braidyn & mali - the life of two little byrd's...

no time for blogging!

2010-08-09T20:43:00.000-07:00

as you may have noticed by now, i have not been blogging! i'm way too busy!! so, friend me on facebook for updates because that's about all i have time to do! thanks for keeping up with our family!

introducing...

2009-11-16T11:00:00.000-08:00

teagan audrey byrd

arrived october 23, 2009 at 12:23pm

6 lbs 2.8 oz, 18 3/4 inches

2009 balloon fiesta!

2009-10-16T15:34:00.001-07:00

2009-09-25T21:27:00.000-07:00

my sweet mali jean. SO fun having aunt amy as a super fabulous photographer...and hair stylist :)

videos from b's first soccer game

2009-09-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

keep in mind this was her very first soccer game ever and she literally learned how to play 45 minutes before this game...and she's 5! but considering, she did such a great job. her team didn't win but i think that's because there was a professional in disguise in a 5-yr-old's body on the other team :)

the first video is when they scored their first goal. b's friend marlee made the goal and i love b's reaction!

the second video is of b taking it down the field. she was awesome and got really close but didn't score...next time b! see if you can tell who the professional in disguise is...

b's first soccer game

2009-09-15T10:56:00.001-07:00

you can't tell in this picture, but she picked out cleats and shin guards that have butterflies on them. when you're 5 you can play soccer while still being super girly.
she did such a great job at getting in there and getting the ball...
a little offsides but that's okay...

and exhaustion...i guess it can drive you to do strange things...

best buddies...or butt buddies?

2009-09-15T10:29:00.000-07:00

grayson came over to play yesterday and he and mali had a blast. their play dynamic is completely different without their older sisters in the way. i really can't tell you why they are doing this or why this even started, but it was hilarious and i had to get it on video. i love their faces and little giggles...and the fact that g kept putting mali back into position!

they started the day with a little buddy reading on mali's bed. they were reading about dora and all of her friends. it was funny to hear them talking about all of the characters. they were sharing and getting along so well!

pizza night!

2009-09-06T15:02:00.000-07:00

instead of paying insane prices to order a pizza these days, we decided to make our own. we already had the movie and popcorn and now all we needed were our pizzas. the girls apron'd up and got their hands dirty...

first comes the sauce...

then the cheese. as you can see, i had to refrain mali from taking ALL of the cheese...
then comes the pepperoni. b doesn't like them so it was all mali.
then, of course, mali stops to eat said pepperoni. the look on b's face cracks me up.
and some pineapple!! b gets extra and mali continues to eat the toppings.
our finished pizzas!
mommy and daddy had some fun too :)

wordless wednesday...

2009-08-26T15:32:00.000-07:00

braidyn is a kindergartner!!

2009-08-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

my braidyn looks 13!

bye bye hugs from mali

in front of the school. she's going to double eagle elementary school.
going right on in! and these are her teachers, mrs. rossner and mrs. cathy.
some of her new friends.
story time! mrs. rossner read the kissing hand, which is about a little raccoon who was anxious about going to school. his mother shared a family secret with him, the kissing hand. she gave him a kiss on his paw and told him to press the kiss to his cheek whenever he missed her. after the story, chris and i kissed b's hand and she kissed ours, it was too sweet!
she got after school ice cream of course!! mali was very grateful to be along for the ride!

just a little update...

2009-08-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

...since i seem to have NO time to do this anymore!

we went to chili's friday night after we returned from sedona (a post on that will be coming soon). mali left her paci on the table and we decided not to go back and get it. that night she didn't cry when going to bed, she just wouldn't stay in her bed. chris and i were trying to watch a movie so we just figured she'd fall asleep at some point. went to check on the girls a little later to find that mali had taken off her pj's and put on a dress and had two different flip-flops on her feet. braidyn's flip-flops that is. she was fast asleep. but comfortable! of course the battery in my camera had died so i was unable to take a picture, but i wanted to post the memory anyway!

she is officially paci free and doing well. nap times are difficult (today's nap was only 45 minutes as opposed to her typical 2 hour nap) but i'm sure in a few days all will be back to normal...whatever that is :) plus she's starting school this week! kid's express preschool anyway...and only if she gets in, she's still on the waiting list!

braidyn starts kindergarten this week!! i can NOT believe this came so soon. she meets her teacher on thursday and her official first day is friday. we got her some school supplies yesterday and got a very stylish outfit for her first day. she picked out a butterfly shirt, some dark denim capris, black and purple kickers, and a super cute bright pink headband that ties in the back. you will definitely see a picture of her "first day" outfit once the day comes!

mali's bday party

2009-07-27T09:04:00.000-07:00

of course the camera battery died at the end of the song but we got the majority of it! she obviously couldn't resist the yummy cake, we couldn't keep her hands of off it! she didn't devour it like last year but she already had too many chips, grapes, m&m's, pops, and whatever else people were handing her!!

happy birthday sweet mali jean!!!!

2009-07-27T09:00:00.001-07:00

happy birthday sweet mali jean! we can't believe you are TWO today. you brighten our days with your laughter, your lispe, and your silly dancing to "beat it". we love you so very much and are SO glad God gave you to us!

BEAT IT!!!

2009-07-21T11:27:00.000-07:00

this may be the funniest video i've ever posted...and longest. it's really the very beginning that's so stinkin' funny. anyway, the girls LOVE "beat it" by michael jackson. they request it over and over...and over and over again. they have a cd player in their room and every time we walk in there mali yells "BEAT IT!". the other day chris told me that mali attempted the moonwalk while dancing to this song...we had never even showed her what the moonwalk was, i guess it's just in her blood :) she is a true mj! many of our friends wanted to see it on video but we couldn't get her to do it again without showing her this time what the moonwalk was. it's not original, but still funny nonetheless, and she's definitely added some moves of her own as well! we cry with laughter every time we watch this video, so if it's as funny to you as it is to us, then you might want to have some kleenex handy!

the cruise...a post in progress...

2009-07-07T13:15:00.000-07:00

hey guys! i know it's been a long time since i've posted but i've been a little busy lately! after hangin' in denver with amy, aislyn, and grayson, my mom, sister, and i went on a cruise. i have a bazillion things to blog about but since the cruise is fresh in my mind and everyone's been asking me how it went, i thought i'd go ahead and post some goodies from the cruise first. here goes....

first things first, we boarded the ship and checked out the lunch buffet. to our excitement christy and i spotted some crawfish (not crawdads or crayfish...crawfish people) and some mac n cheese that we had on our last cruise...SO good! so we loaded up our plates and shoved our faces!
for dinner, you have the same table mates during the cruise. we had a full table and met some of the greatest people! jim, willie, and chris, victor and valentin, and david and chris. we had the privilege of dining with our new friends four nights in a row! for some reason i don't have any pictures of these fantastic people, just some video, which doesn't want to upload at the moment. if i can get some of the pics from christy's camera, i'll post some pics of our friends.

if any of you guys are reading the blog, we truly enjoyed meeting you and hope to keep in touch and cruise together again in the future! we had SUCH a great time getting to know each and every one of you!! thanks for making dinner (and the casino, hot tub, sun bathing, midnight mexican buffet, karaoke, cabo, etc) so much fun!!

speaking of dinner...mmmmm...never a dissappointing plate my friends. and dessert...hold on, i'm salivating...already missing my chocolate melting cake with extra vanilla ice cream. it's the bomb. literally. an explosion in your mouth! here's a pic, half eaten of course, couldn't ever remember to take a picture of it before i dug in...people, it is really that good. oh, also pictured was some sort of souffle. it was good, but nothing compares to the chocolate melting cake with extra vanilla ice cream. and please don't judge me for having two desserts. the baby wanted one of them and i couldn't tell her no. ha.
moving on to cabo. our excursion was a land & sea tour of cabo. we visited the peninsula, a glass blowing factory, a cactus garden, a restaurant with the most amazing view i've ever seen, and a shopping district on another part of the island. it was a bit long and tiring, but we had a great time seeing cabo in a way that we couldn't have done on our own. and our friends victor and valentin were on our same excursion so we had fun exploring with them!

this was our boat tour along the peninsula

the glass blowing factory - these guys made a beautiful glass pitcher in like 5 minutes! for some reason this is the only video my computer likes at the moment.

one of the many breathtaking views from georgio's restaurant...amazing!

the cactus garden. they had over 40 species of cacti there...i think. i was too tired to remember. and i wasn't necessarily doing cartwheels about this part of our tour.

and back to the ship we go!

for our late night entertainment, we did a little karaoke. christy closed the show with a little carrie underwood and had the whole crowd cheering. as soon as i can get my videos to upload, i'll post the video...it's really good!
but for now, i will post some pics of valentin and chris doing the hustle. chris wasn't sure if he remembered how to do it so valentin refreshed his memory. it was quite entertaining! chris is in the red and valentin in the white.

i have a few more videos i want to post from the cruise but those are all of the pics for now.

after we debarked in san diego, we spent the day at the beach on coronado island. we went to a historical hotel on the island where we ate lunch overlooking the beach and then took a walk along the beach before we headed back. i SO wish we had a beach in albuquerque!
oh, and please excuse the picture and the whale in the picture. it was taken with my camera phone and well, i was in the picture.

that's it for now, but check back soon for more videos from the cruise and more posts of the fam!

praying for grayson

2009-06-09T15:56:00.000-07:00

our sweet nephew grayson is heading to colorado today to go to a super duper hospital dedicated to children with allergies. please keep him and his family in your prayers as they travel. they have also has illnesses hit them as of yesterday - fever, diarrhea, and strep...not fun when you're traveling. for frequent updates about little g, visit the grebe family blog here.

Rainbow Flower Byrd

2009-05-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

braidyn just informed us that she would like us to name her new baby sister Rainbow Flower Byrd. any thoughts? suggestions? please, we welcome them all!

WING!!!

2009-05-20T16:14:00.000-07:00

mali loves to "wing". i know this video is longer than a minute, but you have to wait to the end...it's the best part. she would "wing" all day if we let her. "winging" is just a real good time!

oh, and please pardon our neighbor's weed-wacking. rude. (only some of you will get that.)

my favorite hat

2009-05-19T09:02:00.001-07:00

yes, it's a kitchen bowl from b's play kitchen, but don't tell her that.

cousins

2009-05-19T08:57:00.001-07:00

cousin playdates are the best!

aquaphor

2009-05-19T08:54:00.000-07:00

...and this was the first time it happened. the second time braidyn was standing there egging her on, telling her where to put it next. i didn't get pictures that time because i was a bit more mad...oh, and it took about 6 hair washes to finally get it out. sweet mali jean.

thorns...

2009-03-26T11:29:00.001-07:00

the other day braidyn and i were in the drive-thru at sonic...waiting patiently in line...and the song "big house" by audio adrenaline came on the radio. this is one of b's favorite songs...she knows every word. anyway, this was our conversation as the song came on...

me: you know b, when it says "Father's house" it means God's house.

b: no, it means our house...

me: no, it's talking about when we die and go to Heaven, that we get to go to God's house...our Father's house.

b: well, i'm scared to die.

me: why baby??

b: because of the thorns.

me: what thorns baby?

b: well, Jesus got thorns when he died.

me: that's right, but Jesus took our thorns for us so that when we die, we don't have to have the thorns.

b: well, what happened to the thorns?

me: when Jesus died, they took the crown of thorns off of him and threw them away...they are gone, i promise.

b: oh.

me: so, when we die, if we have Jesus in our hearts, we get to go to Heaven...NO THORNS...and we get to have fun in God's house!

b: well, i don't have Jesus in my heart.

me: why not?

b: because i forgot to ask Him.

me: well, do you want to ask Him right now?

b: yeah!

me: okay, well then repeat after me...

b: no momma, i can do it.

me: are you sure? you should say something like...."Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for me and for taking the thorns for me so that i don't have to. i know that i am a sinner, please forgive me and help me to make better decisions and be a servant to others. please come into my heart and help me to live for you every day of my life. i love you so much. amen."

b: oh, well, maybe i will repeat after you!

and then precious little b asked Jesus Christ to come into her heart right there in the sonic drive-thru at the age of 5. i was fighting back the tears as i had her call her daddy to tell him what we just did....one of the best days of my life!

disney world 09!

2009-03-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

thanks to a bunch of southwest and american express points (that chris accumulated by purchasing merchandise for pro image) we were able to take a trip to disney world for spring break. with so much already being paid for by points, we were able to go and have a fabulous time and not worry about how expensive it was going to be! here is a little slide show of SOME of the pics that we took...there were only so many we could upload :) enjoy!!

another little byrdie on it's way??

2009-03-01T21:47:00.000-08:00

we were going to wait to post our news but so many people have been checking for an update so i thought i might as well go ahead. we are expecting again!! and it happened much faster than we had anticipated...isn't God's timing awesome?! this time around, my numbers are looking much better than the time before. we won't get our first ultrasound to detect a heartbeat until the 16th of march so i will give an update then. but for now, i am pregnant, and sicker than ever before...which is a good thing!

thank you all for your prayers. we have truly felt them. we love you all!!

B is almost 5...CRAZY!!!

2009-02-12T21:54:00.000-08:00

my amazingly talented sister-in-law amy did b's 5 year shoot today and i cannot believe how my baby has grown. check out the preview here.

Please pray for little baby matt

2009-02-04T08:07:00.000-08:00

Read baby matt's story here.

www.prayformatt.blogspot.com

He really needs your prayers right now

best friends

2009-01-29T19:14:00.001-08:00

we cannot separate these two. and mali likes to wrestle with belle, it's so funny! here are some pics from their latest match...

not sure what this next move was all about, but it was hilarious to watch...

just a bunch of random for ya

2009-01-29T19:09:00.001-08:00

these are pretty much from christmas time...i know, it's the end of january...but we've been busy!

b is always good for a laugh

2009-01-29T18:48:00.000-08:00

the other day in the car ride home from school, braidyn was signing...

the ACTUAL words are "it’s all God’s children singing glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns" by the newsboys...

HOWEVER this is what she was singing...

"God's children singing holy moly, hallelujah, He reigns."

i had a great laugh the whole way home...thanks b!

a "B" saturday

2009-01-19T10:14:00.000-08:00

we all went to "it'z" the other day for a fun family outing. as we were sitting there having dessert, watching all of the fun birthday parties around us, this was the conversation...

braidyn: "mommy, i want my birthday to be on a sunday."

getting out my handy dandy iphone to look it up, me: "well, baby, let's just see what day your birthday is on...it's on a saturday."

braidyn: "well, is today a saturday?"

me: "yes it is baby, but your birthday isn't on this saturday, it's on a saturday."

braidyn: "oh, so is today a "b" saturday?"

then chris and i laughed hysterically for about 10 minutes.

bath time video

2009-01-15T10:46:00.000-08:00

bath time is always so much fun in the byrd tub. b likes to spray mali on the tummy with the blowfish and mali likes to splash and then wipe the water off of her face...it's a good time! mali has also become our chatter bug. she does say some words that we can understand but the rest is just jibberish...also a good time!

braidyn is reading!!

2009-01-15T10:26:00.000-08:00

b has been home sick for the past 2 days so we have been doing some homework. yesterday we did writing and coloring and today we did some reading. i was amazed at how well she was doing. this video was of her reading these words for the first time...we did not practice them before i took the video! we always knew she was a smart cookie. her pre-k teacher said she might be reading at an APS 3rd grade reading level by the end of the school year...that just seems amazing to me. way to go b!!

another angel byrd baby

2009-01-07T10:59:00.000-08:00

Now is not your time, little one
Though it seemed your life had just begun.
I've learned before about these things
Sometimes even the tiniest angels get their wings.
It's difficult to know you're still inside me
But our third child you never will be.
It's so hard to grieve your loss
You're the second angel baby we have lost.
Yes, you have a brother or sister awaiting you
Somewhere up above in the Heavens so blue.
And I too will join you someday, you see
When God decides to send for me.
Now is not your time, little one
But you will live on in my heart, sweet daughter or son.

(c) Sarah Kelly All Rights Reserved

i know it's been a while since i've posted and i hate to start up again with this one. earlier this week i found out i was pregnant and the very next day i found out that i'm losing the baby. this post may be a bit premature, however the numbers from my test results were extremely low and i've been there before...i know what the numbers mean. i found this poem on the internet and couldn't believe how accurately it fit into our lives. this little angel baby will join our first angel baby in Heaven...i guess God wanted a little playmate for him or her. we are beside ourselves with the news but our new year's resolution was to be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in ALL circumstances. God is just making sure that we're gonna hold to that. and we have to, it's the only way we can get through. we just ask for your prayers through the process. love you guys.

update: just wanted to let everyone know that the results came back today and confirmed that we are, in fact, losing the baby. again, we could really use your prayers during this difficult time.

"alyse abida"

2008-12-19T20:44:00.000-08:00

another funny b story.

so we're driving in the car to go to hobby lobby (one of my favorite places...hint, hint) after i got braidyn from school the other day. the radio was off and we were talking about her day at school - which we do every day after school - and when we were done talking there was a bit of silence in the car. all of a sudden i hear from the back seat...

"alyse abida!" (a-leese, a-bee-da!) and then just more silence. nothing else. just "alyse abida" like it was a friends name or something.

i couldn't help but hold back the tears i was laughing so hard and then i said...

"honey, it's FELIZE NAVIDAD!"

and then we started singing the song...singing "alyse abida" of course.

i love you inzimmerating...

2008-12-11T17:17:00.000-08:00

i was setting up a movie for braidyn (so i could make dinner of course) and she was just talking to me and i wasn't listening to her at all because i was just sitting there thinking of how much i love that little girl. so i decided to tell her and this was our conversation:

me: "b, do you know how much i love you?" as i grabbed her and pulled her into my lap

me again: "i love you....." as i was thinking of saying infinity, this is what braidyn said...

b: "you love me inzimmerating!"

me: "yes, baby, mommy loves you INFINITY!"

b: "yeah, you love me infinity!" as if that's what she said the first time."

yes, i love my braidyn inzimmerating...and infinity!

another talker in the family

2008-12-11T12:35:00.000-08:00

i guess i should have combed her hair or something for her big debut. sorry about that, but she's still a cute performer!

sneak peak

2008-12-11T08:09:00.000-08:00

just a sneak peak from my amazing photographer sister-in-law. view her incredible portfolio here.

b got another haircut!

2008-12-11T08:04:00.001-08:00

i have a new hairdresser that i LOVE and i took braidyn to get a trim the other day. she straightened it so b could have long hair, which she's always dreamed of...and her dream is slowly coming true!
thanks nicole, you're the best!!

daddy got a booboo...

2008-12-11T08:01:00.000-08:00

and b thought it was necessary to put a dora bandaid on it...

braidyn is an indian!

2008-12-02T15:53:00.000-08:00

b's pre-k class had a thanksgiving play last week and braidyn was an indian. she had one line in the play (see next post) and she did great! she was definitely the cutest little indian i've ever seen! here are a few pics from that day...

her little friend stephanie, who was a pilgrim...

her friend zoe, who was the indian princess...

most of our family was able to come support braidyn and see the play. thanks for coming!! here's a pic of b and cousin aislyn...
here's a picture of the whole indian tribe...
and the whole pre-k class...

2008-12-02T15:43:00.000-08:00

see if you can find her in the video. she was on the right, barely seeable, but surprisingly she's NOT the smallest one in her class...ok, the second smallest, but still not the smallest :)

her line in the play was "mmm...this pilgrim food is yummy!" but she had to say it twice because the priest forgot to pray! in this video, the priest finally started to pray and b got to say her line again. then she gets to dance. see if you can find her because i barely could! sorry about the shaky video, we were in the back and i had to zoom so every move i made was exaggerated. i hope i don't make you sick :)

pro image has arrived...

2008-11-24T08:23:00.000-08:00

it's amazing how God took this...

and made it this...

from this...

to this...

and this...

into this...

remember the coffee shop?

well it was demolished...

and now it looks like this...

here's a pic of all of the guys sitting back in amazement of what God has done...God is GOOOOD!
we are so blessed to have the store completed and open before thanksgiving. feel free to stop by for some day-after-thanksgiving shopping!! we will open at 12am (thankfully chris and i will still be sleeping!) but there will be plenty of guys there to help you find your favorite sports apparel and Christmas gifts!! we love you guys and thank those of you who have supported us along the way...your prayers have definitely made a difference!

funny things kids say...

2008-11-17T15:02:00.001-08:00

so i'm sitting at the computer reading emails and b comes in and starts talking and playing. she drops something on the floor and says "bam". i instinctively said "what did you just say" thinking it was a different word." and she said, "i said bam mommy, and then i said bam chick-a jam jam"... and i'm still laughing as i type as tears are filling my eyes. oh, the silly things kids say.

just a quickie...

2008-11-15T09:05:00.000-08:00

only had time to post one pic. thought this one was cute. they were wrestling on the bed and belle was giving out LOTS of kisses. b was giggling like never before!

introducing belle...

2008-11-10T07:13:00.000-08:00

the newest member of the byrd family...more pictures to come...stay tuned!!

every pee dom bree...

2008-11-07T16:40:00.000-08:00

you gotta love the backup singer.

God has a maid?

2008-11-07T11:21:00.000-08:00

um...so we're sitting here eating lunch as i type and braidyn is singing...no joke, "blessed be the maid of the Lord, blessed be the maid...." i wish His maid were here right now.

i've been tagged...

2008-11-03T13:18:00.000-08:00

i was just tagged by my friend heather. i've been tagged before but didn't know how to link so now that i know, here goes...

1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog (copy and paste 1-6).
3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below).
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.Ok, here it goes. . .

1. i hate being barefoot in the house so i'm always wearing slippers or slipper socks (with grippies of course).
2. i rub my ear when i'm tired, bored, or concentrating. it's been a habbit since i was born and my dad tried to convince me that if i didn't stop, i would have a dumbo ear...it looks pretty normal and it's been almost 30 years.
3. i just made 52 cheerleading bows for a good friend of mine - boy have they evolved over the years.
4. i was set on just having two precious little girls and now i am starting to get the baby itch again - thanks to many outside influences. anyone want to comment on that???
5. there are 11 biological granddaughters on my mom's side, no boys - which is one of the outside influences for the random thing mentioned above.
6. sometimes i run and hide in my bedroom and shut the door when i get a phone call. for some reason my children flock to me, throw tantrums, scream as loud as they can, try to get my attention by saying "mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy......." when i'm on the phone. what's up with that? cuz i know my kids aren't the only ones who do it.

ok, now i'm tagging...

1. amy
2. alyssa
3. angela
4. gina
5. shiya
6. stacy

have fun!! love you girls!

why does b need a puppy when she has mali?

2008-11-03T12:27:00.001-08:00

these pictures are terrible. my phone is only good for still shots - and it's really not that good at those either - but i had to take a picture of this. chris and i were meeting with a friend and the girls were responsible for keeping themselves occupied and happy. well, apparently this did the trick. b tied a ribbon around mali's paci and proceeded to lead her around the room as if it were a leash. it was pretty hilarious.

making...and eating mud pies

2008-11-01T16:04:00.001-07:00

mali just sits there and watches her big sister work her magic
getting dirty
putting on the finishing touches
apparently it was yummy...mali had a bite.

our sweet friends

2008-11-01T15:55:00.000-07:00

chris and i recently went to blue springs, mo to visit our friends that moved away a couple years ago. we miss them terribly but LOVE to go visit!

being small has it's advantages...

2008-11-01T15:52:00.001-07:00

joe the plumber??

2008-11-01T15:49:00.001-07:00

what can i say...it was too cute not to post.

happy halloween!

2008-11-01T15:35:00.000-07:00

notice the super cool dangly earrings that only princesses can wear...
sleeping beauty lost her glass slipper...we're getting our princesses confused.

fall harvest

2008-11-01T15:32:00.001-07:00

b's fall harvest party was last week and we had such a fun time eating everything pumpkin. this is her prek class at hope and her teacher, Mrs. Garcia, whom we LOVE!

the naked duster

2008-11-01T15:27:00.001-07:00

b loves to dust because she likes to use the little duster thing that's so convenient. anyway, last weekend she decided to dust in the nude...i wonder if that makes it more fun?

sweet kisses

2008-11-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

when you ask mali for kisses she will either pucker up - as seen above - or smack you in the face...you never know what you're gonna get...it's a real good time.

store exposure

2008-10-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

hey everyone! just wanted to put the word out that chris' store is featured in the abq journal today and will be featured in the daily lobo tomorrow!! they did a really cool - and huge - article in today's paper in the westside business section. we're not sure where the article will be in the daily lobo tomorrow but it's not that big of a paper so i'm sure it would be easy to find. anyway, just wanted to let you know in case you were interested in picking one up and reading about my fabulous husband and his business adventures!!

please check out this link.

2008-10-28T08:09:00.000-07:00

a friend of mine posted this link on her blog and i read it and decided it was important to link it on my blog as well. i believe that we as christians have an obligation in this election to vote for the candidate that we think will be the most God-honoring. i do not mean to sway anyone because that decision is up to each and every individual and i would encourage you to pray and ask God who He wants you to vote for. but i do feel the need to share this link with you. please check this out.

thanks for endless monkey dances...

2008-10-27T15:55:00.000-07:00

i sent out an email a while back asking for help because sweet braidyn wanted to get her sister a dancing monkey. the way to get said monkey was to sell enough wrapping paper and chocolates through a school fundraiser. well, with your help, she sold 52 items and won her sister a monkey. so, thank you for endless monkey dances...

excuses, excuses...

2008-10-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

i'm so sorry it's been so long since i've posted. the store is doing well, there are always bumps in the road, but God is still blessing the bumpy road! chris and i went on a much needed vacation and when we got back, our camera battery went dead and we can't find the charger so there will be no pictures for now (except for the not-so-great pictures from my phone!) anyway, we are all doing well and i will post more soon, it's just been SO CRAZY BUSY around here, but i will post soon :) love you all!

THE STORE IS OPENING AT 2PM TODAY - I SAID TODAY PEOPLE!!!!

2008-10-11T10:54:00.000-07:00

if you are reading this before 9pm on saturday, then come on down to cottonwood mall and do a little shopping at an amazing sports apparel store called Pro Image cuz it's FINALLY OPEN and we need some shoppers!!!!

if you're reading this after that, then come on down another day cuz WE'LL BE OPEN!!!

i just want to thank all of you again who have prayed for us during this process because as you can see, your prayers have been answered and the store is FINALLY OPENING!!!

love you all and hope to see you with a Pro Image bag in your hands soon!!!

highly anticipated by out-of-towners... the balloons are here!!!!

2008-10-08T08:28:00.000-07:00

just a little view from our backyard. balloons fly right over our house, it's pretty crazy, this one actually got pretty close.

this is the wwjd balloon. it says wwjd on one side (what would jesus do) and wdjd on the other (what did jesus do). i love that there are balloons flying in the sky proclaiming the message of our Lord and Savior!
this one landed on the street adjacent to ours.
this one also flew over our house
you can see the fire in this one...they saw my camera and wanted to show off - thanks guys for giving me such a great pic!
b gets an amazing view on the way to school these days. they were pointing out their favorite balloons before they got in the car, they got to see all of the balloons that landed in the neighborhood, and got to see them flying - all on the way to school!
this one also landed on a neighboring street.
another view from the front yard.
and a couple from the backyard.

i hope you all enjoyed the view from our house. more to come!!

hat frenzy

2008-10-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

so mali and i went to other mother's (our 2nd favorite store...target always earns the top spot but hobby lobby is starting to creep up there...although taking kids to that store is not an option for me - sorry, that was a really long side note) anyway, we were there and i found some cute hats for the girls and mali insisted on trying each of them on...over and over and over and over....it was keeping her occupied but me as well because she would scream every time she couldn't get a hat on just right. so then i'd help her and get the cutest smile...it was like another identity when she had the hat on.

wild child

2008-10-08T08:10:00.000-07:00

we're not really sure what's gotten into her lately but b had the amazing idea to climb into a huge pile of pillows at costco when mommy and daddy weren't looking. we called her name and heard this faint giggle coming from underneath the pillows. i couldn't believe it. our sweet, well mannered, obedient child had turned into a "normal" child and now we are trying to understand what happened. i guess you can't be that lucky for too long, eventually all kids turn rebellious and test the waters! anyway, here are some pics of b in the pillow pit.

and now, being disciplined...

jersey day at school

2008-10-08T07:59:00.000-07:00

it's kinda convenient to have a husband that owns a sports apparel store when your child has jersey day at school. thanks for bringing home the jersey babe, b will be the coolest kid in school...not like she isn't already :)

galloping grace pumpkin patch!

2008-10-06T08:12:00.000-07:00

mr. max showing b the horse's teeth...eewww, gross!

look mom...no hands!

giving mr. max a high five!
b in the hay maze

picking out the pumpkins
eating the pumpkin we picked out

mali: i want this one mommy.

me: well, if you can carry it outta here, it's yours!

our friends have a pumpkin patch here in town so we went on saturday and had such a fun time! braidyn and mali got to ride a horse and braidyn braved a hay maze! we all picked out pumpkins to bring home and decorate. mali tried to eat hers then tried to pick one up 50 times her size! braidyn decided to get a wagon to carry all of hers...she didn't realize that she was only getting two - one to decorate at home and one to take to school. we had so much fun and would encourage anyone here in town to go check it out! 100% of the proceeds go to the galloping grace youth ranch which is such an amazing place!

another store update...it's getting closer!!

2008-10-04T20:05:00.001-07:00

it's been cleared out. the obvious, enormous pole right smack in the middle of the store (which you can see to the right) is something they weren't expecting. but it's the main air supply that keeps rocky mountain chocolates so cold and delicious, so there's nothing they can do about it...except sue...but that's not something i'd like to discuss on this blog...
the temp store...getting decorated
shelving is up...yes, they will have more than four hats to sell...eventually :)
i'm just glad these boxes are out of my garage.

again, more to come! they are hoping to open this week if possible. as soon as the last of the orders are delivered, they can inventory the product, label it, hang it, and SELL IT!!

four little grandbyrdies

2008-10-02T16:08:00.000-07:00

we survived hoot's

2008-10-02T16:03:00.001-07:00

b's best friend's birthday party was this weekend at hoot's. we hadn't been back since "the incident" but we had no choice. braidyn had been looking forward to this day for a long time. however, we made it through, no injuries, just happy faces and a good ol' time!

hoots = exhaustion

2008-10-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

mali fell asleep on the way home and when we got home, chris and i sat down in the living room and after a few minutes we wondered where braidyn was. we thought she might have gone to bed so i got up to look and i couldn't find her. i started looking around the house and i found her passed out in chris' office - no joke, this is exactly how i found her.

a birthday weekend

2008-10-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

happy birthday lilly and aislyn!! we had such a great time celebrating your birthdays this weekend! we love you girls!

a delightful visitation

2008-10-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

we had the privilege of spending some time with my dad's mom, the girls' great-grandmother right after hurricane gustav hit louisiana. because of the power outage, my dad brought nanan to albuquerque to stay in a fancy hotel that had electricity and air conditioning! she claims she was forced against her will to come but we were glad she came. she really enjoyed playing with mali (or watching mali play) and we really enjoyed spending some quality time together.

meanwhile, braidyn and aunt becky chatted on the bed about everything they had in common...is was too funny!

store update...

2008-10-02T14:57:00.000-07:00

this is the temporary store - they have to keep the tarp up so they can work during mall hours. the ordering is complete, they are just waiting for the rest of the merchandise to arrive and then they can open...yes, that's right, i said THEY CAN OPEN!!!
this is the permanent location - due to be complete mid-november - keep those prayers coming!! it was originally a coffee shop and another smaller store behind that. this is what people will see when they walk into the mall entrance...this is a before shot!
this is...or was the inside of the coffee shop
and this was the inside of the other store behind the coffee shop
this is the baracade they put up around the store for the build-out process
the coffee shop no more
the back part of the store - this is looking towards the front of the store
there will be lots more to come as they are working on this every day. we will keep you updated as we get more pictures and we'll for sure let you know when the temporary store finally opens!! and we truly appreciate the prayer support, it means the world to us!

mali's turn

2008-09-20T11:04:00.001-07:00

a while back i did a post about b giving daddy a haircut. well, now it's mali's turn and she loved it. it was hilarious - she was SO wet!

mali was all done. "she won't hold still" were exactly braidyn's words...

notice anything different?

2008-09-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

exhausted...

the store

2008-09-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

as many of you may or may not know, chris has been working diligently for the past 9 months or so to open up a store in cottonwood mall. he and a buddy of his purchased a pro image franchise earlier this year and are looking to finally open the temporary store at the end of this month. the permanent location will be demolitioned (is that a word?) on monday and they will continue the build-out over the next couple of months and hope to open the permanent location sometime in november. we just wanted to thank all of you who have been praying for chris and our family through this difficult journey. your prayers are totally appreciated and we are truly thankful for your support and friendship. i wanted to update you on some pictures that we've taken of the temporary location. these are some before and after pictures. after i took these pictures, they hung the sign out front and they moved some of the fixtures in (hallelujah they are out of our garage!). they will be processing all of the merchandise on monday. they are hoping to open the store next friday if they have enough merchandise to fill the store. there are over 50 boxes in our hallway so you'd think that would be enough, but there are several more boxes on their way! please continue to pray for the store and that God would continue to help us through this time. and, if you get a chance to come out and see the store in the next few weeks, that would be awesome!!

speaking of painting

2008-09-20T08:51:00.001-07:00

we finally painted the playroom and i think it look so fun! we had a cute little rug in there and decided to paint the walls accordingly. it was definitely a project and after 3 days of painting it was finally completed. we're glad to be done and the girls are glad to have their playroom back! we still need to hang the chalkboard, mirror, pictures, and posters, but for now, it is completed!

big hat, big boy...chris turns 30!!

2008-09-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

yes, i know, this was a while ago and i'm just now getting around to posting it, but chris turned 30 last month and i had to share the pictures! chris wanted to go to texas roadhouse and he knows good and well that they make you saddle up when they sing to you. his first words were "please don't make me get on the saddle" and being the amazing wife that i am, made him get on the saddle. now, the cowboy hat was a new thing, we were all surprised by that, but you can't be humiliated enough on your birthday by just sitting on a saddle, you have to put a ginormous hat on your head as well. i lov you baby, happy birthday!

aunt christy has her eyes open!

2008-09-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

my sweet sister always blinks in pictures but was perfect in this one! we love you aunt christy!!

mali's friends

2008-09-20T08:25:00.001-07:00

every week in the nursery at our church mali gets to hang out with one of her favorite people, mr. tim. and she will only share his lap with one other person, ava. if anyone else tries to climb in, she wants no part of it. she would prefer to have the lap all to herself, but if she has to share, only ava is allowed. on football day, they were all cuddling together and both girls had their cowboys gear on, it was super cute! mr. tim and ava, thanks for being mali's friends!

little climber

2008-09-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

one thing i know is this girl loves to climb. it's actually become part of our night-time routine. every night we get mali's pj's on and she heads straight for the time-out chair...that is obviously way too cute and fun to be a time-out chair and is never used for that purpose, for that reason! anyway, she goes up and down, up and down, then gets on b's bed and crawls over to the chair, then down again...and on and on and on until lights out. oh, and if she falls and bangs her head on something, don't even think about helping her up or consoling her because she'll just scream at you until you let her down so she can continue climbing - it's actually pretty amusing and i need to get it on video.

my first dress-up

2008-09-20T08:15:00.001-07:00

i'm not sure if she was "cinderbell" or "cinderbeauty" but she was definitely a princess!

braidyn's first day of school

2008-09-20T08:10:00.001-07:00

this was obviously back in august but the pictures were taken on chris' phone so i didn't have them on my computer in order to make a post. i feel like the worst mom, i should've taken like 20 pictures before she even left the house, but school mornings are a little crazy in this household and i thought it would be more important to get her out the door and to the first day of school on time! i think we have the hang of it now, but it took us a while to get a system down!

western day at school

2008-09-20T08:08:00.000-07:00

at b's school they have to wear uniforms but on this special day, they could choose to wear jeans, boots, and a western shirt and we took full advantage! thanks aunt amy for letting us borrow the super cute hat!

making a mess

2008-09-20T08:03:00.001-07:00

apparently i can't rely on b to be a responsible babysitter yet - what was i thinking letting big sis watch little sis why i tried to shower?? this is what i walked around the corner to find, mali jean spreading popcorn kernels all over the floor...at least she wasn't trying to eat them, which is a miracle!

A VERY OBSERVANT BRAIDYN

2008-09-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

Hey guys it's Chris - So Braidyn and I were on our way to school today listening to KLOVE as normal, when a song we liked came on. I don't remember the name of the song but it goes like this "Take this world from me, I don't need it anymore. I am finally free, my heart is spoken for....." So we listened to the whole song and then Braidyn says "That's not very nice" I said "What" and she said "If they take that away from him, he'll just fall into space!"

shaky-shake

2008-09-04T17:06:00.000-07:00

new style??

2008-09-04T16:37:00.000-07:00

i'm assuming her shirt was in the way because she was crawling down the hall and next thing i know, she's throwing a fit, trying to rip off her clothes and ended up like this - which, of course, prompted me to get out the camera.

now that she has the smile thing down...

2008-09-04T16:28:00.000-07:00

i don't know why but my close up pictures never come out right - that totally does not look like her - but it's a super cute smile!!

just showing off...

she finally gets it!

2008-09-04T16:26:00.001-07:00

b is our super photogenic daughter who poses every time she sees a camera. mali was quite the opposite - she would "blank face" it whenever i got the camera out - until today!! i think she finally gets it!!

this is the worst shot ever by the way, but you can see the smile, that's what's important!

God is shiny...

2008-08-31T07:35:00.000-07:00

as we were all sitting in the living room i was telling b that we needed to pray for the people that are about to be affected by hurricane gustav. i was telling her that hurricanes are nasty storms that can hurt people and knock over houses and stuff and that we should pray that God would protect all of those people and keep them safe. Chris chimed in with how big God is and how He's the only one who can save those people. and then b added, "yeah, cuz God is shiny!!" chris and i were a bit confused and hoped she would then explain what she meant, which she did. this is as close as i remember to what she said...

"yeah, at mimi's house, there were three guys in a fireplace in a circle and they couldn't get out. and God was in there and He was shiny! and then there was a guy who looked in and he saw three guys that weren't shiny and then another guy, that was God, and He was shiny!!

so then i asked her what happened next (cuz in her story, God being shiny was the point) and she said that God got them out of the fire, He saved them (which was the point of our story!)

she was obviously remembering the story of shadrack, meshack, and obendigo (i'm sure i butchered the spelling of those names!) as told by larry and bob of veggie tales. we are so blessed to have a family that surrounds our children with bible stories and the love of our Amazing God!

we love having conversations like this!!

go 'boys!

2008-08-24T12:42:00.000-07:00

today was football day at church so we got to dress up in our cowboys gear! here are my sweeties all decked out!

MALI IS WALKING!!

2008-08-24T12:30:00.003-07:00

she finally did it! she took her very first step on friday. she's only taken about two-three steps, but it's a start! grapes seem to be a good motivater!!

riding horsey...in a restaurant

2008-08-22T09:28:00.000-07:00

i know, it's bad manners, but whatever keeps them happy, right?!

braidyn's prayer bear

2008-08-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

braidyn just started pre-k and her teachers bought all of the students a prayer bear. they can dress up their bears and every week they trade bears with a classmate and take their bear home. everynight, when saying their prayers, they also pray for the person whose bear they have. they get to keep them for a week and then switch with someone else - such a great idea! here is braidyn with her dressed up prayer bear.

a few pics from braidyn...

2008-08-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

shoppin' with mommy

2008-08-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

mali and i went to target (our second home) to get a few things. i decided to let her ride in the front of the cart without the cart cover and, as you can see, she was all over the place! no need to sit when you can ride! she sat for about 5 seconds and then figured out that this was the coolest climbing structure she's ever experienced. people were laughing at me as i was trying to shop, steer, and hold on to my climber. sorry the last pic is blurry, i tried to get a shot of her putting my purse over her head as if it were a necklace but she was just all over the place!

stylish

2008-08-16T13:42:00.001-07:00

while playing outside, mali would do this hilarious bear crawl because she didn't want her knees touching the patio (i don't blame her!) so, i put knee pads and socks on her and didn't realize how stylish she had become!

homegrown snacks

2008-08-16T13:38:00.001-07:00

our grape vines are producing sweet little grapes. we finally cut them, washed them, and gathered little bitty's to enjoy them! these are some recent pics of the kiddos just hanging in the backyard. don't worry, mali didn't fall off the patio!