So, I could write a post on something precious that my girls did or said that made me feel like I was the mother of the year, doing everything right all the time. But, it's real life here. And sometimes it's just funny (and a little gross). So, here's the conversation I overheard last night between Macie and Mike after he had already tucked them in bed for the night.
Macie: "Daddy, Maddie keeps tooting and it really reeks!"
Mike: "Well, Macie, what do you want me to do?"
Macie: "I'm just worried that if she keeps tooting that she's gonna poop in the bed!"
Mike: "Macie, she's not gonna poop in the bed, but if you are that worried about it, go get in your own bed."
Around 10 p.m., I went in to check on them before I went to bed and Macie had moved to the top bunk. She wasn't taking any chances.
Just keeping it real. Toots, poop and all. It's how we roll. :)
Monday, December 19, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Staying Busy at Christmastime
Every year I'm surprised at just how busy we are between Thanksgiving and Christmas and how fast that month flies by! We have had a lot going on: We traveled the week of Thanksgiving to visit Mike's family, put up our Christmas tree, had our SS class Christmas party, visited with friends, had sleepovers, birthday parties, church programs, a Christmas parade, MOPS and so much more and it's only the 2nd week of December! WHEW! But, even with all of that, I wouldn't change a thing! We are so blessed to have family that we can go visit and great friends here that we love spending time with. At some point, I'll finish my Christmas shopping. This week, I'm determined to make it happen. :)
Here's a bit of our life this past month in picture form!
Thanksgiving with Mike's family
Putting up the tree
SS Class Christmas Party (Minus all the husbands)
Fun with friends!!
I don't have pictures of some of the other things we've been doing, but I have to say, we've had a wonderful holiday season so far. Looking forward to the next couple of weeks and praying that all of you have a blessed Christmas!
Here's a bit of our life this past month in picture form!
Thanksgiving with Mike's family
Putting up the tree
SS Class Christmas Party (Minus all the husbands)
Fun with friends!!
I don't have pictures of some of the other things we've been doing, but I have to say, we've had a wonderful holiday season so far. Looking forward to the next couple of weeks and praying that all of you have a blessed Christmas!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
My thoughts for today
So, Albert Pujols is leaving the Cardinals for another team and a lot of money. And people are MAD. Here's what has me fired up:
This is a baby that Mike held and loved on during his mission trip to Haiti in October. This child was going to be thrown away - YES, in a trash can, by his mother. He was starving, can't walk and needs someone to just love him.
And we are mad about baseball.
Perspective, people.
This is a baby that Mike held and loved on during his mission trip to Haiti in October. This child was going to be thrown away - YES, in a trash can, by his mother. He was starving, can't walk and needs someone to just love him.
And we are mad about baseball.
Perspective, people.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Just a Bunch of Stuff
This will be kind of a random post, so bear with me. It's been a busy couple weeks around here and I haven't had time to just sit and collect my thoughts to put in a blog post, but I didn't want to forget about these fun fall events, so here goes!
First, you all know that I'm a fan of the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. Love her recipes and her blog and was SO excited to find out that she was the speaker at a luncheon here in Fort Smith. It was a fundraiser event for a local museum/Historic House and they booked her a while back, before she got really big - you know, like "I have my own show on Food Network" big. So, several girls and I snatched up our tickets and headed to a fun day of eating and laughing with Ree herself! They served several of her recipes and the food was really yummy! The main course was her chicken spaghetti - if you haven't made it, you need to! It's great! We had a great time together and had great seats - right up front! It was neat to hear her tell her story. How she started the blog in 2006 to where she is just 5 years later. It was fun to hear how it all happened.
Some of the ladies that were at our table - such a fun, sweet group of friends!
The Pioneer Woman :)
Then last week, we hosted a Women's Ministry event at our church and it was just awesome! We shared with the ladies some fun, but cheap gift giving ideas for Christmastime, and really all through the year - so many times we have people to buy for but just can't afford to spend a lot. Those are always the hardest gifts to figure out - at least they are for me anyway! I always think, "What can I get for $5-$10 and not look totally cheap?!" Well, we brainstormed and came up with so many fun ideas and just had a ball doing it! It's always fun to get together with a bunch of girls and eat dessert, talk, laugh and learn some fun ideas all on the same night! Here are some pictures of the event!
The dessert table
Our Sweet Greeters
Sarah and I
The gift ideas
And the cute Christmas Decor!!
That event totally got me in the mood for the Holiday season! Looking forward to seeing family next week and celebrating Thanksgiving together! We have so much to be thankful for - God continues to bless our family and for that, we are so very grateful!! Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone!
First, you all know that I'm a fan of the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. Love her recipes and her blog and was SO excited to find out that she was the speaker at a luncheon here in Fort Smith. It was a fundraiser event for a local museum/Historic House and they booked her a while back, before she got really big - you know, like "I have my own show on Food Network" big. So, several girls and I snatched up our tickets and headed to a fun day of eating and laughing with Ree herself! They served several of her recipes and the food was really yummy! The main course was her chicken spaghetti - if you haven't made it, you need to! It's great! We had a great time together and had great seats - right up front! It was neat to hear her tell her story. How she started the blog in 2006 to where she is just 5 years later. It was fun to hear how it all happened.
Some of the ladies that were at our table - such a fun, sweet group of friends!
The Pioneer Woman :)
Then last week, we hosted a Women's Ministry event at our church and it was just awesome! We shared with the ladies some fun, but cheap gift giving ideas for Christmastime, and really all through the year - so many times we have people to buy for but just can't afford to spend a lot. Those are always the hardest gifts to figure out - at least they are for me anyway! I always think, "What can I get for $5-$10 and not look totally cheap?!" Well, we brainstormed and came up with so many fun ideas and just had a ball doing it! It's always fun to get together with a bunch of girls and eat dessert, talk, laugh and learn some fun ideas all on the same night! Here are some pictures of the event!
The dessert table
Our Sweet Greeters
Sarah and I
The gift ideas
And the cute Christmas Decor!!
That event totally got me in the mood for the Holiday season! Looking forward to seeing family next week and celebrating Thanksgiving together! We have so much to be thankful for - God continues to bless our family and for that, we are so very grateful!! Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Pinterest Projects
So, you all know how much I LOVE Pinterest, right? It's been my go to for new recipes for the past month or so, my inspiration for cute outfits that I can put together for fall and most recently, it's been my how-to guide on craft projects that I can do at home. If you know me at all, you know that I am SO not crafty. I would love to be, but I'm just not. So, when I first started looking at these DIY craft projects on Pinterest, I was inspired, but very overwhelmed.
Then I spotted a wreath, made from a styrofoam wreath form, yarn, some felt for the flowers and those cute fall-colored picks that you can find at craft stores. I thought that it looked simple enough and decided to head to Hobby Lobby, armed with my 40% off coupon and a picture of the original wreath and started looking for my supplies.
I came home and began, and about 2 hours later, I finished with this little beauty:
Cute, huh?!
So, then last week, I pinned another great idea. It was a tutorial on how to turn a printed or enlarged picture into a canvas-type photo. If you've ever ordered those picture canvases from a professional photographer, then you know how expensive they are. I love the look of them, but not the price. When I saw this idea, it looked simple enough for someone like me to tackle. My friend, Olivia, (who is SUPER crafty) came over and did the project with me. I absolutely loved how they turned out! I still have to add the ribbon to the back of the pictures and get them hung up, but they are so nice and something that I will always cherish! Click here to get to the link showing how to do your own: DIY PICTURE CANVASES
And here are how mine turned out! Love, love them!
Are you on Pinterest? If so, what are some of your favorite things you've made or done that you found on there? I'd love to hear! Have a great weekend everyone!
Then I spotted a wreath, made from a styrofoam wreath form, yarn, some felt for the flowers and those cute fall-colored picks that you can find at craft stores. I thought that it looked simple enough and decided to head to Hobby Lobby, armed with my 40% off coupon and a picture of the original wreath and started looking for my supplies.
I came home and began, and about 2 hours later, I finished with this little beauty:
So, then last week, I pinned another great idea. It was a tutorial on how to turn a printed or enlarged picture into a canvas-type photo. If you've ever ordered those picture canvases from a professional photographer, then you know how expensive they are. I love the look of them, but not the price. When I saw this idea, it looked simple enough for someone like me to tackle. My friend, Olivia, (who is SUPER crafty) came over and did the project with me. I absolutely loved how they turned out! I still have to add the ribbon to the back of the pictures and get them hung up, but they are so nice and something that I will always cherish! Click here to get to the link showing how to do your own: DIY PICTURE CANVASES
And here are how mine turned out! Love, love them!
Are you on Pinterest? If so, what are some of your favorite things you've made or done that you found on there? I'd love to hear! Have a great weekend everyone!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Fall Fun
I love fall - it has to be my favorite season of the year. It just brings so many great things along with it - crisp temperatures (but still nice enough to enjoy being outside), open windows, boots, scarves, and cute sweaters, yummy smelling candles, pumpkins, hay rides, s'mores, soup and chili, and so much more. I just love everything about it!
Today, I decided to surprise my girls with a special treat when they got home from school. I swiped the idea from Angela over at THIS blog - and it's by far one of my most favorite blogs that I read. She has so many cute ideas that she shares, a great sense of humor, wonderful story teller, and an awesome Christian! So just don't give me too much credit for being all creative - because this was totally NOT my idea. But, I loved it so much that I had to give it a try. Here's what I did:
1. Buy 2 boxes of white cake, food coloring gel and 3 tubs of white (or vanilla) icing. Oh and you might need to grab a few of the throw away round cake pans. They came in very handy!
2. Mix up your cake according to the directions on the box. Then divide it into 6 bowls equally. I took a 1 cup measuring cup and scooped it into all the bowls, then went back and spooned in the rest as evenly as possible. It was about 1 1/2 cups of batter per bowl.
3. Color 3 bowls orange, 2 bowls yellow and leave 1 white.
4. Spray pans liberally with non-stick spray and pour batter into pans. Heat oven to 350 and bake anywhere from 12-15 minutes. Cool completely.
5. Start stacking your layers, starting with orange. Add a thin layer of icing between each layer to help them "stick" together. Then ice the whole cake and decorate with candy corns or use the Candy Corn White Chocolate M&M's, like I did.
6. At this point, I put it in the fridge to get the icing nice and stiff. When the girls got home from school and I pulled this out - they both screamed! :) They got so excited when I cut into it - just the reaction I was hoping for!
After dinner, we did one of the girls favorite things - carving pumpkins! They love digging out all the yucky stuff and the seeds! Mabrie was right in the middle of it, too. They looked at a bunch of pictures online to determine what they wanted their pumpkin to look like this year and the winning choice was a cross. I love it! Looks so pretty with the candle glowing from it!
Today, I decided to surprise my girls with a special treat when they got home from school. I swiped the idea from Angela over at THIS blog - and it's by far one of my most favorite blogs that I read. She has so many cute ideas that she shares, a great sense of humor, wonderful story teller, and an awesome Christian! So just don't give me too much credit for being all creative - because this was totally NOT my idea. But, I loved it so much that I had to give it a try. Here's what I did:
1. Buy 2 boxes of white cake, food coloring gel and 3 tubs of white (or vanilla) icing. Oh and you might need to grab a few of the throw away round cake pans. They came in very handy!
2. Mix up your cake according to the directions on the box. Then divide it into 6 bowls equally. I took a 1 cup measuring cup and scooped it into all the bowls, then went back and spooned in the rest as evenly as possible. It was about 1 1/2 cups of batter per bowl.
3. Color 3 bowls orange, 2 bowls yellow and leave 1 white.
4. Spray pans liberally with non-stick spray and pour batter into pans. Heat oven to 350 and bake anywhere from 12-15 minutes. Cool completely.
5. Start stacking your layers, starting with orange. Add a thin layer of icing between each layer to help them "stick" together. Then ice the whole cake and decorate with candy corns or use the Candy Corn White Chocolate M&M's, like I did.
6. At this point, I put it in the fridge to get the icing nice and stiff. When the girls got home from school and I pulled this out - they both screamed! :) They got so excited when I cut into it - just the reaction I was hoping for!
After dinner, we did one of the girls favorite things - carving pumpkins! They love digging out all the yucky stuff and the seeds! Mabrie was right in the middle of it, too. They looked at a bunch of pictures online to determine what they wanted their pumpkin to look like this year and the winning choice was a cross. I love it! Looks so pretty with the candle glowing from it!
Friday, October 21, 2011
Busy, Busy, Busy!
I just noticed that I haven't blogged in weeks! I'm sure you have all been on pins and needles waiting for an update - HAHA! It's been a busy month around here.
Mike left on September 30th for a 5 day trip back to Haiti. He went last February and was itching to get back and see the kids again. He had a great trip and said that they kids looked so much happier and healthier this time. When they pulled up to the orphanage and they got out of the car, several of the kids ran up to him yelling "MIKE" - he said that was one of the greatest experiences of his life. To think that they remembered him and remembered his name was just awesome. It was a fast a furious trip as there were just 2 guys (Mike and our Children's Pastor, Bro. Stuart) that went. They had a lot of business to take care of, but also tried to spend as much time as possible loving on those sweet kids. He's already looking forward to going again and if possible, I'm going on the next trip with him! I look forward to the day that these kids become more than kids that I know from pictures!
We've enjoyed the beginning of fall around here and while for the most part, it's been unseasonably warm, this week we have finally been blessed with that crisp, cool fall air that I just love!
Our Sunday School class had a get-together a couple weeks ago at a farm/pumpkin patch and the kids had a ball. They took us on a hay ride, let the kids go down a slide that was built on a mound of mulch, walk through a corn maze, feed and pet some farm animals and then picked their pumpkin from the patch. After they were done, we ate a picnic lunch together. I hated that Maddie had to miss out (she was sick and had to stay home with daddy). But, it was a nice day and a fun time with some great friends.
The girls are doing great in school. We had parent/teacher conferences this week and they are making us so proud. Straight A's across the board and nothing but great reports from their teachers. We are so blessed to have kids that have a desire to learn and that always strive to do their best. I pray that they continue to be good students that respect their teachers, work hard, show leadership and share Jesus with their friends.
The littlest Cash is doing well also. She's as feisty as they come. She's saying more and more words each day, it seems. She can now say: Daddy, momma, ball, nose, uh-oh, no, YAY, dog, baby and book. There may be one or two more, but that's all I can think of right now. She is running all over the place and doing what a 1 year old does best - MAKE MESSES!! All. day. long. But, she is also learning what "put that back" means and will go return things to where she found them. We are working hard on getting her whipped into shape as early as possible. I'll let you know how that works out for us. :)
I imagine that the next couple of months will be just as busy. Hard to believe that the holidays are just around the corner and we'll be in full swing of shopping, decorating, traveling and spending time with friends and family. I'm looking forward to it. It's always a special time of year.
Happy Fall, Y'all! :)
Mike left on September 30th for a 5 day trip back to Haiti. He went last February and was itching to get back and see the kids again. He had a great trip and said that they kids looked so much happier and healthier this time. When they pulled up to the orphanage and they got out of the car, several of the kids ran up to him yelling "MIKE" - he said that was one of the greatest experiences of his life. To think that they remembered him and remembered his name was just awesome. It was a fast a furious trip as there were just 2 guys (Mike and our Children's Pastor, Bro. Stuart) that went. They had a lot of business to take care of, but also tried to spend as much time as possible loving on those sweet kids. He's already looking forward to going again and if possible, I'm going on the next trip with him! I look forward to the day that these kids become more than kids that I know from pictures!
We've enjoyed the beginning of fall around here and while for the most part, it's been unseasonably warm, this week we have finally been blessed with that crisp, cool fall air that I just love!
Our Sunday School class had a get-together a couple weeks ago at a farm/pumpkin patch and the kids had a ball. They took us on a hay ride, let the kids go down a slide that was built on a mound of mulch, walk through a corn maze, feed and pet some farm animals and then picked their pumpkin from the patch. After they were done, we ate a picnic lunch together. I hated that Maddie had to miss out (she was sick and had to stay home with daddy). But, it was a nice day and a fun time with some great friends.
The girls are doing great in school. We had parent/teacher conferences this week and they are making us so proud. Straight A's across the board and nothing but great reports from their teachers. We are so blessed to have kids that have a desire to learn and that always strive to do their best. I pray that they continue to be good students that respect their teachers, work hard, show leadership and share Jesus with their friends.
The littlest Cash is doing well also. She's as feisty as they come. She's saying more and more words each day, it seems. She can now say: Daddy, momma, ball, nose, uh-oh, no, YAY, dog, baby and book. There may be one or two more, but that's all I can think of right now. She is running all over the place and doing what a 1 year old does best - MAKE MESSES!! All. day. long. But, she is also learning what "put that back" means and will go return things to where she found them. We are working hard on getting her whipped into shape as early as possible. I'll let you know how that works out for us. :)
I imagine that the next couple of months will be just as busy. Hard to believe that the holidays are just around the corner and we'll be in full swing of shopping, decorating, traveling and spending time with friends and family. I'm looking forward to it. It's always a special time of year.
Happy Fall, Y'all! :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
