MyPoints [Favorite Things]

I've been a member of MyPoints for probably close to 10 years now. I love it because you earn free rewards for shopping online, for taking surveys and for simply reading emails. It's free and as you collect points (easily done) you can redeem them for gift cards to just about anywhere (Starbucks, Target, Kohls...)

Abby [September '09]

One of the coolest things about having kids is watching them become their own people, develop their own personalities and preferences and habits. It's so amazing to watch them grow and change. Here's a little snapshot of Abby's life lately...
Abby...

...loves to color everything rainbow! She thinks it's so boring to just color something one color. I've got to say, I love this about her. :)

...loves babies. She adores her cousin, Reagan, and loves playing with her.

...enjoys teaching. She lights up when she gets to teach something to Carson. It's nice to see that's something that hasn't changed over the last couple years.

...thinks Playhouse Disney is for babies now :)

...loves one on one time.

...loves having her nails painted.

...does not like having her hair fixed.

...loves dresses, heels, and changing clothes all the time.

...loves t-shirts.

...doesn't like button up shirts.

...is very picky about what she wears. :) ha ha

...loves Hannah Montana, Taylor Swift, and David Crowder.

...favorite songs "Last Dollar" by Tim McGraw, "Our Song" by Taylor Swift, and "Awesome God".

...loves having her back "tickled".

Carson [September '09]

Every now and again I try to write down all the things about my kids that I may someday forget. Right now so many of these things seem so normal, but I'm becoming all to aware of how quickly my kids change as well as their likes and dislikes. So here's a little snapshot.

Carson...

...loves playing drums, guitars, and singing with Jackson. He wants to be a drummer when he's "big".

...his favorite songs are "Mighty to Save", "Last Dollar" by Tim McGraw, and "You Never Let Go" by Matt Redman.

...loves falling down.

...plays "Sonic" in the bathtub.

...always makes up words (like "Nupie" - used as both a name and an exclamation, neither good or bad, as in "Hey, nupie!" or "Give that back, nupie!")

...loves watching TV

...loves playing in the back yard

...loves his cars/trucks/trains

...is always talking about all the things he is going to do when he gets older.

...enjoys being in his underwear. I swear I get him dressed in the morning, but as soon as we get home, he takes off his shirt and shorts and says, "I am underwear man!"

...loves getting to ride in his daddy's truck. He gets so excited.

...and, of course, he is still super attached to his animal blanket!

Community Field Trip

Abby's Kindergarten class went on a community field trip today to visit the fire station, police station, library, and the post office! I was fortunate enough to be able to come along and we had a great time getting to see what it's like "behind the scenes". In general, you do not want a field trip ending like this, however...

Thanks to all the awesome people who serve our community and made it an awesome day for our kiddos! I gained a new appreciation for what you do!

Solo [Favorite Things]

I haven't been all that good at doing my quiet time lately, but when I do, this devotional has been rocking my world. Every day there is a passage of scripture to read (and The Message//Remix puts it in today's language so it's easier to understand and sometimes helps you see things in a fresh new light), and then there are questions and guides to get you really thinking and praying about that passage and how God wants to use it in your life.

It's pretty awesome and I highly recommend it! :)

Superman's Identity Crisis

This morning after we dropped Abby off at school, Carson randomly declared, very matter-of-factly, that "Mom, I really AM Superman."

He was pretty thrilled at this idea.

Later on this morning, he came along with me to be my "helper" when we went to take Reagan's one year portraits with Natalie. As we were packing up, I couldn't help but snap a picture as Carson grabbed Reagan's tutu and declared he was going to dress up as a "pinata". Gotta hand it to the kid, he's creative!

I'm still laughing. This picture cracks me up. :)

Sunday Traditions

Sunday is a day of traditions in our house, especially in the fall. We get up in the morning and go to church. After church we come home, lay the kids down for a nap, and I make Southwest Eggrolls. Aaron and I sit on the couch and eat our eggrolls together while watching football (and I might read a book). Later on, we head over to Aaron's parents' for our weekly Sunday night dinner, where we sit on the deck and talk and laugh with them and with Jason and Natalie while the kids swim and the smell of delicious food on the grill fills the air.

Of course, Ammie always has her camera!

Then there's the yummy food...

Then the kiddos watch cartoons while we finish up our dinner conversations...

And then someone finally announces that it's "time o'clock for pie!" (This phrase was coined by Abby when she was a little bitty girl to declare that it was dessert time.)

And, of course, there's always the Cowboys.

I love Sundays and all that they represent -- family, friends, faith, and (duh) food! :) I feel like such a lucky girl to have it so good.

Pat Green Concert

Saw Pat Green last night at Stubb's in Austin and it was A-MAZ-ING. Aaron and I have always said Pat Green is sort of the sountrack of our life (some songs are obvious exceptions, but...), and last night was so much fun! We were right in front of the stage with just a few people in front of us and he put on a great show!

I regret that I only took my point and shoot camera (which I now hate), but I managed to get a few decent pictures.

Reagan

This is my adorable niece Reagan. She and I are just hanging out in my living room having a good ol' time. I found this little rocking chair that is just her size and she loves it!

* BTW, this image is SOC (straight out of the camera, no edits) with the lights off in the living room at ISO 1600. I love my new camera!!!

$12 Date Night

As any parent knows, date nights are easier said than done. Getting time, money, and sitters lined up sometimes seems impossible. So a while back we declared that Monday nights are date nights. We put the kids to bed a little early, turn on a little music, and I sit in the kitchen/on the patio and watch my husband cook up a dinner that is [seriously] simply better than anything you could buy at a restaurant. Everything is quiet and we get the chance to enjoy each other's company without worrying about how much money we'll spend, where we should go, or what time we need to be back to relieve the babysitter. It is positively divine. We weren't so great about keeping up the tradition over the summer with insane schedules, but we started back up again this week and it was fun and much needed.

$12 Date Night
HEB Bacon Wrapped Filets ($6 for two)
Grilled Asparagus ($3)
Parmesan Couscous ($3)

Reading Resources

At the suggestion of her teacher, we are beginning to work more with Abby on her letters, sounds, and [beginning] reading skills in general. I'm looking for ways to make it fun and just purchased Reader Rabbit (which I remember playing as a kid -- can't believe it's still out there) and I'm looking for some resources online that will help her begin to understand it all better. Came across this site that she seems to enjoy and will share more as I find them. If you know of any great resources for enjoyable learning, I'd love to know what they are!

UPDATE: Found this great article on The Mom Crowd. Read it here.

Catching Up

Sorry I haven't really blogged much lately. Last week I was completely exhausted and had a killer headache for most of it as well, so I feel like I'm just now coming back to earth. Not a whole lot has been going on in our household, but I'll post some of the highlights (in no particular order, as they come to mind)...

Today: Took Abby to school so Aaron could sleep in a bit. Abby had kind of a rough morning. She really did not want to go to school today. That was a first. There was much crying when I dropped her off. Stopped by Jason and Natalie's on the way home and hung out for a bit so the boys could play. That was fun. Got home and decided we should go to Starbucks with the awesome gift card Natalie gave me -- what a delicious treat! (We discovered yesterday that they'll even do little kid sized iced chais and the kids were thrilled!) Then we came home and while Carson took a nap, Aaron and I took up playing Mario Kart again. :) He beat me today, but it's just because I'm a little rusty. Ha!

This Weekend: We didn't do a whole lot... which was awesome! Aaron was off on Friday. We took it easy and had Texas Land and Cattle for lunch (thanks to an awesome family in our church!). Yum! I had a short one hour wedding on Saturday at the Inn, but other than that, we just sat around and read, watched TV, and hung out all weekend. Aaron let me have the remote Friday night and he watched several hours of Say Yes to the Dress without even complaining! Also made significant progress through The Count of Monte Cristo. And of course yesterday we went over to Bill and Sandy's for our weekly Sunday dinner and had lots of fun and laughs as always. :) I need to start taking my camera over there and getting pictures.

Last Week wasn't super eventful (see above regarding the headache, sleepiness, etc.), but I will say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the rain! It rained pretty much all week and it was awesome. I'm starting to think that pleasant weather might actually be possible here. Also had the chance last week to hang out with good friend Amanda and help her paint her daughter's room. It was a lot of fun, actually, and painting is always more enjoyable when you have a friend to share it with! :) Oh, and our small group started meeting again after taking a break for the summer. I really missed our group over the summer and I'm really excited to be back together again with some new faces! I'll try to post pictures of that crew sometime soon too.
I didn't mean for this post to be this long. Sorry to bore anyone who might be reading this! :)

Charlie and Lola [Favorite Things]

I love that I have a job where, if need be, I can take a few minutes out of my day to watch the cutest cartoon ever. (I chose to post the one about guinea pigs because the kids as of late have been obsessed with them and they want to have two "skinny pigs" -- as Abby used to call them -- one named Bugsy, like the one from Bedtime Stories, and one named Brittney.)

Rain!

And Abby finally got to wear her rain coat.

One Month...

One month from today, Aaron and I will be bound for Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where we'll be shooting a wedding for some awesome clients of mine. I had to renew my passport and it just arrived -- I'm so excited! Now I think we're about set and all that's left to do is WAIT.

Getting Out There

This morning in my quiet time, I read the following passage in Deuteronomy 6.

4 God, our God! God the one and only!
5 Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that's in you, love him with all you've got!

6-9 Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, stitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.

I was really challenged by it. I feel like oftentimes, I make God a part of my life... put him in a cozy little corner, but if I'm honest, most of the time I'm not really talking about Him morning to night, everywhere I go, and I'm not sure I always love Him the way we are commanded to in verses 4-5.


Over the last couple weeks at church, we've really been challenged to invite friends, neighbors, etc. to a series we have coming up. This week we were so excited to have one of our neighbors visit our church for the first time and they loved it! I was so thrilled, and I felt God really challenging me to invite more of my neighbors. I was excited, but a bit intimidated at the thought. What will they think? Would they even come? and so on.

Sunday afternoon, Aaron came in after talking with David and Shannon (the neighbors who had visited that morning) and told me they are coming back next week and they are bringing another couple of our neighbors next week! How's that for challenging?! They've been one time and already are inviting people. How many people have I been deliberate about inviting over the eight years I have been there? How many excuses have I come up with? Well, I think it's becoming clear that I need to put my fears aside and just get out there and start talking... start really loving God with all of me... it's scary and exciting.

Hold me accountable!

The Park

Carson and I decided to get out of the house for a while to play -- no work, no errands, just fun. So, of course, we headed over to the park where Carson played like he was a giant robot and I sat down with a coke and a book (The Count of Monte Cristo). It was relaxing. I needed that.

It's been kinda fun having just Carson at home during the week. I had a couple years of having just Abby before he was born, and I'm excited about having some special time with just him before he heads off to school in the next couple years.

The other day, we were in the car running errands and he was cracking me up talking about all the things he would be able to do when he was a grown up -- use scissors and knives, walk by his self without a mommy, call Jackson on the phone and say, "Hey man, what's up? How's it going, dude?" It made me laugh.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Last night, Aaron got down his yearbook from his senior yearand reminisced a while. When I pulled out my camera he knew exactly what I was up to and made me promise that I'd at least post my yearbook photo too. :)

Last Days of Summer (Maybe?)

Yesterday, we were out running errands here and there, doing our regular thing and around 4:00, I noticed something... It's not miserably hot outside! I didn't even know what to think. I had become convinced this day would never come! Now, it's probably not realistic for me to think that this might actually last... but we took advantage of it last night and sat outside most of the evening, grilled, and let the kids play in the sprinkler (we're housesitting for Bill & Sandy, by the way, this is not our house. The kids spent most of the evening putting on a concert and making up songs, and Aaron and I couldn't help but smile and enjoy life as it should be.

After the kids went to bed, we decided to mix things up and have a game night like we used to years ago when we had no cable and no money, and we had so much fun... even though he beat me 225-203!

Happy Birthday, Amy!

Amy is one of my dearest friends and one of the wisest women that I have ever known. We met not long before Aaron and I were married and she was one of the few people (sadly) who told me that I was going to LOVE being married -- that it was one of the coolest things ever. Her wisdom, insight, and friendship have been invaluable to me throughout the years and I feel so lucky to call her friend.
Last week she celebrated a very special birthday, so on Friday night she invited her closest friends to celebrate with her at Maggiano's. It was an amazingly fun time with good friends, good conversation, and (of course) good food. We did their "Family Style" dining and had course after course of delicious italian fare. The kicker came after we had stuffed ourselves silly with cheesecake and creme brulee (not to mention the stuffed mushrooms, calamari, gnocci, lasagna, chianti beef, and chicken saltimbocca that had come before), the waiter walked out with MORE desserts! Unbelievable!