My Reading List

Truth be told, I never ended up reading all the books from my Summer Reading List.  I got too distracted with Divergent and then The Maze Runner series!  I've read 4 of the 5 books posted below.  Here are a few of my thoughts......

~ The Maze Runner Series:  I loved these books!  I'll admit, I'm a hopeless romantic.  All the trilogy books I've read have had fabulous love stories.  But, not this one.  And guess what, I still LOVED them.  Each one of them kept me interested and wondering what in the world was going to happen next.  I read one a week.  They are good quick reads that must get put on your list.  I can't wait for William to read them one day.  Gordon and I went to see The Maze Runner movie a couple of weeks ago and it didn't disappoint either.  They had to change quite a bit....which can be disappointing....but I felt like a lot of the changes were probably necessary.  Read the book, watch the movies, and you'll understand.

~ Gone Girl:  OMG.  Such a messed up story line but after the first 100 pages you literally Can't. Put. The. Book. Down.  The author of Gone Girl also wrote the screen play for the movie.  From what I hear, the book and movie are pretty similar.  Obviously, the book will always be better.  That's why I love reading!  It makes you use all your senses.  You can imagine everything just the way your brain wants you to.  Eeekkkk......I can't wait to go see the movie!

~ The Secret Keeper:  One of my good friends has invited me to join her book club in November.  They are reading this.  I love a good mystery book and I'm excited to see what this book club thing is all about.  :)  I'm guessing it will be fabulous.  Yes, I'm a dork...and a book nerd.  

I have a whole list of books on my "To Read" list.  I'll share soon!

Pumpkin Patch

I can't believe another year of Pumpkin Patch fun is in the books!!

A couple of weeks ago we went to the same pumpkin patch we've visited for the past 3 years.  We had been out and about all day long with Nana (running errands, shopping, riding the choo choo)....the little guy was pretty tired, but he had fun!  We picked out a few pumpkins and, of course, he ran around like a crazy man touching all the pumpkins.  I'm still hoping to make it out to Dewberry Farm so Daddy can have some fun with us too.    

I thought I'd throw the picture in of William having a complete melt down....that's the real stuff.  :)  He has become a toddler 100%.  He wants to do things all by himself and melt downs come with little-to-no warning.  The camera is still his worst enemy (he gets that from his daddy).  As you can see, a smile when the camera is pointed his direction is rare.  This little boy just wants to PLAY!    All. The. Time.  William sure can drive me mad but I wouldn't trade it for anything.  When I see pictures of me smiling at him I can see what I feel inside shining.  One of the hardest parts of our recent miscarriage is not knowing if we'll ever have more children.  People tell you again and again....and you tell yourself again and again that this little man is enough.  And although he is, I pray that I get another little soul to love.....because, William has made my heart so much bigger and happier.  Being a mother is the best thing I've ever done.  I want more babies.  Simple as that.  My heart aches to see William holding his baby brother or sisters hand.  I want to see him share sibling love that I was lucky enough to experience.  All we can do is pray and trust that God has the perfect plan for us.
  

 I sure do love this little boy to pieces.  He definitely had me from hello.

Long Weekend Away

We spent the first weekend in October visiting family in East Texas!  Gordon spent most of his time hunting and working out at the farm while we did lots of playing.  The weather was beautiful so we took advantage and literally spent ALL day outside on Friday and Saturday.  This momma spent nap time reading and getting some much needed R&R!  G and I even got away for a few hours on Saturday night.  We were all pleasantly surprised when William slept until 9:30am on Sunday!  In our house, that's unheard of.  :)  

Laying outside looking up at the pretty trees, searching for pine cones.
I found out I was pregnant with this little man 3 year ago!
10.5.2011       #blessed

• Walking through Mimi's garden
• This kid would live outside if we'd let him,
• This picture sums up William's life.  Always getting love and attention from everyone!  "Week 40" of 2014 is a special weekend for the Gooding family.  We welcomed another baby Gooding into the world.  William's a cousin and I'm an aunt to a sweet baby girl. :)  I'm over the moon excited about this chapter in our life.  Little man will have to get used to sharing the attention with KJG!
• Snuggles with Daddy.
• Going on a ride!
• We are ready for Fall.  
• He loved picking out pumpkins and then helping Mimi decorate outside.  
• The pictures below melt my heart.  He loves looking out those windows searching for the cat, Smokey Joe.  

These two pictures were taken 18 months apart.  It's crazy to see how much they change in that amount of time,  Sigh.  I can't believe my baby is a little boy now.  Thankfully, he still adores his mama.  

We can't wait to get back to East Texas for more pine cone searching and four wheel riding!!

Ice Cream Party!

A couple of weekends ago we helped Emersen celebrate her 3rd birthday party.  Emersen's mom, Rachel, is one of my best friends, that I met when I worked at M.D. Anderson.  I loved getting to make a trip into town for the big day!
The birthday party was at one of our favorite spots, Mia's.  Rachel did a fabulous job with the ice cream themed birthday party.  The decorations were precious and the kids stayed happy and busy the entire time.  They had someone painting faces, lots of yummy food for kids and adults, a pinata, a balloon maker, and ice cream!  It doesn't get any better than that.  :)

adorable organic ice cream cone cupcakes | the pinata was a hit! | the balloon lady made his day when she handed him "hot dog" | happy boy | everyone watch out! | pic with Rachel | yummy!  

I still can't believe we have kids that are old enough to walk and talk!!!!  Big hug and thanks to Rachel for having us!

Our Special Day

The day Gordon and I said "I do" was the happiest day of my life.  William's birth is a close second.  This may seem weird to some but it's the truth.  Our marriage is the foundation for everything.  If it wasn't for our love and trust in each other we wouldn't have this precious thing that we call our life.  When I walked down that aisle four years ago I knew we had a million happy times ahead of us.  I tried my hardest to take all the sweet moments of that weekend in....because I also knew there would be hard times. 
Two weeks after the miscarriage we celebrated our 4 year anniversary.  With every day that passes, with every year that comes and goes, I fall a little more in love with Gordon.  He is my rock.  He keeps me positive, he gives me perspective, he makes this life of mine happy.
We had a fabulous night out on our 4th anniversary.  I was still having some anxiety/sadness about everything that'd happen over the previous 2 weeks....but, the night out really helped.  Things get better everyday!  Gordon even agrees that 6 weeks later I'm back to my "old self".  Maybe one day I'll post more about some of the unexpected emotions that I experienced after the miscarriage. 
We had the best dinner at Ouisie's Table (where my bridal lunch was held).  My sweet in-laws even had my favorite bottle of wine delivered to our table!  (I'm still not sure how I got so lucky....great husband, baby, parents and in-laws)  While we were out on the town, William got to hang out with his buddy, Teddy, and Ms. Melissa.  We all had a fun night.  :) 

I pray that the next year is as fabulous as the last four have been!!!  xoxo

The Ebola Scare

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White, Ketrese M. (Ketrese)

Texas Children’s confident, prepared in face of Dallas Ebola concern On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States. “An adult patient who traveled recently from Liberia to Dallas

10:33 AM

While driving to work this morning (at 5:45am...yuck!) several of the talk shows discussed the Ebola case in Dallas.  Which then, of course, brought up the topic of movies such as Contagion.  Silly.  I get being scared but I also believe in educating yourself and learning the facts and protecting yourself/family.

I've said it a million times.....I keep up with my blog for personal reasons (memories!) and in hopes of educating others. With that being said here are a few fun facts about Ebola that I've come across!

Important facts to remember about Ebola

Most of the population in West Africa doesn’t have Ebola.

As of September 30, there had been about 6,500 cases of Ebola diagnosed in Guinea, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone. However, more than 20 million people live in these countries. This means fewer than 1 percent (.03 percent) have the virus – 99.97 percent of the residents in these countries do not have Ebola.

Diagnosis occurred in Dallas, but the disease source is still in Liberia.

Tuesday’s news revolves around the first case of Ebola that was diagnosed in the U.S. However, the source of transmission originated in Liberia – not here. Nothing has changed about the epidemiology of this virus in the U.S.

Ebola is not a highly infectious disease.

Ebola is a blood borne pathogen – it is not transmitted like the flu or other airborne viruses. It is spread only when symptoms are present.

The CDC is the best source of information, not the media.

The best way to allay any concerns is to educate yourself. The most current information about Ebola is available online from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

There you go folks.  Just a little food for thought.  Hope everyone has a happy weekend....mine is starting NOW!  :)