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!

Homemade Slushies!!

It's hot as the blue blazes out, so the girls and I found a fun and cool treat to make on Pinterest, of course!

Thanks to my mom and dad for the blender (which is AWESOME), we were able to make these slushies in a snap! They are SO good and so much cheaper than even making a Sonic run for basically the same thing. Plus, you can make any flavor you like - tonight, we did Tropical Punch, as suggested by Maddie!

Here's what you need:

1 Kool-aid Packet
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Cups Club Soda
2 1/2 Cups Ice

In your blender, add kool-aid, sugar, ice and 1 cup of club soda. Blend well or until sugar is dissolved. Pour in the other 1 cup of club soda and give a quick blend until you get a slush consistency. Pour into individual cups and place in freezer for 20-30 minutes. Then grab a straw and enjoy!

This is a fun thing to let the kids help with, too! My girls loved getting to dump everything in and watch the blender do its thing!

My Middle Child

I've always known that Maddie, our middle child, was a good helper. She's always willing to go get things, put things away, help clean up, etc. But tonight, God showed me something special about her.

We were all sitting on the couch talking and watching TV and Maddie remembered that I had bought grapes the last time we went to the store. She said, "momma, do we still have those grapes?" I said yes and told her that if she wanted some they would need to be washed first. She hopped right up off the couch and went in and started washing. I thought she would come back with a bowl for herself, but what she did showed me something very special about her. She did wash the grapes, but instead of thinking of herself first, she came in with a small bowl for each of us. She passed them out and then went back to get her own. It was like God spoke to me right there and said, "Chrissy, she is a servant and a worker!"

She's more than just a helpful little girl. She has a God-given servant's heart. She loves to do things for other people. It's not all about her first, which typically isn't a common trait among small children. Well, really, it's not a common trait among most adults, if we are being completely honest.

I prayed in that moment that God would help me to foster that heart for service and that God would show Mike and I how to raise her to serve him and serve others. So thankful how God can use something so small to teach us something about our children.

Psalm 139:14
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

I'm Random and I know it

I think it's high time for a random post, don't you? Here goes....

1. Having 4th of July in the middle of the week has totally thrown me off. All day Wednesday felt like Saturday. I've been confused all week. Doesn't take much, folks.

2. Macie left for church camp yesterday. How is she old enough for that already. It's weird that she is 9, but that I am still 27.

3. I made a menu for the next 2 weeks today. Going to Walmart 4 times a week is insane. My wallet is feeling the pain of that nonsense.

4. On that note, why is it that you can go into Walmart for 3 things and walk out spending $50 minimum? I'm breaking up with Walmart and going to start dating Aldi again.

5. I worked out yesterday and I'm pretty sure my legs would feel better if someone just lobbed them off.

6. I fear our electric bill this month.

7. When we moved to Arkansas, no one told us that we were moving to the surface of the sun.

8. I'm excited to see family this month. We always look forward to that!

9. My nephew turns 16 in 14 days - trying to wrap my head around that one. I used to babysit him all the time and now he's going to be driving. That is so weird to me!

That is all. I can't think of any more random thoughts at this moment. Have a fantastic weekend, friends!