Rhesa's Fantasy Football Dominance

My friend Rhesa took over the worst team in our dynasty ff league and is now dominating... like a wolf apparently. His choice of pic to go on our league page... Congrats Rhesa!

Skin 11'

For those who knew us year 2 of marriage know what the title means. :) Our 2nd year of marriage we had a "marriage retreat" for just the two of us. Tim was creative and even made t-shirts that said "Skin 08', we killed it. It was really funny. The purpose behind "Skin" was for us to be transparent in our marriage in every way.

Well, we did not actually call this trip Skin 11', but we did go to the same lake house owned by our friends Jason and Alex's family. Dallas peeps, if you have not met this couple or spent time with them, you should. They are such a joy in our life. They called the lake house "Sabbath House". They use this house for a place of rest... and it is truly that. It was great because we were not bombarded with technology and distraction of our daily life. We were able to rest, reflect, and rejuvenate our hearts. It was great time of sleeping in, reading, running together, and having no set schedule. Thankful for such sweet, encouraging friends in our life.


Date night! Ok, so we are in the middle of no where, so the closest restaurant was Chili's. Which of course, you can't go wrong. :)


Tim enjoyed making funny pictures in all the pictures I took. :)


A night of scrabble to exercise our minds. :)


Where I spent every morning with my bible, book, and cup of coffee. perfect.


Everyday we spent time laying out and getting a few rays. Tim did swim in the lake. I chickened out due to me not being able to see the bottom of the water. Yes very much unlike me, but I think being a mom has changed my "crazy" side a bit... in a good way.

Dad's Birthday

What a guy. If you have ever met my Dad, you leave his presence happy, excited, and encouraged. He just has that spirit. It was fun to celebrate him and what a loving father he is. It's funny that the older my parents get the more they enjoy just having their kids and family to their home. They enjoy having a house full of kids and more serving us than us serving them. We try to serve them, but they are so quick. :)

This past year has been fun to have both my siblings local and able to come to family gatherings. Due to my brother being in a band, Flyleaf and my sister is in the army, they are on the go often.

We definitely made fun memories.


Ladies.


Guys.


Proud birthday boy with his grandchildren.


With the hubs.



We even managed an entire family picture.




Opening gifts.


The night ended with the three of us reenacting our family picture from over 25 years ago!

Happy Birthday to sweet and loving father!

Hamilton Pool

We officially have been to Hamilton Pool Preserve as a family. If you are ever in the Austin area, it's a must go place. (if you like nature places :) )

Neela LOVED this place.
-She loved the hike to the preserve. When we would try to pick her up to speed our walk up, she was insistent on walking herself.
-She loved climbing the rocks and would just laugh like crazy at nothing! :)
- She loved swimming in the water. It was easier for her to get in and out of the water because the water gradually got deeper.




Totally cannot hide the excitement on her face.


Loves playing with Daddy


Family pic!


Playing in the water.


Neela having a deep conversation with Daddy.... Yes Elmo does like to swim. :) hee!

A fun family outing. Neela slept hard on the way home... I think she had a great time.

NVC Year #2

North Village Church: Year 2 from Tim Birdwell on Vimeo.

Love

"Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully around with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in the casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless- it will change. It will not be broken; it wll become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation."

C.S. Lewis

Homemade Pizza

Neela loves helping in the kitchen. She says "I want to cook". So it's fun when she can help pour, stir, or even just make a mess in the kitchen with Mommy.

Here is our latest cooking adventure: homemade pizza.


Start with the dough. Yes my child is obsessed with smelling candles. :)


Next, pat the pre-made dough onto the pan.


Then Tim's favorite... sauce! Everywhere! :)


Her favorite part... spreading the cheese. She wanted to put all the cheese in one big pile and then start eating the cheese from the top. :)


Team Work!

It's funny how these simple task can take so much longer with a 2 year old, but it's so worth it. They made these activities fun and funny. :)