Things Presley says...

After she scores 10 points in her first basketball game...

Me: Presley you had 10 points. That is so awesome girl.

Presley: Mom, that is just what ballers do.

Good Lord, girl.

Dear Presley Mae,

Child... you are something else. You are spunky. You are hilarious. You are meant to stand out. You are a tester of patience. You are just like your daddy. You are so inherently wild that it honestly scares me for when you get older. You are ours. All ours...

There is no doubt about your need for physical affection and "cuddles". You hate disappointing people. You are by far the funniest person I have ever met. Your wit is second to none and that is fairly nerve-racking. You are friendly and inclusive and you are confident in your own skin. You tell me frequently that God made you just the way your are and you love how he made you.

You make me question everything I thought I knew about parenting, but in a good way. You make me smile. You make me proud. You make me laugh. You make me excited for the future.

I sure do love you sweet girl.

Love, Mom

Dear Cash Ryan,

Let me start by saying I love you. I really do. I love you so much.

You challenge me daily. You challenge my patience. You challenge my thoughts. You challenge my words. You challenge me as a mom. But more importantly, you have found a way to challenge me as a person.

Just when I think I have you figured out... NOPE. Just when I think we have your temper under control, you throw another fit. Just when I think we have this respect thing figured out, you go off and back talk. Just when I think we have your ability to lose without getting completely mad, you cry and stay mad for an hour after your game.

The truth is buddy, I don't have you figured out. I don't know how to parent you sometimes.

I see my flaws in you. I see my temper and stubbornness and hatred for losing in you. I see my difficulty forgiving and saying I'm sorry in you.

I also see a compassionate soul in you. I see a love for people to be treated fairly in you. I see a boy who desires to be the best and is willing to do just about anything to be just that. I see a boy who is friendly and loving and kind. I see a boy who is willing to help people who need it and who thinks he has to protect his sister.

The truth is, Cash... your flaws and difficulties and challenges are a blessing to me. They cause me to draw closer to Jesus because I want to be the best mom to you I can be. And I realize I can't do that on my own. I need Jesus. I need help. I need guidance.

So in a weird way, I say thank you for your flaws. Thank you for being you. Thank you helping me grow into a better me.


Love, Mom

The most magical, and spontaneous, trip we could have ever not planned...

In July, Noah and I were invited by friends to go to Hawaii for a week. Excuse me? Hawaii? For a full week? I think YES!

With no more than 4 days notice, we arranged off of work and for my parents to watch the kids for us.

And we were off. On the honeymoon we never had. To a place we had never been. On a trip we would have never imagined going on.

There was adventure and relaxation. There were deep talks and lots of laughs. There was an unhealthy amount of food consumed and the best macadamia nut ice cream in the world.

We went marlin fishing.

We went zip lining.

We went swimming.

I had a facial by the ocean and a massage by a waterfall.

We rode around the island in a jeep with the top off.

We found a fellow Sooner fan.

We flew around the island and saw an active volcano. I mean, actual magma!

I spent time with Jesus every single morning.

It was perfect.

Noah and I grew closer and made a million new memories.

We fell in love more than ever and talked about life and what we wanted it to look like.

Love, Erin

Let's play a quick game of catch up, shall we...

Since it has been a few years (because I am apparently just that busy) since I last updated about the family and what we have been up to; and because Cash and Presley and I were looking at old pictures and videos from when they were babies and they were loving it, I have decided to give this thing another go. So let's pick up where we left off, June 2015...

Cash started Pre-K and Presley is still dominating Mother's Day out...

We kicked off another football season with a home game and a road trip to Knoxville, TN. To say that was fun would be an understatement... 

And then, of course, was Halloween... 

And then Cash met Baker Mayfield and has talked about them being BFF's every since...

And then we took Cash on his first ever away game to Waco to watch OU take on the Bears...

Ant then Cash had picture day in Pre-K and looked like a stud...

We had more family picture made...

Presley had a Wizard of Oz birthday party and continues to be the funniest girl I have ever met... 

And the we had a quick Christmas in Leander and attended a family wedding...

We had a new addiction to our family and got to meet our first niece, Alba...

Then we found out that Presley Mae has nystagmus in her eyes and needed an MRI to check some things out... 

And then we had one of the most important day of the year...the Daddy/Daughter Dance. Presley had been waiting for this day for months...

And then we had a quick trip to a family farm and had an Easter celebration... 

And then we made a quick trip to Houston to watch the OU men's basketball team in the Final Four...

We then turned back around and had another Houston trip to visit the beach and see some family...

And just like that, it was Cash's last day of Pre-K...

Summer rolled around and we were ready for some fun in the sun, family time, and the Fourth of July... We also celebrated a little boys birthday with family and had our first urgent care trip that resulted in glue...

And then we had another first day of school... Kindergarten and Mother's Day Out!

And right after that was another OU football season...

Somewhere in between there we had injuries, school pictures, Halloween, flag football and some random happenings before Christmas... 

Fast forward to December and we had ourselves another birthday... 

And another Christmas...

And then we had basketball season (with a few injuries) and another Daddy/Daughter Dance...

And then we had a visit from our cousins...

                                      

Which brings us to Easter and more random moments in between...

Love, Erin