On This Mother's Day...

I'm sitting in the glider in my sweet baby boy's room.  He's not here yet, but he will be soon.  I'm reflecting on how thankful I am that on Mother's Day next year, I'll be a Mommy and how thankful I am for my own mother.

My mom has always loved me so well, but I have felt it more in the last two and a half weeks.  I've been on bed rest (more about that later), which means all the things that I normally do, plus all the things I need to accomplish before mAc's arrival, I can no longer do.  So, my mom has done so many of those things for me.  It's all the little things - she's done the laundry numerous times, she cleaned my floors, she washed my dishes.  Those are the tedious things - the things I don't really like to do, but they keep my house running, so I do them.

Then, there are the things she's  done for mAc, the grandson she hasn't met yet, but she loves him so much already.  She's done his laundry too - and the boy has a lot of clothes!  She has helped organize, put together, and decorate.  His room feels like a nursery because she has done so much to help.  She has made so many trips to the store to buy things that are must haves before mAc arrives - like diapers!

So, Mommy, thank you.  Thank you for loving me through all 27 (almost 28!) years of my life.  Thank you for loving Aaron like he is your own - your help around our house has helped him in so many ways!  Thank you for loving mAc - you are the best, Chela!

more excited than anyone else that mAc is a boy

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!

As I mentioned, Claire turned one last week.  On Sunday, an ice cream/swim party was held to celebrate!  We had such a good time, and I can't wait for more birthday parties for that little Chick!  I made her a super cute ice cream cone headband.  I can't really take credit for it.  My sister found it on Pinterest, and I copied to the best of my ability!  Here are some pictures of the headband and the party!

I started with rosettes made from crepe paper.

The cone is real.  I hot glued curling ribbon inside.

Sugar pearls hot glued to make the cone pretty.

The finished product!

Chick in the swimming pool!

Unsure about the candle.  That headband looks too cute.

This little one likes cake.

It was hot.  The pool was great.

Happy Birthday, Chick!

Claire is ONE!!! Today was her first birthday, and what a joy it has been to be an aunt for the past year.  Aaron and I went to my sister and BIL's house this evening to have cake and open presents.  Claire was a little unsure of the cake, but enjoyed it once she tasted it!  She had a great time opening some gifts.  She got a few wonderful gifts that I think she's going to love.  Happy Birthday, Chick!  Uncle Aaron and I love you so much.  We are so thankful that God blessed your mommy and daddy, and the rest of us, with you!  I can't wait to celebrate so many more birthdays with you!

Monica and Matt are getting married!

My little sister, Monica, and her fiance Matt are getting married in October.  I've mentioned this very briefly in a past post, but the time has come to write just about them!  This engagement has been a long time coming, and our family was overjoyed when Monica and Matt finally got engaged.  They met in Lubbock about 4 and a half years ago when they were both working at Cricket's.  Matt had just moved to Lubbock from Nashville, and Monica was at Tech.  Their relationship has been so fun to see grow and change over the last 4 years, but even more so over the last year and a half since they've been back in Dallas.  They got engaged at the end of August, and the planning has begun!  I absolutely can't wait for October to get here so we can celebrate them in such a big way!

Monica has 6 bridesmaids, including Adelina and me.  We are her Matrons of Honor, and it is so fun to be a MOH!  This past October, Monica had this wonderful plan for asking Adelina and me to stand by her on her wedding day.  However, things didn't go according to plan.  We were on our way to San Antonio, and Monica's plan was to ask us in the car as we drove along a stretch of 35 that is almost to the exit we always took to get to my grandparents' house.  We would always start chanting, "We're almost there!" as we saw a chain link fence that let us know that we wouldn't be in the car much longer.  Monica was going to start this chant as we got closer to San Antonio, and naturally, Adelina and I would join in.  Then, she was going to ask us to be her Matrons of Honor.  It was such a good plan!  About half way to San Antonio, Monica found out that we were going to be exiting before we got to San Antonio so we could stop by my cousin's house.  So, Monica thought that she would start her chant when we exited.  Adelina and I did a great job of ruining her plan by being crabby and telling her that we weren't almost there.  So,  Monica let us know her plan and asked us to be her MOHs in the car on a random street.  We are so sorry we ruined your plan, but we can't wait to stand by you!

Yesterday, Monica's 4 other bridesmaids gave a wonderful engagement party for Monica and Matt.  We had a great time, starting all the fun celebrations to come in the next few months!  Matt has 2 nephews, Rustin and Travis, that he is very close with.  They live in Lubbock, and they came to Dallas this weekend to celebrate!  I'm so glad they were able to be here!  We had delicious food and desserts, and the wine was great too!  It was such a blessing to be with so many people that love Monica and Matt and can't wait to celebrate them!  I've included some pictures from the night.  Thank you Mary, Sarah, Megan, and Heather for hosting such an awesome party!  Thank you, Bobers, for opening your home to us!

Monica and Matt

Sarah, Heather, Monica, Mary, and Megan

Matt, Rustin, and Travis

Rustin and his girlfriend, Dani

Happy Birthday, Sharon!

After our Christmas festivities, we celebrated Sharon's birthday! Sharon's birthday is December 25, and her birthday is always celebrated in the evening.

I'm very thankful for Sharon and the wonderful mother and mother-in-law that she is. She is a wonderful example of a wife, loving Sammy so well. She is a caring, giving person. She always puts others first and is very selfless. Sharon shows her love by giving to others and doing for others. She is one of the most generous people that I know. I am so thankful for her and all that she does for Aaron and me. Happy birthday, Sharon! I hope this day was filled with joy for you!

Merry Christmas!

As I said before, I love Christmas and all the things that come with Christmas. I love spending time with family for Christmas, especially since our family has grown so much. My family's tradition has always been to go to San Antonio for Christmas. We spend Christmas Eve eating tamales, menudo (which I don't eat), and KFC. The KFC tradition started with my grandpa when my cousins, sisters, and I were little. We wouldn't eat the tamales, so my grandpa would get us KFC. My uncle continues that tradition still. Aaron and I went to San Antonio yesterday. We rode down with Monica and Matt. The whole family, which has grown this year with Claire and Scarlett, got together at my aunt's house for Christmas Eve. It was so much fun, and I loved meeting Scarlett! This morning, Aaron and I flew back to Dallas to spend Christmas with his family. It was a wonderful day! I hope your Christmas was as wonderful as mine! I hope you celebrated the birth of Jesus with people that you love! Merry Christmas!

Christmas Cheer

Christmas is hands down my favorite time of the year.  We have gotten to celebrate with friends and family, and Christmas hasn't even arrived yet!

On Wednesday, Aaron and I had plans to look at lights from the comfort of a limo with our sweet friends Courtney and Marc, Andrea and Chris, and Stacey and Jay.  However, Baby Dane couldn't wait to make his appearance in the world.  Courtney came to work on Tuesday morning, but left not long after to head to the hospital.  Instead of a limo and lights, we headed to the hospital on Wednesday to meet sweet Dane and take dinner to Courtney and Marc.  Dane is a sweet, precious baby, and I loved every minute of getting to meet him and hold him.  He's a little thing, and I love him!  It was definitely better than looking at lights!

On Thursday, the Everitt/BitsyBug/LPR Christmas Party was at the Bowlin's house.  Stephanie's brother, Sean, cooked for us.  Dinner was delicious!  Sean is a chef at Fearing's at the Ritz-Carlton.  He can cook!  One of the best parts of the Everitt Christmas Party is always the Secret Santa exchange.  Everyone is required to wrap the gift they are giving so that the recipient is very obvious.  It's always pretty funny, and I like to see how the person who gave to Aaron wraps his gift.  This year, Aaron's gift was wrapped in red paper with Buddy Holly glasses on it.  The glasses had tape around them.  It was too funny for two reasons.  Aaron is a little bit of a nerd, and before he got new glasses, he held his together with tape.

Yesterday Aaron and I celebrated Christmas with my mom, dad, Monica, Matt, Adelina, Reed, and Claire.  We always go to San Antonio to spend Christmas with my mom's family.  A few years ago we realized that it was better to open gifts together here instead of taking them all to San Antonio with us.  We ate tamales and opened our gifts.  I love spending this time with my family.

Merry Christmas, Sweet Claire!

 

Monica, Adelina, and I are in charge of desserts for Christmas Eve, so we'll be baking on Thursday.  This is our second year to make the desserts.  We'll be baking several different desserts, but no sugar cookies.  We burned them last year, and by the time they were ready to be decorated, we were ready to be done!  Aaron and I will be going to San Antonio on Christmas Eve, and we'll fly back to Dallas Christmas Day to spend the day with Aaron's family and celebrate Sharon's birthday!

Thankful

Thanksgiving came and went without a hitch!  I am thankful for so many things this year, I know I can't list all of them.

Aaron and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house for the first time.  I am thankful that we have a home that allowed us space for 16 people to gather and spend time together.  I am thankful that we only had to do Thanksgiving once this year since both of our families are in Dallas.  Normally, we spend part of the day with my family wherever they are, then the other part of the day with the Arnolds.  Our first Thanksgiving was spent at the hospital with the Arnolds because Brian was having surgery.  This year, I am thankful that everyone is healthy and doing well.

I am thankful for our families.  I love my sisters, and I was so sad not to spend Thanksgiving with them this year.  Adelina, Reed, and Claire spent Thanksgiving with Reed's family.  Monica and Matt headed to Lubbock to spend Thanksgiving with Matt's family.  I am thankful that my sisters have these wonderful families that they enjoy spending time with.  I am thankful for Brian and how much fun we have with him.  Since he no longer lives with Sammy and Sharon, we don't see him as much, but we always have a good time with him!  I am thankful for Claire, and for the joy that she brings to our family.  Adelina sent me a video of Claire laughing so hard at Reed making noises.  It was the most precious sound, and I loved hearing her laugh.  I am thankful for my parents and Sammy and Sharon.  Both my parents and Aaron's parents have been married for 33 years.  We are so blessed to have parents that show us how marriage works, and that it is not always easy, but it is so worth it to work through the tough times.

I am thankful that Aaron and I have jobs that allows us to have a home, our cars, and enjoy the things we love!  I am especially thankful that my job allows me to have a week of rest at Thanksgiving.  It has been a wonderful week, and I am a little sad to see it end.

Last, but absolutely not least, I am thankful for my little family.  Aaron is the best husband, and I could not have asked for more.  He is kind and caring, and a wonderful chef!  Brody and Lily are sweet animals, and they bring us so much laughter on nights when we are just sitting around.  I am beyond thankful for the many blessings God has given me.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and ate well!

BOO!!

I realize that Halloween was about a month ago, so this post is really late.  But, I just now decided to upload the very few pictures I took this Halloween onto my computer.  The five pictures taken were all of Claire, because she really was the only thing worth getting a picture of on Halloween.  Maybe I should have gotten one of Adelina too, because she really took the mom role to heart and wore an awesome pumpkin headband.  I love my sister, and all the things that make her uniquely her.

Claire was a ghost for Halloween, the cutest ghost you've ever seen.  I can be biased; Claire is adorable, and I made her costume.  My love for her is shown by making her costumes that result in glitter being all over me, and none left on the tulle for her skirt.

Hope you had a safe Halloween!

Cuter than Casper.

Celebrating Gabriela and Scarlett

I love babies, and I love that so many important people in my life have recently had or will have babies in the near future.

This past weekend, my sisters and I hosted a baby shower for my cousin Gabriela, along with her sister, Carissa, and her sister-in-law, Tila.  It was wonderful to celebrate Gabriela and Scarlett, her baby girl set to make her appearance in November!

Gabriela... she's very cute pregnant!

Cousins

 Gabriela and Adelina are only a couple of months apart in age, and their little girls will only be a few months apart as well.  That is something that I love!  Adelina and Gabriela are not only cousins, but close friends.  I can't wait to see their little girls grow up as close as they did.

Adelina and Gabriela

Saturday morning, Adelina, Monica, Claire, my mom, and I loaded up and headed to San Antonio.  We stopped first at Gabriela and Dean's house so we could see Scarlett's nursery.  It is adorable, with wonderful personal touches.  It's just how I would picture it.

The shower was Sunday morning, and it was so much fun!  There was such a variety of food, and all of it tasted wonderful!  A diaper wreath welcomed guests, and a well wishing tree allowed guests to write sweet messages to Gabriela, Dean and Scarlett.

Monica made this adorable well wishing tree.

This diaper wreath was so easy and fun to make!  Plus, it makes a really cute door decoration at the hospital!

 Guests were asked to bring a book in place of a card, so Scarlett's library is off to a great start!  Gabriela received so many wonderful gifts.  Scarlett is set when she arrives!  I can't wait to meet you, Scarlett!

Happy BIRTH Day Claire!

Claire has made her arrival!  She was born yesterday, August 3, at 1:34 in the afternoon.  Adelina and Claire are doing great!  Adelina went to the hospital around 10 Tuesday night, and we anxiously awaited more news.  The family went to the hospital around 11 yesterday morning.  Reed's mom, Mary Ann, drove in from El Campo late Tuesday night/incredibly early Wednesday morning.  She left around 2:30, and she was in Dallas by 8.  Reed's dad, Donnie, drove to Dallas yesterday afternoon. 

Claire is 6 pounds, 8 ounces and is 19 and 1/2 inches long.  She has a some hair, just the right amount!  Everything about her is perfect!  I have very much enjoyed spending time holding her last night and today.  Adelina and Claire will go home tomorrow, and I am so thankful that I still have a week before I have to be back at work, so I get a little more time to just love on Claire!

Countdown to Claire

I said in my last post that Aaron and I had celebrated many things in our first year of marriage.  We are getting ready to celebrate the birth of Claire, our first niece!  My sister, Adelina, is pregnant, and due in just 10 short days!  I can't wait for Claire to be here and experience the joys of being a part of this wonderful family.  I can't wait to love on her, and see how Adelina and Reed parent her.  I think really Adelina has been preparing for this her whole life.  Being the oldest, she always took on responsibilities that she didn't have to, but did because that's who she is.  Adelina is going to be a wonderful, loving, giving, protective, active, fun mommy.  She will care for Claire in a way that only Adelina can.  She will teach her daughter how to love well, and Claire will probably inherit a lot of Adelina's Type A personality traits.  She will do everything for Claire, because her love is that big.  Reed will be Reed.  He will be an amazing father, showing his daughter immense love.  He will make her laugh more than anyone else could ever try.  I'm pretty sure he will give her a love for fishing, and water in general.  He will also give her a love for music that makes you want to dance.  Adelina and Reed will be the perfect balance of silly and serious.  I am so excited to meet Claire!  You should all be hoping that Claire will come six days early, on August 4.  That's my day in the family baby pool, and I'd kind of like to win!

Adelina with all of Claire's aunts!