This Weekend, I... [v. 5]

I think I could make this my mantra these days -> I want to write, but I'm not sure what to write, staring at the computer screen is doing nothing.

I'm beginning to wonder if I'd churn out my best work in the early hours of the morning or the late hours of the evening. However, my mind, for whatever reason, feels that getting up in the wee hours of the morning means going to bed oober early; of which, I am no fan. On the other end, staying up late would mean getting to at least sleep until 8 am, but I haven't seen one of those days in almost 2 years. (That is, I can say 2 years if you count when I was pregnant with Zoë because I don't count getting up every couple hours to pee and sleeping until 8 as truly getting to sleep until 8. Period. And that would have only been on the weekends. I worked unti the day I had her.) I like the idea of staying up late, just not the lack of sleep I will have because of it. Also, I already get up around 530/6ish so I can hopefully have at least an hour of time to myself for journaling, prayer, time in the word; truly so I can have quiet, uninterrupted worship however I feel God leads.

Maybe I have writers block. Or toddler block - I am currently listening to Zoë work out whether she is going to fight sleep or actually get the good nap that her eyes have told me she's been dreaming of all morning. (No. We haven't dropped morning nap. She just barely napped this morning.) There are too many noise distractions going on to properly clearly head. (Another argument for writing either early or late in the day.)

All this to say, that today, I'm going to give you my best, and today, my best is bulleting out what our weekend looked like.

Oh! *lightbulb turns on* I'm going to link up with Sar and Syndal , because they have a link-up just for bulleting out the weekend. Perfect!

This Weekend, I took Zoë to see a production of The Jungle Book at Miller Theater. As much as I'm already a fan of free shows displaying different forms of the arts, I'm not a fan that it is blistering hot already. I'm not sure we'll be seeing another day show during the summer. However, I am very much grateful for this theater and look forward to seeing more shows in the Fall/Winter months. She actually enjoyed a majority of the show, danced to the little bit of music that there was, and then was d.o.n.e. Thankfully, that was closer to the end of the show and she was content standing while holding on to the  back of the chair in front of her. (We knew who was sitting in front of us so we weren't being rude. It was another kid who was almost scooted the entire way forward.) And what little I could pay attention to, I enjoyed as well. This Weekend, I went on the routine grocery shopping trip with Ben and Zoë. I'm not sure why Ben enjoys going grocery shopping with me, but every now and then, I actually enjoy making it a "family outing". I say "every now and then" because sometimes it is the only time I get to myself. And though I'm not a huge fan of grocery shopping, the time to myself is a rare commodity I would pay for if I had to. This Weekend, I baked these delicious muffins. We had a Sunday Social in our Sunday school class yesterday. Everyone was asked to bring a breakfast item. I honestly had forgotten about it until my friend Kristy reminded me Friday. When I was racking my brain friday night, I remembered I had everything I needed for these. I made the dough Saturday night, refrigerated it, and baked it on Sunday morning. Yummy! This Weekend, I went to volunteer training for our church's VBS. Though Zoë is too young to partcipate, I saw no reason why I couldn't help, especially as they have childcare for the younger kids of the volunteers. Though it's a bit awkward to look at and learn some of the songs and motions we'll be singing all week without the kids there, it was a lot of fun. I'm so excited about being able to pour into some of the younger generations! That about wraps it up over here. Nothing fancy, but many times, I'm ok with that. We're low key kind of people, especially with the Summer pounding on our door. I think it's trying to slip in through whatever cracks it can find in our old dwelling. Hope everyone's weekend treated them well!

This Weekend, I [v. 4]

I was going to write another memory down, another gift to cherish but my mind won't stop racing. Anything and everything flashes across it.

I can barely keep my eyes focused on this screen.

So because my mind can only barely bullet, I'm going to link up with Sar for a nice This weekend, I.

Yes. That sounds wonderful.


This weekend, I enjoyed yet another weekend of Ben being off on Saturday. I'm telling you, if we can keep this up I'm really not going to like when he has to work on a Saturday again. But, hopefully that will be a long time coming. Hopefully.

This weekend, I went on a "date" with the hubs. Yes, he asked me out on a date. This means we spend intentional time together after Zoë goes down because let's face it: we're not raking in the dough. We're just starting off. (Sometimes, I feel weird saying that because we have a baby. It's almost like that weird pre-teen stage where you wanna say you're a teenager but you're really not. Yeah. That's kind of how it makes me feel. Classifications. They're funny things.) And so we played monopoly. He really wanted to do something more, but after he realized we have 0 candles (yes. shoot me now! we've lived in too many homes that didn't allow them and now we have no room for them.)...well, let's just say he's planning a romantic home dinner for another day and time. Props to him for the thought though!

This weekend, I enjoyed relaxing around the home and watching Ben interact with Zoë. It's always fun for me to see her interact with him.

This weekend, I was given some of the prettiest Orchids that will hopefully allow me to enjoy them for many years to come. I'm all about a gift that keeps giving, especially when it comes to flowers.

This weekend, I was given a pretty hilarious mother's day card, which helped me find the sweet part of the day for myself. It was a very bittersweet day for me.

This weekend, I went grocery shopping. That's actually kind of a norm. A little boring? Maybe. But Ben and I enjoy doing it together and making it a family outing. It definitely makes it more enjoyable and easier for me because: 1) I am no fan of grocery shopping and 2) I have another set of hands to keep Zoë occupied. I might need to change that up a bit, though I would hate doing it at night because parking here is ridciulous (read: if you arrive in our parking lot after 5 pm, you might just be walking a mile from the back of the complex.) and sometimes I'm just no fan of taking Zoë with me. It takes twice as long and I already don't like it. Clearly, I need to get over one of my hang ups here. Clearly.

This weekend, I, on more than one occasion, found myself whispering these words to my Zoë: "I'm so glad that you made me a mommy." Another priceless positive I clung to when I found myself becoming sad.

This weekend, our entire little family was invited to enjoy lunch with some new friends we've made at our church. I'm so excited that we are starting to get plugged in. I also love this family. The mom is so sweet and I really feel like I could connect with her. Also, they have three boys which always makes me giggle inside to see them interact. It gives me a slight glimpse into the future of Lindsey with her three. (Baby Tyler, we cannot wait to meet you! You will change us all for the better.)

This Weekend, I... [v. 3]

Wow!

Life has been a whirlwind around these parts with guests coming and going over the past 3 weekends. Let me say as much as I love the company, I'm loving having my home back to myself. My hermit-tendancies-self has missed being able to sit in quiet.

I'm pretty sure that my husband's job going haywire last week due to one of his employees quitting hasn't helped the lot. Though let me be clear, I am not complaining about the lengthening of his hours. I don't like it, but it is nothing compared to what we left back in Baton Rouge. I am grateful he has a job that still generally gets him home at a decent time and will not always require weekend hours. I am grateful for him because what we left in Baton Rouge was two jobs with over 60 hours every week. What he has here may occasionally boost him over 60 hours in a week, but it isn't the norm and as such he isn't as sleepy as he used to be. (Let's be honest here, the man could fall asleep anywhere at anytime of the day. Drive me crazy? You betcha! But we've learned to laugh about it. Because he really could fall asleep on concrete if he didn't have something occupying him.)

Anyway, on to...

This weekend, we visited with my mom/Gigi. Let's just say Zoë loves her Gigi. She was cheesing it and laughing. Hugging her. No kisses were given but she wasn't giving me kisses this weekend either.

This weekend, I went shopping with my mom at T.J. Maxx and IKEA. Mom wanted to visit IKEA since she had never been. She wasn't too impressed with it, though there was some stuff she enjoyed. We both had fun at T.J. Maxx and I was thrilled to find a dress for my little sister's wedding. I had ordered a dress from Target, but when I tried it on...well, let's just say it didn't hang on my frame well and looked not so great.

This weekend, I had very few photo ops of my mom with Zoë, but I did capture them playing together. Not the best shot, but still one for keeping the memory.

This weekend, we (re)visited one of the churches we've really liked. It was so nice to actually go to church after having not been for three weeks. (I was sick, then Ben's parents were in town, and then my little sister and her fiancé.) My mom left Sunday morning before church so we were able to go. The great part about it is I've really felt like that church could be our home church here. I hadn't said much to Ben because I wanted both of us to be following the Spirit's leading and I also wanted to be sensitive to following Ben's lead. When we were driving home I was asking him what his thoughts were on our "church search" process. We had a great conversation that ultimately ended in we both felt like God wants us to join that church. YAY! I'm still rejoicing in knowing there is a place God wants us to plug into for equipping and finding areas to serve both in the church and in our community.

This weekend, we decided to apply for a ministry opportunity called ApartmentLife (I'm going to call it AL). We both feel that even if God calls us to long-term, overseas missions at some point, spreading the gospel doesn't need to wait. We heard about AL through the CARES team here at our complex. Though being a CARES team isn't necessary for witnessing and building relaltionships, it is a great opportunity to meet many of the people in our apartment complex that we might not meet otherwise.

That about wraps up our weekend.

Hope everyone has had an enjoyable Monday so far!

This Weekend, I [v. 2]

Linking up with the lovely Sar for another wonderful

This weekend, I made sure our home was ready to welcome our first visitors: my in-laws (aka Paw Paw and Honey or Curt and Debbie) :) What was really nice was pest control even came (of course, I did request it considering I've seen way too many roaches over the past week, dead or alive) and sprayed EVERY room. I'm really hoping the roaches pack there bags and hit the road.

This weekend, I enjoyed watching Zoë interact with people, aside from myself or Ben, on a consistent basis. It was cute to see how she interacted with Curt and Debbie differently.

This weekend, I was blessed by their generosity on multiple levels. Though I didn't take a picture, they wanted to give us a house warming gift. Originally, they wanted to give us a nice BBQ pit. (Ben tells me it's called an ol' smokey.) You know, the kind you can smoke meat in and make it oh so yummy? BUT, the problem there is we're not supposed to grill on our patio. And there was absolutely no way on earth I would let Ben lug a previously used pit through the entire apartment so he could cook. Nope. And really, we're not in need of anything else. Except a toy box. So we went to IKEA. Found what we liked. And have a "toy box" that can morph into any use we pretty much want it for as Zoë and any subsequent children we might have grow older.  Here's a factory image:

[source]

I love it because it's not your typical "plastic frame, kid print, hinged lid" toy box. The frame of it is a bench. And then the front of it is connected to a rolling drawer that isn't attached to the bench. So if I ever need to, I can roll the drawer out rather easily. And it has ample of storage space. A huge blessing to my organizing loving heart!

This weekend, we spent the day at the Zoo. It was a lot of fun getting to see all the animals enjoy the gorgeous weather and allowed for some good quality time and exercise. (Curt wears a pedometer and it told him we walked 3.2 miles at the Zoo. Fun while you exercise.) Here's a couple of pictures I snapped while we were there:

Love Sea Turtles! This guy was loving sitting in the stream of water from part of the tank.

Zoë with her Paw Paw and Honey at the front of the Zoo

This guy was cracking us up

He kept trying to drink water pouring out of a pipe in the wall

Sea Lions are so cool :)

Ever seen a Shoe Bill Stork?

Enjoying themselves some rays

Sunbathing Otter. SO cute! 

Even the Ring Tailed Lemurs were sun bathing. See how the one of the left has its arms open? Maybe you had to be there but these two kept trading places for who was posed like that. So funny.

This belonged to the Ring Tailed Lemurs Exhibit. Curt said, and I quote, "This is evidence that the Ring Tailed Lemurs are related to man." Oh brother! HA!

This little monkey tuckered out in her stroller :) So sweet. Always makes me wanna snuggle up with her!

May I say cute?

Baby loving on his mama :)

I'm gonna take him home one day. The Swift Fox. So tiny and cute!

Got horns?

This weekend, I was gifted a date night out with the hubs. We went to a movie, which I think has been a long time in the making. Unfortunately, The Hobbit and Les Miserables were both only playing way too early for us to see. BUT, we did catch Silver Lining Playbook. So. Good. I would have to watch it again to make sure I wasn't just enjoying it because its been a few months since I've stepped into a theater, but from the one viewing, I'm pretty sure it's worth owning. 

This weekend, I tryed to snap a couple pics of Zoë with her Paw Paw and Honey each. I captured a pretty funny one of Curt with Zoë:

We laughed when we looked at it on the camera. I'm still laughing at it just looking at it.

Here is a better pic:

And Zoë with Debbie (I wasn't able to capture one with both looking at the camera. Zoë just didn't oblige.):

And that about wraps up our weekend. This week I'm hoping to get out and find my bridesmaid dress for my lil sis' wedding, continuing to work on my study and actually get to go this week (I missed this past week so I could take the little one to have a rash checked out) :(, and possibly even just driving to learn this tiny ginormous city a little bit more. Well, at least my side of it.

And I'm looking forward to next weekend because my lil and her fiancé are supposed to be coming in town! Yippee!!

How was your weekend?

This Weekend, I [v. 1]

Because my brain seems to be on overload, I figured I would bullet out my weekend. And then I remembered the lovely Sar has a link-up every monday for just such a thing.

This weekend, I became oober excited when my sister told me she was finished with my new blog design. I'm pretty sure she uploaded it Friday evening. I didn't get to see it until Saturday morning. There are one or two things she's going to add because she forgot, but over all I must say I LOVE IT! (Let's face it, pregnancy makes us forget stuff on it's own. Add two pre-k aged boys to the mix. Yeah. It's wearing.) If you want, you should go over to my actual page to check it out. (That is, for those who subscribe and are reading this in a reader or e-mail.) If you like it and are wanting to revamp your design, I totally recommend my sister. *Disclaimer: she did not ask me to say this. In fact, she didn't even know I was going to put this little plug in for her :) I'm saying this because I love the work she does and I think she does a great job. And when I find someone who I think does a great job, I promote them.*

This weekend, I visited the IKEA store with my hubs. I've heard all about IKEA but never been able to go. Since we live rather close to the Houston IKEA, we decided it'd be fun just to go see what all the fuss is about. Not to mention, it was cold again this weekend. So to IKEA we went. And how amazing is that store? Now I know what the fuss was about and I love how they set up the show rooms. I could have an entire house based off of IKEA. LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!

This weekend, I visited a church for the third time since we've been here. Though we're still not sure of where God really desires to use us best, we both left feeling like it's somewhere we could see being used for His glory and really feeling like we'd found a church home. I'm hesitant to say much else because I desire so badly to begin to grow roots, especially in effort to ward off my "hermitism", while we're here I don't want to see myself jump on a wagon I was supposed to watch pass. Even if the wagon is headed in a great direction. If this comes to mind, please pray God would give us guidance on this matter. There are several great churches we've visited. It's really a matter of where we will be used best by Him.

And that about sums up my weekend. Obviously, quite laid back. But then again, when is it not? We rarely have an eventful weekend right now and I can't say I mind.

How was your weekend?

Feel free to link-up if you wanna join in a tell us.