Life Happenings

Life is a bit hectic right now, and I'm trying to absorb it all, but man is it kicking my butt!

We went from a relatively plain/ boring life to all of the sudden, too many changes in very little time that has my head spinning. 

For example: After 5 years of residency, Steve finally graduated! He honestly has been super busy, and will continue to be busy until he finishing taking the BOARDS.. does it ever end? Apparently, it does! And I'm NOT ready!

Here are some pics of the last few weeks.. more like days really.

Graduation! Steve is DONE being a resident, and is we are off to Denver in about 2 weeks! 2 WEEKS people!

Matthew turned 11 yesterday! I have a VEEEERRRRYYY long post on him, but I need to sit down to really put it all together... I just can't believe he's a pre-teen! And growing up too fast, which is giving me all kinds of anxiety.

Last week was probably the longest week of my life. I volunteered to help at the kids school, and even though it wasn't too difficult, I had lots of stuff and emotional baggage to get through add all the end of school parties and graduations.. I was barely hanging on!

Here is a pic of some props i made for Matthew's graduation photo booth.

The end is here! Again, more pictures of Steve's classmates as full blown Orthopedic surgeons! It was a loooooooooonnnnnnggggggg road for everyone.

 At Steve's class "ROAST" celebration. Basically a fun celebration with all residents and new comers. They are passing the torch sort of speak, and it's a fun time for everyone. Steve and his class made a super funny video for the party, and it was a hit! Funny, stuff for sure!

 We SOLD & CLOSED on our home! 

WHAT A BLESSING THIS HAS BEEN! The whole process was a packaged in a pretty box with a bow! Super fast process of selling, and closed on the house without any issues. I don't think this will happen again for a long time, but glad this was super smooth for us!

Oh, and Olivia fractured her wrist too... oy!

Yeah, I just feel all sorts of emotions. From wanting to move, only because I want to feel settled, but not wanting to move because I will miss all of our dear friends and family.. but I'm also excited to get going with our last year of "school" and I just don't even know how I feel about renting our house for a few weeks and officially giving up the keys.. just so much! I just need to pray and try to stomach it all. I will say though, that we are feeling soo blessed, and it feels almost like we don't deserve it!

I'll get back to you, when I feel l have my grip on things!

Jazmin

Olivia is Getting Baptized!

Olivia turns 8 on January 26th, and as the date draws near, I still can't believe we have reached this milestone! Olivia is my little girl, but this little girl is growing WAY too fast!

Olivia Rose is my miracle baby. OK, that's dramatic, but my pregnancies were not easy.. like at all! So, when I got pregnant with Olivia I prayed that this baby would be healthy, but that this baby would also be a SHE because I didn't know if I could endure another pregnancy, and having had a boy already, I really wanted a girl. 

I remember knowing she was a girl the day I wanted to buy crib bedding and my ultrasound was not due for another week, so I remember just looking at the bedding that also happened to be on sale, and loving it, and decided I was going to buy it, because right then and there, I knew I was carrying a little girl.

A week later, the ultrasound confirmed 100% that I was indeed going to have a baby girl, and I was overjoyed! 

I knew her name was going to be Olivia. I knew this WAY before I got pregnant with her, because I remember dressing Matthew up as a girl when he was a baby (I'm a mean mom) and would call him "Olivia" I also loved the name, because Matthew & I would read Olivia the Pig books over, and over everyday for months! He loved those books, so the name stuck.

Olivia has a pure heart. She is honest, and sweet. She is also feisty and has some fight in her small little frame. This girl will move mountains one day.

Olivia is beautiful inside and out, and I still can't believe that we got entrusted with this perfect little spirit. She loves going to church, and trusts in the Lord.

While I wish she could stay little forever, I know that Heavenly Father sent her here for a special purpose, so glad that she has chosen to be baptized and follow in Christ's footsteps!

I hope she understands how much we love her, and even though that's a lot, it pales in comparison to the love Heavenly Father & Jesus Christ has for her.

I know she knows the importance of this step, and how this decision will shape her life. I'm proud to be her mama. 

Jazmin

Canine Cake!

Yesterday was Riley's birthday, and because he is just as part as our family as is me, I decided to get him a Birthday Cake! Last year we just got him ice cream, but this year, we wanted to try that doggy bakery in McKinney, called 'Canine Cookie Company', and it was delicious! 

At least, it looked like it!

See Riley eat cake!

Canine Cake from Jazmin Gibbons on Vimeo.

Jazmin

Feliz Cumpleanos Ma!

Last week was my mom birthday, and she was wanting some goodies! One of those goodies ended up being the Doterra Essential Oils trio. A few weeks back I hosted a demo night and she really wanted to purchase them, but she just didn't have it her budget, so I decided to surprise her with some of the sample size oils. 

Of course, I had to wrap them pretty for her, even if she never really cares about the wrapping. I just like doing it for special gifts. 

I gave her the oils and she seemed to like them!

My sister kept the wrapping.

It was a success.

Jazmin

It's a Puppy Party!

Un Cumpleanos muy Perro!

So, we finally threw Olivia her birthday party, and this years theme was puppies! She and I LOVE our Riley Bear (our dog) and we just wanted to have a celebration that allowed us to celebrate all the canines in the world! We honored them with the decor and details. 

Here are some pictures of her party. And can I just mention, that I didn't even think of taking pictures of the table all set and pretty because I was STRESSED?! Yeah, even days before the shindig, I was really questioning why I was even throwing her a party. I stopped throwing Matthew a party and instead we do a fun activity just for him. Last year we went to the Perot Museum, and it was super fun and most importantly, EASY! This may be the last party I throw at home. But to make things fair, she loved it so much and declared it to be the BEST PARTY she has ever had! 

So, it was worth it!

Here are some poor lit pictures of her party. 

Puppies everyone! I bought a ballon set for $15 dollars at party city and I cut up a ton of tissue paper, and a plastic table cover to create the fringe garland and tassels. I didn't really want to spend money because it adds up quick, so I did as much as I could from what I had on hand. 

Party City had this puppy theme, and I ran with it. 

With some of my craft supplies, we created "puppy id tags" for everyone! They just stamped their name on some round tags and tied them like a necklace with twine. 

The food was easy. I got water bottles and labeled them "puppy bowl water" and served "pup-corn", "fetch sticks (pretzel rods with chocolate and sprinkles) "papples" (apples), and "pupperoni pizza" 

The cake was a cheap cake from target, and we just put dollar store dogs on top. I bought the bigger dog at michaels since Olivia wanted to keep a nice one as a memory.

Another thing I found, were these dollar dog ear headbands. I got those at Oriental Trading, and Olivia loves them! She has always liked dressing up as animals way more than a princess dress!

I love that a lot of her school friends and church friends made it! She was sooo happy!

Olivia got some awesome presents, but the stuff she loves the most, is handwritten cards and pictures that her friends give her. She puts them in a 'treasure box' that she keeps in her room. :) 

She got a lot of nail polish! We will need to have a pedicure night!

Ok, Ok. The party was worth it. Even Riley had fun eating food off the floor. Maybe we will have a little something again next year. And maybe I should start planning it now, to avoid sleepless nights again!

Jazmin

Feliz Cumpleanos Olivia!

Happy Birthday Olivia Bear! 

Olivia is 7. 

Yes, it's crazy. 

Yes, time has flown by. 

Yes, I feel old. 

But, yes. I feel blessed to have a happy,  healthy 7 year old in our home. 

Here is a video of her blowing out her candles yesterday! We started this new tradition of getting breakest donuts for breakfast on your birthday, and this year, Daddy was on the phone singing 'Happy Birthday', because he was on his way out to Denver for fellowship interviews. That's why, I sing so delayed, because I was trying to match the Steve's rhythm on the phone, but it didn't really work.

In any event. just mute the video and watch the cute Olivia blow out her birthday candles!

Jazmin