austin, tx

me and the kids went to austin a couple of weeks ago.  we left at naptime on thursday and got there in time to play out back all afternoon.  it was a quick trip...we headed home to daddy at naptime on friday, with tired, sweaty kids that were so happy to have spent time with cousins and bridge + dustin.

i was pregnant or nursing for 4 years and 10 months...from january 2008 until october 2012.  seriously. to type that seems unreal.  needless to say, i have been learning how to live and mother and eat and socialize and road trip! all over again... now that my entire body is not nurturing another human life.   my newest nephew, lucero, was born on november 1st.  i got to meet him when he was just a couple of days old.  BUT shame on me, my kids had not met him yet.  i came to my senses and squeezed us all in a room at bridge + dustins.  it was awesome.  what took me so long to get down there?!

My girls were obsessed with their job of caring for sweet baby Lucero.  

Flora went into "help" mode.  and look at sweet walker perched on that ball. 

 austin is the perfect city for bridget.  she is her best self there!  

and dustin is the perfect mate for bridget.  she is her best self with him!

we love you bridget and dustin.

please look at her muscular-toned-jen-aniston arms.  apparently this is what your arms will look like when you tote a 5 month old who is bigger than my 16 month old.

Flora's face here does not convey her TOTAL love for Lucero.  She seriously gets to thinking about him and looks off in the distance all starry-eyed...it is precious. 

 

thanks for having us bridget and dustin and leica and lucero.  we love you so much!

the year of the dinner

i decided that 2013 was the year of the dinner!  ok...so my family decided that they would continue to want to eat dinner every single night and so i decided that i wanted to get really good at dinner.  i want george to say this christmas that i fed him well all year...tasty, healthy, real food.  and the occasional keller's hamburger :) which is amazing too.

5 o'clock is a bad time to think about whats for dinner.  have i said that before?  its true.  it makes me crazy.  it makes my kids extra hungry and extra crazy.  i want to plan and prepare and get really good at dinner this year!

two nights ago, i cooked a spaghetti squash in the microwave and served it with meat and tomato sauce.  it was good.  no one was crazy about it.  george wasnt that into spaghetti squash in general.  but it filled peoples tummies.

i had a ton of spaghetti squash left over and wanted to figure out how to make it delicious.  where everyone would love it!  lick their plates.  and what do you know? when you follow a recipe...people like what you cook.  i followed this recipe and it was amazing.  my people licked their plates.   george took all of the leftovers to work today and declared that he would be eating it before his 1st period class even got in the room.  i love that!

i served it with the best broccoli of your life and it really is the best.  i do this recipe's method of roasting vegetables at least 4 times a week.  always with different combos...broccoli and cauliflower or sweet potato fries or bell peppers or carrots.  yum yum.  the citrus really makes it so yummy!  i buy the bag of broccoli/cauliflower florets already ready for you which makes it super easy.

wildflower flora with her bed head hair

new years eve at the creek house

God made a mother

i had a big (fun awesome freeing) weekend of celebrating my sweet sister-in-love Val's 30th birthday.

and the kids had a big weekend with all of their cousins in wichita falls.  so i missed most of the super bowl and all of its commercials and beyonce's amazing halftime show because i was getting children to bed on time.  we all needed our rest!  

one of the only commercials i saw was the "God made a farmer" dodge commercial.  wasnt it good?  well, take a few minutes and go read ann voskamp's post about God made a mother.  so good too.  

while i was making dinner last night, i peeked into the playroom to see walker had taken the crib, rocking chair, and baby from the dollhouse and was hugging the baby and rocking the baby and putting the baby in the crib.  i will never forget it.  she sees me being a mother, hugging my babies...rocking my babies... and caring for them.  and so she does it too.  it was beautiful.  at 15 months old, bald and toddling, walker watches me and learns how to be a mother one day.  i love this job.  hardest thing i have ever done, but also so much fun and so overwhelmingly good.

"i feel ecstatic all day."

george and i watched a documentary on netflix last night called jiro dreams of sushi.  

it was a captivating yet simple story and had a beautiful soundtrack.

the cinematography was so excellent that it made the rows and rows of huge tuna fish at the japanese fish market look interesting.

what was so awesome was jiro's attitude towards his craft of making sushi.  he is 85 years old.  owns and runs the best sushi restaurant in the world and said,

"i feel ecstatic all day.

i love making sushi.

thats the spirit of the shokunin (sushi chef.)"

 what if that was my mantra?
what is that is how i thought about my job?
"i feel ecstatic all day, i love staying home and raising these children.  that is the spirit of the mother."
fill in the blank... with whatever your job or task or craft is.

i am learning that my heart and my feelings (and then my words and actions) will follow what i think about.  so if i complain and think about the sorry side of things, then that is what will come out of my mouth.  complaints.  arguments.  self-pity.  selfishness.  crap really.

but if i remind myself of all that is true and right and pure and lovely, then my attitude changes to JOY!  and the look on my face is a SMILE!  and the words out of my mouth are COMFORTING!  and my spirit is LOVING!  what a discipline...to train my mind and control my attitude.  it is hard.  but it is good.

who knew...all of that from a movie about sushi?!

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." philipians 4:8

bowling

before george and i left for san diego, we took our little party of 5 on a family date.  

 i love these photos of river.  so excited.

 still jumping

san diego

missy and justin got married in beautiful san diego on december 29th.  thank you for inviting us missy!  it was such a wonderful weekend.  you are such a beautiful bride.

now...we hadnt been on a trip just the two of us in THREE YEARS...

back when we had just ONE CHILD... seriously, shame on us.  

and it was such a celebration!  a precious and sacred union of two lovebirds, 

held at the beautiful church at university of san diego 

followed by a super fun cocktail hour

 oh the happy bride!  captivating!  lovely!  beautiful missy, inside and out...look at her glowing!

and then a decadent meal.  and then the best dj and the best night of dancing i have ever had.  amazing! so much to celebrate!  (ok...somehow i didnt end up with any photos of justin)

congratulations to missy and justin!

it was really such a wonderful weekend.  with wonderful friends.

and our favorite place:  the beach

oh ocean, we love you so.

holding a hula-hoop because i actually cannot hula-hoop

7 months pregnant whitney hula-hooping.  work it girl

for christmas, i got george and me surf lessons.  it was so fun.  

george declared it the best present ever.  

san diego surf school.  at pacific beach.  our instructor, stephen, was so great.  

he did all the hard work for me and i just held on and laughed hysterically and then tried to stand up amidst the fury of the ocean.  

san diego.  we love you.