Love your enemies

“But I say to you who hear, 

Love your enemies, 

do good to those who hate you,

 bless those who curse you, 

pray for those who abuse you.

 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, 

and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 

Give to everyone who begs from you, 

and 

from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.

 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? 

For even sinners love those who love them.

And if you do good to those who do good to you

what benefit is that to you? 

For even sinners do the same.

 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you?

Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 

But love your enemies, and do good,

 and lend, expecting nothing in return, 

and your reward will be great,

 andyou will be sons of the Most High,

 for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

—Luke 6:27-35

*Lord knows I needed to find this scripture.

  What I need to do is BRAND this into my brain!

I think writing it and sticking it on the fridge will be a start.

And if anyone has tips on loving their enemies, let me know! :)

-HK-

Easter Weekend Getaway

Bonne matin! (Good morning in French)
I still speak French and I definitely use it with baby Kie.
I realize I live in Texas where the dominate language is Spanish--but, I want Kie to know his heritage--and he's a part French. And half German.  But, I don't know much German....so he's out of luck there.

Anyway, I am currently sitting on our comfy couch a wee bit sweaty and definitely tired.  I've been up since 5 am and been at BOOT CAMP.

This is just the first week.  First day of it, I was dreading every minute and telling myself how this would be the ONLY day I'd go.  I was cramping up from the protein bar I had eaten for breakfast.  I was coming close to last in all the long distance runs and my legs and abs were on fire.

Well, day two was a different story!

I didn't eat breakfast--therefore, I didn't cramp up.  My sore muscles loosened up during our warm up runs.  And today we focused on a lot more weights and relay runs then distance.  In other words, my cup of tea!

Also--Justin took all my measurements before I started on Monday--so we'll see how many inches I've hopefully lost after I'm finished.  Initially I signed up for 4 weeks, but I extended it to 8.  So I'll do a 4 week measure and then an additional one after 8 weeks.

I'm hoping to lose 12 inches total (legs, arms, waist, hips).  Also, today I felt the 'athlete' in me awaken.  If anyone knows me, then they know how extremely competitive I am.  I can't stand to lose.  Luckily growing up, most things I did--I did well at.  Or, if I was on a team sport, I was always on the winning team.

Needless to say, this competitive side comes out during board games, billiard games, Wii games, wrestling, pool, darts, swimming, walking, running, shopping...you name it!

Justin thinks it's hilarious.
So today at boot camp we split up in teams to do relays.  I got a rush from competing against the others.  And my team came in 2nd.  (No not first, but that's because one of the girls was dragging tail.)  But still, it was the rush I've missed.

I hope for more of that!

Now, rewind from the weekend.

Friday-we went to Arlington to watch the Texas Rangers play with my entire family.  It was Justin's and Kie's first Ranger's game.  Justin really liked the Ranger's stadium and not mention how awesome the Rangers are (way better than the Astros).  The game was like a home run derby.

Saturday we had a grill out at my brother's (Clint's) for his big 3-0 birthday.  It was great spending time with him and his wife and his two precious babies.  Not to mention, seeing Kie and Archer (who is a month younger than Kie) together.  The babies had an Easter egg hunt...more so Amelia (2 years old) was doing all the hunting.

That evening we met up with my long time best friend, Caitlin, at the Gaylord for dinner with Justin and Kie.

It was the first time she had met both of them!  It was great seeing her (she's a nurse at Baylor Medical) and so very beautiful.  Kie also loved seeing her and Justin is always happy to meet the people I love the most.

After dinner we planned on helping my parents watch all the grandbabies so Clint and his wife Amanda could go out for a birthday fling.  But, once we returned to their house a massive storm blew in, causing the transformers to go out.  So instead we all lit candles, watching the storm blow in and told ghost stories.  *Probably not appropriate for the night before Easter.

Eventually everyone had to get a hotel room downtown because nights in Texas without A/C are unbearable.  Especially when there are small babies involved!

Sunday we attended my brother's church in Grapevine--and headed back to good old Austin.  **Since we missed our church service, we listened to our favorite preacher, Dr. Bowman, on the radio.  

AND the Easter Bunny was very good to our lil man, regardless if he could hunt for Eggs or not!

Anyway, Kie's first Easter and first MLB game was great.  Spending time with family and being with the people we love most is always a blessing.  Easter, of course is the biggest blessing of them all.  Without Easter, I would not know what love truly is.


NOW for some pictures!  Hope everyone has a great Easter and a blessed week.

My two brothers, Carter & Clint (niece Amelia Jane in middle!)

David Archer, 5 months! Precious nephew

Momma HK & Daddy J (lil man is bundled up! super windy)

my silly lil man

baby meeting

cutest babies ever

Archer man and chunky monkey Kie

holding hands

Big Daddy and all his grandbabies-Kie, Amelia & Archer

Amelia and her Daddy's cake

Clint blowing out ALL his 30 candles

My sweet baby

Uncle Justin and Amelia

my two sweet boys

posing babies

trying to get this Easter picture right

Kie taste testing

picking flowers for his momma

Caitlin & Kie

Kie and his Easter basket

hot moms

sooo maybe it's a new trend or perhaps I'm just late on following the hot moms and chic ladies...but what's up with everyone posting pictures of themselves in cute clothes?!

I'm not against it.  But it seems everyone is a model and everyone is walking around like they just got off a Kohl's shoot.

(Or a hipster one.)

Does everyone seriously walk around with their cute lil belts, headbands, tights and heels on?

Oops! I must be failing at this new mom thing.

I'm usually wearing spandex pants, a comfy t-shirt and flip flops.

Of course, when I'm walking Lil Man I'm wearing my tennis shoes.

I never wear makeup.  And my hair is usually in a pony tail or in a Nike cap.

Ha!

Maybe I need to spruce it up a bit?

I'd show ya picture of me now but I'm in pjs and it's nearly 2:00am and we'll ya don't need to see that.

Alright--I'm going to try posting a picture of me every time I blog NEXT WEEK.
And no, I don't know where everyone is getting their own photog......
I have a husband who works too late and if I started to ask him to photograph me for my blog then he'd die laughing.

Sooooo MY webcam it is!!!


***Disclaimer:
Hot moms & chic ladies out there with the cute clothes and awesome portraits and pictures--I'm not hating, I just am amazed how cute yall look every day!  One of the reasons I love being a SAHM is the ZERO DRESS CODE!

Of course a gal like me loves to play dress up.  But in my realistic world, I barely have time to wash my hair much less apply makeup and squeeze myself into cute jeans and tight tights!  **See, I'm still waiting for my pre-pregnancy body to emerge.

HA!

Anyway, yall keep rocking what yall got! 
And I'll be here representing the yoga pants and the oversized T's!

--Until next time--

A photo-less

-HK-

hair hair everywhere

Probably not an appropriate title.

I was going to write about hair...and I still will. But I have OTHER things to post as well.

Anyway, let my hair rant begin!

(Ok, it's literally going to be cut short--because Lord love him, my husband is sitting next to me waiting to hand off the little man to me.)  It's his bed time and he always needs his MOMMA to put him down. Ya know momma has that special touch, aka--momma has the milk bags.

alright--well lake season is upon us.  And that means, short shorts, tank tops, bathing suits and cute spring dresses!

Of course for us ladies, that means lots of extra time spent on our grooming.  Painted toe nails, toned legs and arms, not to mention a form of tan (spray or natural) and of course smooth, HAIRLESS legs.

Now--prior to being a momma, I'd spend my money on anything and everything to beautify myself.  I always spent it on 'going out' clothes, new makeup, getting my hair done, shoes, purses...you name it!

I also did the laser hair removal.  It seriously cost and arm & a leg.  I got it done on my legs, underarms, and everywhere else imaginable that is covered up by let's say........my pants!

I am not a big fan of hair....

Less hair the better! (In fact, I think this way about men too.) Luckily my husband has no back and minimal chest hair. Not to mention he shaves his head.  The only hair I like on a man is the little bit of scruffy a man gets from missing ONE shave.  Kinda the sexy, disheveled look.  ::This look only applies if you are sexy and can pull it off, like my man or Jason Statham::

Anyway--like I was saying...In the days before baby I had been getting laser hair removal (yes painful & yes expensive) AND electrolysis done.  **The later is done because I'm a natural blonde, so laser only removes DARK hair.  Therefore I had to have electrolysis along with laser.

I had probably about 5-6 electrolysis appointments and 4-5 laser appointments.

I soon found out I was pregnant, and I discontinued my laser appointments and electrolysis.
--though, I do believe electrolysis is still safe during pregnancy I just wanted to make sure and didn't want to regret doing anything while pregnant.

Well everything grew back--and basically all my money went down the drain.

Though, during the time of getting hair removed I did notice it was growing in at a lot SLOWER rate than usual.

BUT, it definitely was not permanent--of course I still had a few more sessions to go to--but still I was well past the half way mark!

So this spring (since I'm not pregnant) I am back to caring about my legs (and now I can see them).  I am wanting to do something about my hair.  No, I am not a hairy person.  In fact, I have mostly blonde hair.  Let's say I HAD to grow out my leg/arm hair....it would be hard to see.  But still, like I said--I don't like hair.

I guess that's my dilemma.

I don't like hair and I don't know what to do.

Waxing isn't for me. Shaving is a daily battle...and I don't have the big bucks (nor would I care to spend it again) for laser or otherwise.

I guess I will just have to battle the hair the old fashion way.



With long pants.

hahaha...no, I'm kidding.

Seriously, if anyone has a great suggestion for dealing with unwanted hair let me know!

ON to other fun topics.

Me and my sweet husband of mine signed up for BOOT CAMP!

BOOYAH!

For three days a week for 4 WEEKS we will be doing a boot camp at 6:30 IN THE MORNING by the lake.

How great is that?! And we also got it discounted! Ever heard of Groupon?  --well we got it through Groupon and got another discount for being SPOUSES!  
So money in our pockets for being MARRIED and also we're on the road to a leaner, toned body and more stamina and endurance!

**Though I may add my husband seems to be melting away.  I feed him all the time. Home cooked meals 5-6 days a week and he still manages to lose weight?  I mean, he's not some young teen or some 20 something year old.  But his metabolism THINKS he is.  Totally not fair.

On the other hand this momma can't wait to lose the inches and get some definition!  I'm actually signed up for 2 boot camps.  One starts this MONDAY.
Then I'm doing one later, closer to our beach vacay!
 It's called Camp Gladiator.  It's actually a Christian base organization.  Justin and I will be going to separate camps and different times.  (Obviously one of us has to be with Lil Man!)

I'm pretty excited and a bit apprehensive about the whole thing.  I have a feeling I'm going to get my tail kicked, it's been awhile since I've had a serious workout.  (Jogging and stroller pushing don't count in my book.)

PS--Did I mention Kie is crawling!? Yes, he's crawling.  And me, being the bad mom that I am...I pick him up and carry him!  I do NOT want him crawling yet!  I want my BABY to stay a baby.
I can't put him on the bed anymore and if lay him on his blanket for two seconds to run to the restroom he is across the floor when I get!  He's not even 6 months yet!  AHHH, time where are you going?!?!

Enough already... I'm off to bed.  Hope everyone has a great weekend and a blessed EASTER!!

What a beautiful season it is.

--HK--

merely momma insomnia

hello blog world.
I should be sleeping.  But I can't.
Story of my life.
Seriously, since -before- Kie was born and when I found out we were expecting...I could never sleep.

Especially those last few weeks when I was super large and uncomfortable. (think I had my own gravitational pull around my belly.) hehehe Yes I just made a Family Guy reference.

Now I can't sleep because my body is use to the non-sleeping it does during the night.  I'm nocturnal now.  Yet I do need and long for my sleep, it just does not come.

I try counting my blessings or talking to God.  But I find myself going off on some crazy tangent in my brain.

Perhaps I need to pray more not when I'm wishing to fall asleep.

I also miss Kie a lot.  I know he's safe and asleep down the hall from me.  But, I just miss those sweet days when we would co-sleep.  Of course, he started kicking me and I was glad to move him to his own bed.  But, it still didn't help me sleep.

Anyway--I guess as a momma, you never sleep and God preps you for that during those 9 months.

Now for quick update on the weekend.
Friday, we had a triple date!  Me and Justin went out with Kie and my friend Mindy and her husband---and their sweet 3 month old princess, Janu.
It was a fun night of good food and great company!  I look forward to spending more time with their family.

Saturday, Justin and I worked hard in the yard.  It looks SO good.  I will be posting pictures on the next blog (camera is in the bedroom with my sleeping husband--and I don't want to fumble around looking for it in the dark.)

I also felt like Handy Mandy (the girl-version I made up of Handy Manny) because I was lugging around fence posts and helping mix and pour concrete.  Of course I was also running back and forth to Lil Man who was safely relaxing in the shade in his pack-n-play.

Sunday--was of course church time.  I cannot tell you how much we both love going to our Sunday school and church.  God has really answered our prayers in helping us get settled in an amazing church with wonderful people.  I also am still working on getting more involved.

We also set a date for Kie to get dedicated.  It will be on Father's Day!  I had the choice of doing it on Mother's Day--but since Justin lost his father at such a young age, and this is his son, his firstborn--I wanted to honor him as well.  (Of course we will both be there and recognized.)  But I wanted this day to be very special for Justin.

Father's Day, prior to Kie, has always been a bit bittersweet to J.  So anyway, we're looking forward to that special Sunday!

As for this week--I have a lot to do--and little time to get it all done.  We are leaving to go to Dallas this weekend for a big family-filled Easter. The grandparents, all my siblings and of course all the sweet baby cousins!   Friday night we are watching the Texas Rangers play! It will be Kie's first professional sporting event to go to.

Then Saturday we will be having an Easter egg hunt with all the grandbabies (Kie-5 1/2 months, Archer 4 1/2 months and Amelia 2 years).   Saturday night I'm meeting up with my best friend from the DFW, Caitlin--so she can finally meet Justin and Kie.  It's been a long time since I've seen her!  But regardless, we're still best friends.

And Sunday of course is Easter.  
By the way, I hope everyone's hearts are getting prepped for this wonderful day!
Our preacher has been doing a mini-series of Jesus' last weeks before the crucification.  And this past sermon was about his slow painful death on the cross.  His description of Christ's last hours on this earth as man was so gut wrenching...
I nearly got sick in the pew.  
He was merely trying to explain the agonizing pain He endured for us.  A blameless, sinless, lamb of God--bounded and nailed to a cryptic cross for my disgusting, sickening sins.  
I put Christ on that cross.  My selfish and sinful self put the Son of God--to death--JUST like he was some criminal.  How horrible is that?  That Christ carried MY CROSS?  I do not understand God's love for us.  But, I do know that HE truly loves us SO, SO very much He was willing to let His only Son die on a cross.  God turned His back on His son, so that WE could have forgiveness!
How crazy yet wonderful is that?  I know I need to be on my knees everyday thanking God for His son and His mercy.   Because there is NOTHING, 
N-O-T-H-I-N-G we can do as humans, to get eternal life in Heaven without Christ's sacrifice.


I just get amazed and dumbfounded by God's mercy.  I really don't understand how wonderful He is.  I'm just in awe of His love.  


So yes, feel free to slap me when I forget that and remind me (and humble me) when I get too full of Halley or this world.  Because goodness knows none of that is fulfilling.

Welp, that's it for now. Me and my tangents.

Next blog, I think I'll be talking about hair.
Yes, hair.

And how I don't like it.
No, not the hair on your head.

But the hair that grows everywhere else (eyelashes excluded!)

Exciting I know.

Alright, here's to wishing you a bonne nuit!

-HK-

stray thoughts thursdays

Have I mentioned that Kie isn't eating solids yet?!

::gasp!!::

"But he's on his way to be six months old! He SHOULD be eating solids!?"

Nope. Kie isn't eating solids.

I have tried...but he's just simply not interested.


First I tried cereal (two times to be exact).  I originally started the cereal because I thought it would help him sleep longer.  Nope, didn't work.  --And how selfish of me! I still feel bad for doing this.  <----Mommy guilt at it's finest!

I waited a few weeks later, tried again.  As Daddy J was starting to feed him, I got sad and pulled the spoon away.  "This isn't what I wanted to do," I thought.

JUST because other moms started their babies on cereal, didn't mean we had to do so.

Then my friend shared this with me Eat a bit better.

I was glad I wasn't feeding Kie the cereal.

So, then I started making my own baby food.

Fresh, delicious, organic baby food.

How about a little avocado?
Kie readily shoved the spoon in his mouth.  (He's a brilliant baby who knew exactly what to do, even after only eating ONCE from a spoon.)
Nope not that interested.  Sure, he ate it but I could tell he wasn't really IN to eating it. I'm his mother, I know these things.

How about a little sweet potato? (Days and days later.)

Once again, he opened wide.  Ate it.  But still, same reaction....not that interested.

Hmmm...

I offer him the boob.

His excitement in his eyes and eagerness to eat his favorite food was written all over his sweet, chunky baby face.

Ahh, this is where WE both feel comfortable.

My lil man is a boob man.

He thrives off his momma's milk.

He's 5 months and 2 weeks......and 19 pounds (by our home scale).  ::He was born 6lbs, 10 oz::

So yes, I (WE) love the breast feeding.  And the bonding.  Because I know these days are short lived.   I feel proud I can fulfill and satisfy Kie's appetite and his taste buds.  (My diet is pretty healthy and varies to give Kie a preview of foods for WHEN he's ready.)

Will I be the mom nursing after he's one years old?

You bet! If he'll have me (and the girls.)

I feel blessed I'm able to nurse. Regardless what it's done to the ladies! lol

And his doctor said he's in no rush for Kie to start weaning.  He said if Kie wasn't growing like he was, then solids may be necessary.  In fact, his words were "to keep doing what we're doing."

I will still introduce him to other solids down the road.  But, as for now.  Kie is strictly breast fed.

And that's the way we both like it!

new neighbors

Sooooo we got some new neighbors that moved in this week (there's a rent house beside us).

I think they are musicians.

Or something.

I've yet to see them move in any furniture but they have two Land Rovers...(so at least we have that in common.)

And they don't work during the day. All they do is sit on the back patio and smoke.

Well the last three nights they seemed to start moving and getting super loud and noisy at 12:30-1:00am-ish.

NOT COOL!

I hope they know they live by a momma who isn't afraid to say something.

SO last night, after Kie woke up and I was climbing back into bed trying to sleep I wasn't able tooo... due to their obnoxiously loud conversations they were having.

I would totally understand if they worked all day and HAD to move in during the late of late hours of the night.  But no, they are home all day!

What do these dudes do?

(there are two of em).

Anyway, I have my Harriet the Spy mode on to get the low down on these fellows.

Hope I won't need to report anything.

Btw, this momma did go workout for an hour today.  Also, doing some Zumba tonight.

I'm BOUND and determined to get some muscle definition again!

Until next time,

-HK-

helping momma cook in the kitchen

whirlwind

Helloooo blog world, my how times FLIES! (seriously, where's the pause button!?)

Last I left off, I was going on a date with my handsome hunk.
My love, my best friend, my husband.

So sexy ;) Love my Californian boy.

I have a million and one reasons why I love this man. Some too explicit for my blog.  --Ha! That'd blog would have to be written under an alias.

Anyway, I digress (I cannot stay on track to save my life!)

Alright--date night went great. We went to Zax and the dinner was so delicious! We had never been there and got the suggestion from one of our couple friends.

Afterwards, we met up with some friends and went to some dive bars.  One on South Congress then we went to west 6th to play some board and billiard games.

Warren, Amanda, Me & Justin--I was laughing/cheesing so big because the man
that took our picture held the camera upside down for the longest time and couldn't figure it out.

riding on the ruckus, me being goofy.  Justin not cooperating!

I mean, the night was great. But I felt like a fish out of water.

We use to be THE couple out on the town. We were always going to the hippest (is that a word that young people still use today?) bars, hitting up all the newest restaurants and we knew everyone!  We always got tickets to the best concerts in town and never had to pay for a drink *mostly* anywhere we went.

Now, I feel totally out of place. 

It's not my scene AT ALL.

Funny thing is, I saw some "bar regulars" we knew from back in the day.

Sad thing is, they've not changed.

Still sitting in the same places, at the same bars, doing the same shots.

Needless to say, I don't miss THAT life.

I prefer the sweats or the yoga pants, the spit up on my shoulder (or in my hair) the diaper bag instead of the clutch (going out purse), the sitting on the sofa cuddled up on a Saturday night and home-made or takeout dinners over the sitting in a bar or spending a few hundred dollars on ONE meal.

I mean, it's a nice splurge when we do out go. 

I feel guilty when we do spend like that.  Justin, however doesn't seem to mind one bit.

  We do think it's very important to reconnect as a couple. And to make time for one another.

---Weekend~wise,We worked on the house. (Lots of future pictures to come).  Justin finished my new storage closet. We also went to church--such a great message (blog to come).

Before--it held the water heater (J working hard on removing pipes and sheet rock)

Now fully loaded with all my extra cleaning supplies, toilet paper, paper towels, and cook books (that took space in the kitchen!)

That's about it in a nutshell.

Now for a few pictures.

Kie today went swinging in the park for the first time today!  (With his sweet friend, Mario).

I'm currently forcing myself to go to the gym--tho, I don't want to.

I can't lose this @#$%* baby weight!

Probably because I had McDonald's and ice cream today?!

well next blog will be interesting.

I promise!

I have a lot to say and I need the time to sit down and finish my post.

--Maybe if Kie becomes successful at napping then I'll get to it.

--Until next time--

-HK-

cutie in a swing!

sweet babies

Kie's friend, Mario. So sweet.

boys will be boys

date night!

One of the best things about being a momma to me is waking up every morning (regardless of the lack of sleep) and having a smiling baby greet you in their crib.

Kie has the sweetest, biggest toothless grin!  He shares that sweet smile with me throughout the day.
But what is best is that very first grin of the day!
Like, "Well hello Momma! I've been dying to see you!"
It's like having a puppy greet you when you get home!

I know that Kie probably won't be smiling at me every morning of his life, so I cherish these moments!

Also tonight is OUR DATE NIGHT! Whoo hoo!
Justin and I have been blessed to have my mom babysit for us before.
And we've also had my wonderful brother and his sweet girlfriend, Chelsea, babysit too.

I don't think I'll EVER be at the point to hire a babysitter.  Though I use to babysit and nanny for people (and I was amazing at it) but I don't think I'm ready to do that.  Family babysitting is great because they don't mind that I text and call every 15-20 minutes to see what Kie is up to.

Yes, I'm obsessive.

Uncle Carter really is great with Kie.  He treats Kie like a fragile little egg.
When secretly I know that if you ever dropped my baby, he'd probably bounce!

(No I'd never never try nor say that to him! Ha!)

Uncle Carter is also great about calling my MOM (whose an expert with children and babies) and asking her questions about things instead of stressing me.  Small things of course, like "how many times to wipe Kie's behind" or "how many burps does he need to do before he lays him back down?"

We also live ONE mile from our hospital, so I know Carter and Chelsea could run Kie over there in case of an emergency.  Which I don't anticipate but it makes me happy we are so close to a readily accessed emergency room.

Anyway, it's FIRST Thursday here in Austin.  Which means all these food vendors, jewelry and clothes vendors set up their booths and shops on South Congress.  It's basically like a mini fair (without the scary unsafe rides).  They have the cutest clothes too!  It's all local people and designs.  So you know you have something truly unique if you make a purchase.

It's really a fun time to go out because all the people and families everywhere mingling.  We are going baby-less tonight (though it's family friendly).  We will be taking the Ruckus out tonight. Which is how we dated prior to Kie being here.  I love taking the Ruckus because the weather is great here and we get FRONT ROW JOE parking.  So tonight, though it's family friendly--we will be having adult time.  Which means, momma will enjoy a glass of wine.  And adult conversation! I'll try and refrain from texting Uncle Carter or talking about Kie non-stop.





This is a ruckus.  Though, ours is a lot nicer looking because Justin 'tricked' it out.  Basically it's like a scooter and a motorcycle.  It goes faster than a scooter (35-40 mph) and not so scary like a motorcycle.
I love the Ruckus because I can drive it--and it's so easy to take anywhere!  During the summer we would never get in the car and just take it everywhere we went.  Obviously now with a baby we take our cars.

This is one of my favorite reasons for living downtown!  We can go anywhere pretty easily and park anywhere as well.

Copyright
http://tinyurl.com/6ymfhmfFirst Thursday



Copyright
http://tinyurl.com/3tstznx
South Congress
-Austin, Texas-

I think we are going to Perla's tonight.  We went while I was pregnant and it's a seafood place.  So since I was so sensitive to the smell of things, I made them change our seating to the patio because I had to get away from the smell of all the food! Ha! 

Copyright

http://tinyurl.com/3q7asxo

Anyway, I gotta get the house cleaned and dinner started tonight for Carter and Chelsea.
What's so awesome about family babysitting is all I gotta do is provide dinner!
(At least in terms of Uncle Carter, he's 22 and in college--so home cooked meals go a long way!)

I do want to post some cute pictures of Kie and his little 7 month friend, Mario at the park from yesterday.

It was so sweet!  Kie is bigger than Mario in weight and length.  My boy is going to be a lineman!  I don't know where he is getting his size from.  Though his daddy is 6 feet tall, he is super lean.  And I'm pretty petite (5'3") myself.

oh well, I rather have a big boy to protect his momma one day!

Mario investigating Kie's face! Look at that chunky baby arm! I love baby arms.


Kie is drooling a bit.  They were seriously so cute together.



Me and Malu (Mario's mom) walk together in the park once or twice a week.  And the babies usually just stay
cooped up in their strollers, never really "meeting" one another.  So we decided we'd let them interact some.


Well, I'm going to go finish up the house work and get started on dinner.
SO EXCITED FOR DATE NIGHT!

And definitely truly grateful for Uncle Carter and Chelsea!

until next time,

-HK-

weekend update :)

Low and behold,

Little man slept the WHOLE night through Friday and a few nights since then! --I originally started this blog Saturday. Anyway:::

I know that's not saying much for SOME babies.  But, my lil man tends to wake up once, twice, maybe three times a night.  Sometimes it's to feed (he's a big boy who likes his boob time) or it's just to play.  Now that he's able to play so well he wants to play ALL THE TIME!

I did not realize how WONDERFUL & GLORIOUS it feels to sleep 6-7 hours consecutively!
Mind you, I've not had that much sleep since November 3rd!
So when I got up at 5:45am, I started my day--and got SO MUCH accomplished!

And then Kie Pie woke up at 7:45am--and this is how I found him.
Talking away, upside down in his pack n' play.

Such a sweet and silly baby.

And no, I never let him sleep with a blanket---I just put that in there when I checked on him when I got up.  He still sleeps in his pack n' play because his room is too far from ours and I prefer him within hearing distance.

**Now a real quick update.

Friday was so great because I was so rested!  J, Baby K and I did our Costco and HEB run for week or two of groceries.  That night we had steaks, sausages, hummus and mashed potatoes for dinner.  I also love me some hummus.  It was the first BBQ cookout of the spring season!  Many more to come!

We also purchased two new toilets (ah the life of a domestic diva).  They are the European sleek ones with the buttons instead of handles.  Yes, I'm talking about toilets.
We also started MY beautiful garden.  Justin got me some wood to frame it.  And then I stained it dark to match our beautiful deck.  I've planted tons of fruits and veggies.  (To make Kie's baby food!)  But, we'll see what pops up.
Saturday we met up with friends to eat and watch basketball at Baker's.  It's officially PATIO weather here in Austin--and Kie loves being outdoors.  He's seriously a great baby to go out to dinner with.  Of course all are friends are still child-less so he gets most of the attention at the table.  We both eat it all up. I love how our friends love our sweet baby so much :)

-As for today we had an electrician come and re-do all our lights in our kitchen, pantry and bathroom.
I swear, every week there is a new project or home project going on.  I love it because our house is getting the way we want it to to be.

On to other topics---now that Kie is sleeping more it has put me off schedule.  I'm so use to NOT sleeping I find myself staying up doing some serious lat night online shopping!  I swear, it's a blessing and a curse for mommies that don't want to get out with the baby and battle it out at crowded malls.
I've been on Nordstroms, Zappos, O.co and Amazon ordering new sandals for the warmer weather and summer dresses for the beach.

Which reminds me, I need to get this butt of mine in shape.  Not just pushing the baby around in the stroller shape.  But, the kind of shape I don't mind being seen in little clothing in the blaring sun!

LAKE WEATHER is right around the corner.  I cannot wait to go out on the boat and watch my man do his thing on the water.  (Wakeboarding!)

Justin has a lot of talents and he is very skillful, which is one of the million reasons I initially was attracted to him.  And watching him ride on the water is a very sexy thing.  Yes that's my love (pictures below) doing his thing.

Justin on Lake Austin
copyright Robin Rowell
(thanks Robin for the awesome picture!)

My husband is a sexy man.
I love watching him in his element.  Which is about any environment--he scuba dives, wake-boards, snow-boards and can pick up any hobby and master it.  I swear, it really is UNFAIR!

Well I just realized it's after 1:00 am and I've yet to go to sleep.

I know I could of blogged about something more profound BUT, I needed to wind myself down.

Hope everyone is having a great week!!

-HK

What is anger?

My heart is heavy right now.  Perhaps also in a million and ten pieces.  I guess this will be more so a "personal entry" then anything I've written before.  I write because I am a writer and it's my outlet.  I wrote while in college at UT (screenwriting, nonetheless) but it was my outlet.

Also, when I was younger--I kept a journal.  So really, I've always been a writer.  

I digress....

I'm writing because I'm in pain.  I'm writing because I'm hurting.  I'm writing because I'm lost, confused, torn, disappointed, depressed, down and out.

It's amazing the many feelings we can feel as humans.  Some ranging from splendid and glorious to some feelings that are probably the closest a person can get to hell (without actually being there). 

I find peace in the fact that one day, ONE DAY--I will be in Heaven, away from all the hurt a person can feel.

Now I'm not writing this because someone has died, a friend backstabbed me, or because I'm getting a divorce.  I'm writing because yes, my heart is broken.  I'm writing because of the pain humans can cause one another.

I'm writing this because of the hurt and confusion we can inflict on another person's heart and soul.

The damage we can do with our words and actions is astounding.  And I'm not even talking about REAL evil people like terrorist and horrid dictators that kill their own people and spur civil wars.  

I'm talking about Christians hurting their loved ones, their friends, their spouses and God forbid--their children.

Thing is, I have a horrid issue.  An issue I'm definitely very aware of and an issue I've dealt with my entire life.

I have a lot of anger.

A lot of anger.

I don't know where this anger comes from.  I've got SOME ideas but I don't think my anger comes from just one source.

I think my anger derives from hurt I've experienced in life, hurt I've witnessed in life---and the hurt I've caused in life.

The worse of my anger is usually targeted towards those I love the most....which is the worse curse I've ever encountered.

My anger can come out at the oddest of times.  A word can set me off, a feeling, a person, a mood.

All of a sudden I snap.  I'm like a ticking time bomb.  Luckily I save this anger (I say this sarcastically) for people that are closest to me.  Be it my best friend, my mom, my brother or my husband.

When I was young and lived at home, I'd push my parents buttons.  When I lived with my brother, I pushed his.  When a friend upset me or hurt me, I'd hurt them back.  (Ok, not as bad as I would my brother.)  Same goes for my husband.  He hurts me, or even if he doesn't...I push buttons.

All I can think for this horrible phenomenon is that it comes from anger.

Well, what IS anger?

Anger: a strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance.

That doesn't explain much to me at all.

The Bible, however, says A LOT about anger.  And basically how it's pretty horrible to have in your life.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephesians 4:29-32).

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret-it leads only to evil (Psalm 37:8).

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing (Proverbs 12:18).

A wise man fears the Lord and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless (Proverbs 14:16

But how do you WORK through your anger? How do you really let it go?

I don't know.  I wish I had the answers.  

My problem is my anger builds.  It builds over time.  Over the hurt, over the mean words, the actions, the thoughts (be it wrong or right) the assumptions, the pettiness....

My anger builds steam and once I blow--there's no stopping me.

I come at you with everything I got.  Every hurtful word or action you've done will flood over me and I revisit those hurtful moments again by bringing them up.  I push and push and push! It's like vomit.  Forcing itself out of me.  I start to shake and I have no control over this venom spewing from my lips.


Now I DO refrain from cursing.  I use to have a hard time with that.  But with lots of patience and prayer, God taught me to clean up my vocabulary.
However, I still have the anger. 
I may not throw things or hit, or curse but oh boy I am good at making you feel bad.
Sad thing is, when you love someone they usually know your weakness and you know theirs.  Easiest way to get to them is to target that soft spot.


Now I personally don't believe when loved ones fight they INTEND to push those certain buttons out of pleasure or out of pure malice.  I think the Devil is quick to show you how to steer the fight.  Because truth is, not all fights/disagreements are bad.  But they can get bad quick.
One of my biggest sins in life (and yes I'm announcing this on my blog) is my anger and attitude.


I get snappy very quickly.  I sometimes want to be blame my attitude on not sleeping due to the baby, which is part to blame.  I like to blame PMS, I blame that I've not had my caffeine for the day, or that I was cut off while driving or that I'm on edge today because someone hurt my feelings....whatever it may be....it is JUST AN EXCUSE.


I'm tired of using excuses for my anger and bad attitude.
I need help!
I need God's greatness to overcome me and CHANGE me!  
Lord please change me.  Mold me and make me new.  Take my heart and fulfill it with Your Spirit.


Hold my tongue Lord.  Give me peace and humility.  Lord, I don't want to hurt or push anyone else away.  I need to show others YOUR love.  I am tired of being in the wrong.  I don't want to be hateful or hurtful.  I just want to show love at all times.  I beg You Lord to make me more like Your Son, Jesus Christ.  Make me beautiful inside.  Help me to be quiet and calm.  I want to be submissive to my husband, to honor my family and friends.  But most of all to live a life according to Your will so that You will be praised.  I want to please you God.  Help me to be the woman of God I desperately long to be.  Speak to me through Your word. Speak to me in anyway that I can understand.  Forgive me for my short, SHORTcomings.  Forgive me of the hurt and pain I've caused.  The evilness that lurks deep within my heart.  Please Lord dissipate this anger, this hurt I feel.  Take it away so that I can finally be the Christian I need to be.  Forgive me for hurting and dishonoring You.  For being SO much like this secular world.  Forgive me for failing others and You.  Forgive me for all the pain I've caused.
Please Lord Jesus, take me and make me into a new woman.  I need Your forgiveness and Your guidance like I need the air to breathe.  Because if I continue living life in sin and hurting others then I might as well be dead.  Because this is no way to live.  
Thank You for all the love You give and the beautiful mercy You've graced me with.  


In Your Son's Holy name, Amen.



Wow, ok...I've definitely typed out prayers before--but not on my blog.
So yes, I may be over sharing some.  But, this is my outlet.  I needed to be real.
And the real truth is... I need God's guidance, love and written Word more now than ever.
I'm tired of hurting others and getting hurt as well.  I need a change.  A change in attitude.


ANYWAY...it's 3:30am.  I'm not sleeping because I can't sleep.
I guess the best thing to do is get my Bible and start reading.  I pray God will direct me to some Scripture.  I know this isn't going to be an over night recovery.  This is my biggest sin and character flaw.


I need an attitude adjustment.  I need a GOD adjustment.
I have been thinking too much about ME ME ME...that I've also managed to push out God.


And I'm realizing that the Devil has put a big, fat hook in me and is trying to reel me in.  But, I'm cutting the line.  I may drown some in the water for awhile but I will find my way again.  I'll find my way because this time I'm reaching for God and not for what I think is best. Or what I think will work.


Ok, I'm ending this.  Kie will be up in an hour or two. And I've not had any sleep. So here's to a better day tomorrow.


-hk