Testing

Grace is currently testing her mother and father. She knows the things she's not supposed to touch and climb and throw. Yet, repeatedly she is testing us to see how we react. Her favorite thing while eating is sitting in her high chair, taking a drink and then dangling her cup over the edge of the high chair while looking us directly in the eye. It's like she's thinking, "I'll drop. I can do it. I am in control here."  It is so hard to hold a straight face and be consistent about what we say "no" about. Look at this face... Too sweet and innocent to ever cause trouble right? Right.....

Before I became a mom, I remember saying that I would be a "yes" mom. I've come to realize how hard it is to always say yes to this child. During "Moms & Mentors" at my old church, I learned that discipline is an act of love. As much as I hate giving Grace the pat on the hand, I know she responds to it and it's helping her learn boundaries and keeping her safe. I try to keep in mind proverbs 13:24 "Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him." I know it's controversial to some and you have to decide as a parent what works for your child. We've come to realize that Grace has a strong will and quite the personality already. I checked out James Dobson's Bringing Up Girls from the library this week and cannot wait to read it and get some take always.

Today, I needed some encouragement and a friend posted a link to this video. I hope you love it as much as I did:
http://www.faithit.com/moms-kids-video-confession-touching/

Monday, we tried our hand as being parents of two. We watched Carolina so Gustavo and Jennifer could have a date night. It was a blast. The two girls played so sweetly and I'm so happy the Franks could have a night about them! :)

Tuesday we went running/walking with Sarah, Ryan, Jennifer, and Carolina in a nearby neighborhood called Cross Creek Ranch. It was a gorgeous 60 degrees and cloudy. Ah, the illusion of fall. Cross Creek is located about 10 minutes from our house in Fulshear. This neighborhood has been designed to be a "retreat," it's supposed to feel like the country with tall grasses, trees, and wildflowers. Here's the view from a lookout spot.

After our run, we went to story time. The theme was shoes and unfortunately, Grace has blisters on her ankles and wasn't able to wear shoes. After story time we went to a little cafe for a treat and coffee. Good times all around.

Wednesday we went to Costco which was a struggle. I have been trying to stick to a strict budget and we're nearing the end of a long month. I made a list for Costco and stuck to it which was HUGE for me :) Wednesday night we had an evening play date with Sarah and Ryan at our house. We had pasta, enjoyed each other's company and watched the babies play together. Both of our husbands have commitments on Wednesday nights. Thankfully, I'm blessed to have someone to spend the evening with. It makes time go much faster. 

Thursday we had bible study in the morning followed by a nap for Grace, a long run for me, and a trip to the library. Friends came over for Dragon's Breath Chili. The wife is pregnant and loving spicy foods so we thought it would be a good opportunity to make this. We all loved this recipe (I don't do the bacon grease thing and substitute 1.5 lbs of ground turkey and 1 lb of spicy turkey sausage for the meat). Grace plays well with their boys so we had a little down time to just chat with the couple. 

Friday was a rough morning but we powered through. Grace is getting some teeth in and she's SUPER fussy. We brought dinner to a couple who recently had a baby. Food = the greatest blessing to new parents!

We met Alex at the gym after work. After the gym we went to the Franks house for dinner. They made delicious pasta and were so sweet despite our baby being so cranky. After dinner we went to their clubhouse for a little fall festival they put on. They were showing a Charlie Brown movie on a projector, had a bounce house, and other games that were beyond Grace and Carolina. We headed back to their home for Mexican Train and chaos with the babies. Here's documentation of it:

Saturday, our whole house slept in until 9! Jackpot! We spent most of the day painting our wall in our living room, strapping the TV to the wall, and boxing in my garden with wood from a palette someone threw out. Here are some pictures:

Saturday night we went to dinner with another couple at Lupe Tortilla. It was lovely fellowship and excellent food. Following dinner, we had a movie night in our backyard with Hocus Pocus. We had some treats, cool weather, and wonderful company.

Sunday we went to church and had lunch at Chuy's. It is a hot spot after church and provided us with bellies that were full beyond reason. It was incredible! Not quite as good as Heaven on Seven's vodoo chicken enchiladas but a great substitute. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and studying. Bonus of having chili for dinner = chili dogs later in the week:

I hope everyone's weeks are off to a great start. In case it started off rough, here's a recipe (courtesy of Kelli) to give you a pick me up:

Snickers Dip

2 8oz. packages of cream cheese (softened)

8 oz. container of whipped cream

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 full size snickers bars (or to your liking)

Combine all ingredients in the food processor.

Chill for a few hours (or over night).

Enjoy with graham crackers or pretzels. :)

October fun

Sickness has once again, rolled through the Haines house this past week. After a week being quarantined and consequently watching  hours of The Wonder Years.... we missed civilization desperately! Thankful that a) Grace didn't catch our sickness and b) that we were both feeling better by Friday.

Last weekend, we visited Blessington Farms and took a trip to Rosenberg, Texas for Bob's Tacos and Another Time Soda Fountain with the Franks. The weather has been amazing here! Much more mild and enjoyable, UNTIL.. we decided to visit the pumpkin farm. Despite it being a furnace outside, we had a great time. Here are a few pictures:

We were FLYING down that slide. I thought we were going to take out the people at the bottom!

We are so blessed by a friendship with these guys. These babies light up when they see each other and even hugged on Friday when they saw each other. I love our authentic friendship! 

Overall, we've had a less eventful couple of weeks. Alex has had two Friday date nights with Gracie because of a baby shower and ladies night. I love how Grace lights up when Alex walks in the front door each night. On one of the date night, Alex took Grace to Whattaburger and had her sit on the opposite side of the table like a real date. I'm sad I missed out on this moment but I'm delighted to be married to a man that values his family. I hope Grace measures her future boyfriends against her father.

Other highlights recently:

- We booked our flights back to Illinois for Christmas. I am so excited to spend almost two weeks there! 

- Grace is taking clothes out of my drawers and attempting to dress herself. It's hilarious! Here she is in my pj top.

- Found a new running path that I'm enjoying. It's two miles around and there are friendly fellow runners/walkers.

- Grace picked out our pumpkins this year (with some guidance ;))

- We missed empanada night with our neighbors but they brought us some of their favorites. They were incredible!

- Friday, Grace and I went to Kindred, thrift shopping, got an eyebrow wax while Grace was gushed over, followed by visiting Cupcakes, Etc. The cupcake was super yummy and the girl working behind the counter was a doll.

-The Ladies' night for our ABF Friday was SO much fun. We played some games and chatted. I love all the girls and was so blessed to socialize without being pulled in different directions by our kiddos. :)

- Saturday we went to City Center for coffee and a stroll. We ended up doing some shopping and had lunch at Grub. The burger was amazing, I highly recommend it! We came home and read in the front yard and met neighbors we hadn't met yet.

- Yesterday we went to Church, read, I ran, did yard work, and caught up with some chores around the house.

The Barnabas in all of us

I am LOVING my bible study! As I've mentioned before, Beth Moore is giving me lots of homework each week but I love it because it's fruitful. I'm growing immensely in my biblical knowledge and am teaching Alex (which hardly ever happens). We've been studying about Paul's first missionary journey and alongside him through this journey was Paul's trusty companion Barnabas. The name Barnabas means "son of encouragement." We were asked to meditate on interactions and those we effect this week. I was thinking a lot about how easy it is to bring others down with negativity and how it's better to build up when you have the opportunity. All of the moments that I made negative comments flashed before me. I want to be a Barnabas! Don't get me wrong, you have to have people you can turn to a vent to but we have to learn our audience. At a play date this week, the girls were talking about taking on an attitude of "I get to." For example, "I get to change a dirty diaper." What a great attitude, chalk up those blessings ladies!

We got this in the mail last night! I have wanted this since I was pregnant. Grace LOVES it!

We took a trip to San Antonio this past weekend. The weather was incredible as was the company. My dear friend Laura's parents live there and we were so blessed to have a time to spend with her while she was in Texas. Although I do miss our Harry Potter marathons, sleepovers, and cookie baking, it's fun to grow and see how happy she is in her new (has it been a year already?!) relationship and see how sweet and wonderful she is with Grace. For my twenty fifth birthday, Laura gave me "Grace" body wash by Philosophy. Little did we know, I was growing little Grace inside of me by the time she gave it to me. Amazing right? I am truly blessed by her friendship and lucky to have married into the group of people that has become another family to me.

This week has brought cooler weather. It has been in the fifties and sixties in the morning which has been lovely. We've been busy with the splash pad, walking, play dates, gym visits, and bible study. We went to dinner at our friend's house this week. They have two spirited little boys that I adore. Watching Grace interact with these boys melted my heart. She followed them around their house, the older boy told her the story of Jack and the Bean Stalk, and the younger one waved a toy right in front of her eyes....she didn't flinch but waited for her opportunity to snatch it from him. Pierson even told her she was funny. I loved watching their interactions and seeing how she could hold her own with the boys. You go girl! Take note you are always influenced by others, lets roll with the positive ones.

Looking forward to this weekend and the pumpkin patch, Rice Festival, Rosenberg, a baby shower, and an outdoor showing of Ghost Busters! 

Pumpkin spice latte recipe

I got this recipe from my mother in law about three years ago and I make it all the time! Enjoy! 

Makes 2 

Ingredients

2 cups milk

2 tbsp canned pumpkin purée

2 tbsp sugar 

2 tbsp vanilla extract 

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

1 cup of strong coffee 

Whipped cream

1) in saucepan, combine milk, pumpkin purée, and sugar. Cook on medium heat, stirring until steaming. Remove from heat,  add pumpkin spice and vanilla.

2) whisk mixture very well until foamy.

3) pour over coffee. Top with whipped cream and a dash of pumpkin spice. I sometimes add a drizzle of caramel as well ;)

A trip "home"

God teaches us every moment that we are open to it. I feel like He was trying to speak to me during this trip and through reflection once we made it home. Unfortunately, it was incredibly difficult to have quality time with everyone we wanted to see.... we saw a lot of familiar faces and had the warm hugs we've been missing but it was hard to really connect and just be together with the short time frame we had. On the plane ride home Alex and I were talking and he mentioned that he was worried that this trip would spark my homesickness all over again. Thursday was a really rough day for me; it felt like I was starting over in Texas once again. I won't discount how blessed we are to have a group of people that we have built community with here but Alex and I do struggle with missing all things Illinois. Time just goes too fast... and that's what God was trying to teach me. I believe he wanted me to realize that I need to be in every moment. Just enjoy and be present. Do not think about dinner at breakfast... savor your eggs with the melted Dubliner deliciousness. Watch Grace discover how magnets work. Enjoy those baby blues when they connect with you and smile. Embrace the kiss from your husband, even when you're consumed with what's cooking on the stove. Just be in the moment and praise the Lord for these sweet blessings.

My favorite moments from the trip:

1. The feeling of being on vacation.
2. Alex being there when I wake up.
3. Sweet people in the airport that interacted with Grace.
4. How happy the flight attendants are on a Southwest flight.
5. The cool, crisp air in the Midwest.
6. Grace's sweet smiles with her Grandparents & Nana & Papa.

7. Margaritas with my best friend.
8. Hugs... Lots and lots of hugs.
9. Grace playing with her cousins.

10. Seeing Raissa (my little sister) and how much she's grown. Boy, babies LOVE her. Must be her pixi cut... (they think she's tinker bell!)
11. Breakfast at Egg harbor.
12. Running at midway village.
13. My mom's banquette potatoes.
14. Visiting with my cousins.
15. Watching Grace rub her Papa's beard.
16. Apple cider donuts.
17. Watching Nichole walk down the aisle.
18. Dancing with my sisters.
19. The leaves changing colors.
20. Coffee and catching up in the morning.
21. Morning runs/walks at our old path.

22. Fall sangria.
23.Grace taking off with her walking!

24. Pumpkins and fall decor.

25. The generosity of family and friends for Grace's birthday.
26. Posing for pictures.

27. Grace's birthday outfits.
28. Pumpkin whoopie pies.
29. Heaven on Seven.
30. Seeing Grace with all of her little friends (although they still don't really acknowledge each other).

31. Strolling through downtown Naperville.
32. Grace pounding piano keys and loving every second.

33. The Chicago skyline.
34. Driving past our old home on Newport and missing it.
35. Being cold.
36. Visiting Maggie's new apartment and how her room reveals her style so well. Also realizing what a proud aunt she is with all of the pictures of Gracie that adorn her walls.
37. The effort everyone went to in order to see us.
38. Lounging on the hammock with a breeze.
39. Being outside and not instantly sweating.
40. Meeting Liam for the first time and remembering how fragile newborns are.
41. Grace falling asleep on Nana's shoulder.
42. Hugs with a tight squeeze and teary eyes because we are missed.
43. Time with the ones we love, even though it was not enough.
44. Knowing we will be back at Christmas.
45. Alex letting me cry on his shoulder.
46. Sweet older women loving on Grace on the airplane.
47. Grace sleeping across our laps.

48. Reading the sweet cards Grace received.
49. Lattes in the afternoon.
50. Comfort in the fact that the Lord wants us right where we are at this moment.