Modest Mondays: Mid-Week Lunch Date (Sister and Kid Edition)

Are you guys chomping at the bit to wear fall clothes as much as I am?? Boots, scarves, tights and cute hats? Yes, please. However, in my neck of the woods we are feeling lucky if we get below 90 right now so we are still very much in summer clothes. You can be assured, however, that the minute the temperature drops below 70,we will overzealously pull out all things fall and layer it on, despite the fact that it we will be too hot after a few minutes in the Texas sun.

 When my sister Claire was here this past summer, we all went downtown one afternoon to meet our brother for lunch. As a photographer, this alley was just calling my name to snap a few photos before we went to attack our chips and salsa.

 Thus, the mid-week-lunch-date-sister-and-kid-edition was born. Our outfits are actually perfect colors for transitioning into fall while still staying cool, haha. :)

2 sisters laughing together in an alley is perfectly normal, right?!

Claire's Outfit Details:

Necklace: Gift from her hubby (handmade by the Navajo Indians in AZ)

Top: Stolen from Jenna's closet (NY and Co)

Belt: Thrifted

Skirt: Thrifted

Shoes: Sears

Jenna's outfit Details:

Earrings: Gift (Sam Moon)

Necklace: Oragami Owl (bought for a fundraiser for Molly and love love love it)

Pineapple Shirt: Cato (clearance!)

Blue Tank-Top for underneath: Gift (Old Navy)

Cross-Body purse: Sam Moon

Skirt: WalMart (some Wally Worlds still have these for $7 or less!)

Bracelets: Gift (Ny and Co)

Shoes: GAP clearance (years old and still serving me well!)

Brooke's outfit details:

Headband: I think a gift, but possibly stolen, from her Aunts, haha

Shirt: Target clearance

Skirt: Cato (they have awesome clothes for girls starting at size 7!)

Silver Gladiator Sandals: Zulily (they're cute, but I've had 2 bad shoe experiences with them so I won't order from there again)

If you want to gear up for Fall, our Instagram shop has lots of goodies available at a great price! Go check it out here!

Summer Photo Dump

Clearly, I am way behind in blogging, so I wanted to do a photo dump of our amazing summer trip to see my family. We didn't do anything extraordinary, but we don't have to--our little shopping trips, swimming, dad's pizza, singing together and a sunset on the beach (plus all the little things in-between) made it more than perfect. We also gave my sister her bridal shower while we were there which turned out elegant and gorgeous-just like her-so I'll be posting about that soon!

A family night for dinner and ice cream (Abotts custard is to die for)

After spending the day working on shower preparation. Sister time is precious to me.

My Mom's side of the family had a reunion while I was there. Grandma and a great-Aunt led many rounds of BINGO ;)

Looking far from glamorous while baking the best-ever chocolate chip cookies (as in, 4 dozen were gone in an hour)

Why do all of our pictures involve food?! Anyway, my dad's pizza is an unspeakable gift that must be documented. It's perfection.

Like I said. Perfection.

This guy cut 4 teeth all at once while we were there and wasn't even fussy! He's such an easy going baby. I'm so blessed!

The cousins played outside all.day.long. for hours and hours. Clothing and shoes optional.

These 2 became much closer this year

Greg let Nate use his corvette for a few days and the guys were loving it!

Shopping, lunch, coffee, sisters. Nothing better!

Pretty crazy to see all of the little boys together (even crazier to hear them all together, I can assure you), especially with my parents who were surrounded by 99.9% girls their whole lives. haha!

My Mom is such an amazing Grandma (Nonnie as the kids call her). They love her so much and she cherishes them each individually.

A few days before we left, we had our family pictures taken at the beach. I've seen a few previews and they are stunning... I will definitely be sharing them here once I get them all! My sister took this while our photographers were taking some shots of Nate and I and I just love it!

There are so many more I could share but I didn't want to blast you after so long of not blogging! We have enjoyed our summer immensely; between 2 of my sisters visiting and obviously our nice vacation to visit them, we were surrounded by family and it was so special!

 We start school this next week. We'll be homeschooling this year so I have 2 in school for the first time. We'll be doing the Abeka dvd's which will give me a little bit of time and sanity in-between to work with Nathan on pre-school (very light) and keep up with the house. This will be a big change for Joe who had a few hours of Kindergarten last year and was free the rest of the day. I'm hoping that he will do ok sitting for that long. We shall see! :)

 I'm hoping to be back soon to share my sister's bridal shower, and Nicolas' birthday.

 Have a great week!

Dear Brooklynne {Eight}

Dear Brooklynne,

 You've been eight for almost a month now, but I am just getting a chance to sit down and write you a birthday letter. Part of me still can't comprehend you being 8, because I vividly remember being that age and it seems like not too long ago. Hard to believe it was 20 years ago... what?

 Anyway, your birthday fell on Memorial Day this year which was also the day after Molly died. It rained most of the day which seemed fitting for the Little family and their greif and they were heavy on our hearts. However, I wanted to cherish the day because we never know if we have tomorrow and it was even more magnified on your birthday. Your cousins slept over the night before and everyone came over the next day. Since it was raining, we watched movies, sprawled out in various rooms in the house. When it came time to do cake (actually, the key lime pie that you requested) and presents, you beamed shyly, loving every minute. Everyone sang to you and we oohed and aahed over your presents.

 You have changed so much this year, maturing and growing into such a sweet young lady. School changed you a lot; it was a great experience for you. Watching you at this age, changing and maturing so quickly, makes me more aware of my own faults. Although I remember bits and pieces over the years, so many of my childhood memories really started around age 8. Which makes me realize that you'll remember so much now, and that hits me like a ton of bricks. You'll remember my faults, and that scares me. You'll also start realizing (if you haven't already) that Mommy and Daddy are not perfect. My burning desire for you is that when we let you down, you will turn to your Heavenly Father who will never let you down. That you will develop your own yearning to truly know our Saviour and serve him because of your love of him--not because daddy and I want you to.

 8 years ago you made me a Mom, and I love to tell you the story of how happy I was when you were born. Waiting 9 long months to hear daddy say, "IT'S A GIRL"! was the most amazing experience and I will never forget it.
  You have continued to make me so happy every day since then. You have always been so easy to parent with your sweet, easy going spirit. You are such a great big sister and help to me around the house. You are a servant, a quality that has been passed down from daddy to you. 

 You are missing your two front teeth right now and it is the cutest thing I've ever seen. You're an excellent reader and have beautiful penmanship. 

 You make daddy and I so happy and proud to be your parents. We love you so much!

 Love,

 Mommy 

The Perfect Fried Egg (Father's Day, 2015)

I originally posted this in 2011, but since all of my thoughts ring true today I wanted to repost it now. Truth be told, my egg frying skills have improved a little over the past few years, but he's still the master. ;)

Dad,

 Almost every time I fry an egg I think of you. I think of the most amazing breakfast's you make us--the potatoes with just the right amount of grease and crispiness, the bacon cooked to perfection, toast lathered with butter and of course the ever perfect fried egg. To this day I can't cook them right. I flip them too early or too late and when I do, they fold into a weird shape and the yolk runs out into the pan. As I dump the blob of what used to be an egg onto my plate I wonder if I'll ever be able to cook them like you do.

 There are a lot of other things I wonder if I'll ever be able to do like you. I wonder if I'll ever be able to look at anything and put a spiritual application into it. I wonder if I'll ever have the boldness to declare the name of Jesus Christ like you do.  I wonder if I'll have the walk with God like you do, and the heart to help people like you do. 

 I wonder if you know what an impact the missions trips, special meetings all over the country, the street preaching, door knocking, prayer meetings, devotions and family rap sessions had on my life. I wonder if you know how much I loved our heart-to-heart talks, hung on every word, and even when I disagreed,  look back now and think, "he was right."

 I wonder if you know how much I appreciate and admire the love and passion you have for my Mom, even after 27 years of marriage. I wonder if you remember the best birthday of my life--when I turned 17. You woke me up at 5 in the morning after driving an hour in the snow to come back from the men's meeting and take me out to breakfast. For the next few hours we talked and laughed and I thought, "I can't believe he came back for my birthday". 

 Just 3 years later, I took your arm, the doors opened and the crowd stood as the bridal march was played. It was all a blur but I remember thinking, "this is the day I've dreamed of. My daddy is walking me down the aisle....these are my last moments with him." You gave me away to the new man in my life. My new authority, the one who would take care of me now. I wonder how hard that was for you but I know you were  content knowing it was God's will.

 Now we live thousands of miles apart but our hearts are more bonded than ever, cherishing the emails, phone calls and visits. And I know that this sounds cliche', but no matter how far apart we are, you're always so close to my heart.
 Today, I watched as my little girl sat and waited while her daddy cooked her a fried egg sandwich. She ate it with abandon, the same way I would eat your eggs. Maybe someday she'll write a love letter to him, remembering the eggs, the talks, the trips. I can only pray they have the same relationship that we have.
 I love you, dad. I wish I could be with you on this Father's Day, just like I wish I could be with you on every Father's Day. But for now this will have to do.

 Always your little girl,

 Jen

Parents + Mothers Day

Last week we had a very big surprise planned for the kids, and boy were they surprised! The doorbell rang, the dog barked, the kids ran to the door and opened it to find Nonnie and Poppy standing there! It was such a great moment and perfect surprise. Just the two of them came on their 31st wedding anniversary and it was truly a perfect week. I only wish it could have been 3 weeks! ;) We relaxed and played and ate and loved every moment!

Them being here last week meant I got to spend Mother's Day with my Mom, a dream come true. She is my inspiration, the one I call with all motherhood questions and concerns, my role model and my hero. To get to spend time with her and spoil her was such a joy! We enjoyed an amazing 3 course meal downtown that was a true culinary treat. Pat's girlfriend, Allison showed us the ropes and we got the royal treatment and it was so much fun! We tried oysters, bone marrow and ceviche along with several other amazing dishes.

Spending a whole week with my parents and getting them all to ourselves was such a treat that I hope happens again very soon. ;)

Spring Break

Sorry for the long blog absence! It's been a full, busy, beautiful 2 weeks.

 2 weeks ago started our spring break week and we enjoyed every day to the fullest. We went to the park, out to ice cream, on walks and shopping. It was so nice not having to rush to bed time or worry about hours of homework every day.

 At the end of the week, we drove to Dallas to spend a night in a hotel and go to the zoo. On the way I texted a friend and she recommended the Fort Worth zoo and said that downtown Fort Worth  was beautiful. We took her recommendation, got an amazing deal on a downtown suite (they upgraded us for free!) and walked around downtown. I've never been there and it was absolutely lovely! I would love to go back someday and really enjoy it and take it all in! It was a little chilly and the kids were hungry, so we didn't get to walk around quite as much as I would have wanted to ;) but what we did see was still gorgeous. It was like a quaint little town in the middle of skyscrapers--really unexpected!

We came across a little cajun restaurant that was reasonable and delicious! The seafood gumbo was so good!

Back at our hotel, we spent a little time in the indoor hot tub and then got the kids ready for bed and a movie. They were so cute and happy all cozy on the couch. :)

The hotel had the most amazing free breakfast buffet I have ever seen. Cooked to order omelets and pancakes and every other breakfast item you could ever want. Of course we took full advantage of it, including sneaking some muffins for snacks later. haha. Nate and I took turns working out while the other watched the kids, so having a little alone time was nice as well.

I don't even know where to start about the Fort Worth zoo. It was spectacular. I felt like I was out in the jungle with the animals rather than viewing them in captivity. I LOVE the zoo, maybe even more than the kids do, so I was in my glory all day. We realized afterwards that it's one of the top zoos in America--no wonder we were so impressed!

After 5 hours of walking close to 6 miles (yes, it's huge) we were starving and chowed down on burgers and fries before heading home!

The next day we headed to the next little town over to play at the park, ride bikes and dip toes in the water. We spent nap time in a little bookstore where Nathan and Nicolas slept while we read to the older two. Of course, frozen yogurt was involved as well.

We all crashed hard on Sunday afternoon. It was truly one of the most relaxing, memorable weeks we've had as a family, and even though we only went out of town for 1 night, the whole week felt like a vacation.