a smile

even if it's upside down, it still counts as a camera win for mommy!

a grateful heart, a faithful God

i would be remiss if i didn't write about how faithful God has been throughout our lives this year, particularly while brad was at the academy. brad received his invitation to the state trooper academy on june 18th. we had been praying over this decision and path for months, but that doesn't mean i didn't have concerns about life without brad for 4.5 months.

on june 20th, i wrote out my "not to worry" list. philippians 4:6-7 reads, "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus"


so i did. i prayed over this verse and over my list of concerns and asked God to take over. the list stayed on my nightstand until brad left for the academy on july 18, and then somehow ended up tucked away in the office until two days before graduation when i happened to think of it.

my God is faithful and He provided in ways i specifically asked for and in others beyond my imagination.  all honor and glory is His and i am thankful beyond words.

• the emotional strain from being separated from brad - despite the distance, we were able to talk a little on most days and we stayed too busy to dwell much on the separation!
• our finances - brad's new field is a pay cut, but God has met all our needs.
• being a patient and sufficient provider for mason's needs - i only lost my cool a couple of times and mason is still alive and well! :)
• dinner each night - this one seems petty, but it was actually one of my biggest concerns. brad has always arrived at home before me, and therefore been the "cook" of the family. i am pleased to report that we may not have had gourmet meals, but we only ate chicken nuggets twice!
• maintaining the house (bills, laundry, keeping it clean) - check! (the cleaning lady helped tremendously with the keeping it clean part, but mason and i did keep it tidy)
• avoiding travel at work - i typically have to travel at least once per month, but in all 18 weeks, i didn't have a single work trip!
• excelling at work despite the stress at home - a big concern for me. however, in the time that brad was gone, i received a bonus for a job well done on a project i proposed and executed and i received a promotion to supervise employee and marketing communications! (um, yes, this would be where God exceeded my imagination)
• keeping focused on God and the plans He has for our family - i took a hiatus from television and instead read my bible each night. God's word = perfect peace
• being a supportive wife - you'll have to ask brad about this one
• brad's health and well-being - he survived in one piece and is in the best shape of his life (although a little thin after the academy meal plan)
• brad's success at the academy - with a 93 average and a 90 on the tcleos exam, he did great!
• mason's health and well-being - mason didn't miss a single day of school due to illness. he caught a minor cold at the end, but didn't run fever with it!

"and my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus" - phil. 4:19

deck the halls

we took advantage of the extra hands around the house with brad's family in town and decorated for Christmas a little early. we decided it was ok since we didn't put up a SINGLE decoration last year, so we had some making up to do! mason was quite the little helper and we only broke one ornament. not bad for life with an accident-prone two year old!

i just noticed that we didn't get a single picture of kristen, who was extremely helpful in the decorating process and in distracting mason when we needed to get something done without a toddler under our feet! all in all, we had a great time decking the halls and walls with Christmas spirit.

"these are beautiful - where should they go?"

"right here!"

"oh my goodness! does this mean santa is coming?!"

a little mantle decor

a very trim santa

mason's skills were quite refined 

by the time we made it to the second tree!

handymen

after graduation granny, papa, aunt jeannie, and kristen came back to our house for a visit. jeannie had to work the next day, so after filling her belly with some delicious lupe tortilla fajitas, we dropped her off at the airport for a quick flight home.

the rest of us enjoyed five days of family time. in addition to eating lots of good food (the grub at the academy was a little lacking), playing with mason's cars/trucks/trains, and visiting, we found time to do a few projects around the house...

helping daddy fix the latch on the gate

"i do it"

we're through with the hammer...

what tool do we need next?

this one looks good!

we also planted some pansies.

mason and papa had to loosen up the dirt.

granny helped too. she's known for growing beautiful flowers!

 say cheese!

trooper face

there's something serious about that hat... ;)

the graduate

"hail hail state police... i'm the king of the road, so follow me. nothing in this world is free... a trooper's life is made for me."

the cadence rang out as the 39 recruits in class b-2010 marched into the lbj library auditorium at ut on thursday morning. 18 weeks ago, brad left home to pursue his dream. today he's standing proud in his uniform.

with mentions of black and whites (trooper cars), red and blues (the lights you don't want to see behind you), and of course, texas tan (the trooper uniform), the graduation ceremony was classy, reverent, and touching for all.

it's a long time coming, but we officially have a state trooper in the family. congratulations brad!

chillin' with a snack and grammy before the ceremony begins...

after the grand entrance, the soon-to-be-troopers are addressed by the dps director

taking the oath

brad crossing the stage 

(clearly i need a telephoto lens)

saluting the director and receiving his badge

trooper reece

mason was very glad to see daddy

sadly, this was our best family photo :(

the reece clan

grammy was instrumental in wrangling mason.

believe it or not, 2-year-olds get very wiggly 

during 1.5 hour graduation ceremonies

my handsome boys

wanna ride my pony?

a month old photo, but too cute not to post. mason's friend avery came over for dinner and a pony ride. we figure this will be a good photo to show at their wedding in 25 years. ;)

a badge to show for it

while many things in life take hard work, dedication, and lots of prayer, most of them don't result in a badge. this one did.

way to go, brad! we are so proud of you and can't wait to bring you home with us on thursday! not to brag, but mason's daddy scored a 90 on the tcleos exam today. woo hoo!

gotta wear shades

i told mason if he let me take his picture, i would show him what his shades look like...

this is the first time i've taken 3 photos in a row where he is looking at the camera and smiling. too bad we have leftover dinner on our face!

mommy's lunch

most days, i bring my lunch to work. to save time, i make it the night before and then place in on the counter so i can easily grab it on the way out the door. apparently it is easy for mason to grab too.

after he ate my peanut butter sandwich friday morning, i had to make a new lunch. i guess somethings (particularly peanut butter) are irresistible!

last week!

we're almost there! after 18 long weeks, brad graduates from the dps state trooper academy on thursday! he passed the last physical test last week (and wound up with a concussion), and he takes the TCLEOS exam on monday. please pray for a clear head, peace, confidence, and for his test score to reflect the effort he has put into this program.

stay tuned for photos of our trooper later in the week!

practice makes perfect

mason has been practicing. we mostly do a whole lot of sitting with very little action, but we have had 4 success stories with him indicating he needs to go and then actually going. we're not pushing it, but are certainly encouraging his interest.

for the record, the photo was daddy's idea. the appropriateness of the book choice is entirely coincidental.

hiding!

for the past month or so, mason has been learning about hiding. hiding balls, spoons, various objects, and of course, himself. it started with a couple of toys, which he would hide behind his back or under his shirt. he "hides" the object, then our dialogue goes something like this...

mason: "ball? where is it?" (with his hands lifted into the why position)
mommy: "i don't know, mason. what happened to it?"
mason: "i don't know. where is it?"
mommy: "is it missing?"
mason: "oh no! it's gone" (with his hands on either side of his face to emphasize the oh no!)
mommy: "is it in your shoe?"
mason: "no-o-o-o"
mommy: "is it in your pocket?"
mason: "no-o-o-o"
mommy: "is it under your shirt?" (where i can clearly see the ball poking out and his hand holding it in place)
mason: (lifting the shirt while keeping the ball hidden) "no-o-o-o"
mommy: "it's not under your shirt? then what's that?" (pointing to the big lump)
mason: (gasp) "ball!!" (then burst into giggles)

when he hides himself, he runs, finds a spot, then yells out, "mommy! h-i-d-i-n-g!" followed by a stream of giggles. i love it that he announces he's hiding so i can go look for him. soon enough, i'm sure he'll be hiding from me without letting me know and i'll be panicking because i have no idea where he is. it will make me cherish these moments even more.

mason is at such a cute age right now (despite the typical two-year old struggles to be in charge) and i hate that i've been so busy trying to keep my head above water to write down all these stories. rather than dwell on that, i think i'll just relish in the fact that this one is captured. ;)

cool bike

at the gas station earlier today...

mason: mommy, a bike!
mommy: you're right mason that is a bike. is it cool?
mason: it's cool. cool bike, mommy. cool bike.

bad blogger

so it's been a while... things have been hectic around here with two sickies (mason and me). and since our household currently consists of mason and me, it's been a rough week and a half!

we're both feeling much better now and mason has transitioned quite smoothly from a sick toddler to a defiant two year old. not the throw a big-screaming-fit-in-the-middle-of-the-room defiance. he prefers the push-all-mommy's-buttons-until-she-loses-it tactic, then laugh while she blows a gasket. it's lovely, i tell you. any tips for counter-acting this behavior are much appreciated. in the meantime, timeouts seem to be working moderately well (for both of us).

there are 16 days remaining until brad's graduation and we are all looking forward to his return to the woodlands. we can't wait to have him home again!

sorry for the random, stream-of-conscious nature of this post, but it's all i can muster today!