{PHFR} Love the love

You know when you see family after not seeing them for awhile - you look at them and feel loved. Hugs and kisses are had and the beauty of love just takes over the moment.

We have that. And, it's amazing.

Uncle A and his ...wait for it... FIANCE! came to visit for the weekend and lots of love and fun was had. We're so grateful for any time we get to spend with them. We love them both so much and our boys just light up when they see them. It's great. It's a gift. It's kind of beautiful.

Fun was had while we were at home and also when we went to our favorite local brewery. Thankfully I was able to snap a few shots to capture some sweet memories.

{Pretty}

These two are pretty and so is the love they have for each other. We're so excited that they are engaged to marry and can't wait to celebrate!

And, selfishly, I'm excited for another sister-in-law! Rebekah is beautiful inside and out (A little cheesy, but true!). Her soul is sweet and filled with love for Uncle A and her family and I'll soon be able to call her sister! 

Another pretty moment is Bigfoot giving me a flower. Like I mentioned before he's been giving me these more often and I am loving it!

He'll go on a little hunt when we're outside and find random little flowers for me. It's the sweetest!

His little hand is pretty sweet too. Love everything about them.

{Happy}

Bigfoot is happiest when swinging.

We swing everyday, and often.

Just look at his face!

And, having Uncle A and Rebekah to swing with just added to his joy.

It's the little things.

Speaking of little, Linus likes a good swing too. Not as much as his older brother, but he's definitely a fan.

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Also happy, was going to our favorite brewery to share good beer and conversation with family.

This guy is always happy when there's good beer to be had. And, even happier when he gets to share good beer with family.

{Funny}

Haha, I thought Uncle A looked funny in this picture. Love you, Aaron!

He also that it'd be fun to encourage our little guy to be a T-sip for a few moments.

At least, until my little Aggie decided it was bad bull to do anything Longhorn related. 

And, I kind of love all things about the picture below. Something about it makes me want to snicker, but it also pulls on my heart strings. Either way, I love it and filed it under funny.

{Real}

Like I said before, lots of love was had. 

You can just see it in the faces.

The bonds grow with each encounter and it's wonderful.

My boys love their Uncle A and Rebekah so much.

And, I love seeing the love Uncle A and Rebekah have for them. It really warms my mama heart.

I love this little boy, and his sweet eyes.

Kisses.

Smiles.

Laughter.

Sweetness.

All the things that good weekends are made of were had. And, we're grateful.

Also, glad we were able to have another fun time at one of our favorite breweries. Thank you, Lakewood!

And, thank you Uncle A and Rebekah for spending the weekend with us! We love you all more than you'll ever know and are so very excited for you both! Prayers during this beautiful time!

Answer Me This: Rough Weeks

With a deadline behind us and a 24-hour programming work party before us, rough weeks have been had and there's still a little roughness to come. Amazingly, even though the hours have been long and exhausting, I can definitely say that His Grace has brought me through the craze fairly unharmed. Tired? Yes. Exhausted, physically and somewhat mentally? Yes. Sore from all the baby carrying and putting the both boys, two and under down for naps and bedtime? Yes. Desperately seeking a way to carve out just 30 measly minutes of uninterrupted time so I can sip warm coffee, or blog, or, or, or...? Yes.

Thankfully, I think I have that smidge of time I've been seeking! (So, I'm technically blogging away during a miracle. An actual miracle. This is my golden unicorn, folks. Time. Quiet time. To sit, think, reflect, and share. Welcome to my unicorn!)

So, for today, I will be doing another round of Answer Me This with Kendra at Catholic All Year. She is on a European trip with her beautiful family (Kendra, I'm pretty sure Scott Hahn is on a similar trip. If you don't follow him on Facebook, you should check it out! You were both posting photos of Lourdes at the same time!). How amazing is that? Europe with your family!?! Maybe one day we'll be able to do something similar. It would be a dream come true!

1. What's the scariest thing that's ever been in your yard?
What about in your home? We lived in an apartment prior to buying our new home and had an absolutely awful experience with bees! And a wasp. These were two separate experiences but I'm terrified of both. 

The bee situation was all kinds of AWFUL! There were bees coming from somewhere in the wall in our master bedroom. The same room where the baby boy would typically sleep. And us, of course. They came out during the day and completely randomly. And, while I know bees are kind of a big deal right now and we should take care of them etc etc etc But you can bet I was knocking them dead as soon as I could. Is that awful? Honestly, I have only a tiny bit of remorse. Bees do not belong in doors. Ever. And, these were. Somehow. 

Strangely, we never discovered the source and after a couple dozen random bee sightings, they were no more. If there was a hive in the wall somewhere, I hope the apartment figures it out. We had a number of people come out to check things out, but nothing was ever done. I'm just glad we came out of unharmed. 

The black wasp incident was something from my nightmares. Somehow this little beast made its way inside. I say beast because it was so terrible. It charged! and Charged! And Charged at me! or the dog! Or anything that moved. And, as many times I tried to kill it after being charged, it would. not. die! It was quick and clever and would hide out after a charge only to go at us again. 

I made my husband come home from work because I was on the brink of a major panicky breakdown. So, my knight did what all knights do. He came home and rescued us by slaying the beast. 

I don't do things that buzz. They freak me out. 

2. Beards. Thumbs up or thumbs down?

THUMBS UP! I love my husband with a beard, scruff, or shadow. I love it so much he has rarely had a day or time since we married that he has had a clean shave. Mind you, I love his clean shaven face as well, but his face unshaven is what sexy is made of.

Thank you love for always appeasing me in this department. Muah!


3. If stuff breaks, can you fix it?
Hm. I'd like to think I could figure it out. Or at least google it and let google do the figuring while I do the do-ing. But, I really haven't been faced with much to fix. Having lived in an apartment for most my adult life, I've never really needed to.

Only time will tell with this question, now that we are in our home.


4. What was your first car?
My first car was a 1980 MGB. It was my parent's wedding gift to..each other? I think. Either way it was what they got on their wedding day and saved it. 1980 was the last year these fun little cars were made and I always loved it growing up! The picture below is something I found online. Ours was a chocolate brown until I started driving it. My dad painted it a nice blue. 

(Source)

I was determined to learn to drive stick, which I did, just so I could drive it once I was of age. I loved driving that little car even though the AC didn't really work and it would sometimes die on me. I have the most fond memories of that car and I am forever grateful to my parents for sharing with me such a neat vehicle that carries so many memories for them. My parents still take the MG out for cruises on nice evenings. Cute, aren't they? Love y'all!


5. How often do you eat out?
We try to keep eating out to once a week, but lately, with the late hours and crazy, it's been more than either of us care for (2-3X/week). Oye!

We're all feeling a bit sluggish for it too! And, the toddlers have turned into walking french fries. 

6. Why is your hair like that?

I'm currently growing it out again. Normally, I love having my hair long. But, after having babies, those pesky post-partum hormones that cause shedding till I feel I may go bald are just not fun. So, post-babies the new thing is to cut the length for an uber short and easy do and donate it to Locks of Love.

I've never dyed my hair ever. And, never intend to do so, no matter how much my best friend thinks I should (Sorry, Laura!). The upkeep is way more than I would care for, and the expense is just something I could never justify. Anyways, I'm a food-person, so I'd rather go out and have as many margaritas than spend it on hair product.

Also, my husband loves me and thinks I'm sexy and all that other good stuff, so me au-naturel is what he's going to continue getting!

Thanks for the fun, Kendra! Prayers for the rest of your family trip and travels!

Be a Mother to me now.

Happy Mother's Day, to all you mamas out there, both physical and spiritual! Pray that your day is filled with lots of love and joy!

Joining another round of Answer Me This! Enjoy!

1. What's for dinner?

Sushi! Hopefully. For Mother's Day it's my pick since I'm the mama in this household. My pick usually is a fun brunch place or sushi! Hoping it's sushi, today!

Since having the boys we don't get out to sushi as often as my tastebuds would like, so it seems we've started going on special occasions. Something I am happy about and will take! Special occasion sushi is way better than no sushi.

***
Ok, just got back from dinner and we did not end up at my new favorite sushi place. Instead we went to an incredibly yummy burger place. So glad my husband reminded me I've been wanting a burger! This place came recommended by friends and it definitely lived up to it's reputation. It's called Shady's and has a fun open/outside set up to it. I had a burger with grilled onion and jalepeno, swiss cheese and fries. All that goodness was topped off with a perfectly made margarita. Good times were had, friends! And, I'm thankful!


2. What's the last thing you borrowed from someone?
Hm. I have to think about this one.

Ah, yes! I recently borrowed a garlic mincer from a friend who came over for dinner. We were hosting them for a fun Saturday evening dinner and seeing how I only recently discovered the magic and glory of a mincer but have yet to buy my own, asked if she would bring hers over.

Speaking of which, I need to get it back to her!


3. What is your favorite prayer?

Mary, Mother of Jesus, please be a mother to me now.

It's a simple prayer that I hold dear to my heart. Ever since becoming a mama I pray these words during the tough days and the good days. It's comforting to know that the Mother of Our Lord is praying for me. I know she brings me to her Son when I call on her. And, I know she knows what to say to Him better than I ever could in the mama prayer department. Especially when I'm having one of those challenging mama days.

The prayer is one that I know Blessed Mother Theresa would encourage those she spoke with to pray. I met with the Sisters of Charity while I was in DC and one of the cards that Sister Theresa gave me had these words printed on the back (Not Blessed Mother Teresa, but a Sister that knew her and worked with her for awhile in India before moving to DC.). Special and beautiful and all things lovely.


4. What is the oldest thing in your house?
Does the house itself count? It was built in 1967. And, I honestly don't think we own anything that was made or purchased prior to that. I do have a ring-holder that was my maternal-grandmother's but I'm not sure how old it is. I also have a tray that belonged to her.

So, the answer to this question lies somewhere a midst the three things I just mentioned. Unless I'm completely missing something that's really old, but either way it's not on my radar right now, so I'm sticking to somewhere in the three mentioned.


5. What's the best concert you ever attended?
I've never been one for concerts. I did go to a Lifehouse concert while in graduate school that was standing room only in a warehouse type venue. That was fun. Aside from that, I'm a huge fan of anything jazzy, comfy, and cozy. Take me to a Jazz bar or restaurant with some good jazzy classics and I am one happy woman.


6. Do you have a nickname?

Never been one to be called anything other than Amanda for the most part. I suppose some people call me Manda, but I don't think that counts. I'm definitely not a Mandy nor have I ever been.

When I was little my mom, dad, and brother would call me Nana. My brother had trouble saying my whole name and so Nana it was. They still call me that every once in awhile, but once he started saying my whole name, that's what it was - Amanda.

The only other nickname that I would say stuck with one side of my family is Manny. I had an aunt that would babysit me often when younger and she would call me Manny. She still does to this day and so do some of my cousins and aunts on that side of my family. But, the nickname never escaped that side of my family.

~~~

That's all for Answer Me This with Kendra at Catholic All Year. Thanks for the fun content to blog about, Kendra! 

Also, tagging on What I Wore last Sunday. I got a picture but never got around to posting it. So, this will be me linking-up this week with what I wore last week for Mass. As well as a couple random photos of the boys at a park downtown. Random and fun times were had. 

Jewelry: James Avery

Cardi: Target

Dress: Online (can't remember the name)

Shoes: Nine West

All you amazing selfie takers for WIWS need to teach me your ways. I have no idea what I'm doing and would love some tips!!

Love him in this picture. Is it just me or is it so incredibly hard to get face forward pictures of toddlers??

Mr. Serious Linus on the Merry-Go-Round. He was a fan. But, I think he was more a fan of holding onto the ball he brought.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Going to leave you with a favorite quote from G.K. Chesterton on motherhood that the lovely Sarah also shared today.

How can it be a large career to tell other people's children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe?

How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? 

No. A woman's function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness.

-G.K.Chesterton

I love you. All of you.

Sweetest little one, you have been with us for a year! A year that feels like forever only because we have been able to soak up so much goodness - it's hard to believe you've been with us for such a short time!

For starters, I love you, I love you, I love you!!! And, not only do I love you, we love you! Your dada, brother, and I all love all that you are!

There are so many things I'd like to capture in this post, so bear with me.

• I love that you have a smile that makes my heart melt. From dimple to dimple. It's amazing!
• I love how you lay your head on your dada after he picks you up from getting home. You nestle your sweet head into his neck and it's so sweet.
• I love your sweet open-mouth kisses. All of them. Every. Single. One.
• I love when you show me your gentle touch. Even if it's after you pinched a fistful of mama's skin with your incredibly strong grip.
• I love how you can play pick-a-boo with anything and everything. Anywhere. All day long.
• I love how pick-a-boo excites you to squeals. It's pretty great.
• Your baby hair is so sweet and soft. We have yet to cut it. Call me sentimental. I'm just not ready touch your sweet and perfect head of hair.
• You love your brother. You love him so much.
• You love to explore. You'll wander and play with rocks and sticks for hours at a time.
• You're such a good eater. You love your veggies. You're definitely a meat-eater. 
• You love to try and eat like a big boy with your spoon and fork. You also find these sweet tools convenient to teeth on. 
• You and I have such a sweet nursing relationship. I love how we bond through that. No matter what has gone on that day, no matter how busy I was or wasn't that day, we always reconnect. And, it's sweet.
• You're laughter is infectious. It makes us happy.
• I love that you're a little fireball. Always on the go. Looking to play, trying to run, and keep up with big brother.
• You really enjoy a good game of ring-around-the-rosies. It's sweet. Fun. And, full of smiles and giggles.
• I love your sneakiness and silliness. Very silly.
• Your words are few. I call you my little ogre. We get a lot of grunts and pointing. But, you do have a few words in the midst of your caveman tendencies: mamaaaa (said whinily and when in need.), dada (said excitedly and meant for play). djedje (Your brother's name), thetheee (mixed with some spit. you're saying Lily.), tan tuu (thank you.), baaa (ball), teeeeh (throw), da-tu-teeeee (1-2-3. You count before throwing or sliding down slides), Ahh, Ahh (oustide), Hiii & Buyyy (with a pretty cute hand waving near your pretty cute face). All of this is mixed in with the sweetest head shake for no and head nod for yes.
• You are quite the dancer. You get to movin' pretty quick when you hear some good tunes and I love to dance with you!
• You love Lily and she tolerates you well enough. You can get pretty rough with her, which she has come to learn. One of the many reasons we've been working on your gentle touch.
• You are so very loved by your grandparents and Uncles & Aunt. And, the loveliest thing is to see you love them back with the same baby fierceness.
• I love your little noises. 
• Those little pointing fingers, pointing their way through life and a growing vocabulary are pretty wonderful.
• I'm grateful for the way you've challenged me. It's forced me to grow in love and patience. I can say that now in retrospect and just pray that I let you continue to challenge me to love you through all your toddler phases. 
• I love when you bring me books you want me to read over and over again. I love how you shove them in my face and are persistent until I actually read it. Again. And, again.
• I love you how try and figure out puzzles. You're such a little thinker.
• I love how you start prancing around before bathtime because nakedness is a fun and freeing experience for you.
• I love how you love bath-time. So much that it's almost a guarantee you cry every time we take you out.
• I love how you randomly bring me things you think I should have. For instance, the random little rocks we bring in from the playground always find themselves in your little hands on their way to me no matter where I am in the house.
• I love everything about your growing relationship with your brother. It's beautiful and definitely has room for growth (especially in the sharing and gentle realm), but the sweet moments that happen on the daily or exciting. 
• I love how you are sleeping through the night with a few random and brief, sleep nursing sessions.
• I love how proud of yourself you get when you accomplish new little to-do's like clapping, toddling, pick-a-boo, hiding, and coloring to name a few.
• I love how you love watching home videos. 
• I love how you squeal with joy with bubbles.
• I love how you love being outside. Swinging, climbing, sliding, and exploring.
• I absolutely enjoy when you play with your brother while in the car. You both can see each other and randomly have these fun exchanges that just fill me.
• I appreciate how agile you are. You've never been a terrible fall-er. You fall with grace when you do, which is rare. Even when you slip or trip on something you manage to do it well. Trust me when I say this is very pleasing to me!
• You're toddling makes me happy. It makes me smile. 
• I love you. All of you. Every little bit.

Here's a Photo Party of your Sweet Day:

Family!

Dada!

You and me time!

Some sweet decor inspired by Rosie over at Blog for my Mom!

Reading with Nonna.

Bookworm.

Some of the spread. Favorites was the theme.

Papa Wooley and you.

Another nursing picture because this is how a good majority of our sweet relationship is nourished. Love you!

Spaghetti! Your favorito!

Determination.

Your Godfather, Shawn.

Pick-a-boo!

Lots and lots of balloon fun was had!

Lots!

Cake time. (Blogger is being funny and keeping this and the next picture from being upright.)

Candle wishes.

Sugary treat!

With your Godparents and their beautiful girls!

Uncle Mychael came!

Grandpa Ram and Nana love! Oh, how they love you!

I love you, my sweet boy. So very much. Thank you for this past year. Thank you for all of it. May you be blessed abundantly in your second year of life with His Joy and Goodness. 

"Let us go forward in peace, our eyes upon heaven, the only one goal of our labors."

-St. Therese of Lisieux

Weekends with Chesterton: Daybreak

Source: Unfortunately I cannot find the source on my Facebook feed anymore, nor the web.

Back for some Chesterton love! I found this circulating on Facebook and decided that I would love to own this mug. This is a great mug. One, that I would love to drink coffee out of on the daily.

I've never been much of a morning person. Ever. But, this words from Chesterton speak volumes to me. I do love the crispness and golden glory of mornings. They are fresh. Crisp. Gold. Sweet. And, all things new and lovely.

But, my bed has it's bit of glory characteristics as well! It's soft. Crisp (when sheets are new and fresh). Cozy. Comfy. A tranquility and warmth that invites us to linger and rest.

In the end, I do feel daybreak wins. I used to work at a coffee shop while in college. I took the morning shifts intentionally. I wanted to be forced out of bed. I wanted to greet all the fun morning people with their cup o' joe and to see the day break. I would be setting up the coffee shop for customers inside and out and would always make sure I would catch the sun coming up. It was one of my favorite times.

I wish I could have that same persistence on little sleep with my little ones and their tendency to invite me to their after-hour parties. The middle of the night parties that interrupt my sweet and precious sleep.

Linus has been doing pretty well these past few weeks, with some definite hiccups that involve at least two teeth trying to make their debut. While, Bigfoot has been struggling with sleep regression that involves us staying with him till he fully drifts to dreamland to our voice singing Hail Mary, Gentle Woman, "Haay May-wee, Mama...Hayy May-we..."

Praying that I can find the daybreak glory in staying with my toddler during this phase (please say it's a phase!). I know his sweet self won't always want me next to his bed singing to him into the night. And, I know my sweet Linus won't always want to snuggle with me nor nurse all the days of his life. Praying for grace to enjoy their little sweetness and their need for mama. This time is short. And, I love them. All of them. So, praying for the grace to meet them where they are as I know my God does on the daily with me.

Linking up with Sarah for Weekends with Chesterton.

7QT: Banana suit entry, Edel, Mass, & Sleep

--- 1 ---

First off, there are so many exciting things happening this year! Pope St. John Paul II!!! Amazing! Pope St. John XXII!!! Double Pope Amazing! And, Jen's new book release for Something Other Than God! YAY!

If you've never heard of the book, check out the book trailer below! Yes, a book trailer! The book is so wonderful it has it's own trailer! Nuff said!

And, if you've never heard of Jen Fulweiler or her blog Conversion Diary, I encourage you to get to her site and click around! Her blog was the very first blog I ever followed and I'm so very grateful that I did! 

This blog journey has been such a gift! Not only to keep family and friends up to date with all our to-do's but also in letting me find this beautiful community of mama bloggers that have been so encouraging and wonderful!

St. Catherine of Sienna, ora pro nobis!

-- 3 ---

Speaking of the wonderful Catholic mama blogger community, I'm going to EDEL!!!!!!! AHHHHHH! YAYYYYY!!!!!!!!

I still can't believe I get to meet so many wonderful people and share in fellowship, fun, and margaritas! If you missed how I came about finding out about my Edel tickets so late in the game, I wrote about it here. It's kind of epic. For me, anyways. Let's just say I have a very sneaky and wonderful man in my life. True story.

--- 4 ---

And, speaking of blogging, I have been so random! My toddler has regressed in the sleep department which does not make it easy when my newly toddling toddler has never been great in the sleep department to begin with. These past two weeks have been pretty tough. The kind that I hope no one remembers years down the way especially the toddlers. As much as I try to get us out and about enjoying the sun and all that goodness, when they fight naps and bedtime I crumble. I crumble quick. Which is why I could relate so much with Christy's at Fountains of Home's recent post.

--- 5 ---

On the happy side of this week, the boys and I made it out to daily Mass on Tuesday. It was such a gift and so refreshing. The boys did pretty well too! I was completely impressed and grateful for the Graces from Above!

Hoping to make it to Mass twice next week. With all the sleep problems and my potential to crumble, I'm in need for more nourishment.

--- 6 ---

Another goal for next week is to write my birthday post for Linus, share some fun photos from Easter, hopefully join the fun G.K. Chesterton link-up I've been enjoying, keep up with WIWS, and share some more fun photos from our visit from Uncle A and Rebekah. Phew! Okay, written out that sounds like a lot. Praying the boys have some nice afternoon sleepy time next week so I can try and have some fun blog time. It really is refreshing and fun!

--- 7 ---

Okay, I made it to 7! Here's a sneak peak of a sweet birthday post that is yet to come!

Linus is our Champion Pick-A-Boo-er. He's also a lover of celery and all things spaghetti!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!