Time flies when your having fun!

So Its been awhile since I've updated, but life has a way of blowing by!

I started back to work. Its been fun meeting all our fresh faced three year olds! We have alot of girls this year, I think thats just adds to the theme for my family this year! Ha!

I took my glucose test two weeks ago and didn't past the first round, bummer. So last week I took the oh so fun three hour test. Im so excited to say that I cleared the test and Im allowed to eat sugar! Yay!

We have painted Miss Maylee's room. Its a very pretty soft shade of green. I'll post pics once we have things added to the room : )

Next step new carpet.............that should be fun!

Happy Monday to all!

100 days!

Crazy! We have 100 days till Maylee is here(more or less) I can't believe its already September and that the cooler weather(hopefully : ) is on its way!

I know we still have three more months to go but I feel like I need to get things wrapped up soon(finishing the nursery, order furniture, ect.). Im afraid I'm going to blink and this little girl will be here. Just Crazy how fast the time is going!

So I started back to work this week. Last night at the studio was a little bit crazy but tonight was much calmer. Today was also meet the teacher day at the Day School. We had 14 excited three years olds come in with smiling faces(for the most part) ready to check out their new stomping grounds. I think everyone should be ready to rock n roll on Friday!(we hope) I'll have to try and post some pic this weekend of our cute room we just finished putting together.

So this past weekend we got Maylee's bedding! So cute! Im now SO ready for us to get furniture and paint on the walls. The goal is to have the painting done by the end of the month!

And of course a post is not complete with out some pics!

Me at 24 weeks

The prego girls!

Also these are some cute curtains I helped fix up for Ashleigh and a cute Bow/Tie back I made for her new apartment. I think the colors are so fun!

Hope everyone has a nice rest of the week and enjoying this fall like weather we are enjoying for the moment : )

Ramblings from the pregnant lady.....

So this week has started off to a different beat. My hubby is off on a business trip; He left yesterday and will be back tomorrow. He will also be heading over to his brother's cd release party in good ole Nashville and to also hear his band play at the Grand Opry! Good luck tonight Bryan and the rest of the band. You sound great on the live feed right now(isn't technology great!)

So me, Harvey, Toby,(the dogs) and Miss Maylee have been here at the house going it solo. I actually seem to do more when Clint out of town. I think its a distraction for me to stay busy and I have no excuse to not do it. So we been cleaning out closets, drawers, and piles of stuff that was long over due for filling. Its prob a good thing to get caught up now; the rest of my week is a busy one. Tomorrow is the cd release party for my brother-in-law here in Fort Worth. Then Thursday I'm going to a Ladies Day Kick Off for fall bible studies at my in-laws church. Fri/ Sat is the Women of Faith Conference. This will be my first time to go and I'm so excited to be going with my sweet sister Stephanie and my best friend Kristin! It will be great to have a girls weekend before the busy fall comes a roaring!

Speaking of Kristin, today she and her hubby Collin found out what their sweet little baby's gender is....A BOY!!!! YAY! We are so excited for you all! We might have to go ahead and start the papers on that arrange marriage we talked about all the way back in May! We will be praying for this sweet little boy and we know he's going to be such a strong leader for Christ. He already been blessed with two wonderful parents who will lead him there. Were so blessed to get to be apart of this journey with you guys. Thank you for allowing us to be apart of it : )

Okay now I'm off to finish up my many to do's!
Have a fun week every one!

Happy Birthday Clint!

Clint~

I hope you had a wonderful day and that this your 29th year is one you enjoy! Thank you for sharing your twenties with me and allowing me to be beside you threw the journey of your life!

I can't even start to tell you what you have done for me and how you have hold me up through all the hill and valley our lives have gone threw. Having you beside me has made me a stronger person. You have been such a huge blessing in my life and I thank God everyday for you and somehow your birthday is a gift to me as well!

So now as we head toward all the many new changes coming in our lives, I can't picture doing so with anyone else. Im so excited to see all that the Lord has in store for us!

Thank you for all the years of laughter and joy!

Happy birthday my love!

Love you so,

Riss

Had to share......

This weekend I was cleaning up my email and saving pictures people have sent me. Alot of them were from this past spring which just went by in a blur(I think I slept and worked May away! Ha!)

I adore her!

I found these two cute pic's. At the time I didn't know it would be my last recital for awhile. Its such a bittersweet thing for me. Im going to miss teaching dance but know its for such a wonderful thing to come in four short months!

Living in Cowtown

Just wanted to share our newest purchase for our little Maylee.

My Grandpa would have been so proud!

The story goes that as the first grandchild my Grandpa Gaston didn't care if I was a girl or boy but that I would definitely have a pair of boots and wranglers. So last night while we were at Cavenders, I decided it would have made him smile to see the tradition live on! Hopefully she will be able to wear them when the Stockshow comes in town next winter! Too much fun!

Hello/Goodbye

This past Fall, We introduced my family to the wonders of a place called Babes.Babes is a homestyle restraunt with only five choices for the meats and you get family style dishes of corn(so yum!), green beans, mash potatoes, and biscuits. I haven't met a person yet who hasn't left Babes extremely full and have a need to take a nap or go for a walk .

During the Christmas break Katie learned of Babes. Now Katie is a foodie. This girl LOVES her food and can eat with the best of them. We always joke with her that she can never give up her running and soccer playing cause she'd definitely would not be in a good state. So to say the least Katie has fallen in love with Babes. She's a girl that can definitely hang with the family style dishes(as well as the rest of the family!)

at Babes So somehow Katie has made it a tradition that everytime she comes home from college or heads back we all need to go eat at Babes. Now its not hard to give up an offer to go to Babes or to have an excuse either so I guess this is how the tradition came about so easily. I've never found an easier way to get all my crazy siblings and their friends togther then to mention dinner at Babes! So I think we now need to dub the Babes outing the Hello/Goodbye place(and yes I'll be singing the Target jingle in my head when we go now!).
Digging in

Babes is now Katie's Hello to Texas and her See-ya later. Gotta love a foodie!

1/2 way there.....

So we have made it to the 20 week mark! This week I have definitely noticed change in my body. The baby bump has grown for sure! I am very grateful that I've been feeling so much better. The 1st trimester was a rough one for me with all the morning sickness! 20 weeks

Now that we know we are having this sweet baby girl changes are starting to be made in the nursery. My super Mother-in-law and her friend Kathy came over all last week (while I was at VBS. That's one way of getting out of things,huh?)and got the room primed. They also took off the terrible boarder around the top of the room that we thought would never come off. We are SO thankful for all their help. Now its time for me to pick out paint!

Oh I also think we picked out Maylee's bedding! Its very sweet and has soft colors. We both love it and its exactly what we envisioned for our first little girls room!
Very exciting!

Thinks are starting to happen around here again, which is a good thing since in about a month the summer will be over and back to work I go..........thats definitely motivation if I ever heard of one! Have a cool day everyone : )

I'm Falling In Love....Again!

About seven years ago, I fell in love with a beautiful young lady named Larissa. Not a day goes by that I don't praise God for her. I never thought the day would come so soon but I must confess I'm falling in love with another little lady. When I first laid eyes upon her my heart sang! It was definitely love at first sight. It's a bit hard to describe how lovely she is. I can tell you she's pretty short, she's a bit bald right now and her English isn't so good, but she does have all of her fingers and toes. She takes my breath away!!! Sometimes at work I'll sit and stare at her picture and imagine my life with her. I'd like to introduce you....

Her name is MAYLEE GAIL SIMPSON! Her first name, Maylee, means "sweet" in Tongan and "jasmine flower" in Tai. Her middle name means "lively". I can't wait to spend the rest of my life loving my sweet and lively little girl. Seven years ago I fell in love with a beautiful young lady...and now I can say I'm so thankful to God that it's happening all over again. She's a bit shy so she's not quite ready to meet everyone. Larissa says she's in extensive training to be a black belt in karate or perhaps a World Cup soccer star, but she has promised me that come December she'll be elated to meet all of you! I think you're gonna fall in love with Miss Maylee too.

p.s. I've included the most recent picture we have of her...it's nice to finally put a name with a face!

(pictured within)
Maylee Gail Simpson...
I just like typing it

Its A Girl!!!!

So were thinking pink! Wednesday we found out that we will be having a little girl this Christmas. We are so excited. Now we need to come up with a name.....

Right now the top runners for a first name is Zoe or Lacey. Middle names we are still playing with, So if anyone has any suggestions please send them our way!

I'll post new baby pic's as soon as I figure out whats up with our scanner!(Computers never work when you want them to.)

Now Im off to look at bedding, I want to start painting before I lose all my summer help!

Hope everyone has a fun friday!

The Graduates

So the baby girl of the family has graduated high school (I know this is a month late give the pregnant girl a break, K?) Also Clint's cute cousin Kelsey was a graduating senior as well. It crazy to see these girls growing up and moving on the college. In my mind Lizzy and Kels are still in elementry school, where they probably still thought I was cool and not the big cheese that I really am. Im so proud of these girls and the accomplishments they have made.

So here is some fun pic's of Lizzy's prom first

Here's one of Kels

Now comes the grad's! The Gaston's The Guimarin's

We are so proud of you girls and can't wait to see all that the Lord has instore for you. These next years are going to filled with so many memories. You'll also grow in so many ways and just remenber threw it all God is in control!

Happy(belated) 4th!

July has come fast and furious. We had a great 4th with our family and friends. We spent Friday pretty much low key and that evening we went out to Granbury for the fireworks. The weather was actually pretty nice for Texas and the show is always a fun way to end the 4th!

Dad and Dave
Step,Lizzy,Matt,& Kate Emily, Ash,Our neighbors Brian &Leslie

Saturday we spent a fun day with Collin and Kristin. That evening we were invited to come celebrate Kris's dad birthday. It was a beautiful evening of fellowship, good food, and some more fireworks!

Outside at the Wolcott's(Isn't the view just gorgeous?)

Pregnant Ladies! Kristin at 13 weeks and I at 17, So much fun going threw this new experience with a friend!Our silly boys thought it would be fun to show off the baby belly bumps! Thanks guys for the help : )

This was my atempt at baking for the holiday. Love to do it, but doesn't always turn out the way I hope the first time around. Hopefully next years will turn out even better. It does look pretty thou......

Hope everyone has a relaxing weekend!

Hello Blog! Yes we are alive!

So Its been a VERY long times since we updated this thing. No excuses but life around here has been fast and furious!

Both my jobs wrapped up in May and I basically spent the next two weeks sick in bed since I could!(Yay for all day sickness) When I felt up to it and with the help of my sisters We started the process of cleaning out the guest bedroom and converting it into the new office.

For Memorial Weekend, We all went down to Boerne, Tx to celebrate my Uncle's 50th birthday. It was a hot Texas weekend but it was fun to visit with relatives we haven't seen in years!

We also made a quick stop by the Gristmill for lunch. It was very yummy!

Lizzy & Darain

KK and Clint

Dad, Matt, and Ash
Me and Dave
This last pic is special for are dearest friends : ) We love y'all! Hehe!

The first week in June Liz and Kels graduated from Highschool! Its crazy to think they are old enough to be moving on to College! I'll have pics of prom and graduates in a later post!

Here's the newest picture of Baby Simpson! This was taken at 13 weeks. We are now at 15. I've been feeling better overall but I still have bad days here and there! My next apt. is in a week and then at 20 weeks we will be finding out the gender! We are all excited for that day to come!

Since this post is getting a little on the long side I will leave with just a few more pic's of all the caous that's been going on around here. I swear it feels like we've been moving! But we have one room done and one more to go! Yay!

Hope everyone has a blessed Monday!

Old Office Crazy Hallway

New Office!!!

Needs more exclamation points!

Sometimes the Blog is the last to know. The truth is that some moments in time are bigger than the blog. This is one of those moments. Sorry Blog, but you're the last to know....I think. For all of you who are in Blog's shoes, I apologize.

I looked for ways to tell you but since you never gave me your number and you don't ever write me then I assumed that I would have to be the one to break the news.
Larissa and I are having a baby!!! (can I put some more exclamation points)!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, I know. The due date? December 12th, but I figure as late as we usually are, it might be the 15th or so. Rissa's 8 weeks along. What's that. Oh yeah, we told everyone two weekends ago. We broke it to everyone by giving them a picture frame that either read "you're gonna be an aunt, uncle, or grandma/grandpa". They were clearly surprised. When they saw the frame, it took a few seconds to register, Lizzy screamed in excitement, and then they all rushed to hug Larissa in a huddle leaving me and Matt to dumbfoundedly look at each other. I was dumbfounded because I didn't know whether to wait for them to head my way or join the hug huddle already in progress. Matt was dumbfounded because no one had turned their frame over for him to see. I'm sure he thought those were some pretty nice frames for a moment or two. They eventually let Rissa breathe and then, with a bit of coaching from me, swarmed yours truly as well. Katie was also fun to tell. She squealed and is now referring to the baby as just "Baby" (those New Yorkers are so strange!).

I wish I had a camera to capture my parents' reactions. We gave them Grandpa and Grandma frames. My mom was so excited that I think she started to bolt for the door to tell all of the neighbors what she'd just learned only to realize that a hug and kiss or two might be in order for the expectant parents. My dad, on the other hand, sat very cautiously in his recliner. He had not smiled yet. I was a bit confused until I saw his left hand cover his mouth. You could hear his five o'clock shadow grate between his fingers. I had seen this look a few times before mostly when he was talking about my mom's life changing surgery or about a young person's salvation. This was the look of a man that was trying his darndest to hold back an avalanche of tears. He told us that he had the most surreal of dreams where he was marveling at a child in a yellow outfit and he asked my mother "Do boys were yellow?" He was quite taken back to say the least. For him, I believe it was one of those moments where God puts His hand on your shoulder and you truly know that He is your friend. I've been there a time or two. Too cool. We were able to surprise Bryan and Kristi sometime later at their house after Bryan had come off the road with Cadillac Sky. They were eladed!

So here we are. Parents to be. I will do my best to keep you up to date Blog, and I'll be soliciting help with your help from time to time. This is a new chapter in our story and I can't to write it with Rissa as co-author. I've posted some pictures of the first sonogram for your viewing pleasure. Very cool! We need everyone's prayers even now. Please pray that Rissa has an easy pregnancy, that the child is healthy, wise, and grows up to be a great servant in God's kingdom. "Baby" is definitely joining the ranks of two great families. So much love waiting for one little infant. Too cool. Thank you God. Thank you.

He smiled.

I sit here at my desk typing these words having not a single good thing to account to my name. Trying to piece together a life of attempts. I've done nothing. I've done nothing. But there's a twist to the story. Somewhere within time and space, God, in His infinite wisdom and grace, saw me. He saw this wretch of a boy turned man (slightly) and smiled. He smiled. Not because of something I was to do or something that I had done. Yet for something that He was about to do. He smiled. Knowing full well that I had nothing at all to contribute to mankind, He chose me. I know it was His pattern in Biblical times to use those folks that were a bit outside the realm of normacy.

Never did I stop to think that the "bit outside" was me. He smiled. He chose me to show His glory. How big is that? And all I must do in return is share it with everyone. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. What a task, huh? He brings joy and meaning into an empty life and all I'm supposed to do is share with others what He has done. It's the worldly equivalent of a man buying me a Ferrari and telling me my payment for it was simply to drive it around and show everyone. How easy. I know these thoughts come out of the blue but you'll understand soon what I mean. God is doing great things. I have done nothing. God has done nothing but good. He smiled. Does that hit you? He smiled. Think about it.

The Meaning of Huevos Rancheros

Lately, my wife has been cooking breakfast for me. To an outsider, this might seem commonplace but it is not. Please allow me to explain. You'll have to climb on into my shoes to see where I'm coming from but don't worry, there should be room enough in there for three to four at a time as you see I have boats instead of Nikes that I slip on.

My morning begins by slapping my alarm clock 2 to 3 times allowing 25 minutes to pass between the time I told myself last night I would wake up and the time I knew morning Clint would accept. Then I roll, literally roll (I've gained weight if you haven't noticed), out of bed and take a glance at my hair in our bedroom mirror. After a silent laugh and a big wow!, I straggle into the shower. I know its a bit strange but its within that aqua arena that I start my prayertime . I figure it boils down to my baptist upbringing. Anyhow, once I emerge out of my watery pew, I waddle over to the bathroom sink and give myself a quick tossle of the hair and a boogy check and then reenter the bedroom. At this point, the wife I left lying in my bed is no longer. She has disappeared and for a second I think "It's finally happened. She came to her senses." Quickly that thought is deleted for another which informs me to head toward the kitchen. As I enter into the living room, I can see my wife in the kitchen with sounds of sizzling pertruding from the stove and a mouth-watering aroma wafting over my nasal cavity. In disbelief I say, "Whatcha doin'?" and she responds "Fixing breakfast." Then my head tilts to the heavens and I say "What have you given me?" With a joyful leap and a bonus "You're awesome!", I adjourn to the bedroom to carryout those usually shower-sink-bedroom tasks that I had so hastily bypassed before (please try not to visualize). Just when I think that she cannot possibly be any sweeter to me she is in mi cocina preparing such morning delights as tomato-mozzarella strata or huevos rancheros with fresh avocado or even moist pumpkin-ladened bread. Amazing.

If you've ever had any dealings with a Godly woman, the cool thing is that they always find little ways to make a big impact. The kindness of their daily actions are so profound that it makes you mention what you had for breakfast in your workride prayertime to the God of the entire Universe. You become so humbled by their actions. When you see a Queen doing such meager tasks it draws you to your knees and you realize how she obtained the title to begin with. Please understand me when I say this. My excitement and gratitude behind this entry are not aimed at those intricate dishes. They are and were great, but there is something greater here to appreciate. I don't need to go to culinary school nor do I need to learn Spanish. I know exactly what huevos rancheros really means and I love her all the more for it.

The Simpsonian Gallery