the present moment // fall leaves and Texas skies

Thinking about // The sweet rhythm of our days. I like it. A lot. We have a little flow that is good and works for us (on most days). The boys are growing so fast so the rhythm really allows for me/us to enjoy each other.

Also, here are a few links I enjoyed and have been thinking about:

All In By  Dwija over at HouseUnseen

Happily Caught in Sprinklers By Kelli Seeley 

Called by Name: A Fierce and Fearsome Theology of Woman By Elizabeth Duffy

To the Man Who Paid For My Family's Dinner the Other Night By Cari Donaldson

Enjoying // For starters, I'm enjoying this nap time! Sweet boys were tired from the fun outside. Having a tidbit of quiet is so nice.

Also enjoying the weather! How nice is it to live in a place that experiences four seasons?! Like clockwork, the temperature took a little dive and the most beautiful breeze has been with us these past few days. Just in time for the first day of Fall!

The boys and I have been soaking up the sun, running, swinging, playing, exploring these past two days and absolutely enjoying it as well as these beautiful Texas skies! I'm telling you, these beautiful blue skies go on forever and are so enchanting!

Loving // My boys. My husband. Family and friends. Prayer. Family prayers. Prayer communities of friends and family, both in person and online. The saints who lend us their intercession. God's goodness. God's faithfulness. The patron saints of our family. Sunshine. Silly giggles, faces, and smiles. Snuggles, hugs, and nose kisses. 

I'm loving a lot these days. 

Thankful for // I'm thankful I have so many things to love. Thankful for our health. Thankful for medical professionals and all they do. Thankful for the end results of our friends who found themselves in the hospital this past Sunday. Thankful for all who took care of them and for all who prayed for them.

Thankful that we have a plan to help heal my herniated disc in my lower back. Thankful that I'm able to care for my babies again. Thankful for mobility. Even if I have some pain, it doesn't compare to what I had, which allows me to be a mama to my babies.

Thankful that we'll be seeing family soon and thankful that we got to see Uncle A and Rebekah this past weekend. We really love them both a ton and just love soaking them up as much as we can when we can (I'll be sharing a few photos soon as well as some of the yummy food we consumed!). Here's a sneak peak of our menu:

That's proccuito you see at the bottom left. Our gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches combinations were so so so delicious!

Update // I'll be getting a shot that should further help healing take place in my lower back. The hope is that the shot will near diminish the bulge that came from the herniated disc. Also praying that we be able to work out me attending physical therapy once the time comes. I'll be making some phone calls today to start that little process.

Thank you so very much for all your prayers! There has been so much grace and answered prayers in all of this. 

St. Gemma Galgani, pray for us.

Capturing // The first day of Fall! The boys and I were outside for a little more than an hour just roaming, running, picking up leaves of all colors for a craft later, and chasing dragonflies. Kids really do make your day more magical.

Our first day of fall leaf collection.

Playing football.

Mama walking on sunshine. ;)

Cute little ham.

The helmet was a must today.

Chasing dragonflies and each other.

Fall Arts and Crafts for after naptime // We'll be making some Fall Wreaths this afternoon with our little collection from earlier. Will share how they turn out. Hopefully we can get the leaves to stick and the glue business won't be too crazy or messy. :)

I found these on pinterest. As much as I'd love to pull of the first one...

(Clink on image for source)

I'm being honest when I say that the wreath is going to turn out like the ones below. 

(Clink on image for source)

Either way, I'm excited and look forward to hanging up the finished product. 

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you'll stay awhile! What fun to-do's have you going on this fine Fall day?

Linking-up with A Mama Collective:

and Kent Heartstrings for a Fall Kick-Off:

7QT: Reasons we heart Nana

--- 1 ---

Play.

Nana plays with us. She reads to us.

And, loves to spend time with us!

--- 2 ---

Excitement!

Her excitement is encouraging.

Makes us feel good about ourselves.

In turn, building our confidence. We can achieve anything!

--- 3 ---

Joy.

We see the joy in her face when she's with us.

It's not something you can fake.

The authentic joy is good for her soul and for ours too.

--- 4 ---

Presence.

She's there for us.

No matter what. And, we're grateful!

--- 5 ---

Hugs.

We love Nana hugs!

They're the best and feel oh-so-sweet!

--- 6 ---

Love.

Nana, through her actions, teaches us what love looks like. We're grateful to have her in our lives and to be on the receiving end of what her heart has to share!

--- 7 ---

Nana you are so many things to us! The week you spent here was amazing! Our new home went from a house just bought to a home within the week because of all you did.

Thank you! Thank you!! Thank you!!!

(And, thank you Papa Ram for sharing her with us for a whole week!!!)

~~

We love you!

You were missed the moment we dropped you off.

&

We can't wait to have you back again (with Papa this time!)!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

A Day in the Life: Home Sweet Home

We've been in our home for a little over two weeks now and I feel like we are still honeymoonin'/transitioning/adjusting/discovering/moving-in/unpacking/and all else that falls under the move-in-to-your-first-home category.. This home has been sweet to us and we are so excited for the years and memories that are to come here! But, as sweet as it has been to us, there has been a bit of sourness that has been mixed in. Not from the home itself, but from the challenges of uprooting two little ones from the home they knew to a whole new and larger space with a 7-acre playground as a backyard.

I've been silent on the blog because I've been so busy with helping the boys with this transition that has proved to be challenging for them and therefore, me. But, I can say this, I have missed blogging so very much! I've missed having the time to share my thoughts and heart. I've missed writing, sharing, capturing, and I've missed reading and commenting on all the other blogs I follow. The ones that I find so encouraging.

At the end of the day, after all the fussiness, teething, and poor sleep, my heart is happy. Happy in our new home. Happy that our little family has this beautiful and simply sweet space to make memories and grow in love together. Happy.

Here's a little preview of what our daily happy looks like:

Endless places to play!

Playground right oustide.

This little window is a daily hot spot for the kiddos.

As is this sliding door that leads to the great outdoors that promises all the adventures these little boys desire.

Love these little toddling feet!

Reading space.

Love them together!

My heart smiles with this one when he shares his sweetness.

And, I love his bed head. Everyday.

Then there's this door that leads to 7-acres of joy.

Bed head hair. Love it. Always. and, Again. 

Brothers.

Fun.

Patio goodness with a cutie and a beautiful tree.

My toddler-dinosaur man.

Wishes and wants. Play and fun.

And then there's this face that has managed to infiltrate our time. Teething, allergies, and transitions are not our friend, but we're still soaking up all the goodness that this place has to offer. 

So, here I am, sneaking away while the littles sleep (Miracles do happen.) with the hope to share more as we find ourselves more and more settled in our new home-sweet-home.

Linking up with A Day in the Life over at Making the Trek for the first time. Head over for more fun!

7QT: Guardian of the Incarnate Word

--- 1 ---

St. Joseph's feast day was this past Wednesday. It was a good day. It was a great day! We celebrated in little ways for our little man's name day and this mama finished praying the St. Joseph novena for my husband, husbands everywhere, my boys, and for thanksgiving.

My intentions for the novena were dear to my heart. All of them. But, this year, most especially the prayers of thanksgiving. Let me explain.

Last year I prayed this same novena. I asked dear St. Joseph to help us find our home and to help my husband find another job that better suits him (or that we have more peace about where he was then) in the near future (preferably before buying a house). These intentions were present to where we were then and pretty specific. Thankfully, our son's dear patron saint, heard me and took my petitions to our Sweet Lord.

Months after the novena, my husband found, applied, and accepted a job that is perfectly suited for him. This new job has been such a blessing to our little family. Such a gift!

Soon after he accepted his new job we began our house hunt. This house hunt went on for a little while. It was hard to trust. It was easy to get carried away with each house. But, thankfully we were  able to be mostly patient, trusting, and had so many people praying for us, including St. Joseph.

--- 2 ---

Eventually we stumbled upon a home that we were drawn too. There was an undeniable pull once we entered the doors. And, we really did just stumble upon it!

It's funny though because we initially weren't very interested. See, we had found an open house across the street and found out there was another home nearby that was also showing. This house wasn't necessarily on our radar. Just another house nearby. We called our Realtor and decided to head over since we had a good hour before Mass. It really was the best decision we could have made and Holy Spirit gently guiding us to our gift. 

We walked in and I immediately noticed a small figure of St. Joseph on the welcome table. I quickly noticed the figure and took to the owner. We started chatting about our Catholic faith. She shared how she had been praying for a young Catholic family with babies. She wanted new and precious family memories to be had in her home. She shared with me the beauty of the home, all it had to offer, and emphasized how wonderful it is that it has been prayed in for over 20 years. She got teary at the thought of our little family purchasing the home and so did I! My son took to her too and after leaving kept asking to go back to Mrs. Carolyn's house. She took to him as well seeing as his name is the same name that started us in conversation - Joseph. She also quickly shared that she had started a 30-day novena to St. Joseph the day prior and felt that he was working fast.

She was right. And, I could not be more grateful for our Lord listening to the petitions of St. Joseph, Guardian of the Incarnate Word!

--- 3 ---

{Pretty}
Now, onto our celebrating this wonderful Saint who was so integral in helping us find our home.

This picture was able to encapsulate a lot of what I found beautiful on this feast day. We were fortunate to have a friend and her two boys (one in utero) over to feast over dinner. Ultimately, she had come over to help let me pack up for our big move this weekend, and when I realized she would be here on St. Joseph's feast day I quickly let her know that we would be feasting and she and her sons would be joining.

She brought over a delicious St. Joseph salad. Our oldest boys are near in age so they had so much fun playing together. Many laughs were had and it was beautiful. Made me want to always celebrate feast days with family friends. Also, it was another reminder of just how blessed we are to have so many wonderful people in our lives and the lives of the boys.

The picture captures the richness of our faith. The joy. The celebration. The whole feast! Which is why I also included this photo for Abbey's Holy Lens Insta-project and Cari's Theme Thursday.

--- 4 ---

{Happy}

Bigfoot was so happy to pick and choose breakfast and lunch. Funny enough he was happy to keep it toddler-simple while I made more of a feast out of dinner.

St. Joseph Feast Day Menu

Breakfast

Blueberry muffins, cereal, and apples

Lunch

Chicken nuggets, Hummus & Carrots, blueberries

Dinner

Pappardelle di San Giuseppe, St. Joseph salad, and St. Joseph blueberry puffcakes

(Another thank you to Catholic Cuisine for their awesomeness!)

We read our St. Joseph Story book during breakfast and lunch per the little man's request.

Enjoyed friends and food for dinner. The pasta that we ate was delicious! It was a perfect salty sweet and made me think of sawdust. Sounds weird, I know, but it did! The breadcrumbs mixed with sugar and crushed toasted walnuts had this sawdust look to them. A perfect opportunity to share about St. Joseph and his craft of carpentry!

And I coudn't get enough of this yummy St. Joseph's salad my friend Katey brought over!

Last, but not, I made theses yummy St. Joseph puffcakes. I ended up using blueberries because it's what I had (instead of rasberries). I also changed up the cream filling a tad by replacing the heavy whipping cream with shortening and almond milk since, again, that's what we had. These were so light and airy I kept wanting to call them puffcakes. Either way, they were a delightful little close to our feast day celebrations!

--- 5 ---

{Funny}

Linus decided to share some of his sweetness on during our feast.

Yesss...?

Mama, what are you doing?

Ah! You want take pictures of me and you want me to smile?

OK!

Was that good?

Ok, mama. I smiled already.

Alright, it's awkward...

--- 6 ---

{Real}

Thank you, thank you, thank you, dear St. Joseph, Gaurdian of the Incarnate Word. We are forever grateful for your prayers and look forward to continuing to get to know you better, precious Foster Father of the Son of God. 

--- 7 ---

All in all, it was a good day. A good day to celebrate answered and unanswered prayers. A good day to celebrate the patron saint of our oldest son and a good day to be thankful for all of our blessings. Blessings in our faith. Blessings in our new home. Blessings in our family. And, blessings in our friends here on earth and in Heaven.

We have lots to celebrate and I'm thankful that celebrating the beautiful lives that have gone before offer us special little ways to remember that.

Thanks for stopping by and for more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary! And visit Like Mother Like Daughter for more Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real posts!

Also, if you could pray for us! We are having our big and full move in to our new home-sweet-home tomorrow! From novena to novena, we have been heard and loved! ! So EXCITED!!!

St. Joseph, Head of the Holy Family, ora pro nobis.