Lovin' Love Shack!

After our trip to the museum today (read about it here), we hit up our favorite place to eat in Fort Worth. I was really bummed when I heard that the Love Shack we used to go to closed, but this between buildings location in the stockyards is brilliant!

It's funny how not very nice and messy make for such a cool place. The whole thing is outside, but thanks to our uncharacteristic August weather it was perfectly fine. They have lots of fans and misters blowing in this bottom part. There are multiple levels of seating that go up from there.

There's a stage on the other end so I'm guessing they have live music at night. The kids loved this wooden elephant.

Check out these flat and skinny fries. Next time you're in the stockyards take a walk by and grab a bag of fries. They are hands down THE BEST fries I've ever had. You walk up and order right by the street, so it would be very easy to make a quick stop. In addition to the fries, their burgers are awesome. Their specialty is a fried quail egg on their Dirty Burger. I'm a meat and cheese girl myself,

The kids split a milkshake. Sister, of course, got it all over her face.

She was quick to grab some napkins and wipe down. Such a big girl!

I felt like Sister was getting all the attention from the camera,

so I stopped to take some fun pics with Beemer. He was oh so cooperative as usual.
This was the best silly smile I got out of him.

It's ok, we had a little fun with it too.

Finally headed home. Well, after this guy gets out of our way!

Two free trips to the Museum!

This summer we participated in a few different summer reading programs at the local libraries. A friend of mine clued me in to all the great free stuff you can get by logging some hours. So 15 hours, and countless books later, we scored some free kids tickets to the Fort Worth Museum of Nature and Science.

In addition to a free tickets, they're running a coupon for 20% off membership so we spent a little extra and will going back for many more trips. I'm also really excited for the reciprocal benefits to museums in other cities. We are still contemplating a membership to the new Perot Museum that's opening in Dallas. It looks very cool, check it out here if you haven't heard about it yet.

Here are the highlights from our two trips!

We tend to start out in the "children's" area, though if you ask me the whole thing is really geared towards children. Sister really likes to stop and look at these snakes. I think she likes them because they don't make noise or quick movement. If it was bugs, she'd be running the other direction.

Sister latches on to the baby dolls in the medical section. She is very attached to her babies. I know the feeling. I didn't get any pictures of the outside water play, but both the kids love this section. Of all the children there, I have the two who think they can get IN the water exhibit and wind up soaking wet. I come prepared!

 

After a while we venture upstairs to the special exhibits. For just a little longer they're running the Grossology exhibit. It's very creative for all things gross. All the kids enjoyed this Digestive System playground. Both my kids were stuck in the rectum for a while! It's all about Gross, I warned you!

Daddy led the way today and laid on the bed of nails in the Risk Exhibit with Beemer. Sister wanted nothing to do with it. It makes noise. Noise is scary.

Both kids were feeling risky and walked the beam over the city multiple times. Thank goodness it sits on the ground!

Downstairs there's a great, interactive, exhibit where the kids have a lot of fun. There's a whole section devoted air and blowing things. These cylinders blow air from the bottom. Sister enjoyed throwing cups and coffee filters inside and watching them go up and come down.

We also experimented with making our own windmills. Ok, we mostly played with the great looking windmills that were made before us.

 By far, the favorite of the moms was this Light room (which is funny because it's all dark).  These Crayola Black Light mats are very cool, all the drawing is done with color. This would be a great birthday gift for a toddler near you!

 

They also had these clearish legos set up on light tables, they were a big hit.

The giant peg boards were really cool!

Check out my next post for our end of day wrap up at the Love Shack in the stockyards. I think this will be a regular stopping point for us on museum days!

Won't Be Like This For Long

It was by no accident that I randomly decided to go through the old baby clothes in the garage today.

First, I came across this zipper pj with the feet cut off. Brady went through a phase of smearing poop all over his room. It happened A LOT. We had to cut the feet off multiple pj sets and make him wear them backwards. I thought he would NEVER stop doing it. I thought he would NEVER poop in the big potty. But, it wasn't like that for long.

 

I came across this old college shirt that was Beemer's.

I thought my husband would NEVER get through college. But, he did!

It wasn't like that for long.

 

 Not only did it feel like he would NEVER get through college,

I had little hope that he would ever quit working in retail loss prevention

(not for lack of belief in him, but it just felt like forever!)

Thankfully, it wasn't like this for long.

 

I absolutely, positively didn't think that I would EVER, EVER get to quit working.

But, when the police job came along, there was a ray of hope.

Those two years felt very long, but in reality it wasn't like that for long.

I came across this precious little newborn shirt I bought

for Sister the day we found out she was a girl.

(That in and of itself was a miracle considering she was the

first girl in 150 years in my husband's bloodline!)

I thought I would NEVER quit being pregnant,

but it wasn't like that for long!

Alas, she arrived. She was a spitter. Acid reflux.

Sleepless nights, a two year old, and a newborn spitter/screamer.

I am certain I thought I would NEVER survive.

But, here I am! It wasn't like that for long.

(Though, I'm sure those yellow stains will last forever!)

The thing is, I've been so frustrated lately with these little

bundles of joy I'm not even sure how to describe them some days.

It was no accident that I went through these boxes.

It was so easy for me to see how quickly each of those phases passed

and how quickly the current ones will pass as well.

It won't be like this for long. 

Darius Rucker has an amazing song "It Won't Be Like This for Long". 

Check it out here on youtube. Grab some Kleenex, you'll need them :)
I hung on to this song those first few months with Sister
and have tried my best to enjoy every stage for what it is
since I know it won't last forever.

My alarm clock

My alarm clock has legs and walks
It wakes me up with a mouth that talks

My alarm clock is not easily snoozed
It wakes me up asking for food

My alarm clock is honestly cute
It wakes me up wanting fruit

My alarm clock cannot be turned down
Some days I'd like to send it out of town

204,633,600 Hours

8 years

96 months

2920 days

2 births

19 birthdays

8 Anniversary Celebrations

 

2 graduations

1 baptism

2 baby dedications

1 swearing in

2 churches

416 Sundays

2 small groups

1 flag football team

8 jobs

6 cars

2 trucks

2 motorcycles

2 homes

2 cities

2 Washers

2 Dryers

2 Dishwashers

2 Remodels

3 Mattresses

5 computers

5 vacations

1 cruise

1 military welcome home

8 plane rides

4 dogs

5 foster boxers

2 puppies

1 gecko

3 stray cats ran out of the yard

8 Christmases

2 Christmas Trees

2 ICE Exhibits

2 faithful people

1 faithful God

Countless weddings.

Too many funerals.

Countless trips to the country.

Too many hours in the car.

A few fights.

Too many arguments.

Countless sunrises.

Countless good night phone conversations.

Too many nights apart.

A few stressful seasons.

Countless faithful provisions.

Too many miracles to count.

Eight years and counting. Not merely surviving, but thriving.

What God has joined, let no man separate. Matthew 19:6

Simba

For my son's fourth birthday he got The Lion (and the) King, as he likes to call it. Look at those cute babies watching Simba on screen. I can't beleive how many of the words I remember to those songs!

I got to thinking about cute little Simba today and how I can be so much like him at times. The thing about Simba is that he didn't know and believe the truth about himself as the son of the king. He ran away and cowered at the lies that were told to him by his uncle. It wasn't until those lies were dispelled that Simba fought for and took his rightful place as King.

Isn't that what Satan does to us? You might as well just call him Scar. He condemns us for things we haven't even done wrong, he sells us lies about ourselves. And we, like Simba, believe him. We run away from what is rightfully ours as sons and daughters of the most high King. We forfeit the power we could have.

If you have a relationship with Christ, I encourage you to find out the truths about yourself. You might be surprised :) Look them up in the word of God. I won't tell you what they are, because I want you to discover them for yourself. In our technological society we are putting way too much belief into what everybody is telling us on their blogs and articles. While they may be founded and true, I find it overwhelming. God has given me everything I need in His word and the more I read everybody else's advice and convictions, the more stressed out I feel. When you find these truths, consider a special marking for those truths in your Bible and mark them every time you find one new. (Always underline in a certain color, a certain highlighter, circles, etc.) Hold on to them and throw them in the face of the enemy every time he tells you a lie.

Ecclesiastes 12:12 But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body. 

Analyze It, and Think About it Some More

I'm the QUEEN of over analyzing. I mean, seriously ya'll, the QUEEN. You can't beat me in this department!

Over analyzing is a huge thorn in my side. I get so caught up in analyzing the most unimportant stuff. "Should I have said that? Should I being doing this? Should I watch this show? Should I have this thing?" I read into everything I see and hear wondering if it meant anything. I call my friends and ask their advice. I worry and fret over the tiniest of things.

The sad part is that in doing this I miss out on seeing and hearing other things that are far more important. I pray in angst over something petty instead of praying for the salvation of a friend. I read into everything I hear and miss other messages that were more important. I fixate on the smallest of details. Some things are just not worth my breath and the wasted pages in my journal.

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Colossians 3:2

Additionally, I become legalistic in the process. I forget that there's not anything I can do to earn God's grace. He didn't save me because He saw how good I was. He didn't save me because He knew how good I would become (good thing that's not His criteria). He saved me because of His mercy. Our pastor this weekend said multiple times that Satan doesn't care if you never sin again, He cares that you don't know Jesus. When I become so tied up with every little detail of life, I forget to see Jesus and His grace. I cheapen what He's done for me. It doesn't matter if I never, ever sin again. That will not earn me grace.


"he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit" Titus 3:5

Sometimes I get so caught up in waiting for God to give me some big revelation that I forget that He has already done that! It's called His Word. I'm not saying that I don't additionally seek God's wisdom and that you shouldn't either. But, here recently, I'm learning that sometimes I might just need to see if my decision lines up with what He's already told me in His Word. If my decision falls in line with that then maybe I can move on with my life and quit analyzing it. He gave me those words for a reason. He breathed them onto the page just for me and just for you too.

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." Psalm 119:105