The Flesher Family

Summer Vacation

2011-08-01T14:31:00.000-07:00

I know, I know....Layton is only 4 months away from turning two and my last post was on his 1st birthday!!! Ahh....how time flies when we are so busy chasing a little one.
This Summer we took a family vacation to New Mexico to escape the Texas heat and it was wonderful! Our fun friend the Gaspard's own a great vacation house with plenty of room for our family to all stay under one roof. It was so much fun! We sure did miss Christy, Todd, Gray and Kye who could not make it this year. Here are some pictures from our stay in the mountains.

(the picture above is in the basement which is a full size fun game room with a pool table, tv, bar, game tables and much more....we spent a lot of time playing in this room)

Matt took Layton on his first little man fishing trip....where they caught little fish:) Guess they did not bring home any dinner but Layton had tons of fun watching Matt bait the hook and watching the caught fish wiggle on the hook. And....you guessed it, Matt had fun keeping Layton OUT of the lake. Ahhh fishing with a 19 month old:)

Matt and I went to a little wine tasting shop in town. It was fun and we took home a bottle of our favorite wine.

Of course I had to do a little shopping......Matt found a friendly "deer" friend to sit with while I shopped.

Matt and my aunts and uncles all played golf for 3 days. They played three pretty courses and the weather was just perfect. Matt was still in his cast on our trip but he was such a trooper and did not miss out on any of the fun.

Nancy and Diana (my aunts) on the golf course.

Such a pretty course!

ahh...green trees and grass!! Everything was all burned up in Texas from the heat this Summer so it was nice to see a whole lotta green.

Sweet Layton giving kisses through the gate for the stairs.....looks like he is in jail:)

We ate dinner on the porch almost every night. It was between 63-80 degrees while we were there depending on the time of day. Just perfect!

Thank goodness I survived the bear attack!!

It was a good time had by all. I wish I had taken the time to take more pictures of everyone having fun.

Layton's 1st Birthday Bash

2011-04-27T19:13:00.000-07:00

Well....my sweet baby Layton turned 1 year old on January 22, 2010. We had a wonderful Circus themed birthday party. I have posted a TON of pictures so I never forget this special day. What a gift the Lord has given us in Layton. Bubby, Mommy and Daddy love you more than words can express. Here are some facts about you:
*You LOVE the outdoors more than Mommy ever will....if I stayed outside with you all day that would not be enough.
*You love books and can turn the pages all by yourself. Your favorite books are "Color Zoo" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear"...I think we have read each of them 1,000 times. Mommy loves lap time with you.
*You are an awesome sleeper. You still take two naps and you sleep through the night.
*You are a picky, picky eater....wish you would eat more veggies
*You can say Momma, Dada and Doggie
*You are so sweet and so determined at the same time
and oh so much more..............

Mommy and Daddy love everyday spent with you!

Welcome to Layton's GREATEST show on Earth!

Party favors for everyone and a special book for the birthday boy that everyone signed that attended the party.

We just HAD to be under the Big Top Tent of course!

Gumballs, Dum Dums and Gummies galore!

Great parties always end with too much Apple juice!

My sweet Mom and Christy. I took a lot of pictures before the party but I was so busy during the party that I missed getting pictures of a lot of the action and guests:( My Nana came from Houston and she was a BIG help during the party. She loves spending time with little Layton anytime she can.

Layton's cute smash cake.....oh and cake was EVERYWHERE by the time he was done with it

Big boy cake that matched his Circus invitations

The cake table

Layton getting the party music ready

The Concession stand

What better to serve than Carnival food...Nachos, popcorn, cotten candy, corny dogs and Cracker Jacks.

Dudley the Clown.....lots of fun!

Pleasing the crowd with balloon animals

Present time!

Layton LOVES his new ball pit!

Happy 1st Birthday Layton! We LOVE you!

Fun Christmas Season

2011-01-11T11:07:00.000-08:00

We had such a wonderful December spent with friends and family. This Christmas was so special to us because we got to share the season with Layton. Children make life so much sweeter and we are so thankful for everyday we get to spend with Layton. This is a big post of a lot of pictures from last month. We did a lot of family activities and some I had to leave out because I left my little camera in Midland. When I have some **free** time (yeah right!) I will upload some of the pictures when Santa came to visit Layton in Midland. This little cutie was such a big helper when it came to wrapping gifts during the month of December. He did not **wink, wink** tear any paper, eat any tape, pull on any bows....he was the perfect little wrapping angel and left all of my gifts alone;)

Santa was so good to Layton and brought him some fun, FUN new toys that he plays with daily. He got this really cute ball popper that uses air to make the balls pop all over the room. He really enjoys this toy. It is neat to see which toys he likes the most....some stuff he plays with a lot and other stuff he could care less about. I think I am getting this boy only clothes for his birthday seeing as his birthday is around the corner.

We traveled to Midland this Christmas to be with my Mom's side of the family. We had such a great time. Layton enjoyed having a new house to explore and plenty of people to spoil him. He is sporting his new Red Raider hat.

Check me out on my new wheels................

Santa brought me a 4-wheeler oh yeah!! Bonus it is battery powered and he knows how to use the "go" button. It is so funny watching him ride it around the house. Now if he could just steer it in the right direction we would be all good. I can't believe my precious baby is big enough to know how to operate this thing on his own.....where did this year go?? Oh and my little man took his first steps on Christmas Eve. That was like almost 4 weeks ago and he is walking all over the place now. He still crawls but he is walking more and more each day and he can go all the way across the room with no problem. I never thought he would be walking at 11 months.

We took a family trip to the Gaylord Texan to see Snoopy on Ice. It was REALLY cold but REALLY cool to see. I don't know if a trip to see it every year is necessary but seeing everything carved out of ice was pretty neat. Layton had no idea what was going on so we could have left him at home....plus WHO knew you could not use a stroller there so taking turns carrying a 24lb boy was just so much FUN!!

Mom and Layton...the big jackets swallowed him but he needed it took keep from freezing!

Next week took Layton to Santa's village in Richardson. If you have never been you should take the kiddos. It is free and on the weekends Santa arrives every night by firetruck....lots of lights and sounds and they make it a cute production. Then if you want to wait in line you can have your picture made with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Here Matt and Layton are watching Santa's arrival. Layton was so cute as he followed Santa with his eyes all the way to his house. I don't know how he really knew who to watch but it was cute.Love this picture....my favorite "little" man!!

Layton meets Frosty!

I took Layton to North Park to visit Santa.....based on the look on his face waiting in line this might have been just for me:) I think he was over the long wait in line to see the guy with a beard.

In his picture with Santa that the photograhper took he is giving us a half smile. This picture Matt took with our camera and he looks a little disappointed:) Hey at least he is not screaming.

...

Rewind!!

2010-12-07T12:20:00.001-08:00

Well I feel like I need a rewind button on parts of this year. I like to make sure that I blog several times per month so I can save these precious memories. Well with all the craziness of the past few months, I have just fallen so far behind. So for those of you eating a candy cane and singing Jingle Bells in your head while reading this post.... sorry b/c I am going to be talking candy corn and all things spooky!! Here is a picture of our pumpkin all lit up on Halloween night....its on the left if you can't see which pumpkin it is. Matt and Layton... mainly Matt...was so proud. Layton loved every bit of the pumpkin carving experience. Can't wait until next year when he can tell me what he is thinking.

Love this little pumpkin so much. Man it is like a game to get Layton to look at the camera at the same time mommy is looking at the camera.

Up close picture of two of the cutest pumpkins! Layton was a duck this year and the striped leggings were hilarious on him. He really was one cute duck! We took Layton to our church carnival and he had so much fun looking around at all the kids, animals and of course tasting some yummy food.

More pictures of the pumpkin carving madness...sorry they are out of order. I am working on precious nap time and this Mommy has no time to redo this post. Layton of course stuck the pumpkin and the seeds in his mouth...because that is where EVERYTHING off the ground goes...in the mouth!

watching Daddy carve....he was so good about sitting right there and watching and sampling some of the pumpkin of course.

Oh mom....you are going to regret this!!! Might I add he loved the few bites I gave him so much that he was making a sucking noise with his lips after each bite. I was so funny to watch.

These two precious animals are the best of buddies. They are only 4 days apart and they always have so much fun every Sunday night playing together at our Bible study group. Little Kaylee makes one cute little elephant!
Silly picture of Layton at our neighborhood carnival

Well that was a very fast preview of Oct. more of Nov. to come later this week!

Missing them already.....

2010-11-08T20:26:00.000-08:00

The Flesher's have been pretty busy over the past few weeks and we have shed a lot of tears. Over the past four weeks we have lost two very special people to Matt and I....my Pappy and Matt's mom, Barbara. We praise God that they are both believers and they are both in Heaven which eases our pain a little, knowing we have entrusted them to the Lords care. We still miss them dearly here on this side of Heaven. It is not for Matt and I to understand the why of the loss we have had to experience this past few weeks but we are thankful for the peace the Lord has given us during this difficult time. Here is my sweet Pappy...this is one of the last pictures I took of him while visiting him at the end of Aug. We celebrated his 87th birthday with lots of family and good times. He was a die hard Auburn fan and one of the best men I know. He was kind, funny and a hard worker who loved his family and his life. I always tell people that a lot of the qualities that my Pappy had I see in Matt....which makes me one lucky lady. I will never forget the endless stories that I have growing up with my Pappy. He has always been there so I know there are going to be a lot of firsts without him that will be hard. Pray for my Nana as she is missing her sweet honey. They had a wonderful marriage and one to be admired. My Pappy worked as an engineer until he was 80 years old and everyday when he left for work he left my Nana a love note by the coffee maker....he was just a jewel of a man. We will dearly miss him. He went to be with Jesus on Oct. 10th.

This is Matt's Mom Barbara who passed away this past Tuesday from a year and a half long battle with cancer. She has been sick for awhile and it was hard watching the disease take her from us. I think Matt and I will be grieving her loss for awhile. She was way too young and such a good grandma to be gone already. We miss her....plain and simple. We are sad that Layton won't know his "Babs" like we knew her. But, we know that the Lord blessed Matt and I with Layton at just the right time during Barbara's cancer. She loved Layton so much and the time she got to spend with him was so very precious. Matt and I cherish that we got to spend so much time with her at the end of her battle and were with her when she went to meet Jesus. She was such a generous mom and I must say she raised two fine young men.

We love and miss you dearly Pappy and Babs. If you think about our little family would you send a little prayer up for us. Over the past few weeks all of this loss has defiantly made me hug my family a little tighter and tell them how much I love them even more.

8 Months and lots of FALLing around our house!

2010-10-05T06:59:00.000-07:00

Layton is now eight months old and boy he is getting so busy. Not only can he crawl but he can pull up on everything and loves to use ANYTHING in the room to stand up. Thank the Lord for the helmet he wears because I lose count of the amount of times he crashes on our hardwood floors each day. Falling, falling and more falling is the theme of each day. But Layton is so determined and I love this about him. He has even stood up in the middle of the room using something light and then falls down quickly. Here are a few cute pictures of Layton from the past few weeks. Loving some fun pictures of Layton with all the pumpkins at the Arboretum. He had such a serious face the whole morning...almost as if he was thinking "what are all these orange things everywhere!!!" I made him a shirt for some fun pictures in the pumpkins...it turned out really cute and I can't wait to make him some Christmas ones.

Layton would hardly look up at the camera once I put him in the pile of pumpkins. He was trying to eat the hay and was WAY to interested in the pumpkins to look up at mommy for a silly picture.

Layton and Mommy....I love this sweet boy! He is getting so interested in everything around him. He wants to touch everything and then put it in his mouth of course. I have never cleaned my floors 3 times per week EVER...but here lately that is what it takes since this little one will clean them for me and then put whatever he finds in his mouth. So far last week he had a wood chip, piece of tape and a leaf that I had to dig out of his little mouth. He is so quick!! and seems to find any piece of dirt or trash on the floor that I have missed.

Layton still wears his helmet everyday all day. I think he is nearing the end of treatment:) Matt and I can't wait! Layton has been in a helmet since he was 4 1/2 months old. We took his helmet off to take some pictures at the Arboretum.

Layton got his first bad cold last week and it lasted FOREVER...I thought we were never all going to get well again. Here are some fun pictures playing in the family room while we were stuck inside. Love Layton's serious face:)

Here he is showing off..............

Aww....I wonder what he was thinking about???

Layton loves going outside....as most kiddos do. I am so glad that it is not so hot outside anymore so we can get outside and play more.

I feel like I have not posted on my blog in so long. We have been so busy lately. Matt and I took on the big project of giving our 1950's kitchen a face lift and it has been quite the undertaking with a baby running around me in circles. It is coming together and going to look great when finished. I will post some pictures soon:)

Update:

My brother-in-law Todd is still really sick. We are hoping he will have surgery in the next few weeks to remove his tumor. We still don't know if the tumor is cancerous or not yet. The doctors were unable to reach the tumor for a biopsy last week. We are praying for it to be cancer free.

My boy loves the swing!

2010-09-06T19:44:00.001-07:00

Layton and I walked to Height's Park down the street and we had a ball just swinging in the cool weather....or cool morning I should say:) Here are some fun pictures from last week.

This is just my monster face....I am practicing for Halloween

hold on tight....mommy swings really high!!

I got my new helmet on the same day....Mommy did not decorate it yet. Yep...I had to get another helmet! Can you believe it?

7 Months!

2010-08-31T08:39:00.000-07:00

Well peeps that is right I am now 7 months old...even though anyone that looks at me thinks I am 9 or 10 months old. All I have to say about that is "bring on the basketball contracts folks!"

7 months has flown by and Matt and I are trying hard to soak up every minute of these precious times. The Lord has truly blessed us with such an amazing little boy. I can already tell he will be kind, loving towards others, and such a great friend as he grows older. He is also the best little snuggle bunny a mommy could ask for!

Here is "Mr. Cutie cuterson" as I like to call him. We are waiting on his second helmet which we will get today:( so here are a few shots over the past few weeks while we were helmet free.

At the moment some of his fav daily activities include...but are not limited to:

1. his walker (please take note that my child can only go backwards in his walker and not forwards...so I have total faith that he will do WELL in the parallel parking part of his driving test.)

2. Johnny Jumper- LOVES this!...and can I say thank you Lord that he wears a helmet! I have heard some pretty bad crashes into the side of the door frame from the vigorous jumping...and if he had not had on the helmet I am afraid that would have been the last of the johnny jump up for awhile. LOL...he loves it!

my little frog man!

3. Naps- my son loves him some good naps- he is too funny if you don't get him in his bed right away when it is nap time he almost has a fit. Only problem is we are having a hard time getting him to sleep anyplace but his crib. If we leave town or he goes to the babysitter for the afternoon...he thinks "party" and will NOT go to sleep easily. Thank goodness we stay at home a lot right now.

4. Rolling, rolling and more rolling! I let Layton go to town in our family room. He has bunches of toys and I put them all over the room. I can put him in the middle of the room and he will roll or army crawl to the toys. He has a blast doing this and it is great that our family room has such soft carpet for him to play on. He can spin around really fast to get something behind him and is quite the roller these days. I think this little man is going to crawl pretty soon...then I think, I will have another can of worms on my hands

Here he is....the MAN, the MYTH...the LEGEND! That is what Matt says to Layton everyday...it just cracks me up for some reason. Doesn't he look so chill hanging out in his highchair?? His face says.."don't mess with me...I am part of the highchair mafia!!

Total mug shot! I know he is thinking..."does anybody around here have anything else to eat but this cardboard oatmeal stuff??" ohh I know...how about another bite of that ice cream dad let me try on the sly at Dickey's BBQ...you got any of that??!!!

Layton is still doing a great job eating. He loves almost any fruit and veggie I give him. He is still not a fan of carrots and prunes but, who is?

Umm...excuse me! Just check'in out my bum here.

My little escape artist is looking for a hole....I just know it!

What?? Did you expect anything more from me at 7 months?

Daddy, what is wrong?......

2010-08-18T19:13:00.000-07:00

I love this picture of Gray (my niece) and her Daddy (Todd). The look on her face is too cute and yet so perfect for what is going on right now. Todd is sick. Plain and simple ...he is sick and they don't yet know what is wrong. We pray nightly that whatever is wrong is something that can be cured and his pain will go away soon. Todd is having all kinds of tests & CAT scans to find the source of his pain. He is having horrible stomach pain and can hardly keep food down for weeks now. He has lost about 25 lbs in a short time and the days are hard on him. They have already ruled out a lot of things and the strong antibiotics are not helping. They have mentioned the "C" word but the doctors will not know anything for sure until they get back all of his tests. If you think of Todd during the day just lift him up in prayer that the doctors can find the source of his pain/sickness and that with medicine/time he can be healed. I think the long weeks of no answers and the pain continuing is putting some worry on my sis and Todd. Pray for their strength as a couple and that the time will pass quickly until they can get some answers. All I know is Usher needs to get better soon:)

Galveston Family Trip

2010-08-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

This past week we headed to Galveston for some much needed lazy days and some fun time with family. I had so many pictures from the trip it was hard to pic just a few for the blog.... Sweet Gray soaking in some sun and loving the ocean water...or the big swimming pool as she referred to it:)

Matt's brother Scott and wife Shannon took the trip with us. We try to take a family vacation every Summer. This Summer Todd (Christy's husband was not able to come b/c he is sick right now...pray for his if you think of him they are running some tests to see what is wrong with him.) Once again we had a blast....can't wait until next year!

My little surfer dude!

Gray getting water for her 5 seconds of "I am going to build a sand castle" . I don't blame her...it is kinda hard to build a sand castle in the Galveston mud:)

Gray with my sister seeing the ocean for the first time....she was too funny calling it a "big pool" all weekend.

love seeing palm trees...it means I am near a beach which is my favorite spot to be

lots and lots of fun in the sun!

such a sweet picture of Gray with the joy of being at the beach written all over her face

Matt showing Layton the ocean for the first time

Point West is where we rented a house....a great place if you ever want to take a trip to Galveston

lazy days!

Inside the beach house

great porch where we grilled out and ate and relaxed

front of the beach house

Pier just down the street from the house

Some of my favorite guys!

If I could walk.....I would be at training camp TODAY!!

2010-08-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

About 3 weeks ago Layton had his helmet wrapped by 360 wraps. They have an awesome owner who runs a non-profit at his company (Wrap Buddies)that wraps DOC bands for little kiddos for free. So Layton is now working on his melon Dallas Cowboy's style!! It looks like he only has 2-3 more week in his helmet. Boy are we glad because we are cooking in the heat here in Texas. It is going to be a cool 104* today:) He looks so cute and his helmet is so cool now for sure!!

Day 1 Dallas Cowboy's training camp

My mommy runs a tight training camp for sure!!

They were cool enough to put his name on the front. Of course we dressed him in his Dallas Cowboy's outfit for the big dayShowing off the backside:)

I love this little picture....wonder what he is looking at?

My two favorite men...buddies for life. The joy of football for these two will last a lifetime. My favorite time of the day is when daddy gets home from work, after dinner, when Layton and Matt sit and watch the Ranger's game together.....priceless. Can't wait for Texas Tech/Cowboy football season to start!

cutest little man I know waking up from a nap......always so happy to see Mommy!

The little green monster....he has gotten so aggressive with the chew toys lately:) This one cracks me up!

Fun Surprise from Matt

2010-07-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

So today Matt came home from work just like any other day....except today he had a shopping bag in his hand. I just assumed that he stopped by the store to pick up a few things...no biggie. Well to my surprise there was a sun hat for me and some Jamaican beer for him inside the bag....hmmm...Matt said "guess what this means".......I said, "what?!!!" He said in just a few months we are going to Jamaica! What a fun surprise!! Matt has a hard time getting much by me and he got me good with this one. I can't wait to spend some relaxing days on this beach with the best man I know!! I love you Matt Flesher!

Carrots mom.....I don't think so!!

2010-07-19T20:24:00.000-07:00

This week Layton turns 6 months old.....so I decided we would start adding some veggies slowly to his rice cereal diet:) Well..... Layton takes so easily to most things I introduce him to that I really did not worry much that he would not like the new food.....little did I know:) So yesterday we tried some carrots for the first time....lets just say the little guy is not a fan:) He cracked me up because he would keep opening his mouth and taking a bite and then he would make a face and gag....he really did gag on them. After about 4 spoonfuls he just looked at me and then threw up all of the carrots on his bib. We tried carrots two times and the same thing happened both times. Most kids I have seen will squeeze their lips together and won't open them for the next bite.....I guess my little man did not remember from bite to bite that the same old stuff was about to come again!

This is how my kiddo tells me he does NOT like carrots. Tonight we tried some squash and it was a big hit....not once did he gag and he did not give it back to me:) Guess we will give the carrots a few more weeks before we bring them back. It's funny because I like most any veggie but the only one I won't eat....you guessed it...carrots! So, I don't blame him:)

Layton at 5 months

2010-07-15T09:56:00.001-07:00

Busy, busy...Layton is always busy. It is so fun to watch him grow but he is growing so fast that it gets kinda sad. He weighs about 18lbs and is about 26inches long. He can roll across the room and is so strong. He always wants to be sitting upright..he does not liked to be held on his back like a "baby" :) He always wants to check out what is going on around him. He is really doing great in his helmet and we go to get it wrapped in Dallas Cowboy's style this Friday. I take a lot of pictures of him when he is on his break from his helmet so that is why you don't see him in it in these pics. He really does look adorable in it. Layton will be 6 months old at the end of next week so the time is flying by fast. Here are some fun pictures from Layton's 5th month:) Uncle Scott came to town and played with me. I love my Uncle Scott! This is my new walker that my grandma Babs bought for me.

Ruger and I love to hang out. My Uncle Scott and Aunt Shannon gave me a new Johnny Jump Up and I LOVE IT!!! I love to pet Ruger/Molly while I am in my jumper:)

Mom scoots some of my toys up to my jumper so I can play. I look like such a big boy in my jumper.

I love rice cereal...yummy bananna and apple flavors! In a few weeks Mommy is going to start feeding me veggies...I can't wait! Look at me sitting in my new highchair...I am such a big boy now!

I really must say I am a pro at using the spoon...I really don't make a very big mess and my mommy is so proud of me.

Here I am with my Dad before bed. I love for my Dad to read me stories before bed. My mom loves books so I have a ton.....lots to pick from.

I need to post more pictures soon....we went to the lake 2 weeks in a row so I will be posting pictures of our fun times soon.

New Cookie Blog!

2010-06-29T19:10:00.001-07:00

Friends come and check out my new cookie blog at www.cookiesbylindsey.blogspot.com
I have been baking away and having so much fun. If you have any cookie needs just let me know.

Working on my melon

2010-06-23T12:23:00.001-07:00

Layton got his new helmet on Monday! He has been such a good sport about wearing it. I think he hardly knows it is there...that is until it is bedtime. We are still working on him finding the most comfortable position but it has gotten better each time he goes down for a nap. Here he is sporting his new helmet that Mommy decorated. We are set to have it wrapped by 360 Wraps in July but I had so much fun picking out stickers and decorating it that I might just do that all Summer instead. Layton will be in this helmet for about 6-8 weeks. We hope the time will fly by fast.

A half smile was all that he would give me today.....kinda makes for a funny looking face. Have you ever tried to get a baby to smile at you for the camera.....I did everything but stand on my head and this is what I got:)

cute little crab on the side.......we sure do love Summer time around here.

Just Swing'in

2010-06-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

Last week Matt and I invested in a new camera....and we are so happy with the quality of the pictures so far. Matt captured some pictures of Layton in his new swing that his Bab's gave him. Look at this sweet boy.........

Layton can't quite sit up in his swing all the way yet....but he still loves to swing!

Mommy was just playing with the new camera and Layton kept looking over Daddy's shoulder wondering what I was doing with that big black thing in front of my face:)

Ahh....lazy Summer days!

Layton's Dedication

2010-06-22T07:18:00.001-07:00

Layton was dedicated to the Lord on Father's day and it was such a sweet day for Matt and I. As Layton's parents we are so proud always but, we also know that with the title of parent that God is making it our responsibility to teach and guide Layton. Matt and I want to be living examples of how to love and follow after the Lord. We want Layton to understand the value of prayer and the importance of a loving relationship with the Lord. We had a small brunch at our home after the service. I enjoyed getting everything ready this past week for his big day. Here are a few pictures from the party for some of my sweet family that was not able to join us.

I hung this adorable cross (from my aunt Randee) on the candles by the food. It was perfect since it was blue and it had his initials on it. Love this little cross.

Of course I love monograms so I had to have his initials almost everywhere!

Sweet picture by the cake

Cute water bottles that were so fun to make.

Candles and a cute picture of Layton that I had on the food table.

Yummy cake from the La Rosette bakery in Richardson......they make such great cakes if you ever need a cake for something.

Layton's precious outfit for his dedication. The little guy is so wiggly that when I tried to take a picture of it for memories you could not see the detail at the top. I just love this little bubble outfit.

Layton's Grammie (my step-mom), Tara and Jami

My dad and Layton

Me, Susu (my Mom) and Babs (Matt's Mom)

Babs, Layton and Matt

Matt and I pray that someday Layton will trust Jesus Christ as his savior. I can imagine that someday it will be pure joy to know that our children are walking in truth.

Working on my melon

2010-06-14T13:52:00.001-07:00

Well I was hoping that we were not going to go down this road but......we are. Layton is getting a helmet. Yes...I said helmet!!! You would think ear molds would have been the end of the work done to my sweet son but...no. No, he is not already playing football ...although I am sure his dad would love that!! Layton is getting a helmet to correct several problem with the shape of his head. His head is both flat in the back and has some height to it as well. This is not normal and has developed from several problems....room in womb, ear wells that he wore for 2 1/2 months and then sleeping in the same position on his back. Here is an example of a kiddo wearing a decorated helmet. I took a picture of a calendar that we got at the cranial doctor so you could see what it will look like. The not so fun part is that Layton will have to wear his helmet for 23 hours a day....yuck! I wish his little melon would have rounded out on its own but it seems as though we were doomed from the beginning. Now insurance says this is totally cosmetic and so the bill is ours which is way not fun since the helmets cost a pretty penny of $3,500. But we don't consider if cosmetic when it comes to the shape of Layton's head. He should only have to wear it for about 8 weeks....give or take a few. He was measured for his helmet today so we should get it next Monday. After we get the helmet Layton will have it decorated by a non-profit company called 360Wraps.

My sister Christy had her baby girl about 3 weeks ago. Riley Kye weighing a little over 7lbs and 20 inches long. Here she is in a picture with Layton. It is hard to see her face but she is a little cutie! So fun to have cousins so close in age. Susu is just LOVING having 3 grand babies to love on.

Here is Layton and Matt in the pool last weekend. Don't you just love the little hat....Layton looks so cute in a hat. Good thing huh....since he has to wear a permanent one for 2 months.

Here is a sweet picture of my Nana and Layton. Nana and Pappy got to come over to Christy's house for dinner while we were in Houston. Nana just loves all over Layton anytime she can get her hands on him. Layton loves Nana and talks to her all the time.

We could not leave Houston without a cute picture of Miss Pris...aka Gray. She is getting so big and still so much fun. Aunt JoJo (me) just loves this little one and her fun personality. She is doing such a good job being a big sissy to little Kye.

sweet face after a fun swim

Yum...Mommy fed me rice cereal for the first time last week. He is still doing such a good job eating.

See.....look at that cutie in the hat. Matt and Daddy before getting in the pool.

Swimming at our sweet friend Fisher's house. Fisher got a new pool too and invited us over for a swim. I can't wait for the little boys to get older so they can ride bikes and play together.

Just chill'in in Daddy's sunglasses:)

4 Months +

2010-06-08T11:56:00.001-07:00

Layton is now 4 1/2 months old...I am a little behind in my blogging world so bare with me. Layton is changing more and more each day and he is getting so big. Here is what we have been up to the past month. Layton enjoys visits from Susu on her way home from work....we love that we are on her path home.

He still loves the water despite the big lip in this picture. I am going to post some pictures soon of his first time in the pool...he LOVED it. Bath time is still a fav for Layton. He has almost grown out of his baby bath tub.....next on to fun toys and the BIG tub:)

He spends a lot of time playing in his exosaucer. He loves Mrs. Caterpillar! He knows how to bang on the buttons now to watch the lights blink and hear the songs.

Babs (Matt's mom) bought Layton a new swing for the front yard. We have already been swinging away.

He is still the sweetest angel in my eyes. This kiddo is such a good sleeper and is most of the time the happiest kiddo on my block. This laid back guy is going to be a lot like his daddy if he keeps up this easy going attitude.

Mommy goes goes goes all the time and Layton is such a trooper. Layton now weighs about 16lbs and is 26 inches long. He has started eating rice cereal (apple flavored from Whole Foods) and he LOVES it! Thanks to our friend Karen who suggested we get flavored rice cereal....we are only on day 3 and this boys grunts for more when he sees that spoon coming.

Of course my four month appointment was full of more shots....not on my head of course but, my silly mommy took them off my legs and made me wear them on my head. Pretty soon my head is going to be under construction......more details to come about that later!

Yes....you ARE at the right house

2010-05-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

This week our house got a much needed face lift. Same great house just a new color:) Here is the before picture...the baby blue and white just had to go! And here is after.........

Ahh...so much better and exactly what I had in mind when we bought the house. The blue and white was ok but it was just not my taste. Man oh man it was hard picking out colors to paint your WHOLE house.....no room for mistakes. I am more than pleased with how the colors turned out. The trim is black and off white and the brick is a light khaki.

It took the painters about 5 days to finish. Each day it was fun to walk outside with Layton and see the progress. Preparing the house to paint is what takes the longest. They had to replace a lot of wood on our house that was rotten. Once they started spraying the color on it went by so fast.

I am going to have to train myself to stop giving people directions to our house by saying it is the blue and white house on the corner:) Last night Matt and I were out working in the front yard on the trees and a few people drove by and commented on how much they liked the change.

3 Months!

2010-04-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

Layton is now 3 months old and getting so big. We had his pictures taken by Josh and Jenny Cobbs and they turned out great! I wanted to wait awhile to get his newborn pictures because I refused to have them taken with his earwells on....now that they are long gone Josh got some great pictures of my little man.

Layton had a great nap the morning of his pictures and he did an awesome job during his photo shoot. He is on the verge of giving me a first laugh but for right now this little man is all smiles most of the time. He is still such a happy baby and still a BIG talker!! I have never seen a baby coo and babble this much in my life. It is so cute right now but when he is 2 and never has a quiet moment I may think differently:) He still does NOT like tummy time but we are working hard on getting him to raise up his head using his arms to push off the ground. He can do it but he is usually really mad the whole time he is doing it.

aww...I love those little eyes. He has the prettiest blue eyes...they are a darker shade of blue than mine. We did not know what color his eyes would turn out since I have blue eyes and Matt's are green....but it looks like they are going to stay a pretty shade of blue. The boy is still as bald as can be but that seems to be how babies in our family stay for awhile. Layton is still off the charts with his height. He is lean but is pretty tall for his age. He is mainly wearing 6 month size clothing and on occasion can sport something in the 9 month size. He keeps me shopping for clothes that is for sure.

aww...here he looks like a sleeping angel. He is still a good sleeper. He goes to bed about 8:30pm and wakes up between 7-7:30am each morning. Normally he does not wake up in the night for a feeding but with all the growing he had been doing lately he has woken up around 4am for 3 nights in a row. We give him his favorite paci and he easily goes back to sleep easily.

I love this little 3 month old and all his little parts...I could just kiss his little hands and feet all day.

We have been busy around our house fixing up the outside. This past weekend Layton was such a trooper while Matt and I worked in the backyard to remove a bunch of old bushes and plant some new ones. We are fixing the backyard and having the outside of our house painted. I am so excited to see the end result in the next few days..such a big difference. We always knew that when we bought our house that we would change the baby blue and white and we are finally having it done and it is looking great.....I will post pics soon of all the updates on the outside.

Easter Weekend

2010-04-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

What a fun and blessed Easter weekend we had. We had so much fun sharing Easter with Layton and Gray. Gray (my niece) is now 2 1/2 and so much fun. She needs a one way ticket to Hollywood.... she has one B-I-G personality packed into her small little body.

Here is Gray running in the yard after uncle Matt hid about 20 eggs just for her. Hopefully next year little Layton will be running along with her:)

We had a wonderful Easter lunch after church with lots of family. My sister, Gray, Scott, Barbara, Matt's uncle Mark and cousin Blake, Susu (my Mom) and Matt, Layton and I. Yummy food was made by all the girls and I am sure we all put on a few new unwanted pounds:)

Here is Layton checking out his loot from the Easter bunny (aka: Grandparents gone wild bunny). I got Layton this basket with his name on it thinking we could use it over the years and at 10 weeks old his basket was full and all of the stuff he got won't even fit in the basket....lucky boy! Thanks Susu, Babs, Nana, Grammie and PaPa for all of my new things!!!!

Here is a close up of Layton's cute Easter basket....so sweet with his name in blue.

Gray in her adorable Easter dress:) The look on her face every time she found a new egg was priceless.

Layton was such a good boy during the church service. He looked adorable in his little Easter onesie. Thanks to a bottle during the service we made it through the whole service without having to leave once:)

We enjoyed having Babs and Scott over for lunch.....so sweet of Scott to come into town for Easter. We missed you Aunt Shannon and Uncle Todd...wish you could have come:(

Well Spring has sprung and I am in the mood for flowers lately. I am impatiently waiting for the flowers I want to come into the local nursery so I can plant away in the front beds in the yard. For now I will have to settle for beautiful tulips in my kitchen. I love these new little Spring eggs I got. If you know me I love bird nests and eggs...why I dunno... I just do. My husband thinks I am nuts and my dad makes fun of all of my eggs so you can imagine what they said about my new eggs that spell out the word Spring......

Happy Easter!!!

2010-04-02T06:17:00.000-07:00

Layton wants to wish everyone a Happy Easter!!! Layton is now 2 1/2 months old:) He is so.much.stinkin.fun! I love this little bunny with all my heart and can't imagine what I did with all of my time before him. Poor Layton...I dressed him up in his Easter gear and took a ton of pictures to get the perfect one with him smiling. You can't see his "real" ears in this picture but he now has he ear molds off and we are so glad. The ear molds made bath time and changing clothes tricky at times because you had to be careful not to knock them loose.

I love this picture with the look of shock on his face! Layton had his 2 month appointment last week and he did great! He weighed 12lbs and was 24 inches long. He is so big to me already....so tall still according to other kiddos his age. A lot of the time when we are at the store and someone asks how old he is they don't believe me when I tell them he is just over 2 months. At 2 months

Layton is:

*smiling- this will melt your heart....it does mine. I might be in trouble later when I can't resist that sweet smile.

*cooing and babbling- I have a TALKER on my hands. We sing and talk all day and it just cracks me up when I talk to him and he babbles right back. He loves to hear me sing and I make up the silliest songs during the day to entertain my little man.

*following objects and people- he loves his little play gym with all the fun sounds and lights. He talks to the whale and the octopus ALL the time. He is randomly without control grabbing at the colorful rings and it is funny to watch him catch them because he has not quite figured out how to release them yet once he gets ahold of them. I love that he now can focus on your face and follow you. It makes my day to walk up to where he is laying look him in the face and he just smiles so big right back at you.

*he stays awake for longer periods of time and is getting better at napping. He sleeps from about 9:30pm-7:30 am everyday and we are LOVING it! He started doing this at about 7-8 weeks and he has not stopped. Ever so often he will wake up around 5am and want a bottle and if he does he will eat and go right back to sleep until about 8am.

Look at that sweet sweet face:) I could just eat . him . up! We are spending Easter with a lot of family this weekend. Uncle Scott (Matt's brother) is coming into town and so is my sister and little Gray. Matt already has a big Easter egg hunt planned for Gray and we can't wait to watch her run around the yard looking for eggs. Layton has an adorable Easter basket that I could not resist ordering from Pottery Barn Kids....that company needs to stop sending that catalog to my house so much....it is hard to not buy stuff. We filled it with some books and a little candy that I am SURE daddy will finish off by the end of the weekend. Babs (Matt's mom) gave Layton a whole bunch of new books and Susu (my mom) gave Layton some new clothes from the Easter bunny.

Even though Layton is too little to know what we are talking about yet I read the story of Easter to him this morning. I think it was more for me than for him....I almost cried at the end thinking of what Christ did for us and how I can't wait until Layton can fully understand such His love for us. It is so precious to me to be sharing Jesus with such a small little boy and to prayerfully watch a seed grow in him.

Easter blessings to you,

Hey Layton....what ya been up to?

2010-03-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

Well friends I have been growing a lot this past month.... more details to come from my 2 month appointment later..... First I love being lazy with my dad on Saturday mornings while my sweet mommy gets a break. Here is me just hanging out watching basketball on TV. Mom says Dad and I are the best gifts the Lord has given her. I took my first trip to Houston to meet my Uncle Todd, Nana, Pappy, Scott and great Uncle and Aunt:) I did great in the car and can't wait to go back. Here I am with my Uncle Todd, Aunt Christy and Gray. I will soon have another girl cousin in June.....I can't wait!

Here I am with My great Uncle Joe and great Aunt Dianna...they LOVE to play golf. I sure hope they will take me on the links someday.

My mom and dad say I am destined to go to Texas Tech one day......I love sporting my Tech shirt. Don't you love the smirk on my face?

My mommy is going to post more about me from my 2 month check-up soon:)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

Layton wanted to wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Nana & Pappy here we come!

2010-03-03T09:34:00.000-08:00

I love this little shirt!! This weekend Layton, Matt, my Mom and I are venturing on our first road trip with the little man so he can meet Nana and Pappy (my grandparents). We are so excited for Nana and Pappy to meet our new addition. My sister and my aunt and uncle all live in Houston so it will be a fun trip visiting family. I think we might need to rent an 18 wheeler just to get all of the things to Houston that we need for Layton:) I am trying my best to pack light but the light part of his things will take up half the back of my suv:) Layton is so blessed to have not only grandparents but great-grandparents!! So fun! Nana and Pappy Layton can't wait to meet you!!!

Happy 1 Month Birthday Layton

2010-02-22T20:00:00.000-08:00

Mommy and Daddy love you sweet Layton! Happy 1 month Birthday!

I can't believe my sweet baby boy is one month old today! Wow...everyone told me the time would fly by fast...it seems to me like he should be about 2 weeks old. Layton had a great one month appointment today and is growing like a weed. Layton now weighs 10lbs 13oz and is 22 1/2 inches long. The doc says he is right on target with his weight and is in the 95 percentile with his height...looks like I might have a basketball player on my hands.

Here are some things I have learned about Layton this past month:

-he loves to cuddle....good thing I love it too!!

-he loves his paci...even when it is not nap time the boy loves to suck on his paci. That is why in most pictures he has it in his mouth.

-he does not like to nap much....I think he is like his mom and does not want to miss anything. I was a horrible nap taker as a child and did not take many naps at all after the age of 2. This can wear you out at times I must say. He does love to fall asleep in the car if I am running errands this is his preferred nap time:)

-he is such a laid back little boy...the Lord has blessed me with such a calm, sweet tempered child. Wherever I take him people ask me is he always this easy going and calm...I just say it is all I know....he came out that way:) I may be in for a big surprise someday if my next baby is a fussy one:)

We have been practicing some tummy time this past month. He does not seem to mind it and has not really cried to be turned around. I let him lay this way for about 5 minutes 3-4 times a day. We are working on not laying him on his back so much...because of his ear molds he does not really turn his head to the side and we don't want him to get a flat head:)

We had a hard time getting a good picture of him in his chair. I took his paci away for the picture and look who is trying to get those hands in his mouth! He was a good sport today since mom was snapping pictures of him left and right. I just can't seem to get enough:) Layton and I had a great day today with a visit to the doctor and then a trip to Target...our favorite place...well I don't know about him but I sure love it!

I can't wait for Layton to get his ear molds off. Dr. Byrd said that he may only have to wear them about 2 more weeks. We go to see Dr. Byrd once a week and he cleans Layton's ears and puts on a new pair of ear molds....they are high maintenance but we already see great improvement in his ears and we can't wait for him to be done with the molds. He is always so good at Dr. Byrd's office and usually sleeps through the whole thing believe it or not:)

I have the sweetest Daddy in the whole world...he stopped on his way home from work and bought me a Happy 1 Month old birthday cookie...I think Dad must have had a craving of his own and needed an excuse to buy a cookie cake! That is ok because Mom thought it was adorable. Thanks Dad!!

I am growing!

2010-02-10T14:58:00.000-08:00

Well our little guy is now 19 days old...I can't believe almost 3 weeks have gone by. Time flies when your days run into your nights and you don't even know what day of the week it is:) Matt and I are enjoying every minute with Layton....he has been such a good baby. He stays pretty happy most of the time. We took him to the doctor on Friday and he now weighs 10lbs 1 oz. He is growing out of his newborn outfits already! Here are a few pictures from this past week. Layton loves his new play mat. He will lay on it for about 20 minutes and just listen to the songs and look at all of the colorful animals hanging from the top. This mat allows mommy to do some housework and cooking since those times are now far and few between. I really must say I have never seen my house so clutter filled...one day I will have time to pick it up..I hope!

Layton loves bath time...he does not cry at all. Anytime I run water or do the dishes Layton will just listen with his eyes wide open. I think Layton's love of the sound of water may come from his mommy spending so much of her time pregnant in the water:) I went to water aerobics 3 times a week during my pregnancy and then took a bath every night. He is too cute in his little bath towel:) It is tricky to not get his ear molds wet when I bathe him so I can't wait until he does not have them anymore.

I love to watch him when he is sleeping...he just looks so peaceful. If only I could sleep that good:) I seem to sleep so lightly these days. I can hear all of his little noises at night. You can see his little ear molds up close in this picture. He got a new set of them on Tuesday and he is doing great with them.

It has been so cold that we have not gotten out much....only to go to the doctor a few times and out to eat. It is hard to dress such a tiny person in warm clothes that will not make him uncomfortable. Liz and David gave us this cute shirt and hat from Gymboree and it made a great cold Winter day outfit this week. He looked like a little lumber jack all day:) Thanks David and Liz!

LOL...I love this picture. His eyes are a little crossed in this one I know but his little face is just so cute. Here he is sitting in his daddy's lap watching the super bowl game.

Tomorrow we are going to brave the cold and head to Northpark mall before mommy goes house crazy!! Stay warm!

Wow what a week!

2010-02-04T19:09:00.000-08:00

Matt and I have had the best almost 2 weeks with our new little man. Things have been crazy, fun and busy busy around our house. We have had tons of visitors at the house and it has been so much fun. My sister and Matt's brother and wife came into town this past weekend and we had a fun time hanging out at the house and passing Layton around for everyone to love on. Here is a picture of Matt with his mom when she got to come over last Wed. to meet Layton for the first time. We came home from the hospital last Tuesday afternoon and by Wed. morning I was unfortunately sick as a dog. I was so blessed that Matt had off work and my mom was able to stay with me last week as I could hardly care for myself much less a newborn baby. Thankfully I got some good meds and I am feeling much better now. Matt and I have been so blessed by so many friends during this time. Several of the visitors brought such nice welcome home gifts. Marlyss (Matt's moms best friend) made this beautiful flower arrangement for us. I love having flowers around the house and this arrangement was so pretty to look at and thankfully it is still alive:)

My aunt Randee from Alabama sent this adorable cross with Layton's initials on it. I have it hung on his bookshelf and it matches his room perfectly. I just love items that are personalized. Thanks Randee!!

Here is sweet Gray with her baby doll as she refers to baby Layton. She called him a "her" all weekend but then would say that Layton was her brother. She was too cute all weekend with him and was such a big helper. My sister Christy is pregnant with her second little girl and we saw a glimpse as to what a wonderful big sister Gray is going to be. I love this little picture of them together.

I snapped this picture of Layton the other night right before he went to bed and I must say he looks like he is already praying:) Sweet boy!

Matt ordered this adorable stork for the yard this past week. It was waiting in the yard to greet us when we got home from the hospital. It was such a sweet gift for our welcome home and the neighbors were so nice about dropping by and bringing some homemade goodies for us to munch on.

Well last week was full of fun but it was also full of doctors appointments for both Layton and I. We came home on Tuesday and by Friday Layton had been to 2 doctors and Mommy had been to the ER:) So I must say it was a crazy first few days home. So if you have called and I have not called you back yet it is because things are just now settling down:) Layton had a great visit to see his doctor. While we were at his appointment the doctor did point out to us that Layton's ears were still not as open (like a flower) as they should be. So we were sent to a pedi plastic surgeon on Friday to have him fitted for some ear molds. He has to wear them for about 6 weeks but Layton does not seem to even notice they are on his ears. He slept through the whole procedure and he has not messed with them yet:) They just fit right over his ears and they are stuck on there with a special adhesive. Poor baby...I think they hurt his mommy more than they bother him:) Here is a picture of him with them on.

Layton Brooks Flesher

2010-01-25T06:12:00.000-08:00

Layton Brooks was born Friday, Jan. 22, 2010 via c-section at 5:38pm after a long day of fun labor:) Layton was quite the linebacker weighing in at 9lbs. 7oz and 20 inches long. Matt and I could not be happier. The love you instantly have for this little person is so strong and amazing. We just stare at him and don't like to be far away from him.....I am sure that changes once you are ready for date night to start back again:) Here is Matt holding Layton for the first time after he was all cleaned up. The sad thing about a c-section birth is that I had to wait about 20 minutes before seeing or touching my little guy....brought tears to my eyes to hear him but not be able to see him. Plus some added nurses and doctors came in to assess Layton because he was having trouble breathing when he was born....they think he was just stressed out from the labor and then the sudden c-section. He also could have swallowed a lot of the amniotic fluid on his way out.

Our first picture as a family of 3. Lovely picture of me but what can I say after about 10 hours of labor:) Layton is such a sweet baby and tends to be very laid back so far.....but he is still only 5 days old. He has light hair (not much of it) and blue eyes. He has the sweetest little face that I kiss on all day long. He loves to hear his mom and dad talking close by and he can't seem to get enough of me holding him. He also loves to be swaddled and put in his crib. We got to come home yesterday (Tues.) and it has been a lot of work. 5 days in the hospital can get a little old....Layton had some trouble feeding and got a little jaundice so we wanted to make sure everything was perfect before taking him home.

Here is my sweet husband reading Layton a bedtime story. My mom bought Layton a book and stuffed animal that is too cute. Matt read to my belly during my pregnancy so Layton calms down easily and loves to hear his Daddy's voice. Matt has taken the role of being a wonderful Daddy like a champ....makes me love him even more.

Sweet Layton sleeping the day away:) More pictures to come...........

Thank you for all of your prayers...we could not feel more blessed!

Matt, Lindsey and Layton

Little peanut!

2010-01-21T18:25:00.000-08:00

Well it is about 8:30pm on Thursday night and in about 8 hours I will be heading to the hospital to have precious Layton. When I look back on his 1st sonogram picture so many memories fill my mind of what the last 9 months have been like. I remember hearing his heart beat for the first time and being so joyful for how the Lord had blessed our lives. Matt and I can't wait to hold Layton in our arms tomorrow...what a gift! I am sure that Matt is ready to have a less hormonal wife soon but I hate to tell him that I will probably do more crying in the next week than I have my whole pregnancy....joyful tears, scared tears and tears for no reason I am sure.

Matt and I want to say thank you to all of our friends and family for all of the love, support and prayers that you have given Matt and I on this journey.....we can't wait for the journey that will begin tomorrow. The next time I post I will be a new Mommy....what a wonderful feeling that will be. Until tomorrow...........Happy Birthday sweet Layton!

Julie and her Julia's

2010-01-14T08:49:00.000-08:00

A few weekends ago my young & married community group decided to get the girls together for a yummy cooking lesson by the wonderful cook Kris Gurry! All of the girls in our group have a love for cooking or baking so it just seemed fitting for us to all cook together.....and we had a great time!! Liz made us all name tags that said Julie and Julia's...they were really cute. Kris taught us how to work with yeast. We each made our own fresh dough for some yummy pizzas to share with the guys. The guys all watched football for about 3 hours while we cooked away in the kitchen. Pictured above is: me, Liz, Kris and Katie.....we were missing a few of the girls from our group since we did this over the holidays. Here we are with our final products...all of the pizzas turned out great!

Kris teaching Katie how to "love" the dough:) Working with fresh dough was fun and it made me have more confidence to try to make different types of bread and not to be scared of the yeast:) We all wore aprons and as you can see from the pictures Katie and I had half aprons so that we could wear them over our baby bellies.

Liz and David have a great kitchen for cooking so we all had plenty of room to spead out and really have tons of room. Here is Katie after our brownie pizza mess.....we may have set off the fire alarm due to the brownie batter running off of the cooking stone....but I am not saying a word:) The guys got a kick out of the fire alarm going off:) We really had fun and we can't wait for another lesson from Julia aka "Kris"

Christmas fun with Gray

2010-01-13T11:11:00.000-08:00

Well it is now Jan. 2010 and I can't believe how time flies:) We are expecting little Layton any day now which is so exciting!! I went to the doctor yesterday and Dr. Campbell thinks he may come sometime this week. My last day of work was this past Friday and it was bittersweet. I can't wait to meet little Layton and I have had some great time this week to rest and get everything organized for his arrival.

Here are some pictures from right before Christmas when Matt and I got to keep Gray (my adorable niece) for about 5 days. Matt and I had so much fun with her......she wore this pregnant girl out! We made a ginger bread house one night that was a BIG hit with Gray. All she wanted to do was eat the candy of course:) One piece of candy for Gray one piece of candy for the house was about how the decorating went. We also drank hot chocolate out of Santa mugs which was so much fun!

Here she is with her finished house....so proud!! We had to finally put the house on the top shelf in the kitchen because she kept wanting to eat all the candy off of it:)

Another night we took Gray to Santa's village in Richardson. Every year Santa's village is open to the public right in front of the Richardson public library. She had tons of fun seeing all of the different little houses filled with either...Santa, Frosty, reindeer.... and even a princess. Matt is always so fun to watch with her....I know he will make a great dad just by watching him interact with little Gray. He took Gray to the grocery store with him twice and every time they came home he had bought something else for her at the store....I tell you he is a sucker for Gray!

Here is a cute picture of her playing in Susu's backyard. She had fun running around in the leaves and thankfully it was not too cold yet. We had not gotten the Texas blizzard weather yet.

Here is Matt and Gray sitting and reading Gray's new Mickey Mouse Christmas book....Gray LOVES LOVES Mickey mouse....and little does she know she is sitting with the famous Mickey Mouse from her bday party in Sept.

We had fun with you Gray.....come back and visit aunt JoJo and uncle Matt...We love you!!!!

Layton's bedroom

2009-12-29T18:40:00.001-08:00

Well finally after a lot of hard work by my Mom, Matt and I, Layton's room is almost finished. With about 4 weeks until my due date I am getting very anxious to meet our new little man and show him his room. I love the colors....the colors in the pictures are hard to see but the room has a very calm feeling. I used brown and a very light blue/green (on the walls) for the decor. The fabrics are a cute stripe mixed with a plaid and a toile fabric. My Mom was so sweet to make all of his bedding....right down to the cotton sheets. I had Layton's initials monogrammed on the fabric by a sweet mom at my school. I think his bedding turned out great!

I had such a fun time decorating his room....decorating is one of my favorite things to do so it was so much fun to redo another room in the house. Matt did such a great job on the dresser and the shelf in his room. We got the shelf from his Mom (I think the shelf was used in Matt's room as a child) Matt sanded down the shelf and then painted it to match the trim in the room. The dresser we bought off Craigslist for a steal and then Matt refinished the top of the dresser to match the stain on the bed. We love Layton's bed....it will grow with him as he grows older.

Layton's rocker is so comfy. We got it at a little baby boutique in Addison and it rocks and turns which is so nice. Matt did not want a small rocking chair...he wanted something that he could sit in and be comfortable.....plus we can use the chair later for other kiddos since the fabric we picked out is so neutral. The little foot stool is one that I am recovering at the moment with the toile fabric...it is an old stool that I love that I got from a yard sale. My Mom once again saved the day and made the table cloths and they look great next to the bed.

Here is the dresser that Matt helped refinish...I love it. I am going to hang some brown picture frames above the dresser but I am waiting for them to go on sale at Hobby Lobby:) I can't wait to fill the picture frames with sweet pictures of Layton.

Well that is just a little tour of Layton's pad:) Hopefully soon I will be able to post pictures of him in his room.

Layton's baby shower

2009-11-17T17:31:00.001-08:00

My dear friends Karla, Christy (my sister), Jenny, Jennifer, Sandy and Michele threw me a sweet baby shower a few weekends ago for Layton. I had lots of fun and got some wonderful gifts for Layton. It is amazing to me how many things you need to have a baby. Layton's room was pretty much empty except for decortations when everyone got there and when they left his room was full. What a blessing!!! Of course I am so proud of all of his new Texas Tech gear...thank you Susan and Leslie!! Matt also sent an outfit to the shower to show his love for the Dallas Cowboys...it was a really cute little outfit and had LAYTON's name on the back of the outfit. I know that Matt can't wait to watch football with his little boy. Layton already has so many little sports outfits it is kinda funny.

Here is a picture of the cute cake....so yummy I might add.

The food was all so yummy and all of the girls worked so hard on everything....what sweet friends that I have. Thanks to everyone that came to the shower and showered us with gifts...Matt and I feel so blessed. We can't wait to meet our little boy and share him with all of you.

Pictures of Layton

2009-11-15T13:10:00.000-08:00

Well friends I am still behind on my blogging...I just can't seem to get caught up! Working and being tired and pregnant leave me wanting to just sit and do nothing at the end of the day. I did want to show you 2 new pictures of Layton. I am 29 almost 30 weeks pregnant and I feel every bit of it. Everyone keeps telling me oh just wait...so I am waiting for it to get really uncomfortable but it is not a walk in the park right now either:) Here are two 4-D pictures they gave me from my appointment last Thursday. He is growing so fast...he actually is measuring big...he already weights 3.5 lbs...which scares me to death but at least he is healthy. Dr. Campbell predicts he will be at least 8lbs if not more.

They are hard to see but it is fun to look at them. I can't wait until I can actually see that sweet face and hold him in my arms. At least technology has advanced and it can give you a little sneak peek into the womb and see their sweet face. Coming soon...maybe today...pictures from the baby shower and his room.

2 of the best years of my life:)

2009-11-02T17:38:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, Nov. 3rd Matt and I will celebrate 2 wonderful years of marriage. I get so excited for special days but really every day that I spend with my sweet husband is a blessing. It is amazing to me that it has already been two wonderful years...they flew by so quickly but they were so much fun. Matt is such an amazing man of God and such a wonderful husband to me. I feel so blessed each day that the Lord brought Matt in my life....and what a gift he is. Matt and I have had a great year and it has been full of wonderful times and some tough times but all of our experiences make our marriage closer and stronger. I have tons of nicknames that I use for Matt so....BoBo, Bubbie and the many others names I have for you....I love you more and more each day. Thank you for always being there for me, always supporting me, always being my shoulder to cry on, always fixing things, all the late night chats, all the honey will you get me.....and most of all for loving me pregnant when I cry almost every day about something:) Matt I know you are going to be a wonderful father to Layton. I Love you!

Swine Flu!!

2009-10-09T20:51:00.000-07:00

Well guess what fun friend is visiting at our house....you guessed it the Swine flu! Matt and I had a weekend "babymoon" planned to San Antonio to stay on the River Walk but the pigs had other things in mind for us this weekend that involved me doing tons of cleaning and him laying on the couch for hours.

It all started on Wednesday this week with 3 kids in my class getting diagnosed with the Swine flu...it freaked me out a little only because I am pregnant and there is not yet a vaccine available for me to take to keep from getting it. So Wed. I called my OB and she prescribed me Tamiful so that I would not catch the Swine flu from the kids. They had my room at school sanitized and then I carried hand sanitizer on my hip like a gun:) Well Thursday Matt woke up and said he did not feel well and he was going to stay home from work. Ok...I thought no big deal, he probably has a sinus infection or something. Then at lunch time on Thursday he calls me at school and tells me he has the Swine flu and needs to stay 6 feet away from me at all times:) I mean are you kidding???...I don't want to go to work and I don't want to go home now either. So the doctor said we are not to sleep in the same bed or use the same restroom for at least 6 days:(

So there went the "Babymoon" and there went any kid of weekend spent with my hubby. I have cleaned and sanitized EVERYTHING in this house...twice!! He is sleeping in our guest room and using the guest bath. So fun for all:) Today I did a lot of shopping to avoid the house as much as possible...so this Swine flu might be costing him a pretty penny:) JK!! Hopefully his days of being contagious are almost over. I have never washed my hands so much or used so many cleaners that "kill the flu" virus in my life. At home now and at school I carry a can of Lysol like it is my best friend.

Happy Friday to all and enjoy your weekend in your Swine free home:)

Ahh...finally a routine!

2009-09-09T17:53:00.000-07:00

Umm this is a funny picture of Gray (my niece who I think it the cutest kiddo ever!!..of course till her cousin Layton comes into the picture). Gray's face in this picture pretty much sums up how I have felt over the past lets say 3 weeks. Going back to school has been fun but boy it has been a lot of work and I never thought I would work 12 hour days and be pregnant!! I am so glad that the first 2 weeks of school are over and things are slowing down and going back to my normal working hours. I feel more normal this week and not as stressed as I did those first few weeks.

I have a great class but I am sure looking forward to the day when Layton gets here and I can give this class over to someone else for good. I can only imagine that the bigger my tummy gets the harder teaching 1st graders is going to get. Already tying their shoes has become a problem..... I ask them to lift there leg up to me and hold on to me while I tie their shoe....they just look at me with this look like "what is wrong with you lady?"....lol...

Gray's 2nd birthday is this weekend and we are so excited. Matt has gotten roped into renting a Mickey Mouse costume from a local Costume store in Plano and he is going to be the star of the birthday party as your one and only Mickey Mouse....Gray's favorite!!! It will be fun to watch her reaction. Don't worry I will take pictures and post them after this weekend b/c I am sure Matt will look funny in the mouse suit.

Anyway...I have not fallen off the earth just been so very busy and so tired. I am 20 weeks pregnant already and boy is the time flying by...I can't believe the half way point is already here.

I still feel great and I have started a new maternity water class at Dallas Presby. The girls in my class are so much fun and it has been great exercise so far. Matt and I can't wait to see Layton again this Friday for another glimpse inside the womb.

Frogs and Snails and puppy-dog tails.........

2009-08-10T14:04:00.000-07:00

that is what little Flesher boys are made of. That's right!! Baby Flesher is a little baby BOY! What fun, what fun! Matt and I found out today that we will be the proud parents of a little boy. We are both so excited and we feel so blessed to have the opportunity to parent a son. When I think about our little boy I automatically think about what a wonderful father/friend that Matt will be to our son. Matt has such a love for kids and I know our son will be blessed to have such a wonderful Daddy. We are so excited we can pray for our little guy by name now........

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him." Psalms 127:3

Layton Brooks Flesher

Baby bed.....check

2009-08-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

Matt and I found a beautiful baby bed last weekend and yesterday when Matt had off work we went and bought it. It took us awhile to find the perfect one but, we both love it! This baby bed does like most baby beds now and converts into a full size bed for the future. Most of the time this bed takes up to 13 weeks to order but thankfully they had it in stock and we can pick it up next weekend. Now it will stay in the box for awhile till we get the room painted and such. Lots more items to buy but now one of the big ones checked off the list:)

Great finds!

2009-07-30T10:19:00.001-07:00

Last night my Mom, Matt (don't know how much fun it was for him) and I had a lot of fun looking through all of the baby stuff at the JBF sale. I got two great items for super prices. I got a new unopened rainforest bouncer for $30 (retail $60) and it is just adorable. I also got a gently used bath time set (pictured below) for $14 (retail $34). I was happy with the items I found. Not all of the stuff we looked at was of course worth buying but they did have some great finds. My mom got a grandmother pass to the sale and was able to get a great deal on a highchair ($27) and another bath time tub. She has all the stuff to keep babies at her house now. With Gray (my niece) we had to use a towel in the tub to bathe her and then feed her in her stroller when she came to visit...now my mom is ready. We were able to get Matt's mom a hardly used pack n' play for $40...great find!!

Matt and I find out on Aug. 10th if we are having a boy or a girl and we are so excited. It is too bad we don't already know because they had tons and tons of great buys on clothes for infants and kids. If you are in need of clothes and you don't mind digging for a bargain it is worth it. They are going to have a Just Between Friends sale in McKinney in Sept. so I will be looking for the dates on that sale for sure.

JBF here I come!

2009-07-29T10:40:00.001-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to shop! If you know me well you know that I live for big sales where you can save a ton of money on nice, cute, fun, and normally expensive stuff!!! Well last night at a dinner party I was visiting with a new mom and another pregnant friend and they let me in on a big Dallas sale that I had no idea about (must be some sort of Mommy secret) Its called Just Between Friends. www. jbfsale.com
Here is a link to a shopping diva video clip to tell you all about it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmkciMZmwrk

The sale is located at Mesquite Rodeo Hall and you can find directions and info on their website. The pre-sale is tonight from 5-10pm with a pass and then open to the public starting Thursday, July 29th- Sunday, Aug. 1st.

I was so excited to log on to their website last night and find a link for first time moms. If you are a first time mom (either pregnant or your baby is less than 1 year old) you can register for a pre-sale pass:) So of course I registered and my mom and I are headed out there tonight. I will let you know what sort of super stuff I find! My friend did tell me that she usually get clothes and other items for her kids for almost the whole year. Also if you are a mom that has a ton of clothes, toys or baby equipment that is new or gently used that you want to get rid of and make a little extra cash easily then you need to check out their consignment opportunities....it is so easy!

Happy Shopping:)

Friends and babies

2009-07-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

This week Michele gave birth to little Ashlynn Joy. She is too cute and was a tad early but doing great! Here I am with Sandy and Michele on Ashlynn's birthday. Little miss Ashlynn did not do a whole lot other than lay on her mommy and sleep.....I think that will be her job for awhile. This little cutie is Steve and Halie's little girl Cambry. She is about 2 months old and this was my first time to get to see her. She is so cute and is already growing like a weed. It is amazing how fast they grow and change. I am so glad that Steve and Halie stopped by the hospital to visit Michele b/c I got the chance to visit with them and see thier precious little girl.

Coldplay

2009-07-21T13:28:00.001-07:00

My sweet husband bought us tickets to go see Coldplay tonight and I can't wait. Matt and I both enjoy a lot of the same music from old country, rap, hip-hop (just me) and whatever else. It is great that we enjoy listening to the same kinds of music because then we are not fighting over the controls on the radio. Coldplay is just one of our favorite bands so I am excited to go and listen tonight. I am not too excited about being pregnant and in the Texas heat at night to see the concert but sometimes things come with a price right?? It should be a good concert.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5TNK-TvIcI

Picture of baby Flesher

2009-07-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

Well here we have a more recognizable picture of baby Flesher. I am 12 weeks 3 days along in my pregnancy. I have not felt sick at all which is a big praise. Matt and I had our appointment today for some prenatal testing so we got an extra sonogram. The sonogram doctor let us watch baby Flesher move around for about 20 minutes which was so fun! She said he/she was really active...jumping around a lot. She tried really hard to get him/her to turn over so that she could let us know the sex but baby Flesher and its profile but he/she was just not cooperating today. That is probably for the best so that I don't go crazy shopping for things. We will just be patient and wait until our 20 week appointment to find out for sure. I know that the sonogram picture is upside down but it is easier to see what you are looking at if I do that. I tried to label the parts that are the easiest to see in the picture. We are so excited and it was so much fun to see our little one so healthy with all of its parts and moving around. We can't hardly wait another 6 months.

Weekend get-away!

2009-07-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

Matt and I are excited! We are in need of a weekend get-away and Lake Travis here we come! We are leaving this Thursday and are bound for the Island at Lake Travis (in Austin) to enjoy some good time spent with family. We are meeting Scott and Shannon (Matt's brother and wife) and Christy and Todd (My sister and her husband) for a fun weekend at the lake. We are so excited and we know it will be a blast. Here is a picture of the resort. Matt and the boys will play golf on Saturday and the girls might make a trip to the spa. Of course Matt will just be driving the golf cart because he still can't bend over much less swing a golf club. We are looking forward to fun in the sun, lake and some good pool time. I still need a tan as we are half way through the Summer and I am still white!

I am sure I will have more fun pics of our weekend when we return. Matt goes back to the back doctor tomorrow for another check-up. We are praying that Dr. Banta says it will be ok for him to get in the pool and lake over the weekend. It will be one hot weekend for Matt if Dr. Banta says no:( Matt returned back to work full time and is doing great! He goes to nerve therapy still 3 times per week for his left foot and it seems to slowly be getting better. Thanks for all of your prayers.

Just trying to stay cool!

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

So the Texas heat has really set in and with days that inch towards and above 100 degrees a girl has to find a way to stay cool. Oh how I wish that my house had a real pool in the back yard but you find ways to do without. You would think that with my dad being a pool designer and bulider that I would have a beautiful pool in my yard....well all I need is the $30,000 to make it happen right??? Every morning at 7:30am I have been going to water aerobics and I LOVE IT! It is so fun and relaxing and cool that early in the morning. But....after I get home, run around town and then have lunch all I want to do is find some water and dive in! Well I won't be diving in this case.......... So here is the answer to my heat problem:) My own little blow up splash pool...LOL! I love it and it is the perfect size to just sit back in the yard and relax. Even Matt has put his lawn chair in the pool and gotten some rays with me....umm can you say white trash!! Oh well at least we are nice and cool. I got this little pool on sale at Target for like $15 bucks regularly $30 so I thought it was a deal. So if you are jealous and need some cooling off this Summer just call me and I can let you know what the Summer pool hours are at the Flesher house....or I totally understand if you want to visit your local neighborhood pool:)

4th of July Neighborhood Parade

2009-07-08T05:59:00.001-07:00

Matt and I love the 4th of July. It is such a day of celebration for our country and time spent with good food, family and friends. This year we started our day our by going to the neighborhood parade. All of the kids were so cute and Matt enjoyed seeing all the fixed up old cars. Here is a small taste of the parade. This is an old Richardson Fire dept. truck that they have restored. I liked it the most. It has an original old wooden ladder on the other side...it sure did not look very long:) It was neat to look at all the stuff they used to use. It is amazing now what a up to date fire truck looks like...they are so fancy now and have so much more stuff.

This man was adorable. He had a horn on his mini car that played little tunes for the parade. It was cracking me up. I love this kind of 4th spirit!!

I thought this little girl was so cute and she was really concentrating on riding her bike and keeping everything together. They had a little contest for best bike, car and dog of the parade and I think this little girl should have won!

We had a great 4th! After the parade we headed over to my friend Jennifer and Chris' house for Dylan's 2nd birthday party. It was a lot of fun and we enjoy spending time with them. This was the first year that Matt and I together or single had not gone to see fireworks. By the time the day was over I was beat and ready for bed. Hope all of you had a wonderful and safe holiday.

Turning in my jazzercise card for a water aerobics card:(

2009-06-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

Well I love love going to my jazzercise class each week for fun dancing, exercise and seeing my buddies but with my energy and ability to jump around decreasing I have turned in my jazzercise card for now:( I was looking through the Richardson parks & rec book and found a morning water aerobics class that looked to be perfect for getting some safe but good exercise. I went today for my 1st class and it was a lot of fun....now there was not any fun hip hop music to dance to but the people were really nice and the workout felt good. I was walking at night around the neighborhood but it is too stinkin hot outside these days for that anymore. So if you have never tried water aerobics it is really fun and the water sure did feel nice and cool for a workout.

Fun News!

2009-06-19T19:19:00.000-07:00

Well the word is out...Matt and I are expecting a baby due Feb. 1st 2010. We are SO excited and thrilled to be starting our family. The Lord has been so faithful to us and has answered our prayers for his timing on all of this. We are excited and can't wait to find out if it will be a boy or a girl. I think Matt would like a little football player and I would like a little girl to dress up:) Either way our blessing is on the way.

We are HOME!!!

2009-06-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

Thank the Lord we finally got to come home today and try and get things a little back to normal. Getting Matt home took up a lot of the day as it is almost 4:30 and I just sat down to relax. Matt had about 7 perscriptions that I had to pick up at the pharmacy and we had to get all of his equiptment in the house and set up.
I have gained a new respect for those spouses that have to care for people that are disabled...not that Matt is disabled but he is temporarialy unable to do much for himself besides sit up, sleep, eat and walk small distances. I am also thankful that a nurse is going to come to the house to help me care for him as Matt is a big guy and hard for me to handle by myself.

I have also spoken with the home health nurse and the physical theripist and they will be visiting him this week sometime. Matt will not go back to the doctor until next Tuesday. I am just glad to have him home. Matt is not able to do much for himself as he cannot bend, twist or carry anything over 5 lbs. He has homework to walk 4 times a day and sit in a chair for about 30 minutes 4 times a day. The walking really is hard for him and takes a lot of energy but he is getting so good. He is starting to get feeling and movement in his left leg again which is great! The doctor seems to think that if we give the nerves time to settle down from all the trama from the surgery that things will go back to normal. It has been a long extended week and we are so thankful to all of you for your kind words, calls and texts. Matt is excited that we are on the road to recovery and that hopefully next month he will be healed enough to go to Lake Austin with our families.

after the surgery (Sunday)

2009-06-07T08:37:00.000-07:00

The surgery went great and Matt had a pretty good day yesterday and this morning. He was not that sick from the pain meds and such after surgery so that was good. He had a horrible time with all of that after the first surgery. I spent the night last night at the hospital and I came home this morning to take care of the house and dogs. He has had a good morning already. He is moving VERY slow and is in some pain but he took a shower and put on some clothes:) He will have a PT in today to help him walk and do some exercises. Hopefully if things go good today we can go home tomorrow,....we will have to see. Dr. Banta is not going to make that decision until tomorrow. He said he does not want to send him home too early after the second surgery. He is still pretty weak and walks slow and is not able to do much for himself beside eat:) He still has a drain from the surgery but hopefully that will be able to come out tomorrow. He is able to wiggle the toes on his left foot and move it up some...which is better than before. The doctor said that the surgery would not be a quick fix so it may take some time for his left leg to begin to work properly. We have seen some small improvement so we were excited about that. I will have a nurse that comes to the house and a PT that comes and works with him so that will be good to have some help once I have him home. thanks for the prayers everyone!!

Surgery today

2009-06-06T07:04:00.000-07:00

Please pray for Matt today as he goes to surgery again at 1:00. The doctor said the surgery should not last any longer than 2 hours. They will open him up and take our the L-4 rod that seems to be resting on a nerve. They are also going to clean off any nerves that look like they have dried blood basically from his other surgery...that could be causing the problem as well. Please pray that this does the trick and his left leg starts working normally again. We hope to go home from the hospital on Monday.

Small set back

2009-06-04T20:12:00.000-07:00

Matt is starting to do better and has had to really hard but good days. Today he walked to the nurse station and back with the help of the PT. He said it took him about 20 minutes and it really wiped him out but he did it. He is eating better and the pain meds are not making him as sick anymore. We did get some news today that was not so fun but we are praying that everything will fix on its own. Matthew's left leg is not working the way that it should be...the doctors don't know if it is nerve damage during surgery or if one of the rods in his back is pressing against one of his nerves and causing the problem. They did a CAT scan on him today and it was hard for them to tell b/c of the swelling. They started him on a steroid pack today to see if it helps and some pain meds for nerve pain. Bless his heart he is on so many medicines. If the doc sees later this week that it is a rod they will have to go back in and repair the rod and he will be in the hospital probably until Monday. We are hoping that this does not happen as we are both tired of the hospital...him more than me. I miss having him home...and I can't wait for him to get to come home. Please keep Matt in your prayers that everything heals the way it should.

Matt Update

2009-06-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

I am sitting with Matt today and he is pretty tired and sick to his stomach. Yesterday was a long day and we are glad that it is behind us. Matt has to lay all the way flat for 24 hours because he had some spinal fluid leaking during the surgery. He also had some scar tissue that they had to get rid of so the surgery took a little longer than planned. Matt and I showed up at Presby. of Dallas at 9:30am yesterday and then he did not get into surgery until 4:25 and was in surgery until about 9:30pm. He stayed in recovery until about 11:15 and then was assigned a room. Today he is just going to lay on his back and then tomorrow they will get him out of bed and moving. He will wear a back brace for 2 months when he is out of bed and will go to physical therapy in a few months when he has healed. The doctor said the surgery went well and we should now be on our way to recovery it will just be a little bit of a long road. Thanks for all of your prayers for Matt and his back.

Poor Matt:(

2009-05-16T13:28:00.001-07:00

Well my sweet Matt won't be doing this for awhile:( Matt has been having some back pain for awhile now that has been tolerable but still painful. Well over Mother's day weekend his back went from just painful to horrible in just a day. He is now not able to sit or stand/walk for very long without intense pain shoot up his back and down his leg. He is scheduled for major back surgery on June 1st and we can't wait for that day to get here fast enough. Thankfully Matt has been to see the pain management doctor and now has some pretty strong drugs/muscle relaxers to keep him somewhat comfortable. He is not going to be able to go to work before the surgery b/c his is not able to sit up for very long. He then will be off work for 6 weeks after the surgery. Thank the Lord for good insurance.

Matt has degenerative disk disease which just basically means that eventually this was going to happen to him at some point during his life. The disks in his back just start to deteriorate after wear and tear faster than normal. I am sure the many years of playing football were not kind to Matt either:) The surgery that he is having is called an Anterior Lumbar interbody fusion. We are praying that this works for him and the surgery is successful. Because Matt is so young for this surgery they are not going to perform the surgery through his stomach but rather go through his back. It is still a scary surgery that will involve maneuvering around his spinal cord but we have faith that the Lord will take care of Matt during the surgery. If you think about Matt just pray for reduced pain and that everything goes as planned with his surgery.
Thanks!

Cirque

2009-04-26T14:54:00.000-07:00

Matt and I had date night last night and we had so much fun! I love it when Matt takes the time to plan a special evening for us that is extra special. We have our standard Friday night date but that usually involves me still in my work clothes and him in a shirt and jeans. Well usually once every month Matt will plan a special night and we get a little dressed up and we go out and do something fun. Last night we had dinner at The Cheese Cake Factory (with their yummy 30th anniversary cheesecake)

After dinner we headed to Richardson to the Eisman center for a wonder spin off of Cirque Du Soleil but called Cirque Soleil montage. It was AMAZING! I had so much fun and I have some much respect for what these people can do with their bodies!!! I mean it is good for me to be able to touch my toes and these girls and guys were bending and using thier bodies in ways I could not imagine. The Eisman center is really nice and I look forward to seeing some different shows there in the future. While we were there we also saw Adam Smith and a friend and Jen and Eric Hill.....fun times!

Just a Swing'n

2009-04-05T17:42:00.001-07:00

Matt and I had a relaxing weekend and spent some good time together just hanging out. On Saturday we went to Chair King and bought this new tree/porch swing:) We have such a beautiful and BIG Live Oak in our front yard and I thought that a swing would be the perfect touch to our yard. Matt and I spend a lot of time outside working in the yard and visiting with our great neighbors and now we have a place to sit in the front yard. I took several pictures of the swing. Thanks to my Mom, Matt, Todd and our neighbor Bryan the swing is now level and in just the right place. Matt and I tried to hang it by ourselves but our ladder was not quite tall enough to hang the right side of the swing....Matt suggested that I climb up the tree and hang out on the limb to hang it and I told him he married the wrong girl for that type of work:) Thankfully we did not have trouble hanging it but then when the guys had to cut off the extra chain both Matt and Bryan cut their fingers a little with the saw (not bad just a little cut.) I was laughing because just minutes before that happened the guys were telling me that they were professionals and they did not need me:)....until they needed a band-aide:)

This is an up close shot of the pillows I got at Marshalls on clearance! My house is a lovely shade of baby blue and until I find an extra couple of grand laying around it will stay this shade for awhile....so I am working with it....not gonna fight you baby blue:) These pillows were the perfect shade and they also had some other fun colors and a cute pattern so I got them for the swing and they add a nice touch.

Well you can call Matt and I old because now you might find us sitting in our front yard just swinging and watching the world go by from our front yard.

Yummy!

2009-03-28T11:37:00.000-07:00

Matt and I LOVE trying new fun places to eat and it has turned into a very fun activity that we do together for date night. We love trying new places all over Dallas and we have been to some cool, fun places. I could share so many places with you, and maybe one day I will make a list. Well this past Friday night Matt and I went to eat at a new hamburger place in Richardson called Twisted Root Burgers. They already have a location in Deep Elm that some of you may have been too but we were so excited to see one in Richardson! The burgers are so so good. They have awesome milkshakes and great sweet potato chips and curly fries. The restaurant was started by 2 friends that had a love for hamburgers and had just graduated from culinary school. They make their burger patties fresh and they have homemade mustard and spicy ketchup! If you have a love for good burgers like we do then this place is a must on you list of new places to try. We love how after you order they call you by celebrity names to come and get your food from the counter. They also encourage you to bring your own funny bumper sticker to hang on the wall....the guys that started this joint have a great sense of humor:)
http://www.twistedrootburgerco.com/ visit the website to see their store and check out the menu.

Big improvement!

2009-03-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

The family room is finally finished and Matt and I are so happy with the results. Now we have a new empty room in which we need to fill with furniture and decor. The paint color and carpet combo turned out great....I was a little nervous because you are picking colors and the swatches that they give you to choose from are so small .....it is hard to tell if they will look good together. This is the laundry area and then some linen/craft closets that are in the room. They did a nice job on the doors and I love the new look. For before pictures just check my older post below. This is and several of the other pictures are without the carpet. The carpet was installed right after I took these pictures.

The new crown/foot molding adds a nice touch to the room that it did not have before. It now has a more finished look and is a totally different looking space than it was just a few short weeks ago.

Here is a picture from the top of the stairs. Barbara (Matt's mom) has been letting us store our green couch in her dining room for about a year:) We were glad to finally give it a new home. It is the lonely only piece of furniture but hopefully soon we will find some chairs that we can recover. I already have some beautiful fabric that I picked out for chairs that I don't even have!! Oh well I could not pass up the sale that JoAnne's was having on fabric. Also my mom and I have been hard at work with the window treatments for this room. That is the black fabric that you see hanging on the back window....my mom and I wanted to see what the fabric was going to look like so we stuffed it up there to get a look. I am going to finish them this week and will post pictures when I am done sewing them.

LOL...this is another picture of the room....that is Matt's mess in the corner. He has taken up shop with his ab roller and surround sound. We are going to put the TV in this room in a few weeks when we get a entertainment center. Theynthe sound equiptment won't be on the floor:)

My sweet hubby spent the day a few Saturdays ago installing a new kitchen faucet for me. The old one was so 70's and it dripped all the time. I love my new faucet and I am so proud of Matt that he was able to fiqure out how to install it all on his own having never done it before...thank you Matt!

Family room...pardon our dust!

2009-02-14T21:10:00.000-08:00

Yucky.....well these are the ugly before pictures of what the first few days of the family room looked like after they ripped out the carpet and the paneling on the walls. This area above is where the washer and dryer live and the boxed area is where the new tile will go once they put in the new sub flooring.

This is the view of the back of the room before they took out the window. We did not want a window on this wall as this is where we are going to be putting the TV when the room is done. Pardon the washer and drying sitting in the middle of the room:) Also if you look above in the picture we are taking out the boxed lighting and we are having them replaced with can lights that you can see in the picture below. They look so much better than the trashy boxed lights that were in the ceiling.

Picture of the same wall as above but with the window now removed!! Good-bye window..hello wall:) They also finished installing the new backdoor which I love! It is so cute to see Ruger's sweet face in the window. You can also see that they have finished the drywall and laid the tile. They had to replace all of the flooring as the old that was under the carpet was in bad bad shape. Now the floor does not squeak when you walk on it!!

This is a before picture of the long wall in the room. They had to remove the drywall because of severe water damage.

Same wall but with new drywall and sub flooring. Excuse the chairs...I put them down here so I could make room for the new dining room chairs that I got today. Well that is all of the progress right now...they are coming back on Monday and should be finished by Tuesday or Wednesday. I can't wait until the painters come and the carpet is installed as it will be a totally different room:) More to come.....

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T20:55:00.000-08:00

I love Valentine's day...always have! Even in the good ole days of being single after college there is just something about a day to celebrate love and friendship that is so fun:) I love the colors associated with the holiday and who does not LOVE chocolate and an excuse to eat it!! This Valentine's was fun as Matt had a special week planned. I love when he thinks of small things to do on his own that shows how much he cares. He was so sweet to send me an email each day this week that read..."Monday's reason why I love Lindsey; Tuesday's reason why I love Lindsey...etc. Each day I looked forward to getting the next email. On Wednesday I got a nice surprise when the secretary at my school brought down a beautiful bouquet of tulips (my fave!). A little elf named Matt had just dropped them off and left them in the office for me:)

This Valentine's day we kept it low key. We have started the big project of remodeling our family room ( I will post some beginning pictures in the next post) so of course I am obsessed with paint colors, fabric and furniture for the room at the moment and can't take my mind off of it. So with Matt knowing that we spent the day today running around town checking out furniture and fabric (a beating to Matt I am sure but he acted like he loved it all). We found some great buys and I am so excited about the room coming together. We ended the night with some yummy pizza from Campisi's.

My Etsy Store!

2009-02-01T20:11:00.000-08:00

Well girls its official I have now started my own little (very little) home business. I am calling myself Sew Bella Designs and I am monogramming and appliqueing baby items and clothes. I got my new monogram sewing machine about 10 months ago and I have been taking lessons and practicing with different things off and on. I recently joined an embroidery club and I go to classes once a month. It is a lot of fun and it gives me a creative outlet:) I love having something to design and have fun with. I opened an account with Etsy (it is a website that is kinda like ebay but it is strictly for homemade crafts and goods) and soon I will be posting these cute Valentine's outfits. Here are a few of the Valentine outfits that I have made so far (side note...I did not make the clothes just appliqued the zebra hearts on the outfits). Soon you can check out my etsy store at http://www.sewbelladesigns.etsy.com/

Sweet Ginny

2009-01-22T19:15:00.000-08:00

Yall my heart is heavy as I got news today that my friend Ginny from my Bible study went to be with the Lord today. I had plans of going to see her tonight at the hospital but learned on the way to dinner that she passed late this afternoon.....yall my heart sank. It is always so sad and can seem so unreal when someone you know and are used to seeing is no longer with us here on Earth. Ginny is about my Moms age and she has 3 kids around my age or a little older. Ginny always hit home with me in Bible study because she has a daughter about my age that is a teacher and Ginny was a single mom and did a wonderful job as a mom, friend and follower of our Lord. I know that Ginny is now walking streets of gold and in a wonderful place. It is just hard to let go of people that you love and that you love being around. We will always hold sweet Bible study memories of her. Ginny suffered twice with cancer and I never saw her say anything negative about her experience. She always wanted to know what was going on with YOU and how YOU were. What a precious person that she was that I know we will miss her dearly. Ginny I know you are in Heaven looking down on us and smiling......we love you girl and we already miss you!

I can't wait!

2009-01-21T19:43:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago when I had the luxury of being off work for the holidays I took some time out one day to work in the yard. I started my day out with a trip to Lowe's to find some tulip bulbs. My mom used to be a landscape designer when I was young so she had told me if I wanted tulips for the Spring that I had better get them in the ground in late December or early January. When I was at Lowe's they were having a GREAT sale on the remaining tulip bulbs that they had in stock. Bags of tulip bulbs that had regularly been $5.99 a bag were on sale 75% off and were about $1.50 a bag! That made me super excited as my first plan was to just plant a few bags and scatter the blubs in a small area....well with the big sale I was able to buy 8 bags with 12 bulbs in each bag. I was able to plant tulip bulbs all the way across the front flower bed of my house. I planted a total of 96 tulips and I.can't.wait for them to bloom in the Spring. I did leave with a wound from the day.....my hand had a bruise in the middle of my palm for about a week. I guess this Spring I will be able to see if it was all worth it:)

Take a look at this precious thing!

2009-01-20T17:43:00.000-08:00

I mean are you kidding....how do you get any more precious. than. this! This is my niece Gray. She was here at Christmas and this happens to be a picture that was given to me while she was here. She is growing up way WAY to fast and she is ALL over the place. It is amazing to me that not too long ago we were all anxiously awaiting her arrival and now she is running down the sidewalk and yelling "no"! Gray is just about 16months old and doing so much. I LOVE when she comes to visit and I wished she and her family would move to Dallas:) I love the smile she has on her face in this picture because that is exactly how she looks most of the time. She is too funny. She is a Rowland girl for sure with her bald head and blonde hair....but I love the bow accent on the bald head....gotta have a bow! I have some more pictures of her at Christmas that I need to post.....she was too cute pulling her new baby and stroller all over the house.

senseless TV but I am hooked!!

2009-01-19T16:53:00.000-08:00

ok. ok. So I need help....every Monday night I speed (don't tell the cops) home from Jazzercise so I can make it home for the Bachelor. You would think after 13 or so seasons of this show I would be done....but the lure continues. I don't watch much TV at all expect maybe a little on the weekend..... so why does this dumb show with DUMB women and shallow men have me so glued....I have yet a clue. I think this seasons Jason is a nice guy and I am sure he will find the love of his life....I mean "week" but until then I will be watching and making fun of every episode. Ok...well it is straight up 7:00 and its Monday night so you know what that means...I gotta go!! Happy watching for all you fellow bachelor fans:)
p.s. If you like reading Lincee's recaps from the Bachelor you can find them here http://Ihategreenbeans.com - they leave me laughing each week!

New Year....new job!

2009-01-09T18:48:00.000-08:00

We have some exciting news in the Flesher house....no.....no babies yet! Matt got a new job and come mid January will be working for Raytheon. We are excited about this transition and looking forward to new opportunities for Matt. Matt has loved working for Perot Systems the last 6 years and has made some great friends which I know he will miss seeing from day to day. Perot has been a great company to work for and one that holds many memories for Matt. Matt and I have been praying about different opportunities for him to grow within his field and this new job at Raytheon really just fell in our lap. We are so thankful how the Lord knows exactly what we need and when we need it. Matt will still be in the Supply Chain department like he was at Perot but instead of working mainly with contracts he will transition again to a Sr. Buying Specialist. We are excited and just wanted to share our fun news with all of our friends and family.

Master bathroom finished!!

2009-01-02T19:09:00.000-08:00

Before the redo....I HATE WALLPAPPER!! I will never put it up in a house because it is so hard to take down. Under the wallpaper was this lovely color of mint green:) with a yucky layer of sticky glue:(

Good-bye yucky bathroom nice knowing ya!

Hello new bathroom!

This is a much nicer place to get ready in the morning:) My thanks go to Matt for all of his hard work. We finished this minor overhaul in just 3 days.

Matt and I spent some time during our Christmas time off working on our master bathroom. Our house seems to be under constant change which is a good thing. I have been staring at ugly wallpaper and fixtures for 6 months now when getting ready in the morning and now I have something prettier to look at. Matt and I have so much fun working on little projects like this. Today we had a contractor come out and take a look at our built on room in the back of the house. It you have been to our house and seen it it is a sight for sure....we are looking forward to starting the overhaul of that room sometime in Feb/March. Fun times at the Flesher house.

Go Tech!!!

2009-01-02T11:50:00.000-08:00

RAIDER....POWER!!! Matt and I are so excited to watch Tech play today in the Cottonbowl. Get you GUNS UP!!!

And the stockings were hung by the chimmney with care.....

2008-12-13T18:49:00.000-08:00

Well I am finally done decorating for Christmas! I would like to say that "its beginning to look a lot like Christmas" at our house but Matt refers to the house as it looks like it threw up Christmas....I love Christmas and this time of the year is so much fun for me. I am sure Matt is tired of dragging boxes out of the garage and hanging lights and such....and just as soon as you get it all up it will be time to take it all down.

Tada! That is what this Santa looks like he is saying:)

The mantle and stocking are my favorite part to decorate. This year I got one more new stocking. I just need one more for Matt....he still has the felt stocking and the rest of the stockings are for Molly, Rugar and myself. I just have not found the perfect one for Matt yet but I hope to soon.

Look at these two little love birds....just kidding...when they are not fighting over food or our attention they can be quite precious! Molly has always been good at looking at the camera and staying still while I take a picture....Rugar on the other hand kept getting up and looking away from me. After many attempts this one was the best. I think it looks like Rugar is giving Molly a little Chirstmas kiss.

Our tree...I finally started wrapping presents today so that the tree did not look so bare underneath. I have only 4 more presents left to buy this year and then I am DONE!!! I am so excited. This year has been so nonstressful because I started Christmas shopping in July. After last year, when the shopping almost killed me I swore that I would never do that again. After a trial run of shopping early and taking the stress out of finding gifts it has been such a nice month. I suggest this to all if you have not done it before.

Uppercase living fun! I ordered a "Merry Christmas" sticker for the door and it looks so cute. They are so easy to apply and to take down. I am having so much fun with their stuff. If you are interested in buying some of their fun items contact Michele Cone she is now selling Uppercase Living!!

And the winner is......................!!!

2008-12-11T14:26:00.000-08:00

You guessed it....us!! The 2008 Heights Park neighborhood holiday lights winner is 600 Greenleaf!! We found out last night and tonight they are coming to take pictures and interview the proud owners so that they can put a blurb about us in the next neighborhood newsletter. I know... I know.... Matt and I are such dorks but we really did get excited.....we were laughing outloud since last year we won the contest at our apartment and this year at our house. Fun times!!

Thanksgiving at Nana & Pappy's

2008-12-06T07:51:00.000-08:00

After we had Thanksgiving in Dallas we drove to Houston to spend time with my side of the family. It was exciting because for the first time in a few years EVERYONE in the family was together for the holiday. I usually see everyone throughout the year but at different times and this year everyone was in the same room. It was really special and we took a family picture. Here are just a few pictures from our weekend in Houston.

Baby Gray getting so big. She is running and talking. She can say please, cheese, bye-bye, Momma, DaDa, Nana and a few other things. It is always so fun to see her.

This was so funny....Gray had already had some dessert and was just walking around the room and she found Pappy and his sweet dessert. It took her about 1 second to want a bite and then she did not stop. Pappy was so sweet to share his dessert and we thought it was simply precious. She stood right by his legs for a few minutes and downed his dessert.

I love this picture!

Here are the guys....again watching football. And of course there is baby Gray in the picture all grins....she thought that I was taking a picture of her. She is too funny and almost all grins ALL the time.

The whole family!! From left to right : Top row- Matt, Lindsey, Christy (my sister) Gray, Todd, Uncle Joe (My moms brother), Aunt Dianna, Scott (cousin), Aunt Nancy (my moms sister), Uncle Mark. Bottom row: Pappy, Nana, Bryan (cousin), Todd (my brother), and my mom Susan:) I love this picture and it will make lasting memories for all of us.

Thanksgiving with the Flesher's

2008-12-03T18:28:00.001-08:00

Matt and I are so blessed and we have so many things to be thankful for. We celebrated 2 Thanksgivings this year. One here in Dallas with Matt's family and my mom and then another one in Houston with my extended family. Thanksgiving for Matt's family was at our house so I had the pleasure of fixing my first turkey!! I got a wonderful recipe for a basting and the turkey turned out so juicy....one of the best I have had I might say.

I am thankful for yummy desserts. Of course you can't have Thanksgiving with out good desserts with tons of calories. Here is my chocolate pumpkin cheesecake that I made. By the time everyone arrived the table was full of all kinds of pies.

We are thankful for good football and fun brother bonding time. I think Matt and Scott sat in this position ALL day as they watched every football game possible and then rented 2 movies and watched those.

Here is my sweet hubby carving our first turkey. He did a fine job I might add. Look how cute he looks in that apron!!

beautiful golden turkey....yum yum!! It is funny how much stuff you don't have and have to buy when you fix your first turkey....roasting pan, serving dish, meat thermometer, turkey bags, basting tool etc.....

I decorated my table in simple browns and greens. I had so much fun hosting Thanksgiving. I love starting and continuing family traditions. Now that I am married and have a home of my own it has been so fun to make things ours and to start traditions. I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with friends and family. I am so thankful for everything the Lord has blessed our life with.

Yard of the Month......we hope!!

2008-12-01T18:08:00.001-08:00

Well after 2 nights and 1 day of hard work we are finished with our yard. Matt and I recieved an email from our HOA before Thanksgiving that it in a few weeks it is time for the annual Heights Park Christmas lights contest. Well Matt and I heard contest and we went running to the garage to drag out all of the Christmas lights and yard art. After 2 trips to Walmart, 3 trips to Hobby Lobby and 1 trip to Lowe's we are done and pleased with the results. The contest is on Dec. 8th and the judges are going to go caroling around the neighborhood and end at a neighbors for hot chocolate. As many of you know Matt and I won the grand prize at our aparment porch decorating contest last year and won $200. This year our goal is the big sign that reads "yard of the month"!!! Happy decorating to everyone...........here is a picture drive by of our house.

Anniversary Trip

2008-11-28T10:12:00.000-08:00

Well it has been a few weeks since we took a small trip to Mineola,Texas for our anniversary trip. Matt took me to Canton for the weekend and then we stayed in a bed and breakfast in Mineola,Texas. It was such a relaxing trip and we really enjoyed the quality time together. I got some yard art and some Christmas decor for the house so I am excited to get it up now that we are past Thanksgiving. The owner has such a neat story to go with the house and her grandparents are the original owners of the house. We enjoyed our stay and Mineloa is such a cute little town.

Art Love show downtown

2008-11-25T19:28:00.000-08:00

This may look like some random pictures but they are actually pictures of my Dad at an art show showing off some of his work. Some of you know that my dad is very talented in his ability to draw.....I like to think that the creative side of me must come from him. He was invited by his neighbor to show his drawings in a small art gallery off Taylor street in Downtown. Matt and I spent Saturday night at the gallery supporting him and checking out all of the artwork of the other artists at the show. It was fun and my dad had a ball. This is not my Dad's job this is just his love on the side. A lot of his work just hangs in his house for everyone to enjoy. We were proud that we were there to be at his first show off party:)

What a wonderful year!!

2008-11-03T15:32:00.000-08:00

Today Matt and I celebrate our 1st year of marriage. Oh my what a wonderful year it has been. I love Matthew to pieces and I am so thankful to the Lord all the time for bringing Matt into my life. Our first year of marriage was so fun....I have so many things to be thankful for and everyday good or not so good I get to spend with the man I love. This is just a short list of the things I find most lovable about my man....

1. He loves the Lord and his prayers for me and our family are so sweet

2. every evening he makes me a glass of ice cold water for my bedside

3. every morning without fail he kisses me on my cheek and says "good morning beautiful"

4. he loves dogs just like I do and we have so much fun with Rugar and Molly....and he really does an awesome job taking care of Molly....she can be a handful at times:)

5. He loves kids and really wants one!

6. the way he provides for our family and takes care of our finances

7. he is the best lawn man a girl could ask for.....our lawn always is kept

8. he helps me clean up the dishes after dinner and then takes me on a walk around the block and talks to me about my day.

9. he listens just when I need him to listen and helps me when I need his help

10. He is never too busy for me

11. He reads to me at night and prays for our day before we go to bed.

12. He loves Canton!! and carries all of my things when we go.

13. He opens my car door all the time and is such a gentleman

14. He takes me on date nights each Friday night to a little resturant to eat and just enjoy each other

15. He loves me!

16. He lets me decorate our house however I want....and loves it!

17. He has the biggest grin on his face each day when he walks home and first sees me.
18. He laughs at all the many silly things that I do
19. He loves Texas Tech football and we cheer for them together
20. too many more to list:)

Yall I could go on and on!! I love you Matt and I look forward to each day spent with you.

All done!

2008-10-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

Well the guest bathroom is finally finsihed and I am thrilled with the results. We finally were able to use the guest bath this past weekend when we had some friends over for dinner. We are done with remodeling until after the new year. I need a break from all the dust!! The holidays are coming and we know that the weeks are only going to get crazy before Thanksgiving & Christmas. I am really happy with the colors in the bath and the tile and sink that we picked out. It was so fun to take this 50's bathroom from pepto pink to the new teal and brown decor.

Sweetest, cutest candy corn you have ever seen!

2008-10-29T18:43:00.000-07:00

Well little Gray bird is a little over 1 and I still think she hung the moon. Here is my newest picture of her in her Halloween getup! She is going to be a candy corn for Halloween. I love how her little sweet face sticks out of the hole. I wish I could be with her to go trick-or-treating....I am sure she will be adorable!! I love you Graybird!

Weekend in Port A

2008-09-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

Scott, Shannon, Matt and I spent last weekend in Port Aransas in South Texas. We had a great time and enjoyed relaxing by the pool and hanging out on the beach. It was amazing that hurricane Ike had left this city untouched. You could see that some people had boarded up their homes to prepare in case the hurricane came their way but they were lucky it did not. Everything was open for business and we had a great time. Here is a picture of Scott and Shannon.....too cute:)
Here is Matt and Scott (who is running like a girl I might add) going out to the sand bar to look for sand dollars. We found a lot of them....and whole ones. When we got back to the condo Scott put them in some bleach and we had some to take home. The weather was nice...not too hot at all and only the pool water seemed a little cool at times....the ocean was just right.
Here is Darrell and his other brother Darrell....jk! These two both started to fix their hair when I said I was going to take a picture of them.....they are such girls! but we love them:)
Matt and I standing on the dock before heading out to the beach. We had a fun time catching up with Scott and Shannon.....we love being around them. Thanks Scott and Shannon for the invite. We loved the sea food and good times!! Well Matt and I are putting our flight wings away for this Summer....I think we are done traveling for a little while. We had a great Summer filled with fun adventures. I must say that traveling is one of our favorite things to do together.

Cutest Baby turns One!

2008-09-26T20:59:00.001-07:00

Our sweet niece Gray turned one on September 13th. We cannot believe how fast that year went by. She has gotten so big and so much fun all at the same time. Yall she has the best personality and the cutest smile that just melts your heart. Matt and I and my mom were to travel to Houston for her big birthday bash but because of hurricane Ike all of my family came to Dallas for a smaller version of the party. We had a mexican dinner and yummy cake....I know Gray would agree....she loved it all!! Here is her adorable hat that I got her.....she wore it but not long enough for me to get a good picture, so here it is:)
Here is Matt and Gray.....she is getting so tall. She loved being in uncle Matt's arms. She was so calm whenever she was sitting with him.
Here is the birthday princess singing card that my Dad got her. She loved opening and closing the card and listening to it sing. She would just stare at the card and then start dancing. I think it entertained us all for at least 20 minutes.....we were laughing so hard at her. She loves loves to dance. I think she gets her dancing skills from her aunt Lindsey:)
Yummy...."mom I can't believe you are letting me do this"- she kept sticking her hands into the cake and then looking at all of us as if to say are you sure this is ok???....this is too good to be true!! It was too funny. We put her in the middle of the table and let her go to town. She was so funny to watch. Don't worry we had our own cake to share although her cake tasted the best.

Here is sweet Gray and Nana (my grandma). My Nana and Pappy were in Dallas for 2 weeks after Gray's birthday because they were without power in Houston at their house. Thankfully all of my family did not have any major damage to their homes and they all got out of Houston safely before the storm. We enjoyed their visit and can't wait for everybody to come back. Happy birthday Gray!!! We love you!!!

Baby Madeline is here!

2008-09-04T18:56:00.000-07:00

Our dear friends Chris and Jennifer just welcomed thier first baby Madeline Paige this past week and we were so excited to share in their joy. Chris is one of Matt's best friends.....they have been friends since high school. Matt really enjoyed getting to see baby Madeline and I think my husband has baby fever. It was adorable to watch him with Madeline and I know he will make such such a loving father someday. Here are some pictures from the hospital. We love you Madeline and can't wait to see you again!

Ok...I am back people!

2008-09-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

Well Matt and I are still alive:) I feel like I have not blogged in awhile. I had no idea how busy moving and then starting school would make me. I am just now trying to get back to normal. The house seems to come more together each week. We still have a long way to go but at least we are living in the house and enjoying it. These are just some random pictures I have taken over the last two weeks. As you can see in the pictures we don't really have any window drapes yet so the windows look kinda plain.....I had to take down all of the ugly drapes that we up on the window and now I have to decide what to put back up there:) Here is a picture of Matt in the Living room....this room and our master bedroom are the most finished rooms so far.

Living room facing the kitchen. If you look close you can see the kitchen..we just had it painted olive green (but I don't think I have a picture of that yet)
Here is the guest bedroom...it is a light yellow color...it is like sunshine in there:)

Here is our bedroom standing at the door. You can see where I took the drapes down....now I have to figure out what to put up:) I did not take a picture of the kitchen, office or the family room since they are still a big mess.

Well here is the bathroom mess......fun stuff huh:) We are still in the process of getting the right contractor with the best bid to start working on it. Hopefully we can start work on it within the next 2 weeks. I would love to have more people over and have a place for people to use the bathroom. I can't wait to see the final product when it is finished!! Ok well I will post more as we keep working.

Our house is slowly coming along

2008-08-10T20:31:00.001-07:00

old hallway look with 2 tone faded paint and carpet. Freshly painted doors, trim and walls....much better:)
Sandy....you are the best for coming and helping us paint that fun detailed molding

New kitchen floors
Old kitchen floors.....yuck:) so glad those are gone!
Old carpet and the starting of the new paint color...I am so happy with how the color turned out. It was harded than I thought to pick good paint colors for large rooms. Freshly painted living room with newly finished hardwood floors

Well the house is coming along. We have had a lot of great help and some hired help and it is starting to look more like our home than a 1950's old house. The hardwood floors are done!! Yippie:) The painting is part way done.....all the major areas are finished (like our master bedroom and the living room areas.) The guest bedroom and office will have to wait until after we move in to be finished....we are moving in this Thursday so we are in crunch time!! Thanks so much to my Dad, my Mom, Matt's mom Barbara, Jan, Sandy and the countless workers that have helped to make the renovations go faster for our move in date. We could not have done it without you. I will post more pictures soon....the hall bath is totally a mess. We had all of the tile removed (it was pink and mauve) and we are still in the process of cleaning up that mess and fixing the bathroom.

Cabo 2008

2008-08-09T16:46:00.000-07:00

Matt and I had a wonderful time with Chris and Jennifer in Cabo. It was a perfect getaway right in the middle of our house renovations....of which I will post pictures of that fun mess in a few days. We needed a small break from all of the work. We fell in LOVE with Cabo. It is so beautiful there. I have been to several cities in Mexico and this is by far the prettiest location in Mexico I have seen. It is very mountainous and has very pretty scenery all around. Here are a few pictures from our trip. We can't wait to visit again. Thanks Chris and Jennifer for sharing your wonderful resort with us.

Matt and I on the sunset cruise. They took us near "Lovers beach" and the famous arch.
View of the city from our resort.

Chris and Jennifer before we went to dinner at Cabo Wabo...which by the way serves delicious food.
We visited the glass blowing factory where they produce a majority of the blown glass that we purchase from places like Pier 1. It was very cool to watch. This man was making a glass fish.
Jennifer and Chris on the sunset cruise.
Picture of the pirate ship we went on at dusk. The pirate show was kinda cheesy but the scenery was great!
The famous arch near lovers beach. The picture does not do it justice.

This is the Palmilla Golf Club....which was designed by Jack Nickalus, where Matt and Chris played golf. It was absolutly beautiful. Jennifer and I were their caddies for the day. The scenery was worth the long 18 holes of golf that they played. It got very hot at times but Jennifer and I had cold hand towels to cool off.
Chris and Matt with a cactus on the course. They were all over the place. We also saw some sort of lizard and then lots of little chipmucks....they were so cute and very fast.
Umm......the best golf cart driver ever!!

One of the prettiest holes backed right up to the ocean.

Matt's great swing...... keep your head down honey.

Matt and I in the infinity pool. In the far left corner you can see a little ship. We went on that Pirate sunset cruise one night and it was a lot of fun.
This was the view from our balcony. It was neat to watch the cruise ships come and go over the week. There was also a big shopping market place across the street where we could do some local shopping for goods and fun stuff.

Matt took this picture. Cabo is very popular for Marlen fishing. They would hang fish up all day. It was the start of heavy Marlen fishing so there were plenty of fishermen and thier catches to be seen all day. Next time we go Matt wants to go out on a fishing boat. Instead of fishing the boys opted for playing golf near the ocean. We had a great time and the week was so very relaxing. I wish I could look at scenry like that all the time. We are now back to the grind of the house renovations and wait till you see the before and after pictures of the house. It is coming along.....still not anywhere near done but getting a little face lift. More pictures to come soon.

Cabo here we come!

2008-07-20T12:54:00.000-07:00

Matt and I are leaving Sunday for a relaxing week in Cabo. We are so excited and ready for relaxing time on the beach. We will be traveling with our fun friends Chris and Jennifer. It will be a nice relaxing time before the big move into the house and renovations that we will continue when we return. Matt is excited about playing golf near the beach at a really nice resort. Jennifer and I are looking forward to our day at the spa. Pictures to come when we return.

The Countdown is On!

2008-07-15T18:06:00.001-07:00

Matt and I are getting so excited about the house. We officially take ownership next Thursday....that is 9 days from now! We can't wait. It seems like forever since we first saw it and put a contract on it. Matt and I will spend the first few weeks painting and having the wood floors redone so we won't move out of our apartment until about mid Aug. We will be spending a lot of time working on it before we move in. So if you have this burning desire to help us paint....we are ready to give you a paintbrush!! I have picked out a color for the living room and for the master bedroom that I think will look great! Here are a few more pictures that I promised weeks ago of the inside of our house. Sorry for the old furniture look the 80 year old owner nicely let me take these pictures of her house when we went to look at it. Now I am sure all will look a lot different by the time any of you see if but this will give you a little peek inside. I will post more pictures as we start the painting and such so you can watch the progress.

The pictures are of: dining room, living room, kitchen (eating area), kitchen

It's Sunday but Monday's coming:)

2008-07-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

Some days you just have that ahh moment in church that leaves you feeling you want to lay at the feet of Jesus. Today was that day for me. As I sat in Church and listened to the guest speaker I felt as if God and I were the only ones in the room and he was speaking to just me. The Lord has blessed me with so much and yet my heart feels so heavy for some of the people in my life and situations around me that are so beyond my control. Gosh how often I grumble at the Lord for different things in my life but today I am reminded that God is not ready to get me to the END of whatever it is as fast as I am ready to get there. I should be trusting and praying rather than grumbling about whatever. I know that God will always provide for Matt and I and that his timing is so perfect. So often I think to myself..... if I could only see 1 year ahead or just get a small glimpse of the future....but that is not what God intends for us. Today I was so reminded why God draws us to depend solely on him for everything. He longs for us to solely depend on him for everything and to draw us close to him.....even the small things we think we can handle. I get so busy that I tend to forget how big my God is and how much he dearly loves Matt and I. As Matt and I walk through this life we learn to trust him more and more each day. We learn so much when we just trust him and let go. I pray for all sorts of situations all the time and I know that God will heal all of the worries I have in His time and in His way. My heart is so full and I am so thankful for everything in my life. I love Sundays and how we visit the Lords house and praise him. Sunday are so comfortable and feel so at home with the Lord.....but I know Monday is coming and I pray that what I declare to the Lord every Sunday is how I live my life on Monday-Saturday:) The Lord is so so good yall!

4th of July at Cedar Creek Lake

2008-07-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

Matt and I and his Mom took a trip to Cedar Creek lake to the Skipwith's lake house over the 4th. We had so much fun enjoying good 4th food and TONS of fireworks. The Skipwith's have a great lake house right on the lake with a wonderful view of the lake. We spent the day visiting, boating, fishing and soaking in the hot tub. The guys took a trip to the local fireworks stand and got the tools to give us a great fireworks show that night. We watched fireworks for almost 2 hours....and they were still going off when we left!! I must say it was one of the prettiest firework shows I have ever seen...and the most relaxing. I have seen a LOT of shows but seeing the fireworks over the water all across the whole lake in continuous action was the neatest thing. They had a patriotic CD playing and we just got to relax on the deck and watch the fireworks to music. Of course my husband was out there with the rest of the guys shooting the fireworks off the deck like a kid.....and I just worried half the time that someone would lose an eye or a hand....but thank goodness everyone used caution while shooting them off and nobody was hurt. These are a few pictures of our weekend.

Happy Birthday Matt!

2008-07-08T12:25:00.001-07:00

My sweet husband has a birthday today. I hope that he has a great day! We are having a party for him with family tomorrow night. This morning while Matt was in the shower I crawled out of bed and left for Dunkin Donuts. I got Matt his favorite donut and a cup of coffee. I surprised him with a donut breakfast with a candle and all. I think the my solo of "Happy Birthday to You" was kinda out of tune but then again it was 7:30 in the morning. I love you Matthew!

I will post more pictures of his birthday parties later.

Happy 4th of July!!!

2008-07-03T19:20:00.000-07:00

Matt, Molly and I would like to wish everyone a safe and fun 4th of July. Matt and I are headed to Cedar Creek Lake to visit some family friends at their lakehouse. We are going to have a ball hanging at the lake and riding in their new boat. I will post pictures of the weekend soon. Here is a sweet picture of Molly....she just got back from the groomer and they gave her a patriotic bandana. I also baked some fun star-spangled brownies to take with us. I can't wait to see fireworks over the lake.

Pretty Calaidums

2008-06-28T07:30:00.000-07:00

Since I live in an apartment right now and don't have a yard I have been yearning for plant life around me. I love to work in the yard and to plant flowers. Barbara gave me some Calaidum blubs a few weeks ago and I planted them. I have been patiently waiting and watering and finally they are here. They look so pretty on my back porch. I just love the look of Calaidums with their big leaves. I can't wait to work in my new yard and plant all kinds of flowers and such. Our new house has a big built in planter by the door and I can't wait to fill it up.

Oh Baby! Gray's stay with Aunt "Jo"

2008-06-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

Well I am telling you Gray and I had the best time ever!!! Gray came to stay with Matt and I from Sunday night until Wednesday evening. She is the best baby and is so much stink'in fun!!! I took a ton of pictures as any good aunt would. I would not want to waste your time by posting over 30 pictures so I will just share my two favorite. I must say that between the 6 feedings, 2 naps, endless diper changes, snacks and the ability to crawl all over my apartment at great speed I am worn out from her stay. I never thought I would say that but she gave me a run for my money. I give it to all you moms out there....it really is a FULL time job. Gray is such a big girl now.....we took her shopping, went to the pool two times, Kroger, Tom Thumb, Target and Walmart......all with success I might add (now of course that was all spread out in between 3 days and 6 naps but she did a great job!) Another favorite part of our week was her bedtime routine....she is too cute and hardly cries when she goes down for a nap or at bedtime. Every evening Matt and I would take her to our guest room and pray with her before bed....she almost always would touch your face while we prayed and then smile....too sweet. Then she laid down in the bed an cupped her baby giraffe to her face and was so content. Lucky parents Christy and Todd.
Look at that smile....I could just eat her up!!! I think I gave her about 1,000 kisses while she was here....just enough to last her until the next time she comes. Little bit is a blue eyed toe head...which I adore but poor thing like the rest of us were......almost bald....just does still not have much hair. My sister and I took her shopping on her last day and we got her some cute new outfits and of course Aunt Jo insisted that she get a bow...they have kinds for babies with not much hair:) My sister finally agreed and she now is the happy owner of 4 new bows to go with her outfits...so fun!!

I love this little face that she makes. She squishes up her face and then blows out her nose....it is so funny....she does it over and over....I just happened to catch the face while she was doing it. I love you baby Gray and Aunt Jo can't wait until you come back to visit.

What ya been up to? Well.........

2008-06-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

That is a saying my Nana always asks me....what ya been up to? Well quite a lot actually. I am loving the Summer as always. Since I have not posted anything new I am going to put several different posts all into this one. I am way behind.

As most of you know Matt and I are in the process of buying a house. We had our inspection last weekend and the house got an "A"! I am so happy since I was thinking BIG problems and lots of extra money with a house built in 1955. We close on the house at the end of July. We are praying everything will go good and we will have a nice clean easy closing. We have already picked out paint for the house and decided to refinished the original hardwoods under the carpet...big work ahead for us:)

About 2 weeks ago I taught Vacation Bible school at our church Northwest Bible. I was the lead teacher of the 4 year olds. I had so much fun. I love any age from about 2-4....they are just precious. Here are a few pictures from the week. Two of my favorite girls were Abigal and Mary Lauren (pictured below).

Then we had a great Happy Father's Day with my dad weekend before last. My dad LOVES to cook so he cooked up some mean BBQ. We all went over to his house for some family time. We gave him a autographed copy of an old Justin Leonard Sports Illustrated and the Tony Dungy audio book. He love both of them. We spent the day eating and watching the US Open....congrats to Tiger!! What a great day we had with my Dad. We love you!

Ok ok so I have been bit by a shopping bug for the new house. I mean I am not even in it and I have a binder for all of the things I want to do. I can't wait. Over the past few weeks I have bought a few things. I got this great couch at an Estate sale...we actually got it as a gift from Chris' mom Judy...big THANK YOU!! We love it and it will look great in the family room. I also found a shabby chic mantle from a lady in Kessler park who was remodeling her bedroom and was getting rid of it. I love it. Our new house does not have a fireplace so it will work perfect as a replacement. He are a few pictures of my finds. I am on the hunt girls.

More to come.....we just got back from Nana's this past weekend and we kept baby Gray for 1/2 a week and we took lots of pictures from her fun stay with Aunt "Jo"....till later happy reading.

Guess what were moving.........we bought a house!!

2008-06-14T18:40:00.000-07:00

That's right folks.....Matt and I are in the process of buying a house. This is a picture of our soon to be new house in Richardson Heights. We love it! God has blessed us beyond what we could have imagined. This house sits on a corner lot with a large gorgeous tree in the front yard. The house was built in 1955 and needs lots of renovations. Matt and I have a love for older homes and we are SO SO ready to roll up our sleeves and make this home beautiful. The homes in this neighborhood go really fast so we have been watching the streets like a hawk.....we happened upon this one on Wed. afternoon and by Wednesday night we viewed it and Thursday morning we gave an offer. The older lady took our first offer and said she wanted the "lovely" couple to have it.....too cute! We have prayed long and hard for all of this and we are so excited. We know that the Lord has wonderful plans for us and our future family in this home. We close on the house on July 24 and we be going on vacation to Cabo for a week and when return we plan on moving in.

New Chair and New Promotion!!

2008-06-01T15:35:00.000-07:00

This weekend Matt and I welcomed our new chair back into our livingroom from being recovered by Flora. She did an awesome job and we are so thankful with the results. Matt finally has his "man chair" with my added touch of fabric choice. I love it! I am sure someday when we get a house it will look even better. Here are a few pictures of the new and improved chair.

Also big news in our house........our prayers have been answered and Matt go a promotion at Perot Systems on Friday. He will be working in the same general department but will now hold the title of Contract Negotiator. We feel so blessed with this news and Matt is really excited about this new challange. Matt and I went to Gloria's Mexican restaurant on Friday to celebrate. We had such a relaxing weekend and fun times with our family.

Summer is here!

2008-05-28T17:12:00.000-07:00

Yall this is me when I was young......I look ready to go for Summer! That is exactly how I feel right now....give me my sunglasses and girls lets head to the pool. This school year is 4 1/2 days from being over and I could not be happier. I live for the days of Summer when I can wake up and do as I want all day long. I already promised Matt the cleanest of houses, the best of meals, big spending...just kidding, and a wife full of energy. The school year tends to drain me by the end and I welcome the break. I will miss the sweet little dumplings that I have had this year but, they are big 2nd graders now and I am ready for some new cuties. Summer here I come!!!