Tooth...You're Outta Here

It was Christmas Eve, and we were getting showered and changed to go to our Christmas Eve service. My husband and I were in our bathroom getting ready. I had laid the kids clothes out and instructed them to get dressed.

The next thing we hear is my daughter; she comes running in the bathroom crying. The first thing I see is blood. I'm like OH NO!

She opens her hand and it's her tooth, it has been loose for a couple of months. Whew! I think to myself...just a tooth. I am cheering...yeah sissy that's great!



OH no, she is hysterical. Screaming, "no no, I don't want my tooth out. DADDY, PUT IT BACK IN!!!!" I am trying so hard not to laugh, because she is really traumatized by this. She is still standing there crying, asking her daddy to put it back in. We are both trying to explain that's not the way it works. We finally calm her down and get her to except the reality....it ain't going back in!

Apparently, she used her teeth to try and open her pants hanger. Yeah, bad idea! The tooth was pretty loose, but not quite ready to come out yet. So come to find out it had a little help coming out.

My aunt gave her a tooth fairy pillow. We explained to her how that all worked. She wasn't too sure about the tooth fairy coming that close to her while she was sleeping. She said, How about I hang the pillow on the door knob. I am thinking...great..makes my job easier.

Then, daddy had to go and bring up the whole Santa thing. He said...do you think Santa AND the tooth fairy can come on the same night?? So, then she got a little apprehensive and said "Why don't I wait til tomorrow night." So thankfully, Santa and the tooth fairy did not have a collision.

'Fro me to you - What he'll do to get a laugh

I love this man y'all; I really do! This is one of many things he will do to get a laugh from his children; and me as well for that matter. What pray tell, you ask is that on his head?? That would be a rubber glove.

Then he does this to really get a chuckle...


Oh yes, that's right! He pulls it down over his face and blows it up with his nose until it flies off his head and lands across the room. The children fall into fits of laughter on the floor. I just sit back and shake my head. He smiles and thinks to himself...mission accomplished!

Now go join the fun at We are THAT family!

O Christmas Tree

I am participating with We are THAT family, in showing off our Christmas Tree.




We have a couple of traditions. One is the hubby and I collect Christopher Radko ornaments. We usually try to pick one up whenever we go on vacation. If we can't find one, then we try to find an ornament to remind us of our vacation. I'm not the buy a t-shirt kind of girl. An ornament suits our style a little better.

Like, earlier this year hubby and I got to go to Canada for 4 days. He won the trip through his work. While there we visited the Frontenac Hotel, we brought home an ornament that looks like the hotel.

We also try to buy each one of the kids an ornament every year. That way when they grow up and have their own tree, they will have some ornaments. We try to buy an ornament that represents them and the time they are at in their life. Like when princess was 3 years old, that year we got her an ornament that looks like a paint palette. She loved to paint with water colors. The child painted EVERY single day. Little man got a train as his ornament last year because he loves trains.

Please take notice of my NEW tree skirt. It just arrived in the mail today. So of course I had to take the old one out, put the new one on and take a new picture. I absolutely love it. I purchased it from Etsy store called Primsncountry

Karen over there at Primsncountry is fabulous!! She makes this stuff herself and does a wonderful job. Go visit her!

Now go visit Kristen at We are That family and show us your tree!

Just a Parade kind of day!

This morning we attended the Dallas Neiman Marcus/Adolphus Christmas Parade. It was awesome. The first time we went Princess was 2 years old. We have not been back since then. We decided it was time to start the tradition again. Both of them are old enough to enjoy it and brave the cold weather. So we went for it. We were not disappointed!

Here is Sissy, bundled up and ready for the show.


Brother, ready and waiting.

Here's just a few things we got to see.....


We got to see Sissy's favorite My little Pony - Pinky Sparkle. Sissy was beside herself with excitement!

Mr Potato Head...from Toy Story of course. This was little man's favorite!

It was pretty chilly that morning while waiting for the parade to start. As the day went it along it warmed up. So, after the parade we went over to the West End and ate lunch outside.

Here's Nana and sissy, waiting for our lunch.


Daddy and brother waiting for lunch as well! It was wonderful morning!



We went home and took a rest. Then we headed out for our small town's Christmas parade. It was nothing in comparison to the the Dallas parade, but it was still a good time.


Here's our Motley Crew, waiting for the parade to start. This is Brother, Sissy, some cousins and a neighbor.


Here's a little of what we saw...
This was our church's float. Which by the way, won 3rd place!! GO FBC!




It was just a parade kind of day and a nice FREE way to usher in the Christmas Season!

Put it up...Take it down

The little man has been driving me crazy ya'll! We put our tree up Tuesday night. Everyone was so excited, the house was all decorated. Even if it was 60 degrees outside and we were sweating a little bit. That bad boy was up and decorated.

Well ever since the minute my feet hit the floor Wednesday morning, little man, who is 3, almost 4, has been bustin' my chops wanting to take it all down. He just doesn't get the concept of leaving it up til Christmas. I walk in the living room and he is standing in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips, he says "Ok mom, let's put it up." I said "what??" He said "all this Christmas stuff, let's put it back up in the attic." I said "Oh no sir!" I have tried to explain ya'll; I really have. Hubby has tried to explain. But about every 30 minutes for the past 3 days he comes and tells me it's time to put it up, and we go through the entire conversation AGAIN.

This evening he started to say something again. I said "Whoa, if you are about to talk about the Christmas decorations, just zip it right now, cause I ain't listenin'. Yeah, that didn't work. 21 more days to go...oh joy!

I think it just kind of messes with him because we have to rearrange the furniture a little bit; o.k. A LOT. The love seat has to be removed so the tree can go in it's place. So I think it just kind of throws him off. He likes consistency and routine. And I have totally thrown a wrench into that. Well, he might as well get used to it...he as a long life ahead of women throwing wrenches into his routine. I'm just sayin'

Cross Country Travelers

Well with the hubby still in Maryland after his mom's funeral to help his brother and sister with all the details; it was up to me and my mom to get us and the kids back to MD for Uncle J's wedding. So we loaded up a friends minivan, pack to the hilt with everything from DVD players to a potty chair, and the biggest snack bag you ever did see! Plus we were pulling a 10x6 foot enclosed trailer, so hubby could bring back things from his mom's house.

So we left Texas on Friday night October 31st, unfortunately a lot later than I had planned. We borrowed a friends van, we figured that would be more comfortable going that far than our pickup. We picked it up Friday morning and had driven it all day running errands getting everything together. We get it all loaded up and get in to leave and it won't start. So my friends husband had to come over at 11 p.m. and put in a new battery. Can I just say thank you Lord for 24 hour Walmart's!!

SO, we get all loaded up again and start to leave and little man's fanny no more hits the seat, and he throws up! OH MY WORD! So out we go....change his clothes, clean him up. Load up again and we are finally off. They slept all night and mom and I drove.

I made sure that we stopped at important historic landmarks, you know every child should know about the King of Rock-N Roll. Yes ma'am I took them to Graceland!! Thank you, thank you very much. We did not do the tour...if little man would have went in the house; Elvis' house would have never been the same. They were

so excited. They love Elvis. I have the Aloha from Hawaii concert on DVD. Little man used to have to watch it everyday as soon as he woke up. Yep, I'm raisin' em' right!

We loaded back up and made it to Pigeon Forge for the night. A little out of the way but I wanted my mom to see Pigeon Forge. It was so beautiful, the trees were all changing colors. It was beautiful time of year to make the drive from Texas to Pennsylvania.

We finally made it Sunday evening to Maryland where hubby was staying at his mom's. We picked him up and headed to Pennsylvania to Aunt L's and Uncle S's where we would be staying for the week. They hadn't seen daddy for two weeks. They were excited to say the least.

Monday
Down the street from Aunt L's is a cornfield...look at my little corn huskers.

Monday, we went and took care of some stuff at Momma G's house. Then we went and had supper with Uncle J and soon to be Aunt J. This was the first time they had ever seen the kids in person. So that was an exciting time. This would be the only time we got to spend with them this week, do to the fact they were getting married on Saturday.

Tuesday
On Tuesday we had to make a trip to the mall because I forgot to pack hubby's dress pants for the wedding. Oops! Then we came back to Aunt L's house and played in the leaves. We don't have many trees at our house so we never have the opportunity to jump in the leaves. But they made the most of it this day.

Wednesday/Thursday
Mom and I got to do something we have been wanting to do for a long time....go to Amish country. Hubby's sister and brother-in law were able to join us; they took the rest of the week off to spend with us. So we headed to Lancaster County PA! I loved it there so much I made them go back on Thursday too.

We took a little ride...

with an Amish man named Menno. It was interesting learning about their culture and simple way of life.
Then it was time for mommy to get her shopping on...at here

and here

Yes, there is a town called Intercourse. We did a lot of shopping there..and can I just say I love Intercourse; Pennsylvania that is. They had t-shirts that said Intercourse was all I thought it would be....too funny. I started to buy one...but then decided against it, because then I would feel I needed to explain to all the people back in Texas who would be staring at me. We also went shopping here...

I'm thinking of making this our Christmas card...whadaya think?

After we shopped till we dropped in Lancaster County, we headed up the road to Hershey, PA. OHHH YEAHH! Where the street lights look like Hershey Kisses.

We toured the chocolate factory and here's a shot of little man...the boy LOVES chocolate. He was so excited he could hardly contain himself...

Princess and little man got to be "factory workers"...

A good time was had by all....


Friday
Friday morning, they made bird feeders with Aunt L...before we headed out for the day.

Then we headed to Washington DC. For those of you who don't think my history lesson at Graceland was sufficient...I did take them to our nations capital. With the election only having been a couple days prior...I was a little worried about what might be going on down around the White House. We packed a lunch and had a picnic on the lawn between the White House and the Washington National Monument. And did a little walking around. The kids got bored of it real quick...just so you know they like Graceland better...heehee

Saturday
Then it was time for the wedding. We have been waiting a while for Uncle J to settle down. We are so excited he did and we love Aunt J. It was a bittersweet day without Momma G there. They honored her well and she was not forgotten on that day.

In their "wedding clothes" as they called them...

The wedding was beautiful. They reception was a lot of fun. Princess danced the whole night. By the end of the reception she was in the middle of the dance floor with everyone one else in a circle around her. Daddy and I were sitting off to side with our heads in our hands, wondering what this meant for her future.

Here with daddy and Uncle J....

After the wedding, we loaded up and headed back to Texas. It was good to get away and have some family time together. The kids did a great job traveling that long for their ages. I was very proud of them. But, it's always good to be home...

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

The past several weeks have been simply crazy. My sweet mother in law lost her battle with cancer on October 18th. She has been battling cancer off and on for the last year and a half. We were told that she had two weeks to live on the October 17th and they recommended hubby go home to see her. We booked him a flight that night to leave the next morning, but before he could board the plane the next morning she passed away.

Having to buy a plane ticket at the last minute is not cheap. So we could only afford for him to fly up there. Then through a turn of events it became possible that I could be there as well for the funeral. God truly knows the desires of our heart. I wanted so badly to be there for my husband at such a difficult time and was very frustrated that finances would not allow us to both be able to go. God and I had a little heart to heart on my way home from taking him to the airport that Saturday morning. I am so glad we have a God who loves us, and allows us to pitch a hissy fit. Which is basically what I did in my truck on the way home.

Looking back I think that God was probably just sitting back looking at the big picture knowing what was going to happen the next day; and just allowing me to pitch my fit. He was probably smiling down, saying "oh you of little faith."

The next day was a Sunday; my mom, the kids and I went on to church. Can I just say... I love my church family. As the news traveled around, people began asking how they could help. I just asked them to pray for my husband and his brother and sister. My husband had not seen his mom since last Thanksgiving. Between rounds of chemo she came down and spent a week with us. And I know my hubby was dealing with some guilt of not making it back it time to see her before she passed.

We had made plans and were to be there just two weeks later for his brother's wedding. We were going to go the week before the wedding and spend some time with Momma G. and have a little family vacation. But God had a different plan and took her home before we went up.

Anyway, I was talking with one of our deacons and expressing to him how I wished I could be with my husband at this difficult time. He mentioned he may have some air miles he could give to me. He was afraid he didn't have enough though. He said he would mention it to our youth group and see if any of their parents might have some they could donate.

So as I am walking out to the truck after church; our Sunday School teacher Mr. C ,stops me in the parking lot. He says to me...I hear you need some air miles. Of course I start boohooing. (His granddaughter is in the youth group and told him what was happening) I tell him that it would be such a huge blessing if I could go and be with my hubby during this difficult time. He says no problem...we will get you fixed up. He said, now I only have enough for one flight. I said no problem, the kids can stay here with my mom. He said I will call you when I get home and can look up the available flights. He said, now there might be a small fee because we are requesting to use the air miles at the last minute. This was Sunday and I was needing to fly out Wednesday morning to make it to the first viewing Wednesday night. I said no problem, anything has to be better than what they are trying to charge me. Hang on....blessings are still to come.

So then, I am on my way home and my aunt calls me and says why don't you come over for lunch. I said ok...so we head to her house for lunch. I get there and she meets me on the front porch. She said you just got a blessing. I was like I know, can you believe he is going to donate air miles to me (I thought she was talking about the air miles). She said no...MR. W, (another deacon from church) just stopped by and dropped this off for you, and she hands me a check. She said, he just wanted to help anyway he could and wasn't sure how. I opened the check and it was for $100. I was floored, and the tears flowed again

So fast forward to later that afternoon, I get the call from Mr. C about the air miles. First let me say...I hate to fly and even worse...flying alone. I also hate when I have to have a layover. I am a nervous wreck and have to be medicated when flying. The only airlines that flies directly to Maryland is AA. Guess who was the most expensive when I was trying to book a flight to go. Yeah...AA. Well, guess who Mr. C's air miles are with....AA. Praise God Hallelujah! Not only was I being donated the air miles, but it was with the airline that has a direct flight! So we go through the whole booking process and he says...ok the fee (remember the fee for using the air miles at the last minute) is.....$105.00. WHAT?? (Insert Hallelujah chorus) At this point I am sobbing again. God has completely taken care of the whole thing. I am given air miles and a $100 check which covers the associated cost, and neither gentlemen knew what the other one was doing.

Yes, I apologized to God for throwing a hissy fit...

I was able to be there for both days of viewings and the funeral, and then had a day to just spend with his family. Momma G. looked absolutely beautiful. They dressed her in the outfit she was supposed to wear to Bro-in law's wedding. We chose not to call it a funeral but to call it a home goin'. She's sittin' at the feet of Jesus, gettin all the answers. I'm a little jealous.

In loving Memory of Momma G.
May 7, 1944 - October 18, 2008

More stories to come....driving from Texas to Maryland with two small chirldren, our week in Pennsylvania/Maryland...and of course Uncle J's wedding.

Beware of the demands of many!

We had a guest preacher in our church a couple of Sundays ago for a one day revival. His name is Dr. Claude Thomas. If he was there for no one else, he was there for me. The morning sermon was about putting the Best thing first. Sometimes we let good things get in the way of the Best thing. It’s easy to get wrapped up in raising kids, trying to be a good wife, directing VBS, coordinating the Fall Fest, leading the preschool team at church. All of those are good things but they are not the BEST thing. For someone who can get wrapped up in doing “good” things, it was a great reminder that nothing is more important than spending time with Jesus. The following is the sermon outline…I hope it blesses you as much as it blessed me.

1. Serenity in life comes from intimacy with Jesus.

2. Service for Jesus must flow out of intimacy with Jesus.

I. Beware of putting good things over the First thing:

We pay when we put “good” things over the First thing:

We pay in: a. Attitudes

b. Relationships

c. Frustrations

*Beware of the tyranny of the urgent!

*Beware of the demands of the many!

II. Put the BEST thing as the first thing in life.

~The first thing in life is being close to Jesus.

We get close to Jesus by:

a. Being with Him

b. Becoming like Him

Thinking like Him

Acting like Him

Loving like Him

Giving like Him

Forgiving like Him

Living like Him

c. Giving worship to Him

We all have so much to do, I hope we can stop and remember to keep the best thing first. That would be Jesus.

Conversation with a 3 year old

Around lunchtime one day in the car…

Little Man: “Are we going to eat”

Me: “Yes”

Little Man: “Are we going in or are we gonna ask?”

Me: “Huh?? Ask??”

Little Man: “Yeah are we gonna ask…or are we gonna go in and eat?”

Then light bulb goes on for me…

Me: “OHHH…you mean are we gonna go thru the drive thru or go in.”

Gotta love the way they think.

Confused or Innocent

My husband cringes when I pull this picture out. This is what happens when you are two years old, have a big sister and haven't had the chance yet to acquire many "boy" toys. I bought this little princess dress at a yard sale to go in the dress up box. My son soon claimed it as his. When his sister would dress up and if she had friends over and they would put on the princess dresses, he would grab this one and come running to me. "Mommy, I princess" Then he would top it off with the cowboy hat he is holding in his hand.
My hubby found no humor in it...I on the other hand saw the innocence in it and laughed.

By the way, for little man's birthday, the hubby instructed his side of the family to buy all "boy" dress up stuff for him. But see who wound up wearing it....big sister.

Now go show Kristen some love over at We are THAT family.

Flip Flops and Over the Hill

Last weekend, not only did Becky and I make Emma's birthday cake, but I had orders for two more cakes.

We had this Over the Hill Cake for a gentleman who was turning 40. By the way, the closer I get to 40 the less over the hill it seems.

The gentleman's wife told me the richer the better. So we went with a chocolate chip chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream icing with chocolate covered strawberries on top. (How many times can I say chocolate in one sentence?) With chocolate and caramel drizzled down the sides. I know, you probably have a toothache just reading that...

Then we also had this next cake for a luau party. This was chocolate cake with vanilla butter cream. We had fondant accents and graham crackers crushed to look like sand.

I guess I thought I was superwoman, taking on two cake orders plus my daughter's and setting up for the birthday party. I must have temporarily lost my mind ya'll. If it was not for my partner in crime, my best friend Becky, we wouldn't have made it. But I think they all three turned out well.

Carnival Party

Our princess turned 5 a couple of weeks ago. We had a carnival themed birthday party. Oh the fun we had, not just at the party, but also in planning and preparing. We love to take a theme and run with it.

The invitations were made to look like tickets, which we made on our computer and then cut in the shape of a ticket. We put the following wording on them...

See the amazing Emma as she attempts outrageous stunts such as...
turning a year older, consuming impossible amounts of junk food,
and of course, the fiery, death defying birthday candle blow!!

I have a good friend who is the most resourceful person I know. I give her an idea or show her something in a magazine and she can take it and figure out how to make it with everyday supplies and for a very low price. Take this red and white carnival banner for example (originally seen in the Pottery Barn catalog)…

This is nothing more than some red and white card stock paper and 36 yards of scotch tape. The scotch tape was picked up for a penny a roll at the back to school sale. The card stock I had on hand for scrap booking. Then we took it to the local bookstore and had it laminated. Gotta love it!

I bought some pennants and attached one end to the fence and the other end to a stake in the ground to create the "booths." I borrowed some games from my church that we use for our Fall Festival. The rest of the games we made ourselves.

We took our lemonade stand and turned it into the ticket booth.

Our kitchen windows open up into the backyard, so we turned that window into the concession stand. One of our friends hung in the kitchen and served nachos, hot dogs, and popcorn.

The kids received a small paper gift sack when they arrived and were directed to decorate it, or at least put their name on it. Then they used this as they played games and won prizes to carry their prizes. They took those home as their loot bags.

We also had a photo op. This too was homemade. Here's the birthday girl giving us her best strong man face.

My best friend and I also made the cake for the party...

Daddy was in charge of face painting. But one brave soul, cousin T, allowed the birthday girl to paint her face. That's a rainbow, just in case you were wondering.

And what's a carnival without a clown?? There's one in every family I hear. Or maybe it's just the birthday girl's lil' brother.

All in all it was a wonderful day. A great time was had by all.

Nothing like a trip to the E.R.

Apparently I didn't have enough excitement in my life that I thought a trip to the E.R. was in order. Yesterday my son was on the back porch and broke a glass bottle that was left from the coke bottle ring toss game from my daughters birthday party on Saturday. I went out to clean it up and stepped on a piece of glass and put a 1 and 1/2 inch gash in the bottom of my foot.

Now I don't deal with blood and gashes to well. My sock immediately went red with blood and I tried to look, but it made me nauseous. All I can think is, here I am home alone with my 3 year old son, and I might pass out. So I got to the phone and called my aunt who lives just a couple miles down the road and asked her to come over. Called my husband hysterically and freaked him out.

My little man, is pacing circles around me, saying "momma I'm so sorry I broke your foot." I explained to him that it wasn't his fault. He was trying to be helpful. I asked him to go get me a towel from the laundry room. He comes back with one of my husbands handkerchiefs, which I immediately soak. So I send him back for another and he comes back with one of my white cup towels. I said..buddy I need something BIG....go find me a big towel. Third times the charm, he brings me a large bath towel and it happens to be red.

My aunt comes in and finds me in the floor with a pool of blood and says lets go to the hospital. My husband pulled up as we were getting in the truck to leave. I fully expected to see flashing lights behind him. He jumps in and off we go to the hospital.

Now, when anyone in my family goes to the hospital, it's a family affair ya'll. I go to the hospital and by the time I leave, in my little E.R. room is me, my husband, my aunt and my mother. We're all about moral support.

Oh wait it gets better. My cousin couldn't leave work, but insists on someone taking pics and sending them via her cell phone. So as I am being stitched up my husband is taking pictures with the cell phone and sending them to my cousin. Who then texts back this reply....SWEET! She on the other hand thrives on the blood and gashes.

I would share these lovely pictures with you, but I really don't want to run you off. Plus that means that I would have to look at them. So sorry to disappoint. Here is one picture I will share with you though.

I am the lucky owner of a lovely post op shoe and pair of crutches and 4 stitches, my first ever by the way. Don't be jealous. I said, of course I would hurt my foot when I am in desperate need of a pedicure. And here I thought I was going to blog about the mundane. Silly me.

Sometimes, God suggests to us to slow down. Then when we don't listen...God slows us down Himself.

Fro' Me to You - Scarecrow Pumpkins

This is last fall. We received these craft kits to make a scarecrow out of a pumpkin at a birthday party that was held at our local pumpkin patch. Each child got to pick one pumpkin to take home with them as a gift from the birthday girl. Then before we left they gave us these craft kits. I believe they were purchased from Oriental Trading. I thought they were precious...even the two pumpkins in the middle are kinda cute.

Join the fun at We are THAT family.

Memories

I have a hard time remembering things from my childhood growing up. My mind sees things more in snapshots than in video per say. Some things I just don’t remember at all.

I’m not sure if it is giving birth to two children that sucked my brain cells out or if it was a minor concussion I had as a result of a car wreck. Sometimes it makes me sad that I can’t remember things that others seem to remember so vividly.

For instance I have had the same best friend since 2^nd grade. She clearly remembers the day we became BFF’s and why. It all started with me sharing my bag of cool ranch Doritos at lunch (cause I’m nice like that) with her. I have absolutely no recollection of this ya’ll. Here we are 23 years later and I cannot remember this.

It makes me want to take more pictures of my kids so I don’t get down the road and find it hard to remember times from their childhood. This is one reason I am starting this blog; maybe if I try and make it a point to write about our daily life, from the mundane to the exciting, then it will help me to remember things more vividly. I, like so many of you get busy doing life and forget to stop and take pleasure in the small mundane things of life. I also sometimes forget to keep the best thing first…and that will be a post for another day.