Life Thru a Linds

Friday, November 27, 2015

Harrison Lakehouse Thanksgiving

Gosh, I love holidays at the lakehouse.

It is so, so relaxing and calm and slow. I treasure it.

No phone, internet, tv, no real distractions.

Just lots of togetherness.

In the winter we can't even get on the water and this year, there was so much rain, we couldn't even go outside much. But, we never get bored and the 5 days/4 nights we were there still flew by.

We left Wednesday afternoon and got there in time to play outside a little on the swings and in the piles of leaves that the yard guy left for the kids to play in. Dylan is obsessed with being outside and swinging.

I love it.

Thursday was Thanksgiving and Pop's birthday. We started with a big pancake breakfast because it's his favorite.

We had about a half a day of daylight and no rain and my kids (and Gram) took advantage.

I also invested in a selfie stick for the first time and we couldn't get enough.

Kinley and Ty got to help uncle Alex prepare the turkey for thanksgiving dinner. They loved injecting it with the garlic butter.

They were pros helping in the kitchen this time, where we spend lots of time. They helped Alex and Gram make meringue.

Brinkley selfie

We decided to make some costumes for dinner and turned some brown paper sacs into Indian vests.

Aunt Minnie even made Kinley a head piece.

Thanksgiving dinner selfie!

It's not a party until Ty falls asleep on the couch in the middle of the fun.

Singing Happy Birthday to Pops

We spend a lot of time playing games at the lake.

Kinley was the perfect card dealer with her sequin visor hat.

We knew with the rain we wouldn't get to be outside much so we brought the bounce house and set it up on the screened in back porch. There was lots of jumping in the cold but, at least we weren't wet!

Can't handle the cuteness...

never mind that he is wearing a hat with a bow on it. third child gets nothing new, even wears sister's old clothes.

We do have a DVD player at the lake and watched a few movies together.

We even left the house one day and went to the movie theatre in town to see The Good Dinosaur and out to dinner.
That was a first! It was fun!

Picture theme of the week was definitely Kinley and the selfie stick.
A few more for your enjoyment.

PS - this sweatshirt she is wearing is MINE from when I went to elementary school. True vintage straight from the back of a closet at Honey's house. Pretty cool.

On a more serious note, this holiday season so far has been a little difficult for us. We are going through some life changes and seasons that all families and people go through. It has been tough but so sweet at the same time. It has been such a great reminder to choose joy and to choose to focus on the true blessings and things we are thankful for in this life.
Nothing fleeting or material.
It is crazy how life can change from one minute to the next.
The only constant is Jesus.
He is our source of joy and comfort and peace. Amidst the chaos and uncertainty, He alone is secure on His throne with purpose and direction and perfect timing.

As a family, we are so thankful and choose joy in Him and Him alone.

I am beyond thankful for my husband and my three kids.
I am overwhelmed with the blessing they are to me.

And this holiday season, I am even more over-joyed for my new soon-to-be nephew. I am absolutely in love with his future parents and couldn't be more thankful for them in our life as aunt/uncle/brother/sister.
They are amazing and will be the BEST parents.
Life is not easy and can be totally unpredictable.
But, through the good and bad, we cling to each other as family and most of all cling to JESUS who sustains us and changes us with each mountain and valley.
I am overwhelmed with thankfulness.
Here is a pic of Mendy's cute growing baby belly...but, who is that dad??

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Fall Soccer 2015

We've spent our Saturdays this fall watching soccer games again.

This season for both Ty and Kinley.

Oh man, it is a nice way to spend a Saturday morning but, soccer is maybe just not the sport for either of our kids.

I love how active it keeps them and we sure do love to cheer on our teams and, man they look so cute dressing the part!

About half way through the season it started to click for Ty! He started hustling and paying attention to where the ball was. He ended up scoring a few goals this season. Two of them were kickoffs that he literally kicked from the center of the field into the goal because no one touched them and another was a throw in from the sideline that rolled straight into the goal.

So, some of his goals were theoretical, but a few of them were actual drives down the field and into the goal .

He was SO excited each time he scored.

The First game he scored! Two goals!

Here's a pic after another game scoring 2 goals.

That made 4 total at that time.

The last weekend of soccer Ben got to sub for Ryan as assistant coach. It is not a job for for the faint of heart. Ty got to be Team Captain one game.
So cute.

Coach Cal is a saint...for real.
He sometimes literally picks up the boys and places them on the field where they need to stand, turns them and points them in the right direction.

Kinley and some of her school friends cheering on their little siblings at soccer. She might like this job even better than the actual soccer playing.

Kinley's new job this season was goalie. She loved playing goalie. She really did block so many goals and did a great job. She even played a few night games under the lights this season which was so fun.

Coach B after the last game.
He is so great with these girls. Making them tougher and work together as a team!

We are still waiting for Kinley to kick in that first goal. She has had more close calls than I can count and I know its coming. When she does, we will all do the happy dance to celebrate. She is going to play indoor soccer this winter and I know her skills will improve and help her be ready for spring. Her soccer pictures were precious!

We had both kids team trophy parties at CiCis pizza. They were excited to both get some trophies!

I don't have a picture from Kinley's party, I was chasing after Dylan most of the time.

But, here are a couple from Ty's.

Ty with Coach Cal and Coach Ryan

We are so, so thankful Ryland and Ty were on the same team. I don't think Stacee and I quit laughing the entire season.

Can't wait for more Spring Soccer for both these big kids!

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

2015-2016 School Pictures

So, Ty's preschool got all fancy with their pictures this year and decided on a non-traditional school photo and went for a more professional looking outdoor shoot.

I think it turned out really well for some people.

For Ty on the other hand, I think they just went above and beyond on the color editing.

He has red hair in almost every pic. And he really has not an ounce of red hair on his head.

I pretty much just wanted to buy a black and white one because it looks nothing like him.

But, just for grins and memories...here are a few of the "red-headed-Ty" pics I took a screenshot of on my phone.

The black and white ones were cute but, I just couldn't bring myself to buy a black and white school photo.

This is the only image I actually purchased. Super handsome with slightly less red hair. When did he become a giant?

Kinley's school pics were taken later than normal in the first semester. If they had taken them in early fall I think she would have had a few more teeth. Like the week of her pictures she lost two teeth the same day within seconds of each other. They were both hanging by a thread and I barely touched them and they both came out. Two teeth in one night for the tooth fairy was fun!

And this year, I am loving this toothless, beautiful, growing girl!

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Firestation Visit

We've been to the Southlake Fire Department a few times but finally decided to give our local Colleyville guys some love and visited the station right next to Kinley's school one day with the boys in Ty's baseball class.