Hi there and welcome to my blog.  My name is Rebekah and I am 42 years old.  I have been married to my handsome husband for 16 1/2 years and together we have 3 incredible children.  I am a "stay at home mom" who has evolved into...../PTA President/parent-volunteer coordinator for my boys elementary school/student mentor and tutor/ and substitute teacher for grades k-5th.  I also sit on several committees for our school district and I love every second.  We are blessed to be a part of a wonderful church family in which we are very active.  In my spare time (ha!) you can find me at band concerts, sitting on basketball bleachers, baseball bleachers or on the golf course watching my kids do what they love! I just registered my oldest, who is 14, for HS, my middle son for MS and my youngest will be in 3rd grade.  In addition to taking care of my family of 5, I also help take care of my parents.  At times it is difficult and overwhelming, but I am just thankful and blessed to still have them here with me.  So, that is "me" in a nutshell.  Thanks for visiting and my your day be blessed!  Be sure to leave a comment and let me know you were here! :)

Boy have I fallen off the blogging band wagon!  The last time I posted was August.  Once school started....life happened.  However; I could not resist linking up Andrea today and talking about the boys in our life in my few spare minutes of down time.

I've been married to my husband Matthew for 16 1/2 years now.  We met in May 1998 and were married  June 5, 1999.  He was just exiting the US Marine Corp after honorably serving for 4 years  and I had just made a career change from  social work to entering the corporate world. We spent our first 9 1/2 years of marriage in Apex, NC where we had our 3 children and had a great group of friends and an incredible church family.  In October of 2009 we moved back to my home state of TX.  I loved our time in NC but it felt so good to be back home. 

  We have had our fair share of ups and downs but our love for each other runs deep and I could not imagine my life with anyone else.  Matthew is one of the most loyal people I know and has the biggest heart. He is also an amazing golfer....like he should be on tour. He coaches our sons baseball teams and takes them golfing all the time. He still takes me on dates and even takes our daughter on dates. He is an amazing father and I am so thankful that the Lord brought our hearts together. 

 

Kollman is our oldest son and the middle child.  He was born at 34 weeks and weighed 4lbs 11oz.  He spent his first 12 days of life in the NICU.  His first year of life was not pleasant (extreme colic, cried constantly, never slept and had severe acid reflux).  Thankfully that is no longer the case! :) He endured months of physical therapy to learn to walk and he has not been still since then! At 18 months old he was diagnosed with an egg allergy and a peanut allergy within two weeks of each other.  Thankfully he has outgrown his egg allergy but is allergic to everything in the legume family (green beans, etc.), ALL tree nuts, a SEVERE peanut allergy, as well as oak  and grass.  He has always been very mature about his allergies, praise God.  He plays on a basketball team during the winter months and during Fall and Spring he plays baseball.  To say he loves baseball is putting it mildly!  The minute he gets home from  school he jumps out of the car and grabs either his basketball or baseball equipment and will practice for hours.  Kollman is an honor student and school does not come easy for him.  He struggles terribly with anxiety, especially testing anxiety.  He works incredibly hard and pushes through the difficulty.  He has the most tender heart and is friends with everyone.  He has piercing blue eyes and he stole my heart from the very beginning. 

 

 

 

 

Ryan is our youngest, and by far, the most "spirited."  He is fiercely independent, very inquisitive (always asking questions),  and very energetic.  He loves Lego's, math, golf and is OBSESSED with John Deere.  It would blow your socks off what he knows about them.  He says he wants to be a farmer and an engineer for John Deere when he grows up.  He has an incredibly close bond with my dad and spends the night with him EVERY Friday night.  He also has piercing blue eyes and a smile that will melt your heart.

I am incredibly blessed to have these "boys" in my life!  They definitely keep me on my toes! 

Show and Tell Tuesday: Back To School Traditions

My how summer has flown by!  This year we are vacationing late, so when we get home we have 1 week left of summer....one crazy, busy, crammed full of events before we hit the ground running again....week. Today I am linking up with Andrea for her series: Show and Tell Tuesday:  Back To School Traditions.  You should head over to her blog and check out all the adorable inspiration!

 My younger 2 children do their homework on the table in our kitchen.  This is super convenient as I can be there to assist if/when needed and prep dinner at the same time.  I have a drawer that is full of homework essentials that is kept nice and contained in one area. 

 Of course, each year we purchase new school supplies!  We always make a day of it.  We hit up Starbucks, Target and then have lunch.  I always find a few supplies that I "need" as well! I take each of them individually when we are clothes/shoes shopping so that I can have a bit of alone time with them....and they eat it up!

 I always put a quote on the chalkboard in my kitchen when we begin a new school year. 

 I always scatter just a few fun B2S decorations around the house. 

 On the morning of the first day back, my husband and I always fix a B2S breakfast.  I always set the table with B2S décor and the kids love it!

 And of course...there is always the first day of school pictures!  I always love seeing everyone's pictures on FB and Instagram! 

 We always walk the little's into school on the first day.  Big middle school sister always comes along as she loves to see all of her former teachers and hug them.  This year our 5th grader (big man on campus) has advised us that we are not allowed down the 5th grade hall way.  Mr. Independent!

The mister always "works from home" on the first day.  As soon as we drop off all the kids we go and have breakfast and have a chance to catch up. 

 

Other fun traditions we do:
1.  Set goals 
Each of our kids set goals for what they want to accomplish during the school year.  We discuss each goal with them at the beginning of the year and again at the end of the year.  They love seeing their progress!

2.  B2S youth swim party
Now that our oldest is in the youth group at our church, we always host the B2S swim party.  It is such a fun tradition and it is neat to watch the youth pray over a new school year.

3.  Bible verse for the year
Each year we select a new verse to pray over our kids as they start a new year.  We pray this verse all year long.  This years verse is:
"My child listen and be wise.  Keep your heart on the right course." Proverbs 23:19

 Today I am linking up with Andrea for her Show and Tell Tuesday: Home Tour Edition.  I love looking into other people's homes to draw inspiration.  A home should reflect the people and things you love most.  Clearly the day I took the above picture was the day of my youngest son's birthday party.  I made the burlap wreath myself and hung a metal cupcake/birthday sign on it.  Normally it has a monogrammed "S"!  Everything is better with a monogram! ;)

 Come on in!  To the left is the dining room, straight ahead is the living room and to the right is our master suite.  The entry way houses our piano that was my grandmother's. 

 This is our living room.  The windows and French doors lead out to the patio/pool.  From here you can also see into the kitchen and breakfast nook.

 This is the other side of the living room.  I absolutely love our fire place and love decorating for every season known to man! :)

 Here is our half bath.  My 13 year old daughter has claimed it as her own.  This is where she spends forever getting ready.

 This is the kid's bathroom.  It is currently a work in progress.

 This is our dining room.  It has a huge window that faces the street.  I always put a Christmas tree in front of the window during Christmas as I love driving by at night and seeing it all lit up from the street.  In this picture it is decorated for Easter.

 Here is a corner of the playroom.  I only have a picture of is decked out for Christmas.  So much sentiment here.  My grandmother who passed a year and a half ago painted both of those pictures and the majority of the ornaments on the tree were handmade by my mother.  The play room is bonus space on the second story which is why it is so oddly shaped.  Off of the playroom is a shared office of which I do not have any pictures.

 Another view of the playroom.  I wished it always looked this clean!

 And another view...

 Just because I am thinking about Fall....here is the mantle from last year.

 My boys share a room.  I don't have a picture of the entire room.  The only picture I have is of it decorated at Christmas.  (Can you tell I decorate every room?)  And no, the snowmen quilts do not stay up year round!  Again, I wish their room was currently this clean!

And just because they are cute!

My laundry room where I spend a lot of time washing baseball uniforms and cheerleading uniforms!  It has a ton of storage!

The view down the stairs.  My "mommy command central" station.

This is the view of the master bath as you walk in.  To the right is the "potty room" and to the left is a double vanity.  This room is very hard to photo graph and it doesn't help it was super cloudy when I did it!

And no, the initials don't mean "MR"....they are our initials...

The view walking into our master suite.  To the right is our master bath and to the left is our closets and bed room/sitting area.

My closet is on the left and his on the right.

One day I will get around to paining our furniture.  And the glider rocker now has a happy home in our church nursery.

There is a door that leads to the patio and the windows overlook the patio/pool.  I can see my kids from anywhere in the house.

My daughter's room.  A work in progress...almost complete!

The heart of the home...the kitchen. 

The view of my kitchen walking in from the garage.  And yes, I do have a cheetah print rug in my kitchen.  Why not?!

A "glimpse" of our patio/pool.  Don't seem to have a picture of the entire thing. 

I hope you enjoyed the tour.  Blessings to you!