Monday, Monday

Bryson and I spent the day hanging out at home.

I am so thankful for these lazy days, and just wanted to share a few pictures I snapped.

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Bryson's Shadow

Crazy Hair!!!
Friends

On to the next adventure!

Hope your Monday was as wonderful as mine!

This time last year...

... I was ready to POP!

This is a picture of me and my father-in-law (aka Grandpa) on June 14th last year at Laynie's birthday party. We were in Pleasanton (SOUTH Texas) and it was H-O-T! I was swollen and already having contractions! Pretty miserable... So glad Bryson is here, happy, and healthy!

Father's Day

Last Sunday we celebrated Jason's first Father's Day! We had a pretty perfect day, and I just wanted to share some pictures.

My Boys

On the way home from church I gave Bryson a baggie full of cheerios to keep him occupied. He OPENED the bag, and proceeded to stuff as many cheerios into his mouth as he possibly could. This is what we discovered when we got home...

I am still finding cheerios in my car!

Jason's Gift From Bryson

It is a snack caddy that I made full of all of his favorite treats! I saw this idea here and thought it was so cute! Jason loved it and took it to work to enjoy.

Happy Father's Day to my amazing husband! You are a wonderful daddy and Bryson is so lucky to have you.

Faith

I quit my job on June 11th.

I had had enough, so I gave my two-week notice and decided to move on to bigger and better things.

We left for the beach on Sunday (two days later). I had made a decision that I would not worry about work related issues while on vacation. I was not going to let a job steal the joy from my vacation. Of course this is easier said than done.

I decided to focus on these verses whenever I would start to even let my mind drift to the issues I was facing with that job:

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4:8&9

That definitely helped, but occasionally I would still catch myself caught up in the drama of it all.

On the way home, after a WONDERFUL time with our families, I started to think about it again. Obsess about it is probably more accurate. Then I saw a sign on the side of the road. It said "Fear is a lack of faith."

I was definitely fearful. Fearful of where I would go to work next. Fearful of searching for a new job and starting all over again in the workplace. Fearful of still having to go back and deal with all of these issues at the current job. Fearful of missing a week's worth of income.

So- I let it go. God is in control. God always has been, and always will be. What does me worrying about anything really help? I gave it to God and took a nap alongside Bryson.

When we got home I checked the mail. This is always my first line of business whenever I get home. In the mail was an envelope from the IRS.

In that envelope was one of the biggest surprises that Jason and I have had in our marriage (is it weird that these surprises always come in the form of an envelope from the IRS? :)

Anyways, it was a check- for close to $1000. No letter of explanation. No nothing. Just a check. It happened to be the exact amount of our 2008 tax return that we were told we would never get. We had forgotten about it.

But- right when we really needed it (not only financially but also spiritually), it showed up.

God has a way of doing that.

These next few weeks are going to be tough. Lots of changes around the Ruple house. I know that these are good changes, though. Changes that have been a long time coming. I've gotten a new job. I go in today for pre-employment paperwork. I am excited. I know that God will be with me each step of the way.

So thankful for God's provisions- in EVERY aspect of our lives...

ALL Boy...

Stole this from Erin's blog. Love love love it!

First Beach Trip!!!

Last Sunday, June 13th, we loaded up ALL of the things necessary to travel with an eleven month old and headed to the beach! This was Bryson's first beach trip, and I was so excited. I love the beach. It is one of my favorite places to be. I love the sand and the waves, and even the salt water. I love the sun and feeding seagulls left-over bread on the last day. These are all things that I grew up experiencing every summer with my family; and this is something I definitely want to pass on and experience with Jason and our kids.

I have included about 500 pictures of our trip for your viewing pleasure. :) Really, I just want to remember every minute of our trip.

Here goes...

Bryson's first ferry ride!

Granny and Grandpa

Courtney and Julie

Courtney and Granny

Brothers and Babies

Yes- he was eating the sand...

Sweet cousins playing together.

Jason turned around because he didn't want his abs to be compared to William! SO funny!

Our Family

Three Generations of Ruple Men

Fascinated with Grandpa and Loving Every Minute with Him

Mommy Stealing Kisses

Bryson loved peaking through his floaty at everyone!

Grandma and PawPaw Providing the Entertainment

This is the life!

Cousin Sheldon

Granny time...

Daddy time...

Phillip and Uncle Jason

Julie and the Boys

The Awesome Slide

(If you look closely you can see Jason and Granny each about to get onto the slides for a race to the bottom.)

Granny made it! (but I think Jason won!)

A whole new world to discover...

Waving "bye-bye". He loves to wave to everyone he sees!

Laynie giving Bryson a Kiss

Grandma brought a couple of new toys for Bryson to play with that someone at work had given her. He LOVED them! He was dancing and kept making this face. Not so sure what that was about!

Well, we knew that we would need shade on the beach. So, we bought a huge canopy and took it with us. Jason and the guys set it up on the first day. The next morning when we got down there it was destroyed! The wind was so strong that the canopy had completely collapsed. I was sick over it. Nothing we could do at that point but throw it away. My Mom and I went shopping one afternoon and I decided to buy an umbrella. It was $10 and I thought it was well worth the investment. Until we got it to the beach. Jason opened it and it immediately flipped inside out. Jason could barely hang onto it. It was ruined already! So, Jason and PawPaw rigged up a personal-sized shade spot for Bryson out of the remains of the umbrella. Such smart men we have! haha!

Not so sure about the seaweed...

PawPaw and Grandma

Just chillin...

Laughing at Daddy

View from our balcony:

The Whole Ruple Gang (minus Grandpa)

Cousins

Already planning next year's trip...