Going Home!

Well, here it is. My last post about my TX trip!

It's been a little over week since I flew home from my whirlwind trip to visit Kristin.  The entire weekend flew by so fast and before I knew it, it was time to head home.  I felt so blessed to be able to make the trip and the more time passes, the more I feel it was just a dream.  It's such a surreal thing to be used to emailing and texting your best friend daily, then getting to finally see her in person.  I told Kristin it was the strangest thing to  go from seeing her one minute to saying goodbye in the next, and then going back to texting her again once I passed through airport security and couldn't see her anymore.

The drive from Kristin's house to the airport was about a 45 minutes but it seemed to go by so fast. Before we knew it, we were there at the airport and it was time to say goodbye.  I didn't want to be all emotional and I think what really stopped me from bawling my eyes out was really the fact that I hadn't really processed the fact that the weekend was finally over.  I kept feeling the entire time I was there that I was just so happy to be there in the moment and I just told myself I wasn't going to worry about the kids or be nervous about traveling. I was just going to enjoy every minute. And I totally did!

After saying our goodbyes, I figured it would be fun to snap a few pictures for memories sake of my journey home.  I looked out the window and saw a plane that looked very much like one I'd be getting on...

I flew Southwest and was so happy I did. The people were so kind to me, both going and coming and I was glad I'd chosen to fly with them.  The next time I fly, I'm definitely going with Southwest again.  What I thought was really neat was how they don't have any assigned seats. You just check in online or via your phone and depending on how early you checked in, you get the board in the order you checked in.

On my trip home, I'd booked a flight that included a stop in El Paso, which was about two hours away from Houston. The flight there was smooth and super easy. Here is my one piece of proof that Houston wasn't the only place in TX that I've been to! :)

El Paso reminded me a lot of home for several reasons. Mainly just the type of people I saw getting off the plane.  The area of CA I'm from is pretty diverse with a heavy Hispanic population and being there felt very much like home.

After most of the people on the plane got off in El Paso, and new passengers got on, I relocated to a window seat and settled in for the last of the two hour leg back to CA.  I couldn't help at marveling at my view from my window.

It was amazing to me to look down below us and see neat little squares of land. At some points it was very much like looking at a real life monopoly game!

I was telling a friend just today how I couldn't get over how amazing the clouds looked to me as we flew right along side them.  I'm truly not a big nature lover or anything like that, but I just couldn't help but get emotional as I looked out the window and  got to see big puffs of cottony looking clouds.  It really was a sight to see.

As we got closer to home, I couldn't help but start to get excited. I loved my time away, but at the same time, I was so happy that I was going to get to see my girls again.  Both my Dad and my Hubby decided to come to the airport together to pick me up in L.A. and what made it so special was that they brought Liv with them to meet me!  That last half hour of the trip felt like forever but I looked forward so much just getting to hold my girl again!

When our plane finally landed, it was all I could do to rush down to meet my family. I didn't plan on crying but I totally did when I saw my little girl walking around the waiting area!  I called out her name and saw her look up at me in surprise!  It was the best feeling getting to hold her in my arms again!

My mom had gotten her dressed that morning and I found it so funny that she'd chosen to put her in a little dress especially for me!  My mom totally didn't even know it, but that specific dress was one that Kristin had given to me that used to belong to her girls.  Kristin, do you recognize the dress? :)

The entire car ride back home from the airport was so fun just getting to share with my Dad and my Hubby about the fun I had in TX.  I talked so much on the way home, I nearly lost my voice!

I know this pic is yucky due to my Dad's truck windshield being so dirty but I just had to share the reason why I love living here on the coast.  I took this pic as the sun was setting and we were about an hour and half away from home...

I know I keep saying this, but I'm really so thankful I got to take this special trip!  It was really one of those once in a lifetime things!  Kristin and I look forward to the day when she can come out here and bring her family to see what CA is all about!

If you've made it to the end of this post...thanks so much for being so excited with me about my little adventure!  I thought it would be fun to give away a little something TX,  so with Kristin's help, I get to give away one these fun TX cookie/biscuit cutters!

She actually bought us a set too and the girls and I had so much fun making some TX shaped biscuits last week!

So fun! :)

To enter to win the cutters, all you have to do is leave me a comment on this post and share with me if you've ever been to TX!  If you haven't been there, tell me...have you ever been to CA before?  

I'll leave the giveaway open until the end of the week and pick and announce the winner by Friday! :)

Texas, Day 2 {Kristin's Shower and picture overload}!

Continuing from here and here, I'm starting where I left off with my posts about my adventures in TX with Kristin!

Saturday was Kristin's baby shower day! It was so strange to me to be able to wake up and get only myself ready!  I'm so used to having to get all three of my girls plus myself ready to go anywhere on any given day that it was the neatest thing to me to just have to take care of me!

For breakfast, Morgan (Kristin's husband) went out and got us all some doughnuts and kolaches.  (Am I even spelling that right, Kristin?) :)  I was a good girl and passed on the doughnuts but I did try out the kolaches.  Kristin had mentioned a while back, having bought some kolaches for the girls on a morning after a sleepover.  I told her that I'd never heard of them before, so she said she'd get some for when I was there visiting.

Turns out, all they basically are, are pigs in a blanket.  They're bread with a hot dog/cheese in the middle...

And they were so yummy! Please tell me that I'm not the only one who'd never heard of these before, so that I won't feel like such a dummy! I'm told that they're found in all the doughnut shops down there.  Here in my area of CA, we just don't see this type of thing in our doughnut shops.

After breakfast, I enjoyed a little time taking in the amazing view from Kristin's back porch.  She lives on the water over looking Trinity Bay...

Once all of us girls were ready for the day, it was time to head out to the shower!  I took this picture of Kristin and her girls right before we left...

It's my very favorite one of all the pics I took that day!

And here's a picture I borrowed from Kristin.  Don't you just love the view behind us? :)

I was so excited about getting to the shower and meeting Kristin's family and friends. The shower was hosted at Kristin's friend Julie's house and as we headed basically just down the street a ways, I continued to marvel at how HUGE the houses there are.  Seriously, here where I live, houses of that size sell for at least $750,000. And I'm not even joking!  I should have totally taken a picture of the sign that was on the outside of their development that said "homes...now starting at $250,000" so you could see for yourself, but I didn't. I did at least snap a picture of a few of the homes (because I'm a dork like that) and here was one of them...

By CA standards, that size of home is a mansion, lol!

On arriving at the shower, I was so excited to see all the pretty decorations!  Julie did an amazing job and was a wonderful host.  I seriously felt like I'd known her all my life!

Here was the table we saw when we first walked into the shower.  Everything was SO pretty and just perfect!

I was so excited for Kristin to see the cupcakes because, before I even had the idea that I could go TX, I had messaged Julie about if I could help out with cupcake toppers or favor tags for the shower. She was so sweet and let me help out!  She sent me a picture of these candy wrappers she was making....

and then I just copied the little teddy bear and made the toppers for the cupcakes. I was SO excited when I got there and saw that they matched up perfectly with everything else Julie had done.  I told Julie I thought we made a good little team!

I had such a fun time getting to meet everyone and we got to eat some yummy food.  I always love showers because you get to eat some fun fingery type foods you just don't get to eat all the time!

Before we knew it, it was time for Kristin to open presents. It was so sweet to see all the special baby boy things she got!

I was nervous and excited when it came time for Kristin to open my present.  With the help of our friend Julie and my friend Lindy I was able to crochet a little blanket for Matthew.  The colors even match her fun Gussy diaper bag too!

It was such a great day and in that moment of being there, I was so thankful that the Lord blessed me and allowed me to share that special day with Kristin!  It's a special day that I won't forget!

Saturday literally flew right by and before we knew it, it was 7:00 p.m. by the time we left Julie's house.  We made it home, had some pizza for dinner and sat down to relax for a while.  I was so sad when I realized that my trip was nearly over and that the next day would be my going home day!  Time totally just flew by!

I have one more post to end my TX posts since I took a few pics on my little journey home.  I also have a neat little giveaway I wanna to do share a little TX love with someone so be sure to check out my next post!

P.S.  The more I get back into blogging, the more I realize just how much I use the ! symbol and the :) symbol!  I don't know what it is about me, but I guess I just figure I need to find a way to express just how excited I am about something and can't find any other way to describe that in writing.  Oh well, I guess that's just a Ver thing!!! :)

Texas, Day 1

I have lots still to share from my trip to TX to visit Kristin! I've just been trying to settle back into my usual routine these last couple of days.

Since coming home, I've been looking through pictures and a.) kicking myself for not taking more and b.) trying to figure out how to put everything together into a post without a bunch of rambling! :)

I guess the main things I really can't stress enough is how the Lord made everything fall into place to make the trip possible.  I'm still in awe of how every little detail was worked out. Like...

 --How my Mom was able to come here and stay with the girls so my Hubby could continue his usual routine at work, and life could  go on as usual for my little schoolgirl, Alyssa. :)

--How my Dad was available to take and pick me up on the three hour drive to the airport.

--How the price of my flight was so affordable.

These might seem like minor things to some, but all three had to come together so would even be able to think about taking the trip.

The Lord also really blessed me so much with everyone covering me in prayer before and during my trip.  With it being my first time away from my girls, the first time flying alone, etc, I had lots of potential areas to be anxious about. Up until the day before the trip, I was doing so great with not worrying much about anything.  And then all at once, the enemy started working overtime to scare me into just staying home.  I started to feel guilty about leaving my girls to go and do something that seemed selfish, like have time for me.  And then over on Kristin's end, three out of five of them in her house started getting sick and battled some tummy troubles.  It was literally the morning of travel day and I stood in my bathroom getting ready to head to the airport and I was seriously thinking that maybe I should just cancel the trip completely.

I battled so many thoughts and I finally just asked the Lord to make the way for whatever he wanted me to do. I really felt that the Lord wouldn't have opened up all those doors just to slam the whole thing in my face at the last minute.  I just kept praying, talked with my Mom, and texted the one friend who I knew could help me figure things out.  In the end, I resolved that I was going.  In my heart, I really felt that the Lord was up to something big if the enemy was fighting me that hard to keep me home!

I'm so thankful for pressing through and most of all, for prayers because I really had an amazing time.  I was not anxious or a mess like I anticipated I'd be. The girls also did so well and when I would call home, my Mom would tell me that she was so surprised, especially at how well the baby did without me. Even though Alivia's getting so big at almost 19 months, it was a big deal for Momma to be gone for several days!

I could  really kick myself for not taking more pics, but oh well. Guess that just means I'll have to go back again someday!  Here was one of the first ones I took of Kristin and her sweet belly!  As of this week, she only has about five weeks left until baby Matthew makes his debut! :)

Friday was my first full day there to spend with everyone.  Kristin's girls were in school so we were able to go out to lunch and then check out Hobby Lobby.  Here in CA, we do not have Hobby Lobby, so it was SO fun getting to check it out and see so many cute things.  I wanted to buy everything I saw! Here are a few things I found...

After we did lunch and Hobby Lobby, it was time to go pick up the girls for school.  They got a quick break and then it was time to head to dance practice.  I snapped this pic on our way to dance...

Madison, Kaylee and Lily are the sweetest girls ever and I could hardly believe how peaceful life can be with three girls.  Seriously...mine are always screaming or fussing for one thing or another.  Maybe it's because of the ages mine are right now.  Not once the entire time I was there did the girls cry, scream or fight.  They were just so calm, which was just amazing to me!

Again, I could kick myself now for taking hardly any pics of that day because we also ended up eating at a yummy Mexican food restaurant that night and did I get a pic of any of us? Nope.  I guess I always get nervous that people are gonna think I'm a weirdo for busting out the camera and a taking picture of my food or people, but I probably shouldn't even be worried about what other people think!

The next day was Kristin's baby shower and I do have several pics from the fun we had that day so I'll share those in my next post.  In the meantime, check out this pic of the view from Kristin's kitchen window.  It was so peaceful and calm, just getting to sit out on the back porch swing and enjoy the view. I could have sat out there for hours! :)

A dream come true {plus a vlog}!

Wow! I have so much to say and really don't know where to start!  I just got back last night from an amazing trip to TX over the weekend to meet my best friend who I'd never before met in person.  I know the average person might find that a little different, maybe even strange, but to those of us who blog, you totally understand the bonds and friendships that can be forged through bloggging.

When I started this blog, I had no clue that I'd meet my very best friend through the blog.  I just remember being so sad as a SAHM, wondering if there was more to life than just being at home with my girls.  I felt so blessed to stay home, yet at the same time, so isolated and alone.  All my friends were people I used to work with and after I quit my job, those friendships went quiet.  We all went our own ways and I was at home stumbling with way through motherhood wishing I had a friend who could relate to the thingsI was experiencing.  I remember praying and asking the Lord to send me a friend.  Little did I know, he was going to do just that when my path and Kristin's crossed through blogging!

Meeting Kristin was such a dream come true. Truly.  She is beautiful on the inside and out and I am so thankful to have her in my life. She's been there with me these last almost three years, through the joys and struggles of life and adding on a new baby to our family.  Now the tables have turned and she's getting ready to bring another baby into the world too!  The entire weekend was so fun and it was just like we'd been friends who'd known each other forever. I especially enjoyed her little southern accent and I tell you, that thing was rubbing off on me!  I find myself wanting to say "y'all" at every turn, or say things like "somethin" instead of "something!" Lol! More than anything else, I was so blessed just getting to hang out with Kristin  and her family and getting to do regular life stuff.  I also loved getting to put my hands on her sweet belly, knowing that little Matthew will be here before we know it!

I have so much I want to share about the weekend so, I think I'll break it into a few posts this week!

In the meantime...here's a couple fun things I wanna share! This is the first picture we took of us....

Kristin took it with her phone and not long after we posted it to Facebook, everyone kept commenting just how much we look alike!  I guess I hadn't really realized that before but it was just so fun seeing us together in a picture finally!  Even my parents both said we could pass as sisters. Funny, huh? ;)

The second fun thing I wanna share today is a video we did! We decided it would be fun to do a quick vlog of us before leaving to take me back to the airport.  I know I probably look like a dork, but oh well! I"m so glad we did it because now that I'm home, it makes it so much more real that I got to go on that amazing adventure this weekend!



I'll be back tomorrow with some more pics from my weekend and Kristin's baby shower, which was the main reason for me getting to go to TX.  I can't tell you how many obstacles seemed to get in the way of me almost not going but I'm just so thankful that the Lord opened up every door and made it possible for me to get there. I knew the Lord was up to something big and I'm so glad it all came together! It was a weekend of so many firsts: Being away from my girls, traveling/flying all alone, meeting someone I'd never seen in real life. From transportation to childcare, everything went smoothely.  My girls did so well with my Mom while she came to watch them and it was such a blessing just seeing how the Lord worked out every single thing!

He truly hears everything we say and loves us so much to grant the desires of our heart!  Love you Kristin! I'm so thankful for you!

P.S.  The "Blog Mom" I talked about in the vlog also posted the sweetest thing on her blog about Kristin and I getting to finally meet. You have to go over and check it out.  Just click HERE.