SANTA!!!

I hadn't really thought about when/where I wanted to take Brooks to visit Santa and get a picture, but I knew I wanted to. On Sunday I was on my way home from church and I saw that Guthrie Green was turning on their Christmas lights and they were going to have food vendors and Santa on the lawn. We didn't have anything planned Sunday night, so we headed downtown for the event.

It was a chilly night, but we had a good time!

Brooks did great visiting Santa for the first time. He had also been asleep in line, so he was a little tired. 

 

So sweet!!!

 

Sleepy boy!

 

Family pic!

And here are some pictures from the evening...

 

 

 

 

This little boy seriously brightens my day! I am having a blast being his mom! I love introducing him to new things and new people. He's my little side-kick!

Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving was obviously a little different because it was Brooks' first Thanksgiving. I remember last year I could hardly eat anything because I was nauseous during my 1st trimester. Most of my family didn't know I was pregnant then either. We went to Kansas last year as well because we wanted to tell family face to face that we were expecting. It's crazy to think that about a year after you find out that you're pregnant, you will have a 4 month old!

We had a great time in Kansas again this year. We drove up Tuesday night pretty late because we wanted Brooks to sleep the whole way, so we traveled after his bedtime. We got to spend Wednesday, Thursday and most of Friday with family and just relax. Here are some pictures I got while there...

My grandma (Brooks' GG) has not seen Brooks since the day after he was born, so I was excited they got to spend some time together. 

So sweet!! 

I can't believe I didn't get any pictures with my grandpa!!!

Thanksgiving day we got to see lots of cousins and aunts and uncles, some who had never met Brooks. It was exciting having him meet everyone. It was also nice that so many people wanted to hold him which gave me and Trevor quality time to spend with cousins. I can't believe I didn't get any pictures with my cousins/aunts/uncles! I'm failing!
We ate lunch with everyone and then played a LOT of Pit! If you have not played that game before, you are missing out! So much fun...and loud!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We came back to Tulsa Friday night because I was leading at church on Saturday. To wrap up our "Thanksgiving Break," after church we met up with our friends Shelby and Chapman before they headed back home to Fort Worth, TX.

Love you two!!!

It was so nice having a few days off together and getting to spend time with family. I think Brooks loved having his dad to play with all day too!

November Date Nights

We FAILED! November was crazy and we literally didn't have a date night. And to be honest, it feels like we didn't have a date night. I'm definitely craving some quality time. That is my main love language, so, obviously I LOVE date night and am really missing that time together. 

Trevor left for his big hunting trip in North Dakota the first Thursday of the month, so I asked him if we could do something small the night before. I sang at Switch that evening and then when I got home, Trevor had a sushi date planned. 

So I guess we did have 1 date night, but it feels like a long time ago!!

The second Thursday Trevor was still out of town on his hunting trip.

The third Thursday Trevor had something planned, but I came down with strep throat. Trevor had to take Brooks to his mom's house so I wouldn't get either of them sick. The next day Trevor came down with a stomach bug and a sinus infection. So, it was a rough go for a few days. 

The fourth Thursday was Thanksgiving, so we had some family time!

 

 

I'm ready for December so we can get back to our weekly date nights. 

We Are Our Husband's Helper

After I had Brooks and made the decision to stay home with him full time, I knew I would need an outlet and a good support group of friends to surround myself with. So, I asked a friend of mine if she would want to start a mom's bible study group. I was so excited when she said yes! I was looking forward to Brooks having some kids to hang out with (I realize that doesn't mean much right now since he is a newborn), I was looking forward to having people to bounce ideas off of when parenting got hard or if I had questions and I was really excited to build friendships and do life with a good group of women. It didn't really dawn on my until closer to the date we agreed to start, that I would actually have to lead discussion! We have been a part of a life group for a few years, but I never actually taught or came up with a lesson. To be honest, I have always felt a little unqualified and I still do! But, I'm trying! I can't say that anything I have taught over has been great, but this last one was personal and challenging in a good way, so I wanted to share.

My word for the year is ACTION - turning my good intentions into actions - and one of the examples I used dealt with upping the ante a little in the wife department. For instance, I'm usually home when Trevor gets home from work and my good intentions say "Get up! You are excited to see him so go give him a big hug and kiss!" But my action is usually staying put and saying "hey, how was your day" and continuing to work on whatever I'm doing. It's November and I can't say that I have mastered that goal...but I'm a work-in-progress! So, since this was my word for the year and this is the area that I am still working on, I thought I would write a bible study on amping up the status of love expressed in our home. So here is goes.

*HOW DO YOU THINK OF YOUR HUSBAND? (Who is he, what is he striving to be, how has he grown, what does he do for you, what does he do that allows you to do what you do, if someone said to describe your husband, what would you say, etc...)
I had everyone get out a piece of paper/notecard and write the answer to this first question. I decided to write a list, others wrote paragraphs and some wrote their spouse a letter. I gave everyone 3-5 minutes to do this and then we all shared what we wanted.

*DO YOUR WORDS AND ACTIONS TOWARD YOUR HUSBAND ALWAYS REFLECT THE WORDS YOU WROTE ON YOUR LIST? (Do you say these things to him? Does the way you talk and interact with him reflect this list?)

Proverbs 27:15 says A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day.
QUARRELSOME: argumentative, confrontational, nagging, contentious, disrespectful
The opposite is RESPECT: notice, regard, honor, prefer, defer to, encourage, love, admire

Ephesians 5 states that wives are called to respect their husbands and husbands to love their wives. Of course the opposite is true, wives loving their husbands and husbands respecting their wives, but usually women feel respected when they feel loved and men feel loved when they are being respected.

Ephesians 5:22 says For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
*THAT WORD, SUBMIT, SEEMS TO HAVE A BAD REPUTATION WITH MANY WOMEN, SO HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THAT WORD/VERSE TO SOMEONE QUESTIONING?
I liked what we came up with as a group. We felt like Genesis 2:18-24 answered it the best.
Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him." So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man's ribs and closed up the opening. The Lord God made a woman from the rib and he brought her to the man. "At last!" the man exclaimed. "This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called 'woman,' because she was taken from 'man.'" This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. 
We are our husbands helper. We were created from him and are united to him.

*WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE DISRESPECTFUL TO YOUR HUSBAND? DID IT WORK THE WAY YOU WANTED? DID YOU GET WHAT YOU WANTED? IF NOT, WHAT COULD YOU HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY?
I'm assuming most of us would say, whatever the situation, it did not end the way you wanted. For me, if I sum up in one word what I could have done differently, it would be respect! Had I approached the situation in a loving and respectful manner, I truly believe the conversation would have gone a lot differently.

Here are a couple more questions to think on...

*BOB GOFF SAID THIS, "TELL PEOPLE WHO THEY'RE BECOMING, NOT WHO THEY WERE." HOW COULD THIS CHANGE THE WAY YOU SPEAK TO YOUR SPOUSE? WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS IDEA? AND HOW IS IT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT YOU ARE USED TO?

*WHAT'S SOMETHING YOU'RE HOPING WILL CHANGE IN YOUR MARRIAGE? HOW CAN YOU START HELPING IT CHANGE?

*WHAT'S THE STATUS OF LOVE EXPRESSED IN YOUR HOME AND HOW CAN YOU UP THE ANTE?

When I began this bible study, I was searching the internet for a couple things and ran across this sermon. So, here are two ending thoughts.

1. Keep a journal (or the paper/notecard we used) of what is true and honorable about your husband Pray for him in these areas. Tell him these things - encourage over nag. Philippians 4:8 says Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable, right, pure, lovely and admirable. Think about what is worthy of praise.
2. We are incredibly powerful in the life of our husbands. They need us. They don't need us to condemn them, Satan is already doing that. They don't need us to criticize them. His enemies are already doing that. They need us to encourage them. Say "I'm here to help, I'm here to help you become more like Jesus. I'm here so that you can lead our family in the purpose of Jesus. I know you can't do it alone and I'm here to help."

Our Crazy Trip to Fort Worth

Do you remember the 4 of us that were all pregnant at the same time??

Well, the one on the far right, Shelby, recently moved to Fort Worth because of her husband's job. We SERIOUSLY miss her!!! Trevor and I have been trying to come up with a weekend to go and visit them, but somehow our schedule fills up so quickly! Also, when one of us works on the weekend, it does make things a little more challenging. So, I decided that I was just going to go and visit while Trevor was duck hunting this past week in North Dakota. He had planned to be gone for 10 days, so this would really help the time pass since I was going to be home alone...well, with Brooks. I also pitched the idea to Reagan, since she stays home full time with her boys as well, and she decided to join me on this crazy trip with a 4 month old. So, we had a 4 month old, a 6 month old and a 3 and a half year old! Yes, we are well aware that we are crazy! Meredith...we missed you on this trip!

Since I work on the weekends and on Wednesdays, we decided we would go Monday through Wednesday. We wanted to maximize time, so we left super early on Monday morning so we could get to Fort Worth around lunch.

For the most part, the drive wasn't bad. All of the babies did really good! We stopped right outside of Oklahoma City and fed Brooks and Charlie. The only unfortunate part was, it was raining for most of the drive. It was kind of a drizzle, so it wasn't too bad until the very end. About an hour before we got to Shelby's house, you could tell the babies were getting a little antsy. Then, about 30 minutes before we reached our destination, the babies were full on MAD! They were screaming the loudest I have probably ever heard and nothing was going to make them happy other than getting out of the car. Around that same time, the rain picked up and it was a complete downpour. I had to slow down to about 30 - 40 mph to feel safe, which prolonged our trip even longer! Needless to say, we were so happy to finally reach Shelby's house. We got the babies out of the carseats and it was almost instant that they were happy. Ha! That day we just hung out at Shelby's house and watched the babies play. It was so good catching up and hanging out.

I didn't have a baby monitor, so I was thankful I packed our iPad so I could face time this booger when he was sleeping.

That evening, Shelby cooked some delicious tacos for dinner. We then put the babies to sleep and stayed up chatting until almost midnight.

The next day we went shopping at IKEA.

We ate lunch at McAlester's.

We hung out with the babies.
We went to dinner at a fun pizza place in Argyle.

And then had a photo shoot with the babies.

That night we put the babies to bed and then stayed up way too late watching the election. Reagan and I were able to do absentee voting so we could make this trip. I'm thankful for that so I never had to stand in line. :) It was also nice having time to look up all the different items to vote on and really having time to research in the moment.

On Wednesday we had to leave around 11 to make it back in time for me to sing at Switch. So, we got up and went on a walk with the babies.

Then, we had one more photo shoot because you can never have too many pictures of the cutest kids!

Charlie, Chase, Brooks and Parker

They are the SWEETEST!!!

Thank you Shelby for letting us stay at your house for a couple days! Your home is BEAUTIFUL and we loved getting to catch up! Thank you Reagan for joining me on this adventure! It wouldn't have been the same without you!

Brooks is 4 Months

The first thing I want to say is THANK YOU to my amazing husband for giving me the opportunity to stay home with this sweet boy! I know that not everyone is able to stay at home and some moms are better moms if they have work as an outlet and I totally get it. But, for me, this is a dream job!

I'm not sure if all babies are this way, but for us, a lot happened during this last month.
*We finally switched from Newborn diapers to size 1 diapers! Wahoo!
*One morning he rolled over, so we had to stop swaddling him and find another solution for sleeping
*He went from sleeping 8 hours consistently at night to 11-12 hours. WAHOO!!!

We had a lot of fun activities going on this month, so I actually blogged about many of them. Instead of re-expaining them, I added links! Click on the links if you want to read more about that day! :)

14 week

15 week

16 week 

17 week...this was the Friday before Halloween, so we had to dress for the occasion

First up...the St. John Zoo Run. That was an adventure! HA!

So proud of my friends and most of all, Trevor! Awesome job babe!

OSU vs Texas game. Brooks is saying "OOOO" as in OOOOOO-SSSSS-U COWBOYS!

Oct 3 - Such a big guy in his bumbo. I love that he can sit up in this thing now. He loves it.

Brooks and I were featured in Tulsa Kids. Read about it here.

I went in to feed Brooks around 5 or 6am and then put him back down to sleep for another couple hours. When I checked the monitor, this is what I saw! Freaked me out!

Oct. 4

 So we had to stop swaddling and switch to Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit!

This picture just cracks me up!

On October 4th we had a family night with our life group and carved pumpkins. Brooks, of course, did most of the work. :)

Supervising

Oct. 5

I love making him laugh! 

Brooks had a great time during his first trip to the fair.

Rocking his robe. Oct. 6

On October 7th some friends from church were having a vow renewal. This boy has been to more wedding festivities than I can count. Thankfully, we had no tears and he was really good during the ceremony.

Play time - Oct. 9

Best dad in the world! He's really good at multi-tasking! 

Best feeling in the world...excuse all the laundry everywhere!

Oct. 11 - Winston loves to hang out where ever Brooks is.

Oct. 12 - I am fully aware that I take WAYYYYY too many photos. But, I don't care, I'm having a blast!

This was the night that Brooks was up almost every hour fussy and crying until we would go in his room and rock him back to sleep. He was just super congested. He wasn't running a fever or really showing any other signs of being sick, but that stuffy nose just rocked his world. It last about 2 weeks but I think we are on the up and up now!

The next night we gave him a bath to hopefully break up some of the congestion, we rubbed some stuff that my aunt gave me for babies on his chest, feet and back, we used saline drops in his nose, we used the aspirator to get as much junk out before bed time and we elevated one side of his bed a little. I was so thankful he was back sleeping through the night after all our efforts.

Who doesn't love a bath towel pic!?

 

Our poor Winston was in a cone for a couple weeks.

On October 15th, Trevor and I loaded up Whiskey and Brooks and went to a park near our house. We wanted to have a little picnic for dinner and give Whiskey some extra attention.

I love my family!

We then made an Andy's run after the picnic...Brooks slept through the whole thing and let us eat our ice cream. We had a Pumpkin Pie concrete, of course!

Oct. 17

Bath time with all his toys :)

We HATE tummy time! I'm lucky if I can get Brooks to be content for one minute. But, I did snag a picture before the waterworks!

So sweet

Helping me make my mom's famous chocolate chip cookies!
 

Oct. 21

One October 21st my good friend Nichole and her now FIANCE :) flew in from Houston. We hung out at our house that evening, cooked dinner, chatted and got in the hot tub. It was sooooo good to see them, catch up and introduce them to Brooks.

Too cute!

The next morning we went to brunch at Smoke on Cherry Street before they had to leave town for a wedding. It's kind of our spot with them!

I loved getting to see them and hang out together, even if the time was brief!

Oct. 25

Oct. 25

I turned around to fold Brooks' laundry and Winston is passed out on the top of the pile.

We are slowly starting to like tummy time.

Oct. 26

They have the sweetest bond

Whiskey wanted to join the convo.

My mom swinging with Brooks at LaFortune.

On October 27th Trevor and I had a date night at the pumpkin patch. You can read about it here. Here are some of my favorite pictures from that day.

We celebrated Brooks' first Halloween, which you can read about here. 

He was a ninja turtle on Friday morning

Pistol Pete on Friday night

A skeleton on Sunday

Pistol Pete again on Monday

On Saturday of that weekend, we made a day trip to Devil's Den, which you can read about here. Brooks did so good! He loves being outside, so I wasn't too worried.

Oct. 30 - at Trevor's dad's house

Nightly convo's with dad

Every month just keeps getting more and more fun. I thank God every day for choosing me to be Brooks' mom. His smile can light up a room...and he is full of smiles!