Friday, June 10, 2016

Friday Favorites - Busy Busy Edition

Happy Friday, Friends!!!  It's been a BUSY week around here and 


First up on my list of FAVORITES are these trays.  They have made clean up soooooo much easier and they're great for coloring and play doh.  The raised sides keep crumbs on the tray and they wipe clean super easily (and can go in the dishwasher as well).  I can see us getting several years of use out of these!  You can find them HERE.




Shay snapped this picture of Luke at Ashby's party last weekend and it's my current FAVORITE of him.  She caught Luke's elusive natural smile that is hard to catch on camera ;)


Twizzlers.  Dave brought me a big bag unprompted.  Yes ma'am!


Mason and Griffin have been at Vacation Bible School all week and they have had the best time.  These little fingerprint burning bushes were a crowd FAVORITE at our house.



Chipotle Monday night with these crazies and their dad after a seriously exhausting day was a FAVORITE.



I was reluctant about the whole athletic clothes thing when it first started, but I've since given in and get a huge kick out of seeing them loving the neon. hahaha  Plus, I can kind of coordinate them which is my FAVORITE.




They were showing me their "game faces" :)







The girls are still working on our kitchen cabinets and they sent me a few photos this week and I am SOOOOOO excited!!!  Their work is my FAVORITE!  The detail is incredible.  



The distressed look is my FAVORITE and so these are right up our alley.  These haven't been glazed yet, but aren't they awesome?!?!?!  They'll be in our house next week working and should be wrapped up by next Friday. 





GG's FAVORITE thing to do in the mornings?  Walk on the retaining wall in the backyard. 



Dance face is my FAVORITE.


Luke has been at Sky Ranch Launch camp all week and I have a feeling it's going to go down as his FAVORITE week of the summer. 


Summer is not my FAVORITE season to dress for (I miss my layers!), but I do love a good sun dress.  This one from last year is high on my list because it's easy and breezy and a little bit boho :)


My dress is out of stock, but if you're into swingy summer dresses here are a few others I'm currently loving (click on the picture for details)

 
  


Another FAVORITE at our house right now are our tents.  They've been set up and taken down at least half a dozen times this week.  So fun!


One of my FAVORITE girls had a birthday yesterday!!!  How cute is she?!?!  


With Luke at camp all week, Mason and Griffin have been each other's FAVORITE person :)  They have insisted on having their quiet time together and although it hasn't been super quiet it has been super cute.



We've been running around like crazy all week and car naps have been our FAVORITE.



This cutie pie and her little smirk are my FAVORITE.


I also die for the straps on this top!



A super awesome reader sent me this monogram for my Yeti cup.  It was easy to apply and looks great!!!  Monograms and iced tea are my FAVORITE.  You can pick up your own monogram HERE!


One-on-one time with this boy while sister naps and Luke is at camp has been my FAVORITE ;)


And teeny tiny bathing suits are my most FAVORITE ;)


Lastly,  Meagan and her husband have been fostering two of the most precious little girls EVER this past year and watching their whole family love and care for these girls has been such a blessing.  Seriously, Meagan is a rock star and totally my FAVORITE.



Obviously I've only been involved "second-hand" through Meagan's experience this past year, but watching it from the outside has been gut wrenching. This is from Meagan's FB this week and I think it is important that as many people as possible read it...

"Our case is one of the many forgotten ones. I thought if I was loud enough...if I made enough notes...if I was their voice, that their life would be better, protected...more. The thing is, there's no one to yell at. There's no one returning your emails or your calls or your texts. No one. It's real and disappointing and heartbreaking and maddening on every level. I thought our fight would be against the parents, the people who screwed up badly enough to have their kids taken away, but what I am seeing is that the parents are being failed by the system, just like the kids, just like the foster parents. No one is getting help and no one seems to give a shit. (Side note: I started cussing 8 months ago). I don't know what it's going to take. How many kids are going to have to die? How many lives are going to be forgotten about for the changes to be made? People say we just need more families and churches stepping up, but if the core issue isn't fixed, the problems aren't going away.
And now I'm off my soapbox. For now.

Thanks so much for hanging in there for this marathon post :)  There was lots to say today!!! 

Happy Friday, Friends!

   
PS - This post contained affiliate links, which means that if you clicked on a link and purchased an item, I may receive a small commission.  THANK YOU!!!

21 comments :

  1. Ahh!!! I love that Meagan too and am praying for all seven! Your week was crazy busy! Hope you guys can relax a bit next week. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great post! And lots of prayers going out to your friend Megan and her fight against the oh so damaged system! She is doing great things though and changing lives, for sure!

    Shelbee
    www.shelbeeontheedge.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love the teeny tiny bathing suit- just precious- she is soooo adorable! :) Holly @ Pink Lady (http://holly-pinklady.blogspot.com)

    ReplyDelete
  4. You have been busy! I love the way the cabinets are coming out. Griffins tiny suits are darling. Ive got way to many suits for my boys. I love that monogram on your Yeti. I have a hot pink one..I swear a monogram just makes everything better! Have a great Friday!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love you, Andrea! Thanks for being with me every step of the way! If people are interested in learning more about what's going on with our Texas Foster care system, they can click on this link: http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/dallas-county/cps-workers-share-what-drove-them-to-leave-their-jobs/234690751

    ReplyDelete
  6. That breaks my heart for everyone involved. She is so right and unfortunately, that is pretty normal. I volunteered for Child Advocates in Houston for years (known as CASA in most places), and while most of the CPS caseworkers I worked with were really wonderful, they had an enormous workload and turnover was extremely high. I will keep Megan and all of them in my prayers - thank you for sharing. Melissa

    ReplyDelete
  7. So many good things on this post, but I somehow missed Meagan's facebook post this week. My goodness I love me some Meagan. Seeing her heart for those girls and watching her fight for them, I'm so very proud to call her a friend.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your kitchen cabinets are going to be fabulous! Prayers to Meagan's family - I have a friend who is a foster Mom and she was devastated when they sent the child back to her Mom who had not been a nice lady. She had been fostering the child for a year and it broke her heart to have to watch her go back to a horrible place. Linking up!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a fun week you had! Your kitchen cabinets are going to be amazing! Praying for your friend's sweet family.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your kitchen cabinets will be gorgeous. Who is it that is doing them?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Please tell Megan that I am praying for her and her family! I, too, have a friend who is fostering, and my heart just breaks for these situations because Megan is right. The system is so broken on so many levels. I'll be praying for guidance for all those involved with the courts, and peace and comfort for Megan and her family. Also, you might suggest that Megan find Waiting for Baby Bird on Facebook. My friend Elisha writes this page and she talks about both infertility and fostering on here. She is SO uplifting, faithful, and encouraging. Even my friends who aren't struggling with either of these issues like to follow her and read her encouraging posts.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love so much of your post - it just makes me smile!! I can empathize with the athletic clothes for little boys - but somehow if they are coordinated it can be cute. Love GG's swim suit, sleeping kids in your car and twizzlers from the hubs!! Praying for Meagan and her family!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. The kids are so precious and all their outfits are adorable. Send prayers to your friend and her family.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh Megan I so get that! You are right, the fight is definitely NOT against the parents. The fight is FOR the parents, to reunite a family and keep them together. The system fails our kids and their birth parents over and over again. Sending you lots of love.

    ReplyDelete
  15. So frustrating and heartbreaking for Meagan and all the foster children and other families that are trying to LOVE these kids the way they deserve and need to be loved. Love seeing all the pictures of your cute kiddos--and Griffin's bathing suits are just too cute!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Meagan is one of my favorites too! I also started cussing when we started foster care, ha! The struggle is real, people.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Love our Meagan! Praying for her today and every day! So proud of her and her heart for these precious girls! Xo

    ReplyDelete
  18. Could you ask Meagan If there's anything we can do to help? Besidesprayer obviously. Are there any organizations that are helping we could support or anything else we can do? This is heartbreaking.

    ReplyDelete

Blog design by Get Polished | Copyright 2016