February Fun

The month of February brought about a lot of exciting times for our family, including Matthew's birthday,  Valentine's Day, a visit from Nonie and Poppie and the long awaited grand opening of Matthew's new facility.  Here are a bunch of random pictures I grabbed off my phone which document our month and all the great things we did.

Backing up a little, I forgot to share a few pictures from all the fun we had in January.

Kyndall was invited to two birthday parties, both of which were at the same place and only a week apart.

The first was for her classmate Zoe...

And the next one was for her best friend Ashlyn...

We did some baking in the Easy Bake

Hung out with our friends the Cobles...

New PJs from Nonie were worn

A new dress and a new Bible for church

 We got a letter from the child we sponsor through Compassion International, Alicia.  Kyndall loves to correspond with Alicia and she prays for her every single night. Her prayer is always the same but it's so sweet....."Dear Jesus please make sure Alicia has food, money and water.  Amen."

She always wants to send Alicia some of her own money.  It makes my heart so happy to see her generous spirit in action.

Saturday mornings....

Bedtime cuddles with sweet Huckabee.  She wants to badly for him to sleep with her (and so do I!) but he's just too attached to his Mama....aka me.

Kyndall started a new Saturday morning routine of "making us breakfast".  Usually it consists of a soda and a granola bar and sometimes a piece of fruit.  Basically anything she can grab that doesn't have to be cooked!  It's very sweet and once again I love seeing her heart for serving others in action.

Kindergarten is rough.  Sometimes a girl just needs to soak in a hot bubble bath with candles.  Ha!

The gorgeous view of Downtown Dallas from our neighborhood never gets old!  

Everyone loves Friday night movie night....Even Huckabee who seems to have the best seat in the house.

I knocked out a few more painting projects, one of which was this nightstand that used to belong to my MeMe.

We had a day off from school so we met our friends for lunch and then went to see the movie "Sing"

As we were standing in line to get our tickets I looked over to see this!  Don't mind me...just go ahead with your little date to the movies!

Kyndall loves this.  The dogs do NOT love this.

Beautiful January sunshine meant lots rides through the neighborhood in her Jeep

Friday lunch dates with these two was the highlight of each week!  They loved wearing their matching "Best Friends" necklaces everyday to school.

When your Grandparents live 15 hours away but want to help you with your vocabulary homework, you utilize Skype!

Our neighborhood hosted a Build-A-Bear workshop at the clubhouse at the end of January and Kyndlal and Ashlyn had so much fun choosing their bears (they chose dogs), stuffing them, naming them, and choosing all their accessories.  This was one of the best neighborhood events we've been to so far!

Our 5 pound guard dogs

Another house project, this one requiring the help of my mathematically gifted husband.  I love how it turned out!

Finally, February arrived and that meant all things Valentine's Day

Through some amazing connections I was introduced to Lisa, my new friend who lives here in Dallas.  Lisa is also a liver transplant recipient and on top of that, she too is a dental hygienist!  We met for lunch in February and did very little eating and lots of talking.  Her story is amazing and it's so wonderful to be put in touch with someone who has walked a similar road especially at such a young age.

Love was in the air when I put together this Valentine's Day themed bulletin board for Kyndall's teacher.  I think it turned out really cute!

Kyndall developed a love for Scrabble and as her spelling and reading skills improved, so did her Scrabble skills!  We enjoyed playing as a family each night before bed.

In mid-February, the long awaited and much anticipated grand opening of Matthew's new facility finally came to be.  This was a BIG deal, as it's the sole purpose for our family relocating to Texas.  In the days leading up to the opening, I spent some time helping him organize and decorate his office as well as other spaces in the building that just needed a woman's touch.  

 A few days later on a Saturday afternoon, Matthew hosted an open house at the new facility as a chance for all of the employees to show their families the brand new building, as well as for them to meet Matthew.  He provided lunch for everyone and it was a great way to kick off the grand opening which would come on February 13th.

Kyndall wore her favorite shirt for the occasion

During the open house Kyndall made friends with lots of the employees' kids, but she especially took a liking to Hannah, who is the adorable granddaughter of Matthew's administrative assistant Mrs. Pat.  Hannah and Kyndall had a great time running around together that day!

All that socializing had these two wiped out

I'd like to add that although the first few weeks after the opening of the new facility were ROUGH (we rarely saw Matthew as he was getting up in the wee hours of the morning to head in and returning home after our bedtime each night), I am very very proud of him for all of his hard work and his dedication to his career.  Nobody can ever say he's lazy or unmotivated when it comes to his job and for that I am very proud.  I may not always love his long hours and all of the relocations we've endured over the last 9 years, but ultimately his hard work is what allows me the privilege of doing what I've always dreamt of which is being a stay-home wife and Mommy and it's also what affords us the opportunities to live our life comfortably.  

It's never too cold for Icees, not even in February.  One of our favorite after-school treats is an Icee from the Seven-Eleven

Matthew and I don't typically exchange gifts on Valentine's Day, but I'd been really wanting a new vacuum and I had found myself drooling over this one which I felt was way out of our price range.  My sweet husband went and bought it for me and called it an early Valentine's Day gift and I was SO excited to get it!  (That's how you know you're getting old....when you get excited about purchasing a new appliance)  

On February 7th things came full circle for me.  Exactly four years ago to the week, I was befriended by a sweet soul named Glory.  We were two wives/mothers who found ourselves making a life in Jackson Tennessee as our husbands chased their career dreams.  Both far from family, friends and familiarity we quickly formed an unexplainable bond and I found a type of friendship I had never known but always wanted.  Soon our bond grew even deeper as we both found ourselves in a season of waiting.  We were both on a "list", and both desperately praying for a life changing event to come our way....One of us for a life saving transplant and the other for a long awaited adoption.  Though on our respective lists for very different reasons, I found comfort and reassurance in having someone who could identify with the struggle of the wait and who knew exactly what it felt like to be longing for a single phone call that may or may not ever come.  In the summer of 2014 I thought my heart would literally break in two when Glory and her family relocated to Texas.  Shortly after she left I received the phone call I had been waiting for.  Within hours Glory was making plans to be by my side and that's right where she stayed as she tenderly cared for me during some of my darkest days following transplant.  My wait was over but hers continued and so did the prayers.  At nearly the same time we found out we were moving to Texas, Glory received the gift her family had been waiting for.  A perfect, precious baby boy made that wait all worth it for the Raley family.  Two friends with two dreams of a new life, both trusting God to work out the details. Not only did He work out the details but He also placed us back together again in the very same state.  On February 7th we both put our busy schedules on hold and met halfway between Houston and Dallas for a quick but meaningful reunion that was a very long time coming! As we sat and marveled at God's amazing plans for both of our lives we wondered why we ever doubted His faithfulness.  Meeting baby Abe that day truly made things come full circle for me.  All of our prayers had been answered above and beyond anything we could have ever imagined four years ago!

Kyndall's school participated in a big fundraiser called the "Fun Run" in which kids were sponsored by friends and family members based on how many laps they would run on the last day of the event.  It was a BIG deal to the kids and Kyndall amazingly raised almost $900, thanks to the generosity of so many of our sweet friends and family.  The students also earned prizes each day based on their level of fundraising.  Each day she came home with something new in her backpack....

As a way to cheer Kyndall on during the run, I made these posters with pictures of all the sweet people who sponsored her so generously

Nonie and Poppie happened to be in town visiting on the day of the Fun Run so they got to have lunch with Kyndall and then watch her run

Each time the kids came around and finished off another lap, the adults would mark another box on their backs.  The goal was to run all 35 laps.

Fan club

I put a bright green bow in her hair that day so that we could easily spot her on the course

Taking a water break...

Poppie got roped into being one of the adults who marked the kids' backs.  Here he is marking Kyndall's back after one of her laps...

A short break and a pep talk from Mom

Another pep talk from Mom....

She completed all 35 laps and was SO proud of herself!  She was nearly dead but so happy!  

So proud of our girl and her hard work!

Here are a few videos from the day of the run

It was a beautiful and very windy day so when we got home we decided to do a little kite flying in the park across from our house....

Poppie proved himself to be a master kite flyer

I'm BIG on thank you notes and I'm trying hard to instill this same passion in Kyndall so I had her sit down and write a thank you note to each of her sponsors, following her Fun Run.  

That same weekend we celebrated Matthew's 36th birthday while his parents were in town.

Nonie and Poppie came bearing Valentine's Day treats 

They were able to see Kyndall cheer at her Saturday morning basketball game, which we followed up with brunch at our favorite local diner.

In preparation for her Valentine's Day party at school, Kyndall was instructed to create a box in which her classmates could drop her cards on the day of the party.  It's no surprise that she wanted hers to be a Pikachu.  I helped her a little, but most of this was entirely her creation.

They were allowed to wear traditional clothes on Valentine's Day, rather than their typical school uniforms.

She found her Valentine's Day loot as soon as she came downstairs that morning.

I volunteered to help with the party at school...

Kyndall and her teacher

Sweet surprises came in the mail that day!

Our neighborhood hosted an after-school Valentine's Day craft so she and I headed up to the clubhouse once we got home.

My Mom's birthday is in February and Kyndall decided she wanted to make her a special drawing.  She disappeared into her craft room like she usually does but when she emerged I was quite shocked at what she'd been working on.  She sketched and colored a replica of one of her stuffed animals and in my opinion it was amazing for a six year old!

Totally random but worth documenting....I looked over one morning while she was eating her breakfast and realized she'd decorated her headphones with Donate Life stickers.  She is just as passionate about the cause as I am and that makes me so proud!

More beautiful February weather meant more fishing in the neighborhood pond...

Another house project marked off the list, this one a long time coming.  These beautiful glitter pictures were taken last February and I never got them printed.  I found an awesome Groupon for these canvases and I'm so happy with how this wall turned out.  The sign in the middle says "Girl--A giggle with glitter on it".  When I saw it I knew it had to be incorporated with these pictures!

February is National Childrens' Dental Health Month so I gathered up some dental goodies and spent an afternoon talking to 80 kindergartners about the importance of brushing, flossing and choosing healthy foods.  Kyndall loved helping me stuff the goodie bags the night before.  Each child got a toothbrush and some fun flossers.

Nothing says "do as I say and not as I do" quite like giving a presentation on the importance of dental health to a group of kindergartners and emphasizing how HORRIBLE sugar is for our teeth...followed immediately by a trip to Kroger to raid the clearance Valentine's Day candy aisle in search of chocolate covered cherries....my favorite!

Jesus and Whataburger....Our favorite thing about Sundays.

President's Day meant a day off from school and time to give thanks for President Trump and all the hard work he does for our great country.  

At the end of February Matthew's company hosted a fancy murder-mystery dinner at a restaurant in downtown Dallas.  Since we don't have any family close by and we've never used a babysitter, Kyndall's friend Ashlyn from across the street offered for her to come over and spend the evening at her house.  These two are quite a pair and I truly think if they could spend every waking moment together they would!

Downtown Dallas is so pretty at night!

I can't even remember the last time we've had a kid-free dinner.  Definitely not since we moved to Texas!

Kyndall's class celebrated the 100th day of school by drawing a picture of what they think they'll look like at 100 years old and writing a little bit about themselves.  I absolutely LOVE the fact that 100 year old Kyndall still has a pretty pink bow in her hair!  Her description of herself reads "When I am 100 years old I will see with glasses".

Another day, another ride in the Jeep after school

These two rascals can't even see the top of the counter but when there's food of any kind up there, you can bet they'll be dancing all around it until it's gone!  This night it was pizza they smelled and they stayed right here looking quite pitiful until it was put away.  Crazy little dogs.

In an effort to get to know our new city a little better, one Saturday afternoon we ventured into downtown and checked out the Galleria Mall.  WOW!

We didn't even meet the dress code to get in, but a girl can dream!  Ha!

Love finding random pictures like this one on my phone!

As you can see we had a busy, fun, packed February full of lots of wonderful memories.