cupcakes, haircuts & lollipops

first, we made cupcakes. the kids licked the cupcake beaters. johnathan had been enjoying some (baked) cheetos before indulging in the cake batter.

then type-a mom let three year old and one year old "decorate" cupcakes.

julia stayed clean. johnathan didn't.

then we left to get their first haircuts. julia had a trim-ish type thing years ago. but she was sitting in her stroller and it was done on the fly by my hair stylist friend. so i don't count it.

johnathan was uncertain the whole time and didn't like that cutting thing boys get behind the ears. dad held him tight. i took footage.

julia just got a trim, but still looks like a big big girl to me. and johnathan got that long on top, long in back, long all over hair cut (thank god!). jason loved it and didn't want to get it cut (he called it soccer hair!). he definitely looks older. he had his first lollipop after and loved every minute of it.

we got hair locks for their (to be started one day) baby books.

ahhh, i love my kids!

pics i took of the kiddos tonight

i feel cheated on...

...we had a couple looking at our house all last week. they came THREE different times, the last with like 6 other people...one was even equipped with a measuring tape, measuring the width of our garage and everything.

((how do i know this? because we spy from across the street during showings, don't you?!))

anyhoo, we were on the edge of our seats waiting to hear back from them thinking that if they're in our house three times for no less than 30 minutes each time, they are ready to make us an offer. the news is:

they. decided. to. go. with. a. new. build!!!

my stomach turns thinking about it. i'm quite upset. i feel like they cheated on us. don't they know our house is amazing? it's better than the other girl, i mean the other house. yah it's 10 years old, but it has character and a small toy room and a gas fireplace and great neighbors (on both sides!). you can't find those things with a new build!

i guess i'm just sick of it. sick sick sick of it. well, i'm sick of everything besides the house being immaculate every single day. nonetheless i'm just sick of the unknown. i want to know where i'm going to live, when i'm going to live there and when i can pull out my grammy's wing back chair out of storage and use it again. i want to leave my towels hanging on the towel bar again for a day and i wouldn't mind having the toaster back out on the counter again.

and i know all the spiritual answers you're thinking to give me right now.

i KNOW the lord just hasn't brought the right, sweet, incredible, gonna be great neighbors to my great neighbors, amazing young couple with one point two kids and possibly a dog...to our neighborhood yet!

i KNOW the lord has great plans for us in his timing.

i KNOW the lord is in control.

i KNOW it was just not meant to be.

look, i KNOW all these things and yet i'm still upset.

so, to the people who cheated on us: i hope you enjoy your new house with no character and mean neighbors. it just means that the lord has something better for us. just love your NEW house as much as we love this one. make a home of it, like we have this one. enjoy every single room, angle, stair, toy room, floors...every single part of it, like we do. and despite my feelings about you, i do truly wish you the best!

update: we had a showing yesterday and one today. so i know, i know it only takes one to make it all happen.

thanks for your prayers!

19 months old, oh and 44 months old too!

Since both the kids were born on the 4th (jan 4th and feb 4th), i always feel compelled to include them both on their 4th of the month "birthdays".

i'm a snish (one month) late for johnathan's year and a half birthday update, but then again.....i've been kinda late on a bunch of blogs lately, huh?

julia (44 months, aka 3 years 8 months old): let me just say that she is hilarious! she says the funniest things ever and is really clever coming up with her own stuff. but the cutest things are when she mixes her adjectives up when she's describing something.

- she was trying to explain something to me the other day and when i couldn't understand what she was talking about, she got completely upset and told me i wasn't being lady like!

- she told us the other day at lunch that she didn't want to eat because she didn't have time to eat. why? do you have to be some where or something? no, i just don't have the time.

- i've taught her to say libRARY the correct way. that libERRY is a fruit and libRARY is the place where books live.

- she loves to draw and right her name (backwards, i should point out, but nonetheless!). she also colors inside the lines (almost, all the time)

- she for sure likes to pick out her own outfits. ((but moms, i actually do the picking out)). i put 7 outfits all together on sunday nights (shirt, shorts/skirts, bow and shoes). so that on monday she has 7 different ones to choose from herself. it works like a charm and there's no arguing that we're not wearing pink tights with shorts today! try it out, moms. it will empower your little one and make you feel like you're still in charge all at the same time.

- SHE walks the dogs. this is also great. we are always telling her that we know best, that children obey their parents and that we're the boss. well, we walked the dogs a few weeks back and she took the lease and we taught her how to give brady commands. we told her that he has to obey her. she absolutely loved that! what a great way for a 3 1/2 year to feel a sense of control.

Can you believe she was ever this little?

- she loves dancing and gymnastics. we've enrolled her in gymnastics (which she picked up really well) and she dances any time there is music on the tv. she also dribbled the ball the other day (like basketball) and was running and dribbling the ball with her feet too (like soccer). she also has lots and lots of battle scars from falling on the concrete in our cul-de-sac.....who knows what she'll end up doing recreation-wise.

- she hugs and kisses us all of the time and says she loves us.

- she said i looked like cinderella the other day and that i was beautiful with my freckles!! then i paid her the twenty dollars later for saying it!

- she tells daddy he's handsome and johnathan's handsome too.

- she tells me to smile when i'm thinking about something or slightly frustrated, which is a constant reminder to be kind. i love how the lord uses our children to remind us the basics.

- she asks johnathan where's his nose, ear, toes, hair, etc. are and then praises him after by saying, "good job, bubba!"

- she sings constantly. i especially love when she sings or talks about the lord. the other morning she came in and asked, "god lives in our heart, right?"

- and she tells me when i'm not obeying god. especially if i tell her not to do something she wants to do. ha!

she's our encouraging, loving, very passionate about life in all areas, independent, god-teaching almost 4 year old going on 30 sweet cheeks of a girl. she'll be a doctor or a nurse or a teacher or a nanny or a soccer player one day for sure.

johnathan (19 months, aka 1 year 7 months old): he is sooooo outgoing and such a flirt. he is funny in his own way and surprises us daily with his new discoveries.

- he says momma, dadda, johnathan, sissy, snack, box (bock), duck, gigi, juju, boppy (bopba), bmom (bah-mama), pop, backpack, go, no, yes (jess) back (to the dogs mostly), please, milk (muk), milk cup (muk cuck), dog, ball (of course!), and shhhh (with his finger over his mouth)!

- he loves loves loves to be naked (but i hear this is a boy thing....weird, but cute!) Even though he's not naked in this picture, he couldn't wait to get in the bath forgetting he was FULLY clothed!

- he is NOT afraid to swim. he'd gone under the water this summer several times and doesn't get afraid at all.

- he adores his boppy! when i had her car this week he would try to get in it and kept saying, "bopba, bopba" over and over again. so sweet!

- he does somersaults, hangs off of any and everything, stands on any and everything, jumps on any and everything, kicks, throws and bounces balls.
- he blows his own nose (well, i hold the kleenex)

- he eats with a fork and spoon (still a little messy for my type-a self, but i'm getting over it)



he is our full of life, smile once and gets his way, football player solid chunk of all boy, a little on the momma clingy side (love this!), sweetheart of a treasure from heaven. we can't wait to see all the lord has in store for him.

happy 4th birthdays this month, little chillins. you keep me on my toes, on my knees, my blood pressure high, but my heart soft. i love you very much!

go away party #2, back surgery & house stuff

Go Away Party #2: the airhart's and the toney's threw us a going away party last Sunday for all the sweet prosper people who have been in our lives for the last 9 1/2 years. well, me for 7 ish years and jason for the 9 1/2 years.

there were so many people we don't get to see often anymore but it was so nice to see them again. thank you so much for throwing us the party, airhart's and toney's....ya'll are amazing!

Back Surgery: so what have I been doing this week? mom had back surgery on Wednesday. she's doing okay....other than being in a ton of pain and not being able to sleep since the surgery....awwwh, it's going great! NOT! so please pray for her. she's sick of just lying there in the bed and can't get any relief from the pain.

i've been up here everyday (am here right now) trying to be of some help. pray for her.

House Stuff: well, we've had a ton of showings, three families seriously interested, but no offers. show me the money! that's what i want to say.

family #1 asked for our seller's disclosure last saturday. they have a child in plano ISD, so they wanted to look at plano houses this week. if they don't find anything there, we're hoping they'll make an offer on our house.

family #2 has a contract on their house and they are in that 10 day waiting period until they know for sure their house will sell, and that they're very interested.

and family #3 said our house was beautifully staged (thanks!) and that our house was on their short list.

sooooo, we have a showing tomorrow (i'm sure more will come in) and we're patiently and optimistically waiting for our realtor to call and tell us we have an offer.

i'll keep you posted. thanks for your prayers.

go away party

well, they had a "go away" party for us at NEXT today (named by matt beaver, of course). technically it's jason's last week, since i'll still be here through the fall. but nonetheless, it was a party and it was for us!

they took us all to jinbeh. one of jason and i's most favorite places to go (when we have saved up for it!). we like to call it jennjay's!

anyhoo, no pics to show as i forgot to even take my camera out! i know, sinful!

right now? kids are napping (glorious) and we have a showing today from 5:30-6:30pm. third time's a charm, right? meaning, this is our third showing.....hey, it only takes one.

pray.

in view of a call

we went down to our future hometown of waxahachie on saturday.

we arrived to the hotel and when we opened the door to the hotel room, it was as if the music was playing in the background and i felt like a red carpet was being rolled out (mainly because it's my favorite color) to the end of the table where a gift basket FULL of goodies was waiting for us. and you know i love me some gift baskets full of goodies! it was from the avenue church.

crayons. t-shirts. fruit snacks. crackers. cookies. toys for the kids. coloring books. markers. and a sweet sweet card from all the staff at the avenue saying welcome.

well, it made us feel VERY welcome. i think i want to join that church for sure now...you had me at hello!

so that night, after we rolled the red carpet back up, we met at the church for dinner with all of the small group leaders as well as the deacons and their wives. the place was packed! jason shared our heart with them and why we feel god has called us to the avenue. it was great. i personally felt right at home. the people were just lovely and so welcoming. we couldn't wait until the next morning.

jason was going "in view of a call", which pretty much means that the personnel committee and staff has met with you and feel you are the man god wants for your church and they pick a weekend for you to go before the entire church for them to officially vote you into the church.

there are three services, so jason talked a little about his vision and heart again for a short time in each of the services. the kids and i showed up for the second and third services (well, they were in the children's area). again, we felt right at home and absolutely loved the worship AND the preaching (it was my first time to hear my future pastor preach....he's pretty darn good!).

i've said it before, but i'll say it again....i'm so proud of jason. i feel honored to be doing life with him. but i wanted to brag on him and say that he got a complete 100% unanimous vote (never has happened at the church before) from all three services. sooooooo, after we found that out, jason leaned over to me and whispered, "well.....ya wanna move to waxahachie?" ha! i guess so!

we are pumped.

we sold jason's truck yesterday. and bought a more economical one tonight. now we just need the house to sell.

thanks for your prayers. we'll keep you posted.

love!

sunday school, def leppard & tattoos

four sunday school couples = eight people total. and pretty sure we were the only sober people at the cheap trick, poison, def leppard concert friday night.

disclaimer: tattoos compliments of yours truly used with waterproof eyeliner and mascara. rock on!