[[good] Friday Favorites.

we are totally feeling spring around here! it's giving us quite the summer itch!

 

We potted our pots for the front porch at a local greenhouse where they will grow them inside for us until May! I can't wait to see them finished!

we enjoyed the nice weather in the sandbox

we went to daddy's last dodgeball game...where daddy get a pep talk from his little coach :)

i even picked up some fun spring fabric!

spring crafts are taking place..

and walks to the park happened.

 

we have a busy weekend ahead spending time with friends and family and celebrating our Risen Savior! :) Hope everyone has a blessed Easter weekend!

Cousin {bonding} time.

my boys are SO blessed to have three wonderful cousins, sadly two of which live much too far away for our liking.

So when they come to town,we take full advantage of spending as much time together as possible.

This week we hit the aquatic center one morning for some swimming fun!

...wet, tired and wore out!

&& we attempted hobby lobby for a few treasures. :)

not the boys' favorite thing to do together but they did enjoy each others company.

The boys loved spending time together, and look forward to the next time they will get to see each other again!! :)

Weekend[[rewind]]

Friday we spent some time outside. Though it wasn't super warm, the sun felt really wonderful!

i can't wait for the snow to melt so these two can really tear it up around the yard!

Friday night Brandon and I got out again with some friends for a wildlife dinner/banquet. It was a super fun night, great to catch up with some friends we don't see often and have some adult conversation!

Saturday morning I took the boys downtown Zeeland for an easter egg hunt. Bentley had so much fun!

checking out the easter bunny...no so sure!

then we picked up lunch and brought it to daddy at the shop.

big stuff in the conference room having lunch, you know. ;)

Harrison and I came home for naptime and Bentley stayed with Daddy for a little bit.

We spent the evening hanging out at home and watching Bentley's favorite movie "the wild", he kindly refers to as "the yions."

think they could get any close??

Sunday we did church, lunch and naps...

 

...followed by some playtime.

&& a ride out to check on the boat.

we are getting a tad bit anxious for summer - can you tell?!?!

looking forward to another somewhat busy week, and hoping to spend some time with family we don't get to see a whole lot! :) hope everyone has a good week!!

Living && Leading Like Jesus

This morning, I started an online bible study with a group of women from our church. We are meeting online daily, to discuss what we read. The study is 8 weeks long and is from Good Morning Girls. 

I know life gets busy for most of us - especially moms, so I thought I would share the information in case you too, want to join! :) you can go to their website - goodmorninggirls.org, or like them on facebook to get the links for study guide and more information about the study!

 

Would love to know if anyone joins, so we can all support and pray for each other too!

Firsts [[counting&&macaroni]]

For those of you who don't get the pleasure of my emails of links to adorable videos of my super cute kids (insert mom bragging here)....I didn't want you to feel left out. 

So, here you go!

 

Bentley counts to TEN!

*He has been counting for a while, but not in order, and not on video*

[[ps, we hardly ever wear pants in the house. we as in the boys.]]

 

&& Harrison enjoys macaroni for the first time.

FridayFavorites.

Hard to believe it's friday already! Another busy week is in the books.

 

Wednesday morning I woke up at 630 am to a crying toddler - all he wanted was his Papa. Thankfully for FaceTime, they got to "spend" some time together that morning. Hurry home, Papa & Nana, we are missing you tons!

I recentley subscribed to Birchbox. It's really cool - and so far I have been loving the products they are sending. Here are a few of my favorites so far!

BB cream is AMAZING! and it makes my makeup go on amazing and flawlessly. HIGHLY recommended...I will be hitting ULTA soon, once this sample is gone!

Mommy morning out = new hair! So refreshing, and so fun. A nice change for spring.

 

While I was at the salon, I picked up a candle. It's Aveda Shampure. Totally AH-mazing! I love the way it makes the house smell!

Thursday night I am taking a cooking class with some girlfriends - so Daddy gets to the bedtime routine. This is one of my favorite parts of the day, so when I get home, I cannot resist going to catch a few stares at my sweet sleeping boys. There is not much more precious!

Hope everyone has a good weekend!!

::splish splash::

We took our first trip to the Aquatic Center earlier this week. The boys had so much fun - we will definately be going back!

nothing better than a monday morning swim with your best buddy!

Harry was excited, till he got in the water. Then he cried. :(

Bentley had a blast. it was hard to get him out, but I promised we could go back. :)

warming up to the water a little bit.

{{10}} MONTHS :: Harrison Lee

My little Hooey -

In just two short months we will be celebrating your first birthday. Seriously. It seems like just yesterday we brought you home, and all you did was eat, sleep and poop. ;)

You tell a much different story today, sweet boy. You are full of smiles, laughter, baby babbles, squeals, cries and yells. You LOVE to yell back and forth with your big brother. It's pretty adorable, and loud. You are always smiling. Everything makes you happy, but your big brother makes you thrilled. I can't wait to watch you two grow together.

You are starting to eat table food - and finger feed yourself. You had macaroni this week for the first time, love cheerios, puffs, yogurt melts and you still eat baby food - but would prefer to feed yourself. You are still getting a bottle, which you are totally obsessed with, but have started taking a sippy cup as well.

You are crawling everywhere. You climb the stairs, pull yourself up on anything you can and are starting to stand for a few seconds alone. You will also walk behind your walker or if we hold your hands, but you keep your chubby little legs pretty stiff yet.

You don't say any words in connection to anything yet - but you babble da-da, ma-ma, and pa-pa. You love to blow bubbles, wave HI/BYE, clap, so big and shake your head yes and no.

We think you might be a little dickens, my love. You smile the biggest when you are being scolded or told NO NO and you shake your head mockingly. Good thing you are so cute! :) You also love to get into things you know you aren't supposed to, such as the garbage, the dishwasher, my shelves in the laundry room, laundry baskets, etc. I know you are just exploring but sometimes I think you just like to pick on this ol mommy of yours! :)

 

We love you to the moon and back sweet boy, and we can't wait to see what the next two months, and your first year of life bring!!!

 

xoxoxo

 

and the side by side...

Bentley (left) and Harrison (right)

Weekend[[rewind]]

Our calendar seems to be quickly filling up as spring nears! It makes me excited for nice weather! :)

 

Friday night Brandon and I got out for a date night. The boys had a blast being spoiled by Casey!

Saturday we spent the day together as a family, and watched Sawyer at night so Jenna & Robert could get out together! :)

Hes such a prince!

these two can't get enough of each other. theyre adorable.

since we had the extra babe in the house, i took the opportunity not too cook, and ordered take out Wild Chef! I love their sushi!

Sunday we went to church, came home, napped, watched Nascar and spent some more time together.

This is one of harry's new favorite pass times...

&& Bentley's is "tunnels". we can't seem to make enough tunnels in these parts lately.

Sunday night we headed over to Kaindl's so the boys could play outsdie with their RC trucks.

Our night of fellowship laughs and fun took a crazy turn when we realized their neighbors house was on fire. Everyone did make it out okay, thank the Lord. But please continue to pray with us as this family adjusts to completely starting over.

None of us had ever experienced an emergency of this magnitude, and I pray that is not something we ever have to experience again. There is not many things worse than the feeling of utter helplessness. We were so blessed to be able to surround the family, and neighbors, as they all pitched in to help, pray and comfort this family. We are thankful God gave us this opportunity, but would be just content if he chose not to ever again! :)

 

Friday favorites.

this [naughty] smile!

the new Easter book I scored for $3.99 this week! :)

the new easter banner i hung.

and my favorite #tbt picture. senior prom with my bitties.

love.

hope everyone has a good weekend. we have quite a busy weekend planned - lots of fun things to look forward to! :)

[[good reads]]

One of my new years goals was to read one book a month- and so far I have been able to stick with it. Since I am always looking for new reading suggestions as I am sure many others are, I thought I would share the books I've read.

 

In January I read "a stolen life" - the story of the kidnapping, life and rescue of Jaycee Dugard. Very very good book, sometimes tough to read some of the things that happened to her, but she is a truly amazing woman. Very inspirational.

My mom recommended a book by her friend, Marilyn Hontz. She was given a copy by Marilyn so I borrowed it. Marilyn has an amazing story of a childhood that was full of struggle, lack of love and shame. At just 13 years old, she put everything in God's hands and it is just amazing to watch how her life showed this. I would recommend this book for sure, it was truly inspiring and an easy read.

then I started on "Sensible Shoes." I read this book because this author is coming to a local church and I have committed to a one day womans seminar to hear her speak. This book is about 5 women who all meet at spiritual retreat, and how they all learn, grow and love together as the retreat progresses. Very good read - its a novel, so it is an easy read.

I just got done with the fourth book - Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I cannot recommend this book enough. My mom told me to read it and mentioned that "you won't be able to put it down." She was right - I read the whole thing in a week! It is based on the book of Hosea in the bible, and it is a novel about a very spiritual man who falls in love with a prostitute...and their journey and trials together. Rivers has many other spiritual based novels that I have recently added to my TO READ list.

My sister in law recommended a book called "Desperate" which is about being a mom  - in its toughest days. I started on "unglued" last night, but this one is definatley on my list along with Love & Respect by Emerson Eggrichs, Grace for the Moment by Max Lucado, Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer...and many more. If you have any other books to recommend, I would love to hear them! :)

Friday favorites. [travel edition]

Having just returned from travel with two children, I thought I would share a few things we found very helpful during this time.

 

The boys recieved a LeapPad as a christmas gift. What a lifesaver! I was able to download some movies on it for them, and not only did they use in on the plane but it came in very handy in other parts of our trip as well.

I'm probably so far behind (mostly because I make my own baby food) but these are a MUST. both boys enjoyed them and they worked great for eating on the go.

"icky" bags.

i am slightly addicted to these things. They are lined, so if anything breaks open or spills during travel, it stays contained. Much cuter than ziplocs too!

the MAP app on my ipad. We did some traveling around while down south and this was so helpful for me to navigate territory I had no idea about.

This was a gift from a friend - best gift ever. it holds racecars too.

bentley kept very busy with this, and was even able to pick out a few new cars in reward for good behavior while on our trip. Win/Win!