5 on Friday!

Welcome to another edition of 5 on Friday...AKA Elyse's Baby Book AKA Week in Review AKA the only fairly consistent blogging I can accomplish!  

1.  Last Saturday we had a joint family party for my two nephews who both celebrate birthdays in October.  Elyse LOVES her cousins...especially Jackson who is 5.  I mean she LOVES them!  This was the best photo I could get of the three of them and I really thought Elyse was being sassy with her face...but stay tuned...

2.  I am having such a HARD time controlling myself with all the cute fall stuff out for Elyse, Old Navy & Target have been my saving grace this year when it comes to both play clothes and dressier stuff.  I couldn't hardly handle Elyse's cuteness on Sunday so I requested a quick photo shoot...thankfully she obliged for a photo not only with momma, but one with daddy too!  

3. Yesterday it was BEAUTIFUL outside so we spent 2 hours in the morning at the park with my bestie and her little boy who is a year older than Elyse.  After a shorter than expected nap, I decided to break out my non-existent crafty genes and let Elyse paint some pumpkins.  I added some painters tape in various spots just to give them some personality...and Elyse LOVED this project!  I'm already brainstorming what we can paint for Christmas using a similar technique.  

Oh, and see that face down below...pretty similar to the one in the first picture above right?!?  Yeah...apparently that's what I get now when I ask Elyse to smile, so this is her "fake grin."  Lovely.

The finished product after I removed the tape!

4.  And just to show you that it's not always perfect in our house...this was the response I got when I said "no" to more paint and took the paint away.  I stood her in the floor and she literally stood there and posed for a good 2-3 minutes, crying and screaming as I snapped away.  A good crying fit is always camera-worthy!

5. And in operation "ba" removal...the pacifiers are gone.  We haven't officially thrown them out, but at our house she hasn't slept with one or asked for one in nearly a week.  While I'm certainly glad that I don't have to break out my go-go-gadget arms to retrieve them from underneath her crib before bedtime each night, it's also a little sad that my little baby girl continues to grow up into a big independent girl.  However, I'm super happy that weaning her from them went so smoothly....clipping the ends worked WONDERS for us!

Happy Weekend everyone, hope you have some fun Fall activities planned!

10 Years Later ~ The Smartie Pants & The Golfer

It was on this day 10 years ago, that an unsuspecting but excited college girl and a laid-back college golfer had some mutual friends plan a dinner solely for the purpose of setting the two of them up.  10 years ago, that girl ate dinner with her friends and the golfer, but then had to leave for a couple of hours due to a prior obligation.  However, she was counting the moments until she could head back to her friends and meet up with them for an evening of bowling (yes, we were all rebels!)  10 years ago, that girl, the golfer, and their friends said their goodbyes...but the night didn't end there.  Going against everything she had ever been taught, but listenng to everything in her heart, that girl invited the golfer over to her apartment to keep talking and to get to know one another.  The golfer ended up leaving only in time to catch the bus for a practice round of a golf tournament he was scheduled to play in that day. 

 And...the rest is history.

While Hubby & I had met each other a few years earlier, it wasn't until the 21st Birthday party of a mutual friend that it was decided we should meet and be introduced.  I wasn't in attendance for the party, but I still remember this voicemail I received after coming home from a Campus Crusade retreat.  It was my fairly intoxicated friend who said in some form or fashion..."Hey Lauren, we've got a friend that we want to set you up with!"  I honestly didn't think anything would ever come of that voicemail...but thank goodness my friends actually followed through with their plans! 

I truly can't believe that we've been together for 10 years.  When God brought us together, I had basically decided to take a small break from guys hoping that God would provide my sky-dropper...someone who basically just fell out of they sky and was perfect for me.  And honestly...I believe that God provided just that. While it hasn't ALL been sunshine and roses, it has been a pretty incredible 10 years and I can't wait to see what the next 10 years will hold for us. 

In the past 10 years we've...

*Grown up just a little bit from those naive college students and have reached our 30s!
*Travelled a ton...from Michigan to Charleston, SC to Florida to Colorado to the Caribbean to Hawaii...we've had lots of road trips and LOTS of memories. 

*Been through wisdom teeth removal, a broken leg, and a skin cancer removal...all for Hubby.  Just FYI, Hubby is NOT a good patient...but he's getting better!
*Spent many nights watching various sporting events...St. Louis Cardinals, Michigan Wolverines, & of course, golf...just to name a few. 

*Celebrated many birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and graduations with new family & friends. 
*Developed some wonderful "couple friends"...some of whom we knew before meeting and some we've met since becoming a couple. 

*Said our vows in front of a couple hundred family & friends & then travelled on an amazing honeymoon that will hopefully be recreated one day! 
*Moved into a house that we are happy to call our home and haven't moved again...yet.   

*Joined a church that we LOVE and have found a fabulous place to call our church home. 
*Increased our family size from 2 to 3 by becoming parents to the most wonderful little girl. 
*Started to work together, in the same office, and our relationship has lived to tell about it! 

Over the last decade, we've become best friends, lovers, co-workers, parents, partners in crime, shoulders to cry on, and so much more...I can't even wait to see what the next decade holds for us!

5 on Friday!

Well, it's time again for another 5 on Friday with some fabulous ladies!  Head on over to check out all the fun!  Everyone else seems to be doing it! I should really just rename this...5 random things about Elyse, because she's pretty much our whole world! 

 

 

1.  Since we came home from our Florida vacation, I have been a mean momma and took away Elyse's morning nap. Up until yesterday morning she has either been at my mom's or I've made plans to help her make it through without it at home...but yesterday was our first full morning AT HOME and I was a little scared.  However, we had LOTS of playtime and she did so great!  I'm honestly going to love the flexibility of not having to worry about being around for morning naptime!

2.  And on another mean momma note, this happened last Wednesday. 

Yup, we cut off just a small amount of the end of Elyse's pacifiers and limited her to two of them.  Honestly, I have been SO incredibly pleased with the results.  The first day was a little rough, but she honestly doesn't even ask for them anymore except for at bedtime...and even then she basically treats them as a lovey and doesn't really want them in her mouth.  Some families can do cold turkey...but this option worked well for us and I can see us throwing them all away within the next week. 

 

3.  This week is Boutique Week in Southwest MO which means that participating boutiques are offering 25% off your entire purchase!  Elyse, my mom, & I hit up some of our favorite stores on Wednesday morning and I scored some great fall tunics, a new scarf, and two new pair of basic leggings.  I picked up the purse yesterday on an impromptu shopping trip that I wasn't expecting to have! 

 

 4.  Yeah, so that impromptu shopping trip...the result of me becoming my mother.  I had a hair appointment scheduled for yesterday afternoon--cut, color, eyebrows--the works!  Only to realize as I was driving to the salon that my appointment was actually at noon and not at 1 as I had thought!  UGHHH!!!  I had even made arrangements for my mom to keep Elyse so I could have my hair day.  So frustrating!  Thankfully, they could get me in next week!  So...instead of going home to take a nap, I went and hit up another boutique, bought a new fall purse, and also came home to whip up these yummy muffins!  Chocolate Chip Pumpkin muffins...YUM!  Thanks Ashley for the amazing recipe!

5. And the last one is simply a shout-out to my amazing mom.  Hubby & I are truly so blessed to have my momma for Elyse's babysitter.  And not only that, but earlier this week they mentioned that they would like a sleep-over sometime soon with Elyse.  So...last night Elyse just stayed with them which gave us a spontaneous date night!  We just grabbed dinner and a movie and were still in bed by ten, but the fact that we have Elyse's grandparents so nearby and that they actually request to spend time with her--even after all the babysitting they do for us anyway--is such an incredible blessing and one that I truly never want to take for granted! 

Happy Friday girls!  Have a fabulous weekend! 

Destin, FL ~ Part 2

So....nothing like having a week between vacation updates...but a certain little almost-2 year old has been keeping us uber-busy!

The rest of our week really wasn't much different than the first part...wake up, eat breakfast, beach time, lunch, beach time/nap time, dinner out...my idea of a perfect beach vacation! So...enjoy another picture overloaded post as I try and include some of my favorites from the week!

Elyse did find lots of ways to entertain herself in our condo...including the mirror that covered one wall in the dining area.  She LOVED playing peekaboo with the little girl in the mirror!  ha!

Peek-a-Boo!

Smiles!

Double-chin frown!

Oh my we are IN TROUBLE!!!  Check out that hip action and flirty grin!

She looks SO big here!

Squinty-eyed from the bright sun & snotty nosed!

View from our condo to the right...

...& to the left!

So thankful that she was willing to wear her hat and sunglasses most days!  

Feeding the birds with daddy!

Momma toes, Baby toes, & Daddy toes

Sunset perfection!

My fabulous parents

Oh how blessed I am with our family of 3!

Elyse with her Papa & Gigi

I just love beach sunsets!

Having popsicles with momma!

Our last afternoon on the beach

One of our favorite places!

A group picture

She was incredibly set on giving Papa the what-for!

Thanks Mom & Dad for all the help on the trip!

 Hubby did decide to break out his fearless side and chose to zip-line in the dark on our last evening...he didn't really consult with me to let me know that this also included a 100 ft free fall from the top of this tower! I think next time we'll have a bit more of a discussion before he makes such a crazy decision!

Overall I honestly could not have asked for a better family vacation for 2013. The weather was beautiful, the water was mostly clean--except for some jellyfish the first day, and some yucky June grass at the end.  However, it was just what I needed to recharge my batteries for the upcoming crazy holiday season!  We're already dreaming of our vacation next year & how much fun it will be !

Don't Forget to Pack Your Tambourine!

Early last week I received an unexpected phone call from my sister-in-law, Hubby's sister, Lauren (yes, her name is also Lauren--there's more to that story, not sure if I've ever shared it, but it's for another time) and she had a last minute proposition for me:  she was travelling with a group of ladies to see Beth Moore in Tulsa and one of the ladies had a family emergency come up and wouldn't be able to attend...did I want to go?!?  My initial thought was...YES! What a fun opportunity! Quickly followed by NO! Because that is totally out of my comfort zone.  But in the end...YES!!!  After some urging from Hubby to go for it and also permission from my boss aka Dad to go...I called my dear SIL back and said I was in.  So...on Friday I met up at her house with her & 4 other ladies and we began the trip to Tulsa for a quick getaway.  

Oh, and before I go any further, I should probably mention one more tiny little detail...so the drummer for Travis Cottrell, Beth Moore's long-time worship leader?  Yeah, the drummer is my first cousin and basically my older brother!!!  Which of course gave me all the more reason to step out of my comfort zone and get myself to Tulsa!

The view from our seats...stage is to the right of the drummer aka my cousin!

We grabbed some lunch and did some shopping before checking into our hotel.  And...as one of the main perks of knowing someone in the band, my cousin was able to arrange for our group, 10 of us in total, to have reserved seats on the first and second rows! Talk about a connection!  This was so huge because it meant that we didn't HAVE to be there standing in line waiting for the doors to open to get decent seats.

Our reserved seat signs!

My cousin rocking it out and praising God!  

We had wonderful seats and I was able to witness my cousin be a part of God's incredible work through Beth Moore & her Living Proof Live series.  After the Friday night session I was also able to meet up with my cousin the drummer & his brother--obviously also my cousin, and just have some great quality time with them...and I honestly couldn't tell you the last time we had that--if ever.  I'm a little bummed I didn't get a picture of them--but we were all a little worn out after a long day!  Needless to say, it was one of the highlights of the trip!

Oh, and in addition to seeing my cousins & getting to hear Beth Moore for the first time...I ran into, and of course had to snap a picture of two of my favorite bloggers!  Megan from Tale of the Trees--I seriously have been reading her blog since before I even started blogging & can I just say she is just as precious in person as she is on her blog?  We literally only talked for like 2 minutes, but oh how I wish we could have hung out longer!

And then Ashley from The Vanilla Tulip, who actually was a real-life friend before we found each other's blogs!  She is an absolutely gorgeous momma of 4 who seriously warms my heart and it made my day to see her not once but twice in the gigantic auditorium full of 7700 people!

Besides having the wonderful opportunity to catch up with my cousins & meet some dear friends, I also got to hear some pretty stinkin' powerful words from God as Beth spoke about the story of Miriam, Moses' older sister, and her incredibly important role in the story of Moses & the Israelites.  There were so many incredible pieces of information shared by Beth, but maybe one of the most important ones was this...

"When faith takes you on a journey, don't forget to pack your tambourine!"

You see, after Moses lead the Israelites across the Red Sea, he broke out into a song and Miriam then repeated a chorus of that song when she led a group of ladies in dancing with her tambourine.  When they fled Egypt, it wasn't a slow process.  They didn't have time to just pack up everything they wanted to...they were focused on getting the heck out of dodge, as quickly as possible!  So...why would a woman take time to pack a tambourine, unless she EXPECTED God to do something that was worth celebrating?!?  

Beth's point, and really just one point of many great ones...was that I should always pack my tambourine because I never know when I might have one of those moments when I need to break out and praise God for what he's doing!  

My dear SIL, Hubby's sister,---the two Lauren's!  

Without boring you all to tears with all the incredible nuggets of wisdom I gained from this weekend, let me just say that it was totally a God thing for me to go...and he definitely used this weekend to speak some wisdom into me that I have been needing to hear for a long time. And of course, knowing someone who could hook us up with some fabulous seats wasn't all that shabby either!