Update: Jude's Room

I have been slowly attempting to update Jude's room for awhile now.  I have wanted to make a gallery wall and have slowly been buying and collecting prints off of Etsy or at Casey Jones Train Museum or who knows for seriously like the last 2 years.  

For my birthday this year, Joel gave me a picture of a British phone booth from his visit to London.  I was pondering what to do with it when I realized it would be the perfect addition to the wall I had been storing up and planning in my head.  

I was determined to get that done as part of my summer projects this year.  It took me until August to buy and return and buy the right frames for this.  But thankfully, it's done.  

The most exciting part of this is that Jude was so excited about it, which I didn't expect.  I sort of kept him out of the room while I was working.  As I've said before, my child is wild, so him in the room I'm working in is chaos- at least volume wise.  He loves to make noise.  I can't think in those conditions, much less work.  Suffice it to say, he stayed out of the room.  When I did let him in, he was so excited. I'm so glad I decided to capture his face with my camera.  He was just so excited.  1000 gifts!

He LOVED it!!!!  He told me over and over again how much he loved me and how thankful he was for his new pictures.  Along with some of the biggest hugs ever.  Talk about melting my heart.  He makes it so fun to give him things because he really gets so excited.  Sweet boy!

Here's the gallery wall I made.  It's a combo of the vintage train pictures from his nursery room, a few more modern looking train pictures, some Beatles references since he's named after them after all, and lastly the phone booth.  One day, I want that area to be a reading nook, but we aren't there yet :)

The license plate and Pullman car picture were originally going to be part of the gallery wall.  The Baltimore & Ohio and New York Central pictures had already been in different places in his room.  I decided to pull those and make a mini gallery wall over here, which I am glad I did.  And of course, Jude loves the concentration of trains.

I had also thought about adding this 1 year old photo set to the gallery wall, but decided to put it under his shelf when I moved the New York Central pic from under it.  I ended up liking having it separated out and divided into categories.  I have also added the midshipman hat that my brother passed down to Jude after graduating this year.  I updated the letters of his name awhile back, but am not sure if I ever posted about that.  The baseball is from when the Navy made the regional NCAA baseball playoffs a couple years ago.

The view when you look into the room.

And this night light.  I got it on zulily (actually the Beatles prints are off zulily too...).  I love this night light.  So much!

Anyway, I really like how it turned out.  As with all rooms in my house, they are constantly being updated or changed, but this is a good start I think to transforming it for a preschooler :)

Small Town Texas and Cowboy Church

This weekend Jude was with his dad, so Jimmy and I made the most of it.  We actually ended up doing all of this stuff spur of the moment, which I never get to do now that I'm a mom.  There's so much vitality infused into something when you get to be spontaneous.  Even simple things, like spending a night in Aubrey, Texas.

For those that don't know, I currently live in the tiny town of Crossroads, population 900.  Which is outside Aubrey.  Which is outside Denton.  Which is outside Dallas.  This above picture shows Aubrey's main street.  There's not much to it, other than Mom's On Main.  

Otherwise known as Lucy's on the Square, which made Texas Monthly's best cafe's list.  If you like Southern food, you would like Mom's.  They serve Fried Green Tomatoes, which no one I've ever gone with is into.  I keep meaning to go take myself so I can get some, but never remember.  I may need to take Jude on a date before summer is up!  I love fried green tomatoes!  and fried pickles... and fried catfish- which is what I actually got.

Jimmy and I ate here, and got to celebrate their 1,000 likes on fb, which they gave out free cupcakes for.  I love small town, old building kind of places.  And I love Mom's!  Small town treasures like this are all sorts of 1000 gifts for me.  I am a small town girl at heart.

As we left the restaurant, we were surprised to hear some good ole live fiddlin' going on.  Lo and behold across the street from mom's (next to the rail road tracks and the grain elevator) was a stage set up with the country band, Blacktop Gypsy.  They were actually really good.  I have some vids of them on my instagram (thistleashd) if you want to check them out.  The fiddle player was amazing.  I don't always like country music, but when I do it's because there is either a good fiddle player or a good mandolin player.

Jimmy is a good ole Texas boy, so he loves any true country music.  (This means that most groups out of Nashville do not make the cut.  Hallelujah.)  We plopped ourselves down in the grass and enjoyed the music for the next couple hours.  Amazingly, there was also a cool breeze.  Dear Lord have mercy I can no longer count the gifts God has blessed us with regarding the weather in Texas this summer.  It's been gorgeous.

There were also small town refreshments ;)

We played around with the camera a lot.  Took pictures of each other.  But mostly just enjoyed small town Texas life.  It warms my heart to no end to be a part of a crowd that involves at least 50% worn in cowboy boots.  Or to look up near the stage and see an old cowboy, with a full on gray beard, two stepping with his lady.  I'd love to hear their stories and how they kept the romance alive long enough to be dancing through life at 65.  Definitely my prayer for Jimmy and I.

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Last night we decided to visit a 'Cowboy Church' because we needed to go to church early in the morning in order for Jimmy to head out of town for work this afternoon.  For you non-Texans, this is a church where most of the members are cowboys/ranchers/farmers/rodeo involved/etc.  Most of them are in Texas, although they are randomly in other states too.  There are at least 5 I know of near me.  We decided to go to the one in Krum, Texas because I had heard about that one.  

Bad picture, but you get the idea.  I got several compliments on this dress by the way. #thrifted  Also, I love my boots.  They actually have a hippie looking flower pattern all over the sides.  I think that pretty much describes me.  I'm not much of a cowgirl really, but I love small towns.  And I love land.

What the church building looks like.  What the church is next too.  Very pretty!

Jimmy and I got lost trying to get here.  Definitely off the beaten track.  We called his MawMaw on our way, because she grew up in Krum :) Jimmy probably had cousins in church he didn't know about.  We only were able to hear two songs, which made me sad because I was hoping for some good ole southern gospel like I grew up on.  We did get to hear them sing Precious Memories though.  Technically, this song doesn't refer to Jesus, but hey, I have precious memories of my grandma singing to Jesus.  Also, they had a mandolin player on stage.  I have managed to randomly hear both my favorite country instruments live within 24 hours.  #forthewin

If you have a cowboy church near you, it's definitely a fun way to change it up on a Sunday.  Jimmy and I are kind of theology junkies, so it wouldn't be somewhere I could go all the time.  I need my expository teaching of the Bible, and for that I will always be thankful for Denton Bible.  However, sometimes you just need some of that 'Old Time Religion' and you southern gospel folks know what I'm talking about when I say that.  It was fun, and I definitely see us popping in to cowboy churches every now and then in the future :)

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my Dad who taught me everything I needed to know in life:

* That Texas really is the best state possible.

* That life is meant to be lived at the beach as many days out of the year as possible.

* That hard work pays off.

* To always buy a used car.

* To think through every decision carefully and logically.

* That rock n roll is meant to be listened to loudly, and preferably with bose speakers.

* That classic rock is always and will always be the best era of music.

* That men are meant to be servants, hard working, patient, and loving.

* That love is an action, not a word.

* That no matter what happens, I will always have superhero who will save my day.

* That I'm worth a 3 hr drive to Waco to help me change my breaks.

* That if possible, you should do it yourself.  This is the first year in my life I've ever had to pay for an oil change.

* To love the woods and the outdoors.

* You're never too old to work on your tan.

* You should start working on your tan at least by March.

* made me the best omelets

* That it is perfectly acceptable to hang squirrel traps from your roof.

* How to use power tools.

* That Mexican food is always the best option, even if it requires a 2 hr drive to get there.

* That baseball is the best sport.

* To never be embarrassed but just dance and go for it.

* That you should always be humble enough to say your sorry.

* To forgive.

* That giving money back to church and charity is not an option.

* For always, always leading by example Dad, thank you.

And thank you for being the best Pops a crazy 3 year old could ask for.  So thankful that God has blessed Jude with you in his life to show him what it means to be a godly man.  There are just some things in this world I can never teach him.  I'm so grateful to know that regardless of what happens to me or in my life, Jude will always have you to depend on.

And to the other men in Jude's life that impact him and show him what it looks like to be a godly man:

Thank you Kunka JoJo for showing him what duty, honor, respect look like.  But also what it looks like to have fun and love the outdoors.  I'm not certain, but I think this was his first tree to climb.  It's fitting that you would help him.  As he gets older, I love thinking about all the wilderness love you could teach him.

To Kunka Bry Bry.  Thanks to you my child knows exactly what football team he will root for for the rest of his life.  Thank you for stepping in almost from the get go with diapers, babysitting, chicken balls, going for rides in baskets.  Jude is so blessed by the way you love on him!  I'm so thankful Megan married you.  Her children will be the luckiest!  Wreck em!

To Jimmy, the best boyfriend ever.  Jude might be starting to love you more than me ;)  I am continually blessed by the way you pour into my child.  You provide me so much needed sanity and just breathers.  But mostly, I love the way you care about him.  And how you legitimately think he's funny. And how you ask about him when you're out of town.  I'm thankful you've come into my life because you model for me daily the virtues I want to teach Jude to be.  You.  Are. The. Kindest!

Hello World, Remember Me?

Jude and I on Mother's Day

I think it's pretty safe to say I'm in a blogging rut.  Not because I don't have things to say, but I don't have the time to do it.  Or there are other things I want to do more.  Specifically gardening.  I have really been getting into this lately.  And thankfully with this cooler spring and now cool start of summer, it's been easy to do that.  I am beyond enjoying seeing all the new growth on my rose bushes.  This weekend I discovered morning glories growing wild so my head is full of how to try to capture and tame those.

My garden helper

For Mother's Day, Jimmy and I went plant shopping.  It's been amazing to have plants on my porch to look at and relax around.  So thankful for him and his willingness (and knowledge) to garden with me.  He is beyond amazing in countless ways.  Patient with my questions.  He loves on my child in ways that blow my mind.  And he serves me in the most humble ways, including planting flowers into pots with and for me.  He is the best man I know.

So much about this picture I love

My actual Mother's Day was spent relaxing in cool weather with some poetry on my front porch.  It was blissful and beautiful and peaceful.  Jude spent the time in what I have christened 'his digging spot'.  Because I'm pretty sure every boy needs one.  That evening Jimmy took us to dinner and because he is the kindest hearted human, he patiently played games with Jude while we waited.  I tried to get a pic of it, but none of them came out :(

Flash forward to last weekend (everything in between is a blur anyway...) and Jude and I joined my family in Annapolis Maryland where my brother graduated from the Naval Academy.  So much patriotism wells up in me when it comes to the military.  I am not the biggest believer in politics, but I love the general American ideals.  Flags, uniforms, gun salutes, etc just seem to foster that for me.  The commissioning ceremony was rather torturous as it was raining with a strong wind chill of 45*.  If it weren't for the fact that Obama was speaking and my love for my brother, I would have left.  The rest of the time was spent trying to stay warm, enjoying crab foods of all kinds, front porch sitting, and getting to know my brother's beautiful girlfriend (who happens to have been an Alpha Chi Omega at the University of Georgia.  I was one at Baylor.  My sis was one at Texas Tech.  There was secret handshaking.  And a possible night out with this...)

LITB

Some other pics from the weekend:

amazing

Future midshipman?

This is the porch I dream about.  My mansion in heaven will have this porch.

This weekend was spent celebrating that Jimmy and I have been dating for a year.  Technically a little longer, but we consider our first real date to be the beginning of June.  Last year on June 1st or 2nd (not actually sure of the date) we went to an Avett Brothers concert.  It was amazing musically.  Plus Dirk Novitski (sp?) happens to be an Avett fan and he showed up.  I was pretty nervous because this was the first date I'd been excited about since Michael.  I had no idea what I was doing.  Jimmy was nervous.  It  was the slowest start to a relationship considering I was somewhat freaked out to be dating anyone at the time.  I had no idea if I could trust myself to pick out a good one this time.  I took each day at a time and proceeded with caution.  As only God could know, Jimmy is just a naturally easy paced person, and my need for time suited him fine.  We spent 4-5 months 'figuring it out' and it wasn't until that long in until labels were attached.  And probably 8+ months in before we both were ready to acknowledge this was in any way serious.  Thinking back over this past year, (besides just making me cry right now- what the heck...) its just crazy.  Doesn't seem that long.  And yet Jimmy is by far one of the best things to happen to my life.  And in every way, one of the most patient, humble, servant hearted men I've ever met.  In fact if I had to pick a single word to describe him, servant would be it.  And having a character like that, well it's just impossible to not trust and respect him, which my heart so desperately needed to be able to do.  I love him so very much.

We celebrated last night by going to the KXT summer fest, which headlined, guess who- the Avett Brothers.  Same concert.  A year to the day of our first date.  It was a blissful evening to sit on a quilt in our warm, breezy June weather.  (until it poured that night haha :)  

So anyway, life is good.  In 5 days it will be summer.  I will get to spend my time with Jude who tells me every day after work that he 'misseded' me.  And I will continue to enjoy the ease of loving someone who loves me so selflessly for exactly who I am.

Too Cute Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend was different from our norm in the sense that 

1.  my parents were in town 

2.  no date night except that Jimmy came to dinner with my fam

3.  i hung out with my sister

Good times were had by all.  But first, here is my edition of TOO CUTE... 

My sleeping child in the car and his sweet sweet sweet little fist.  Gah- dead.  Why oh why are they just so precious when they sleep.  So precious your heart literally aches for time to just stop.  Jude fell asleep in the car Friday night on the way to dinner.  Right now, we are trying to find the happy medium of naps.  Jude will nap for 4 hours- daily.  But then not go to sleep.  I've tried nixing the nap so he goes to bed early.  But then he's exhausted.  Parenting- a tale in trial and error.  I tell you...

Saturday was cold and rainy (side note- what the heck spring!).  Jude made himself comfortable by turning on the fire place and getting cozy with his favorite movie, Beethoven.  We watch that movie on repeat, honestly.  He spent the afternoon doing man stuff with my dad, while us girls went shopping.  Easter clothes for the win :)

That night, my sister, her friend and I went to a concert at the House of Blues.  I didn't know either of the bands prior to going.  I was just excited to go to a concert!  The last time I was at HOB, it was for Dropkick Murphy and there was a lot of moshing and jumping.  This time it was for Ben Rector.  There were a lot of sorority girls.  And by a lot- I mean that's all that was there.  ::define irony::  Anyway, it was fun.  I was more partial to the opening band, Alpha Rev.  Kind of Ryan Adams ish, which I dig.  I recommend.  I mainly really enjoyed having girl time and just laughing with my sister, who I literally thought was going to throw down if one more 18 yr old cut in front of her.  My sister is like 100 lbs and 5'2", so you can imagine how intimidating she is :)  She blames job stress haha.  Yolo- haha that's for my sis...

The best part was I think this is the first time Ben Rector has ever sold out a big name place.  This was the 4th show in the tour for one thing, and it was the first one in the tour to sell out.  It was kinda cool because he was so stinkin excited.  I think he sort of felt like 'he arrived' ya know.  It was fun to be able to be apart of something you know he will remember.  I mean he's stoked!

Girls!!!!  Night!!!!

Sunday we did it right.  Re-lax-a-tion.  I don't think I moved from the couch much if at all.  Old woman at a concert where she stands all night means I must lay down all the next day.  #fact  Luckily, Jude was down for the chillin...  Thankful!

 I read some of my small group book while I was on the couch.  Didn't want it to be a complete waste of time ;)  And I was just really struck by the truths of this section.  Especially because I struggle with impatience.  Mostly because I get nervous about things going wrong- not so much that I'm in a hurry.  But I do want to be perfect.  In the end though, my impatience because of fear hurts others, and that's a problem.  I am really loving the ideas of this book and just how its pushing me to love and embrace others more!  Side note- I am going to try to do book review posts as I finish books, so this will be included :)

And on that note, here is my lazy face.  No makeup.  No shame.  I loved every second of it.

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