why can't Christmas last longer??

SERIOUSLY...I was thinking last night how much I love Christmas and I wish we could leave the Christmas tree and decorations up until the end of January. I love that our "world" as we know it takes a break. Brian gets to be home and there are no regular responsibilities or meetings. Cooking is more fun and giving gifts really great too! I love that Brian has more than 2 weeks off of work...we are spoiled with him home (especially during this first trimester sleepiness :)!
So in attempt to catch up over this month, here is a long photo update for you! To start things off, we hired someone for a low price to paint our living room and Jada's room...which turned out to be somewhat of a disaster with paint on the ceiling, furniture and carpet. SOO...our truly amazing friends came to the rescue! A group of 11 people came over from 5-midnight (and some stayed even longer). It was truly an act of love on their part and the Lord reminded me in those moments of how blessed we are in the community that we live in! Five years ago when we bought our home we painted every room with the help of the house church that we were a part of. Now the Lord has given us Then and now our home is not our own...it is truly a gift to us through people that we love. So grateful!

Jada surprised Uncle Jason with a visit to their house in Spring! On the drive she said "my dream finally came true...I get to go to Uncle Jason and Aunt Shannon's house!" So sweet. It was super fun. Aunt Shannon bought a ginger bread house for Jason and Jada to make together...it was fun...and we all realized it was our first official gingerbread house to decorate!Afterwards they took us to lunch and then to main event to play some games.

And then we went to a wedding in the Woodlands with some friends. Our neighbors and great friends Jared and Risa were there which was the highlight for Jada!
Kiva is changing so much. She is so great! Brian and I say that every day... we really say "Kiva is so great." In every way she is so much fun, easy going, stubborn, joyful, and she is a really fast walker! She had a pretty rough cold this week. She was an absolute joy in the midst of being sick! She is so so stubborn with her pink meds though! It is a team effort to get the stuff down her throat :) Oh Kiv!And then Jada sang in her first Christmas pageant/show! She did great...this is her waving at PaPa. She exited the stage a little early in her excitement to jump in PaPa's lap!The Breed Family (their family of 5) stayed with us for 5 days. They were in from North Carolina. It was crazy but great. They are so important to us and we are super grateful to have seen them twice this year!

Christmas eve we spent the day celebrating my brother Jason's birthday! It was a super fun party planned by Aunt Shannon here in Bryan College Station. It was super fun and very yummy! Then we spent the night at MiMi and PaPa's and celebrated Christmas the next day. And we just returned from New Braunfels visiting Brian's family. We had a relaxing time and we took some pics...just not with my camera :(...if/when I get some of those I will show ya! For now we are home and enjoying the rest of the holidays!

Glad Days...

There has been a ton going on in our lives...like all of you! So I thought I would do a quick picture update...some with our not so good camera...but whatever :)

The cutie sisters by the tree!

Kiva cracks us up throughout the day...seriously, the girl is funny!

Jada had her first trip to the dentist...it is the same dentist that I used to work for (way back!) She did great! Her teeth look good too :) whew!

Jada's school group (aka: some of our friends) went to Lights of Texas at Camp Tejas...it was incredible!!! Hay rides, a light show, bouncy things to play on, kettle corn, hot chocolate...etc.

Jada and her friends played on the bouncy things with no reserve...it was so fun! I had to include her friend Ainsley in this b/c seriously, look at the joy on these girls' faces!

I got to take some pics of my favorite twins...Blaine and Suzanna! They are getting way to old! I had a blast with them...even though they are getting closer and closer to my height. I used to baby-sit them when the were 2 1/2 and got to be with them a lot for the years to follow. I am so thankful they are still a part of our lives!

Jada is a super detailed girl and she got a new puzzle of the US states and did it all by herself...way to go Jada!

More later...have a great weekend!

Some news for ya!

Recently I have had this strange aversion to fruit. I love fruit...but I just can't even take a bite of a small piece of fruit without getting this yucky feeling! And last Friday night I went to sleep at 7:30 pm and woke up at 7:00am and still felt a little tired. And then there have been about 7 or 8 different people that have had dreams, scriptures or the Lord simply bombarded their thoughts with this really cool fact...and all of it comes down to this.....


WE ARE EXPECTING BABY LEE #3!!!!!...and we couldn't be more thankful!

So, here is the story. About a month ago a friend of ours who has a history of having "words of knowledge" or is prophetically gifted or to put it in a simple way...she just knows things sometimes and it has historically been right. ANYWAY...this friend or ours said that when she saw me that night she felt like the Lord spoke "Pregnant." She asked me minutes later and of course, I didn't know yet, so I just responded with "That would be awesome! We'll see!" That same evening a close friend of mine emailed me from out of the blue and said she was just thinking that I might have some baby news for her. Earlier that month another close friend of mine had a dream that I was huge and pregnant and in the hospital about to deliver another baby. Later on in the month my mom had two dreams that she felt like were about me being pregnant. At Thanksgiving my sister-in-law said she felt the same thing that she felt before we knew we were pregnant with Jada and Kiva. Last weekend a close friend of ours in our small group was reading the bible and felt like Isaiah 43:5-7 was for us and our children. Even a sweet lady that loves the Lord who is the chef at HEB (who happened to know we were pregnant with Kiva before I did) told me last time I saw her that we better get ready to have some babies back to back. Other close friends of ours throughout the month of November said that they truly felt like we were going to have another baby soon. About 3 weeks ago, Jada said that Mommy is going to have a baby boy in her tummy soon. (we'll see about the boy?!) but she was right on about the baby!

So, when Brian and I found out that we were indeed pregnant...it was as though we were already informed of that. The Lord had spoken to us through His people and through His word and it was beautiful! We have never experienced anything quite like this before. So many different people, so many different ways the Lord was communicating. Isn't it wonderful to know that JESUS IS ALIVE and loves to show His supernatural power in personal ways?! I am so grateful.

And as for this precious little person growing now...what promises await him/her! This baby is already marked with the power and presence of God in unique ways on earth. And as the Lord knits together all of this baby's precious parts, I can't help but to be expectant in fresh ways and free to believe God for His plans. There have been little moments of fear creeping up and the Lord has been so kind to help me draw near and lean on Him in those times (I write this with tears of gratitude)...and check out what Is.43:5-7 says:

Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

Wasn't it so kind of the Lord to give our friend this verse before we even knew we were pregnant??? I am thoroughly convinced more than ever that we are a part of the beautiful body of Christ that has members that comfort, unite, prophesy, dream, pray, support, serve and hope in ways that make all of our days better! THANK YOU! Maybe this will be a boy or maybe it will add to the sisters in our house! Either way...yay!!! And Jada and Kiva will be sharing a room this time next year. That thrills Brian and me. And so it looks like August 9th is the due date so far...of course we will keep you posted! But for now, we would love your prayers for this little one.

confessions of jada and kiva's mom...

Number One- on our way home from church tonight we went through the wendy's drive through to give the girls some chicken nuggets for dinner...while I was there I ordered a chocolate cookie dough twisted frosty. And then I ate half of it. I could smell the sugar...and it was spectacular.

Number Two- I like to shop at TJ Maxx and Ross. I feel like when I conquer one of those stores and find something for a great deal that I should win some sort of prize along with my purchase...I always feel like, Yes...I won.

Number Three- I have stubbornly resisted being like my mom in some ways...and one of them is curling my hair or curling Jada's hair. My mom always had my hair curled and looking very symmetrically perfect. Something in me rebelled along the way and I just let my hair do it's thing. Well, last week we put Jada's hair in sponge rollers after her bath. She was so excited. I wasn't sure she was going to actually go through the night wearing them...but she did! And when she woke up she was so excited for the reveal. I have to say that her hair looked fabulous. Ok...so this time my mom may have been right :) It started off super curly and fell throughout the day, which was perfect because we had our family pics taken that afternoon and check out her rockin hair and my friend Shauna's stellar pic. I will share more of these pics another time. For now...just focus on the hair.

first thing in the morning before school

And with all of this talk about Jada's hair...I thought I would include a cutie pic of Kiva sporting her new look with a headband and bow...that blonde hair is coming in slowly but surely!! And of course Kiva working the camera striking her pose for Shauna :)

Good Gifts...

I have been struck with what GOOD GIFTS Brian, Jada and Kiva are to me. No really. There are have been so many moments where I literally think "I hope I never forget this." Tonight was one of them...
Before rest time today, I told Jada that if she sleeps we could lay on our driveway and look at the stars late tonight. She slept... I was excited for the night and so was she.

So, we had some of our amazing friends over for dinner and when they left Jada immediately wanted to get our blankets, suckers (dum-dums) and head out the door. Brian, Jada and I proceeded to lay on the driveway and look at the stars. The scene was more precious to my heart than I can express. The three of us were laying on a small blanket finding shapes in the clouds, looking at how bright the moon was, searching for stars behind the clouds, telling animal stories and all the while enjoying our dum-dums. There was sweet silence joined with a sweet 4 year old voice filled with excitement and wonder...and it was wonderful. It was simple and magnificent. I didn't want the night to end.

And unless Jesus comes back soon, I am struck with the reality of generations that will come after me that will gaze at the very same stars...Jada's grandchildren...So Lord, help me never to be too busy to be still and gaze into the night sky with the precious ones that I love and may the following generations know you more deeply and honor you more gladly as they lay under the night sky.

5 steps and biggest loser

A very brief update...KIVA TOOK 5 STEPS TODAY!!! She is so proud. Jada is so proud. It is so fun.

And I heart Biggest Loser! Seriously. I have cut out sugar almost completely from my diet for a while b/c of them. I didn't know I would feel so good. So much more to share...but I am sleepy.

our flower girl's weekend..

Warning...lots of really poor quality photos...I left my good camera at home :(...but it was a great weekend. Brian, Jada and I headed to Waco for Kristen and Carlos' wedding! Brian was the officiant and Jada was one of the flower girls! And lots of our sweet friends were a part of the wedding. They are such a precious couple and we were truly honored to celebrate them! And Jada had a blast having some alone time with Mommy and Daddy too...we really enjoyed her. She LOVED the hotel...Jada would look for our room number and was in charge of the key every time. It was so sweet. So here goes a plethora of bad quality photos of a ton of sweet memories!

Jada and Sophie at rehearsal

All the girls playing ring around the rosies of course

Jada's picture that she loved...she took it while the rehearsal was going on :)

Jada and Kellie

Jada loving some Kellie/Bernie attention and love...The Big Day...My handsome hubby and the Handsome groom, Carlos!

All three flower girls and Jada's fake smile :)
Jada holding Kristen's flowers (she thought it was a big deal!)
Jada and Daddy
So sweet...Kristen seriously was BEAUTIFUL oh my goodness!!! I took her bridals and they are on my website if you want to see some more of this beautiful bride
Jada and Bern!!
The reception was so great...they had face painting and glow sticks for the kids!
While we were in Waco we visited the Cole's at the farm! David took us on a little farm tour which was so great. Here is Jada talking to baby Asha...Our walk on the farm

Turkeys...that will not be there in a month...
Jada loves animals and totally loved the Goats...
And this goat really loved Brian. He kept walking by and rubbing up against his leg...hilarious!
BunniesAnd possibly Jada's favorite part...picking Spaghetti squash...

she needed a little help
oh so proud!so last night for dinner after 45 minutes in the oven...

YUMMY!