My One Minute Half Time Show

A couple of weeks ago, the hubs and I got free tickets the the Bronco Pre-season game.

The Broncos gave tickets to all of the first responders at the Aurora Movie Theater shooting.

Before the game all of the victims of the shooting got to walk onto the field while the crowd gave them a standing ovation.  It was a pretty moving site to see.

Next came the intro of the Broncos with our new quarterback that ALL of Denver is thrilled about, Peyton Manning.  This was his first appearance at a game so once again the crowd went wild.

We went with one of our favorite couples, Jason and Ashley.  (and their new baby boy!)  

Yeah Caleb and Jason are pretty close- a little to close sometimes!  :)

Good thing I love Ashley just as much.  If not we'd be in big trouble.  

My all time favorite date!

Then came one of the craziest moments of my life.  I got to be apart of the half time show.  At first I refused- until I discovered I'd be in a huge Bud Lite Platinum bottle and no one would see my face.  (I have a weird fear of being in front of crowds of people)

So I raced  waddled my way through our relay race, and lost miserably.  But hey it was fun and I impressed my husband.  I'm not just a lame mom, I can race in a bottle on the Bronco's football field....  not well, but I can do it!  :)

Ignore my husband's ever supportive commentary!  :)  

I'm the orange bottle that comes in very last!

Zoo Fun

So if anyone is ever in Denver you MUST and I mean MUST check out the Denver Zoo.
I mean, Wow!!

They have done a whole lot of upgrades to this place and it's pretty dang cool.
They just put in a new "Asian Tropics" with a luxury hotel for the elephants.
Ok not really a hotel but if I was an elephant I would LOVE to live here.

And of course I couldn't resist this picture perfect moment with Little Miss.  She was a little scared of the elephants, but she found the elephant ears pretty hilarious.

Now I don't know about you but my kid is pretty obsessed with anything water related.  Swimming, fountains, puddles... it just makes her little day complete.  Well, the zoo just put in the cutest little water park by the seals and polar bears!   It's so fun!

It's just way to much fun to see the zoo through the eyes of an almost 2 year old.
And after a long day of checking out these Denver animals and playing in the water, we were pretty exhausted.  So of course our only option is a girl's slumber party.   I mean of course!!!!

So we grabbed our new best friend baby and put on a little Spongebob and had a great night relaxing.

Excuse our blurry self portrait here.... we just had to document the end to our fun little day!

How to be a Happier Mom

For Christmas my Mother in Law got me this book.....

It was one of the best books I've read in a LONG time. 

(I highly recommend you check it out)

And then I decided to follow the author on Twitter and follow her blog!

Yep, I pretty much became obsessed.

And then after a LONG day of temper tantrums by my daughter 

(followed by temper tantrums of grown men and women at work)

This blog post popped up.

HERE is the direct link.  

There is also a handy dandy little print out to hang on your fridge.

But this spoke to me and I want to share.

Ann VosKamp thank you for your beautiful words.

Enjoy Mama's!

10 Ways to be a Happier Mom 

1. Life is not an emergency.

Life’s a gift. 
Just. Slow. Down.

2. Now is not a forever grace but amazing grace.

Do whatever it takes to wake to wonder right here.

3. Sometimes the slowest way is the fastest way to joy.

Make time today, even a moment, to read Scripture and memorize it.

Without the lens of His Word, the world warps.

{Slowest=fastest to joy}

4. Laughter is the cheapest, holiest medicine.

Preschoolers laugh 300 times a day. Aim for double that. Tickle someone, (yourself!), if necessary. This is good!

5. Motherhood is a hallowed place because children aren’t commonplace.

Co-laboring over the sculpting of souls is a sacred vocation, a humbling privilege.

Never forget.

6. Homemaking is about making a home, not about makingperfection.

A perfect home is an authentic, creative, animated space where Peace and Christ and Beauty are embraced.

{Perfect does not equate to immaculate.}

7. A pail with a pinhole loses as much as the pail pushed right over.

A minute dawdled here, a minute scrolling here — they can add up to your life.  Write down your intentions for the day and prayerfully ive the intentions and spend your life well by paying attention to the moments — which pays thanks to God.

A whole life can be lost in minutes wasted, small moments missed.

8. Believe it: I have all I need for today.

The needs of our day are great but our God is greater and we call Him Providence because we believe: He is the One who always provides.

{And when God provides, He should be praised, and if God always provides, shouldn’t praise always be on the lips?}

9. Slow. Children at play.

The hurry hurts the kids.

Time’s this priceless currency and only the slow spend it wise enough to be rich.

If we had to actually buy our time, would we spend it more wisely — spend it more slowly?

{God’s Word never says Hurry Up. God words only whisper: Wake Up.}

10. Love is patient.

Parenting’s this gentle way of bending over in humility to help the scraped child up because we intimately know it takes a lifetime to learn how to walk with Him.

Patience. Love always begins with patience and patience is a willingness to suffer.

Bonus:

The art of really celebrating life isn’t about getting it right – but about receiving Grace.

The sinners and the sick, the broken, the discouraged, the wounded and burdened — we are the ones who get to celebrate grace!

Regardless of the mess of your life, if Christ is Lord of your life, than we are the celebrants out dancing in a wild rain of grace — because when it’s all done and finished, all is well and Christ already said it was finished.

The Leibster Award

I am honored and have been awarded the "Liebster Blog Award" by Debi from 

ADORNED FROM ABOVE (please checkout her wonderful blog). THANK YOU Debi!!

The Rules:

1. Share 11 random facts about yourself

2. Answer the 11 questions asked by the person that tagged you.

3. Tag 11 people

4. Ask them 11 questions

11 Random facts about Myself

-  I'M FROM OKLAHOMA 

- I TALK TO MY MOM AT LEAST ONCE A DAY

- I'M THE OLDEST OF 4 AND ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY SIBLINGS!

- I'M MARRIED TO MY BEST FRIEND 

- WE OWN 3 HUSKIES

- I LOVE SWIMMING AND FOR WORK I HELP RUN A SWIM PROGRAM AT A LOCAL GYM

-  MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE JOB IS BEING A MOM TO LITTLE MISS

- I ACT LIKE AN EXTROVERT BUT I'M REALLY A HUGE INTROVERT

- 2 MONTHS AFTER GETTING MARRIED, WE FOUND OUT WE WERE 3 WEEKS PREGNANT WITH LITTLE MISS... ALMOST A HONEYMOON BABY.

- LAST YEAR I AGED 20 YEARS, MY HUSBAND ALMOST GOT SHOT AT WORK - BEING A COP WIFE CAN BE TOUGH

-  WHEN I WAS 16, I GOT MOBBED AT A MALL BECAUSE PEOPLE THOUGHT I WAS BRITNEY SPEARS.  YIKES- I HAVE A NEW RESPECT FOR CELEBRITIES.

1. Which do you like better? Beach, Mountains, or Desert - THAT'S A TOUGH ONE.  I THINK IF I HAD TO PICK I'D PICK THE MOUNTAINS.  GOOD THING I LIVE IN COLORADO.  THE BEACH IS DEFINITELY A CLOSE SECOND, BUT THERE IS SOMETHING SO PEACEFUL ABOUT BEING IN THE MOUNTAINS.
2. If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?  ITALY!  SOMEDAY THE HUBS AND I WILL GO
3. If there was a movie about your life, who would play you?  WELL MY ALL TIME FAVORITE ACTRESS IS JENNIFER GARNER SO I'D LOVE IT IF SHE'D PLAY ME.
4. What is your favorite dessert?  CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
5. Do you prefer to do the cooking or the clean up?  COOKING!!!  I LOVE TO COOK BUT HATE THE CLEAN UP PART OF COOKING.
6. What is your favorite book?  THE PRINCESS BY LORI WICK- I'VE READ THAT BOOK AT LEAST 5 TIMES.
7. Are you a heels or flats girl?  CONSIDERING I HAVE TO KEEP UP WITH A TWO YEAR OLD- I'M ALL ABOUT FLATS.  
8. What is your ideal Sunday afternoon?  A NICE AFTERNOON HIKE WITH THE FAM AND THEN A NAP FOR ALL OF US.
9. Which do you prefer, leather or lace?  LEATHER
10. What smells remind you most of home?  THE SMELL OF MY MOM'S HOMEMADE FRIED CHICKEN PIECES.  IT ALWAYS REMINDS ME OF DINNERS AT HOME.

11. What do you want to be when you grow up?  I LOVE WHAT I DO NOW, BUT IF I COULD SO ANYTHING ELSE IT WOULD BE RUNNING A NON-PROFIT CAMP FOR KIDS.

11 BLOGS I TAGGED

THE DOUBLE TAKE GIRLS

HARMONIOUS HOUSE

A SMALL SNIPPET

CHEYLN CHIC

LOVE NOTES BY LAURYN

MARRIED AND MERRY

OUR GREAT ADVENTURE

THE LASHLEY LIFE

TEA WITH LONDON

THAT CURL GIRL

BLISSFUL AND DOMESTIC

11 QUESTIONS FOR THE PEOPLE I TAGGED:

1.  Describe your style in one word.

2.  What is your favorite Bible verse?

3.  What is your favorite vacation?

4.  What is one household task that you wish you'd never have to do again?

5.  Do you prefer your winter or summer wardrobe?

6.  During your downtime (kids naptime) during the day, what do you like to do?

7.  What is your favorite Olympic sport to watch?

8.  What was your favorite book(s) growing up?

9.  What is at the top of your bucket list?

10.  What is your favorite food?

11.  If you could do anything with your life what would you do?

Enjoy everyone!!  Hope we all meet some new blog friends in the process!  :)

Growing Together

I always knew this would come.

In fact, I was so excited for it.

Now we're here.

Parenting has become so much more.

It has become more than feedings and sleep schedules.

It's now guiding.

Showing her how to act....

 Temper tantrums are not okay, 

Please and thank you are nice to say,

Potty training (oh yes), 

Meals are meant to be eaten not fed to your best friend, Zorro (Husky #2)

Sharing is good,

God loves you,

Use your words, not your screams.

This is just a brief run down of what my life consists of.

I had a moment where I just got plain scared.

My thoughts were screaming...

I only have ONE shot at this.

ONE - that's it.

What if I mess up?

What if I teach her something bad on accident?

What if we let her down?

Luckily our God is big enough to handle our fears.

Luckily He is great enough to let us learn to trust Him.

I will mess up.

I won't be perfect.

That's reality... I wish it wasn't.

She will mess up.

She won't be perfect.

But together we will grow and learn to trust our God.

DIY Maxi Skirt

Let me explain my history of sewing.

I was 7ish- my mom helped me make a pillow.

It was shaped like a heart (ish) and it was awful.

But that was the very first thing I ever made with a sewing machine.

Then came Pintrest.

It convinced me I needed to start sewing things.

So I made the next logical step and asked for a sewing machine for Christmas.

For Christmas my mom got be a little $30 machine.

I told her I wanted something that would be a trial machine, because I wasn't sure if I'd like it.

Turns out I LOVED it and wore that little machine out.

Well, then my dear sweet hubby got me this fancy baby for my birthday...

And life has never been the same.

I'm definitely not great, but I'm improving and I'm having fun.

I found THIS tutorial on how to make a maxi skirt.

So I gave it a whirl.

First pick yourself up some knit material from Hobby Lobby on sale.
You'll need about 2 yards.

Next, measure your hips.
You can measure your waist if you want, but I wanted a skirt to sit low on the hips.

 No crazy perfect measurements, just your waist or hip size.

cut the top to the size of your waist and angle out so the bottom is slightly larger than the top.

Cut out the waist band of your skirt.
Did I mention this skirt has a yoga waist band?
Oh I didn't.  Well it makes it that much more amazing!  :)

And then forget to stop taking pictures because you sew your skirt together instead of making an opening for you to fit in.
Oops... leave that step out.
Pulling out the seams is a pain in the booty!

So refer to the tutorial for more exact measurements.
If this not professional seamstress can pull this skirt off, then anyone can!

The skirt turned out adorable, it is so comfy and it was super easy.

This is the final picture from the tutorial I followed.
I didn't get a final picture of it because I keep forgetting to ask the hubby to play photographer.
Mine is obviously a pink version of this.
Pair it with a white tank and a big ol necklace and it's the perfect summer go to outfit!

Let me know if you all have any other good sewing tutorial websites.
I'm all about giving it a try!  :)