Sleeping Beauty, Mummy-cakes, "Trick or Treat"

I just got home from reading Sleeping Beauty to Adrianna's class and completed my "Mummy Cakes". Today the kids were able to dress as their favorite storybook character and parents were invited to read the story to the class. I picked the 8:00 slot so I could be home before Beni had to get ready for work today and leave Christopher with her. :o)

Adrianna dressed up as Sleeping Beauty and she looked beautiful! Let's see, she was dressed up in her witch costume for two parties this week and tonight too of course, Ariel for Riley's birthday party and today as Sleeping Beauty. IT's been a dressup week!

I'm looking forward to going trick or treating with Erika and the girls. This has been our tradition now and I'm so excited! Chris will be working at our church's photo booth downtown for the city's little Halloween event and we will meet up with them right after we are done. Grandma will be coming with us this year so the kids will be even more thrilled!

So the rest of today will be errands, fixing up gift bags for my ladies at our women's retreat tomorrow, cleaning the house . . . all before 4:30 today. WOW, busy day, but at least the next two days will be days of rest.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

She Won! :o)

"I won, I won, Oh yeahhhhhh". That is a phrase from Hannah Montana that Adrianna does this cute little move and says it in the CUTEST way ever, but to top it NOW Christopher walks up to us and "performs" the phrase too...must get on video soon for sure. :o)

Well, today my little beauty won in our Meetup Mom's Group costume contest! Looks like that hard work making that costume paid off! She was so cute up there on the little stage I just about died! Wish I brought my camera but was in such a rush! Beni and I were out shopping until 2:00, rushed home to bake cookies for the party, then ran to school to pick up Adrianna while the cookies cooled, returned home for her to change into her costume, packed up the cookies and off we went while Christopher napped with Aunt Beni. We stayed and had a blast until 5, hurried home to get dinner made and the house ready for Bible Study at 7. It actually worked out pretty well tonight. We had the study here from 7-8 while the kids were across the street at Cindy's and then we went over there for dessert. I let Adrianna have a little bit of dessert and than came right home, did our nightly routine together and she was asleep by 8:30ish, only 30 minutes later than usual so I think she'll be fine in the morning. It's only one day a week and is totally worth the sacrifice to have that time with our friends. We had a great study tonight and I really enjoy the insight into Moses, all new stuff for me - - - loving it!

I'm also following along with another blog on my own studying Proverbs 31:10-13 this week(this is a first for me, never did it before). I was told by a friend a while back that she thought I was a "Proverbs 31 Woman" so when I saw this on a blog this week I felt pulled to follow along. I've been involved in small groups over the past 2 years but this is the first time I felt that I wanted to do something all on my own. God is doing some amazing things in my life right now and the growth I've been experiencing is so refreshing.

Adrianna and I have been reading the book "Parts" by Ted Arnold, great book that shows the perspective of a 5 year old and since she has her first loose tooth I thought it would be great to work on this book this week with her. There is a part in there where he talks about his skin peeling off of his toes and Adrianna thought that was so grose and asked why hers does that too. So I went on to explain how the old skin peels away so the new skin can shine through and as she repeated that to me tonight I thought about my faith, about my entire "being". About peeling away the layers to reveal the woman that He intended on me being when He created me.

Today's Verse:

Proverbs 31:10
"A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies."

Family Pics

Here are some pics from this weekend....

We went to an awesome Halloween party on Friday and had a blast! Chris and I were dressed as a Flapper and Gangster. Adrianna was a witch (homemade costume, SO FUN) and Christopher was Batman, of course. LOL

Then to an adorable Giselle Dressup Birthday party on Saturday. Busy weekend, but SO FUN!

Being God's "Subjects"

I am so fortunate to have such an awesome Pastor and be part of a "Life Changing" movement, a.k.a. "church". Yesterday's sermon was amazing and I hesitate in writing about it because I just don't think I can do it justice, but I'll try. :o)

The sermon was based on Psalm 96, and what I took home with me was "We are God's subjects, created and given the authority to live under the Kingdom of God and make a difference while we are here on earth the short time that we are."

Now, our service is sort of interactive, different than ANY Catholic mass I have attended in my lifetime and surely from any other Christian church I've visited in the past, also different from other denominations too from what I hear from others. On of the questions Kyle threw out there yesterday was "Why hasn't God fixed this?" And by this he was referring to many examples that people were giving, both locally and worldly...hunger, genocide, disease, etc. And through the back and forth between us and Kyle, the answer was quite simple and just "struck" me. If God is King, then think of ourselves as his Subjects, sent out to do His good work here on earth and make the change! Now, I'm not saying I'm going to get out there and all the sudden all of these huge issues are going to go away, but every single one of us can make a difference in one way or another.

It can be as simple as helping someone in need, dropping off a coffee to brighten someones day, inviting friends over to share a meal together, serving at your local shelter, reading to elderly in a nursing home, you get the point I think. I get extremely frustrated by people who think that service ends with just your family, it doesn't. In fact, your children and spouse are gifts to you from God. I think our mission in life is to bring them along the way reaching outside of your family, outside our your four walls, and outside of yourself. And I don't know about many of you, but when I do something for someone else, I experience such an "uplift", such joy . . . which I KNOW is from God. I think of it sort of as a hug on my heart, that's how I try to explain it to Adrianna. Those feelings that you get, "joy" can only be from God. Not all happy feelings equal joy.

We talked yesterday about joy, spontaneous joy and what that looks like. Kyle gave a great example of his sister in law watching her 1yr old little boy getting SO excited watching Shamu at Sea World , that she just started to cry. Seeing her baby boy so happy and excited, prompted tears of joy. I think we have all experienced those feelings at one point in our lives. And by seeking to be connected and "heart" intentional, we have more and more opportunity for those amazing moments.

So, is being a Christian mean that you get all dressed up on Sundays, sing songs or what most call "worshipping", hang out with your other Christian friends and then that's it? Get up on your political podiums, talk about how horrible this world is, condemn all non-followers to hell, focus on family and only family, "preach" that serving is NOT enough, you are NOT as close to God as someone who reads their Bible every single day, and stuff like that?

I FIRMLY say that is NOT what it means to be a follower of Christ.

And what about worship? Does worship mean, singing and only that? Here are some notes that I found while researching what worship mean...

"We have forgotten this simple understanding of what worship is all about. But our English language still remembers. The English word worship comes from old Anglo-Saxon word worth-ship. Worship is worthship, giving worth to God."

"Worship is not about us. It’s about God. It is an act of service that you and I do to God. It is something that we do unto God as worth-givers."

Now, I'm NOT saying you can't worship God through song, because of course you can. But in my heart, I feel that showing God's worth, is showing his love and I just don't think a song is good enough. I don't think the title "Worship Leader" should be only given to a person who gets up on a stage and sings. ANYONE can be a worship leader, get out there and serve someone, show them God's love by loving them, THAT is giving worth to God, that is "Worth-shipping" or "Worshipping" Him. By doing that, you are just as much a "Worship Leader" as that guy or gal up on stage is. :o)

I hope this post didn't come off as strong or harsh as sometimes I do, what I'm feeling as I write this is "passion". I have the passion to serve, I have the motivation to get out and show what it means to truly be a Christian, even if it looks different then the way others around here are doing it, I have the desire to be as close to God as I can be. I am proud to be one of His subjects and will do all I can to do my very best with the time I have here.

"God is King" . . . that is Adrianna's phrase for this week! :o)

Some other verses that were referenced on Sunday were:

Phillipians 3:17-21
Romans 8:19-23
Revelations 21:1-5

Have a terrific Week!

A Walk to Remember

A play on the words, I know (love that book by the way)...anyway today was one of those moments I don't want to forget so I'm blogging about it. :o)

Erika and I are making the girls tutus for their witch costumes this year so we met up at Walmart to get the Tulle today. I asked to take Kylie with me so we could surprise Adrianna for early release day today. So, Kylie, Christopher and I walked to school and stood outside patiently awaiting her to come through those doors. The sight was ADORABLE! Kylie stood holding A's name sign thinking she wouldn't recognize her since her face was covered. :o) When Adrianna's name was called she came running to Kylie and they hugged as they jumped around in circles, so cute!!! Screaming, laughing, hugging, jumping, pure joy, absolute joy! They proceeded hand in hand walking in front of Christopher and I and I almost wanted to cry listening to them because it was so sweet, so special, so wonderful. All I could think about is hoping that they will be friends forever! I didn't have that moving around so much as a kid and one of my heart's desires is to give that to my children. Give them the stablility, planting our roots and growing with our small town surrounded by friends and family. Before I go totally off on a tangent, here was the sweetness I got to witness today. . .

A: Kyliiieeeeee! I'm SO happy you're walking with me!!!!!!!!
K: Me too Adriaaaaaaanna! Are you going to be nice to me? (as they hugged each other like crazy)
A: Yes Kylie (hugging some more of course, jumping up and down) I'm so happy your here!
K: I'm so happy you're going to be nice to me. :o)


Me: How was school today Adrianna?
A: It was good, but I got a yellow mark on my calendar today. (Then, I got dropped from the conversation as she turned to Kylie to talk about it)
K: What does a yellow mark mean Adrianna?
A: I wasn't following directions. I ran in the cafeteria.
K: Why did you run in the cafeteria?
A: I was running with my friends, and they got a yellow mark too. But I didn't get a red light, I was able to turn it around. I have to say sorry to my teacher tomorrow, that's what my mom says.
K: That's okay Adrianna, I did something bad too today. I put an adult strip on my stomach (A Crest Whitestrip is what she was referring to) and got in trouble so I will say sorry too.

Then they proceeded to talk about the ant piles, the weeds, pick a couple of flowers, sing and skip, well the best that they could (it was so cute). Adrianna led Kylie today, not typical. But she is older and has walked home with me already so she knew the way, knew how to stop at every crosswalk at our "Red Light Spots", knew to look both ways and proceed with caution. She has grown up so much since starting school and I'm totally amazed at how SMART she is! I was worried since she's quiet, but have realized I have NOTHING to worry about. :o)

As we walked home today, I felt like this was a gift for me. This was one of those moments I realized God was smiling down at me showing me how wonderful life is when you live in Him.

I'm tired as all heck today, but it was a GOOD DAY!!!! I'm looking forward to working on their tutus for their witch costumes this year...they're going to be SO CUTE!! Here are a couple pics from the past 2 halloweens:

Halloween 2006

Halloween 2007
Can't wait to see 2008! What big girls they are now!!!!!
LOVE THEM!

Adrianna's First School Trip 10/14/08

Adrianna's first school field trip to the Christmas Tree Farm. We had so much fun and I'm so glad to have been able to chaperon! It was the greatest to see her with all her "School Friends" . . . they all act so grown up and THEY'RE ONLY 5 & 6!!!! LOL Too Cute!

Olde Tyme Days 2008

Another year of Olde Tyme Days, look at those beauties! Now, where are the pics of my handsome little man? Well, I FORGOT THE CAMERA!!!!! Chris left early to bring Christopher home for a nap and I went back and took the girls all around the street fair. They rode the ponies, sat on the HUGE live Longhorn, shared a funnel cake, played games and the most amazing part... ADRIANNA CLIMBED THE ROCK WALL!!!!!! She, Kylie and I were sitting down eating a funnel cake watching the big kids climb it and this was our conversation:

A: "Mommy, I want to climb that wall. Kylie, do you want to come too?"
K: "No way, that's too scary for me!"
Me: "Adrianna, I think you're too little to climb that giant 50ft wall! Let's just eat our funnel cake and watch."
A: "I don't want anymore funnel cake, I want to climb that giant wall"

So, I asked the guy and he said she could do it, just had to be 30 lbs. She ran over to him, stood still to get harnessed and up she went! She kept looking down at us waiving and grinning away. She climbed all the way to the top and then FREE FELL all the way down! She did it again and climbed down the second time. I WAS IN SHOCK! She LOVED it. My little ballerina/athlete..what a mix! :o)

We had an amazing day yesterday. Our church set up a table in the kids area. We had white tiles with outlines of hippos on them for the kids to color in and use as coasters or make into magnets. We went through two cases of them and had a blast! We were able to serve the community and have a family day all in one. It was great.

My little girl is growing up to be such a confident, strong and super smart little lady - - - I absolutely ADORE her! When I have my days that I feel like a sucky mom, days like yesterday show me we must be doing something right, she is amazing!

Today was spent hanging out at home with my beautiful family. Chris and I snuck out for a quick afternoon date consisting of lunch and Target and it was GREAT! Shopping with no kids, now that's F-U-N for sure, LOL.

How cute are these?!?!!?

You know I am totally making these! How cute, huh?

It's time for some reevaluation of my priorities.

I'm stressed out!

I say yes to everything, because I truly love to serve.

I honestly love to give and will give everything and anything I have.

I want to be everything to everyone.

But there are moments, I need to back away and step down.

I'm having one of those moments now....

My Sweet Girl!

This is the note I received from Adrianna's Kindergarten teacher the other day:

"Adrianna works very hard to follow classroom procedures and goes out of her way to be kind to others. She made a new student feel welcome today. Yea!"

My sweet little girl, I am SO proud of her and love her so much! She has a little bit of Chris and I both in her, the best parts of us both!

Happy 8!

Another year, man does TIME FLY!!! Today I am given an opportunity to celebrate another wonderful year with the man I adore and get to call my "Best Friend" and really mean it. Chris is my rock, he is the center of my life, my family, my world, truly. He is my better half. He is the calm in my life, he centers me, pulls me back down when I'm whizzing all over the place! He knows how to talk to me, how to comfort me, how to get me to do what needs to be done...let's say the man knows how to handle me. And, I'm alot to handle, trust me!

He is the greatest dad I know. He's loving, gentle, involved, fun and a great listener for our children.

Hangin' with his little man!
Made sure he was there to walk our little girl to class for the first time!

He is the best friend you can have. He's honest, supportive, loyal and everyone enjoys his company.

Brandon, Jon, Chris, Davey, and Kyle

He is one of the hardest workers I know. He's never satisfied with just punching the clock. The man is a WORK HORSE! He's dedicated, driven, focused and compassionate to all of his employees, they all LOVE him!

My Chris, my sweet, dear husband is the best package you could open. He doesn't run out there trying to make tons of friends or have everyone on his side, he has a quiet confidence, a strength I've never seen in a person. When you are one of the people who know him, you can't help but love him.

This year as we celebrate 8 blissful years, we are in a new home, involved in an awesome church, surrounded by some great friends, have a sweet little kindergartener, an active little 21/2 year old and are trying to have a 3rd little angel to add to our lives. Our life is full and when I try to think of a word to describe my feeling right now, all I can think of is "bliss", pure bliss.


I love you Chris!
Happy Anniversary my love!

OUR WEDDING SONG...

Things are going pretty great right now, busy but good!

We have our "unbalanced" moments, but recover pretty quickly since Chris is one of the most open men I've ever met! Thank God for that! The past two weeks have been exciting, but also very stressful. We've been blessed with food and lots of love from friends and family.

Church stuff is moving along quite nicely.

The house is slowly coming together.

Routine is starting to get back on track a little.

We are kick starting the Orange Santa charity again this year, VERY EXCITING!

I've been asked to be Chairperson for the Hutto Relay for Life this year, HUGE opportunity, haven't said yes yet. I'll let them know in the next day or two. (everyone pretty much knows what the answer will be, wink!)

My 8 year anniversary is coming up in two more days and that's all I can think about right now!

My life is centered around my family first, our finances and budget, our new home, our church, friends and community, my magnet business, holiday parties and outings, and all the other random things too! Just trying to keep a good perspective and balance it all very carefully. :o) This blog now is secondary to my moneysaving blog and Facebook (since it's such quick little tid bits, much easier!). Once the dust settles a little more, I can get back on board with SMS!

The House

Unpacking Update:

Kids rooms - setup and almost unpacked
Our Room - always left till last. :o)
Bathrooms - almost complete
Stockpile stuff - put away nice and neatly
Kitchen - First room finished of course!
Boxes - All broken down and in a neat pile in size order
Laundry - one load in the wash, one in the dryer - - hamper empty
Game Room - as good as it gets for now until we get stuff to fill it! Put old computer armoire in there for Adrianna's computer (our old one)
Backyard - moved in with a completely setup yard, watering it on Friday
Front Porch - Bistro Set setup and just watered the yard this morning.
Closet in Master - almost finished ----LOVE having shelves for my shoes!!!
Closet Downstairs under staircase - Will be the kids' craft/game closet. Set up shelves and put out all their games and our adult games, will work on the craft drawers in there tomorrow.

And that pretty much is where I'm at, Day 5. Baking Halloween cupcakes tomorrow - - - yummmmmm!

Oh, how I LOVE FALL! Time to cook chilis and stews, time to bake and EAT! LOL I made my first batch of cookies yesterday in our new oven, BUT I didn't cook them long enough. The kids loved them and I *heart* raw cookie dough so they were fine. :o) I was so nervous using my new convection oven that I was afraid of burning them.
Here is another recipe I think I'll try this weekend.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

2 1/2 cups of pure cane sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
2/3 cup water
2 whole eggs
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup miniature semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9X5 loaf pans.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water and eggs. Beat until smooth. Blend in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Fold in Chocolate Chips. Fill pans 1/2 full.

Bake for 50 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Cool on wire racks before removing from pans.