austin.part one

nearly two weeks ago

(how could it already be that long ago?)

my husband i and went on a little trip to austin.

(i'm sure you remember the ten on ten here.)

one of his best buddies from college was getting married.

and there was no way that we would miss the event.

so, my parents kindly watched all three munchkins.

B and i hadn't been away for a night

without at least one of the children

in nearly three years.

it was time.

through God's mighty hand,

we were able to use miles and got the privilege to stay at 

the W.

that hotel holds a special place in our hearts

as it is where we were blessed enough to

have our wedding reception.

eight years ago. 

the room was

absolutely,

positively,

incredible.

as was the view.

i brought my mom's cowboy boots,

(which, by the way, i am never giving back)

because seriously, if you don't wear boots in texas, 

where can you wear them?

sidenote: i had no idea that my ankles could sweat like they did.

i was definitely not prepared for that.

now i know.

for the first night, 

we got all gussied up 

and headed to the rehearsal dinner. 

it was there that the bride-to-be 

warned my husband 

(which to whom she referred as 

"one of the pranksters")

 that her bridesmaids were on full alert.

(more on that soon...)

May the God of hope 

fill you with all joy and peace 

as you trust in him, 

so that you may overflow with hope 

by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

1471. giggles in the stroller

1472. L's love for books

1473. crickets chirping

1474. pink and yellow

1475. shopping in my sister's closet

picture me {im}perfectly.grime

i have a hard time 

accepting the grime 

in my life.

you know, the yucky stuff that i have to do.

the stuff that needs to be done

and the stuff that God has given me to deal with.

often i desire to pray it all away.

so often.

but i know that 

i need to embrace where i am.

i need to recognize that the Lord gives gifts.

and He doesn't give gifts. 

and that what i don't have is also a gift.

and it is intentional. 

i need to embrace this time and season of life. 

embrace it in its fullest.

head on over to 

the housewife's blog 

again to hear some beautiful words 

straight from her heart.

picture me {im}perfectly

is a weekly project to reveal that we don't have it all together.

i will post a 

picture me {im}perfectly

blog post every wednesday 

where you will be able to link up to your blog

revealing that:

you are not picture perfect,

your kids are not picture perfect,

your house is not picture perfect,

your crafts are not always picture perfect,

let's 

encourage, 

inspire and 

remind 

other women 

that none of us have it all together.  

<a border="0" href="http://capturingmotherhood.blogspot.com/search/label/picture%20me%20%7Bim%7Dperfectly" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_TEajznl6Lw4/TTTZOgmZkqI/AAAAAAAAHAw/NH8EssqyeZc/s144/pictureme8.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />

add my button to your blog post

and link up to your direct posting

and feel encouraged. 

The Lord your God is giving you rest 

and has granted you this land.

Joshua 1:13b

1466. a husband who saves the day

1467. a night out

1468. just enough time

1469. looking to the back of the car 

and seeing my sweet L looking at me

1470. new systems

the concert.

every single summer,

we head to a local museum

for an outdoor kids concert.

and every year, it's even more incredible.

this year, we had some dear friends join us

along with a bunch of family

and it rocked.

as usual.

L got to hang with one of his besties from school

and the girls got to dance with their dads.

sweet L loved the tunes,

and these little girls loved 

dancing,

dancing and

dancing

to the great band.

my sweet nurse friend

(and my could-be-sister)

brought her hubby and sweet baby girl.

isn't she so adorable?

yes, yes she is.

there were lots and lots

of laughs,

and even though this guy 

was a little too cool to dance,

he enjoyed the music.

my sis and her B joined us,

and i was as thrilled as can be 

to have my B join us.

and sweet H had a thing for my D.

and this little girl,

she stole my heart ages ago.

and i can't believe how grown up she is getting.

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.

Ephesians 4:29

1461. pizza delivered

1462. a silent car ride home

1463. spending so much time with baby E

1464. getting to see baby E again

1465. a whole new week ahead

we could be sisters.

this week is kicking my butt.

in a major way.

we're figuring things out though.

like how to be even more efficient.

and cutting more stuff out.

it's still wild and crazy for nearly every second of the day.

here's a photo from a fabulous outdoor concert we went to last month.

more photos to come soon.

(i know that i have been saying that

a lot lately but i know you all understand.)

this is the lovely S 

(with a Y).

only two of you will understand that.

she was one of the incredible nurses 

that took care of me 

when B and i lived in the hospital 

for six weeks. 

i think we're going to be life-long friends

and don't you totally think we could be sisters?

totally.

1456. 800 photos of someone special

(coming soon)

1457. an entire dinner made by B

1458. going shopping with my little girl

1459. being surrounded by joy

1460. giving myself a break

picture me {im}perfectly.art on the wall

i recently found these beauties 

on pinterest.

they are incredible.

truly, truly.

the ideal situation is to have the kids 

work on them while you make dinner.

and let me tell you, it works.

oh, how well it works.

there was one tiny problem with them though.

i think it confused our K. 

because she was told that she could 

draw all over this new placemat 

and the marker would easily wipe away, 

i think she thought that would work for all locations.

including the glossy, white walls surrounding her bed. 

yes. 

she went wild during "rest time."

once i found the "artwork," 

i took this photo and texted it to B.

he immediately came home with magic erasers in hand.

that did the trick.

luckily.

(fyi - i have found that wet erase markers 

seem to do much, much better 

on laminated surfaces than dry erase markers.)

please, please head on over to 

this sweet blog 

by the lovely marisa.

  

she helps us all remember what 

this blogging thing is all about. 

picture me {im}perfectly

is a weekly project to reveal that we don't have it all together.

i will post a 

picture me {im}perfectly

blog post every wednesday 

where you will be able to link up to your blog

revealing that:

you are not picture perfect,

your kids are not picture perfect,

your house is not picture perfect,

your crafts are not always picture perfect,

let's 

encourage, 

inspire and 

remind 

other women 

that none of us have it all together.  

<a border="0" href="http://capturingmotherhood.blogspot.com/search/label/picture%20me%20%7Bim%7Dperfectly" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_TEajznl6Lw4/TTTZOgmZkqI/AAAAAAAAHAw/NH8EssqyeZc/s144/pictureme8.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />

add my button to your blog post

and link up to your direct posting

and feel encouraged. 

The LORD is good, 

a refuge in times of trouble.

He cares for those who trust in him

Nahum 1:7

1451. sand in little shoes

1452. L feeding the dinosaur

1453. surviving three different schools

1454. great first days

1455. 90 minutes to myself.