What I'm loving Wednesday.....

What I am loving this week!

I'm loving my perfect new white cabinets! The photo doesn't do them justice they are beautiful! They don't even look "diy" they look brand new from a factory, I can thank my hubby for that :)

I'm loving Maroon 5 new jingle "One Night" what a fun upbeat song!

I'm loving that I got to go on my walk last night after a week hiatus.

I'm loving that on said walk a young guy (boy) waved at me, you know the wave I'm talking about! Chalking that one up to the straight hair ;) and don't you know I ran home and told Brent all about it, I still got some game! ha!

I'm loving my new $20 Target skinny jeans! I never thought I'd go skinny and here I am and I'm happy about it!

I'm loving a nice clean bed to snuggle in, of course this photo was taken Sunday so it doesn't look so nice anymore!

I'm loving my new leopard flats also from Target, seeing a trend here and why I am supposed to stay away from that place!

I'm loving that Lucas seems to really be warming up to the idea of sleeping in his own bed, it has been a hard road but most nights he goes to sleep in there and stays for a good while. He still asks me to lay down with him while he goes to sleep and I can't and won't stop doing that but I think we are all sleeping better!

More than anything I am loving that we have a 3 day weekend coming up and it is much needed!

What are you loving this week?

Skate Party Weekend!

We had a fun weekend! Lucas is just hilarious and everywhere we go he is so much fun! I just really can't get over it :)

Friday night we went to dinner and a movie! ha!

Dinner was at BurgerKing!

And the movie was Madagascar 3 or "move it, move it" as we call it! ha!  We've been trying to get to this movie forever and we finally did!

Waiting on the movie to start!

Luke did pretty good but close to the end he was getting tired and asked to go home but we waited it out and made it all the way though.

Saturday we had Bentley's birthday party at the skating rink! I was very excited to see how Luke liked skating!

Headed to the party, spoiled rotten watching a movie on the way!

The party was so much fun! The kids could skate or play in the bounce house or just run around. It was a closed party so only our size kiddos were there so that was good!

He skated a little bit but once he saw the bouncy house that was it, he stayed in there the rest of the time until the dancing started. They did the Hokey Pokey and the chicken dance and Luke won the best dancer award! Surprise surprise! This kid loves to dance :)

After the party he went to Mema's house for a little bit and I went to Target for some alone time shopping! So great!

After that we headed home and got ready to go to my uncles house for dinner we stayed there until after 10 and we were exhausted!

Sunday we planned on hanging around the house and cleaning, laundry, and organizing stuff but Brent got called to work so I cleaned house and did laundry and made meatloaf for dinner when Brent got home.

It was a great weekend and I can't wait for the next!

Branson Trip 2012!

*Long post! Tons of pictures, hate me ;)

We had an amazing time on our annual family Branson trip! I was not ready to come home and get back to the daily grind :(

We started our trip on Thursday morning, we all met at the McDonald's in Alma to grab a quick breakfast and so we could caravan up there to arrive at the same time.

Lucas and Lance watching movies on the phone instead of eating! ha! They don't get to see each other much but when they do they are best best buddies, love them!

Once we got to Branson and to the hotel we unloaded all our stuff and then got back in the car to head north to Springfield. We went to the huge Bass Pro Shop and to eat at Lamberts. We had a great time!

The boys checking out all the boats.

After Lambert's we headed back to the hotel to hang out and catch up. The reason we go to Branson on this specific weekend every year is for the car show that is in town. Brent's parents always put atleast one car in the show, some of the others have put cars in before but this year it was so hot I guess no one really wanted to mess with it but we still get to see lots of cars right in the parking lot of our hotel. The best parts of the whole trip are sitting around in lawn chairs, hanging out, letting the kids play, and watching the cars go by. Such fun times! 

 

Thursday night we also walked down the strip to Andy's to get froyo and ride gocarts! Luke loved the carts of course!

Friday we got up and around early and headed to WhiteWater! We had so much fun there and stayed for 4 hours! Brent and I both talked about next time bringing a waterproof camera because we didn't get any pictures of the day :( 

Luke rode all the waterslides he could and had a blast, he is so fun to do things like this with right now. 

We went back to the hotel to catch a nap before dinner.

For dinner Friday night we went down to the landing, which is a big outside mall, and ate at Catina Lorado. Love that place! The best mexican food ever and it's also where we had our reception dinner the night we got married so it's pretty special to us.

At the landing we found a Lego store! We spent a lot of time there before dinner.

Both of my boys had tons of fun!

Saturday we got up and headed back to the landing to Ride the Ducks! I've been looking forward to taking Luke on the duck ride since before he was born!

It was pretty fun, we had awesome weather and a funny guide, I loved hearing some tales about the town.

Luke even got to drive the duck for a little bit!

 

After the duck ride we went to eat lunch at Old Chicago and thought we go to the car show for a bit. We headed back to the hotel and got my father in law's Challenger and headed to the show! We got there and  drove though but never found a place to park so we opted for bumper boats and go carts instead!

Luke rode the go carts with Papaw and I got to ride bumper boats with him! ha! It was fun and we got soaked!

For dinner Saturday night we went to Outback, this isn't the Outback chain that we have in town it's much much better. It was very yummy and Luke ate a ton of steak! After dinner we walked down the way and rode more go carts and went to Andy's again.

Waiting to ride!

Ready to go!

Sunday we got up and went to Steak and Shake for lunch then headed to the fish hatchery on the way out of town.

 

Feeding the fishes!

 

 

 

After the hatchery we headed home. We had such a fun time! Loved spending time with friends we only see a few times a year and spending time with my family. I can't wait until next year!

 

Friendships as of late

I am going to get real down and dirty here, writing here is such therapy for me I just have things I need to get out! With walking and writing I am a new woman ;) anyway back to the topic....

Having friends when you are a grown up is hard! There I said it.

People are people, sometimes you agree with who they are and sometimes you won't, this is a hard concept for me. I am really struggling with some friendships lately and I honestly am at a loss on what to do or what not to do.I don't want to hurt anyone and I don't want to hurt. It's hard.

Isn't it funny how as a kid and teenager friendships are easy and really fun, and I know that's how it should be as adults but sometimes it isn't. As a younger girl my friends were everything to me. I am and always have been so very loyal as a friend and it would break my heart when others weren't that way, I just couldn't understand.

But now with a family of my own I am maybe not the best kind of friend. I try so hard to keep up with my friends and I so bad want them to know I care about them and hope they are doing well but sometimes they slip though the crack.

And sometimes I feel like maybe I am the one slipping though the crack, like that I maybe don't mean much to them. It hard to say those words without coming off as whiny or unfair but those are my feelings.

Often times I wonder if I need friends, I have an amazing family with who I enjoy spending time with why do I want friends at this stage of my life. My mom never really had friends, she of course chatted with parents of mine and my brothers friends and sat with other moms at our sporting events but she never had anyone she went on a 'girls night' with.

Recently I prayed that God would take my desire away to need a social life, I don't know what the outcome of that will be but I feel like if the desire was gone just maybe the hurt that others bring would be too. But I know weather it's friends or total strangers I'm going to be hurt in this life and learning to overcome it in grace is what I should be asking for.

I will say the social butterfly I once was has taken a backseat, I don't make any effort to make new friends whatsoever so is that what I am doing wrong? I am kind, I am not judgemental, and I can get along with anything all of that I know so why is this so hard? Is this just a rut and in a few years things will be fine?

All I know is that I am hurting and I have been waiting anxiously for someone to come along and make it better when really maybe I should be bettering myself and I will get my answer....

Tidbits for Thursday!

• I keep forgetting to do my Thursday posts! I barely remembered this one! My days are all running together we've been so busy!

• After much thought we have finally decided to go with granite for the kitchen counter tops and even though it's double the cost of the other material we were looking at I am so very excited! Here is the color we are going with. I am in love with the brown and gold tones, it will be beautiful with our cabinets and fixtures.

• We have also decided to add another lower cabinet to the other side of our dishwasher to house the microwave. You have no idea how long I have wanted to shove that eyesore in a cabinet! ha! But building another will not only get the microwave off the counter for more counter top space it will allow us to have more surface area on top of the new cabinet I am very excited about that, it will help so much when I am entertaining.

• To say the kitchen project has taken over my life is an understatement! ha!

• Luke's seasonal allergies have hit full force this week! We have been up a lot at nights with him because he can't stop coughing, I feel awful for him and we all need a restful night of sleep soon, hopefully this weekend we will get some.

• Luke has his first skating rink birthday party this weekend! I am very excited to see how he likes skating! I loved it as a kid.

• I am in the early stages of planning our annual Halloween get together, I love Halloween and all that it offers so I am hoping to plan some games for the kiddos this year. Luke has told me he wants to dress up as a chicken! ha! Crack me up!

• That's all I got folks, I am about to go home and work on my kitchen! Surprise surprise :)

Big Things!

We've had a lot going on in the Roper house lately! I am STILL trying to put together a Branson post but with pictures on 3 cameras, it's hard work! 

The biggest thing around here is Lucas has successfully slept in his own bed for 6 nights now! We replaced the mattress we had in his room, the old one was so wore out and old so we got him a new one that is very comfy and he doing so well! I will go in and lay with him until he falls asleep which has been taking about 45 minutes then I leave and he has been staying in his room anywhere from 3am to wake up time. Over the weekend he stayed in there asleep until 9 in the morning! I am so proud of him but also quite sad. He's slept with us since he was a baby and we sure miss him but we know this is what is best now.

Luke on his new big bed!

Another big thing, for me anyway is I got new tennis shoes! I haven't bought any new ones since I was in high school! I was walking in my high school shoes which is kinda cool but I knew if I wanted to start running I would need something a little better so here they are! Luke helped me pick them out can you tell?ha!

Just some pictures of my big boy! I can't believe how much he has grown just within the last 6 months. He is really loosing his baby-isms :(

New big boy shoes and pants. He calls these his basketball shoes :)

Eating yogurt with mommy last week after a great first week of school in his big boy class!

And last but certainly not least the kitchen reno!

Yes my friends I am asking myself what in the world did I get myself into! ha!

First up- the cabinets.

We took all the doors off stripped them clean then painted but we mistakenly put a coat of poly on, that is a no no when you are wanting white cabs. Needless to say it turned them yellow!

a mess!

So we sanded everything back down to the paint moved them to the paint booth and repainted this time no topcoat! I hope we are making the right decision on that.

Brent earning his keep, seriously this man is amazing!

Yes a lot of blood, sweat, and tears has been happening around here and I am not kidding but the doors are painted and drying and we still need to paint the frames in the house but so far the doors are drying beautifully!

We are smack dab in the middle of the kitchen reno and with this huge hiccup I am scared to say the least!ha!

Next we will install new counter tops and sink.

Then paint the upper walls (get rid of the green)

Last the tile back splash and floors.

The time line is Christmas, my timeline is Halloween ;)

Cabs after the coat of poly but before all the yellow took over :(

How does that old saying go? A couple who DIY's together.... O wait maybe that's something else! ha!

Hope you're having a great week, friends!

So proud....

I know every parent thinks the same thing, my baby is just a bit cuter, funnier, or smarter than other kids he is around and I am full fledged knee deep in those feeling these days.

Lucas has me completely wrapped around his little finger, it took him a while I will say. At first I was a "hard" mommy. When he was born my life changed (duh) but for some reason I was still trying to hold on to my old life, my friends, my commitments, my work. I wanted him to look and act perfect and was embarrassed when he threw a fit. But today I am a very different mom. Today I know he is 3 and he will make mistakes and I will make mistakes but that's ok because we are all still learning.

Having a whole week with my boys did something to me. It made me realize how amazing of a life I really have. Brent has my heart but Lucas is the light in my eyes and I am so proud to call him mine. I am so proud that Brent and I have created this awesome little person. And I don't mean create as in the pregnancy part of having kids, that's the easy part. I mean we have shaped his personality and his feelings and his ways into a breathtaking little boy. Countless people have told me what a great kid he is and that my friends is where I find inspiration. When he can make someone else's life a little better that's all he needs in this life. I hope he is always this way.

And then all those feeling skyrocketed once he started his new class room this week. He is SO smart it blows me away. He has adjusted to his new class and teacher very well and has been excited about it most of the week. He comes home with "work" he has done and is so proud of himself. He might just be one in a million.

Then I overheard some mom's at school one morning. Talking about how gorgeous he is, they didn't know I heard but it made my day. I know it's the hair! Gah that hair!

I hope to have more babies but if I am only blessed with this one that is all I will ever need.

I am truly blessed beyond measure!

On Exersicing Part2

Remember this is coming from the girl who had never "exercised" a year ago I had completely given up on even thinking about exercising, I even got to the point where I was saying all mommas are chubby I am not even going to bother with trying to be any different....

But all that was said before I even tried.

And today I have a completely different view on exercising.

I have only been walking for a little over 2 months but I can say it will probably be something I always do. I love it so much. I like getting outside and being by myself for just a little bit and then at the end I feel so accomplished!

I use an app called "Runkeeper" it tracks how long I have walked, what speed I am walking at, how many calories I have burned and it plays my walking play list. I really like knowing how many miles I have gone and how many calories I am burning.

But lately I have really been itching to step it up a notch, I want to start running.

I'm very apprehensive to start running while it is so hot but last night I went walking at 8:00 which is later than I normally go and the sun had gone down and it wasn't as bad. I ran the hill that I usually walk. I felt very proud of myself to say the least!

I hope at the very least I can keep running just the hill,  but even if I can't I am still so happy that I have kept myself moving.

The one thing that really keeps me going is music! Every week I will buy a couple of songs that will make me want to get up and go! I save these only for walking so if I want to listen to them I have to walk! So far that has worked SO well.

Some of my most recent added songs are:

"Do you know" by Enrique Iglesias

"Hey Mama" by Mat Karney

"Better than life" by Remedy Drive

"W.T.P." by Eminem

"Wide Awake" by Katy Perry

"No Love" by Lil Wayne and Eminem

Know of any good workout songs? Need a walking partner? I'd be so happy to take along with me!

On the Chick-fil-a fiasco......

I know I can't believe I am going here but with the insane amount of talk about this I was busting at the seams to state my stance on this. I sure didn't want to put it on facebook to start a commenting riot, I am just too chicken (pun intended ;)

But here's my thoughts, I hope we can still be friends! ha!

          I saw this quote on Pintrest a while back and it took me aback, I thought yes! that's right!!

And I couldn't think of a better way to say what I am feeling with this whole Chick-fil-a thing going on.

My God is a loving God, he does not judge and loves all his children the same. He makes everyone different for a reason and weather we on earth know the reason or not doesn't matter in the end.

We all knew Chick-fil-a is a Christan based business they aren't open Sundays or any major holidays, they play Air1 in their stores, and I've heard many times them referred to as "The Christan Chicken"

I like that they stand up for their beliefs and that it shows with how they run their business. I also don't think this was one of their smarter moves to state their side to the press I can see some business gained but I can also see some business lost though this whole thing. But that is not really my point.

Point is I don't like all the hate and the judgement from people who claim to follow Jesus. I will never understand. I will be better than that and I will teach my kids to love everyone regardless of who they are.

I love Chick-fil-a, they are a great place to take kids and eat some good food but I won't be going today....