April

To sum up April....lots of taxes to do for me, means little blogging happening. 

But, still lots of fun where we can get it. 

 A fun mommy-daughter night out at the Bass Hall to see Little Mermaid with my #1 girl.

Daddy so sweetly gave up his ticket to that show for Kinley

 

Love that our seats are right next to the Bartels. 

 

We also celebrated AG's birthday at Sweet & Sassy 

 

 I went to chapel with Ty on day at school. Love watching him sing praise songs to Jesus. 

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 Days with Dylan.... 

Doesn't every one year old carry around a huge dinosaur and umbrella in the car with them? 

 

We get outside as much as we can and he helps me with the yardwork. 

 

This swing is the greatest. My kids love it. 

 

Kinley got to go with her Daisy troop and see the wildflowers they planted at the beginning of the year that have bloomed. 

 

We love when friends come to play. 

Very rarely are they all sitting in one place and watching a movie so I snapped a pic. 

 

A little bit later... 

 

Mendy, Kinley and I had a girls day out shopping in Southlake 

 

We can't stop playing basketball since Ella's birthday party in March. 

We set up a court on the deck outside and have "dribbling contests" non stop. 

 

Honey got to keep Anson a couple times in April which we LOVE

 

 In our house, pants are overrated \  

 Selfies! 

 

Anson loves Haley and is so sweet giving her some love

He got to some see one of Ty's evening soccer games

These superheros had a great check up with our ENT Doctor. Both doing well past ear tubes, tonsils/adenoids. Dylan's ear tubes are about out so another follow up in the Fall to see if we need another surgery for new tubes or if he's doing great. We are hoping for his speech to improve a lot this summer.


Honey and I took Kinley and Ty to see Seussical at Casa Manana and it might have been my favorite one yet. It was so cute! Picture by the sign....but, why is Ty such a BOY! 

 

We celebrated Guiliana's 5th birthday at Altitude trampoline park.

 It was our first time there and although my kids LOVED it....it gave me total anxiety. 

 We saw at least 2 bloody noses and a broken arm while we were there! 

 Ah!

   

We obviously tried to confine our kids to foam pit where injury was less likely. 

And Dylan's favorite thing was just stacking up the blocks and knocking them over into the pit. 

Watch DOGS

Ben was a WATCH DOG at Kinley's school the last Friday in April. 

For months Kinley has been asking when Ben's day to be a Watch DOG was and it finally came! 

 She was beyond excited.

 Ben got to take her to school and spend the entire day with her and the 1st Grade. 

He opened car doors for kids coming to school and went with them to all their specials classes, lunch, recess, everything! 

 Kinley got to introduce Ben to the school on the morning show and Ben got to say a few words. 

Ty, Dylan and I went to watch the morning show from the front lobby. 

 Pretty sure Ben challenged the whole school to the tether ball court because "he ruled the court when he went to school there." 

 

Dylan and I joined Ben and Kinley for lunch and took a few quick pics too. 

 

I know Kinley is already excited for when Ben gets to come be a Watch DOG again next year!

Rooted

Throughout the Spring, Ben and I went through an 11-week Discipleship experience with our Community Group called Rooted. 

It was unlike any "bible study" I have done before.

 It was intense and purposeful with a movement toward action. 

 We started the first few weeks in the basics of the Bible with creation and God's love story for us through sending Jesus. 

We met every Sunday from 8:30-10:30 and with our group. 

We studied a week on prayer and had a 3 hour prayer experience at our house with our group. 

About mid-way through the program we studied a week on strongholds and broke in to men and women and dove deep into our struggles and hardships and got so real and raw and it was powerful. 

Then week by week we were built back up in our faith.

 Strengthened from community and accountability and realness. 

We studied a week on service and then all went out on a Saturday and served together at Mission Arlington. 

We got to bring our kids on our service day and it was so fun for us all. 

Ben and I decided to only bring Kinley and leave the boys at home. 

All we did was bring water and bread to some apartment complexes around the mission. 

We didn't "preach" to these precious people or try to "fix" anything. 

We just went to fill physical needs.

 

 It was eye-opening for our kids. 

There were apartments with no furniture, not one item of food in their fridge, kids opening the door with no parents home. 

 It brought up a lot of good discussion and questions for our kids. 

All in an area less than 10 miles from our home. 

They served so joyfully and without one complaining the whole day and at the end of our time just hung out and played on the playground with some of the apartment complex kids for a while. 

 Kinley walked away wishing she could be like those kids and live in an apartment complex with friends surrounding her all the time. 

She had questions but, only saw people, just like her.

A few service day pics. 

Addi spent most of her time with Kinley, Ben and I and it was so fun for the girls. 

 

Group kid pic that day on our picnic lunch at Sonic.  This is really only like half of our kids.

 

Our last week of Rooted we spent an entire session of 2 hours just affirming each other in our community group. 

 It was a love-fest full of emotions, tears, joy and praise to God who has brought us all closer and changed us through the process. I learned more about myself and how these people, who so carefully have observed my walk with Christ, think that God uses me than I ever knew.  We sped right through that 2.5 hours and rushed through as quickly as we could.  It could have lasted hours and hours.

We ended the experience with a celebration night. It was a delicious dinner full of cardboard testimonies of how people have changed during their experience. It was filled with powerful, incredible worship, and lots and lots of baptisms. There were no dry eyes and SO much celebrating. 

 I am so, so glad we went through Rooted as a community group.

It changed us for the better.  We are closer as a group and committed to growing in Christ together.  We are more committed to service and outreach and evangelism and accountability and prayer.  And we are REAL.  No joke, just real with each other.  With our struggles and triumphs.  With our joys and insecurities.  It is refreshing and the true definition of community.  I pray we don't forget all that God has walked us through during this journey.