The Suits Sisters

I'm thankful for my brother's son, Cruz For cousins And for the {expanded} ParkerII Family

I'm thankful for... Fuzzy leopard pajama pants and someone to watch the Olympics with Clean water (shout out to the fam in South Sudan) and straws That my first Thursday morning bible study went well A husband to do this parenting adventure with  (You should read, "We had a rough morning and could hardly get out of the house, so when I got to church I threw Caris at Kent and ran for the hills") And for air conditioning (In February)

Growing up Ma always decorated the table for Valentine's Day Dinner and had a small gift for each of us Sis in law, Sara, shared a fab cookie recipe with me (woot!) We're trying to eat healthy  less so I only baked two. Although I missed the others that I would've eaten, knowing that you're only going to eat ONE does make you enjoy it a bit more. On that particular night you would've found me slow dancing in the kitchen with my cookie. Tasting the chocolate, feeling the crunch of the m-n-m's instead of thinking about the next five  one. But I came home from MOPS to find these home made beauties. Kent's not only my Valentine, but also my new work out buddy so I'm kind of surprised that he would sabotage my training like this... But after eight  one or two strawberries I forgave him. Uh what work out plan?  Chocolate peanut butter cupcake We interrupt the semi-decent pictures for a blurry iPad picture Here I am running late for MO...

By doing Thankful Thursday, it not only helps me to give thanks, but also to KNOW WHAT DAY OF THE WEEK IT IS.  I'm thankful for belated birthday presents that are wrapped oh so fancy For a big, old desktop computer to serve as a backup after my laptop falls and possibly dies For unexpected phone calls from friends and words of encouragement For heavy care packages from mommy friends For spontaneous lunch dates with Kent & Caris at 4 Rivers And for funny emails from my sister that contain quotes from While You Were Sleeping

First, dear readers, we have some business to take care of. I'd like to do semi-regular posts on "Thrifting" (something catchy like like Thankful Thursdays) All I have so far is... More of Caris' Inheritance Down the Drain Mondays or Stuff in my house Saturdays [Please submit any ideas] I have inner conflict (deep, counseling word) when it comes to Thrifting. I legitimately don't want a bunch of stuff in my house so the obvious answer would be to avoid shopping altogether (moment of silence while part of me DIES). But the thrill of the hunt keeps me going back again and again. I feel like we've talked about this before... sorry I looked into joining the local Y as an alternative to shopping, . I pictured Tiny Su and I swimming daily and pumping some iron until I found out that it was ninety-nine dollars  a month. That doesn't exactly fit into the monthly budget so my weekly solo outings usually consist of grocery shopping, walk...

Caris was hit with her first sickness! Kent was kind enough to share it with her last Thursday and it included a fever, runny nose and a cough. She's currently feeling a lot better, but the weekend was when it hit the worst. She was pretty sad and pitiful, but there was a tiny part of us that secretly high-fived each other because she sat still and let us snuggle with her. I'm pretty sure she was this old the last time she was that still. So we soaked up our time with the  never  rarely seen calm Baby Caris and I took the opportunity to introduce her to my favorite {vintage} Sesame Street clip-- here . Let's just say it involves James Taylor and a tuba...  I'm glad we've survived the first {of many} sicknesses! And trust me, it didn't go unnoticed that I had to miss church last Sunday...  I'll be back in the game this coming Sunday which happens to be another solo church attendance for Caris and me! 

Dear Mom, I like crying with you better than crying alone. Thanks for joining in. Dear Dad, walking around Hobby Lobby with you was the high light of my week. I especially liked playing with the wind chimes.  Dear Cotton Ball, wow. Not what I expected you to taste like at all ... Dear Any Kind of Shoes, I HATE YOU. Dear Patch, why do you sit so far away from me in the car? It's like you're trying to avoid me or something.  Dear Mom, your dance moves are safe with me. But, wow.  Dear Music, IloveyouIloveyouIloveyouIloveyou the only way to get laundry done don't worry, the washer/dryer is also in the garage

It's been one month, today, since we moved.  There's been a few highlights... Hanging out with my Dad {Granted it wasn't in Florida} Watching Caris grow & change {even more} Decorating a new house {A rental: let's hang stuff everywhere!} Enjoying beautiful weather {80's!} Getting bombarded with birthday cards {picture below} Watching Kent catch a tree frog behind the sofa {Oh yes} And the month wouldn't be complete without a lot  a couple of lows. 2 stand out in my mind... 1. I've cried the past two Sunday mornings at church. The first time I made it to the bathroom with only the pastor's wife and one elder seeing me. I recovered enough to sit through the rest of Sunday School after I gave myself a personal pep talk in the mirror that went something like, "You can't run away forever! You got this!" Last Sunday, however, Caris and I stood in the front of the nursery, next to the HUGE glass window that overlooks th...

Kent's mom, sister and some of our nieces and nephews came in town on Friday and we hosted our first SLUMBER PARTY.  We ate pizza, watched Monster's University, ate pancakes, took a tour of our new church and played with Caris' "big kid" toys that haven't gotten used yet.  We're looking forward to meeting back up with them this week at their Disney hotel! Our nephew, Kres, made sure that his baby sister, Josey, had enough toys to play with...