Please Pray...

Please pray for our friend Liz, an 8th grader in our youth ministry, who found out she has cancer in her leg and will have to start chemotherapy on Monday. She is an awesome young lady. Please pray for God's healing hand. Follow her journey on her blog.

In a Pickle...

In a pickle great joy can be found.

They have been selling pickes at school for the past couple weeks and Abby had desperately been wanting one... so one day last week I gave her a dollar before school. When I was in line waiting to pick her up, it was so cute watching her proudly walking up to the concession stand with her dollar and asking for a pickle. I loved seeing the wide grin on her face when she got into the car with pickle juice running down her chin and I couldn't help but laugh when she turned to me and, with complete sincerity and contentment, said, "This pickle is fantastic and has just the right bit of sour that I had been wanting."


* I took this picture with my phone, so don't judge. :)

The Weekend 11.16.09

Not a whole lot is going on around here lately, but things are good! We had a really nice weekend spent with family and friends, and the weather was amazing. We ate out a couple times this weekend which was both a wonderful treat and an eye-opener since we've been watching what we eat. We made a point to share entrees this time and it makes a big difference... and we still left full. Here's a pic Aaron took with his phone of the kids on the tractor at Longhorn Cafe.

Today Abby and Aaron went to the corner store to look for something and came back with these... I think they're hilarious and the kids have been wearing them all afternoon... The simple pleasures in life.

Favorite Things:

- Longhorn Cafe

- Cheesecake Factory cheesecake (Dulce de Leche and Godiva Chocolate were my favorites this weekend)

- I also want to give a shout out to the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, who worked a miracle on my kitchen table today. A couple months ago, Abby colored on the kitchen table with a silver paint marker and I couldn't get it off with anything... until today when I pulled out the (appropriately named) Magic Eraser and, voila! Within 5 seconds the silver was completely gone. I am still in awe.

- Amazon.com's Universal Wish List Button

Abby's Photo Journal [11.13.2009]

Abby has been very interested in taking pictures lately, so tonight when we got home from dinner, I let her take pictures of whatever she wanted to. I just always think it's interesting to see what people (especially kids) are drawn to. :)

Reading

Tonight we were just hanging out and Abby was (on her own) working on writing some of her "blends" [ta, te, ti, to, tu...] and I decided to pull out a piece of paper and write a few three letter words on there to see what she could do. Before I knew it she had read 10 words! I was so shocked! So then I typed out a full sheet of three letter words and you know what??? She read every single one of them without any help (except for bed, which she swore to me was "beb" -- hence the giant scribble. It upset her greatly!). I was so proud and surprised at how far she's come and how great she's doing!

Cousins

I just love that these guys are so close. I have great memories with my cousins and I love watching these guys make their own.

Community [Favorite Things]

This show gets funnier every week. This has bypassed all other shows to become my favorite show (although I still love The Office, Project Runway, and Top Chef). Last night's episode was the funniest yet. You can see it here.

Making Changes

A couple of weeks ago, Aaron and I decided it was time to make some changes in our diet/lifestyle. We've both packed on a few more pounds than we're happy with over the past year or two. We haven't really started exercising much yet, but we have started really watching what we're eating and tracking it on LiveStrong.com. It's made a pretty huge difference in how we feel and in our weight. I've lost 2-3 pounds and Aaron has lost 12 pounds! Isn't that amazing?! (His line is the blue one and mine is the grey one.) It's been a pretty fun process. We've sort of made a game of it with eachother. I'll keep you posted on our progress and you keep me accountable! :)

Favorite Things:
LiveStrong.com - My Daily Plate
Wii Fit

Dinner Ideas?

I need new recipes.

I have a hard time getting excited about cooking dinner sometimes, and I feel like I've run out of ideas. On top of that, we're really trying to eat healthier, so a lot of my "go-to" recipes are out. :)

I'd love to hear what some of your favorite dinners are!

Abby's Heaven

Abby just adores babies, and more specifically she adores her cousin, Reagan. And that would be the biggest understatement of the century. She always wants to be touching, carrying, holding, walking, playing with, or feeding her. Tonight Jack and Reagan are over while Jason and Nat go on a date, and Reagan came and crawled into Abby's lap, and she is just elated that she gets to hold her in her lap. It's cute. :)

Lost Maples

Today Carson and I went out with some friends of ours from church to Lost Maples State Park for some senior portraits. I was pretty excited because I've always heard so much about it and how beautiful all of the fall colors were. Plus, a scenic drive through the Hill Country is always a plus.

Well, due to the drought there weren't a whole lot of colors. A lot of green to brown. Regardless, we enjoyed the hiking, the company, and the drive. Carson had a great time hiking, and despite the cool weather, he couldn't resist jumping into the water and splashing around. Boys will be boys.





Favorite Things:
- Texas State Parks
- Pumpkin Pie Blizzard from Dairy Queen. Wow.

Extreme Makeover Kids' Room Edition

Since we'd moved the kids into the same room, we never really took the time to decorate it in any form. We decided the other day that it was time to do something about it.

BEFORE





IN PROCESS...






AFTER
It still needs a few personal touches and I'm going to paint the dresser when I get the time and energy to do so, but the kids love it so far and Carson is super excited to get into bed every night (he's on top). He calls it his "attic".

Favorite Things:
- Burlington Coat Factory
- Craigslist
- Hobby Lobby

Halloween 2009

It all started Friday afternoon when I walked out into the front yard and saw Aaron pulling in the driveway with "Grilliath". We had planned on having some neighbors over on Halloween and cooking out in the front yard, but this was overkill. I rolled my eyes and was slightly embarrassed at the grill the size of our driveway, but Aaron assured me. If we wanted to reach out to our neighborhood, nothing will draw people like a giant grill.

Turns out he was right. We had a great night last night hanging out with family and neighbors. We set up a "jumpy castle" that Jason and Natalie brought and everyone had a great time! We gave out tons of candy, hot dogs, and burgers and met lots of new people who were completely taken aback that complete strangers would invite them to hang out and have a hot dog.

When it got dark, we took all the kids out trick-or-treating and, needless to say, they had a great time. Abby, for the past month or so, had been planning on being a doctor, but she decided last minute (literally) that she wanted to be a princess. And Carson was a jack-in-the-box. He enjoyed singing the little song and then popping up and saying "Wa-Puff!" (Not sure where he came up with that sound, but it was cute.) I was cracking up at Carson, who after we had been trick or treating a while, he just stopped and said, "Mom, I have all the candy I need right here. I'm not going to get any more." I was shocked and decided maybe he was just tired, but he patiently walked from house to house with us as the other kids ran to get more candy. Later on, I said, "Carson, why don't you go up to the door at this house," to which he replied, "Mom, I told you I don't want any more candy!" Not long after that when we got home, he said, "Can I please go to bed now?" Who are you and what have you done with my son?

He was back to his usual self this morning though. When I woke up he had already had at least two pieces of candy and was getting into more.


At any rate, it was a great night. Thanks to Bill and Sandy, who took pictures of the whole thing! I was being lazy. :)