He did it!

What a difference a day makes. Our Little Man did so good this morning! He marched right up there with a crown on his head no less and sang his little heart out. He didn't do the motions but this is a HUGE victory in our house. He wasn't screaming, or crying or not willing. Oh, Ryan you made mommy and daddy so proud this morning! Who says bribery doesn't work? Honey promised a small LEGO if he would sing, so off to Toys R Us they'll go tonight. Thanks so much Honey!

Ally had to wear the crown too!

Grandma was also there this morning and she sure was proud :)

GP and Honey were there too watching the entire performance...remember what I said about loving Waco! My mom was introducing the different classes and Ally was screaming I want to go see "Noney" the whole time. Pretty hilarious. She says H-H-H Noney. She can say the H sound but for some reson my mom is Noney to her-:)

One proud mommy!

Really?!?

Well thank you so much sweet Nicki I am thrilled to have been chosen for this award. What on earth can I possibly tell you guys that you don't already know. I think I have a few little jewels left:).

"When you receive the prize, you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in their content or design. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing that they were prized with 'Honest Weblog'. List [if you can and/or dare] at least ten honest things about yourself. Then, pass it on!"

1. Today I felt like I totally stink at parenthood. Ryan had an awful time at school right off the bat this morning. Let me set the stage for you-literally. We were late to preschool, so I had to walk him inside (in the 25 degree weather!) which I know is off his routine and usually causes a little anxiety, but I had no idea what was in store for me today. My mom walked Ryan into the sanctuary where all 6 pre-K classes were lined up practicing their songs while I dropped off Ally at MDO. I went back to look in the window to see how the singing was going and I see Honey trying to drag Ryan up on stage and I knew immediately that wouldn't fly. I don't know if it was the singing or the fact that we were late but he was NOT going up there and nothing I did or threatened seemed to matter. Long, Long story short Ryan decided to bolt. He ran from me, my mom, his teacher and then he proceeded to scream like he was being abducted. I finally caught him, marched him into the bathroom and let him have it. After the awfulness, I walked him to his classroom told him to go and sit and I left the room in tears. Honestly sometimes I am at a total loss. Parenting can be so frustrating, and confusing and hilarious and maddening all at the same time some days. Tomorrow WILL be better! Ryan ended up having a great day after the rest of the class joined him so I guess the positive thing is that he recovered. I'm looking for little victories here people! Thank you God for your forgiveness and grace.
2. I cannot fathom that my BABY is going to be 2 on Thursday. Seriously how is that possible?
3. I miss Bible Study. We have a long break between fall and spring sessions and it's so good for me to be in a study so that I get in the word on a regular basis. Sad but true.
4. I once wanted to be a back up dancer for MC Hammer. Are you laughing picturing that. Me a back up dancer? My friend Megan and I would try to dance like those crazy dancers non-stop my freshman year of High School.
5. In September I left ground beef in my car for 3 days without noticing it wasn't in my freezer. It slipped out of the HEB grocery sack and let's just say that Mark and I literally thought an animal had died in my car it stunk so bad. We had to get my car detailed just to get rid of that smell. NOT exactly how I wanted to spend $90!!!
6. My nickname from HS was Banjo-cool huh?
7. Target is my home away from home. I spend WAY too much time and money in that store. I just LOVE it!
8. I'm addicted to my iPhone. Seriously the best gift I've ever gotten-besides my children of course. Sorry that makes me sound so materialistic, but it's the honest truth. -:)
9. I had a crush on my husband when I was 15, but we didn't start dating until my 5th year of college. God's timing!
10. I Never, Ever thought I would live in Waco after growing up here, but I cannot imagine living anywhere else. I love that I can leave my house at 5:00 and not be stuck in traffic for 2 hours. I love that my family goes to FBC Woodway and we get to see people I have known my entire life. I love that my kids get to see their grandparents so much. I love shopping here and playing here and all that this town has to offer. I heart Waco, and I'll defend this town to anyone who gives me grief!

I know some very honest bloggers who are worthy of this award. So to Caryn, Kacey, Mindy, Robin, Shannon B., Shannon M. and Leigh I cannot wait to hear your acceptance speeches!

Ready

Have a warm weekend!

A cup of JOY

Last week I hosted a table at a Women's Ministry event at our church. It was called A Cup of Joy and let's just say that my heart was not filled with Joy that night! I really did have a terrible attitude about attending this event, bringing all my dishes up to church and sitting with women I didn't know, etc. But, do you know what I was actually blessed in spite of myself. That is a lesson I seem to repeat over, and over and over. It's NOT about me!!! Honestly you think that I need a baseball bat to the head sometimes. (or the back door of my explorer...that's worked well in the past!!!) I had a great time visiting with women of all ages in our church, and got to know several new ladies. We had a grown up tea party and then a woman spoke from Prestonwood Baptist Church in Dallas and she was great! She had a very vivid illustration about God clearly speaking to her, telling her that she needed to clean a public Texaco restroom that I will never forget. The point of her story is that when God asks us to do something we want to be able to say yes Lord, with a happy attitude. That is exactly what I needed to hear that night. His timing was perfect...as usual.

My snowman table

Katy, Lauren and I. Such sweet friends -:)

Katy's beautiful table

And Lauren's gorgeous table

Maybe next year you can join us? With a little J-O-Y down in my heart, deep, deep down in my heart!

Decor

I really love the way our home feels at Christmas. There's nothing spectacular, nothing extreme it's just cozy and warm and full of Christmas lights and kids excitement. My prayer is that we can slow down and really honor this season of our Savior's birth.

Ryan's tree in his room. He's showing me his favorite ornament that he painted in art class at school. They got to paint a tile from Practically Picasso which is pretty cool! It's not hanging on the tree because it's just too heavy for his poor little tree.

Miss Priss REFUSED to look at me but here's the back of her pretty little head and her tiny pink tree.

Ryan helped put out all the tiny trees for my glitter houses. He really did a great job.

Look how high I can reach this year. So proud.

My do it too!

Hope you have a peaceful week.

Build A Bear?

While we were in Houston we had to do a little shopping, of course:) We went to my very favorite shopping center, Highland Village and they just happen to have a Williams-Sonoma! We went in and they were having a FREE Build-A-Bear cooking class. My kids love to cook and bake so Honey and I were all over this. We got them a place right up front and made sure that they had everything they needed to make an awesome Bear. They have these bear cake molds that they made with Rice Krispie treats and then the kids got to decorate them and take them home. Such a fun time!!!

Ally LOVED this build a bear. She really couldn't get enough!

My little pastry chef

One of the workers just feel in love with Ally and she was very helpful. (Ally even gave her a bite of her treat, which of course freaked me out...you would be proud to know that I didn't even say one thing to her about how we don't share our food with STRANGERS!)

Ally ate more than she decorated!

My little Reindeer -:)

I thought this picture summed up our shopping day perfectly. Ryan playing a game on my phone and Ally right by his side every step of the way. He really is so loving and patient with her, it's too sweet!

Giving Thanks

What a joyful Thanksgiving weekend we had! Kacey and Josh were so gracious to host our Purdy Thanksgiving on Saturday in Houston. Everyone helped cook different dishes, and Kacey set a beautiful table. We had the best time despite a few mishaps. Stacey III got an awful stomach bug, I dropped the macaroni (yeah that's right I dropped the entire dish-But I'm sure it was going to be delicious:), the dog ran in covered in mud...and many other small things that will make this a Purdy Thanksgiving to remember! Nothing seemed to faze Kacey and Josh, so you can imagine how calm they were the next few days. Simply Amazing! Now on to Monday morning:

Waiting...

Kacey checked in to the hospital the night before with a scheduled induction so we know that some time on Monday we would get to meet Lila! We had an absolute blast waiting as you can see from the pictures above. Ryan and Ally were just incredible, and they both got extra special stocking treats for their behavior that day. Ally and Wyatt even napped in the waiting room, which is completely unheard of! Meanwhile Kacey was so beautiful and calm throughout the entire day.

And then, a little after 4:00 we saw Josh walking down the hallway all smiles! He immediately showed us Lila's first picture and all her beautiful brown hair and he told us how amazing Kacey did. She is PERFECT! You can only imagine how ecstatic we all were. Screaming and crying and taking like 400 million pictures. Oh there's no telling what the other people in the waiting room were thinking...

Proud Papa

The Warren family of 3!

GP's 5th grandchild...I just love this picture

My niece...my very first niece. I was just so excited I was blubbering.

Sweet Aunt Cary

Josh's sister Roxann and Caryn's son Wyatt meeting Lila...he wanted to know all about her!

Mark and Ally and Ryan also got to meet Lila but I didn't get pictures with all my crying, etc...The next day Wyatt was still checking her out, so cute!

Ally didn't know quite what to think, and she definately did not like me holding another baby!

Kacey I love you so much and I am so proud of you and Josh. Congratulations!!! My baby sister has a baby, unbelievable! You guys are already such great parents. Love you!