I LOVE FALL!!!!!!

I LOVE FALL!!!!I can't decide which is my favorite season: fall or spring. But I love fall so much. I think I like the colors of fall(deep reds, purple, orange), the coziness of fall (fireplaces & sweatshirts w/ jeans),& the tastes of fall(turkey dinner & apple cider). I like the sounds of spring (birds chirping), the smells of spring (fresh cut grass and spring rains), and the weather that spring brings....warmth after winter. But right now, I am feeling all cozy in fall and am grateful for Thanksgiving coming up and the holiday season. So we've had a busy fall....For my birthday on Labor Day this year I asked my kids to go to the apple orchard with me and to pose for pics....and they did!!!! It was warm for our very first apple orchard experience, but I enjoyed it none the less. In October, we've enjoyed the pumpkin patch, family pictures, halloween, I ran my first 10K, and we added a new member to our family. For Halloween, I had superheroes. They were all so fun: Wonder Woman, Batman, & Flash Gordon. Chris & I were the Dark Knight & Super Mom! (Not really, but it made it look like we were dressing up when we wore superhero t-shirts to match the fam.) My 10K went so much better than I expected. It was a gorgeous morning....I ran the entire length of the race (6.2 miles) without walking---which I have never done in any race. I also beat my goal by 9 minutes. So overall I was very pleased with myself. I plan on running the Turkey Day race with my hubby....but after that take a break while he trains for a half-marathon. I'm excited to be his biggest cheerleader. The new additon to our family is a little puppy. After a long debate and some divine intervention via a custard shop's sign, we've named her Josie. She is a little mutt, that looks exactly like a black lab. Hopefully she'll take after mama and not grow so big.... We gave Josie as an early Christmas present to the kids and they are being so good about taking care of her and playing with her. It is so fun to watch!!! Speaking of watching.....I had too many fall pics that I couldn't decide what to post---so I decided to make a slideshow. Enjoy! I sure did creating it.

This free slideshow created with Smilebox

our wedding march 1999

Click here to view this photo book larger

2 days in a row?

Yes....It is very weird for me to post two days in a row---but here goes. First off, I wanted to share I don't mind To-Do Lists. I like to buy cute ones, or get organized and have a pre-set created one for each day, etc. But after yesterday's post, I realized I stumbled on to something. See, when I have a to-do list and life gets in the way and doesn't go as planned, I get discouraged and feel like a failure and didn't accomplish what I set out to do. SOOOO....I've decided to do it differently. I am just going to do what I can, and then write down what I accomplished that day. I am actually kind of thinking a "What I Did Today Journal". That way I can see what I did and be happy, proud about the things I did accomplish rather than anything I didn't. I know I will do the things that our pressing first and move on. I felt so good after yesterday. And you know what? I feel pretty good today too. My front room is still cluttered, w/ a couple loads of laundry, but I did a lot of other things today and I am glad I did them. I know you don't want to know what I did every day of the year, so I won't bore you with that. But I am going to post today's list and then the rest of my year's lists will be for my eye's only in my cute little calendar notes, so that I can feel like 'one productive mama'!

What I did today: :)
*Cleaned Post Office (1st day of new job) for 2 1/2 hours
*Drank 3 cups of water by 8 am.
*Sang a worship song in my car! (My favorite: Blessed Be Your Name)
*Prayed with a friend
*Load of laundry
*Dishes/shined both sinks w/ bleach (flylady.net)
*Swept kitchen/dining room (fyi--this is NOT a daily habit for me)
*Organized hot spot (kitchen counter)
*Dropped Chris off/pick Eden up/pick Chris up
*Played 2 rounds of Candyland w/ Eli (very fun, even though he smoked me!)
*Mini-reading lesson w/ Eli (-ad family)
*Read Sept. 1st excerpt from my one year chronological bible (Ezekial 47,48,29,30)
*Played on facebook & cleaned out email inbox
*Made beans, ham, & cornbread (it was rainy today) :)
*Drank MORE water. weird I know.
*Fellowshipped at church tonight for supper.
*Arranged babysitting for a fun date w/ my hubby tomorrow night.
*Shopped w/ Eden for a friend's bday
*Visited w/ unchurched neighbor
*Blogged

So as you see things like yesterday's read w/ Tobe or today's play Candyland w/ Eli are unplanned events that I am so grateful I took the time to do and didn't think, "it is not on my to-do list". And I feel so much better at the end of my day. Or it explains why I might not have gotten that landry folded because I had to do extra trips in the van due to our car issues and I don't have to feel guilty. This list releases me of my own expectations, and when I reflect on the day the Lord gave me I am not disappointed!

Psalm 118:24 "This is the day that the Lord has made, Let us rejoice and be glad in it!"

Back in the saddle again......(finally)

Yesterday was a bad day. Yesterday I accomplished nothing. I have been sick for two days w/ yucky tummy stuff. Before this I have been sick w/ an ear infection, sinus infection, and so much fluid behind my ear that I can hardly hear in my right ear. The sinus infection symptoms began about Aug. 8th. So honestly I feel like I haven't accomplished much in the last month b/w my illnesses & my kids (all 3 have had the same big D word) My husband is so great though...yesterday after I apologized for doing absolutely nothing, he asked me "Did you have to deal w/ a bunch of clean-up/dirty diapers?" I said "Yeah" and he lovingly said, "Then you've done something and I wouldn't have wanted to do that, and your sick." I felt so relieved to hear him say that. I feel so guilty at times when I don't have the energy to get all I want accomplished, or even meet some of my goals. For instance, I haven't wanted to run for this entire month as well, with the clogged ear & the heat. Last time I ran was beginning of July and then before then it had been a couple of months.

Then to add to the yuckiness, we had our fuel pump go out on Chris' car yesterday as well. So after feeling pretty discouraged, stressed, depressed, etc. for several weeks, today was a refreshing change. Today I was productive. Even in the midst of figuring out car issues, friends (church community) reached out and loaned us their vehicle for a bit. Such a blessing!

Other things I accomplished today:
*I was able to enjoy encouraging conversation w/ two friends in depth.
*I read several books w/ Tobe while holding him (haven't got to read w/ him for a while).
*I decluttered 2 cabinets & 1 closet!!!
*I shined my sink. :)
*I treated my kids to half-price slushies at Sonic during happy hour.
*I had to drop off hubby at work/pick up daughter from school/pick up hubby from work due to the fact we have one car until tomorrow.
*I ran 2 miles after having about a 2 month hiatus!(hence the 'Back in the saddle'---I pray I can be consitent w/ my training for a 10K in the fall.)
*Enjoyed dinner at the dinner table w/ my family.
*Prayed w/ my children.

*I even updated facebook off and on throughout the day and currently am posting to my blog. :) And all of this before 10 pm. I am still going to be in bed at a decent hour (Side Note: First day of my temporary job cleaning the post office starts bright and early at 5:30 am. I am never up that early!) So I would say overall, I really enjoyed today. I usually might accomplish maybe two of the above bullets and more often than not they are facebook and talking to friends. It feels good to be productive. I absolutely LOVE this motto of the Flylady (I read the Flight Plan's daily, but don't always follow them) but this motto is so encourging to me:

You are not behind! I don't want you to try to catch up; I just want you to jump in where we are. O.K.?--Flylady www.flylady.net

Oh and the most encouraging Word is God's: Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV) “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Sympathetic or Pathetic? (plus an August recap)

August has been a long month! If we count July 31st, we (mainly Chris---but if daddy is busy, we all are busy)have had a wedding, a race, a fair parade w/ worship team float, a funeral, a day at six flags on the HOTTEST day of the year,a root canal, a fair contest, fair entertainment, back to school shopping, kept two wonderful kiddos while their parents "resorted" in Mexico, a Warren Barfield/Newfire concert hosted by FCC, a sick kid, a birthday party,first days of school, an ear infection, a Selena Gomez concert, and finishing it off w/ a revival at FCC. Whew! I'm tired just typing it all and I'm sure I missed something. First off, to start the month off, we all participated in the fair race. Chris ran 5 miles! Eden & Eli (w/ the help of mom) ran the Kids 1 Mile Fun Run, & Tobe made a dash to the finsih line at the last minute to gain a medal--just b/c he is cute! It was the first race for Eden and I am very proud of her. Also proud of Eli for completing it even though he couldn't breath due to a cold. My boy Eli also turned 5 on Aug. 16th & we had a Build-A-Bear party for him & 6 of his friends. He had a blast. He made "Bat Bear" which went really well w/ his batman cake & everything else batman we got him. He said he had a great birthday. It is so fun to see your kids get SOOO excited about things like that (& show their gratefulness).


At the beginning of the month, Eden & I participated in a Mother-Daughter Look Alike Contest held at our Town & Country Fair. We WON!!!! We were 1st in our age division of younger daughters (under 10). We were voted on appearance (yes, matching outfits), our walk, our voice, & our mannerisms. As well as playing some sort of Newlywed-like game to see how well we knew each other. This is such a joyful occassion for me, being that most everyone lets me know how much she looks like Chris. But hey at least I had my one day of dressing alike. We do act more like each other more each day. Chris is the one who can attest to this fact. :) It was lots of fun & we won $50+ in gift certificates to go on a Mommy-Daughter date to the movies & dinner. Can't wait to cash in on this! I truly cherish the day. It was fun for me (& I think Eden too!).




But another fun day Eden & I got to share in this month---was this afternoon. I took her & two of her besties to the Selena Gomez concert at our Six Flags. I knew she wanted this pretty badly. Now don't get me wrong, I wasn't going to pay for tickets. Why would I? They came free w/ our season passes. However, you had to get them the day of the concert, first come, first serve. So I, being the great mom that I am, actually skipped church to meet a friend & go stand in line to get the beloved tickets. The park was set to open at 10:30 am. We were set to be there about 9:30. Woohoo, I would be one of the first in line to get tickets. We would have the best "Free" tickets we could get. Wait? What is this? The park was open at 9:00 for those wanting concert tickets? Huh? Where was this publicized? I even called the Box Office & so did a friend & we were never told this---I was a bit frustrated. None the less, she was going to get to go to the concert, for free. She should be happy about this. Normally there isn't a bad seat in the amphitheater. Of course, this has been w/ our experience with contemporary christian concerts---not necessarily tweeny bopper-Disney concerts. The whole place was packed shoulder to shoulder. Selena makes her grand entrance. Eden can't see a thing. Granted, I know my daughter can be a spoiled brat. Trust me, I know. But she started crying. And I differentiated this cry from the spoiled brat cry. It was simply an 'I'm disappointed, upset, & sad' cry. She cried, "I can hear her, but I can't see her." I melted. I really wanted her to get to enjoy this concert. It might be one of the few cool ones she sees, being that I won't pay $$$ tons of money to watch the concerts that she likes. So, I did what any sympathetic mom would do. I went and bought something at the "Concert Stand". I had asked how much the tour book was. $20???? No thank you. Eden even said, "that's too much for a book like that." She had settled for a teen magazine at a department store. Should have been the end of the story. But no, I thought to myself she really would love a little headshot signed poster or something for the wall. I figure $5 or so. The cheapest thing is $10. I buy 2 of the $10 items. Thinking her friend (who has $10 to spend) would want the other one---b/c I sure am not going to wait in this crazy line twice. (Mind you---there were some dear friends of mine w/ the girls while I did this shopping adventure). The friend didn't want either one. So now I have spent $20 on a concert that was suppose to be "Free"....b/c I was so sad for my little disappointed girl. And these "souvenirs" aren't much. All the while to find out if I would have paid $12 for reserved seats, I would have got the same "Souvenir", plus star bursts candy, plus a better view of Selena and a happier daughter (I'm telling you, it is worth it to buy the tickets). Now don't get me wrong, she did enjoy the conert eventually. People finally either left or sat so she got to enjoy the last few songs actually seeing the artist sing. I had to lift her a couple times, which isn't easy b/c she is growing too big. She also thanked me several times for the opportunity to go to see Selena after it was all said and done. I was pleased w/ Eden's attitude. I guess just not pleased w/ my instincts. So....weigh in....Am I just being a sympathetic mom or a pathetic one?