{Oh Hey Friday // Bring your Kid to Work day // New glasses }

It's Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday
Gettin' down on Friday
Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend
Does anyone else sing that very annoying song when Friday rolls around? No? Just me? Okay then...haha! Moving along...Happy Friday! Monday was a drag, but this week went by fairly fast for us. No complaints here. Time for Oh Hey Friday with Karli at Sept Farm.

{O N E} Every time I scroll through Instagram I see cute little looping videos made with an app called Boomerang. So I downloaded it. Mason and I had some fun with it....

Friday from Crystal Hall on Vimeo .
{T W O} Mason got to visit Nate's work yesterday for bring your kid to work day. Below is what I shared about it on my Instagram...

Today was such a special day for this little guy. He went to Nate's work for Bring Your Kid to Work day!! Mason has been looking forward to this day for years. He got to make his own rocket ship & launch it, got to see a dinosaur skeleton that they cut out with a water-jet (all the bones), made ice cream using liquid nitrogen, got to watch them print with a 3D printer, and got to meet all of Daddy's work friends. I'm a bit jealous!! #masonlane

A photo posted by >>> Crystal <<< (@hallaroundtexas) on Apr 28, 2016 at 5:54pm PDT

He had the best time and I think it was more than he could have dreamed! He brought home a backpack full of things that they gave him at the plant and so many stories to tell me. Nate works for a Missiles and Fire Control plant, so it's very top secret and photos {and spouses - boo!} are not allowed. I wish I could have seen pictures of all the activities he got to do. A couple more photos of my guys before they left...

  

{T H R E E} Mason's teacher mentioned to me on Wednesday that Mason was having trouble seeing some things in the classroom even with his glasses on. So I called the eye doctor to see if they had anything open for the next day {since Mason would already be off}. I knew it was a long-shot, but they did have one last appointment and the time was perfect! So, after the fun day at Nate's work they trucked on over to the eye doctor. Mason's vision has changed quite a bit and he needs new lenses. As with his first appointment we let Mason pick out his own glasses. We want them to be something he loves since he is the one wearing them. Nate said they tried on every single pair they offered for little boys, but Mason kept coming back to the same Nike ones. And then he found out that he could customize his colors and that pretty much sealed the deal! I knew with their shoes you could go online and design your own pair, but I never thought you could do that with glasses as well. So cool! We ordered two pairs, one normal pair and then a pair of the same glasses but as sunglasses. Mason is fair skinned and blue eyed and has very sensitive eyes like his mama. Now he can wear sunnies and still be able to see! I can't wait for them to come in so that I can see them in person. Here is what he picked {these glasses, but the colors in the print-out}...

He's the coolest! I am so thankful for this little guy. Oh and guess what? His absence for going to Nate's work was going to be un-excused {even though it was highly educational and he spent the day with engineers and rocket scientists, but whatever}, but since he also went to the eye-doctor and we had a note it's excused! Wahoo.

{F O U R} Mason's birthday party is in one week from Saturday. One week away and I am not even stressing! This is unheard of for me. The location we are having it at is awesome and there's not much we have to do in lieu of bringing our decorations and cake. I'm pumped! Mason chose a Batman/superhero theme and it was pretty easy to find decor and party supplies for. We got our Batman shirts in the mail yesterday, so we are ready!!

   

{F I V E} Someone else is a little excited that it's Friday...

Happy Weekend! Any plans?

{I confess}

I am not sure if Jess is picking back up her Thursday Confessions link-up this week or not, but I still wanted to post. I love these little random confess sessions.

// No matter how many times {usually several a day} Mason calls me his sweet girl or his best girl I melt completely. I mean, it's my favorite thing ever. He's my favorite.

// I totally LOVE being a soccer mom. Love it.

// I hope Mason continues playing soccer...but he is more interested in starting karate.

// Two of my dearest friends {met online, became in real life friends} are coming down the weekend of Mason's birthday party and I am ecstatic. Like over the moon excited.

// We are on the homestretch of our Kindergarten school year and I am starting to get sad about it. First grade means we move to a new school where we know NOBODY at {meaning staff}. The school we are at now is amazing and had the most incredible employees. Many of them even go to our church. We will miss them something fierce.

// My poor car hasn't been washed or cleaned on the inside in months. It's pitiful.

// I took the boys to the park on Tuesday after school and we had the greatest time! I can't wait for more park adventures.

// I kind of want a mini-van. I've always heard they are great, but I rode in one the other night on the way to our ladies night {with church friends} and I saw what all the hype was about. They are so roomy and comfy and just cool!

// Diesel finally got a haircut last week and he looks so cute. But I have to admit, I was so embarrassed taking him to his grooming appt. You never know how bad it looks until you're going to get it fixed. I promise we love him!!

// We haven't done any home DIYs in a while and it's driving me crazy. I'm itching to start a new project,

// I have been taking a lot of photos with my big camera lately. I love to get out there and practice and getting to know my camera. BUT all of my photos seem to have some kind of tint to them; green, blue, orange, etc. instead of the bright white photos. It's bugging the crud out of me that I can't figure it out.

What are you confessing today?

{The Guys Behind the Blog // April Edition}

Time for another round of Guys Behind the Blog with Betsy at Heavens to Betsy and Laura Jean at According to Laura Jean. I love getting to feature my man on the blog and love reading his answers to the questions. April was all about childhood and family. I love hearing about things that happened in his life before I met him at the ripe age of 14.

Questions // Answers

1.) In what ways are you the same of your childhood self?
// I am still a softie. I tear up when it comes to hearing or seeing something good in life or something I can relate to.

2.) What does family mean to you?
// My family is my world. We are a small family, but we are close. I would put any of them before me and go to the grave protecting them. I would not be the man I am today without anyone of them from the oldest to the youngest.

3.) How would your family or closest friends describe you?
// Not sure. I would hope they would say I am a good person, passionate, caring and honest.

4.) What's your fondest childhood memory?
// Probably the times spent camping, fishing and playing baseball. I also remember as a little boy when I would stay at my NeNaw's house. If it rained we would sit out on the back porch wrapped up in a blanket and watch it rain. I think that is why I love rain storms so much.

5.) What words of wisdom would you pass on to your childhood self?
// Spend more time with your pawpaw and listen to him and remember his stories. Work harder in school and don't care so much what other people think.

For our other Guys Behind The Blog Posts:

April // May // June // July // August // September // October // November // December // January //February  // March

{Spring 2016 bucketlist // Update #2 // Playing in the rain & Soccer}

Playing in the rain is one of those items you can put on your spring bucketlist and just know that you will cross it off! April usually brings a lot of rain for us here in Texas. However, the rain has been kind of weird this season so far. It seems to start when we are in bed and then stops right before Mason gets home from school. So, while he hasn't actually 'played in the falling down rain' he has romped about in the puddles many times.

I'm not sure what it is about little boys and puddles or mud...but it's like a little slice of heaven on earth for them. At least it is for Mason. He find so much joy in the water and I love to watch him play. I'm hoping for more rain because there are some photos I want to attempt.

               

We've also checked off Watch Mason Play Soccer from our Spring 2016 Bucketlist. We are down to only two games left. Mason will actually miss one of the two because of his birthday party. I booked his birthday long before we had a soccer schedule and couldn't reschedule it. Bummer! It's been so fun to watch. The game is exciting and Mason enjoys it. I am totally loving being a soccer mom. I hope he continues to play! You can see more about soccer here, here and here.

Updated Spring 2016 Bucketlist:

Do you have a Spring Bucketlist? Do you get a ton of rain in April as well?

{Weekend Wrap-up // Catch-up}

Happy Tuesday! This weekend was a rollercoaster and yesterday was a Monday in every way possible. I came to this space so many times, but couldn't get any words out. My mind was so cloudy and my heart was achy.

Lets start with this weekend...Nate's Grandfather was rushed to the hospital. They live in a tiny little town and went to the closest hospital. Well, lets just say that some smaller hospitals are not fully equipped to take on bigger issues. And that was the case here. The prognosis was not looking well and we were preparing in our hearts for the worst. Then the family made the decision to move him to a bigger hospital a couple hours away. And praise Jesus...they knew exactly what needed to be done. He started improving by the hour. And guess what? He was released yesterday. God is so, SO good y'all. Continued prayers for him would be appreciated, though.

Sunday was an amazing day, though! We went to church and heard a wonderful sermon, then visited with Nate's family, went to a late lunch/early supper at our favorite place, and then even more family time of playing washers and just being outside. Oh and popsicles!! It was the best way to avoid all of the housework that we neglected all weekend. ;)

        

Such a sweet Sunday.

And then...Monday. I woke up feeling defeated. I was tired. Not like sleepy...but tired. I felt like I had to make myself walk or do things. My body just wasn't functioning like at all. It was the strangest feeling. And then Facebook happened {which I was not involved in any way shape or fashion} and something was taken out of context and ended up with a family member attacking my sister on social media, then completely deleting all of her family off Facebook. But not before she called everyone idiots and bigots. It was heartbreaking and blown way out of proportion and a very one-sided ordeal. And then after catching up on emails and blogs and social media I learned there was a nasty troll out there leaving awful comments on some of my sweet friend's blogs and causing many them to go private.

For the love.

I immediately went to search for scripture for what my heart was feeling. I found this and clung to it all day yesterday:

Ephesians 6:12

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

It was a hard day and I was mentally exhausted. But then we capped off the evening with a nice country drive and the Lord so graciously gave us the most amazing sunset. {#allthepraisehands}

How was your weekend? What was the best part about it?