Train park

Field trip to pumpkin patch

God is good

I always feel like so much has happened over the past few weeks every time I sit down to write anything down. Let's start first with the really exciting news! My baby sister is married and the wedding was perfect and we had a blast at the wedding! It was the perfect weekend full of seeing so many people we love, our family, and just celebrating Ana and John Michael. We all left San Angelo Thursday afternoon, and got into Houston that evening. The boys were amazing in the car and we didn't even have to stop the whole five and a half hours!

Friday morning we all went to the doctor together for my 24 week appointment and everything is still looking great with the baby! Heartbeat was around 164 and it picked up right when they put it on my belly! After that, the boys went and hung out at my mom's house for the morning while Bret had to run some errands and I went with all the bridesmaids to get our nails done. After that, Bret went to lunch with the guys in Houston and I went to Ana's bridal luncheon while the boys took naps before the rehearsal dinner. We had to wake Carter up from his nap(which was a BAD idea) to go to the rehearsal so he was grumpy for the rehearsal at the chapel, but my mom and sister gave them new awesome backpacks filled with goodies so they were really excited after that! The rehearsal dinner was at saltgrass steakhouse and it was so fun to have all our family there and see everyone! We were all so tired after that evening I think we all four fell asleep early that evening!

Saturday morning was a lot more relaxed, and we just got to hang out all morning until I left at noon to get hair and make up done with all the bridesmaids. Bret was in charge of the boys and getting them to the church and he had them looking awesome and I could not have done it without him! And honesely when it comes to dressing our kids up, he is WAY better at that than me. We took pictures before the wedding and had the boys snacks(lollipops and m&m's) so they were very content while waiting to walk down the aisle. I will have to say I was a little nervous about them making it down the aisle, but they both did incredible. In typical Carter fashion he ran down the aisle, while Tucker was definitely more hesitant, but he did follow behind with his lollipop in hand:) The chapel they got married in was beautiful and the ceremony was perfect. After that, we took LOTS more pictures and then headed off to the reception at the Waterway Marriot. The reception was amazing. It was beautiful and we had a blast there. There was lots of dancing, great food, and just so much fun seeing people we grew up with and just so many wonderful people who love Ana and John Michael. Thankfully, our friends were able to take Tucker home with them around eight because he was wiped, but Carter stayed with us all night and he was having the time of his life. Im pretty sure he danced and played with his cousin Christopher all evening. The next morning he was sleeping so hard we had to wake him up for church or else he might of slept till noon. It was all such a perfect celebration and an incredible weekend!

Sunday morning we went to church, and got to go eat after with all of our old community group which was great! Bret was leaving in the morning for recurrent training in Atlanta, so it was so great to just have a laid back day. The boys and I stayed in Houston that week till Wednesday just seeing friends and family and headed back to San Angelo on Wednesday afternoon. Bret came home Thursday night late and it was great to all be back together as always!

These past few weeks we thought lots of changes were coming again, but we received news on Friday that all of that had fallen through and we would be staying in San Angelo for awhile again. Three or so weeks ago Bret was selected to lead a team to open the first CFA in Canada, which was such exciting news that he had been chosen to lead this team and more so what a great opportunity for him. We thought initially it would just be a three week commitment and then it turned into months, so the current plan the past few weeks had been for us to move to Houston while he was traveling through November and December. Long story short, the opening kept getting moved back and back and so with us having a baby in January, Bret was taken off the team and will be kept here in San Angelo with our original plan. It was pretty shocking news to us on Friday after weeks of planning to get ready to move again and then another change. Lots of emotions(mostly from me:)) followed, but I have had a lot of time to talk with Bret over the past few days and in the end this will be best. More than anything we get to stay together and that is what is always best for our family. I think it is very humbling to always have decisions constantly changing and at any time really it can change, but ultimately it keeps us where we need to be. Trusting in Jesus for every moment of each day. We were never promised easy and honestly nothing in this life is about us anyways. It is all and always has been about Jesus. So if that means constant changes to get to the end of this then I will stand by Bret until the very end. We believe this is what we are supposed to be doing. We are learning so much and we can only hope and pray we continue to grow and pray for it to help us as we move forward and continue to keep our eyes on Him. So, after a hard few days, God is still good. Circumstances or anything in our life will never ever change that. I am so thankful for a God that is always the same and who loves us despite of the multiple times daily we fall short. To Him be the glory on each day of this journey.

The boys at the rehearsal dinner

Sweet boy

Probably the best we got at the wedding

My married sister:)

These boys played hard at the wedding!

Knocked out the morning after the wedding!

nap time like an old man

Oh Tucker's face

riding the sheep

At the dr with my boys

hot chocolate after fall festival

He loves it!

Home in San Angelo

I have always been blown away by how God takes cares of the littlest of details in your life. These past few weeks it has been mind blowing to me. First, about a week and a half ago we moved out of the hotel and into a house!! I mean after living in 4 apartments and 5 hotels over the past six months, now being in a house is amazing. We have three bedrooms and three bathrooms and a yard for the boys to play in!! It is right across the street from an awesome park and river. It could not be more perfect, especially since last week we found out we will be here until February or maybe longer. Such a HUGE blessing. Not only that, but being 22 weeks pregnant now we are able to find a doctor here and not have to worry about where we will be to have this baby. ALSO, we were able to find a great Mother's Day program for Carter to go to on Tuesday and Thursdays that he loves. He loves going to school and it is such a fun time to have one on one time with Tucker those mornings. God has just been providing for us in such huge ways. Bret has been getting such incredible feedback from people at the corporate office and this week he was even asked to lead the opening of the first international Chick Fil A opening in Canada. So very proud of him and can't wait to see how that unfolds in December. God is so good. Even when it may seem hard. Even when circumstance look hopeless. He is always good. Regardless of all the amazing ways He has provided for us, He is always good.

The weather here in San Angelo has still been amazing. We have multiple dirt piles around our yard that the boys love to dig in and drive their tractors, trucks and pull buckets of sand around in. Bret's parents also came in this past weekend and were able to bring with them all of our boys outside toys. Score for our boys. Their lawnmowers, shovels, gator and all the toys they have loved outside are now back with them! yay!! It sure does make me so happy to see them get to just play and play in our own yard for hours and hours. We had a great weekend with Bret's family and it is such a blessing for us to have so much room for them to come and stay with us.

Amy and her two youngest also came into this week which made the week perfect with a full house of friends and family all week. We had so much fun with them showing them around town, going to the park, our kids playing endless hours outside in the sand, and just having so much fun together.

Our weekday routine consists of usually going to store on Mondays and getting things done around the house, Tuesday we take Carter to school and then Tucker and I head to bible study, Wednesday we meet up with some friends from church for a playdate, Thursday, Carter goes back to school and Tucker and I go eat breakfast with daddy and run some errands, and Friday our friend Kara comes over to hang out. It is so incredible to me how quickly we have been able to plug in and feel apart of this town. I am so incredible grateful for that. Weekends Bret tries to work shorter days on Saturdays so we can see him most of that day and then Sunday we are always together(our fave day of the week)

September has ended up being a great month and we have so much to look forward to this fall. My sister Ana is getting married in two weeks, so we will get to head to Houston for that! Cannot wait to watch her walk down the aisle and to see our little guys all dressed up as the ring bearers. I am sure that is what our next post will be about. We tried on the boys full attire today and it made me so excited! So much to look forward to!

Lollipops after church

Tucker and I while C is at school

Sunday morning

Coldfront!

OH you know playing in my mascara

Carter at school!

first day of school and new house!

Fun cars at the park by our house

Morning chocolate milk

Cheese:)