Grace and Hope

Grace and Hope
Wait for God. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always! Pslam 131:3

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

July - August 2016

Summer days are even better when I'm between jobs and get more time at home with my family! Jay's schedule was still a bit chaotic, but we made the best of it and took every family opportunity that we could. Some days were filled with activities and some days were filled with snuggling and taking it easy. All in all, we had a great summer. In the blink of an eye, the kids are back to school and I'm back to work. Enjoy the pictures from the past two months.

July 2016: 
Happy 4th of July!: I LOVE this holiday. Growing up, my mom always loved holidays and as a child, I didn't really appreciate it as much as I do now. As a mom, it sure it so much fun celebrating holidays with your kids. I get it now!!! We went to the annual Friendswood Parade with lots of friends like we had done in previous years. In the afternoon/evening, we had friends over for a wonderful get together. We are so blessed by all our friends here. We are so thankful for all our friends in various stages of our lives. At night time, we saw our first fireworks show. The girls liked it and instead of calling them fireworks, call them "shooters."





 
Fun times: With having a more normal schedule these days, we were able to have a date with each girl one weekend. Both girls chose to go to the bookstore with daddy to pick out a book. This is something he does on many weekend days when I'm working when he is home alone with them. It is his special thing that he has with them. For me, Avery picked to bake cookies and Aubrey picked to dress up like princesses. I suggested to have a tea party and she liked it. Later that week I suggested doing a special tea party and we got out the ceramic tea set that was Jason's made from his Nana. So we had a fun time acting like princesses for an afternoon. 







July visit to PA: We were able to visit Nana and Grandpop in PA this month. We had a great time touring the crayola factory and enjoying Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom. We also really enjoyed spending the time together as a family and visiting with extending family and friends. The girls enjoyed being spoiled with multiple parties a day! 
























August 2016: 

August was a fun month. We celebrated my birthday by going to Palm Beach at Moody Gardens. The girls really enjoyed having a water day and playing in the sand. After a very busy 18 months of Jay's work schedule and some traveling this summer, it was nice just to sit back and put our feet in the sand. Of course my husband cooks me a wonderful dinner with scallops too. I'm so spoiled! I actually didn't snap a single picture the entire day because we were just enjoying our outing. 

I did return back to full time work in August. I'm back in the hospital, still working in the NICU. It has been a great transition. The workplace has been a very positive environment and my colleagues have been a pleasure to work with. I think this job will be a good fit for me and for our family because it allows more flexibility than my previous job. 

The girls went to another gymnastics camp in August and also started back to Pre-K 4 Advanced program at school, with Ms. Brassell. They were very excited and I know they will have a great year of learning, growth and socialization.While I might have forgotten pictures all month, I didn't forget to snap some pictures on the first day of school! When they grow up Aubrey wants to be: A mom, a doctor that takes care of babies and kids and a ballet dancer; Avery wants to be: A mom, an engineer that builds things and takes things apart, and drive a pink, fast car.

Jay and I also got away for a three day weekend to celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary. We went to San Antonio and New Brunfalls. Both places were beautiful and the trip was a wonderful getaway. We are so thankful that we still are able to date each other even though we have busy schedules and a family. The three girls (Tessa, Aubrey and Avery) all had a blast. They really enjoy being together which makes me heart so happy!

First Day of Pre-K 4 Advanced, Teacher: Mrs. Brassell. August 22, 2016: 
 
 









Celebrating 12 Years of Marriage in San Antonio: 








What a great summer it has been!!!