Shades of Brown

Last week I headed to Joplin with my folks to go to a dear friend's wedding. It was such a precious treasure of a time! I flew into Dallas then from there my parents and I drove up. On our way back to Dallas we stopped at my FAVORITE coffee shop, "Shades of Brown." We stretched our legs, pulled Kael out of the car seat and enjoyed a nice coffee date. They have THE best lattes and a sweet, earthy atmosphere. I used to live about an hour outside of Tulsa a few years back and this was my special place. From the array of old, golden crushed velvet chairs to the hand made pottery coffee mugs the whole place oozes with originality. I LOOOVE it! Someday over the rainbow I would love to have a coffee shop like this. 

Once Again! :)

Hey pretties! Top baby blogs just reset their numbers tonight. If you loves enjoy reading, will you please VOTE for us this week? I have SO enjoyed meeting amazing readers and bloggers from that site and really want keep that sunshine coming! :) Thank you so much! I know I've been a little quiet lately, but for reals, there are some really sweet posts coming up. I'm in the middle of house hunting, keeping a smile on the face of a  majorly teething baby boy and balancing lots other things. I really sharing and connecting with you all when I'm gone.

All day today I've been editing pics and scribbling funny stories  to share with you very soon. Thank you  loves for reading and voting. You truly do make me smile extra everyday! <3

-jess

To vote for us please click HERE and then click the owl on the left. :) 

Going to the Chapel

So would you like to here something oh, so exciting!? One of my dearest friend's, Joshua Schwartz, is getting married to the amazing, beautiful and wonderful Brittany Pitts tomorrow! Josh lead the drum circle at my wedding and is a heart friend that's like my blood brother. I didn't think I was going to be able to make it to their wedding, seeing Sam's been looking for work the past month. But, we worked it out and I got to use some old air miles to help make up the difference for the trip! I flew to Dallas yesterday and myself and my folks are driving up today. I am SO, SOOOO excited you have no idea!

Despite the terrible sadness the tornado brought when it hit Joplin, they have chosen to go on with their wedding right there in the heart of downtown. I'm so elated to be able to celebrate this day with them! Kael is ready to get it on and party as well. ;) Josh and Britt haven't met little boy yet, another reason I'm excited to see them! I'll be on the road today tomorrow and the next day. Yay for last minute miracles! I would have cried very hard if I hadn't been able to make it. When I get back home I will have a ton of posts from the past couple weeks and this weekend to show you all. Have a wonderful weekend dears.


Say some happy prayers for Josh and Brittany. Both of their full time jobs were destroyed by the storm. I   can only imagine how hard that is for them going into married life. God is faithful over them and I know he will provide.

Ok, I have to go, I could sit here all day and write pretty much the same thing over and over again about how excited I am for them. Eeeeeeeeee!

love and goodness,

jess

Sister Time

Hey guys, my little sister Tiffany came to see us for a few days so I decided to take a computer break and just enjoy our time with her. It was so much fun and there are adventures I will tell you about soon. Sam and I are off to a picnic with friends, but I will fill you in on what's been going on this week, plus Kael's 9 month post and the last part of our beach trip. Have a wonderful holiday lovelies! Hopefully you are out enjoying it with your families. 

Flirty Face

Do you see this little flirty look of sweetness? I get the joy of soaking up precious looks like this all day long. True, sometimes a teething, hungry and whiny face may take over at times but, for the most part it's this.  I took these yesterday evening while little man was eating some carrots for an early supper. I can't believe my handsome, blue-eyed boy is going to be 9 months in just a couple days. 

Praying For Joplin

Many of you have heard that what they are now estimating is an F-4 tornado, ripped a 4 mile long and 1 mile wide path of devastation through Joplin, MO last night. Reports say that 75% of the city is destroyed.

We were coming home from church yesterday evening when I saw news of it online. I lived right outside of Joplin a while back for a few years, was involved deeply in the house of prayer there, leading worship sets, visiting one of my best friends who is a college student as MSSU pretty frequently and my in-laws have family there. This story is not just a poor town that got hit, it is so close to my heart and personal.  I put Kael right to bed when we got home and started to try and reach my friends who live there. I had knots in my stomach all night as I waited to hear back from them. Calling one friend to hear that they haven't heard from another yet was tearing my soul apart. Two of my friends were in the YMCA right next to the hospital while they're kids were at home alone in the basement when it hit. Some of my other dearest friends were out driving while the storm hit...Thankfully everyone I know is safe. My friends Josh and Brittany who are getting married in just two weeks in Joplin are out with a group, helping the people they can in the city. Please pray for them and the city of Joplin. My heart is breaking. If you'd like to donate or volunteer to help in the relief effort please click HERE.  Thank you for your prayers.

this was the walmart...

First Pool Time!

I took my little man to the pool yesterday and he absolutely LOVED it! I think his favorite thing about the swimming time was watching the big kids playing and splashing. Several kids did cannon balls right near him and he just giggled or smiled. That's my boy!

Hey guys!  I would so appreciate a click-a-roo below to help keep us ranked.  Thanks loves!

Beach Babies... Day 2

Day 2 was the most fun beach day for me. After having a good long nap, Kael and I headed outside for some ocean adventure. Forest boy was a little apprehensive about the sand and water at first but, after observing from the safety of the clean play sheet, he decided to explore. First, it was his pointer finger in the sand, then all of a sudden handfuls of sand were being grabbed, becoming a new snack and the beach was now his racetrack. haha. I had a moment of hesitation as he munched on the sand. I mean does that really taste good? Have you seen that movie documentary called "Babies?" If you haven't, you really should. The babies who were in Africa, (they were my favorite) they would play with rocks, bones and corn husks. The moms didn't seemed very worried. I looked at Kael as he had a clump of beach in his mouth and thought to myself, if you were a baby born in Africa, your momma would let you do that. haha. I quickly decided that I was just going to let him explore and taste pretty much whatever he wanted. Heck, he was happy, confident and unafraid. I was going to ride that wave as long as I could. His favorite afternoon snack ended up being the reeds that had been washed up by the dunes. haha. Oh my little, sweet boy. Countless handfuls of sand, gnawed on sea shells and pulverized beach reeds later, he was and is just fine. Yay for chilled motherhood!

He played for 3 hours out there you guys! 3 HOURS! He eventually passed out on my chest as I sunbathed and sat there talking with my girl friends.  It was perfection. 

sparrow and kael enjoying some sunshine. 

sparrow being a little beach babe model. 

my beach buddy

kael wanted to learn a little about fashion from autie kara as she read instyle mag. it was so cute, he stayed there listening and watching her. 

beach reeds!

my little pirate boy

so tired

bath time after a long day in the sun. i think i'm still finding sand in his ears and between his toes. 

Boho Beach Babes

my beach babe lady loves and our caravan of babies

I've woken up the past few days with the weirdest feeling, my brain still feels like it's at the beach. Shouldn't I put my bikini on and break out the sun screen?  haha.  I have SO many pictures from our trip to the beach and have JUST started to organize them. Over the next few days, you will see some of THE sweetest pics, oh my goodness. It was the most fun beach time I've ever had!  Last time (my first time) I went to the beach I was pregnant, our hotel was a little bit of a drive from the coast and I had some personal stuff going on that kinda hindered me from fully relaxing and enjoying the whole experience. Sam and I are definitely up for a fun, romantic beach getaway, very soon. I'm already planning another trip in my head for us. Last week was divine to my soul and my heart. I've come away from all the beach-ness with these thoughts:

1. We will live by the beach one day.
2. We will visit the beach MUCH more often. hmmm let's see, what are we doing next week? ;)
2. If you're going to the beach, get a place ON the beach.
3. I have the most beautiful hearts surrounding me.
4. My baby has my complexion. (Yes, he has the cutest little farmer's tan. eee!)
5. Waking up to the sound of the ocean is magical.

I can't wait to show you all the wonderful sandy moments! Check back this week loves!

-Jess

Boho Beach Days

Kristina, Anna and I loaded our little babies into my Volvo and hit the road around 10am and arrived at the beach around 1:30, yesterday. It was SO much fun road-trippin' with them. My CD player stopped working 2 days before the trip and Sam wanted to get it fixed before our trip but, we weren't able to. I assured him we'd probably talk the WHOLE way there....and we did. haha. 

Our beach house is AMAZING! Oh my goodness it's a two story, huge, bright and amazing with a view of the beach right in our backyard! Káel needed a nap when we got here yesterday so he wasn't too keen about the water. I'm hoping today now that he's rested, all happy and excited that he'll enjoy it more! His favorite thing seems to be the wet sand on his toes. My little sweet stuff. Jessie fixed us an amazing meal and after the babes went to sleep, we all stayed up and talked til' 1:30am. SO much fun. Today is another full day of amazingness! More beachiness for you later. 

kristina and adoration arriving

chillin' and waiting for anna 

anna's little sweetie, isabel

noah giving forest boy kisses

beach babies

first beach walk

Sparrow 

sand face

adoration after a day at the beach

noah using my video camera as a phone

jessie making an amazing harmony bowl dinner

tempeh...a new found yummy protein love