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Lifegroup New Years!

2012-01-27T07:35:00.000-06:00

We invited our Lifegroup up to Pura Vida to ring in the 2012 back in Dec/Jan and had THE greatest time. SUCH a cool, supportive, hilarrrrrious, quality group of way cool people. We missed the Cox Fam big time (they were at home with supercute little newborn Baby Emerie :) We slept in, enjoyed adults-only time, hit up the shops & eateries in Fredericksburg. The boys golfed, hunted, and learned the hunting/cleaning process (yikes!) while the girls talked, shopped, and talked some more :) There was much hang out by the firepit time, a large amount of throwback old school music (hilar), game-playing, s'more making, and laughing (per usual).

Shout out to Tori & JC, who were supergreat sports and climbed into the creepy, "The Shining"-style attic room each night for bed. You guys rock. Sorry we stuck our leaders in the attic ;)

SO happy most everyone was able to come! I can't imagine a better group of people to hang in the AWESOME Texas Hill Country with. Til next time! Happy 2012, my friends!

B-Riz and I spent a little time @ PV by ourselves before everyone else arrived. He got his first deer with his bow! #stud #greatwhitehunter #soproud #yummy

Exhibit 1 of Girl Fun in F Burg

I couldn't miss this photo opp to share with Aves that her momma got to be part of a nativity with Baby Jesus!! She was pumped.

Ladies by the firepit! Amanda...we left a space to photoshop you in!

JC's hunting lessons. He's hooked :) Ane he's got his special shoes to show for it...

The whole gang. We totally heart you guys :)

Happppppy New Year!! PS- thanks, pops, for letting us bust into your hat stash ;)

the guy i love in the place i love <3

She Get it From Her Momma

2012-01-25T22:02:00.000-06:00

For the last 5 days, Cameron has been crossing her eye. You read that correctly. Her EYE. Singular. Her left eye keeps crossing! I started having a similar problem with my eyes when I was 4. For those who have known me for most of my life, I refer to my younger years as my "goggle-days". I wore big thick lenses in presh red frames. And then when I matured a little, I chose pink ladybug frames instead (with the help of my trusty friend, Kelly Wilson). Anywho- all this to say that there's a possibility we could have an adorable little glasses-wearing 18-month old before long! I'm totally jumping the gun in saying that. We take Cam to the ophthalmologist on Friday, so he can check her out and tell us what's up! Who knows. Maybe it's just a "phase". Regardless, she's still the cutest 18-month old I know :)

holla.

Aves Potty Problemos

2012-01-24T20:58:00.000-06:00

**DISCLAIMER: Toddler potty talk dominates this post. {Yes... Again.} Enter at your own risk... **

Okay. So it alllll started after T-Giv. Aves had been potty trained for quite a while where #1 is concerned, but was still waiting to do her BigGirlBidness in the middle of the night. So obviously, she was still sleeping in diapers. When she needed to poop, she would just hold it in until night time rolled around and she found sweet solace in the comfort of her good old reliable Pampers :)

Welllll one day in late November she decided that since she did not enjoy one little thing about the whole idea of feces, she would just NOT partake in that part of the human body process. So... for 7 days, LITERALLY SEVEN DAYS she refusssssseeddd to poop. She needed to. Really bad. And on MANY occassions. But she would just squeal and jump around and holldddd it in with all of her might until the sensation passed. I can't even remember now how the big event finally went down, but on Day7, her bowels were relieved. But only so she could start the process over again. This time I think it lasted 4 1/2 days, and then she got into a groove of going every 3 days or so. But NEVER without at LEAST a good 24 hours of her poopy dance (which she had totally perfected by this time). The dance usually took place about every hour or so.... and then as The Moment neared, it would happen every 10 or 15 minutes. I mean... Wow.

Aves' poopy dance always involved an interesting combination of squealing, yelling, jumping, twirling, running in circles, and then by the end, she had added little interjections of her very own language. Um. It was HYSterical... except that it wasn't...because the poor child was making herself MISerable. Anywho...by early January our little Avery had begun to go more regularly, with less fighting, and with NO tears (praise the Lord!) After talking to our doc and doing a little google-ing, we decided to talk about how AWESOME pooping is NON-STOP, reward Averton with lollipops every time she went, and watch videos of cool cartoon characters pooping on the potty. WHAT THE HECK. NEVER in my wildest dreams would I have imagined this to occur in my house. Toddlers = unpredictability, which = lots of hilariousness. :)

So. Avery's pooping problems are now far, far behind her. She's regular. She doesn't fight it. It's a non-issue. As it should be :) Every now and then she still tries to sucker us into giving her a lollipop for doing her business, but we no longer succumb to that little trickster. For those of you who had to witness the misery of Aves' Poo-Dilemma, I am SO sorry :) She would like to thank you for your support during those difficult months and wants you to know that she is only better for it. She would also like to thank her super-supportive baby sister Cameron, who found such joy in our poopoo-focused life and always found a way to lighten the mood ;)

Whew.

Cameron: 18 Months

2012-01-17T23:42:00.001-06:00

Welp. My leetle C-Lil is 18 months old! It's kind of cool because Aves's 1/2 birthday is on my dad's actual birthday and CamCam's 1/2 birthday is one day after my actual b-day! Fun :)

How cute is that dress that Uncle Yiyi hooked C-Lil up with from Honduras? Anywho. They say that with the second kiddo, time goes SO much faster. Honestly? I don't feel that way at all. I think it's because with Avery, we kind of missed the whole phase between 1 and 2 because Cameron was a newborn and stole all of our attention and energy ha. So experiencing Cameron and everything that comes along with a 14-18month old has seemed kind of new. It's SO fun and so incredibly adorable :)

We haven't had Cam's 18mo appointment yet, so I don't know her stats, but I'll get those up as soon as we get 'em! Here are some other fun things about the little munchkin @ 18 months:

Sings Twinkle Twinkle pretty well, especially "up above" and "HIIIIGGGHHHHH!!" :)
She has fallen in love with "I'm a little Teapot" and bops her head back & forth like crazy every time she hears it.
EVERY SINGLE THING that she gets, she MUST give Avery some as well. As soon as we give her a bite of something, a toy to play with, a bath, a hat, she immediately says, "Avewy??" and points to wherever big sis is. Makes sense I guess. She's never known life without Aves!
She still eats like a champ (when she's healthy). She likes pretty much everything we give her, and girlfriend LOVVVES her some milk!
She loves to tickle our feet.
She loves to give kisses. Especially to my dad (Big Poppy) during Skype seshes. Kind of adorable.
She can sort of count.
She's learning her colors. She is extremely into yellow. I don't blame her.
She can bust out animal sounds on the spot and calls animals the sound they make instead their actual name. "teet-teet" is her fave.
When she's super pumped about something she sees, she raises her eyebrows 12 inches, widens her pretty little eyes, and points with major enthusiasm, "See? See?" with each exclamation getting more & more shrill. Love.
She loves cars, balls, & rowdiness.
She hearts her "beebeebee" (bellybutton)
I'm pretty sure she's faster than Aves...and has been for quite a while now :)
She is a rowdy little thang. She STRUGGLES with the word, "gentle". But she is SO insanely sweet.
On Christmas morning, Aves beelined for the shiny little pair of plastic high heels and couldn't see ANYTHING else in the room for 20 minutes. Except Cameron's pair of high heels. The second she spotted them, she ran over and desperately tried to get Cameron excited about them. To no avail. Cam had spotted her basketball goal and wanted nothing more. Blinded by love. Love what an individual my little Cam Cam is. She and Aves are similar, but SO their own person.
She still naps once a day and goes to bed around 8ish..or a little before.
Her current fave thing to say is, "hummy. hummy." (hold me) and if I say no, she alters her request to "wap, wap" (lap). How is a mom to resist??
Anytime I'm working on something in the kitchen (which is a LOT), she runs to the playroom (with aves), grabs her little wooden chair, drags it into the kitchen and climbs up to watch what I'm doing. Love my cute little company :)
C-Lil is a total goofball. She keeps us entertained and cracking up on the regular. Aves + Cam = a house full of ridiculousness. (and love)
She still sings her song... "wahwahwah, wahwahwah" Only those who have heard it can read that properly :)
My youngest child is an allergy baby. Poor little nugget gets super stuffy and bigtime watery eyes every few weeks. It effects her sleep & eating, but it doesn't usually effect her mood too much :) #trooper (yes, i just hashtagged my daughter)
Camerton just straight up adores her big sis and it makes me sooo heeppppyyyyy
She also is IN LOVE with her faj. She asks for him pretty much every morning, LOVES to kiss him goodnight, and asks about him all day while he's at work. Daddy's girl much? Loooooks like it.
I put Cameron's hair in a little "pebbles" hairdo everyday because I think it fits her personality SO perfectly. I know some people probably think it looks ridiculous, but I think it is perfection, and so I shall continue. Maybe forever. Who knows?
I LOVE YOU C-LIL! I love our time hangin' out before Aves wakes up from her naps. I love your presh little giggle. I love how excited you get when we praise you. I love how much you adore your seester & your daddy. I love your hugs & kisses and ridiculous amounts of bouncing-off-the-wall energy (until you crash & burn into a pile of exhaustion...which, for the record, I also love)

Happy 1/2 bday little munch! Tomorrow is mini-cupcake making day up in hurrr girlfriend. Love you mucho my sweet! (and you too, Aves)

Beauty & the Beast

2012-01-17T15:58:00.000-06:00

Averton Waverton and I met Casizzle & Tatum @ the movies on my bday to see Beauty & The Beast! It was in 3D, which I didn't nkow before going, and it was pretty cool! Brought that old school animation to life a little bit more :) Love that movie. Love the music. Aves totally loved it. She & Tatum sat through the whole thing. They looked SO adorable and SO old sitting in their own seats, rockin' their 3D shades, and snacking on the lunches that their frugal moms snuck in :)

Love my little sweet pea and LOVE that we were able to some quality 1 on 1 time together ... and with some of our fave friends. I've gotten lots of 1:1 time with Camo lately because she takes REALLY short naps most of the time...so we get lots of fun hang out time before Aves wakes up! Anyway, I felt kind of ridiculous, but on more than one occassion during the movie I was almost moved to tears...and not because of the movies. I just feel so OVERJOYED when I look at my munchkins and think about how perfectly they were created and know that they have a specific purpose in this world. It's pretty awesome and exciting and sweet and happy and cheesy :) Like. REALLY cheesy. Okay enough. Yay for cute little memories with people we love!

{UPDATED} 7: An Experimental Mutiny against Excess. My Review/Takeaway

2012-01-17T09:37:00.002-06:00

Well... I've already updated my thoughts. After sitting on it for more than 6 hours, I made more sense of my thoughts :) So. I feel two overwhelming feelings after reading 7 (by Jen Hatmaker): Challenged & Peaceful. We'll get to that.

I'm totally privileged. I realize this. I'm thankful for this. I understand that it places a responsibility on me to use such material blessing for HIS Kingdom. The problem lies in the fact that I have just felt lost when it comes to actually doing so I mean, sure, we use the blessing of our home to invite our friends to congregate and spend quality time together. We are raising little humans and trying to teach them God's love and Jesus' salvation so that THEY will be His hands & feet. We give to our church. Blah blah blah... but I haven't been able to shake my dissatisfaction with it all. Jen's book, "7", confronts this thought process big time! It's literally the exact words/thoughts/actions God has been needing for me to see. He's been nudging my heart forEVER, but I just haven't quite gotten it. You see... I'm a big time thinker. I'm constantly creating ideas in my head of how to love on my neighbors, how to POUR out my heart & my possessions to those who with less. Orphans. Widows. Homeless. Poor. Captives to all things (material, emotional, physical...). These thoughts are AWESOME. Seriously... AWESOME. The problem is that they never come to fruition. I've realized that I am NOT a doer. I'm actually super embarassed to admit it, but I follow through on about 1.7% of the ideas that I create in my mind. The whole idea of "7" is DOING. Instead of thinking and wishing and praying and asking and hoping, Jen Hatmaker DOES. She identifies God's voice in her soul, calling her to SO much more than this "normal" life she and her family live. There is unrest in her soul and instead of just asking God for perfect clarity or for an exactly laid out path to follow, she ACTS on that call from The Holy Spirit. OH MY GOODNESS. What an amazing idea right? She shares her journey in 7 "chapters" of super entertaining, incredibly convicting, and totally REAL commentary on the experience. She shares her thoughts when times are great...when the Lord is just giving her all kinds of awesome wisdom...annnnd she totally shares her heart/mind when times are NOT so awesome. When the burden of being ANYTHING but "normal" gets a little bit more uncomfortable. It's so REAL, which makes it SO perfect :)

Jen's hilarrrrious writing is seriously entertaining. She's got you feeling like you're listening to your best friend relay an amazingly dramatic story, and before you know it, she's laid this massive chunk of wisdom on you. But her humility is just like...seeping out from every little word. I'm not sure how that works, but she allows God to just share His awesome truths without getting what many people call "preachy" and "arrogant". SO super cool.

As someone who forgets about 90% of the details of movies/books/stories the second I've completed them, I am left with some intense takeaway from this book.

When I hear God speak or feel The Holy Spirit move, the time for action is RIGHT at that moment. No more worrying about the logistics (within reason, of course. I DO have 2 toddlers & a hubs to consider) or about making someone feel badly. I trust that God will continue with His feedback through my actions. I mean... Duh. {#challenged}
Feeling sad for, praying for, sharing information about people who are placed on my heart (i.e. the poor, trafficking victims, friends who are being beaten DOWN by satan's paralyzing lies, etc...) is NOT enough. Thinking about writing an encouraging note doesn't count when I don't actually write it. Talking about orphans may not benefit them one bit if I don't actually GIVE some of the massive amounts of what I have to offer TO them. Thinking how cool it would be to take a bunch of sandwiches to some homeless people doesn't make sandwiches magically appear in their laps. Weird. {#challenged}
I realize that I am who I am. I was created exactly as God meant to create me. My heart is moved by certain things for a reason. When I feel a certain stirring or nudging or calling... it's okay if a million other people I know are doing it and it's okay if NO ONE I know is doing it. When I'm in tune with The Holy Spirit there is no wrong move. Discernment is SUPER important, but waiting for and obsessing over discernment can just be a distraction. {#peaceful}
I want Jen Hatmaker to be my friend. Although I can tell that I would be willingly letting a convicting force into my life, I want it nonetheless. I want it for the laughs. And I want it for the un-sugar-coated truths she has to share.
I will tell everyone about this book. It's my God-given duty :) God's word if obviously the ultimate and absolute source of truth, but Jen offers what wisdom He has given her in a ridiculously relevant way. Just what I've been needing!

A few of my fave quotes from the book. They probably don't say a lot standing alone, but in the context of Jen's book, they were basically a dagger in my heart or an intensely illuminated lightbulb!

"May my privileges continue to drive me downward to my brothers and sisters without."
"When jars of clay remember they're jars of clay...the treasure within gets all the glory."
"What if we changed our label from 'consumer' to 'steward'? Would it change the way we shop? Think?"

As a girl who knows and is EXCITED about the fact that this world is SO not my home, I still feel this pressure to fit in, to be relatable, to be careful about alienating people. A question I often ask myself is, "How can a "normal" person live RADICALLY for God?" Um... I am realizing more and more how off-point this question is. There was a verse that changed my life when I was 14 years old. "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. " {Gal 1:10} As I sat in the gorrrgeous Rocky Mountains, God totally called me out on this one. My thought process changed a bit after that. But, obviously, I need to be called out again. My concerns with maintaining normalcy are proof of that. Through "7" God showed me that we are called to act. When He nudges our hearts, we don't just change our mindset. We change our ACTIONS. Our thoughts matter, but they don't change the world. Thinking about love doesn't increase The Kingdom. Acting on love does.

Really cool book. Seriously. Read it. God will do some major conversing with you.

"7" by Jen Hatmaker

2012-01-13T14:21:00.001-06:00

*click here to read my review on this book*

I'm currently reading a book written by Jen Hatmaker, for the purposes of reviewing it on this here blog. I would totally read it even if I DIDN'T receive a free copy for reviewing, but that's beside the point. I'm one chapter in and I'm still just as excited to be reading it as I was before I had even read a single word. The premise of the book is this: "An Experimental Mutiny against Excess" Jen & her fam spend 7 months basically fasting in 7 different categories (1 month per category). They had felt an unease with the way they were living; buying into the "American Dream" just didn't sit well anymore...so 7 happened. Can't wait to finish the book and share the Hatmaker's experience with you guys. Radical living is super off-putting to some people, so I'm pumped to get an inside look at the experience.

I'll be posting the review sometime on Sunday, January 15th...probably late that night, as I've got a LOT of reading to do before then :)

*click here to read my review on this book*

Wayyyyyy Behind

2012-01-13T13:57:00.000-06:00

I'm so behind. AH! I need to catch up asap bc I forget all the cute (and not so cute) little details of our life when they're not documented. So that I don't forget what I'm behind on, here's my blogging to do list:

Christmas Women's banquet @ Hope
Christmas in SL & Lufkin
F-burg (bros & LGers)
Avery's potty training issues
Cameron's chatter
Singing babies
Childcare buddies
Avery's karate experience
Magen's shower
Aves/Cam/Heidi/Madeleine
Allie/Mak/Aves/Cam
Bunco Halloween
Bunco girls

geez.

That Mom. TOTALLY That Mom.

2011-12-13T22:44:00.000-06:00

I realized today that I'm so going to be that mom who thinks she has super sweet moves, but totally doesn't. Any dancing coolness that I once possessed has run far, far away from here. Avery is only 2 and she already doesn't want to learn her momma's moves. WHAT happened? This is not the level of coolness I envisioned for myself. Back when I found out I was pregnant with Aves I was positive that she would think, for her entire life, that I was the ultimate role model of coolness. But, at that point I wasn't THAT far removed from impromptu roomie dance parties & 6th Street. My how the times have changed. And FAST...

I fear what each passing year will do to my image... My poor children :)

Colossians 3

2011-12-11T23:23:00.001-06:00

Source my mom & pops gave me a little pink leather-bound book almost a year ago, on my 26th bday. It's The Message translation of The New Testament. I have never really taken the dive, as I've always preferred reading my traditional translations of The Bible. I DO, however, live cross-referencing the different versions, as just a single differing word can leave me with a totally different perspective. Pretty cool.

Well... just now I checked out the 3rd chapter of Colossians, The Message style. Col 3 (particularly verses 12-15) is one of my go-to, almost-daily reads. Totally a guiding passage for me. It reminds, encourages, convicts, & excites me every time!

Go read Colossians 3 in The Message version of the bible. My prayer is that it inspires you as profoundly as it does me!

Bootcamps {indoor!!}

2011-12-07T21:30:00.000-06:00

I am currently working on securing indoor locations for bootcamps in the North Dallas area {specifically: Lewisville, Addison, Flower Mound}. Let me know if you're interested in joining us starting in January OR if you have a suggestion for an indoor space! I'm looking for open (or empty...that'd be even better!) space where we can move around a bit! All equipment is provided by yours truly :)

2012... you're almost here. YIPPEE! :)

Jesus: Toddler Style

2011-12-06T23:05:00.000-06:00

I spent some time today trying to entertain the girls with the story of Jesus' birth. I started with our little nice, heavy, pewter nativity set. I started with how the beauuuutiful angel came to visit Mary and told her she was going to have a sweeeeeet baby. Well... before the first sentence was completed, I was wrestling one of the lambs out of CamCam's hand so as to avoid any head trauma to poor innocent Aves (Camo has a bit of a violent streak...). So. I hastily dropped the nativity set back onto the mantle, out of my little peas' reach and tried another approach. This one much less pretty :)

After a quick trip to the playroom, I came back with scissors, a bunch of colored construction paper, some tape & a pencil. We made our little Jesus story into an art project (if you can even classify my hasty & seriously abstract masterpiece as artwork!) and with much more success, I got to share the birth of Jesus with my little nuggets!

When daddy got home, Aves showed daddy out pretty pic and pointed out the angel, Mary, "baby God", the three men with their "presents", and... "who is that?" She had trouble remembering Joseph's name. I think I kind of threw her off with the whole idea of 2 dads. A little outside the mental capacity of a 2-yr-old I think :) SO cute. There are few things Brian and I love more than hearing our lovebugs talk about God & Jesus.

So. Avery is super excited about "Jesus dirthday!! I sing happy dirthday to Baby Jesus!" and keeps asking where Baby Jesus is. She knows God lives "in my heart", but can't seem to figure out where Baby Jesus is hiding.

And while we're on the Jesus-Toddler topic, Cameron has fallen in love with Avery's little storybook bible. She ran around for an hour today saying, "bobble! bobble!" and begggging us to read it to her. If there's any way to make me drop what I'm doing and cater to my children's wants, this is it. Little CamCam has got it all figured out :)

If there's anything in this entire world I want to leave my kiddos with, it is knowledge of who God is and how MUCH He loves them. Completely. Unconditionally. Of course I WANT them to know how overwhelmingly I love them and want the very best for them too. But it all points back to Him. What better time to remember & put some on that than during this season that we celebrate His most perfect gift to us!

Motherhood

2011-12-06T14:07:00.000-06:00

The knowledge that God chose ME to be the mother of my 2 sweet girls is humbling, baffling, encouraging, and at times overwhelming. My journey to motherhood has been pretty typical. Brian and I conceived both of our children. That seems normal. So normal, in fact, that the miraculous part of it gets completely lost. God decided when to create those 2 little lives. He saw them through to a healthful completion. He allowed Brian and I to experience their lives beyond just a few minutes, weeks, or months. He chose for us to be their parents from Day 1.

I realize that this is NOT the journey to Motherhood that many of God's children will experience. For some, He has chosen the gift of a child who was conceived in another womb, maybe even another country. But still, He created that little bundle of cells knowing who would raise her. He saw her development through to a perfect completion. He chose who would deliver her and where she would be delivered, knowing all the while when she would be passed into the hands and heart of the one she could call "mommy". And for this mommy, He has worked and chipped and prepared her heart for THIS child. No part of her story, nor her child's, is a mistake. It's not a broken story, who's pieces He needed to clean up. It's a jigsaw puzzle of perfection that He had planned from the beginning. This journey is almost even more miraculous than a journey like mine. That God uses so many people to get a single one of his children into the hands meant to hold them forever... is one of the most telling pictures of the way He loves us. His love goes so far beyond any definition or picture we can use to describe it, that its playing out often leaves us confused and dumbfounded. But the truth of its perfection remains.

Motherhood. The opportunity to love, hold, teach, encourage, provide for one of His own, is never anything but perfectly planned, and flawlessly purposed. By Him. Our Father. Our Creator. The Lover of our Souls. He is Good. In all things, He is Good.

Thoughts on Marriage

2011-11-30T22:10:00.001-06:00

In talking with a friend recently, I realized that I have a "view" on marriage. I believe that entering into and maintaining a marriage that honors and glorifies The Lord is a blessing, a challenge, and takes a massssivvve amount of intentional living. It's a series of decisions that have to be made over & over again. Every. Single. Day. The decision to place your spouse before every other person and thing. Even yourself. The decision to enjoy your spouse. The decision to forgive your spouse. The decision to be gentle and kind toward your spouse. When these thing don't happen, I absolutely do NOT believe it's always because we choose NOT to. I think a lot of times, it's just that we forget to make a choice either way. We get caught up in the millions of other things in life. Our spouse is one of the FEW constants in life, so I guess it can be easy to just overlook them... So, my "view" on marriage is that it should be the most intentional part of your day, your energy, and your life. Although I am by NO means an expert or a master at marriage, I know that I try to be intentional in my relationship with B-Riz (he usually makes it really easy!), but there are plenty of occasions (a lot more than I care to count) that I fall into the trap of marital stagnation/selfishness.

Brian and I were super into talking about marriage when we were dating/engaged. I feel like we made a pretty intentional and informed decision on who we were choosing as a lifelong spouse. Um, don't get me wrong here...

I mean, did he sweep me off my feet when we started dating? YES.

Was I blinded by love like so many other young & in lovvvve females? HECK YES.

... but luckily B-Riz is the bomb, so my unconditional infatuation didn't result in any regrets :)

But, seriously. We talked about marriage SO much before we were actually married, that I literally can't think of one thing that took me by "surprise". We discussed how we expected to be treated privately & in public, spending habits, banking, working aspirations, parenting, disciplining, temptations, what we wanted our kids involved in, what kind of church we envisioned our family being a part of, what we pictured evenings at home looking like, if we wanted to be the hosts or guests on the regular, what kind of house we wanted to settle into, pets, # of kids, where to live (something we never have/will be 100% in agreement on!), how often we wanted to visit parentals, strengths, weaknesses, pet peeves, concerns, dreams, travel, hobbies... you name it, we probably talked about it. Like... 12 times. We talked about our parents' marriages alllll the time. The amazing qualities we saw in them that we wanted to adopt for our own marriage. We looked at their marriages and discussed all the little things that we saw would be an inevitable challenge at some point, and tried to come up with ways we could avoid, or at least be extra aware of, these issues. We discussed our opinions on every little teeny tiny thing, and where we differed, we just talked some more. Until we came to some kind of COMPROMISE (one of the most beautiful, yet easily forgotten, parts of marriage if you ask me!).

We tried to foresee what could potentially be the biggest trouble areas for each of us, in terms of being a good and BIBLICAL wife/husband, and figure out ways to be prepared. I'm not sure if it's a personality thing, but we have approached our marriage as some sort of challenge, without even realizing it! Brian's competitive nature won't really allow him to fail at anything he puts his mind to. And my analytical thought processes want to know the root of every word/action/facial expression. This has resulted in us talking almost everything out. Honesty is the name of the game. When we're not rolling smoothly, neither of us is down. Sure, we have had our seasons of frustrations/annoyances, but (SO FAR) nothing that has festered into a serious issue.

However:

We are both acutely aware of the fact that satan is just WAITING for his moment to attack us. We know that at some point, and probably MULTIPLE points, we will find ourselves in the midst of some major marital discord. I hope and pray that our approach will have us as prepared as we can be for those times. I know without the slightest doubt that The Lord will see us through thick & thin as long as we continue to use Him as the glue that holds our marriage together. We are one, now. Two souls bound by God. Since June 2, 2007: Brian and Roxanne = brianandroxanne.

I'm super thankful that thus far, we have experienced a pretty smooth ride on the marriage train :) I am genuinely looking forward to the triumphs, trials, great times, and not so great times ahead with B-Riz as my husband. I know there are many laughs, many tears, and many learning experiences on the horizon. It's amazing how much God can move and teach and work through this supercool and GENIUS creation of His: Marriage.

Daddy's Little Elf :)

2011-11-30T00:20:00.000-06:00

It's beginning to look a leeeetle bit like Christmas at the Bradford Casa. Woohoo!!

Yay!

Happy T-Giv, Fools. Love, The Stomach Bug

2011-11-29T09:54:00.000-06:00

DISCLAIMER: This is not for the weak of stomach!

**You have been warned...**

It all started a week ago. On Tuesday evening we took a nice little Family'o'Four outing to Cristina's Mexican to enjoy our last meal in McKinney before traveling for the T-Giv holiday. All was well, until an explosion of vomit erupted from poor little CamCam's adorable little body. Over. and Over. and Over. I wrapped her in my scarf and Brian's jacket and exited the premises as quickly as possible while Brian & Aves stayed behind for damage control. This continued off & on for the next 5ish hours. But by morning, C-Lil was a champ! She acted like nothing had happened. We let the day play out and decided we were safe for travel, so we packed up as planned and hit the road for Lufkin!

T-Giv day was a blast! Everyone was happy & healthy, full & exhausted by day's end! A Longhorns victory was a perfect cap for a TEEriffic day. After a good night's sleep for everyone, Friday's plan was to relax with fam, watch football, and let the kiddos play. Unfortunately, my supercool SnL came down with the dreaded stomach bug early in the day and was down & out for the next 24 hours. After a trip to AcuteCare, some prescription meds, & some crackers & Sprite she was finally ready to emerge from her bedroom come Saturday morning. We met up with some old friends and their little man for lunch on Saturday (dear Lord, I hope we didn't spread the germage to that sweet boy!) and watched lots MORE football that afternoon/evening. MarshMarsh hooked us up with a delish dinner that night and everyone hit the hay pretty early. We were all wiped. Um. FF to 12:30.

Little Averton was puking her little angel face off. I was having chills and aching to the max anyway, so I didn't lose any sleep by spending my night assisting my sweet firstborn. Poor sweet girl did so great! She was a champ and by the end, didn't even cry anymore when the vomit sessions would hit. She even talked/waved to a train that was driving by at about 3am in between gags. Haha... sad/funny/precious all at the same time. By 3:30, Aves tummy had chilled out and she slept the rest of the night. This momma, on the other hand, was straight up MIZZZZ. Achiness was O.O.C. Feverish and freezing. Dramatic? Maybe. True? Heck yes. I woke up to find out that Brian had begun throwing up that morning and was locked in the back bedroom. My poor familia. Brian's ANGELIC parentals saved the day and took the kiddos while I took some advil for the aches and tried to sleep off my fever. I finally got a few hours of DEEP sleep and started the slow but steady road to feeling better.

Brian and I were quite a scene in the car on the way home. We looked like death, both felt like we had been hit by a bus, and hardly uttered a word the whole way. Our girls, however, were happy as ever! SUPER thankful their illnesses were short-lived :) On Monday, Brian was as good as new and I was def improved. Last night I felt great and was pumped to start a new HEALTHY week.

So...at around 12:30, I had this dream of total DejaVu. Brian busted into the room with Cameron in his arms because she had just started throwing up... Wait. Um. I wasn't dreaming. SERIOUSLY? Thankfully, that was the only time Cam threw up last night. HOPEFULLY we are now in the clear and can start venturing out in public again by tomorrow!

Despite all of our tummy issues, we truly did have a fantastic Thanksgiving! We enjoyed tons of quality family time, the girls spent hours upon hours with their big-kid cousins, and we enjoyed lots of football/rest/food! Thankful for a family who is willing to HELP in times of need :) Hope your T-Giv rocked too. I think 2011 will not be forgotten anytime soon in the Bradford Casa!

Missed you, Curry familia!

Building Towers

2011-11-28T23:47:00.000-06:00

Aves is SUPER into towers & castles. Our backyard "playground" is now known as Avery's "castle" :) AND, she drags the girls' bag of wooden blocks around the house to build her "tower" wherever we happen to be hanging out. And she FUUHHREAAAAKS out when it starts tipping over. I mean like... you would think her life is being threatened. Silly child. SUCH a perfectionist. :) I love watching her build her towers and love seeing how proud she is when she builds it almost "as tall for (aka-as) me!!"

What's not to love about that proud, SUPERpumped little face?? Love my Aves :)

Fall Festival Cuties!

2011-10-31T14:19:00.000-05:00

Since B-Riz had golf plans and Casizzle was down with that dern stomach bug, G-Money & I (in true Bradford-Weghorst Commune style) took Aves, Cam, & Tot to Hope Fellowship's Fall Festival yesterday. THEY WERE PRESHLINGS!!

They had SO much fun sporting their cute little costumes. They ADORED the opportunity to run around with all the big kids. They jumped @ the chance to pig out on popcorn & cotton candy (thx for waiting in that line, Geg!) Aves' excitement about the giant inflatable slides was super adorable. She would have gone up & down those things for 3 hours straight if there weren't lines for every ride.

Our 3 little ladies are really almost like siblings. LOVE seeing them interact and play together. Thanks Geg, for helping with the leetle ladies, and for taking over photographer duties since your wifey couldn't make it.

The girls are SOOOOOOO excited to trick-or-treat tonight (esp Aves...Cam doesn't totally get it yet.) Avery keeps asking me, "Where's Halloween, mommy???" Love my littles and can't wait to take them door to door tonight with B-Riz! Also TOTALLY can't wait for them to help us hand out candy.

Cutie pies.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Cameron's First Pigtails

2011-10-28T23:40:00.000-05:00

When CamCam was a teeny-tiny, people ALWAYS thought she was a boy. Regardless of how much pink she had on, the fact that she never kept a bow on her head resulted in millions of "how old is he?", "oh he's a precious boy!" blahblahblah. I really didn't care to be honest. I know that the name "Cameron" threw people off even more, so I would just say thanks and, "oh, by the way...she's a girl. don't feel bad...everyone calls her a boy!" I'm pretty sure people still felt bad. :)

We're pretty far past the gender confusion stage, but just for those who might still have the inkling to call my C-Lil a boy, SHE CAN NOW ROCK THE PIGGIES!! I pulled Cam's hair into pigtails the other day and um... I melted. She looked SO presh. her hair just seems to get thicker and longer everyday! I'll prob have to give her first trim soon to keep those bangs out of her eyeballs. (tear). So crazy that my leetle lovebug is getting so big!

Aves was this age when Cameron was born (actually about a month younger), and it's just so crazy to think back to how OLD we thought Averton was. Sweet little nugget was still SUCH a teeny baby and had to take on the big sis role. But man, she did SO great at it, and continues to bring joy to my life by being SUCH a sweet, tenderhearted, caring big sis.

Love my girlies.

And LOVE these pigtails :)

Game 6

2011-10-28T15:08:00.000-05:00

God told Joshy he was going to hit a homerun last night. And he did.


"2 outs. 2 strikes. 2 times. SERIOUSLY??" I think that's GOTTA be what Wash is saying here...


Post-game scene in my garage. No words needed.

Bring it, Game 7. Best World Series EVER.

How to Score World Series Tickets on Gameday!!

2011-10-26T21:22:00.001-05:00

Watch Standing Room Only ticket prices on the gameday immediately preceding the day of the game you'd actually like to attend. They will most likely drop continually as gametime approaches.
Convince yourself that this same trend will occur tomorrow.
Book babysitter for tomorrow's game as a "just in case we score tickets" safety net (thinking that "duh, you totally will...")
Watch tickets obsessively on gameday. They will most likely stay higher than they did the previous day, but will still trend downwards.
...Until lunch. Freak out when you check prices AFTER lunch and they have SKYROCKETED.
Watch in horror as they continue to climb...and climb... and climb.
Tell babysitter to come even though you don't have tickets. You'll "figure it out". You'll just have a date night if there are no tickets in your future (all the while both knowing that you have NO intentions of letting the night slip away without getting your hands on some friggin tickets!)
Head out to a dinner date with your hubby. You'll just text some people from Craigslist who listed their tix for $600 each until you find someone desperate enough to hook you up with an 80% discount
Act like driving through Chick-fil-A was TOTALLY what you had in mind when you agreed to a "dinner date". And DOWN that cookies'n'cream milkshake with pure bliss :)
Visit the nearest ATM to draw out your maximum "willing to pay" price per ticket in cash. You're headed to the stadium to find some people roaming about who just happen to have a few extra tix. Perfectly legal of course.
Park insanely far away, one space away from some abandoned train cars chillin on the railroad track. Say a quick prayer (or 12) that your car (and all of your possessions) are still there when you return, which could be after the game...OR 30 minutes.
As some dude asks you if you need tickets, and you respond yes, follow him into the nearest strip mall, because like he said, "We can't do anything on the street because of the city ordinance. Follow me." Totally understandable.
Giggle to yourselves as the 2 dudes in front of you shell out $350... EACH!... for tickets in the farthest possible seats the stadium has to offer. You know these seats are the farthest possble seats because the seller busted out a laser-pointer to show them their seat location on the giant poster adorning the wall behind you. Nice little make-shift "ticket office" they've got here.
Try to breathe in teeny tiny short breaths, taking in the least amount of oxygen possible. You don't want to get high off the unbelievable amounts of marijuana infiltrating the air in this shady place.
Peace out when the dude behind the desk informs you that even though game starts in 7 minutes, SRO tix are still $350.
Stroll around the stadium looking for shady characters.
Pretend it's totally normal that the men you pass whisper in your ear, "tickets..." "hey... you shoppin'?" or "i got some. follow me..." but don't slow down. You'll figure out that you're just supposed to follow them until they stop to lean against a tree or tie their shoe.
As you discover that what you once though was a competition is really a massive network of ticket scalpers, you name your price and take the first tickets that are flashed in your face. Besides, all you want is to get into the game. You've got the greatest standing room only secret at Texas Rangers Stadium (and your friends are saving your seat in hopes you really did "figure it out")
After making the exchange, be sure to take off on a mad sprint toward the entrance gate. Otherwise, as you mosey back toward the stadium, the guy might notice that you shortchanged him $100 (accidentally...promise!). He might whisper, "hey. sir. excuse me, sir..." ever so gently. And then being the sweet little lady that you are, you might turn around and yell at your husband who is well on his way to the gate that he needs to come give this shady character "his" money. I mean... honesty is the name of the game, right? Even when dealing with shady illegal ticket scalpers....
Breathe a sigh of relief as the little ticket scanner blinks green and the ticket lady tells you to, "have fun, go rangers!"

The tickets were legit. You are OFFICIALLY at The World Series!

THE WORLD SERIES!!

Holla.

Go Rangers :)

World Series!!!

2011-10-25T21:43:00.000-05:00

Okay. So if you know me, you know that I love sports. Love Love Love. Sports played a big time role in my (& my fam's) life growing up, and they continue to be a massive part of my life with B-Riz & the leetle gals :) When it comes to professional sports, I always have & always will be a big time Houston Astros/Rockets/~~Oilers~~ Texans fan. BUT, living in DFW, I have come to really enjoy watching & rooting on the Rangers!

Our seats were terrif! :) But really, ANY seat would have been terrif if you ask me...

We've had people over to grill out for pretty much every single playoff game. Super fun. We're loving it. (Minus the fact that it's cutting pretty drastically into my sleep regimen!) Well... our great friends, the Wegs, have a pack of season tix they share with their fellow-Ranger-fan-buddies. In addition, they purchased 2 tix to share for the playoffs/World Series. Since Greg & Casizzle were going on Monday night, B-Riz and I decided "what the heck...why not now!?" Although I would have been in heaven had I been watching my 'Stros dominate a World Series game, I had a super totally terrific time. Def one of my new fave memories :) I don't have much of a bucket list, but 2 things I want to do are to attend a baseball game in every Major League Baseball stadium in the US....and go to the World Series!!!

Cute boys. So pumped :)

Casizzzzzlllllle!! Our first World Series!!

There's just something about sitting in a sports arena, surrounded by big time fans donning their teams colors, cheering their hearts out, biting their nails when the outcome is yet to be determined, watching the best athletes in the country play a sport at an elite level for a LIVING (um, how cool)... it makes my heart beat a little quicker and puts a smile on my face. :) I had the greatest time with my boo at a sporting event that I thought I wouldn't have the luxury of attending for many years! THANKS B-Riz for a supercool date. Loved every second.

FRAMER. Look at that backdrop. World Series, I love you. And you too B-Riz ;)

The ticket sitch is kind of a funny story...but I'll save that for manana. I am WIPED (after a late night w/the Rangers and an early morning BOOTCAMP wake up call!) My bed is calling softly to me and I am ELATED to hit the hay before 9p :) Here's to an off-night for the Rangers and a great night's sleep for the Bradford household.

Go Rangers!! But, don't worry Astros, you still hold the key to the baseball chamber of my heart ;)

Staged. But NOT unrealistic :)

Do you Vote?

2011-10-25T10:28:00.000-05:00

Question: Do you vote? Do you think it's important to vote? Has your opinion on that issue changed over the years?

Do you educate yourselves on presidential candidates? What they stand for? Their morals? Their faith? Their families? Their stance on "the issues"? Their political "plans"?

If so, HOW do you educate yourself? Do you just rad their websites? Do you watch the debates? Do you watch CNN/MSNBC/FOXNews for the latest commentary on each candidate?

What do you base your votes on? Do you vote for the candidate who's personal morals/values/beliefs are most in line with yours? Or is it the one who you agree with on the highest percentage of pop issues? Is it based heavily on their political party affiliation, e.g. Republican vs Democrat?

I find myself more and more interested/burdened with the duty of voting as I get older. A lot of people think this is a touchy subject to discuss, but I am super interested in other opinions/thoughts! This is your permission to share with honesty and transparency! No judgments. No offenses taken. :)

Bunco Halloween!!

2011-10-25T08:57:00.000-05:00

Earlier this month, my Bunco ladies brought our hubbys along for a night of costumed Bunco entertainment! Upon the mention of costumes, B-Riz knew EXACTLY what he was going to be: The Most Incredible Man. The trick was coming up with a coordinating costume for myself. Since I didn't want to hang out all night dressed as a bottle of beer, we steered clear of the Dos Equis costume and instead, I donned a pirate costume (my female excuse for Captain Morgan!) Brian dressed the part and then we used adhesive strips to attach fake hair for a beard/mustache. After spray painting it silver and adding a GENEROUS amount of bronzer to the ensemble, he looked pretty convincing! And of course he carried around Dos Equis all night. We had SO much fun hanging out, eating dinner, showing the boys how Bunco really works (B was a great sport, but most of the fellows were NOT entertained), dance partying it up, and embodying our characters for the night to best of our abilities ;) Love my girlfraaans and am seriously thankful to have the blessing of their friendship in my life up here in North Dallas!

Pat, our gracious host, welcomed us into his/her home with gladness. He/She served a delish dinner and entertained us with his/her humor & wit all night long... Thanks Pat! ;)

At dinner, each seat was set with festive halloween dishes and random kitchen utensils we were forced to use instead of the traditional fork/knife/spoon combo. When Pat is in the house, nothing is traditional.

My fave costumes of the night. Hands down.

Snookie & The Situation showed up and stole all of our money. Awesome.

Cute Boys: M&M, Teacher/Nerd, The Most Interesting Man, Construction Worker, Soccer Player.

The Ladies!: Sarah Ruth, Referee, Penguin, M&M, Snook, Captain Morganette, Baby"Bump" in the Road, Cheerleader, Referee... Love my girrrrls!

CBS Dallas: Pink Pride Brides

2011-10-14T12:43:00.000-05:00

Click the link below to check out a 2 min clip that CBS Dallas ran on Pink Pride Brides this morning! Tickets are $10, proceeds go to women battling breast cancer, and who doesn't love a little bridal fashion? Buy you tickets {or donate!} now and join the cause!!

Latest Videos « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

Teeth & The Paci

2011-10-12T22:18:00.001-05:00

Little Cam Cam did super awesome at the dentist! She cried (of course) while the x rays were happening, and while they were feeling all around in her mouth, but stopped IMMEDIATELY when they were done (which was seriously shocking) and was just a jolly little nugget full of smiles and waves for everyone! Super thankful for that.

The x rays looked good...no root damage! Woohooooo! They think the teeth will gradually move back into their normal position. They WILL bruise (just like a normal body bruise, but it lasts for 6-12 months. Yikes.) SO glad it's her baby teeth and not her permanents :) Their only real concern is the damage to her gums & the looseness of her teeth. We're back to the diet of a 6-month old. Nothing firm or crunchy. Only super soft foods and NO MORE PACI (this was a terrifying revelation for me) for the next 6 weeks so that her upper teeth/gums can try to heal.

The food is no biggie. The paci, however, made me almost sick. Breaking Avery from her paci was one of the most horrific experiences of my life as a momma. To this day, I think it was the most traumatic thing Aves has ever been through. I'm sure you remember my emotionally burdened state when I wrote this post or this one. Our experience with Aves led us to the decision that we would take Cam's paci BEFORE she hit "2". Well... this just came a little earlier than we had planned. Oh well :) Still though, the thought of taking her one form of self-soothing from her at such a traumatic time made me SO sad!!

The outcome? Her first paci-less nap-time consisted of about 50 minutes of IRRITATED screams/crying. Then about 30 minutes of sleep. That night when I put her down... NOT A PEEP. And same thing for naptime and bedtime today. NO CRYING! Whoa. Thank you JESUS for sparing me from the paci-weaning-induced emotional treachery I am all too familiar with :)

Yay Camcam! Hope you reallllyyyyy like boiled carrots, brocolli, & yogurt, my sweet!!

Fashion Show to support Breast Cancer!!

2011-10-12T20:55:00.000-05:00

So I'm super excited about this Fashion Show that I get to be a part of next week. Kimberly Rhodes' inaugural Pink Pride Brides event is taking place next Tuesday from 7-9p. It's a Fashion Show featuring 2011/2012 Bridal & Bridesmaid looks {from Mockingbird Bridal Boutique in Dallas} and all the proceeds go to a super cool non-profit, The Bridge Breast Network, that supports un- or under-insured women battling breast cancer! If you live in or near the Dallas area, you need to come out, enjoy some GORGEOUS bridal looks, and enjoy beer/wine/hors'devours/cupcakes...all for only $10! There will be some cool door prizes (mostly packages from weddings vendors, photographers, florists, event planners, etc...)

Mainly though, come out to support the fight against breast cancer! If you know anyone who has fought this disease (and I would guess that you do!), you know it is a big-time financial burden...well, a burden in every way, really. Please take this chance to alleviate some of the financial burden for a few women by buying a ticket to Pink Pride Brides, OR by donating to the cause!

If you drink coffee, you MUST read this!!

2011-10-10T14:12:00.001-05:00

Like I said before, one of my very best friends in the universe (basically my seester!) and her hubby have begun the process to adopt a sweet little bundle of love. Just Love Coffee is a supercool organization that supports couples trying to adopt by offering them a small percentage of their coffee sales to go toward their adoption costs. PLEASE PLEASE support Lance & Kayla by skipping out on buying coffee from your local joints, and buying super delicious imported coffee from Baby Agan's Just Love Coffee Website! They offer gourmet coffees from Costa Rica, Honduras, Rwanda,& a bunch more!

I'm placing my first order today! Something even cooler? 2 bags ships for the same price as one! If you drink coffee, you might as well help provide a home for a sweet baby in the process by clicking here to choose your coffee and make the PURCHASE! For each bag purchased, Lance & Kayla {and baby Agan!} receive $5 into their adoption fund!

Can't wait to meet my sweet little niece :) AND can't wait to see these 2 be super amazing parents to a super blessed little lovebug.

Tx-OU Weekend...

2011-10-09T22:37:00.000-05:00

It's no secret that we love our Texas Longhorns over here @ The Bradford Casa. Brian and I have season tickets (to all the home games) every year, but since the Red River Rivalry is played at a neutral location, we have to enter a "lottery" for those tickets. Since we got married, we have YET to get tickets to that game. Bummer right? Wellll this year we broke our streak and finally got tix. Woohoo! Brian proposed to me 5 years ago (from Saturday), so it was the perfect little celebration. Funny story actually...

Back when was in college, I made the trip to Dallas EVERY year for Tx-OU weekend. It was one of the highlights of every year! LOVED it. Love the atmosphere. Love the neverending sea of maroon & orange. Love the intensity of the rivalry. Love the fair. Love the roadtrippage. Just...SO much fun in SO many ways. So... since Brian and I were dating during my senior year, we discussed the weekend plans, and he didn't want to go!! WHAT?!?? I was SO ticked and annoyed with him. But, I'm pretty sure I was super nice about it :) Thank goodness. Because it turns out he had some pretty sweet plans up his sleeve. He totally surprised me by popping the big question. I thought he was just being extra nice because he knew I was superbummed we weren't going to the game. Um. SO beyond worth missing the game haha. :) One of the greatest nights of my life!

Anyway... B-Riz and I were pumped to enjoy an entire game of UT football without any interruption from babies :) We enjoyed the pregame and 1st quarter. We didn't love the start of the 2nd quarter. Could barely stand the end of the first half. Annnnd headed out to the fair at halftime! We caught bits and pieces of the game as we passed screens and kept up on our phones while enjoying yummy food & drinks at the fair before heading home.

I was on a mission to try something weird & fried. BUT...I couldn't pass up a frito pie, roasted corn (YUM!) & frozen sweet tea, so there was no room in my tummy for anything else! Seriously... we grill corn around here all the time, but roasted corn from the Texas State Fair canNOT be beat. AND...that frozen sweet tea was the most delish and refreshing drink I've ever had in my life! I'm pretty I'm going back to the fair JUST for some corn & frozen tea. Who's with me?

So... although the Horns game was ROUGH, there are a couple of positives to note:

It's a teeny bit satisfying to me that all the Garrett-Gilbert haters can no longer pretend like he was the reason Texas struggled through so many games. When your line can't give you any time, it doesn't matter how good you are, you're not going to be successful. Props to OU though. Those dudes are good.
When you come home to this level of cuteness, it doesn't matter HOW painful the game was. Life is good ;)

Hook 'em!!!

Camcam's Teethies

2011-10-07T16:33:00.001-05:00

I took C-Lil to the doc this morning for a follow up on her fall-induced mouth injuries. My little preciousness is healing up well, but Dr.Bain confirmed that her front teeth have been jammed up into the gum and caused some "significant trauma". Bummer dude. We have to see a pediatric dentist next week to assess the damage and let them tell us if it will heal itself or not. Praying for the former!! It's totally making me sad to watch my little Caminator push all of her food to the back of her mouth bc she can't use her front teeth!

On the up side of things... UT v OU manana!!! Can't wait to catch the fair and the game w the hub!!! Hook em!!

Baby Agan in Ethiopia!!

2011-10-06T01:51:00.001-05:00

One of my very most bestest friends in the whooooole wide world {and her terrif hub} have official begun the process to adopt a sweet little soul from Ethiopia! Keep up with their journey and stay up to date on their prayer requests through her blog: Our Happy Life

There are few things I can imagine would make me happier than the thoughts currently swirling around my mind of my dear Kayla Jane becoming a mommy, the thought of some super-blessed little child being raised and loved by Kayla & Lance, or the pictures in my mind of my kids and Kayla's kids growing old together as friends for life!!

Love you Kayla Jane!!

Twitter Consolidation!!

2011-10-05T23:14:00.000-05:00

Since I launched my Fitness Business, I have been managing 2 twitter accounts: 1 personal, 1 business. WHOA. It gets a little OOC to try to keep up with TWO separate accounts. I have felt SO limited in what I can "tweet" about with each account. Because there have been 2, I feel as though I'm not "allowed" to tweet about anything fitness/business related with my personal account, which limits my accessibility. On the other hand, I feel like I can't tweet about anything relating to ME or my life when using my biz account, which makes my biz account completely void of any personality. Solution? CONSOLIDATE!! Next week, I'm deleting my business twitter account {@thegoodlife_tx} and sticking to a single account! I also JUST decided to change my "handle" from @roxybradford to @RoxyBGoodLife. Nice little combo of me AND what I represent :) Feel free to follow to hop on over to twitter and follow me to keep Hangin' with the Bradfords, AND for access to relevant fitness/health/wellness info! Yay :) Burden Lifted.

image via

Our First ER Visit

2011-10-05T00:16:00.000-05:00

I feel as though a trip to the ER, once you become a parent, is a rite of passage...one which we have yet to experience....until yesterday.

B-Riz, Cam-cam, & I were hangin' out in the garage yesterday afternoon (B&I: cleaning, C: playing). Camerton is in a big-time climbing phase... and unbeknownst to us, had begun scaling a folded up stroller which was propped against the car parked in the driveway. At the sound of her blood-curdling scream, we whipped around to find her laying with her face smooshed against the concrete...you know that little 2-inch step where the garage meets the driveway. As I scooped her up, I watched in HORROR as blood just flowed from her sweet little mouth to the ground. B ran inside to get Aves out of bed and off to the ER we went!

Our ER is about 2 miles away from our house. AWESOME in a time like this. They were super fast, super sweet, and as helpful as they could be... but there was nothing they could do! They don't stitch mouth wounds unless it tears through the skin OUTSIDE of the mouth. They offered little Camo a popsicle and a teddy bear; neither were big hits. Once we got back into the comfort of our own home, she was FINALLY able to stop crying and relax a bit.

Sweet Aves was a super-cool big sis and gave a Avery a giant sticker (big time kudos for that one. that's a BIG deal around here!) I was really taken by surprise at the fact that Avery never shed a tear through the whole process. Usually, when Cameron is upset, Avery is just as upset. But, it's like she sensed that we all needed to be brave for sweet baby seester in the midst of her traumatic and PAINFUL experience. What a cutie :) Aves hung out with daddy most of the time that we were in the ER, because I'm pretty sure if they would have stayed in our room during the actual eval, Cameron's screams would have broken Avery's wall of bravery.

The damage: LOTS of BIG DEEP gashes across the entire inside of Cameron's bottom lip. A torn {thingy that connects the top gum to the top lip...don't remember the name?}. A scraped up & bruised chin.

The solution: No salty or crunchy foods. Lots of milk & water. Non-suction sippy cups. Baby Pain Reliever/Anti-Inflammatories every 4-6 hours. Lots of snuggles and love!

Besides a super fat face (MUCH fatter than yesterday) and a masssivvvve bottom lip, we're doing okay! There are a few more tears than normal, and bedtime is a bit challenging, but Cam-cam is well on her way to a full recovery :) Super thankful that our first trip to the ER was did NOT result in a serious injury!

Ouchies result in extra snuggle sessions with mommy & daddy, AND staying up way past bedtime!! :)

Just for the record... I somehow knew that Cameron would be the source of our first need for emergency medical attention. ;) Adventurous little nugget...

Bootcamp in McKinney!! $69

2011-10-04T14:54:00.000-05:00

Hey peeps :) {I NEVER thought that word would be part of my day-to-day lingo, but lately I have found myself spitting it out here and there. It's a little catchy right?}

Okay so my first McKinney bootcamp starts in ONE WEEK! If any of you are located near McKinney, check it out! It's $69 for a 4-week outdoor camp that meets Tues & Thur mornings from 6-7am. We'll focus on strengthening & tightening the core, toning the arms/legs/buns, and meeting friends/having a GOOD time :) Interested? Email me @ roxyb{at}thegoodlifetexas.com or check out more detailed info on my website: The Good Life by RoxyB

Yay! Will totally be fun. Promise. Even if you hate me while you're there, you'll LOVE me (and your reflection) afterwards ;)

He Did It Again!!

2011-09-29T21:00:00.001-05:00

So there's a significant weather advisory around these parts, and it is thundering BIG time. Cameron isn't a huge fan & wants to snuggle (which we love), but ever since we taught Avery that "God makes thunder & lightning", she just exclaims with excitement, "He did it again!" anytime she hears the thunder or sees the lightning. CUTEness. :)

In other news, I guess I pulled a muscle in my back. Between my spine and my right shoulder blade, there is some major discomfort going on from my trap to the bottom of my shoulder blade, and it's been there for almost a week now. It hurts with a firm touch, and feels like a pulled muscle. When I lean against the back of a chair or lay on my back in bed, it spasms and is just...annoying. It's definitely a muscle issue, not a joint/spine/bone issue (thankfully!). But I'm not sure how to deal with it? I spent a few days icing it (after making it worse by asking the hubs to give me a massage thinking I had "knots"), I've been taking anti-inflammatories, "resting" it...as much as a mom of a 1 & 2 year old can rest anything :) I'm not a fan of having to steer clear of working out OR not being able to roll around on the ground with my littles, so I'm hoping this thing leaves me alone soon!

And in other AWESOME news, the Rileton is back in the States for a few days, so we get to hang with him this weekend. SUPER excited to spend time catching up on his life & God's work in Honduras. And just pumped to chat and hang and let the girls love on BOTH of their uncles for a couple of days. Super thankful for the times my fam gets to be together...yay for The Curry Connection!

Moms Night In- N.Texas

2011-09-28T13:30:00.004-05:00

So I'm super excited to be a part of this cool event: Moms' Night In hosted by McDonald's of North Texas. McDonald's Regional Marketing Director of North Texas, Jordan (super cool chick!), contacted me a while back (she first found me through The Good Life by RoxyB blog!) about participating in an event to educate influential moms of North Texas on how to integrate a healthy lifestyle with a super-busy lifestyle! Of course, that's my fave thing, so I was intrigued from the start :) McDonald's has begun offering healthier options on their menus, has changed old options to remove at least portions of the unecessary unhealthiness, and has begun adopting MUCH more environmentally friendly business practices. Most of this has happened without the general public's knowledge. With their commitment to promote & encourage a healthier lifestyle, McDonald's (well...Jordan) came up with this great idea to involve local moms in a conversation about challenges moms face in raising a healthy family with such busy and demanding schedules.

On October 5th, we'll address some of the most common issues moms (and our families!) deal with each day, and we'll offer tips and advice on little changes we can make to lead to a healthier existence for us, our husbands, and our little ones! I'm really pumped to be on the panel with Nutrition-Super-Expert Carina Saez and have the oportunity to educate people on what we're passionate about!

If you're located in the North Texas area, the event is taking place at a McDonald's location in Irving (THE most amazing fast food restaurant I've ever seen!). Be sure to RSVP to receive a goodie bag full of coupons, discounted services, and helpful info! You'll even be invited to tour the kitchen with a Food Safety Expert to see all of the health and safety-conscious measures McDonald's takes in their food prep. If you are NOT located in the North Texas area, you can join in the conversation on Twitter. We'll have a live feed at hashtag #MomsNightIn. Simply use the hashtag to share your thoughts and to get your questions answered!

Don't miss out. It should be super fun :)

The Good Life by RoxyB

2011-09-19T23:04:00.000-05:00

So I realized in looking back at my blog, that I haven't really documented ANY of my journey in getting back into the business of fitness! Since it's a pretty significant part of my life, I want to be able to go back and read about new opportunities, my thought processes, and lessons learned during this whole thing!

So... I've ALWAYS known that I want to be in the health/fitness/wellness world for the rest of my life. It combines all of my passions: a love for PEOPLE, the gift of ENCOURAGEMENT, both sides of EDUCATION, physical ACTIVITY, taking care of the temple aka- HEALTH. Since Avery's birth, I've taken a hiatus from my fitness profession, but around the beginning of 2011, I decided I was ready to stick my toes back in and test the waters :)

It started with my Fitness blog (late 2010), which was just my outlet for sharing fitness and wellness information! I'm constantly playing with the layout, trying to find something I'm satisfied with (who knows if that will ever happen!), but I just want it to be something that people can refer to for any questions they may have relating to fitness! I want it to be user-friendly, well-organized, and easy to look at. Who knows... maybe we'll get there one day :)

After The Simple Plan in April, I felt prepared to take on my first "official" clients, and thus has blossomed, "The Good Life". My dear friend Kelly Simants, of Sweet Pea Events, has been an insane blessing in giving me advice, encouragement, and support on the business side of things. God definitely orchestrated this friendship for many awesome reasons, probably the least of which is for my business' benefit :)

My clients have been super fun, some have been super challenging, and I am LOVING it. A few months into this adventure I realized that I needed to give myself limits and designate certain parts of my day that could be devoted to "The Good Life", because although I love it, I did NOT want it taking time and energy away from my babygirls or my hubby or my wife/mom duties (which I LOVE and are my #1 priority!) After feeling a bit stressed and overwhelmed for a short period of time, I figured out how to make things work... reprioritized :) It's amazing how when you bite the bullet and just spend more time in The Word, EVEN when you feel like there's NOT enough time, your days seem miraculously longer and The Lord finds a way to provide the time you need, the peace you need, and the attitude you need :) Love it.

Anyway- that's what's been up with The Good Life by RoxyB in a nutshell. There are some pretty fun opportunities I get to be a part of in the near future that wouldn't have presented themselves without The Good Life in my life! Will share them soon. Time for bed. I'm thankful that God has blessed me with so many things. HE is enough for me. But He has blessed me beyond what I need with a super awesome husband to share my life with, 2 little angels of love that bless every minute I spend with them, and the opportunity to have a business that I'm excited about!

Finding Your Inner Child: Lifegroup Bowling!

2011-09-16T21:17:00.000-05:00

Our Lifegroup is kiiiind of awesome. We have finally finished up our Revelation study, and instead of diving into the next one this week, we decided to have an adults-only night-o-fun during the week! (since it's nearly impossible to find a weekend that we're all in town).

We ended up @ Main Event in Frisco... totally cheap fun. I didn't snap any pics of the bowling, but we all took a quick 10ish question survey while we were there to earn a $15 card to the arcade. Let's just say that the neon lights brought out our inner children (who am I kidding...everything bring out our inner children!)

We played some air hockey, some DDR, did some shooting, you know...your typical arcade entertainment. The grand finale of the evening was spent in the arcade's Man-Fest Corner with games that involved seeing who could kick a soccer ball & hit a punching bag with the most force. Pretty entertaining :)

Here's to my fav Lifegroupers :) P.S.- We missed you, Simants Fam!!

Potty Training w/Aves!!

2011-09-15T14:19:00.000-05:00

WARNING: Much toddler potty talk exists below these stars...

**********************************

A few months ago, we attempted to start potty-training Averton. Um. It was a no-go. The little munchkin just wasn't quite ready, so after a few days we ditched the big-girl underwear and stuck with diapers for another couple months. About 3 weeks ago, we made attempt #2, and this time, Aves has been all about it! She doesn't do the whole post-tinkle "treat" thing. She's just not motivated by it for some reason. She seems more motivated by our excitement with her success. Kind of a cutie :) Who knew a trip to the bathroom could result in so much joy :)

Each time she goes, she exclaims with GLEE, "I GO TEE-TEE!!" with the most excited smile on her face :)

Anywho- we're still sleeping in diapers, but starting to work on the concept of not going potty ANYWHERE, but on the potty! I'm not sure how long kiddos usually sleep in pullups before they're 100% potty-trained. Right now, she waits until she's in bed with a diaper on to go #2...she tries to go in the potty sometimes, but hasn't had success yet. We've got #1 down to a T! So proud. There's nothing cuter than seeing that tiny little hiney running around in undies!

Longhorn Football

2011-09-10T22:44:00.001-05:00

After a slowwwww start {typical} the Horns just pulled out a comeback 1-pt victory over BYU. Phew! Starting the season 2-0. I'll take it :)

After taking in tonight's game from my living room with my mini-Longhorns & my sis-n-law {B-Riz took a friend to the game} I'm super pumped about some things, and then not-so-pumped about some others.

YAY for:

The McCoy-Shipley Love Connection. AGAIN. I mean...seriously? This couldn't possibly be more fairytale-esque. Like father- like son- like OTHER son. Cray.Zay. ESPN will have a friggin field day with this.
The YOUTH of our team makes me HAPPY! And makes me HOPEFUL for much success for the next few years.
The new coaching staff. They got me super excited back in the Spring, and I'm thinking everything they had to say was super legit. They've even got MACK extra pumped. The dude was basically doing heel-clicks on the sidelines. Kind of cute.
Trickery on offense. Yes, we actually threw in a trick play tonight! Refreshing. I'm diggin' our man from Boise.
The running back sitch.
Having 2 little behbehs to dress up on gamedays. Superfun. Great excuse for some additional burnt orange in the casa :)

NOT so yay for:

Garrett's STRUGGLES. I don't get it. This kid was sensational in high school right? One of the most highly recruited kids in the country. Multiple-State-Record-Holding quarterback. Led his team to 2 straight State Titles. Won National Player of the Year. Some even said he'd win the Heisman before his college career was finished. And to top it all off, he's a good humble dude {at least he was back when we knew him...} Makes me sad to see him continue to struggle :( I'm praying for his future and for his psyche.
The lack of success @ receiver. Jaxon Shipley can't catch every single ball in every single game.

Will we continue to win in 2011? Time will tell... But win or lose, I heart my Texas Longhorns :)

PS- This ND/Michigan game is insanity!! Denard Robinson seems destined for victory. Super happy for Brady Hoke :) And, I don't like to be a hater, but Coach Kelly made me want to puke last week...so I'm not all THAT sad to see him experience another defeat. Kudos to him for not publicly humiliating another one of his players this week though...

Okay. Yay Longhorns!

It's the Little Things :)

2011-09-09T20:43:00.000-05:00

As we head into the weekend, I'd like to leave you with an image of pure bliss

I hope you all take one from Averton and let loose this weekend. Indulge in the simple things in life {like cowboy boots ;)} and enjoy the sun, the outdoors, your fam...whatever makes you happy! We sure plan on it :)

The Most Amazing Art Ever {seriously.}

2011-09-08T13:17:00.000-05:00

My friend, Rachel Schwind, is an artist. But not just an artist. This girl is absolutely amazing. I'm serious. You need to check out her website :

art by rachel schwind

And then you should check out her facebook page.

I want any of these for Aves:

I want one of these for Camo:

For my mantle:

For my future studio (dreaming!):

And I want these to put basically any place I can possibly put them.

I mean...amazing right? Rachel Schwind, you are one amazing talent! God has given this girl a GIFT and the best part? She totally credits the Lord for her talents. Super cool chick. Super AMAZING work. I want them all.

Cupcake... WINERY??

2011-09-07T20:27:00.000-05:00

So as I started with dinner tonight, I realized that I didn't have ingredients for tomato sauce for our eggplant parmesan {b-riz makes a mean e.p.parm, but I tried a healthier version tonight and it was TREMEND.} So, I sent the hub off to fetch a couple of last minute ingredients, and when we returned home.... he had THIS in hand:

The name was enough to get me super-pumped... little did B-Riz know when he found this cute leetle treasure that he MAY have just discovered my new fave red :)

If you haven't tried it, you totally should.

I {heart} the University of Texas!!

2011-09-01T14:00:00.000-05:00

The University of Texas is near the top in efficiency among the nation's public universities: A message from UT President Bill Powers...

Dear Friends,

At UT Austin, we’re working every day to improve the student experience and our academic outcomes.

I have created a task force, which convened in July, to work on increasing our graduation rates. As I said in my May speech on the future of the public research university, raising our four-year graduation rate is one of the most effective ways we can lower costs for Texas families and increase capacity at UT.

This effort is consistent with Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa’s Framework for Advancing ExcellenceAction Plan, which was unanimously approved by the Board of Regents on August 25. The framework addresses student success, faculty productivity, higher education costs, and many other factors.

I want to call your attention to some related comparative data taken from a study conducted by UT Austin sociology professor and associate dean Marc Musick:

UT Austin’s six-year graduation rate of 81% is 13^th out of 120 American public research universities.
We rank 10^th out of those 120 universities in the percentage of students graduating for every taxpayer and tuition dollar received.
We are 2^nd in the number of faculty employed for every taxpayer and tuition dollar received.

Based on these objective measures, UT Austin is near the top in efficiency among the nation’s public universities.

Of course, there is much room for improvement. Our four-year graduation rate of 53% is not good enough. Michigan and Berkeley graduate about 70% of their undergraduates in four years. We must identify and remove the obstacles to timely graduation at UT Austin.

Public research universities must be good stewards of the public trust — and public resources. I am committed to making UT Austin an even more efficient university.

Sincerely,

Bill Powers

President

The University of Texas at Austin

Like I said, I HEART The University of Texas! Proud of my alma mater :)

Fun in Frisco!!

2011-08-30T21:54:00.000-05:00

We have had a super fun week around here.

Sleepover @ the Bradford casa w/Aves' little BFF, Tatum :) These girlies were in HEAVEN. And Cam just adores having ANY toddler to follow around. Love these little ladies.

Avery is officially in a big girl bed. Or... at least in a toddler bed. And, she is LOVING. We haven't had one teeny tiny little problem (...yet!!) She doesn't really nap anymore, but she sits happily in her bed for 1.5 hours talking/reading/singing to her animals. And at bedtime, she actually cries LESS since we switched her bed up. Sweet action. SUCH a happy little cutie :)

Our Lifegroup hung out @ a Roughriders game a few nights ago. The girls ran up and tumbled down the outfield hill about 879 times. Especially Cameron. Except she straight up face-planted. EVERY time. Then she'd look up, find me, and CRACCCCKKK up. My abs were seriously ON fire from laughing so hard. We even made the big screen with our cute little monkeys! I mean, we're big time.

We spent some time with Brian's crippled (temporarily...from surgery) cousin and his kiddos on Saturday. They were in heaven hangin' with the "big kids", and I loved catching up with Douglas on life! Poor guy... hope you're feeling a little more agile! Oh, he's dating a chick who is opening her own cupcake bakery in a few weeks. AWESOME? Yeah. Totally.

With B-Riz out of town for work, my nuggets & I took advantage and met J.Pars for dinner! LOVE seeing/catching up with Jenn :) She's SO sweet to the girls. And... Isn't she pretty?

I made cupcakes the other night to pacify a major sweet tooth craving that Brian and I shared. We treated Aves to delectable little "puck-cake" of her own, and she was in heaven. I'm not kidding you, we just SAY "cupcake" and that look of sheer bliss you see below, is what we get. Definitely takes after her momma in that department. Good thing we don't offer such treats very often :)

We hit up the super popular Play Grounds at Willow Bend w/friends the other day. That place rocks. The girls would have stayed for 12 hours.

One of my fave things right now is how much Aves LOVES going to church. On Saturday nights when we go to bed, the last thing she says before we close the door is that she gets to go to church tomowow! LOVE. This past Sunday we hit up Mattito's "famous" brunch for the first time. OH.EM.GEE. Flipping delicious. It outdid Blue Mesa to the max. We will be going back for sure. Here is the studly hubs excorting his angel babies to la iglesia. Um. Melting. It's amazing how you can stare at pictures of your own kids over & over and really truly believe they are the cutest children on the face of the earth. :)

We love you, Nana!

2011-08-30T14:46:00.000-05:00

My awesome mother-in-law, Marsh-Marsh, or "Nana" as the little ones call her, is having a pretty routine surgery today. The girlies wanted to go see her, but since we don't live in the same town, I hope this picture text will make her smile when she comes out of surgery! We love you, Nana!

Chick Fil A Frannnnns :)

2011-08-29T14:33:00.000-05:00

The girls and I met Brian for lunch today @ "Chick-a-lay" before his biz trip. While the munchies played on the playground, I made some new friends! One lady just moved to the South from New York so that she could stay at home with her 2 littles and her husband had better opportunities in his business. I asked her what he does, and she shared that they have a "health & wellness" business. It's a company I had never heard of until today, but apparently they're the top natural nutrition company in the United States! Whoa. Where have I been? So, I shared that I have a fitness & health business and her immediate reply was, "Do you do bootcamps? If so, I'm in!" So... looks like I've found a)- a new friend, b)- a new client, and c)-new playmates for Aves & Cam-cam!

The other chick then shared that she is working on her Masters in Nutrition. COOL! I was actually researching all of the possibilities for further education in nutrition so as to become an R.D. eventually. This chick will be a perfect resource for good info, and possibly even an asset to my business! We all exchanged numbers, promised to talk business before too long, and were excited at the prospect of new playmates all living within a 2 miles radius of each other!

I love random encounters :)

What Would You Say?

2011-08-28T23:04:00.000-05:00

What would you say if you were chatting with someone and they asked you about your faith? What would you say if upon mentioning that you were at church this weekend, a co-worker asked you what you believe? What would say if a new friend asked you about Who God is? What would you say if a skeptic asked you about Jesus and what being "saved" is all about. What would you say if in front of a group of friends, believers and non, someone asked you to explain what Christianity is all about.
At Hope, we are currently in a series that is based around 1 Peter 3:15.

"...and if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it."

So, I really do want to know. What would you say? Would you be nervous, say "God is God... so... I love your shoes..." and hope they didn't ask again? Would you defer to someone else out of fear of saying the "wrong thing"? Would you have an answer? Would you feel confident? What would you say...??

98 Degrees

2011-08-24T22:45:00.001-05:00

Not the hotties who can kind of sing well. Nooo...the 98 degrees I speak of existed inside of the Bradford Casa... for 3 days straight!

Our A/C broke last Friday (of course...so that all repair shops covered by our home warranty were closed), and thank the GOOD LORD for our super generous and sweeeeeeet friends, the Weggies, who let us crash their pad while they were out of town... and even after they got back. WE LOVE YOU WEGS!!

Aves was obsessed with sleeping in Tatum's bed (toddler bed!! we're totally switching hers, but of course don't expect the same jolly results ha), and totally loved all of Tot's big stuffed disney characters. She was spoiled :) And little Cam-Cam lovvvved having some new & different toys to keep her occupied. I SO wish i would have gotten a video of the 2 little rugrats dancing with Tatum's dancing/singing Mickey. WHOA. hilar. They were both in love.

Our A/C is all fixed up, and we're back to a happy temp of 76ish around here (74- if Brian has his way!). We totalllyyyyy feel for all of you who have had your A/Cs go out lately! I realize that we are NOT the only ones who have gone through this ordeal. Oh, and I also TOTALLY feel for the guys who work outdoors all day in the middle of the Texas summer. MAN. I hope they get paid really well. Boo for broken A/Cs...but I still LOVE the summer!

According to Droid

2011-08-18T21:53:00.001-05:00

According to my trusty Droid, here's what the Bradford Familia has been up to of late :

Lots of reading lately. The girls are both obsessed with books, which is super fun. Here we are @ B&N, one of our new fave locations :)

The girls are also IN LOVE with going on walks in the wagon. We walk allllll over our 'hood and walk to the pool every now and then, although it's a little too much work for me to take those 2 by myself these days. They're both convinced that they're perfcctly capable of diving into the water and fending for themselves. Makes for an EXHAUSTING trip to the pool :)

100+ degree weather calls for lots of Splash 'n' Spray Park action. The Bradfords have been hitting those bad boys UP.

B-Riz lets Aves "drive" sometimes. Can you tell she feels insanely cool? Anytime I head to the car she stands by my door and says, "I dwive mommy, I dwive!" Um, sorry sister. Maybe in 14 years...

B-Riz and I had an impromptu "date night in" one evening after the girls went down and busted out this chocolate vino that a friend had given us. Wanna know something amazing? It tasted like chocolate. STRAIGHT UP. Crazy huh? Crazy and delish!

The hub and I have been attending wedding festivities pretty regularly it seems. Yay for young love :)

I love how the simplest of things are the MOST entertaining for these 2 rugrats. And I also LOVE how much they adore playing together now. Melts my heart every single day of my life. :)

Been hangin at the softball field at least once a week. We've got lots of red dirt - stained toddler clothes up in hurrr. But it's so worth it. Aren't they little preshlings?

Cameron has decided that Avery's etch-a-sketch is actually a sled. And she will NOT allow Aves to put it to its proper use without ripping it out of her hands, flipping it over, and sitting on it. After many-a-fight, Aves has finally decided to adopt Cameron's new etch-a-sketch/sled technique. They sit like this for 10 minutes at a time and think it's fun. Strange. But cute nonetheless :)

We took the girls to the first FC Dallas game. YAY SOCCER! Trying to brainwash them early.... ;)

This lasted for 1.5 minutes. Cam was up in the basket right after this pic was taken. Good thing I was quick :) LOVE my nuggets. And love grocery shopping with them. I'm just waiting for the day that they decide they don't like it anymore...

more etch-a-sketch sledding. goobers.

we've hit up 24 hour w/casizzle and tatum more than once for a multi-tasking playdate. the kiddos play while mommas get their sweat on. love. SO sad casizzle is unavailable during the days again (but SO happy she has a great job! woohoo!)

My little lovelies have taken quite a liking to the piano. AND they love playing it together. One of the few things they don't fight over. Someday I'm sure they'll make beauuutiful musica together. Right now, I just pretend ;)

Getting out of the house every day has allowed us to spend fun time with fun friends. Jenny & Jakey are the cutest. The girls were totally digging our little Carousel experience! Mommy, however, is NOT such a fan of things that spin....

C-Lil is finally holding her own @ Stonebriar Play Grounds. Doesn't she look so proud? (and presh?)

Oh, so maybe Aves wasn't totally obsessed with the Carousel. Once we put her up on the horsey, she DID. NOT. MOVE. A. MUSCLE. She's a teeny bit of a scaredy-cat.

Annnnd more playdates with our faves, Tatum & Carson.


And last, but TOTALLY NOT least, we've had some intense morning snuggle seshes in the Bradford Casa lately, and I couldn't be happier about it :)

I heart my little lovebugs :)

Good Friends

2011-08-15T23:43:00.000-05:00

There's nothing quite like good friends. I was blessed with amaaaazing friends growing up. People who loved me deeply, encouraged me, comforted me, sharpened me, spoke truth into my life when i needed it, really KNEW me. They are still my greatest friends, and ALWAYS will be :) Soooooo thankful for them!

Now, to find COUPLE friends who have this role in my life, in Brian's life, AND in our life as a couple, seems like an insanely rare GEM. God has given us this blessing, and I am incredibly thankful. We just had the pleasure of spending 5 straight days with some of our most favorite people in the whole entire world, the Hays! We have fun together. We have similar interests. We can be totally relaxed and REAL around each other. But most importantly, they not only believe in God and Jesus, but they ACTIVELY serve Him. They are an encouragement to our lives individually, and they are an encouragement to our marriage. They treat each other with kindness and respect, while still allowing for goofiness and fun :) They truly care about people and their feelings. They try to make the RIGHT decision, even when it makes life more difficult.

I have found myself just thanking God nonstop for blessing Brian and me with good, Godly, kind, fun, caring, gentle-spirited, patient, deeply-loving friends. It's a blessing that makes our life happier, more peaceful, and more God-centered. The Hays have blessed me as a person and have blessed my marriage. I love you, Hay Familia!! God hooked the Bradfords up with some GOOD friends! :)

i might heart running

2011-08-09T22:37:00.002-05:00

So I have NEVER been a runner.

Sure I played soccer growing up, and did PLENTY of running during practice/games. But when it comes to just going out for a run... NOT a fan. At least I WAS not a fan.

I am starting to finallyyyy appreciate what running has to offer :) It's exercise. It breaks a sweat, one of my fave things. I get to be ALONE, which I never really liked much, but have grown to appreciate big time! Sometimes I even get to chat (in between gasps) with friends! I get to be outside in God's creation. I get to listen to the SOUNDS of God's creation... birds, trees blowing in the wind, people hanging out in the backyards, kids playing, dogs barking... (I typically don't run w/headphones...weird I know.)

A group of my girlfriends here in the DFdub have gotten together to form a team for the White Rock Marathon's 5-man Relay. We each will have to run one leg on race-day the will range from 4.2-6.5 miles. Some of us have some running experience. Some of us have run half marathons. And some of us have never run for more than 2 minutes in our lives! It's pretty awesome.

We had our first group run this weekend, and it made me SO happy! I can tell our weekend runs are going to be one of my new fave things.

I'm loving the new little opportunities that my new little biz endeavor is bringing my way! I'm most thankful for the TIME I get to spend with people that I otherwise probably wouldn't get :)

Yay for Team Good Life!! :)

(maybe...)

Kitty Purry

2011-08-04T16:01:00.000-05:00

I recently attended the Katy Perry concert with a Casizzle. Although I'm not a hardcore Katy fan, I was pretty excited to see her show. I am insanely curious about where she stands with her faith. Her life story is verrrry eeenteresting... so I'm intrigued by her. Plus, who doesn't LOVE some Teenage Dreamage? I mean, really. I was DYING to get a blue or purple wig to wear, but wig-shopping with a 1 and 2 year old just never became very appealing. So, I went wigless. Bummer. But don't worry, there were enough wigs @ the concert to pacify my desire for some crazy colored wig action.

Everyone was ADORABLY KP-ed out. Dressed in some outfit representing one of KP's many persona's. The most popular was probably the California Girls version of Katy. Presh. Except for the overwhelming number of 6-yr-olds there with their mommas. Kind of weird. Kind of inapprop. But probably like a dream come true for those littles {made me reminisce about the days I was obsesssed with Brit and all of a sudden, my mom's repulsion with that whole part of my life became entirely too understandable. Yikes. Sorry mom! I DO still love her though...just in a whoooole different way haha}

The show was SO much better than I expected. First of all, Katy is hilarious. She's SUPER down to earth. Super funny and witty. A complete goofball. And absolutely not afraid to make a fool of herself. Loved that big time. And then the actual show. It was more like a musical than a concert. It flowed perfectly from beginning to end. There was a theme that carried through the whole thing. They didn't change the set with every song. It was awesome! Super thought out and had SO much personality. Definitely different than your typical pop concert. AND, I was afraid she might go too Gaga on us... but she kept it pretty light.

Although Katy's music will never be anything more to me than enjoyable (and inappropriate) listenin' that I can jig around the casa to, I totally want to be her friend. Like, her reallyyyy good friend. I mean, she named her cat "Kitty Purry". That's awesome. I like her.

Red Dirt

2011-08-01T22:06:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, we spent some time at the softball fields getting in some BP before our next game, because Lord knows we need it! We all brought the kiddos along for some fun playtime in the great outdoors, and let me just tell you...they were in heaven. I'm pretty sure we took about half of the red dirt from the infield with us when we left. These munchkins were DIRT.TEE.

buddies.

Add caption

cuuute dirty little bugs.

Story time w casizzle after a long fun day!

God is at work....

2011-08-01T11:58:00.001-05:00

When I moved away from Sugar Land and left First Colony, I knew I would never find a preacher that I adored quite as much as I adore Ronnie Norman. God speaks through that man STRAIGHT to my heart literally every time I hear him speak. Super awesome. Well, from the first time Brian and I walked into Hope Fellowship Frisco, we knew we had found our home, thanks in HUGE part to John Makenzie. He has a way of doing the same thing Ronnie does, he speaks genuinely, passionately, and you can just see his Jesus-Serving heart spilling out all over the stage with each sermon. I am SO insanely thankful that God has given us this church family to encourage and teach Brian and I (and our girls! the kids stuff if the bomb for sure).

So, John's messages of late couple with the Revelation study my Lifegroup is doing have been super cool for me. I expected something different from Revelation, just knowledge. But, instead, The Holy Spirit has been convicting me in all sorts of interesting and exciting ways. Revelation talks basically nonstop about True Believers. I have no doubts about my salvation, but I've had this new awakening in my heart to serve God more intentionally. God has given me a lot of great wisdom and conviction in the last year, mostly having to do with embracing and running with my new (well, somewhat new) role as a mom and wife. He's also been giving me some major words about the realities of sin & satan (but that's for another time!)

I have realized that although I still have a gazillion people that I adore and care about and want to love on, my current calling is to deeply love and serve my family and the people that God has made accessible in my life right now. I'm okay with that. I have learned and am still learning new ways to encourage and love the people I have known and loved for years, but who no longer live near me. It's more challenging to SHOW love with distance in between, but I am trying to take my cues from Jesus. Because really, it's not about me and how much I wish people knew how much I care/think about them, it's about bringing honor and glory and recognition to Jesus' name. I am more excited and honored to WORK HARD at being a Godly wife to Brian and Godly momma to my girls. I'm EXCITED about this role, and although there are still many times that I find myself feeling burdened or inconvenienced, God has given me the power to overcome those feelings and redirect those thoughts that I'm pretty certain are from Satan.

I realize that this opportunity to support Brian as a wife, is something huge that God has put before me. Brian is an amazing dude. He loves The Lord and truly desires to glorify Him with his life. That's a tough job, and as his wife, I'm excited about the fact that I get to encourage him, support him, comfort him, and love him in a way that pushes him toward Jesus. That's an honor. My heart is really being challenged about the times that I don't feel like putting my all into this role, because "I'm tired" or "it doesn't really matter" or I'm just not in the mood. It truly is my life's work right now, and I have been reminded that God wants and expects me to "work at it as if working for The Lord"...because I AM working for The Lord!

God has also given me an awesome renewed excitement for parenting my little sweet peas :) Not that it's much of a challenge to love those cute littles, but I see that it is a responsibility that God has placed in front of Brian and me. Everything I do with them and for them, is ultimately for the Kingdom of God. They are His, and I have received the blessing of providing for, nurturing, teaching, disciplining, and loving them in a way that prepares them for a life of knowing, loving, and serving God. SO COOL. When I remember that, I approach my days with so much more enthusiasm, excitement, and I really believe that God gives me more energy and patience when I keep Him at the forefront of my mind.

DEFINITELY not saying I've mastered any of this, but I am working every day at turning my transformed thoughts into a transformed life. As my heart continues to be tweaked by the Holy Spirit, I know that my actions will continue to follow. :) Man, God is pretty awesome.

Bye Bye, Yiyi...

2011-07-29T11:13:00.001-05:00

Riles headed off to Honduras this morning. My parents dropped him @ the airport @ 4am, so he's probably already arrived in Tegucigalpa and is on his merry way down to Mission Lazarus as we speak.

The girls and I spent a couple of days in The SL this week, just for some quality time with the bro before he jetted off to South America. The girls will totally miss their Uncle Rileton, as will the rest of us, but we're also super excited for him to be in this place to which God has called him SO clearly. I know his heart is bursting with excitement and passion, and I guess we'll just be waiting around to hear from him :)

Some pics from our time with the Yi.

goofballs.

piano lessons.

saying byebye to the babygirls!!

proud pops

loving momma <3

i love the rileton!!

Peace Out, Lockout.

2011-07-25T23:37:00.000-05:00

Fantasy Football addicts everywhere are rejoicing...

I don't know about you people, but I am SO happy the NFL Lockout is OVER. No more annoying non-news about the lockout 24/7 on Sportscenter. I just hope they don't replace the Lockout story with their attempts to hype the fabricated idea that Brett Favre might actually unretire for a 987th time. Or their coverage of how he's NOT planning on unretiring. Seriously? How is this "news"? I don't understand... Maybe they'll replace it with a more frequent airing of the NOT Top 10, one of the greatest series' in the history of Sportscenter. HA-larious :)

I'm just happy that my fall'o'2011 will be complete with some NFL action. Maybe my Texans will finally make the playoffs... :)

PJs & Pancakes!!

2011-07-24T20:44:00.001-05:00

Like I said, we played it super low-key for Camo's first birthday party, and we lovvved it :) We opted for a morning party, so that we could clean up the night before and get the party started early without having to worry about keeping the girls from demolishing the casa all day long. Super low-stress way to do it. B-Riz helped me clean up, set up tables, grocery shop, cut fruit, etc on Friday night. When Saturday morning rolled around, all we had to do was cook! We made eggs, bacon, sausage, and about 875,000 mini pancakes. The 4 kiddos had super-fun crazy-straw cups to drink their milk out of, and the parentals had a little coffee bar along with some mimosa action :) Originally, I had planned on letting the kiddos sit on a giant water proof blanket and "decorate" their pancakes with the assortment of toppings, but they were hungry, and we were lazy, and so we topped out kids pancakes and parked them @ the table to enjoy their masterpieces :) Much easier, and they didn't know the difference!

Cameron got a super-cute pink lazy chair w/white polka-dots so that she doesn't have to fight Aves for the Longhorn recliner anymore. Their 2 little toddler chairs are parked right next to each other in the living room and it's the cutest thing ever! Camo's friends hooked her up with an impressive supply of Disney/Minnie gear which included a bobble-head-looking sippy cup, a book, a bowl, a stuffed baby-Minnie, AND Minnie slippers (cutest things everrr!) Thank you guys for spending the day making her (me & B) feel special! Thanks for being good sports & wearing your PJs. Thanks for being our friends! We love you Wegs & Simants!

Toppings!

adult table turned kids' table. they felt super cool :)

NOM.NOM.

soooo excited to be skyping w/nonni & big poppy!

we can always count on aves to be a super awesome helper!

first of many minnie-items :)

Cutest litlte Minnie-slippers EVER. and of course loving the Minnie sippy :)

LOVE MY ONE YEAR OLD NUGGET!!!!

Cameron Lily : My 1-yr Old Sweet Pea!!

2011-07-19T21:54:00.000-05:00

God blessed Brian, Avery & I a year ago with the birth of our baby munchkin, Cameron Lily Bradford! Can't believe you're 1, my sweet!! We love having your spunky, silly, rambunctious little personality in our lives everyday, and we loved getting to celebrate just YOU this past weekend. It hurts my heart sometimes that Cameron never gets a change to be in the spotlight all by herself, but this weekend was alllll about her!

hi, im one!!

Friday was her actual birthday, which we spent @ the doc for her one-yr check-up.

One Year Stats:

Height: ?? (90% or something along those lines)

Weight: 20lb 4oz (38%)

@ the doc

Words: hi, bye-bye, more "moh"

Tricks: high fives, blowing kisses, giving hugs, waving, dancing, bouncing, singing, climbing on EVERYthing

Fave things: giving hugs, morning snuggles, attention from big sis, snacks, avery's sippy, BLANKY!, the big purple bouncy ball, the pool

We met daddy for a little b-day lunch @ The Salad Stop, we ate cupcakes, C-Lil napped it up, and then we met some outta town friends @ Top Golf. The boys played and Shelbs and I just loved on the girls :) It was a good night and a great day!

Proud daddy, wiped-out 1-yr-old!

Saturday morning was Camo's First Birthday Party! We played it super low-key. Just 2 other families & their kiddos, no out of town guests. We missed the grandparentals FOR sure, but I canNOT tell you how awesome and adorable it was to have a small group. We didn't miss a single detail of the little one's interactions. Hope you had fun C-Lil! We'll document the details when we get some pics!

*CHEESE ALERT*

Cameron, my angel baby, I adore every little thing about you. It's crazy how completely you & Aves are in so many ways, but it's so super cool to see! God has blessed you with gifts that differ big time from your what he's gifted your big sis with, and I think you two will be a killer team for His Kingdom when you grow up! I can't imagine a better morning than one spent on the couch w/CamCam snuggles. I can't imagine a better road trip than one with little Camo singing along w/whatever music is on. I can't imagine a better afternoon than one spent watching my baby munchkins play together and hug on each other. I can't imagine a better life than the one you, your big sis, & your daddy give me every day! You guys have all redefined who I am, and there's nothing I'd rather be than a mommy/wife to my wonnnderful little familia :)

Looking SO forward to watching you grow and change every single day, my sweet! LOVE you SOOOOOO much!!

8 month old angel with cancer; James Camden Sikes

2011-07-13T17:27:00.000-05:00

I learned from a friend of mine that her sorority sister's 8 month old son was sent home to hospice care today.

James Camden Sikes was diagnosed with a brain tumor on June 23, 2011. Two days later, the tumor had been removed, and things were looking hopeful. After a scan a few days ago, they were shocked to discover that in a mere 2 weeks, the tumor was back with an even greater vengeance. It is incurable. James' sweet parents have decided to take him home to LOVE on him endlessly as long as they are given the time to. He time has been estimated by doctors in days and weeks, not months.

Please lift this family up to our Mighty Father, who is the source of all Comfort, all Healing, all Hope and all LOVE.

Galveston 2011: The Curry Connection

2011-07-11T22:26:00.001-05:00

The week we spent in Galveston was one of the greatest weeks I can remember having a lonnnng time. The Curry fam hasn't had the opportunity to spend such an extended period of time together in years! I adore my parents and my brothers, and of COURSE my sweet babygirls & my partner in crime B-Riz. Time spent with my fam TRULY blesses my life. I could not be more thankful for such amazing, entertaining, loving, loyal, encouraging, supportive parentals/sibs/familia. God hooked me UUUPPPP.

So. Down to the dirty details.

We slept...at least some of us did ;)

We swam


We played.

We cooked. We cleaned. We went on jogs.

We went out to eat

We sat in awe of God's creation.

We lounged.

We played games.

annnd we had some heart-to-hearts.

We adored the cuteness of the little munchkins

We built sandcastles

and we played in the waves.

We had some seriously awesome...

...grandparental time!

and we even had...

...some visitors!

We had jam sessions

totally dug into some popsicles


and devoured lots of watermelon!

Some of us even pampered ourselves a little....nothing like a Galvy mud facial ;)

We spent lots of quality time and just loved life together for a whole week!

Thanks momma & pops for gathering the fam for a super awesome week. We were SUPER wiped out when we got home, but loved every second and would go back in a heartbeat!! Love you Curry Connection!!

An Unsuccessful Toddler Movie Attempt

2011-07-10T22:11:00.000-05:00

Since the 4th was our first day at home after a lonnnnng time away, we played it pretty low-key. We all slept in, had a nice little breakfast, and then attempted to take the girls to see Cars 2. First off, everyone in McKinney ahd the same idea. It was PACKED with families full of youngsters! Pretty cute :) Cameron wasn't real into it (which we knew would be the case). That child can not sit still for more than 5 seconds unless she's asleep, and since she zonked out in the car on the way there, expecting a nap DURING the movie was too much to ask :) So, Cam & I hung out in the hall while B-Riz & Aves attempted to watch. But that only lasted another 20 minutes. They came out to meet us in the hall (along with 4 other moms entertaining their littles!) and we headed to lunch @ a new Mexican place we had never tried! Papa Lopez Cantina. Not bad, not awesome.

waiting happily before the movie

as happiness waned, mouths were stuffed :)

a quick pic attempt during the 2.5 minutes all 4 of us were actually in the theater!!

Everyone napped when we got home, so I took advantage and worked on our disaster of a master bedroom! It's basically a storage room with a bed in it, but I made a little bit of progress :) The rest of the day was superrr relaxed. We ate dinner @ home, but the girls down early and hung out in the back to watch the fireworks from afar...it was nice to have a little date night at home, just B-Riz and me :) An early bedtime put a perfect end to a perfectly imperfect day! Maybe next year we'll try to be a little more festive :)

Family Beach Photo Shoot!

2011-07-08T11:59:00.000-05:00

Here are some of my fave photos from our little family photo shoot on the beach in Galvy with Mrs. Lynn Kahla! Thanks sooo much for making the trip, we LOVE the pics :) I've still got to crop & edit them a bit before ordering any prints! I want to order them ALL!! ...decisions decisions :)

so sweet together :)

heart MELTING <3

aalllllways chasing birdies...no matter where we are!

love

the men in my life!

love my momma!!

sib-love

2 best brothers in LIFE!!

the whole gang.

ha...cameron is QUICK! big poppy saved her from the crashing waves...

My 11 month old climbed out of her crib!!

2011-07-07T06:28:00.001-05:00

Yes.

You read that correctly.

Little C climbed out of her crib!!

Yesterday, during her morning nap, I heard her playing around and knew she was awake. But, I left her in there as long as she was content so that I could get my lunch on before the munchkins demanded every bit of my attention again... in the middle of my delicious-salad-making-sesh Cameron busted out with a super loud cry. After about 4 seconds, she just whimpered a couple times and returned to her normal low-key, "mommy come get me" cry. I thought about finishing my salad prep (which ended being the BOMB.com, btw), but decided I should check on my leetle one. I could finish my work with a baby on my hip. So I scampered off to Cameron's room, opened the door, and what did I find? A teeny little 11-month-old munchkin sitting on the floor right by the door with paci in mouth, blanky in hand, and tears in her eyes!! Oh my goodness. It was the scariest/most adorable thing of my life.

I'm still kind of in shock about it. Avery has still, to this day, never climbed out of her crib!

Ohhhhh C-Lil. What am I gonna do with you??

Ketchup

2011-07-06T16:09:00.000-05:00

My dearest T-babe and one of her besties, Lisa the Jersey Girl, came to visit us in McKinney a couple of weeks ago. SUCH a great time just sitting around, not doing much of anything but chatting and catching up on life. It was a blessing to have them here :) Thanks for the visit gals! Love you both!

June 25, 2011 was a gooooood day :) My super great gorgeous awesome friend Jacci married super great hilarious awesome Dev! The wedding took place @ a private residence in Georgetown, and was really just the coolest weekend ever. Lots of time with fam, close friends, cute kiddos, yummy food, gorgeous flowers, and LOVVVVE in the air...what could be better? :) Jacci did a completely amazing job with the wedding (she did it all herself!!)...I'll show off her work once the pics are ready!

The girls stayed with my parentals @ PuraVida during the wedding festivities and then we all headed to Galvy for an entire week! Seriously amazing time with the whole Curry Connection. I love mi familia so very much and am SO thankful we were able to spend such a long period of time together, away from the demands of our normal lives! Big time blessing :) Separate post coming soon.

My momma had a friend some take pics of the fam on the beach. SO FRIGGIN CUTE. I love family photos :) My bros do NOT, but they were amazingly good sports about the whole adventure! Pics coming later.

While I was gone, my softball team won the championship. Hollaaa. I was there in spirit, so I still got a shirt :) The Has-Beens will be back to defend our title for the fall season...yipppeeeeee!!

B-Riz, the girls, and I had a pretty low-key 4th, which I will post about shortly. Nothing too exciting, just our happy little fam of four back @ home in McKinney :)

I kicked the wall on accident yesterday. It was a super light little kick, but I must have hit the wall jusssst right, because it broke my big toenail about 3/4 of the way down and about 95% of the way across. It is literally hanging by a thread. Didn't hurt nearly as bad as I thought it should have, but the soreness is ever-increasing. Oops.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to see something super special. My friend Ambre, got to see her hub today for the first time since December 2010! He came back from Iraq/Afghanistan (not sure which) today and they needed someone to snap a few photos of the extra-special occasion. It truly was one of the sweetest things I have seen in a lonnnng time. Ambre was so genuinely BEYOND excited while waiting for Chuck, and the smile on his face when he spotted his wife was just unreal. So thankful the adorable DeLongchamp fam is back together!

My Bro: The Master/Missionary!!

2011-06-22T14:52:00.003-05:00

**This post was never posted, from back in early May...oops!**

Well, Riles is officially a Master :) We spent our wknd in San Antonio celebrating his graduation from his Masters program @ Trinity. I think it was officially called "Master of Arts in Teaching". Rileton is a seriously talented and passionate teacher...whether he's teaching math, spanish, guitar, or The Word....he's a champ and really touches people's hearts & souls. Love you Yiyi! Loved getting to celebrate with you! I can't wait to see where God uses your teaching talents in this world!

I'm so incredibly proud of my bro who has accomplished a LOT in his 24 years! Rileton, your leadership on the Trinity football team, in Alamo Heights Young Life, @ Stillwater Sports Camp, in FCA, @ Mission Lazarus, and just in every other opportunity that God has placed before you is so awesome and fun to watch. Your heart for The Lord and doing His work makes me feel super honored to have you as 1/3 of the Curry Connection ;)

proud parentals... rand & rach rock :)

Riles' getting some love from his professors!

Speaking of God using Riles in the world...he is heading to Honduras in a month to begin his work with Mission Lazarus. He did a 6-month stint there back in 2010, and could have stayed forever, but he had grad school committments to honor back in the states. He has been working super hard the last few months to raise money to support his work @ ML & to get his life in Texas organized and taken care of so that he can begin the next phase of his life in Honduras. Mission Lazarus is a pretty amazing place that has totally captured Riley's heart. Check out their website to see how God is doing some great things in Honduras. I've never been, which is super sad to me, but plan to visit him at some point during the next 2 years that he's there for sure! Again, I am so proud of my bro for telling God, "Here am I, send me", and then actually listening to God's voice and following where Him into the unknown. I love you soooooo very much Riles and am praying for you & the work you will do in Honduras constantly.

The clinic @ Las Pitas

Pleeeease join me in praying for my bro, for God to prepare his heart every day, to prepare the perfect place for him in Honduras, to work so mightily in the hearts of the Honduran people, and for Mission Lazarus, all of the people working through Mission Lazarus, and for all of the amazing work they're doing! Thank you sooo very much :)

PS- I'll brag on my other amazing bro sometime in the near future :)

We Heart the Hays!!

2011-06-21T00:27:00.000-05:00

The Hay Familia spent last wknd @ our casa, and we could not have loved it more! B-Riz & Chris play in a softball tourney together every year & this yr it was in Arlington. Their team is NOT the greatest team ev. But let's be honest, they weren't TOO sad about not making it to the end bc it was HOTTT out there! Kylee, the girls & I were trooper and spent most of the day out there playing, eating ice cream, watching, & chatting. The rest of our time together was spent eating (We first-timed it @ Chaucer's-yum, & Cru-YUM!!...coolest dessert & wine place!), & vacay planning. You see, we've been trying to plan a Bradford-Hay Vacay for basically 2 years, but my pregnancies have put a wrench in our plans in the past. This time, we're in the clear and planning to spend a few days with some of our fav ppl relaxing on a beach somewhere before 2011 is over. Yippeeeee!! Can't wait for some more Hay time.

The sports complex in Arlington had THE coolest kid-friendly playground ever!

Seriously. NO fear.

Taking a little break. It was kinda nap time.

Aves finally was introduced to the Ice cream man!! It didn't hurt that Shrek was on the truck :)

Little Pocahontas child prancing around the complex with leaves all up in her hair.

Sharing a sno-cone to ATTEMPT to cool off :)

Reading Pinkalicious a.k.a. nightnight time

Pinkalicious!! ...and baby cupcakes :)

2011-06-17T13:36:00.000-05:00

Pinkalicious is Avery's new fave book. SO cute. Love the cute little story. Love the cute little dramatic main character. Love the cute little dialogue. LOVE the cute little illustrations!! We read it before every nap and before bed every night. It's a REQUIRED pre-sleepy-time ritual for little miss Averton.

So...because we read Pinkalicious so much (AND bc she's my daughter), Aves has been super fixated on cupcakes for the last few days. So yesterday we finallyyyy had a little baking sesh in the kitchen. SO fun. She was the greatest little baking assistant. We made little minis and Aves decorated a few for herself, one for Cameron (who lovvvved it of course!), and a couple for daddy. My little Preshling. I'll bake cupcakes with you anyday :)

pouring & mixing. so focused :)

sneaking LOTS of tastes even after mommy said "no" ...must have learned that one from Pinkalicious ;)

baking buddies!

this child waited in front of the oven for almost the entire time!

beautiful baby cupcake decor

i want one i want one!!!!!

DELECT. what a great little treat to wake up to. Don't get used to it C-Lil ;)

Cameron is a Walking Machine!

2011-06-14T21:47:00.000-05:00

So. Cameron took a few steps a few weeks ago. And then, she decided she was over it. She is the fastest crawler in life and I guess she could get where she wanted to get when she wanted to get there, so...crawling it was! Well, THEN she decided that yesterday, it was time for her to move on up in the world. As of Monday, June 13th, 2011, Cameron Lily is a walking MACHINE! She chooses walking as her mode of transportation far more often than she chooses the good ol' crawl. And she's doing awesome! So fun to watch my angel grow and change! BUT...I am cherishing every last bottle feeding I possibly can before she gives up the bottle! AH!!!!! I LOVVVE having a little baby, and when the bottle goes bye-bye, so does babyhood (in my book.)

For now, I think my little walking baby is the cutest little baby in America :) Love you, C-Lil!!

Toddler Tanning Sesh

2011-06-13T22:26:00.000-05:00

My 2-yr-old loves to "lay out". I'm serious. She randomly lays down flat on her back anytime we go outside to play... and I made a big deal one time when she did it at the pool, sooo it has become an Avery tradish. When we from the pool back to our chairs to get ready to go, she has to lay the towel across the chair, and "lay out" for a minute or so before we can do anything else. It's rather entertaining :) Love my little ham!

"Bradford Backyard Beach" ...Avery's 2nd Birthday Party!!

2011-06-03T11:45:00.000-05:00

toddlers + water + sand + slide + sunglasses + friends & fam + FOOD

Avery's 2nd Birthday Party!!

so pumped to model her new suit :)

Thanks so much to our loved who made it out... the kiddos were friggin adorable running a muck all over our backyard. We loved just hangin' out, chatting, eating, and watching the kiddos enjoy life :) Yay for celebrating our insanely loved first-born on her special day (even though her birthday was almost a month ago!)

good friends

this child LOVED flying down the slide

colt & aves obsessing over the beachball sprinkler. tatum...mmm...not so much :)

my babygirl trying to keep up w the big kids!

getting dirty never gets old for a toddler

time to re-energize w/some fruit & veggies!!

don't worry. baby seester did NOT go hungry...

time fro presents!! aves was so worried about destroying the wrapping paper.

beautiful jake.

cupcake time!! so dainty. took her like...15 minutes to eat this thing...

what you don't see is the entire half of her cupcake that fell on the grass. she was a little bummed about it i think...

happy bday my sweet little nugget!!!

B-Rizzle Turns 31: Top Golf Style!

2011-06-02T21:58:00.000-05:00

We spent Friday night @ the new Top Golf in Allen (superrrrrwaycoolplace, ps) w/a few friends and our familias to celebrate Brian's stellar 31 years of life. Great time. Great people. Great golf. (That last one is a lie...but it was totally FUN golf). Top Golf is basically a combo of bowling and a driving range. Inside the building there's a little restaurant, a bar, TVs, and then you step outside to play the game. It's a giant outdoor driving range surrounded by nets (obvi) and each group has their own lane (called a "bay"). You swipe your little player card and just like bowling, you each get a certain number of balls to hit. Your balls have a chip them which tracks where it lands, and each of the targets is worth a different number of points. There are some twists to the game, but I won't get into that. Let's just say that I won my first game and if I were to play an actual round of golf, I would score over 200... NO LIE. So, don't be scurrrrd. TRY IT! SO super fun.

Back to the birthday. Happy bday to my TEEEErrific hubster, B-Riz! I love you so very much and love celebrating life every day with you! Yay for spending the rest of our lives together!! Another year come & gone, but it's okay, you've got plenty to show for it!

I want to document some things that B-Riz should be SUPER proud of from his 31st year of life (bc he is insanely humble and would never share or even care to remember any of them, but I'm his proud wifey, so it's my duty!)

You became a daddy of TWO! Yay Camerton! You make some pretty babygirls, babe.
You got hired on to Alcon from the Quintiles side. PRAISE the Lord :)
You were able to move back into a house, one of your goals! Yay!
Florida trip from Pataday Contest Victory! holla
President's Club w/Alcon...whatwhat!!

and thus...our trip to Mexico! {thx, boo!}

You finished number ONE in the NATION @ work. Um. Kind of a big deal. SO proud of your hard work babe :)
Annnd most importantly, you still have the coolest wife EV. ;)

May your 32nd year be full of God's blessings :) I'm happy you were born Brian David Bradford! {Thx MarshMarsh & Davey!}

Lately

2011-05-30T22:45:00.000-05:00

We're loving having the Mavs in the NBA Finals. I am by no means a Mavs fan (I'm a Rockets fan for life...not matter how painful it gets!), but I love having a sporting event to center our social life around :)
I'm pumped that Lebron is finally in the FINALS. I used to be a lover. Now, I'm not a lover OR a hater...just excited to watch this FINALS!
Avery's party was on Saturday and it was a GREAT time with good friends. Watching the little ones play together was kinnnnd of adorable.
The Curry Crew AND The Bradford Bunch were in town this wknd. LOVED being surrounded by our entire fam for 2 straight days!
We probably spend 3 nights a week with the Wegs. Love it. Super thankful for their friendship!
Aves and Cam play together more & more everyday. Today they were playing peek-a-boo with the playroom curtains and CRACKING up, which in turn had B-Riz and me cracking up. CUTIES.
The new Top Golf: Allen opened up last week, and we spent Friday night there with fam & friends for B's 31st bday celebration! That place is the bomb. Seriously. We will mosdef be returning. In the meantime, I need to work on my golf swing...or maybe learn HOW to properly swing a golf club. That's a good place to start :)
The girls are IN.LOVE. with their new climber/slide for the backyard. And thus, so am I. :)
Casizzle and I have committed to taking the girls on a run once a week after she gets off work. 2 weeks and counting. Loving it.
This is the first time in almost 3 years that I have been NON-pastey. I wouldn't call my current tone "tan", but it is definitely NON-pastey. I'm not opposed.
My new darker hair is great. I am having no problem embracing it. I AM however, struggling to embrace the super-blondness of the bottom half of my hair. The old highlights are busting through thanks to their frequent exposure to this summer sun. Oh well.
The reality that Riles is moving to another country in less than 2 months has been hitting me harder the last couple of weeks. MAN. I'm gonna miss talking to/seeing him soooooooooooo very much. But, I could NOT be more proud of him for following God's calling for this part of his life.
Watching B-Riz melt because of little things the girls do & say has been making ME melt big time lately. Nothing sweeter :) So thankful I have a hub who adorrrrres his girls (all 3 of us!)
I am dyyyyying to start playing soccer again. I have always missed it, but since I was pregnant for basically 2 straight years, I didn't pay it much mind. Well, now that I'm physically capable, it's time. I am searching for a league MANANA!
I have been praying that God would make me ultra-aware of the parts of my life and my SELF that needed some good examining/re-working. He has totally done that, and I am totally thankful :) He's good like that.
I have come to the realization that there will NEVER be enough time to do all of the things I'd love to do each day. And that is so totally fine. This realization has helped me to prioritize. Prioritizing has helped me realize how COMPLETELY insignificant MANY of the things I'd "like to do" actually are. Just that simple realization has given me some big time freedom. Thanks Lord.

Mothers' Day 2011/Avery's 2nd Birthday!!

2011-05-24T21:44:00.000-05:00

I never posted about this! Aves and I got to share the day which was super fun!

First off....my mom. Being a mom myself has given me a new appreciation and understanding of my own mom. I can better understand how DEEPLY she loves me. I get that I (along w/my bros) bring her SO much joy and she would do anything..literally anything...for us to be healthy and happy and thriving! I also know that we frustrated the LIFE out of her on way too many occasions. It's interesting how you can never understand that your parents really truly want the very best for you in all things at all times...until you become a parent! Having my own munchkins has made me 983,000 times MORE thankful for my awesome mom. Love you Rachey! You are the greatest!

So Aves and I shared a super great day....loved it :) B-Riz let me sleep in and got up with the girls, which was awesommmme :) They made me a yummy breakfast, and we just hung out all morning in our PJs. We let Aves open a few presents before we started getting ready for church, and she was just THE cutest thing. She was excited. GOSH I love that child :) It's insane that she's been alive for TWO YEARS!!! We could not adore her more. She's hilarious. She's beautiful. She's sweet, loving, kind, & affectionate. She's got some 'tude sometimes, but she's the bomb. Her vocab is inproving EVERY day, she says and does things that we are SHOCKED that she even knows! 2 year old brains are pretty impressive. LOVE YOU AVERTON! Happy bday babygirl!

After Cameron's nap, we grabbed a quick bite & then went to late service @ church (which I think we're going to start doing...) John talked about moms for just a bit before he began his sermon, and for some reason, I was just INSANELY emotional. During pretty much the whole service and throughout the day. On a day when we intentionally celebrate motherhood, I just couldn't escape thinking about how EXPLODING with love and joy and gratitude and happiness my heart is because of Avery & Cameron. I literally can think of NO greater thing to do in my life than to raise my 2 girls. Even when you're friggin wiped OUT, frustrated, whatever...you still LOVE being a mom. What other job is like that!? We get to take them from the day they're born and love them with the love of Christ, teach them about God, teach them His ways, encourage them, direct their path (as much as they'll let us!), crack up @ their silliness, hug & kiss & horseplay w/them non-stop....it's just... the greatest. A great responsibility and a great JOY and a great honor. And I am SO thankful God has blessed me with this opportunity in my life :) I literally could not have EVER imagined how wonderfully perfect being a mom is.

{still trying to find my camera cord to upload pics of me w/my babieeees!!}

Lots to celebrate in the SL!!

2011-05-24T21:24:00.000-05:00

I spent last wknd in The Shoog showering Jacci with some pre-marital love. I was SO happy to finally make it to something wedding-related. The hostesses did an awesome job on this shower! Even though I was one of them, I can say that, because I didn't contribute any cool ideas, I just signed on to everyone else's creativity :) It was so pretty and so fun! Love you Jacci! Can't wait til the big day!

I got to have lunch @ a yummy place in Houston with The Curry fam, who I RARELY (unfortunately) get to see to celebrate Kelli-Bell's high school graduation! So proud, cuz! I love spending time with mi familia. It's a different dynamic when we get together now that my Pawpaw is gone. I think losing him just made us all appreciate each other a little bit more. We still miss him like crazy, but are super thankful for all the love that he left behind!! Love you Pawpaw!!

I spent Saturday night @ Taytay's weddinnnggg!!! My mom was my date (pretty good-looking date!), and we had a blasssssst. It was basically a soccer reunion, just like anytime one of us soccergals gets hitched :) We danced it up, caught up on life, took lots of pics, and talked about how we can find a way to see each other more often, because these weddings are going to end soon! :( Love you girls!! Can't wait til July!!

I had the greatest time with ppl I love but never get to see, but am so thankful that I have the people I love the MOST to come home to!! I missed my Aves, Camo, & B-Riz :)

Cameron's First Steps!!

2011-05-24T21:12:00.000-05:00

Camo took her first steps yesterday. She's been pulling up and cruising around like a champ for a couple of months now, but has never shown any interest in trying it without support :) She can speed-crawl with the best of them, so I guess she can get where she wants to go fast enough. :) Avery almost skipped the crawling phase and walked at 8.5 months, so we kind of thought Camo would follow suit. I have loved the crawling phase though...I think it's super-presh to watch her sprint-crawl all over America.

Anyway, yesterday we were playing with her ball and she just randomly stood up and took 2 steps toward me. Then, she stood up and took 4. And that was the end of it. :) It was so unexpected, and by the time I got the video camera, she was donesky. Oh well, I got a cute little action-still :) Cameron is growing UP!

super-focused!

Hi Daddy

2011-05-18T14:06:00.000-05:00

This is what Avery chose to wear to greet her daddy as he got home from work. Somebody lovvves her daddy :)

showing off for daddy :)

the inevitable clown-shoe-induced crash :)