back.

yes, we are alive.

the last five weeks have been absolutely insane.

clean. laundry. pack. drive. play. pack. drive. unpack. laundry. 

repeat.

we've been living out of suitcases for the past five weeks. lots of {fun} trips. seeing family, daddy, friends, etc. 

and now we're back. {missing daddy, but we are back!}

and it has reeked havoc on our little nest. 

so i've been trying to make my way through the tornado of clothes, unwashed sheets & such. 

bringing out our "spring" clothes and attempting to put up winter, only to have a cold snap again, has NOT helped. 

and giving away tons of stuff in an effort to spring clean & declutter the excess in our lives.

i cannot wait to tell you all that the Lord has been showing me. or, should i say "not" showing me.... 

either way, i'm still in processing mode. all of these new & fresh ideas and convictions swirling around in my brain. all while "needing" to buy a house and trying to keep it all in perspective. it's hard to do in the american culture. AND when we're trying to figure out what the Lord may have planned years down the road for our family.

again, processing. 

and the session pushes on. little by little, we are creeping slowly toward the finish line. and we are excited. we're in countdown mode. and hopefully daddy will really come home when the countdown is over. and we won't have a special session. 

oh, please, Lord. we need daddy home - at least for a while. 

i'm excited to be back on the blogosphere. 

praying about some changes here. and in my little business. 

making sure that family {and household duties} come first. that's really really hard for me. to slow down on the business side of things - just when i feel like i'm gaining momentum. 

but He is bigger than a little momentum. He is greater & wider & stronger than i ever will be - and He has plans for me. and letting go of my little business & my money enables Him to work through it. He can take it where He wants it. and if that is to remain steady, that is great. 

slowing down. 

taking deep breaths. 

living one day at a time.

i heard a quote last night at a dinner i attended with some friends. 

"live like Christ died yesterday, rose again this morning, and is coming back tomorrow." - martin luther.

wow. 

that changes my perspective. {i wish it changed my thoughts on laundry, but it just keeps coming}. 

today i will honor Him with my actions. my patience toward my children {deep breaths} and serving my husband {from afar}. He has been faithful to me, and i want to be a good steward with what He has given me - my children & my husband being the first and foremost of those. 

ahhhh.... i could write forever now that i finally sat down.

but i won't bore you.

here are a few insty's from the last few weeks. happy weekend!

30 day shred. kill me now.

sweet muffin.

isaiah 58. read it.

hill country. 

children's museum in austin. ginormous light bright.

ice cream break with daddy. they are at the age that they think THEY are the star when they walk on the house floor. i LOVE that for them. b. was telling me "how to get there" as we were walking through the capitol. like, "mom, i've done this before. follow me." 

a little cinco de mayo at hula hut. our fave.

sic 'em.

i toured the children's advocacy center last week. it broke my heart & amazed me at the same time. these people are salt of the earth. the God stories gave me goosebumps, and i will share them next week. the Lord is changing hearts in our church & in our community. He is stirring something big, and i just want to be willing. thankful to be a small part of His plan. {and will be even MORE thankful when He finally shows me what that plan might be!!!}

instafriday. {on monday?}

so, i was pretty much a vegetable friday and saturday. 

the trunk show was a huge success and i was extremely blessed by all of you who came to support me & my attempt to raise money to go to africa. i have no idea what the Lord has for me there, i only know that He has explicitly told me to go. and that little branches will get me there. 

so i am trusting. 

nevertheless, the last month has been a blur of painting, sanding, friday night lights, tagging & repeat. 

except sunday. last week was b's 5th birthday. and as an extra special treat he got to fly with daddy to austin to go to work with him. he was speaker of the house for the day, got to meet all of daddy's "friends" and even did the gavel. he led the pledges & got to push the buttons to "vote". he had the best time.

we are in the home stretch of session. less than 50 {brutal} days left. i am so thankful. and as much as we miss him, we know it's the Lord's calling on our lives at the moment. and in that, there is peace.

took some advice from becky & took time for myself. to get my hair did {which it desparately needed!} so glad that i did this. 

my favorite items that sold out in the first 30 minutes. now i wish i had kept one for myself. check back next week for restock. 

registered for kindergarten on friday. all sorts of emotions along with this. i can't believe it - yet i'm so ready - yet i'm not. wow. what a roller coaster ride..... as i'm sure the next 12 years will be much of the same. 

friday night we went to the spring carnival at the school. b is SUPER excited to attend here in the fall & i'm excited since he's excited. 

happy monday, friends.

b

instafriday.

hey hey! 

it's friday. woot!

this week has been busy. you all have been so kind to me this week. i cannot tell you how blessed i was with emails, texts and comments regarding my trip to africa. it's been a hard thing for me to deal with - only because i know it will change me. i know i will see the world in a different way - i will see the Lord in a different way. and as much as i can't wait and am expecting awesome things, i'm also terrified at the same time. it's hard to explain, right? 

last weekend, in honor of spring break, we got away. much needed. 

to the lake - my favorite of favorite places right now. 

the country. where it is quiet beyond anything you've never heard before. seriously. 

even the car ride, with two littles & a dog in two, was peaceful. they pretty much entertained themselves & i had time to ponder. 

why is it that the Lord's voice seems so much louder when you're away from the "city"?

somewhere in east texas there's this exotic animal farm. they have camels and lamas and zebras and peacocks.... and on and on. saturday we took lil' miss to feed the camels. they're adorable. and so was the sweet baby llama we saw. i need to find a picture of her! she was so cute.

tuesday i had an extra special friend with me while my littles were at school. i love her. she had an ear infection & wasn't able to go to school with her momma, but she hung out with me for just a bit. she's funny. we had a great time dancing to taylor swift in the car. {jules - she knows the words!!}

we celebrated my momma's birthday at hopdoddy this week. it lived up to all the hype for sure. 

five out of the nine of us had on toms. including my brother and lil' miss. we love our toms.

monday i had my first ever parent/teacher conference. it was really just an assessment that they do in pre-k to decide if they're ready for kindergarten. although i knew that b. was ready i was still nervous as to what ms. marcy would tell me. i literally had to hold my tears back during the conference. i have such a smart & tenderhearted little boy. it overwhelms me when i think of how j & i are responsible for cultivating his strengths for His glory. i don't want to stifle him but i always think being a stricter parent pays off. always.

tuesday i shared the story of little branches.

and wednesday i shared about what the Lord is doing in my life.

thank you, from the deepest part of me, for your sweet response. i was incredibly blessed.

wednesday i caught c. pouring over my old project life albums. it pierced my heart that she doesn't have any from recent years - with pictures that she remembers - to look at. so, i wrangled up all of my stuff and set my timer for 30 minutes. i got two weeks done. in THAT time. it didn't take long to get my groove back. i'll be sharing soon.

and i'll end the post with this sweetness. i could just eat her up. 

have a happy weekend.

instafriday.

i don't feel like i have a lot to share this week! you can tell what my week's been filled with! work, work & more work!!! 

{don't miss the kiwi crate giveaway!}

 {and my sweet little ones to add a bit of humor!}

instafriday. {a mega post}.

hello, again. these last two weeks have flown by and have been full to the brim. sickness has come and gone and come and gone in the form of colds, allergies, stomach bugs, sinus infections and the like. ick. here i am, catching up again with instafriday. 

c. had an "accident" in the bathtub a few weeks ago. it's obviously scarred her {and b.} because she talks about it ALL the time. here she's showing me in a book that "there's no poo poo, mommy!" in the bathtub.

started a new book. it's sooooo good. living life slower. and more sustainable. for Him. baking bread, growing veggies, making family time, giving to others, not living in excess. it's changing my heart. more on that soon.

throw edie, i discovered ziplist. it's ah-mazing to plan meals & grocery shop. check out her posts on how it all works, here. her meal planning tips are awesome and help me tremendously! and i don't even have to print out the list, because there's an app for that! ha. {more sustainable, remember?}

all is right with the world when daddy is home. i've seen him every day for the past week. i am blessed & full. i didn't know how much i needed it until it's happened and my heart cannot contain it. i miss him. he is my best friend {and i bet these two would say the same.} i kinda like him, i guess. 

big daddy & daddy took b. to the monster truck jam a few weeks back {see below} & i took c. to target. {good trade, huh?} we had some fun girl time & they had some loud boy time. he LOVED it.

last week we had a guest worship leader, michael neal, at church. and y'all - we had church. we are led by amazing worship leaders every week, but i think the freshness of someone else is always healthy. and this time of corporate worship was oh so good for my soul. check it out. 

reading up on my veggie garden. i don't know what that is going to look like this year, as we will probably move soon{ish}. but dreaming of that some day.

i cannot express to you how thankful i am for my loyal customers. i have been humbled & blessed beyond what i could have ever imagined months ago when the Lord blessed me with this dream. i cannot wait to share with you where the proceeds of little branches will be going. i am absolutely giddy with excitement. thank YOU for supporting us. we will reopen our online shop on march 18th for orders but will not take custom orders again until after the trunk show on april 11. more on that soon! i promise!

waiting for paint to be mixed with these littles. it can get kind of crazy {and LONG} with them there. we decided to play a matching game while we waited - and b. got a huge kick out of it. i'd pick a few colors with his eyes closed and then he'd have to find exactly where they went. i bet martha stewart would love that, right? 

oh- the q & u wedding. mr. q married miss u. it's a big deal in pre-k. they were precious. and b. took it so SERIOUSLY. his teacher said he even asked why he didn't get to kiss the bride afterward. he obviously knows how to do it right!

terrible twos. coffee. enough said.

hazards of my job. i might as well never paint my fingernails. like, never.

hubby was on fox news saturday night. some of you have asked me about his bills. you can check out all of the bills that he's filed, including the sex ed bill {which is near & dear to me as a mom} on his representative page. some of you think that i'm smart & a grown up & all of that because i do all of this "political" stuff. nope. i'm not, but my hubby is! i just get to tag along & most of the time it all goes over my head. some stuff i'm very passionate about and others, well, others i'm glad i'm not the one making the decisions. but i'm telling you - you're in very good hands with this one in office. he's authentic, passionate, bold and courageous. he's fighting the good fight for us. {and please, if you disagree with him, be kind in the comments! i'm not the one in office, remember? and i try not to be too political here, but it is a part of our lives now!}

i was extremely blessed to be able to attend the senate hearing on j's sex ed bill. this is one that i am passionate about. i was so glad this happened while i was down there. lots of good discussion. three moms drove up from south texas to testify for the bill. they're angry moms about what their children are being taught in school without their permission. i'm so proud of my hubby for standing up for this. it's important. 

got to steal my hubby away from all of the business one night for a quiet dinner. thankful for the supportive constituents that encouraged us to leave early & go. the sacrifice was NOT lost on me. 

pick me up. sinus infections are a drag.

music! i got lots of good suggestions yesterday. can't wait to try them all out.

and finally, my dear friend, jen, opened her boutique last night. this is a dream realized for her & i was so proud to be there to support her. check it out this weekend if you're in frisco. it's like anthro but without the price. i promise you won't be disappointed! congrats, jen!