Life Lately

Life lately in the new year has been a lot about learning and school around here.

Especially for my little guy.

He loves to do "school."

Personally, I like to think he loves spending one-on-one time with his mama. 😄  

Anytime he watches his beloved Paw Patrol, he's been really good about wearing his glasses.

My heart just bursts when I see his little face! 💖

He's also been amazing at wearing his eye patch on his own. No complaints now that he's older.

That face! Love this boy so much.😍

So, the reason why he wears glasses is because he's far-sighted in his left eye. In order to strengthen it, we're encouraged to patch his right eye whenever possible. After 8 years old, patching becomes ineffective so we're trying to sneak it in whenever we can.

  

Like when I let him watch phonics videos on the computer.

Traveling in style to lunch by boat!

Karen, the birthday girl is having so much fun!

Love my girlfriend, Hailey!

A lovely celebratory lunch with the ladies and a gorgeous view.

Give him all the bumpy terrain and he's a happy camper.

Your future is bright, kid!

Soaking up the amazing winter we're having in the desert!

Chop, chop, chop...

Grace wanted to get her hair cut short again. She's always been so brave when it comes to her hair!

Faith got her long hair trimmed, too. My pretty young ladies are getting so big!

Toddlers and handprints are just about the cutest thing ever.

He's actually my neatest kid so painting with him doesn't make me all crazy. 😜

He never says no to paint. Look at that joy!

We made mommy and me jellyfish.

He loves organizing and putting things in a detailed row.

His letter recognition and phonics game is superb!  

 The girls met up with Christina and Uncle Ben at Super Motorcross in Anaheim over the weekend.

 This was their 3rd year going with daddy and like always, they had a blast!

 Look at these cuddly cute cousins! 💕

 After being sick all weekend, he still beats me at matching EVERY TIME!

 Feeling better and back to school. He was so proud of writing his K's!

K is for kite!

This stopped me in my tracks. I stayed home all weekend and cleaned up throw up. I rocked a sick child at midnight and was doing laundry in the middle of the night. When I wasn't doing that, I was working with the girls on their speech events for their upcoming tournament this week. Faithfulness is what God asks of me and this was such a good reminder. Faithfulness in the mundane when no one else is watching, but Him.

I remember a time when I prayed for the things I have now. What a privilege it is to be called to care for the precious children He's given me. I love them all so much.

What is He calling you to be faithful with?

Friday Favorites

TGIF!

After being sick all week, I'm starting to feel like myself again and that's something to be thankful for! Also, I'm super grateful that it was just a cold and not the flu. #hallelujah

And so far, the only person who's been sick is me. Praise Jesus!

So, in honor of #friyay and feeling better, here are few of my favorite things lately...

   

I've posted about these before but PITAYA bowls are my new indulgence.

You know how some people go to Starbucks all the time? Well, I'm not one of those of people but I could certainly splurge on a pitaya bowl once a week!

Pitaya is dragon fruit and it's a considered a superfood. So good and good for you!

Anyone else deal with dry or frizzy hair? Especially in the winter months? I've heard so much about Argan or Moroccan Oils but was afraid to try them and spend a ton of money. I found this gem at Marshall's for less than $10 so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm so glad I did! I've been using this every day and I love it! It gives me body without frizz. It gives me shine without looking oily. It cuts down on my blow drying time and makes my hair really soft. Plus, it smells so good! Argan Magic is definitely a new favorite!    

Last year, for the first time in my life, I was told that I have dry skin. That's what living in the desert and being middle aged gets you, I guess. 😞 Winter is especially brutal. Just like my hair, I've been looking for a good day and night moisturizer. I know some of them promise wonders and cost fortunes. To be honest, I wouldn't mind paying up if I knew they would work for me but that just hasn't been the case. After doing some research, I found Cerave and I have to say, this has been the greatest find for me thus far! I noticed the difference immediately and I'm not looking back. The best part about it? You can find it at WalMart for around $10/bottle. I always wear sunscreen in the day so the AM cream is nice and after washing my face in the evening, the PM cream is very light and hydrating! SCORE!! 

  

Sunrise has got to be my favorite time of day! And a desert sunrise NEVER gets old!

Hiking with new friends is a favorite of mine, too. Bethany and I are kindred spirits, for sure.

I enjoyed my time with her so much. This women is remarkable!

I know this may sound silly but can I just tell you about my new appreciation for ice? In fact, I'm sipping on water with ICE CUBES as I type this right now. And it. is. wonderful!! For the last 3 weeks, our freezer has been broken and we just got it fixed yesterday. Quick fact about me: I like my cold drinks "extra" cold and my hot drinks "extra" hot so drinking water (even though it's cold) without ice has been a drag! I notice that I drink far less water without ice, too. Zach and I happen to love ice in our water so we've been counting down the days until the freezer got fixed. If you've travelled internationally at all, you probably already know that ice is somewhat of a luxury in many countries. I never quite appreciated that luxury FULLY until now.

God bless the USA and God bless ice! 😃

Life Lately

 So, for our neighbor's Christmas treats this year, instead of making Peppermint Fudge

(which we do every year), we changed it up and made this instead...  

 A bed of baked Saltines, melted butter, brown sugar, and chocolate morsels...

How can it NOT be good, right?

 No wonder it's called Christmas Crack!

 We also made Christmas Queso to take to our Speech and Debate Christmas Party.

It was a big hit! Nothing says party like queso, right?

Recipe by the Pioneer Woman and it could not have been any simpler. #lovethat 

 We celebrated Joshua's 12th birthday at Speech and Debate.

Even the littles came to the party that night.

They were clearly up past their bedtime. 😜

Any which way, he's adorable! 😍

Umm, one of these things does not belong. 😄

 "Look, mom! A wheelie! " 

These two were chasing hot air balloons one afternoon.

 To close out the year, we went on a hike to Ladder Canyon.

 The kids all did great!

This is Faith's favorite hike.

He's a dirt magnet. 😂 #boysanddirt

Family photo on top of the canyon.

So much fun closing out the year with our friends, the Whites!

 On the last day of the year, we finally transitioned Zach out of his crib into his toddler bed. Believe it or not, he loved his crib and although he could climb out of it no problem, he felt safe in there. We trained him to stay in it from the time we put him to bed at night to when we opened his door in the morning.

Thankfully, so far, he does the same in his toddler bed. We've had the bed for months now and thought we'd better use it before he grows out of it. I can see him in it for maybe a year?
I don't know. He's had a growth spurt lately and he's getting tall.

He's not a baby anymore. 😭

On New Year's Day, the girls and I hiked the cross while the boys stayed back and rode bikes.

 These girls were rock stars! They made it to the top without even stopping once.

 My hiking buddies. 💕

 We met some friends at the top.

 I loved spending time with just the two of them!

Afterwards, we treated ourselves to a healthy lunch of pitaya and acai bowls. #soyummy

 He loves to paint.

My little artist.

Too bad he has no personality. #kidunderwearmodel 😁

 This is his happy face because he's going to the skate park with dad.
Looking like such a big kid, too!

My boy. My heart. 💗

Jammin' in his jammies.

Mama finally got her hair cut. Maybe I will actually wear it down now?

But who has time to blow dry? 🙈 

Starting off the new year right with all my ammunition.

#oneyearbible #jesustodaydevotional #coffee

So that's it. Bits of last year combined with the first week of this year.

I love how our year ends and begins with a hike!

Such a metaphor for life, isn't it? We just keep taking one step at a time.

We're slowing making our way back into our full schedule which officially starts next week.

And full it will be!

  

2018, we're coming for you!