Our Weekend

So we did it! We took our first trip away together since having children. The kids had a blast while we were gone and so did we! I am going to give a detailed rundown of the weekend mainly for Daniel and I have for the future. Feel free to read it but some of the random details you may find rather boring.

Saturday: We had a nice morning together as a family. We spent the morning enjoying being together while packing, cleaning, etc. Around 11am we took the kids over to the Williams house. They are kind of surrogate grandparents to Lillian and Wilson. The kids were very excited when we arrived. Daniel and I sat and visited with JC and Dianne for awhile over a cup of coffee and some pastries. Around 11:30 we decide we would head north (in hopes of getting on an earlier flight). We prayed together and sad goodbye to the kids, at which time I was trying very hard to hold back my tears. I didn't want Lillian or Wilson to see me sad prior to our departure. After lots of hugs and kisses, byes and we love yous, Daniel and I hopped in the car, at that point my tears fell. I dried them up quickly but they were definitely present. Daniel and I had a wonderful drive to the airport. During our drive we both had moments of pointing out the trains to each other and other random landmarks on the outside of the vehicle only to remember that we didn't have any small children in the car with us. We both giggled.

Once we arrived at the airport we enjoyed a nice leisurely stroll to security. When we got to our gate we saw that our plane was delayed by 25 minutes so we jumped on the earlier flight at the last minute. I enjoyed a TCBY yogurt all to myself as my lunch while on the plane. I read the entire plane ride! It was so nice. I have not been able to do that since having kids and I forgot how nice it was to just open my book and read. I still read a lot but it is usually in the evening when I am fighting my eyes to stay open for one more paragraph before I give in a go to sleep.

We got to LA-picked up our rental car (white Dodge Journey) and went and checked in at our hotel. It was a Courtyard by Marriot in Century City. We then returned to the airport to pick up our luggage that was on our original flight and then head to Santa Monica to find some food. Daniel's boss has a brother who lives in Santa Monica so he told us to go to Montana Avenue. That all of the locals headed there to eat. We found a darling little cafe with white twinkly lights called Cafe Montana. We enjoyed our Chicken Marsala and quiet conversation. It was even a treat to be eating dinner after 7pm because most of the time we are home putting kids in bed around this time.

After our quaint dinner we drove over to Hollywood and met the rest of the Gungor band at the house they were staying at. We visited and discussed what the next day would entail.

Sunday:

We woke up early and headed to Angelus Temple in downtown LA. This is the church that is connected with the LA Dream Center  (www.dreamcenter.org). The Sunday service was featuring several different people that were up Grammy Awards. It was a wonderful morning and lots of great music. Daniel was thrilled to spend some time with Kirk Whalum. He is a Grammy winning saxophonist who ran the Sunday service.

 Getting ready to head to church

 Kurk Whalum

 Kurk Whalum and Lalah Hathaway

 Gungor

Sinbad introducing Isreal Houghton

Isreal Houghton and Michael Gungor

 Isreal Houghton and Kurk Whalum

Us


After church it was time to hurry up and get dressed for the Grammy Awards. Daniel and I had driven our car so he raced out and grabbed our clothes and we changed in a back room at the church.

Michael Gungor getting his finishing touches

My hot date

All dressed and ready to go

You can not see my shoes in any of the pics...so here is a picture! Thank you Something New Boutique! I love my new shoes!

My clutch...thanks to my BOBBFF Kristin Sharpe!

We had a VIP parking pass so Daniel and I jumped into our rental car and headed to the Staples Center. 

We were not allowed to take cameras into the events so we left ours at home. We had to make do with our cell phones (both of which had very low battery power left). When arriving at the show we were greeted with food.

                                                     Our tickets, parking pass, program

Greeted with lots of food and drinks

 We sat and enjoyed the Pre-telecast show-which opened with a song played by Esperanza Spalding (who later won best new artist) and Bobby McFerrin. The drummer from The Roots also sat down right in front of us. Daniel had fun with that. Gungor did not received any Grammy awards that night and we were all a bit disappointed. 

Here is the link to the opening act

Bobby McFerrin & Esperanza Spalding jam at the 53rd GRAMMY Pre-Tel

www.youtube.com

What better to do when you are bummed than to go eat??! That is what we did...we walked and ate and a little place across from the Staples Center with the rest of the band-until we headed back for the prime time show.

Now I have no more pictures from the night. We enjoyed the chance to be at The Grammy Awards but we were both really tired by this point. We had a blast but we both agreed that it would be a lot more fun if we could sit where John Mayer and Keith Urban get to sit. :) We are sooo glad we went and had a great time but if we are going to go again (and pay) we want to be up close! :) As far as seeing anyone "famous" that didn't really happen. All of the celebrities get sent in through separate entrances and have their own bathrooms. They really do not have to mix and mingle with us common folk at all! As Daniel and I returned to our car we laughed because the red carpet was set up right by where we parked-had we stayed at our car we probably would have seen a ton of people!

Monday: 

Daniel and I started our day by driving to Santa Monica Beach and eating at a cute little breakfast joint right off the beach. We then took a nice walk along the beach. 

After that we hit up the Santa Monica Goodwill and I scored a darling purse.

 We headed back to our hotel and took a nap...I never take naps and this was such a treat! We then hit up a sushi joint (with pink rice for Valentine's Day)

We also enjoyed  a leisurely walk on Rodeo Drive.

We then found a theater and watched the movie The King's Speech. We both really enjoyed doing that. 

Here is a picture right outside the theater. It was in a very nice outdoor mall area.

Lastly we met up with one of Daniel's dad's friends at a little restaurant in Beverly Hills. Daniel and I laughed because we felt like we were living an alternate life...here we are in the 90210 zip code enjoying a trio play that Michael Buble just produced their album. Daniel's dads friend was eating with Mrs. Mancini-the widow of the late, great, Henry Mancini-who has won the most Grammy awards of all-time at 20 total, Henry's daughter and son-in-law, as well as Phil Ramone who has won 15 Grammy awards himself. When we sat down to eat we saw that the minimum bill for that night was $90. Thankfully our waitress allowed us to eat just dessert (we later found out that Daniel's dad's friend purchased our food) Thanks so much Mitchell Moore!

Here is the website to the little lounge we hung out at: www.nicsbeverlyhills.com

Tuesday:

We slept in a bit and then walked around an outdoor mall and had breakfast. We came back and packed up and slowly worked our way to the airport. Our flight home was relaxing and peaceful. It was so great to see our kids and give them hugs. They did so great without us! We are so thankful to have wonderful family and friends who helped us out soooo much! We love you!

February?!

Is it really February! Once again I am starting a blog with...."its been too long since I've written..." Rather than torture myself I will just jump right in with the updates!

December: Long story...shortened A LOT. We were presented with the opportunity to live in a friend's home for the year (basically house sit) for the year while he is in Afghanistan-working as a civilian for the year there. When our friend made us this offer we told we had a house but if we could find renters we would consider it. I posted our house on Craigslist (one of my FAVORITE websites) and the next morning we had a man walking through our home telling us he was ready to move in the next weekend! We were shocked, thrilled, and a little nervous. After lots of phone calls and discussion we moved out of our house the weekend before Christmas and moved into another home less than a mile down the road. Its a wonderful home and we are feeling very settled in our new "place."

We spent Christmas in Tulsa and had a very relaxing week. We did a whole lot of just hanging out which was so nice for all of us! Every time we are in Tulsa it goes way too fast. We do not do everything we anticipated but we so enjoy our visits.

The holidays always remind us of how blessed we are! The Grothes and the Wakleys are wonderful! We got to see grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles all during Thanksgiving and Christmas! Daniel and I will just marvel in how much we love our family and enjoying spending time with all of our family! We know its not common and we do not take that for granted.

Upon returning from T-town Daniel started classes for his masters. He is really excited to be getting his masters at Fuller Theological Seminary. We are thankful that they have a campus here in Colorado Springs.   He has also been traveling a lot which has left the kids and I spending quite a bit of time together without Daniel. All three of us miss him a lot when he is not around! :) When we looked at our calendar we realized that Daniel was gone at least 1 night each week through the first week of March, plus taking two graduate courses, maintaining a full time job and a family, plus his amazing support at The Children's Playroom! No wonder January flew by! We are SO thankful for his opportunities to travel. New Life has been so gracious with Daniel regarding the flexibility to go out and play. It provides us with a little extra income and he has opportunities to play drums which he loves!

February started off with a bang! We had a pipe burst at our rental home! Thankfully they were home and knew almost immediately what was going on!

Next week Daniel and I are taking our first trip together without the kids-since having kids! We are heading to Los Angeles for the Grammy Awards! The band he plays with was nominated for two Grammys. We are excited for a fun weekend. There will be pictures and updates to follow.

The kids are amazing! Lillian is growing into such a sweet little lady. She has such a tender heart and is eager to please! We are in the process of figuring out preschool for her. I never realized that I would be that mom struggling with a decision like that. I have laughed at myself a lot. Motherhood has definitely caused me to eat more words more often that I would like to admit!

Wilson is getting busier by the minute. He has passion and excitement in everything he does. He LOVES drums, playing ball, and reading books! Those are his 3 favorite things to do. He has definitely figured out how to push his older sister's buttons. Many times Daniel has said "I sooo remember doing that to my sisters!" Ha!

I guess that is about it! Now on to laundry and picking up the house!

Thanks

Just when I feel like I have settled into a groove it all feels disrupted. I think I am doing a better job, writing down my thoughts and then 6 weeks pass and I haven't written a thing. I know it would be easier if I just kept up but goodness knows that is much easier said than done at times.

In the hurried up life we lead no matter how much I try to slow it down, I am backtracking and writing down things I am thankful for several days after Thanksgiving. I guess that leads me to my first thought:

1. Grace: I am so thankful for grace in my life. I am thankful for the grace of my Lord and Savior, without whom I'd be in trouble. I'm thankful for the grace of my husband who is so good to me. How romantic to think that I have a man who loves me during my greatest moments as well as my darkest. He loves me not only despite my faults, he loves my faults because they are me! For anyone who thinks that life gets less romantic after marriage, to them I say it doesn't have to be. I pray our lives get only more romantic. Of course with that we must get a little more creative at times and of course its not the same as when it was just the two of us, but oh the joys we share now as our family grows! I am thankful for grace from my kids. Goodness knows I make mistakes and that their faces still light up with joy every time they see me is astounding! Grace, grace, grace. I love that I have family and friends that know me and still love me. I am one blessed woman!

2. My home: not just my physical home but my home--my family, our dog, our routines, neighborhood walks, and the memories we have made in our little house. I am getting antsy at times to get in a bigger house but the dreams that have come true in our little house on Amelia Island Street are the happiest of my life.

(This list is in random order, not in order of importance.)

3. My coffee pot: Last year I got one of those single cup coffee pots. That little coffee maker has helped me through some sleepless nights.

4. My family: This includes my immediate family, my parents, in-laws, siblings, grandparents, nieces and nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles. I feel so blessed to have been born into such a wonderful family and then to have married into another one!

5. A steady small business. When almost 3 years ago we opened The Children's Playroom (www.thechildrensplayroom.net) with our dear friends Matt and Tiffany Gowler, little did we know that the economy would tank soon after we opened our doors. We are steadily growing each month and are learning a lot as we go. I am most grateful for the moments when moms and dads tell us that they don't know what they would do without us, explaining to us how we have helped their family through some tough times...all while bringing joy to their children in the midst of it!

6. My Christmas tree that has ornaments on the top half of the tree. Wilson has used our ornaments for footballs and drumsticks since we put them on the tree. We now have a tree that makes me smile every time I look at it because it reminds me of the phase of life I am in right now and it is just so much fun!

7. Christmas lights. Lillian loves spotting the Christmas lights when we are out! Wilson jumps into with his token grunt and point! This year has been such a blast.

8. Having a 3 year old and a 1 year old.  Lillian is so into everything. She loves to write, color, play pretend everything! Wilson loves to throw anything and everything he can get his hands on. They both love the drums. Both give amazing hugs and squeezes around the neck! And both of them love to dance! It's a party every day at our place. And even though the house gets turned upside down regularly, my heart is so full I don't know how I can contain it!

My list could go on for miles! Thanksgiving morning we sat with our kids at our table and talked about being thankful. Lillian took turns with us in sharing what we are grateful for. Wilson grunted out his thanks. We want to be people that are finding reasons to be thankful. If we're careful to look, we'll find no shortage of reasons.

(Here's a pic of our recent trip to Florida. We saw an alligator chillin' in the everglades. Don't mess with those guys. They're big!)

(Side note: I wrote this on Friday and I am just getting around to posting it).
Wow..what a week. Where to start, I guess with Sunday. Sunday we got together with Daniel's family for a few hours to take some big family pictures and eat dinner. Daniel's youngest sister and her new husband were in town visiting from Tulsa. That means there were 17 (seven of which are children 4 years old and under). As well as one of Daniel's sister's, in-laws. We had a great time all together. Well in less than 48 hours 14 of us had a violent stomach bug. I have never heard of a bug traveling that quickly (no it wasn't food poisoning). During Lillian's nap on Monday I started feeling a little queasy and while I was talking to my mom I told her that I was praying it wasn't a stomach bug. Back in May I had a violent bug that ended up with me in an urgent care office getting iv's of zofran on my 29th birthday. Well Lillian wakes up and then it all begins. She starts, I follow not too far behind.

Daniel so graciously took care of Lillian while she was sick. He took her down and slept in the basement with her while I battled the bug upstairs. Around 2am I wake up to hearing Daniel in the kitchen and he informs me that he is now sick. We quickly change the sheets in our room so he can sleep up there and I go down to finish the night with Lillian (I was feeling better). I wish I would have taken a picture of all of the laundry that I had to do the next few days. Thankfully Wilson avoided it. Daniel's parents saved him from the chaos and he slept there on Monday night. Although they later became victims of the bug themselves.

As we re-entered the world we heard of LOTs of people who experienced this bug in the same time frame. Crazy little virus. I wonder what Lillian thinks germs are. We keep talking about them and washing our hands and cleaning EVERYTHING! Maybe I need to have her draw a picture of what a germ is so I can get in her head. We spent lots of time at home making sure we were all well and not going to let that little bug get around any more. Thankfully that bug knows he is no longer welcome in our home.


On a totally different note a quick Lillianism:
Yesterday Lillian, Wilson and I were playing. Lillian started to have a little meltdown about who knows what now. I informed her that she was over reacting. She settled down and we continued to play. Before long she starts crying again and I look at her inquisitively trying to figure out why the alligator tears again? She explains to me "Mom, I just want to cry." I respond with, "Okay Lillian, but why are you crying?" To which she answers "I don't know." I just held her and tell her that we have all felt that way before. It won't be the last time that she will just feel like crying and not really know why! Oh to be a girl...

Here are a few new pictures:

Playing with  Zoobs. If you have never played with them they would make a great Christmas gift.

Kind of like legos but they move around and they have no small pieces.

Bath time fun

My sweet girl