Catching Up

I guess what I've decided is that I'm kind of a once every 6-8 weeks blogger. I'm sure that sets me up for huge blogging success. I just get in this rut where I feel like there's either A) Not much to say or B) So much to say/do that I don't have time to sit down and gather my thoughts.

So basically here's what I've/We've been up to since, oh you know, October.

Let's start with Halloween, shall we? We don't really "celebrate" Halloween, we more or less spend as little as possible on a cute costume, go to the Fall Festival at our church (which the girls LOVE) and then visit a few neighbors for some candy. And that's about the extent of it - fun night, the girls have a ball and I get a bowl full of candy and a flabby gut. It's great.

Macie and Maddie were pirates this year and Mabrie had this cheerleader outfit from Mike's parents last year, so she wore that. Cute, cheap, simple - just the way I like it!

Macie was selected as Student of the Month for her class in October. We are so proud of her. She's a good student, loves to learn and loves school. They had a breakfast and an award day where they acknowledged all the student that were selected. Good job, Macie!!

One day the girls were super bored and asking me what they could do that would be fun and different. I follow another blog and saw that she had her kids do leaf rubbings, so I grabbed paper, crayons and sent them outside to collect leaves. It turned into a fun project - they created some cute pictures with their leaves and even better, they had fun, got along with each other and it was free. Not everything has to cost money to be fun - and they learned that on this particular day!

We traveled to Illinois over Thanksgiving to visit Mike's family and had a blast. We were able to stay almost a full week, which was really nice. We don't get that many days off very often, so usually our trips are much more rushed. It was a fun and relaxing week. We ate way too much, laughed a ton, celebrated Christmas, visited Promed (Mabrie was sick), and shopped on Black Friday! It was a great time!

December has been full of decorating our house for Christmas, Christmas parties, shopping, and lots more. I still don't have all my gifts purchased and plan to get that done tonight or tomorrow. I've never been this far behind before - it's kind of stressing me out. Life just stays so busy and when there's a moment to just sit and rest, that's really all I want to do. So therefore, I'm 4 days away from Christmas and still have about 5 gifts to buy. Oh well, I'll get finished and we will have a wonderful Christmas with our girls and later in the week with my family. Can't wait!! I love this time of year - school is out, life slows down and we get to spend time with family!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Soccer Star

Maddie is playing soccer for the very first time and I gotta say, she's a little natural! She's aggressive, fast and just picked up on the game right away. She has great coaches and they have taught her and the rest of the kids so much. Our little Blue Tiger Sharks are undefeated so far! YAY Sharks! Here are a few pictures of her in action tonight.

And here's my little cutie pre-game. I sure love this little girl.

The Glamourous Life

Yes. That's me. Glamour girl.

Aren't some days as a mom so very humbling and just plain old gross? The awesomeness began around 10:30 last night. I had just drifted off into what I thought would be a peaceful night's sleep and next thing I know, I hear a little voice utter the dreaded words. "Momma, I just threw up. In my bed."

Mike and I hop out of bed to start the clean up and see what we are dealing with. As she's cleaning herself up in the bathroom sink, it happens again. At least she was at the sink. So, Mike gets her taken care of while I start rinsing sheets, spraying Febreeze and start a load of laundry. It's always fun to do laundry at 11:00 p.m.

We get pukey-pukerson cleaned and set up on the couch, trash can in reach and head back to bed and much to my surprise, she slept all night long. So, when I wake up, I start thinking that maybe it was food related and not a stomach bug. I get her up to see how she feels and she says she's feeling pretty good. I send her to the bathroom and tell her let's see how the morning goes and try to decide what we should do about school. If it was a fluke food thing, she could probably go, but I was unsure. About 5 minutes after she got up, she tears off running for my bathroom and at that point I was very sure that we had a stomach bug and didn't luck out with the random "food didn't sit well" option.

I tell Macie that she's going to have to get her own breakfast and make her lunch because I had a mess to clean up. (She's so good to help me!!) So, here I am, 6:40 a.m., Pinesol, Scrubbing Bubbles, Windex, paper towels and mop in hand. I text a few friends and Maddie's teacher to try and organize my morning. So thankful for friends that will swing by and help get my kids to and from school while I stay home with the sick ones!!

So then, Mabrie gets up and I run her to the bathroom, put panties on her, get her dressed and try to quarantine her from Maddie. I continue on with laundry and sanitizing the other bathrooms and when I finally sat down to rest for a minute, I notice Mabrie standing right next to me with a funny look on her face. I said, "Mabrie - do you need to go pee pee?" And she started crying. So I feel and she feels wet - ugh! POTTY TRAINING! We rush to the bathroom and much to my surprise, my morning is about to get even better. She did have an accident in her panties, but oh happy day, it wasn't pee. No, no, it was diarrhea. Perfect. So, I get that disgusting mess cleaned up. Throw those panties right in the trash. Because I'd rather buy new ones than deal with that. YUCK!!

I throw a pull up on her and about 5 minutes later it happens again. This time, worse than the first, but WHOOP WHOOP - at least it was contained.

Back I go to the washing machine with yet another load of clothes.

It's days like these that you just have to laugh and thank the Lord that for probably 355 days out of the year all of my girls are healthy and happy. Being a momma isn't for the faint of heart. You WILL have bodily fluids on you, you will rinse vomit out of clothes and bedding, you will get on your hands and knees and clean diarrhea off the bathroom floors. It's gonna happen. It's not glamourous, but the other option is that I don't have these 3 sweet girls in my life. I'll gladly take days like these in order to get to be their mom.

Both girls seem to be feeling much better already after nice long naps and I'm praying that it's over as quickly as it came.

Happy Monday, everyone! :)

Pumpkin Patch & Other Stuff

On Wednesday, my MOPS group had a play date at a local Pumpkin Patch. Macie and Maddie were in school, of course, so it was just Mabrie and me. She had fun playing with the kids, grabbing pumpkins, playing in a bin of bird seed and getting to play games and get candy. She is so much fun - a little sassy and wild, but that's another story.

Trying to get a good picture of a 2 year old could be an Olympic event. :)

Last Saturday our Women's Ministry at church hosted an event called Mugs-n-Muffins. We were so excited to have Katie Rowe come speak to us. I've been reading her blog for years and felt like I knew her, even though we had never met. She was as sweet as I imagined she would be. She loves the Lord and spoke from the heart about the loss of her sweet newborn baby girl, Reese. I should have taken these pictures BEFORE she spoke, because you can tell that her sweet testimony brought me (and everyone) to tears. But, I loved getting to meet her! It was a great day and our ladies just loved her - as I knew they would!

Katie is in the middle - Sarah and I were thrilled to get to talk to her face to face!! We both love her blog!!

And last, here's some fun pictures of Macie and her cheerleading squad from last Saturday afternoon. They are a sweet group of girls and they do a great job! Go Pittbulls!!

Macie's Spiritual Birthday

3 years ago, this very day, Mike and I sat on Macie's bed and prayed with her as she accepted Christ as her Savior. She was 6 years old and she was completely sure of what that meant and was ready to make the most important decision that any person could make.

Being so young, Mike and I wanted to be sure that she understood. That it wasn't something that she just "knew" from being in church all her life and knowing the right answers, but something that she fully believed and understood in her heart. She was in 1st grade, and while that is very young, she really did "get" it. She understood that she was a sinner. She understood that the only way that she, a sinner, could one day spend her eternity with Jesus was to ask Him to be the Lord and Savior of her life. To turn from her sin and live for him. And she understood that it was only because Jesus came to this sin filled earth, lived a perfect, sinless life and died on the cross for her sins that she needed to trust in Him.

This was a day that I had prayed for since I found out I was pregnant with her. I longed for the day that she understood and wanted to live her life for the Lord. I'm so thankful that she made that decision as a young child. She truly has a heart for the things of the Lord. She told me today that she told her teacher and several kids that it was her spiritual birthday and she's not ashamed. She has a spiritual maturity about her that amazes me sometimes. She talks often about going on mission trips, begging for the day she can go with her daddy to Haiti. She wants to go and I know that once she does, she will have a heart for missions that will continue to grow.

We are so proud of her. She's not perfect. Who is? But, she is a sweet little girl who loves people, and loves Jesus and she isn't afraid to tell you about Him. I could learn something from her. Her excitement of her salvation has only grown over the years - isn't that the way it should be?

Macie - we love you so much. To know that I have an absolute assurance that we will spend our eternity together is a joy that I can't explain. I pray and look forward to the day when your little sisters make that same decision. Just think - our whole family will be together FOREVER!! What an awesome thought! You are a joy to raise and we are so thankful for your influence on people around you, but especially your sisters. They are watching and we know that your good example will help to mold and shape who they become, too! Not that you are responsible for your sisters, but you are setting a Godly example for them to follow and we couldn't be more blessed!

Happy 3rd Birthday - praying that God would use your little life in a mighty way.

3 John 1:4
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

I took Macie to lunch at Geno's Pizza today to celebrate! :)

All Things Fall

Hello there! It's officially my favorite time of year, and favorite month of the whole year - OCTOBER! I love fall. The weather, colors, smells, food - every month could be like October and that would be perfectly fine with me. Some days it's warm enough for flip flops and capris and some days it's cool and crisp enough for boots and scarves. It's the best!

We have been so busy the past couple of months and I think I've sat down about 10 times in the evenings after we've put the girls to bed with such good intentions to write something and it just doesn't happen. I'm either too tired, can't think of anything to say, or I just don't want to do the work of writing something and would rather fall asleep on the couch to a good old Friends episode. Macie told me yesterday that she's been checking my blog every day and she really wants me to post something, so here I am! I guess at least I still have one reader that is interested in this little blog space I have here. :)

So, what have we been doing? Well, basically the same thing so many of you have been doing - running to and from about a million activities, practices, games, get-togethers, etc.

Maddie started playing soccer for the first time this fall and she loves it. She's really good, too. She gets right in there and gets after the ball. She's scored a goal and assisted in a few others. Her team is undefeated so far and they are a fun little group to watch.


Macie is still cheering for the Pittbulls. She is having a ball. It's right up her alley - jumping, yelling and dancing with a bunch of sweet girls. They have really done such a good job this year - I love watching her do something that I loved when I was younger. I cheered all through Jr. High and High School and it was such a blast. I have a group of girl friends that I cheered with that I'm still close to to this day. It's a special relationship that I have with those girls and I hope that as Macie grows that she will bond and have life long relationships with some of these sweet little girls, too.

Mabrie has kept me busy the past week or two with potty training. Overall, she's doing great. She wears underwear most of the time and has very few accidents. We are still working on it and I wouldn't say we are "there" yet, but we are getting really close. It's a family effort, that's for sure. Someone in the house is constantly running her to the bathroom and giving her an M&M reward. That's the girls favorite part - I think they may sneak one as a little reward for themselves, too. HA!

I've been running a lot more lately and it's wonderful to get outside and run in this weather. I really do love it. I'm going to try to do another 5k in November and my goal for 2013 is to do my first 10k. Hoping to be ready for that this spring. Maybe early May. That's the goal anyway.

Well, that's the update for now. I'll leave you with this little treat. We had a Duck Dynasty Watch Party with some church friends last week and it was a total blast. Not sure this is our best look, but we had fun nonetheless.

Busy Bee

For the first time in our lives as parents, Mike and I have reached that "busy every night" phase. There are days where I feel like we meet each other coming and going. Macie and Maddie have both joined after school activities that keep us constantly on the go. Maddie is playing fall soccer and Macie is doing Pittbull Cheerleading. Soccer practice is on Monday nights, cheer on Tuesday/Thursday nights, games for both on Saturday, Church on Wednesday night and Sunday! WHEW!

It's been a wild few weeks and won't slow down until mid-November, but we are loving it. It's been so fun to see the girls find something they enjoy, make new friends and get involved in their community. And because of it, Mike and I have also met several people.

I have also joined the PTO at their school and have kind of jumped in both feet first helping and volunteering up there. I've been to a PTO Work Day where we meet at the school and do all sorts of stuff for the teachers and worked at the Scholastic Book fair last night. I love doing that kind of stuff at the school. It helps me get to know other moms and the teachers, which has been great. I knew the teachers so well at the girl's previous school and just felt at home going in there. It's kind of odd being the "new girl" again, but one thing I've learned in all our moving around is to just jump in and GO! So, that's what I'm doing. :)

I know full well that these busy days with kids won't last forever. The years zoom by and there will come a day when they are off to college or out on their own and we will miss the busyness of these years. So, while there are some nights that all I want to do is stay home, put on my yoga pants, lay on the couch and do nothing, I'm trying to enjoy it all. We are blessed to have children that are healthy and on the go!

For now, I'll grab a few minutes of rest while the littlest one naps before it's time to hop in the car and GO again!!

Mabrie is 2!

On Monday, September 3rd, we celebrated Mabrie's 2nd birthday! It was such a fun day. It was the Labor Day holiday, so the whole family was home and we made a day of celebrating her.

We woke up and made her cupcakes, wrapped presents and after we all got dressed and ready she got to open her toys. One of her gifts was a little race car track that she had played with at a friends house a few days prior to her birthday. She literally sat for 30 minutes or more playing with it and I told Mike that we HAD to get her one. It kind of went against all that I stand for - you know, little girls need pink, girly things - NOT cars!! HAHA! Even Macie was a little concerned that we were shopping in the "boy toy" section of Walmart. But, she loves it and has played with it every day since. She'll come walking out of her room carrying it behind her and say, "I play my race cars!" Too funny!

After she opened her gifts, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch. All 3 of the girls were pretty excited about that. They used up 100 tokens and got some really awesome prizes. (Sense my sarcasm??) We don't go to C.E.C. very often, so when we do, it's a real treat for the girls. They all enjoyed it and Mike and I may have enjoyed a few rounds of Ski Ball, too. :)

When we got home, we sang "Happy Birthday" and ate cupcakes. Well, Mabrie more or less licked her cupcake - she may like to play with cars, but she's still girly when it comes to getting her hands dirty. HAHA!

She's such a blessing to our family! She's funny and feisty. Sweet and sassy. All the things you'd expect from a 3rd born. :)

She talks so well and says some of the funniest things. She likes to play with her "cook", which is her kitchen stuff, her race cars, her dolls (she's very well rounded). If she is asking for something, she always says "my my" - like, "I want my my cup" or "I play my my cook". We aren't sure why she says it twice. Maybe she's trying to reiterate that whatever she wants/needs is HERS and no one else's. But, it's cute nonetheless. She loves to watch TV. I mean, I seriously have to limit it or she would have a show on every waking moment. Doc McStuffins (or Doc D. Stuffin, as she calls it), Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Bubble Guppies, Team Umizoomi and Little Einsteins are her top picks. She can maneuver my iphone like nobody's business. She could probably live on popsicles and chicken nuggets if I'd allow it. She loves going to church and from what I understand, she can dominate her class full of boys. HA! She's quite the little character, but we wouldn't change a thing about her.

Mabrie - mommy and daddy can't believe you are already 2! You have blessed us and are loved more than you'll ever know! We pray for your little life - that God would use you in a great way as you grow. We are so thankful that God gave you to us. Happy Birthday, little goose! We love you!!

First Day of School 2012

Just a quick post to update on the girls first day of school. If I said I wasn't nervous about their first day at a new school, I'd be lying. Although they had both made friends and were super excited, momma was a little nervous about it. As a child, I never had to switch schools. My parents have lived in the same house since I was 1 year old, so I never had to go through what so many kids have. I know kids are adaptable and usually handle change better than adults though, and thank goodness that has been true for my girls, too.

They both had a great first day of school. They were all smiles coming out to meet me and went on and on about their teachers and classmates. God has been so good through this whole entire transition. From finding and buying the new house, making new friends in our neighborhood and now with the transition to a new school. His hand has been in all of it. We KNOW we are right where He wants us!

Here's Macie on her first day of 4th Grade

And Maddie on her first day of 1st Grade

And not to be left out of the whole "first day" stuff - here's Mabrie on her very first day of Mother's Day Out! She was just as excited as the other two. But mainly because she loves her backpack. :)

Praying for a wonderful school year! I love you, girls!

Last week of Summer 2012

I guess it's just about official. Our summer has come to a close and this last week of sleeping in and spending the days playing with friends, running around town and just enjoying time at home is over and it's back to the routine. I always look forward to that, but I sure have enjoyed this summer break so much.

I knew that I wanted to try and do as much with the girls as possible this week and we really made the most of our days. We shopped, went to lunch together (several times), made crafts, played with friends, got ice cream, had sleepovers and had a great week together. Here's a little bit of our week in picture form!

On Monday, I ran to Hobby Lobby and got some things for Macie's wall. We spray painted these signs and I made her a cute chalkboard out of an old picture. She loves all of it!

We headed to the mall on Tuesday for some school clothes shopping and lunch

Tuesday afternoon I went to workout and it was "Tank Top Tuesday". This is a joke and if you aren't familiar with Crossfit, the trainers set the workout for the day and if you do it as "prescribed" then you Rx the workout. Well, I NEVER Rx a workout because I just can't lift some of the heavier weights - but I jokingly said the other day that I "Rx Burpees every time" and my friend Annie said that I HAD to get that on a shirt. So, here's what we came up with and it was a great time. All in good fun!

Wednesday, we had lunch at The Java House - a great little sandwich shop here in Greenwood.

Today, the girls and I went shopping again, this time for tennis shoes and then we ran over to Target to look around and grab a few things - lunch included! Sometimes it's nice to just grab a pretzel with cheese, isn't it?!

We have one last thing planned for tomorrow. We are meeting a new friend at the nail salon for a girly day! Maddie and Olivia are in the same class this year and we thought it would be fun for them to meet so that Maddie would know someone before Monday! We are all excited about it and looking forward to getting our toes painted together!

So thankful for the time with my kids! Have a great weekend - here's to a great school year and lots of memories!!

July 2012

Another month of summer just flew by and now we are 2 weeks away from the start of a new school year. The school supplies are bought and we are getting geared up for another year, but this year will be at a brand new school! The girls have already made several great friends and for that, I'm very thankful.

The month of July was busy but fun! It began with some of our very best friends coming in town for a 2 week long visit. We enjoyed having them over for dinner, spending the 4th of July with them (and several other great friends) and going swimming at Lake Fort Smith before they had to leave and head back to Pennsylvania. Travis, Sarah and girls - we had a great time and look forward to seeing you again soon!

The first weekend of July was also a big deal for Macie as she was able to go to Church Camp for the very first time! They can go after they complete 3rd grade and it was her first time away from us and home for that many days. She was super excited and had a wonderful time. She's already looking forward to next summer and has been making plans for all the fun stuff she wants to do!

The girls have enjoyed having friends over to play and they've spent lots of time outside on the water slide and in our neighbor's pool. We've done lunch dates with new friends, spent the night with the neighbor kids and gone on ice cream dates with them and have just had a great time! We are SO blessed to live by such great people!

Toward the end of July, the girls and I headed to St. Louis for a few days and then over to Illinois from there to visit our family. We were gone a week and enjoyed every minute of our time with family! We celebrated my nephew's 16th birthday, celebrated my parent's 45th Wedding Anniversary and had so much fun in Illinois with Mike's family - swimming, playing outside, eating yummy dinners, watching movies and just hanging out. Mike didn't get to go on that trip with us because he was out of town at a meeting and we missed him lots!

We finished up the last few days of the month just spending time together as a family. After being away from daddy for a week, the girls were excited to get back and see him. (And so was I!)

We packed as much fun into July as possible! It's hard to believe that we are into August and going to have to start getting back into the old routine. Part of me is ready for it, and part of me wishes we had a little more time to just be home and enjoy the lazy, but fun days of summer. Time just keeps on ticking away and we are trying to make the most of it - here's to the last 2 weeks of summer and packing in as much fun as we can!