5 Years Ago Today...

    I was trying to survive my first year of teaching, constantly getting lost in Dallas and attending a birthday dinner, of a person I had never even met, with a friend from college. While sitting at Mi Cocina on Preston Road, a tall, handsome and very muscular young man walked through the doors and came to sit across the table from me. I thought he was quite handsome and could not help myself from occasionally looking at his perfectly proportioned arm muscles; but I reminded myself that Dallas had not been a good fit for me this year and I was getting out of dodge as soon as the school year ended. While analyzing how someone could get such nice muscles without looking like a vein popping body-builder, the handsome gentlemen introduced himself to me and I made a comment about how I thought I had met him before at church. He quickly shot back that we had never met and that he was pleased to meet me. To this I was taken aback, as I do not like being told I might be incorrect about anything!

    Little did I know that 5 years later, this same handsome man would be my husband, the father to my precious child and still have perfectly proportioned arm muscles. I am blessed beyond measure to be loved and pursued by Scott Michael Pattillo on a daily basis. What a blessing you are in my life and an amazing leader to our family!

Snow (Ice, Really) Days...

My last post was about how wonderfully warm the weather has been for the month of January. Now, just 2 days later, it has been below freezing since Tuesday and most schools have been closed for 3...going on 4...days. That is Texas for you!

The blessing of all of this icy weather is that my husband has had to work from home! Yes, this can be challenging as our 18 month old just wants to play with Daddy all day. However, we have worked out a pretty good system, and I sure like having lunch with both of my men! Here are some pictures from our "ice-vacation", home-bound style.

This snowsuit was borrowed from my parent's attic. Love how vintage and large it is on my little one. It sure kept him warm and happy though!

 J has the best Daddy. He took J out to play in this cold, cold weather at least once a day. J appreciated it and I appreciated it even more. An energetic 18 month old gets a bit stir-crazy in the house all day.

 This makes me smile...Alot!

 Not sure what he is doing here.

 Scott has become the pro at getting J to nap. This picture melts my heart. He LOVES his Daddy!

 Flashlight time... J loved it and continued to be a favorite that I played with him throughout the day.

 Scott would shine the flashlight on the ceiling and J would squeal excitedly that it was "the MOON"! He has had a unique interest in the moon since he was about 9 months old and could not believe it was in our house! :)

Bedtime...J loves for Daddy to do "X marks the Spot" on his back before bed. It is the only time of day that he is awake and absolutely still. 

God has blessed me beyond measure with the most loving, serving and handsome husband who is also the world's best Dad. And, I have the sweetest baby in the whole wide world! 

The Dallas Zoo is Cool...

I love the warm January weather we had last week/weekend. I am a true Texas girl and only like cold weather for a few days at a time. J and I took full advantage of the warm weather interlude with lots of outdoor play! We went to the park daily, took a trip to the arboretum and a trip to the zoo. (Which was far cooler than I expected.) Here are some pictures from our adventures. Thank you God for a warm, beautiful week!

The fountains are J's favorite part.

 Showing us how the elephant moves his trunk. :)

 We told J that elephants eat hay. And he decided they ate from a "beanbag". 

I have to admit, it did look like a beanbag.

 Amazed by the giraffes!

 The lions are truly massive.

 Giraffes...J's favorite!

 You could buy crackers to feed the giraffes for an astronomical price. We were not going to buy any until a sweet lady let J feed this giraffe one of hers. He thought this was the greatest thing ever, so we caved and bought some more. It was worth it!

 They walk right up to the feeding platform...very impressive!

 He is still talking about feeding these giraffes.

 J driving the African safari car.

 Flamingos...my favorite!

 Kissing camels

 Looking for the tiger. He would not come out of hiding.

 Tired and thirsty

 After a full day at the zoo, J decided it was "icecream night" at Chick-fil-A. A phrase from one of his favorite books.

I don't know whether J like the zoo or the icecream better, but we had a great day as a family. If you get a chance to go to the zoo...do it! Let us know and we will join. :) And, it is half price for January & February.