a lil color

I took my very boring and stained laundry holder

(stains from the liquid detergent spilling on it)

and decided to spruce it up a bit.

I used ome acrylic paints and added a bit water...and went to town!

Plus, when you're a momma you spend lots of time doing laundry so why not make things a bit more cherry and colorful?!

I believe every part of our lives, no matter how insignificant they may seem, can always use a bit of adjusting to make better. What do you think?

Happy Tuesday everyone!

-HK-

saturday night---and I'm all alone...

(I'm a slacker,,,, just now posting this!)
Ok, so not really alone.....alone.
Kie man is sleeping in his crib....

Justin is at a Christian men's retreat.
I cannot tell you HOW grateful I am he is there.
God has been working in our marriage.
And in Justin.

I wish I could go on and on about my love for my husband but I don't want to bore you.
Of course marriage isn't always a fairy tale.
But, I see my husband and amazed at the road he's traveled.
A boy who witnessed his father commit suicide.
A boy who lived on the streets in California.
A boy who watched his best friend take his life.
A boy who went from foster home to foster home.
An orphan.
With no money.
Nothing to his name.

A man lost, married and divorced..
A man who thought the only way to make it from one day to another was to drink
or find other vices....

A lost and blinded man.
Who then found Jesus and then could see!!

I cannot begin to tell you the difference in his life now.
Ahhh!!
And how happy it makes me that Justin has a relationship with Jesus.
Just makes my heart SO so SO very happy!!!

But that is what is going on here.

Kie is asleep.
I'm multi-tasking between cleaning house, doing laundry and working on Kie's scrapbook for his birthday--and I decided to squeeze in an update.

SO quick update-
Last weekend was my BIRTHDAY!

I'm the BIG 25!
I actually still feel very young.
I really still feel 22.
Hehehe...let's just hope my skin goes a long with my head.

We spent the weekend at Austin City Limit's--we got to see a lot of great bands....
My favorite definitely was COLDPLAY!
They put on amaaaazing show.
We also got to catch up with old friends...
And Kie had such a great time.
He was the PERFECT concert date. (Next to Justin)
Seriously not one whimper came out of Kie. He loves music just like his parents.

so yes, last weekend was a lot of fun.
we also got a surprise VIP access to all the back stages.
It will definitely be an ACL weekend we will be talking about for years....

This weekend I spent the better part of my Saturday with Allison and we checked out the Pecan Street Festival.
It was SO hot.
More so than I anticipated.
There were some select few awesome vendors.
I didn't touch the food (hello I'm trying to get this body in fighting form for the next pregnancy).
But I doubt I will ever go to another Pecan Street Festival again....
Besides checking out my friend, Tammy's booth---and her awesome jewelry line--
Maybe if next year is cooler than I may be interested in going.
Plus Sixth Street needs to be cleaned up.
I'm afraid it's becoming the next Bourbon Street.

I wish they'd widened the sidewalk--and make more cafes downtown.
And maybe remove some bars.
But I realize the bars make the money.
But bars also get a lot of people in rowdy and fighting moods...
Ahh well...I'm not the Mayor of Austin.
(In case you didn't know).

ANYWHO--
I'm excited for this week because my sweet love Erika is flying in Thursday night.
I haven't seen her since we've been in Florida.
And this weekend I've yet to decide if I'm going on a women's retreat (like Justin's)
Or if I will be sticking to my plans that have been established.

I want to go to the retreat but I have some SERIOUS separation anxiety.
And I don't care what people may think but wait until you have your own babies and you'll see how it feels.
I've never been a night or a day or even more than a few hours away from Kie.
Plus I still nurse.
And yes, I nurse often.
Probably 5-6 times a day still.
So going nearly two days without seeing him would hurt me in more ways than one.
(Yes I can bring a pump I'm sure but I'd prefer not to be milking myself when I'm at a retreat.)
Maybe when Kie is older and not still nursing.
I don't know.
I'm still praying about it and letting God show me.

Alright this momma has gotta go.


Until next time,

-HK-

Happy Thursday!

Yum spaghetti!!!

I have a blog and pictures to come!!

back from the Bermuda Triangle...

I am being the WORSE blogger ever right now.

I went MIA...and have no real excuse.

Yes life is busy.

Football season has started...

Kie is like a spider monkey....

I've resumed my early boot camp sessions...

I've been planning Kie's first birthday party

and I've been cleaning house and donating everything under the sun since the wild fires started.

No, not entirely busy...

Also with every home game the Horns play my parents come in.

So we have had a lot of family time. Which I love!

Speaking of Kie's birthday party....

I am not wanting a crazy, over the top party. Because I think those are silly.

In fact, I don't even want anyone to bring presents...

I may make a donation or a canned good drop...

Kie will be raised to not be spoiled.

Yes, it's easy to spoil kids...but I don't believe I was spoiled and I don't want Kie to be.

He is going to learn to donate his toys every few months--along with his clothes.

Because there are so many families in our area that need the most basic of things.

So that's what I've been doing.

I've been going through his bins of clothes...

Going through nice toys that he never used..

And all through my things.

Now if you know me--you know I regularly donate my stuff every 5-6 months.

I look at life like this---

Yes, nice things ARE nice.

But why be materialistic?

Life is short.

We don't take our possessions to Heaven.

Just as the victims in the wild fires across Texas---they lost everything. All their possessions.

God shows us repeatedly that we do NOT need to put value *IN* things. He choses to give and to take away. So I'm trying to strike a balance between that.

Of course I have some stuff I love...

My nice shoes...

nice purses...

some family heirlooms...

my jewelry from Justin....

But would I rather have those things? 

Or to have my husband and son?

Or my friends and family?

When you put it on that scale then you begin to realize that STUFF is just stuff.

Anyway---

enough of that.

So I am very excited this week because Justin came home Monday with some birthday surprises!

 I am NOT a big birthday person.

Sure, I like the "Happy Birthday's" from friends and families you get.

But I am not a person who needs a lot nor do I the need attention.

But my sweet husband is a giver. (He truly is the most generous person I know.)

So when he came home after work he couldn't hold in the surprise of what he got me.

He got me a brand new Lotus CWB wakeboard with closed toe bindings.

(I'm sure most of you could careless or know what that is)

Basically it's a professional wakeboard with some awesome holdings for my feet.

I took the board out last night on Lake Austin---it definitely took some getting use to.

It was a lot harder to get up but once up the water felt smoother and I could control the board easier.

I'm pretty excited about riding this new board--

and I think the next thing I will get will be a wet suit so I go out this winter. (No lie!)

On my last and final note (since I'm wasting precious house cleaning time while Kie naps)

is that Justin got me ACL Music Festival tickets!

I'm so pumped up to go!

We went when we were dating and haven't been back since.

I love it because it's 3 days of music fun and it's outdoors.

And oh my the people watching is GREAT!

I'm excited to go because we're going as a family...

and I can't wait to make more memories with my favorite people.

Alright enough of that.

I need to do some photo sharing soon.

I have a lot of things going on and I promise to do better.

Btw, I started a massive scrapbook project for Kie's first year of life.

I will never do another.

Too much work.

Too much money.

Also--I'm hand making all his decorations.

Who has time for this?

Trying to be a super mom is exhausting.

Who set the bar so high?

Thanks Pinterest and Blogger!

HA!

Until next time,

HK

Kie & Big Daddy on game day! Hook Em Horns!

Kie & Daddy in the old truck going for an evening drive ;)

enjoying dinner at the lake

Labor Day & Upcoming news!

How is YOUR Labor Day?

The weather is about 12 degrees cooler than normal--but the winds have picked up causing fires all across the state of Texas.  My parents who live in Northeast Texas are experiencing brush fires everywhere and we have fires on both sides of the city of Austin.  So far 17,000 acres are burning and over 400 houses and counting are lost in the Bastrop area.

It makes enjoying this "beautiful" day hard when you hear sirens going off and realize that there are thousands of families who've lost everything and are displaced from their homes.

If you're looking to d o n a t e for any fire victims in the Austin area here's a link to give you some options.
How to Help Fire Victims.

Nonetheless our day has been pretty relaxed.  I'm not in the mood to be at the lake when there is so much devastation in our community.  I realize everyday there is natural disasters and chaos in the world--but when it's in your backyard it's tough to just sit and watch the pain unfold.

Of course I hope you and yours are safe in your part of the world.
Stay Tune because my next blog I'll be sharing with you my WAYS to get organized.
(And being the OCD organized freak that I am--maybe you'll like some of the tips.)
Plus I got some pallets of wood to play around with--and projects to share in the future.

Here's to not getting any new splinters.


Until next time,

-HK-

Also I'm being featured tomorrow on 
The Diy Show Off!
 Make sure you check it out!