Happy Fall Y'all

I can not believe that 2009 is almost over. Where has this year gone? How has it been nearly 10 months since my last post? I recently started updating my recipe blog , to get all my recipes in one place. In doing so, it has gotten me excited about returning to blogging. It also helps that I have a brand new *shiny* reliable laptop (thanks honey!) that makes getting on the computer fun. Back in January, our family PC began giving us fits. I only got on it when it was absolutely necessary because it stressed me to deal with that dumb machine!

Another reason to start posting again-my boys. They miss seeing their lives on here. Since I am not a "scrapbooker", I originally started this blog to log their lives. They loved seeing their pictures and would often ask me to read what I wrote in posts about them. They were always telling me things like "take a picture of this to put on your blog" or "you should blog about this". I plan to make a blog book containing posts about our family - so they would have a scrapbook. Side note- I was telling Amber today about the blog books that you can make at The Cutest Blog on the Block. Has anyone made one of these? My hope is to recap our 2009 over the next several weeks. I am looking forward to doing these posts, as it will be fun to look back over the year and relive our memories.

We are having beautiful Fall weather here in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. I am looking forward to getting out and enjoying it with my four guys this weekend. That is if C. starts feeling better, he started running fever today and even got "sick" tonight. I thought it was Strep Throat again, but now wondering if it is the flu. Confused though because they all had the flu mist on Wednesday. hmm... Poor little guy! Looks like we will not be hanging out with friends to watch the TX/OU game on Satuday.
Hook 'Em Horns!!

Until next time friends and family (let me know if you are reading this...) enjoy your weekend!

Pumpkin Patch Photos

This year I wanted to try a new pumpkin patch so we drove to Flower Mound today. It was a nice patch, but I think we will go back to the pumpkin farm next year. What a beautiful spring day (yes, I did say Spring)!

He was so excited to see his friend Mickey. I thought it was cute that he wanted to hold his hand.
Climbing the hay pyramid.
Giving it his all but it was just too little to make it to the top.
They made it!
He kept saying "I'm King of the World"
Taking the small leap down
Finishing the hay maize

I think Jeremy's favorite part was the area called Punkin Chunkin.
This was so adorable - he saw Tigger and ran as fast as he could to give him a hug.
So proud to have his picture made with his friend!
Taking a break
They were not stingy - I think the boys rode the ferris wheel for at least five minutes.

Water Day

On Thursday I took the boys to one of our town's splash parks. We started out with a picnic and I ended the day sunburned (trying to fix my farmer's tan). It was fun to see the youngest get in and play with his brothers (up until this point sprinklers of any kind were not his friend). We had a great time.

Taking Advantage of the Cool Front

Okay so it was really not cool, but 85 degrees is much better than the almost 100 degree weather we have been experiencing.

In our neighborhood we have ducks - so we decided to feed them before heading out to lunch. Our 20 month old was so excited to be close to the "quack, quacks"! He did not feed them - he was more interested in holding one.



After lunch we stopped at a park we had never played at before. There was lots of room to run around and explore. By this time the "cooler" temperatures had left and were replaced with mid- 90's so we headed to Sonic for drinks. I love Sonic drinks, but Jeremy on the other hand does not - he thinks they taste like the styrofoam cup. I think he is truly missing out!

When we got home the boys decided to cool off in the sprinklers before nap/rest time. I took advantage of their rest time to read Sisterchicks do the Hula. I am so glad I found out about this series - I am really enjoying the books.

Recap of Stuff

Today started a four day weekend for my 8 year old. Jeremy is out of town for work, so I encouraged everyone to sleep in this morning. I even put them to bed later than usual just to help them out a bit. No such luck - my 3 year old was up a little before 7 with his big brother not far behind him. Maybe they do not understand the meaning of sleeping in? ;o)

My sweet 19 month old listened to his mother's request and slept until almost 10, but it was not because he wanted to please his mommy, it was because he is sick. Yes, he woke up with fever (my 3 year old is better - his broke yesterday afternoon). I am praying that maybe his will not get as high as his brother's (yesterday it reached 104) and that he will not pass it to his 8 year old brother or to his parents.

Since I am using this as a scrapbook of sorts there are things I need to recap that have happened over the last several days. So bare with me and I hope to not bore you too much. Here we go...

Last Friday Jeremy took the day off from work and he asked me to go play golf with him. Okay, maybe play is too strong of a word, more like ride in the golf cart with him. When we were dating I used to go with him and we would enjoy just spending time together free of distractions. So we took our 8 year old to school and dropped the little guys off at the "babysitting place" (as my 3 year old calls it) and headed to the course. It was a cool beautiful morning and we had a great (relaxing) time together. I was able to even do some reading for our trip to San Diego. As you can see from the pictures I even picked up a club or two.


Saturday I started enjoying my mother's day gift - 24 hours alone to rejuvenate. I know I am completely spoiled but I do not take my sweet husband's generosity for granted - I was thankful for every moment. I spent my time watching old movies (The Truman Show ), making cards, catching up on blogs, enjoying room service a little too much (I had two cream brulees - so good but very bad for my diet) and just a whole lot of nothing.

It was w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l!!


Sunday afternoon our church had baptism and we were able to be there to see our nieces' be baptized. It is such a celebration to see someone be baptized but it was extra special to watch these precious girls publicly say they are going to live their lives for Jesus.


My brother Bruce and his fiance Jen watched the little boys so we could just take our oldest and give him our whole attention. Our big guy asked Jesus into his heart March 21 (Good Friday). It was such a sweet time for Jeremy and I with him, but it almost did not happen because of his fear of the water. He knows that baptism has nothing to do with his salvation but that it is usually the next step - so due to his fear - he almost decided to wait until he was older. We promised him that he could wait until he was ready to be baptized and now we are praying that this will be his summer that God helps him conquer his fear.


After the baptism we celebrated birthdays and mother's day. It was a nice ending to a great weekend.


Finally, on Monday my boys enjoyed the signs of summer with our first days of 90+ degree weather. The baby was not to pleased by the surprise of the sprinkler system coming on, which really disappointed his big brothers because they wanted him to play with them. He decided that he would stay on the sidewalk a safe distance away from the water (he kept repeating "cold"). The popsicle was another story - it was his first one and with his first bite he closed his eyes and said "Mmmm". Of course he did not understand when he kept saying "more" over and over again why I would not give him another one. So the great experience of the popsicle ended in tears.

Well, there you go - a recap. I hope that you and your family have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. :o)

Strawberry Pickin'

On May 3rd we took the boys to Granbury to pick Strawberries. I wanted these city kids to know that food comes from somewhere other than the grocery store. Actually my 8 year old said "Why are we going to a farm to pick strawberries? They have them at Target!" Oh good grief! I want them to have some of the same memories I had as a child at my grandparent's and uncle's farm. I loved to go to the garden and help pick things from the garden. As a three year old I would pick spring onions and eat them - dirt and all. I remember digging potatoes out of the ground - it was like finding a little treasure.

I forgot how good a warm ripe strawberry tastes! Even though our 8 year old thought the whole idea was silly, he had a great time (so did everyone else). We are going to go back in the summer to pick peaches, blackberries and veggies. If you live in the Dallas/ Fort Worth area you should take the drive to Granbury - you will not be disappointed. For Fall Creek Farms website click here.

After we ate all we could last week, we had enough left over to freeze three bags of berries. I found two great smoothie recipes here (The Bargain Shopper Lady's personal blog) that I can not wait to try. Check it out! :o)

This and That

My oldest convinced me to send him to school today. He said he was feeling much better, but I wonder if he is or if it is because there is a kids party tonight at our church?! The other two are doing a little better too. I slept so good last and have a bit more energy today - not sure if it is the sleep or the caffeine (yummy coffee). Whatever it is I will take it.

We had another Spring storm last night. In our town we had a lot of rain and a little hail. I know the meteorologists have to do their job, but why did they have to preempt Lost and The Office? And The Office was new!! Where my friend Tamora lives they had some serious hail - the ground was covered - they received 4 inches of hail!!! You HAVE to go here to see the pictures - I have never seen anything like it!

One of my blog friends, His Girl is having a birthday today. This is the first post I read on her blog back in November. I was hooked immediately, because I could have written that post myself (the cleaning part anyway). In the past 5 months, I have learned more about my new friend and I realize we have more in common than our aversion to house cleaning. Jeremy jokes that we might have been separated at birth. You should check out her blog, she has such a gift of taking the everyday and bringing spiritual relevance out of the situation. I think she should write a devotional book for women, because God really speaks through her. Happy birthday Amber!! I hope you have a very special day. :o)

Monday is weigh in day! Since I have been sick this week I have not worked out, so I am anxious to see how much weight I have lost. My new work out Turbo Jam is in route to my house via UPS as I type. For those of you on this weight loss journey with me, I will leave you a little Turbo Jam inspiration. I know I will be watching this video over and over to motivate myself for my first workout on Monday!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Crazy Early Morning...

I was awoken this morning around 3:30 AM by the sounds of strong winds. I turned on the TV and the meteorologist was saying to take cover in our area. I hesitated because I did not want to wake up the boys if I did not have to, but around 4:00 our city's sirens went off. Of course, about that time our Satellite went out - why does it always go out when we need it the most? After waking the boys and getting them in the closet, I called and woke Jeremy up in New York City so he could watch the local radar on his computer and tell us when the storm had past (thanks honey). We had high winds at almost 90 miles per hour, but thankfully there was no damage in our area. Other towns in the Metroplex were not as lucky, many of them have lots of damage and no electricity today. Praising God that there was no one killed and very few injuries reported.

Once things calmed down I put the oldest two in my bed, as they did not want to sleep alone. I was concerned that the little one might not go back to sleep, but at around 4:30 all was quiet. Needless to say 6:30 came very quickly and we are all a little tired around here today - but I am smiling because we have beautiful sunshine and blue skies. I was even able to meet my friend Lainie for a play date before lunch - our boys had fun and we had a great visit.

Speaking of lunch, I posted a healthier version of a Paula Deen sandwich on my recipe blog. If you like asparagus you will love this one.

I am looking forward to tomorrow because I am having lunch with Karen. Jeremy has been out of town most of the week, so I am excited about having a break from the boys and time to catch up with my friend.

Now I am off to take a nap before it is time to walk to pick up the oldest from school. Aah naps - gotta love 'em.

Spring - Love/Hate Relationship

Thanks everyone for your encouraging comments on my exercise and diet. I am also glad to have a few friends joining me in this journey (Julie, Amy & Tamora). Tuesday's walk went much better than Monday's - leaving earlier was the key. Today I decided to walk at home with Leslie Sansone because I was not sure what the weather was going to do this afternoon. Speaking of weather...

I have said before that Spring and Fall are my favorite seasons. If you asked me to choose just one, I do not think I could because I love them both for so many reasons. But there is one thing that may give Fall an edge over Spring - Tornadoes.

April 10, 1979 - I was a six year old living in a little town (Iowa Park) eleven miles north of Wichita Falls. On that day a F4 tornado that was nearly a mile and a half wide hit Wichita Falls (see video here and here) killing 42 people and causing $400 million in damage. Even though our town was not hit, I have vivid memories of that day and night that have stayed with me - some who know me would say even scarred me for life (okay most would say).

My parents were so good to help me get through tornado season every year. We always had a weather radio (something I should have in my home). Every time we moved my dad would get me a map or a list of all the surrounding counties so I could follow where the storms were. I always knew the best room in the house to go to if I ever had to take cover. I knew so much about tornadoes that you would think I would have become a meteorologist! :o)

As an adult my fears and anxiety have subsided somewhat, I think I learned to finally give them to God. Monday (3/31) was the first time I had to calm someone's fears other than mine. We had bad weather all around us and our city's tornado sirens went off. The dreaded sirens means one thing - take cover. A funny side note - our three year old kept saying that day and for the rest of the week - "Mom are the tomatoes coming" - cracked me up! The oldest two were freaking out! I realized right there that I did not want to pass on my fears to them. We went into my closet and we prayed together. I did not want the closet to be a scary experience, so they had snacks and played with Uncle Bruce's guitar. The funnel clouds did not touch the ground and yet again God protected us. It was such a reversal for me to be the one doing the calming. Growing up feels really good.

A Post about Nothing...

Wii got the feva - oh - I know that is so corny - but I could not help myself. I am so very sorry...

We have been looking for a Wii since after Christmas, since several of our friends told us about how much fun their family has had together playing games on it. As I type Jeremy is playing Guitar Hero III, I have to admit so far my uncoordinated, rhythm challenged self is not very good (okay I am really bad) at Guitar Hero - but I am not giving up - I am determined to master at least one song on the easy level. We have enjoyed playing tennis, bowling and boxing. You can get an upper body workout with these games - I am not going to lie, I was so sore after a long night of boxing and playing tennis. I know eventually they will come out with a game that is a complete 30 minute (fun) body workout and I will be first in line to buy it. Here are some pictures of the boys playing (please ignore the walls as we are in the process of sprucing up the place).

We spent Saturday with Jeremy's family - he had relatives in town and we did an early birthday party for our soon to be 8 year old boy. I brought my friend Allison's salad to lunch - it has become one of my favorites. We are reaching a milestone this year - our oldest was excited to get gift cards instead of wrapped gifts. In years past, cards were tossed aside for the gift, but this year he actually read the cards and was excited about the money and gift cards, because he wanted to buy a game for the Wii. Jeremy's Aunt gave him a Marshmallow gun that he loved - it is different than his other one, as you shoot the marshmallows out like a spit wad. The boys loved playing with their cousins - we live in the same town and even go to the same church, but do not get together like we should. It was a fun day, as you can see from the pictures below, and the baby even got many bites (straight from the cake) from Jeremy's granny (is he spoiled or what?).

Once we were home I checked the mail and I was excited that I had mail from His Girl. Two readers of her blog won a little giveaway that she had in honor of her 100th post. Here is what was in my package.

I can not tell you how happy I am to have these scripture cards! The fact that she took time to pray about which verses to send me and then personalized them means so much (and the verses are spot on for me). I love them so much that my co-leader and I are going to give personalized scripture cards to the ladies at our table at the end of the semester. Thank you so much for the cards A. - what a blessing! :o)

I think I may be in the minority, but I was excited about the time change. Okay maybe the first night was hard losing that hour of sleep, but now that that is over -I love it! It makes me happy that we have more time to do things outside as a family in the evening. It also means Spring is on its way - ah my favorite season. Today after a very strange morning of pea soup fog (I'm not kidding while driving to Bible Study I could maybe see 20 yards in front of me) it turned out to be a beautiful Spring day. While driving home from lunch with Jeremy, I noticed trees and plants budding and it made me smile. One thing I enjoy about Spring is that I can open all the windows and let fresh air in - I love hearing the birds singing, the children playing outside and feeling the breeze (does that sound a little Pollyannaish?). While making dinner tonight ,we had a minor incident that thankfully ended with a break in cooking for a time to play outside instead of a visit to the Emergency Room. You would think that I would have learned from the older two that you can not leave a toddler by an open window. He pushed the screen out and after being alerted by my 3 year old that his brother had fallen out of the window I found him just like this - he was so proud of himself. After making sure he was okay, I had to grab my camera.

Well, if you have made it to the end of this rather long (and I admit probably boring) random post you must be a true friend or my parents. :o)

Amazing - just - Amazing!

Well - the snow definitely came down today! We had a great time playing in the snow this afternoon! The snow flakes were the biggest we have ever seen, they looked like snowballs. Jeremy's office closed early and he ran by the store because the boys did not have gloves or hats. Of course on the snowiest day we have seen in years, our 7 year old left his coat at school! So to play in the snow he had to borrow one of mine. :o)

After building our snowman we came in for hot chocolate and popcorn. Then tonight we will probably have a fire in the fireplace. Since this is very rare - we milk snow days for all they are worth! I am so thankful for such fun memories!!

Twice in one week...

This is just crazy! I took this picture a few minutes ago. The weatherman (remember we have to take what he says with a grain of salt. See here.) is saying 3 to 5 inches of snow by Friday morning. That may not sound like much, but for the Dallas/Fort Worth area that is a blizzard. Trying not to get my hopes up. I'll keep you posted. :o)