Easter update nearly two weeks late!

I never shared our Easter weekend!
And I'll also catch yall up to speed some...
Seriously, Easter weekend was one of the best!
Friday night we spent it shopping for a last minute Easter outfit for Kie (because the one I had planned was too warm--a sweater vest!) and then we had a relaxing dinner in...take out! (no mess for momma!)
Then Saturday we had one of the BEST Easter egg hunts at our church.

What was so nice is that they sectioned it off by age---so Kie was able to hunt eggs with babies his age.
SO nice, because I was worried about babies getting trampled on.
And wow was Kie on a MISSION!
I didn't think he would care so much about "gathering eggs" but instead he LOVED it.
In fact, I counted and he got more than 40 eggs!
Shouldn't that be a record for a 17 month old?

Kie is like his momma, and OCD--so I think he viewed the eggs as something to pick up....haha!
Also he got to meet the Easter Bunny--and Kie LOVED waving to him and saying Hi! But as soon as Kie got close to him for a picture, well he kinda freaked out! It was hilarious! I mean, I kinda thought the Bunny was a bit unnerving as well. I mean, look at his creepy tilted head and scary over-sized carrot!




Saturday night after we got home, we dyed our very own Easter eggs! It was so much fun because Kie loved putting stickers and decorations on the eggs.

Then Sunday morning the Easter bunny came and left Kie a basket full of goodies..AND A POTTY!
Yep, Kie baby will be potty training soon.
In fact, we have already started getting him accumulated to his new "tee tee spot".



We then all got dressed up and went to church--and the service was so beautiful! Seriously, Easter is about JESUS--not the Egg hunts, the Easter baskets or the Dove Chocolate bunnies....

I love our Church and our wonderful preacher--and man did he delivery Easter Sunday!
We then headed over to our friend's beautiful house in Westlake Hills--for some delicious tacos and drinks on their amazing patio.
We spent a good few hours, eating, talking and enjoying the beautiful day God made!
Kie was the center of attention since he was the only baby there--and he had a blast playing with the puppies outside.

That night Justin and I grilled burgers on our back deck and enjoyed some MUCH needed couple time once Kie went down.
And wow, after a long day playing he was OUT!

Easter was perfect. Such a wonderful, beautiful peaceful time to reflect with our loved ones....

**My family was all in Dallas over the weekend and we weren't able to make it there to see them--so spending it with church friends was the next BEST thing!
Otherwise, I'd of LOVED to been with all my family.

Regardless, the weekend was a blessing!

I have SO many exciting posts to come, stay tuned!

Until next time,

-HK-

lots of eggs! 

making friends as usual!

such a little boy face! 

ready for church :)

a momma's rambles on love

Another late night post.
Excuse me now for rambling.

I just find myself getting sentimental lately because my sweet little man is growing oh so fast.
And it pangs me. It really does.

He's so sweet and innocent. His big blue eyes watching everything.
And he's so smart and observant.
I realize I'm his mother and maybe a bit partial but, just watching him learn everyday just makes me tear up.

I so want to protect him from this world.
I mean, as a child I remember tons of great memories..but it's later in life that it gets hard.
People can be mean, and sometimes you learn to be mean back.
You make mistakes, people hurt you, you hurt others...
It's just a vicious cycle....
And it's something I wish with every bone in my body and ounce of my flesh that I could prevent from happening to my son and future children.

I just look at his sweetness..his sweet, chubby cheeks,
his adorable chunk legs,
the dimples on his elbows...
All those sweet little reminders that he's young, fresh and new...(and slightly chunky-which I adore!)

Sure, it's not a newborn.
But he's still so protected and beautiful that I'm afraid of what the world will do to him.

I'm sure to a lot of non-mothers (and maybe some mothers) I sound like a complete nut.
But, my heart just breaks for children and babies.
Our world can be so cruel and ugly and it can take something so precious as a child and turn it bad and ugly.

I know a lot of it is parenting but sometimes things outside of parenting happens that we can't prevent.
I mean, I had amazing parents but I failed more times than I'd like to admit.
I made so many mistakes in my life I would never want my own children to make.

I just cherish these sweet moments.
As I watch him sleep in his crib,
listening to his sweet breathing...
I kiss his soft blonde, baby hair (that I never want to cut)
and breathe in his baby scent.
Ah, he always smells so good--just like a baby should.

And I know, he's not a baby--he's a toddler.
And growing up fast.
And I wish everyday I could press pause on these sweet moments...
because with every kiss I steal from him I realize it's just getting closer to the days where I
can't forever steal kisses from him.

You know, those times when he'll be a teenager and embarrassed of his mother?
Those nights where I can't sneak into his room and watch him sleep...
Of course, I sit here like a crazy woman, crying as I type this...
It's amazing what happens when you become a mother.

Nothing in the world matters besides your children.
Your heart truly is outside of your body.
Everything you thought you knew and understood about love is gone....
Because love and joy comes from seeing a sweet, innocent child--
one whose been made in the likeness of God--
a precious jewel,
a rare flower,
eager to learn
to see and to do...
to play and to run and to climb....
This sweet child is YOUR responsibility to teach about God's love...
to teach that they are forever loved.
That they are safe and protected.
That no matter what, you'll always be there for them.

It's my job to lead as an example,
to give,
to be kind, 
to be gentle,
to stand up for what's right,
to teach God's word,
to pray with him, 
to guide him.

Watching Kie grow everyday....
wow, nothing in this world could possibly give me more joy than being a mother.
And never in my entire 23 years leading up to my delivery could I prepared my heart and soul for what I feel now.

Ahhhhh, ok...
Enough tears.
 :)

I do have some funny stories to share soon.....
Including the time I let my husband cut off a foot of my hair.
Yep,
my husband.

Happy Friday y'all!

Love,
-HK-

Spring pictures & bouts of insomnia

I've been having bouts of insomnia lately....
It stinks!

...besides nothing is good on TV this late at night.

I really should use my late night time for something useful,
but I hate to be loud when everyone is snoozing.

::Le sigh::

I do have some cute pictures to show tho!
Yippie!

And now that Spring is in FULL bloom there's lots to be done around our casa.
We were going to start some remodeling but we had some unexpected expenses pop
up so we are holding off until we have the cash we need.
AHHH Dave Ramsey, you would be proud!

Anyway, tomorrow Justin is working so I think me and Kie will be heading to the park.
Or at least for a long walk.
Tonight I took a walk to the store down the street for icecream and everyone was buying themselves a
lottery ticket.
And since I've never played, and I had two dollars to spare...
I bought one!
I felt silly, but at the same time, hopeful.
And I prayed to God we would tithe and I'd give to charities if I won.

However, I didn't win.
Ha!
I do believe that is my FIRST and last time to ever buy a lottery ticket.

I realize people have a lot of opinions on gambling.
And I'm SO not here to go into that, but mine was on a whim and to be fun.
Nothing more.

Well I'm going to share my super cute pictures of Kie.
He's wearing a French outfit that has been passed down in my family for over 60 years...
It IS a little boy's outfit and in fact my dad and ALL his brothers (my uncles) and my own brother and boy cousins have all worn it when they were nearly two. (And took pictures to document)

So we had to get Kie in it pronto and I took some cute little pictures of him in the beautiful Texas Bluebonnets!

I can't wait till we go a professional photographer for the black and white shots like my father's.

Enjoy!

Until next time,
-HK-

happy thursday lovies!

time where does it go?

Seriously, I ran into an old friend today that I've not seen since BEFORE I had Kie...
and it was crazy.
It seemed like only yesterday I was pregnant with Kie--
though I cannot imagine life without him.

Ok, so I can remember those days a bit...
BUT it's crazy how MUCH life changes once you have a child.
I mean, nothing is for me or ABOUT me anymore.
And I admit, I WAS ONE selfish person.
And still at times I struggle with wanting things--or wishing for things---but of course I never indulge in that...
(the actual buying)
but I still think about it.

It's just once you become a mom...your brain turns into only thinking about your child.
I don't spend lavishly because I'd rather save for his college.
I don't spend lavishly even on Kie a lot because I know there are things down the road I'd rather do for him.

I also think about the times me and J had before becoming parents.
And though we got to spend a lot of time together--and spoiled one another....
NOW we are a true team.
We work so well off one another.

After a long day with Kie---and I'm tired and needing a small break from my sweet, but very clingy toddler....
J takes him outside to play in the backyard...
Or he does chores with him (like letting him ride on the mower with him) Seriously, SO CUTE.
Or J takes him on errands...

Of course we spend a lot of family time together...
but sometimes (like right now) a momma needs her break.

And though I wish I was getting a mani/pedi...
or I had endless amount of energy so I could be at the gym...
or shopping with my cash that grows on trees...
I'm quite happy with the minutes I get to lay down in bed...
or open up my Bible to try and tackle a few more chapters.

J and I get our time together but its those special rare moment we get to steal.
Like during nap time on the weekend when we just lay on the sofa or in the bed...
too tired to do much but too busy to lay too long...

Life happens fast.
And I feel blessed to have the one I have now.

Alright, time to get back to baby and Hubs.
We have friends coming over tonight to grill out.
Also stay tuned...
I have things to share.
Hope everyone is doing great.


PS--I LOVE SPRING AND EASTER TIME!
AMEN!

-HK-

Oh here's a few pics from Colorado--better late than NEVER!

Why I rarely blog...& Then some

Hey readers!
What few I still have--since my LACK of blogging has been getting worse and worse.


I am here to be honest.
Originally I started this blog to VENT when I got pregnant.
Because as a pregnant lady you tend to think a lot and would like to share.
And it was my way of getting things out and just expressing myself.
Well, since then I started to blog to keep family and friends on what is going on in life...
and life SOMETIMES can be exciting and thrilling---
and most of things I'd like to remember---I rarely BLOG about.
Why?
WELL


I am the WORSE about uploading pictures.
Seriously, AWFUL.
So I think--well I can't blog because I have no pictures to share.
So I wait and wait and then so many things happen in that TIME that I am like well---there's no point in blogging about that exciting time (3 weeks ago!)
So I don't!


Anyway, it's gotten into a bad habit.
And I actually LOVE to blog and I love to write....
and express myself.


SO instead of lying (I dont mean to lie I just am bad about getting around to it!) and saying pictures are coming soon etc.
I WILL blog...
and pictures WILL eventually come.
And sometimes I will have the random cell phone shot (actually a lot of them are!)


BUT regardless, picture-less or not I am going to be blogging.
Because sometimes life is way interesting and I haven't shared.
So with that SAID...
I will share on how we saved money on our family ski trip...
AND MY TRUE thoughts on it.


SO here is PART TWO of this blog.
Btw, I say the word "SO" SO much in my blogs.
I need a better transition word.
If you think of one for me, let me know, mmk!? Thanks friends!




Like I said, we paid CASH for our ski trip.
First tip,
we KNEW we were heading to Colorado (Breckenridge to be exact)
about 4 maybe even 5 months before we went.


Justin and I LOVE TO TRAVEL.
In fact, we have been on a few family vacays.
Some have been close by trips.
Like an hour or two to the next lake for a Lake/Camp trip with Kie.
Or we go to Dallas...or San Antonio for a night or two.
And of course we make the LONG, LONG trip to Atlanta for the special weekend to see family.


And of course there was the BEST BEACH vacation to Florida last summer.
(AH the beach I miss you!!!)
ANYWHO....
we knew we were going to Colorado for awhile.
So this past Christmas we skimped on each other---(we got small gifts)
we RE-GIFTED a lot of Kie's birthday presents (and even some PAST Christmas presents)
and we made Christmas MORE about family and quality time then gifts.


And believe me NOT, but it was the best Christmas I've ever experienced!
Seriously, NOT focusing on gifts made the season sweeter & made us concentrate on what Christmas truly is about.
AND we saved a lot.


Also--I cooked most every night...
And I started a vacation jar 
that I left in the kitchen so we could put our extra change and money in it.


We put a label on it with the big words "VACATION MONEY!"
And whatever spare change we had, or extra money or whatever we had went into it.
Ideally I wanted an extra $1,000 just in case.
And it was BIG and clear so it was exciting watching out change and dollars PILE up!


Not only did we prepare early by saving whatever we could....
we also booked our flights at an ideal time.
See, I'll let ya in on a secret.
If you book flights on a TUESDAY...they are like THE CHEAPEST tickets you can get.
So we got super cheap all around tickets from Austin to Denver.


Of course, flying with a baby means no seat for him--so you SAVE on that.
**THOUGH flying with a baby is NOT ideal****
However, I may add....
HE WAS GREAT.
*More on that later*
Anyway--
Justin has his own snowboard and gear---
AND since we're blessed with an uncle and aunt that lives in Breck, we got to use one of their medallion ski passes.
Which meant we had ONE less ski pass to buy..
(because by golly--those are expensive!!)
So, we prepared early---and SAVED.
Had SOME gear already (though we did have to pay to board it on the plane)
bought our plane tickets on a Tuesday and SAVED
and we only had to buy ME a ski pass.
SO already our trip has been HALFED in price.


Now for the hotels etc.
We did SAVE so we could splurge some.
And we did splurge a little.
But we made it in our budget so we could.


First off, our condo in Breck is actually a timeshare.
We bought our timeshare from Justin's parents a few years ago.
They werent able to keep it for financial purposes so we paid it off in full and got the title to it.
*We did this BEFORE we had a baby and after we got a tax refund. So we were blessed with money at the time and blessed to be able to fully pay it off and have the title.


Of course, owning a timeshare is great---and having it ALL paid off means you mainly pay for HOA fees.
So it does cost a few hundred dollars--but NOTHING like it would if we rented a condo in Breck for a week.
And luckily, this timeshare is changeable. 
So that means we can vacation wherever our timeshare has rooms (which means most places!)
Therefore, our condo was VERY cheap.
We got a huge large condo--full kitchen/living room/hot tub....etc.
And the splurges I'm speaking of is the occasional times we would eat out...
but since we had a kitchen most meals came from there!
ONCE again, SAVING tons of money!


Our splurges were putting Kie in half day of daycare so we could ski/snowboard together.
**And that was the ONE time we got to go together**
The other days we took turns.
And since we took turns we only needed ONE ski pass for the week.
And I rented by gear at a place we had a coupon for.
(Our resort would give coupons for places in town!)
Which by the way, is a great tip!
If you're staying at a hotel or resort, ask if they have suggestions for places to eat or things to do.
Most likely they WILL have coupons for local businesses.
As for our week in Breck, we didn't go over the budget we had.
Even with all of us getting deathly sick... (ha!)
And the only MAJOR splurge we had came at the end of the week when we stayed downtown Denver.


Even then, the hotel wasn't that much.
And we had a great time at the Denver zoo!
And PART of the reason I allowed us to stay at a hotel downtown (that cost us $130)--maybe that's not  much to you--but I figured staying at a nice hotel with a valet parking (included) and a free breakfast--and WALKING distance to all the restaurants made it well worth the money.
Plus--I'm sure we won't be back in Denver again for a LONG, LONG while.
I think the next time we go Kie (and if we have more kids) will be old enough to dress themselves and join us on the slopes.
It was really hard to leave Kie in day school, even though he loved it.
So next time we head to Colorado it will be YEARS and YEARS down the road.


Besides,
I'm more of a beach girl.
I prefer to lay in the sun and the surf.
Fruity drinks and fried sea food....
Ahhhh...
and no layers and layers of clothes to wear!
So yep, that's my thoughts on our trip!
It was fun and beautiful--
But we'll wait till Kie man is old enough to be on the slopes with us!
Alright, this is long.
I'm wrapping it up.
Also, stay tuned for some exciting stories....
and news....
and eventually pictures.


Lots of love,
-Hk-

Family Getaway!!

Hey friends! So I've been awful on blogging.

We JUST got back from our family vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado.
And I WISH I could tell you it was ALL that I dreamed it would be...
BUT sadly,
It wasn't.

Unfortunately, we got super sick with the stomach virus.
And it took a MAJOR toll!
A 3 day long TOLL.

LUCKILY,
we were on vacation for 10 days...so not ALL the days were spent in the bathroom.
But, it still put a major kink in our plans.

However, I guess if I had to get the stomach flu--it's nice to have it where you can open the deck doors to FRESH mountain air.

I DO have a lot of pictures to show of the FUN times---and so I will be posting those next post.

ALSO-- Kie loved the snow! I was surprised...
Because I know when I was a kid I didn't care too much for the snow.
Mainly because I'd get wet and freeze.
But that's probably because I didnt have the proper snow gear on.

Kie, however--had some nice snow gear--thanks to his Uncle Carter that works at REI.

We spent the majority of the trip sledding--swimming in the heated pools--Justin snowboarded a lot...
And I spent some time in the spa getting massages and of course a little time on the slopes.
We even spent a wonderful night in Denver downtown and went to their amazing zoo!

All in all, it WAS a great trip.
But next time I'm bringing a nanny (or a Grandmother) with us--so that way when a baby gets sick--or when I DO, someone is there to help out.

ALSO--I will be sharing on my NEXT blog about how we paid CASH for our entire trip.

Yep, see we are STILL doing our budgeting and saving as MUCH as we can.
And we are proud to say we paid CASH for everything.
That means, plane tickets...
ski lifts,
renting gear...
dinners out...
etc!

So come back and read how we managed a 10 day vacation (sick and all) on JUST CASH!

Well, hope everyone has been having a great Spring Break!

Until next time,

HK