Fact.

Clearly I need to either blog more or get off this thing all together.  It's been how many months?!  This is rediculous.

Newest Addition to the Fam!

What kid is going to want to mess with a kid named Steele! Genius!

Nephew #4 6lb 3oz. 19" long

Weekend O Bennett

This weekend my sister, mom, and nephew Bennett came to visit me in Dallas because Jonathan went floating the river (where exactly I don't know). It was so much fun to be around family on your "turf". We didn't do much but shop and stop by a colleague's mudbug boil but it was still nonstop when you have an 21 month old. I'm always ad to leave them when I'm home in Arkansas and just as sad when they leave me here in Dallas.

Here are a couple of my favorite pics of Bennett from the weekend.

Enjoy!




Here we are at IKEA.





Starting to learn to snort at a young age...




Giving me kisses through the mesh of the pack-n-play.




Acting like this momma.




Multi-tasking...







Free entertainment...




We were wrestling, which apparently is outlawed on his home... (it's the job of this aunt to teach bad habits. It's a job I don't take lightly!)

Miss them already and can't wait to go home next month for nephew #2 (Dax) birthday!!!

Growing Family

It was only a couple weeks ago, my sister called to say that we will be welcoming a new member of the family just in a matter of weeks.  For those of you who don't know (which is pretty much everyone), my sister and husband are unable to have biological children.  Through a mountain of prayer, they felt lead down the road of adoption.  If you know Jenn and Jonathan, you are fully aware at how loveable they are so we knew it wouldn't take long for a birth mom to pick them to raise her child.  Had a couple close calls but in the end it was T who chose them to raise our little Bennett. 

Now almost two years has passed, and Jenn and Jonathan have decided it was time to start their adoption journey again.  Much to their surprise, they were called last week because T was preggers again and wanted them to raise her child.  They were only given 24 hours to decide which I would have freaked out about.  But they remained calm and collected as usual and simplied prayed about it.  They felt complete peace that this child was theirs, much like the feeling they had with Bennett.  We don't know what the baby will be but we do know that this child could not have been placed in a more loving home.  Had you asked me 15 years ago what my sibling would be like as parents, I probably would have laughed and said "good luck kid".  Growing up, I never pictured my brother as a dad (because that would mean procreating and I like to think my siblings don't do that sort of thing) and if I did, I questioned his patience since Jenn and I were always pushing his buttons... but he has far exceeded my expectations. 

With Jenn, I always knew she would rise to the occasion.  Being 16 months older than me, she always knew how to tell me what to do, how to finish a story i was telling... you know the type.  Bossy.  Though dingy at times...well alot of the time, she somehow seems to get it together and keep all (most of) her marbles in a row.  I thoroughly love to hear Zack talk about his boys and see his face light up with pride when he's sharing some story about them.  And I love to hear Jenn laugh at her son.  Nothing warms my heart more than hearing them giggle at each other.  Jenn beams with love for this child like none other.  He truly is a gift from God.

A family is not made of one person.  It is made of one love.
Zack would not be the father he is if it weren't for his wife, Wendy. 

And Jenn would not be the mother she is if it weren't for her husband, Jonathan. 

They lead by example, with thier words and their actions.  Their faith in the Father, their faith in each other, and their faith in themselves inspire me every day.  As their kid sister, when my time comes, I can only hope that I am half the parent they are.  (Scratch that... I know I will be even better because I will have the pleasure of learning from all their parental mistakes)  :)  There is an advantage to being last you know...!!!

New Family Member!

This kid is going to be a BIG BROTHER!!!

Since last time...

How sad is it that nothing major has really happened in my dailiy life since the last time I left something on here.  Christmas came and went which means trying to watch as much "Twelve Men of Christmas" as I could, playing withe nephews, presents, the birthday, the list goes on and on.  In January I decided to pack up and ship out to Plano.  They have more grass up there.  Same job except, as of Friday, I am helping out with the Love Field Airport Project at least until summer is over.

My dearest friend, Emily, is getting married in June in the Dominican Republic.  I hate her for this for a couple reasons:  1. she's leaving me in singleville alone.  2. she wins the contest to the altar and i hate losing.  3. i have to get a tan so im not the lobster in a yellow dress who doesn't wear sun screen... and 4.  i now have to get beach body ready.  This alone is enough hatred to fuel a fire.  Only crazy people actually "like" to workout.  So to remain friends with this evil person, I "invested" in Beachbody's (get this..) Brazillian Butt Lift.  (Insert eye roll here)  I'm actually pretty excited about it.  Four weeks and I'll have the bum bum of a brazillian.  So stay tuned...

Much love to Ems... my hatred is really jealousy.  She's found a wonderful man and he's a very lucky guy to have found her!  Love to my peps!

M.I.A.

Last night I took Blu for her usual walk outside for her to do her business.  We weren't outside no more than 10 minutes.  On our way back (we walked 2 blocks from home) we see a flood of people pouring out of one of the restaurants screaming a little girl's name.  Apparently the group was having a private party and the little girl ended up missing.  So Blu and I of course wanted to help and walked all over the West End looking for two little blonde girls ages 6 and 8 named Mckinzie and Gracie.  The parents thought they might have gone with one of the girls' little friends but called the police anyways.  As we walked we could hear faint cries and hollers for these little girls and I feared the worst.  Blu and I walked all over from the courthouse down to the highways, behind dumpsters, and in doorways.  I just couldn't just go inside.  But after an hour and a half, I decided to take Blu inside.  Tried to watch the news and look online this morning but couldn't find anything.  I can only hope this means they girls were found safe with their friend.  Guess I'll never know...

So that was my evening.  It was a very weird and scary experience.  Mom yelled at me for going in some of the places I went but I can only hope that if the shoes were reversed that some stranger would go look for one of my nephews...even if they don't find them.  Again, I can only pray they are safe.