Weekend Getaway to NOLA- July 2016

My Hubby had to work in New Orleans for 2 weeks. I wasn't crazy about him being away that long and it didn't work out for me and Arlee to tag along the entire time. But we did decide to make a little getaway weekend out of it, in the middle of his time away. Yes, I was a tad nervous to drive there by myself with Arlee but I knew it would be worth it once I we arrived. I got a dog - sitter to stay at the house which would make the trip a whole lot easier!

So, on Thursday evening I loaded up the car and when we got up Friday morning we hit the road for that 5 hour trip. Arlee did fantastic!!! I was soo proud of him. I was also surprised he stayed awake the entire drive.

We ended up getting in just as Lee was getting off work. Perfect timing. He was staying in a hotel right in downtown NOLA. We had the nist amazing view..we were so close to the Cruise Ships!!..Here is a picture of one peeking behind the buildings.

Once we got settled in we were able to walk around downtown and enjoy a wonderful dinner.

 We took a walk down Riverside and ended up in the mall. It was the best thing for Arlee, he was able to play in the play area and burn off lots of energy!!!

We also came across this Hurricane Katrina Memorial of a house thrown into a tree.  It was made out of scrap and debris from Katrina. It was very humbling and eye-opening.

On Saturday we walked around again and checked out the Aquarium.

         Daddy and Arlee waiving down at Momma

                                    Yogurt Break

We went back to the hotel for a little nap time. .lol Then that evening  we ventured out of the downtown area and did a little sight seeing and went out for dinner

 Sunday we had a slow lazy day. We found an amazing park for Arlee. Then we did a little shopping (as in I did some shopping...there was a fantastic Charming Charlies there!) And then we topped the night off with the Cheesecake Factory!

 What a way to end a perfect weekend! !!

Once Arlee and I got home and back in our routine, I decided to detract him a little from missing his Daddy. We went to see the Secret Life of Pets...Absolutely Adorable 

 How precious is this picture. He reached for my hand to hold!!!..talk about melting a heart!!

The Adventures of Arlee - Summer of 2016

This summer has been such a fun one for Arlee. He is growing up so quickly and learning something new everyday.  I thought it would be fun to share some of the highlights of his summer. He is 2 but quickly approaching 3. This summer his speech and communication really developed and he talks non-stop. We are still working on potty training . Occasionally he wears his "Choo-choo Choe" (Paw patrol) undies..he picked them out!!


Our normal routine is sleeping in, watching a cartoon while drinking milk, breakfast, (his favorite includes toast with jelly, banana, smoothie, banana cakes and cereal) then off for our daily walk to the little "creek" where we throw rocks and sticks!! Then...Playing outside, "wimming", driving his truck, playing inside with choo-choos and cars, fighting a nap and going to the piano studio.

Just a little recap of our Summer included.....

                           Lots of play time outside...

 Playing in the pool and in the sprinklers..

He spent lots of time climbing and playing up in his fort...we had the first 2 stories available for him but blocked off the 3rd. I wanted to wait until he was bigger to go that high...but he  figured out how to get up to the 3rd story. We quickly realized we could not keep him down so Lee very quickly build rails and a ladder so he could safely get up there...what a monkey!!

Arlee finding frogs..

Arlee learning how to climb trees...

He learned how to curl his hair....

                                Straighten his hair...

              And most importantly, accessorize...lol

Okay, so obviously he needs more boy time..lol

His summer included lots of silly time.....

Lots of play time

He loves his "farmer" and he loves Buzz

                  His diaper was about to pop!!!

Playing in the water and then flooding the bathroom...

 Lots of time at the piano studio with momma...

               

And lots of projects with daddy......

Lots and lots of ice cream... "cream cream"

And lots of "corn- corn" 

He loves to crawl in my bed and watch a movie while I'm getting ready...

He fights nap time but it almost always wins...he plays hard and he sleeps hard...

And he has grown like a weed...

We bought some Land

As if we don't have enough on our plates, we decided to buy some land. 48 acres to be exact. It kinda just fell in our laps and we really wanted to grab the opportunity. My hubby has been wanting more land. Our house sits on an acre and this land is about 15 mins away. So, it's perfect for us...and who knows, maybe we will built my dream house here someday.....


                                 

He just could not handle all the excitement of the day and passed out in my arms!!

the Gates Girls- Sarah's Birthday

My SIL Jess and I wanted to do something special for Sarah, our other SIL, on her bday. About a year and a half ago she had twins, and as you can expect our girl time is few and far between. So, her mom watched the kiddos and we kidnapped her for some lunch, shopping and pedis. We may have even hit a yard sasle or two...lol I think I needed this day as much as the bday girl!!!

                Just waiting patiently for our pedis!

And of course, we ended the day with ice cream!!

Can You Let Go and Trust God?

I have always loved the story of the little girl who loved her fake pearl necklace. She wore it everyday and never took it off. That necklace was her pride and joy. She played in it, ate in it, bathed in it and slept in it. Her Father noticed how dingy the necklace had become. The paint was beginning to peel away. And the necklace was old and in pitiful shape.

He asked his little girl if she would like to get rid of it. She quickly reached for her necklace, shook her head No and took off running.

 He  was very aware of his daughters love and passion for the necklace. But the necklace had seen it's last day. He decided it was time to buy her a new pearl necklace but this time a real one. One that would not peel, or chip away with time. One that she could love and cherish forever.

That night, at bedtime the Father asked the little girl to give him her necklace. "No Daddy" she quickly answered and hopped into bed and reached for her doll. " Here Daddy, you can have my dolly." The Dad chuckled to himself, "That's okay" and kissed his little darling goodnight.

The next night the Dad again asked for her dirty dingy fake pearl necklace, the little girl cried and held on to her prized possession and said "No". The loving father felt the shiny new pearl necklace that was hiding in his pocket, kissed her goodnight and walked away.

After a few nights of receiving a "No" the dad thought he might take another approach. The old necklace was about to fall apart and he knew this would crush his little girls heart if it broke.

 He knew tonight would have to be the night. So, just like he had the other nights he asked his little girl to give him the old necklace. When she responded with a firm No, he sat next to her on the bed. "Sweetie, do you love me?" She quickly nodded her head yes with a big smile. "Do you love me more than that necklace?" Her eyes got big and begin to tear up. She nodded her head slower this time up and down.
"Do you trust me?" Again she slowly nodded her head yes while a tear fell down her face. "I want you to give me your necklace. I know you don't understand but I want you to obey me and trust me."
 His daughter began to cry as she took off her necklace. Her chubby hands held her favorite treasure for the last time, then she placed it tenderly into her loving Father's hand.

Once she handed it over to her Daddy, he hugged her then reached into his pocket and pulled out a new  beautiful white shiny pearl necklace. She squealed with excitement, just as he expected. She loved her new pearl necklace. It was so much better than her old one. She quickly put it on and hugged and kissed her Daddy. She instantly forgot all about the old dirty fake necklace she had held on to because now she had a new shiny real pearl necklace

The kind Father had something so much better for his little girl, all she had to do was let go of her way and accept her Father's way.

What a beautiful illistration this is for us.  God has so much in store for us but we have to let go of our ways. What are we holding on to? What is it that we refuse to let go of?
God only gives the best and He knows what is best. We need to trust in Him and not settle for second best.