Guys Night.....

......plus Mom! hehe!!

Last month when I heard that the Harlem Globetrotters were coming to town, I just knew my older boys would LOVE to go!!  And then?!  I was able to score great seats on Groupon so I got tickets and told the boys they could each invite a friend!! 

Last night was the night.....I dropped littlest off, picked up a couple extra boys and we headed out for the night!  I took the 4 of them to dinner and then we headed downtown.  I'm not sure who had more fun ~ I loved the time to just focus on Colby & Brayden!  My time and attention is largely occupied by Dylan, (because ya know...he's 2 and well...need I say more?!!) so I wanted last night to be all about these two handsome older boys of mine!! 

{got their Globetrotter bballs and they were ready for the show!}

{there they are!!!}

{there was lots of dancing!}

{get on your feeet!!!!}

{after the show they were able to get several autographs ~ so cool!!  This is the boys with Thunder!!}

{Colby getting TNT's autograph!!  The only female on the team ~ again...so cool!}

{Brayden's biggest wish was to get Scooter's autograph!  Not only did he get the autograph but a picture too!!}

{On our way out w/ their autographed balls!!}

 

They laughed, danced, sang at the top of their lungs in the car, ate lots of junk food, laughed some more ~ it was just such a great night with them!! And the Globetrotters??!!  SO FUN!!  They put on a great show!

There is just something about seeing true joy in my little guys smiles that just makes my heart smile!  These are memories I will never forget and I don't think they will either!  They are still over the moon excited and talking about it today!



My Basketball Champs!

Basketball season has come and gone for us and it was such a FUN few months!! 

 

Brayden's team was the Ballers and they had a fantastic group of kiddos on the team and we were blessed with the best coach!!  One of my favorite things about watching this team was that out of 7 kids, 4 had never played basketball before!!  The growth through the weeks from game to game was AMAZING and SO fun to watch!!  Coach Kore stayed true to teaching the kids the game of basketball and encouraging hard work and never made it all about winning.  His dedication to these kids and the kids hard work paid off when they went into the playoffs 5th out of 6 teams, and won their way to the CHAMPIONSHIP game!! 

 

{love the look of determination on his face! also? that's his best friend in the blue!}

{he had just made a shot to tie the game!  that was his signature celebration move when he made a shot!}

{shooting free throws! he made this one! and i never want to forget how he crossed his feet like that every time he shot!}

 

Brayden was named MVP for the season and I could not be prouder of him!!  He LOVES the game of basketball, is insanely talented at it, and had such a huge heart for encouraging and helping the kids on his team!  I can't wait to see what God has in store for this boy in this game!!

 

 

Colby's team was the Heat and what a great season they had!  Last year was Colby's 1st year to play basketball and it was rough.  A lot of valuable lessons were learned but it was hard for him, and hard for this momma to watch and love him through!  But he kept working hard and didn't give up and it paid off!! 

This year his team was in the finals game and whoever won went on to play in the championship game!!  Man oh man were both teams hungry for the win!!  It was an awesome game and with 12 seconds left, we were down by 3 and Colby was at the free throw line.  {no pressure huh?!}  He made both shots and the other team got the ball.  Steal. Shot. Miss. Rebound. Layup annddd......MADE IT!!!!  WE WON THE GAME!!!!  Down by 3 with 12 seconds left and they came back and won by 1!!!  I'm pretty sure I aged 10 years in that 12 seconds and I was totally the crazy mom screaming and jumping up and down in the stands!!!  Ha!!  It was totally like something out of a movie and a moment I don't think any of those boys will ever forget!!!

 

{that's my boy bringing the ball down!}

{shooting free throws!}

{celebration after they won their way into the championship game!  after never coming within 10 points of winning a single game in his 1st season, this picture brings tears to my eyes!  the results of hard work and never giving up!}

 

I'm so incredibly proud of Colby's hard work, determination, and his decision to give basketball another try after such a disappointing first year!!  He's an amazing player and was a top scorer and rebounder for his team!!

 

{So proud of these two!!  Couldn't love them more!}

{its a tie between this cutie and me for their #1 fan! ha!  littlest was a trooper through some long days at the bball gym and he LOVED cheering for his brothers!!}

 

Above all else these 2 had tons of fun and I had tons of fun cheering them on!!  Looking forward to summer basketball camps and to next season!!

Instagram Fun #6

Sooo....it's been a while but I used to do a little thing I called Instagram Fun every once in a while where I would just share some favorite random pictures from my Instagram!!  You can go back and check out my last one here and read a little about why I love doing this!  For now???  Here are some of my favorite Instagram pics from the last few months!!

 

Our 9th anniversary!!  We've got some fun plans in the works for our 10th later this year!!

the new home we moved into has the best climbing tree in the backyard and these 2 LOVE it!!

one of the last pictures of John & the boys before he deployed!  so sweet!

this guy was SO proud of his block tower! {the hands in pockets kill me!!!} =)

some line their cars up on the floor.  Dylan chooses the window ledge! ha!

y'all.  we had the craziest white stuff all over the place for like 2 days.  i live at the beach.  this is not normal!! ;)

john had been in port and called and when your deployed hubby can call, you talk.  but brayden had a physical therapy appt and we were running a little late after talking to hubby.  then?!  we got stopped at a green light for the LONGEST funeral procession i have ever seen.  it was a good 4 or 5 minutes long!!!  the first couple of minutes was HUNDREDS of motorcycles and then another few minutes of cars!!  I counted like 5 or 6 sheriff escorts.  We were totally late but that was one CRAZY loved person that passed away!!

a whole post about these cuties bball season is coming but this was after 9pm one night when they had both won playoff games!!!  Celebratory ice cream was definitely in order after such an exciting night!!

sign making for their championship games!!!  we had so much fun making them!!

we'd had a particularly crazy week & weekend and this was sunday evening when i got home from a baby shower i helped host.  these 2 were starved for my attention and I was happy to sit right in the middle of the floor and snuggle them!!

oh these 2!  their cuteness is killer i tell ya!!  love them!

 

So fun to look back over these and remember the big and not so big {that are really the biggest!} moments!!  Love this sweet life and family God has blessed me with!!

 

Are you on Instagram?!  I'd love to have you follow along ~ I'm @sassyaubs there!! 

 

Hope your week is off to a great start!!

 

 

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen.

~Ephesians 3:20&21~



Basketball, Beach, & a Bride.....

.......Oh my!!!!

 

We had a full but super fun weekend! 

 

We kicked it off on Friday night with the arrival of 'Culka aka my mother in law!  Deployment is exhausting in so many ways and sometimes just having someone here to help entertain the boys or to be with them while I get out a little bit is such a blessing!

 

Saturday morning brought basketball games for Colby & Brayden!  They are playing in a new league this year and it has been a much more positive experience than last year!  Brayden had a game at 11 and Colby had back to back games at 1 & 2.  Makes for a long day at the gym for a certain 2 year old but he really does pretty well!  He is definitely his big brothers #1 fan and loves cheering them on!

 

Brayden and some of his team watching the end of the game before theirs!

 

Colby & his team with their coach after the 2nd game! (Colby is #9!)
 

I ended the day Saturday with a sunset walk on the beach with my bestie, Tamra!  It was SUCH a blessing!  We live on the same street {how awesome is that??!!} but are both in really busy seasons of life so I cherish the rare chances we get to spend time sharing our hearts and catching up just the 2 of us! {you know...because between us we have 6 awesome little people who we love dearly but they don't make conversation all that easy ;)}  We cannot wait for this summer full of long days soaking up the sun at the beach!!

 

The scenery on our beach walk ~ absolutely beautiful!   So blessed to live here!
 

Sunday morning we skipped church and stayed home for the morning.  We've been fighting some kind of cold junk for over a week so I decided better to not put Dylan in the nursery.  It was a relaxing morning!  That afternoon, I headed out to a bridal shower for a sweet friends daughter.  Everything was really cute and I had a great time!

 

on my way to the shower and loving my new scarf!

 

all of the decor at the shower was SO cute!!
 

we played the toilet paper dress game and well....lets just all agree that you don't want me to have any part in designing your wedding dress! ha!! {i must point out that we weren't finished ~ we ran out of time,  but seriously?!  I couldn't stop laughing!}  But Wendy rocked that half done dress didn't she?! ;)
 

One of the best parts of our weekend was getting to chat with John on FaceTime!!  I'm thankful that we get to email almost daily but there is just something about getting to actually see his face that just puts a smile on all of our faces!! 

 

This week is a pretty busy one ~ basketball playoffs, doctor & vet appointments, haircuts for me & the boys ~ you know how it is! ;)  But also?  There is some fun sprinkled in there too like shopping w/ another bestie and a massage appointment!  Busy but blessed!  Hope your week is off to a great start!! =)



Introducing.....

Punkin' Girl!!!

 

So....let me begin by saying that I am not a dog person.  Never have been.  And our older boys have wanted a dog for YEARS!  But I've always been able to come up with really good reasons not to have one.  Soooo......

 

One day, I went shopping w/ my bestie, Tamra.  She needed to stop at the pet store and pick something up for her dog and I figured Dylan would love going in and looking at the animals.  So, we're strolling along oohing and aahing at the sweet little puppies and then I saw her.  This amazing sweet little puff ball just sitting so pretty. {and clearly doing jedi mind tricks on me!} ;)

 

"She's soooo cute", I said.  "Would you like to hold her", asked the pet store employee.  And all I could think was why not?!  right?!  No biggie!  But then??  I fell.in.love.  Like fell flat on my face like a fool in love with this little 3lb puppy.

 

 

I left her that day, but I couldn't stop thinking about her!!  My thoughts went from how much i missed her to how CRAZY it is that I'm thinking about and missing a DOG of all things!  So needless to say, a few days later she was ours!! 

 

{they finally got their dog!}

 

She is the perfect fit for us!  I mean, like couldn't have dreamt up a better dog for our family!!  She was just under 4lbs at her 1st vet visit and was over 5lbs at her last visit!!  She'll be 6 months old on the 16th of this month and y'all.....I can't believe I'm writing a blog post gushing about my dog.  But I love her SO much!!  She is super sweet, so funny & playful, the perfect mix of cuddly and independent, smart....oh i could go on and on!! 

 

{she was so super sweet w/ Dylan when he was really sick.}

{she's a mama's girl!}
 

{she LOVES her bed!}

{snuggles with my babies!}

 

Her name is Punkin, but I always call her Punkin girl and she's all ours!  The perfect addition to this crazy bunch I'm blessed to call my family!!

 



Wow!

Wow....it's been a while!

Wow....I cannot believe I've survived the last few months!

Wow....God is good!

 

Just WOW!!

 

There are times in your life when you reflect.  When you look back and think how in the world did i make it through that?!  And even more....how in the world did I make it through that and still find a way to smile?!  But I did.  And there is only one answer for my how in the world and that is Jesus!!  Life has been challenging.  Hard.  But blessed.  Because really how can we appreciate the good if we never walk through the rough?!  And how can we know Jesus is real if we never face times that the only way is His strength....His grace....His love??

 

The struggle is far from over for me and our family.  The tomorrow's hold so many questions but if I've learned anything the last 3 months its that God is good.  He provides.  And I have been blessed with the most amazing friends!

{the miculka's}

So, in a nutshell, let me catch you up on some of what's been going on around here....

 

*We received news about John's career that shocked us and turned our world upside down.  He went through a school in Virginia and is now deployed.  Adjusting to everyday life without him is challenging of course but y'all....I have the best 3 boys in the world and I'm SO proud of how they have handled all of this!

 

*Shortly after John left, we moved.  Long story (long but pretty awesome. if i ever get to have coffee with you, ask me about it!) but God made it clear that He had a different home for us while we walk through the next few years.  We still aren't completely settled in.  It threatens to drive me crazy daily!  Between holidays and sickness and trying to keep up with the boys school work and doing it all solo ~ yeah.  It may be a while!  ha!  But eventually there will be things on the walls, no more boxes, and we will be completely settled! 

so...like i said long story with the move but part of that story is that we put a deposit on rental house w/o seeing the interior. when we did see it the paint color in the boys rooms was out of control and not going to work. {sigh} so it was me, a few friends, a whole lotta paint and not much time! ha!  i took this pic at about 10pm on friday night when i finished painting.  these boys make my heart smile.

{moving day} i thought i didn't have much stuff.  i thought we could make 1 trip with that truck and trailer. hahahahahaha. not so much. it was a long day!
 

so things went really smoothly getting everything loaded.  the entire house was empty except for my treadmill. oh man.  or should i say men.  when i took this pic i was sitting along the wall w/ a couple girlfriends watching the men attempt to get this treadmill out of the room and we spent a lot of time debating if we should chime in or just let them figure out their ideas weren't going to work. ;)  we chose to let them figure it out and after A LOT of frustration and about an 1 1/2 hours the treadmill was on the truck and we were outta there! ha!

the week after moving day was split between trying to get settled at the new house and get things finished up at the old house.  this particular day, i was running out to meet the carpet cleaners at the old house and got everyone out the door and in the car just to realize the keys were in the house.  we were stuck.  UGH.  I can laugh about it now but at the time i struggled to find any humor in the situation at all!!

 

*We were blessed to have John home for a couple weeks between his school and deployment.  In that small amount of time he was sick, I was sick, Dylan had the flu....sigh.  But we got to have him home for Thanksgiving, get family pictures done, and got to have a late birthday celebration for him and for that I was thankful!

this was our 2nd time at the doctor for our super sick boy ~ we were waiting on lab results that ended up confirming that he had flu type a.  i was exhausted but grateful to have some answers!

the kids table! =)  this was the one and only picture i managed to take on thanksgiving which makes me a little sad.  but we had a wonderful day with great friends and were so very grateful that John got to be home for it!

 

*Our family grew!!  Her name is Punkin and she is the cutest, fluffiest, funniest little addition!!  She deserves a blog post all her own so stay tuned! ;)

 

*I was blessed to lead the most AMAZING team of ladies on the decor team for our ladies Christmas party at church!  There was a lot of time, hard work, and love that went into it and it was beautiful!  It was a huge party and the Lord showed up in huge ways that night!!  So thankful for each of these girls and the friendships that were born out of this experience!

aren't they gorgeous?!?! =)

 

*We survived our first Christmas without John.  It was weird.  And hard.  And I wouldn't wish it on anyone but I did my best to make it joyful and fun for the boys!  And again I must say ~ these 3 make me so so so very proud!!

i just LOVE decorating for Christmas!

I take a picture of the boys in front of the tree every year after we decorate it and while this isn't my favorite pic i'm so glad i took the pic.  john was super sick, dylan still had the flu, john was about to leave so needless to say my emotions weren't the "lets take a cute, fun picture" type but I'm so glad I took one anyway!

the boys were really into looking at lights this year and this evening was unplanned but we just hopped in the car in our pj's and drove around.  i loved the time with them and hearing their excitement never gets old!

this boy.  he made me a mama.  he is growing up SO fast but I could not be prouder of him and who he is.  he has stepped up in such an amazing way since his daddy left and is such a blessing to me.  this picture was taken around midnight Christmas Eve.  He stayed up to help me play Santa.  Love him!

 

And I think that pretty much brings us to now!  We are getting back into a routine after what feels like an eternity without it!  I'm slowly allowing myself to get excited about what this new year may hold for me and my family!  And I'm really excited to get back to blogging and back to keeping up with all of my sweet blog friends!  I've missed y'all!