Sweet Little Friends & more Boy antics

Aren't they the cutest?? You should have heard them saying "cheese"!!

It's been such a treat to see Taite's and Lydia's personalities coming out.... and even sweeter to see their little friendship blossom! They are soo cute together and have done pretty well playing together (for being under 2 yrs old)!! It's funny to hear them say "hi" to people together and make each other giggle.

What a blessing to have a friend so close in age so nearby!!

I should mention this soo all those moms of boys can include me in their "gross stories" club. At the park Christopher explored around the edge of the playground for a little while. He came back to me with both hands full and a "Mom!! Look at this!!" (just as excited as ever).

And WHAT does he try to give to me?????

Doggie poopie....yes, BOTH hands FULL of doggie poopie!!!

In his defense, we're not around dogs or other animals with BIG poopies... so he might NOT have known what it was...

BUT..... ewwwww gross!!!

The ALL POWERFUL library Card

This morning Andrea and I brought the kids out... all five!! But we were even more brave.... we brought the kids to library and ate lunch out:)

The kids actually did really, really well at the library. I usually have to do a little chasing around to keep them at the tables and off the computers... but maybe b/c we had TWO moms, they decided they couldn't get away with too much :)

And I actually had a chance to pick out some fun books. And Anna and Christopher picked out their favorites as well.

Here's a picture of all of the kiddies....reading their books:)

I wasn't planning to make this the day for Anna to get her own library card.... but I just asked about it and we started the process. All three of my kids LOVE books.... of course because she's older Anna is the one who we can see the love of reading more clearly.

She was SOOO excited about getting her free library card!! She proudly printed her name on the back of the card. And then on the ENTIRE way to Wendy's she told me about how important it was that everyone has a library card... even slipping a couple of times calling it a credit card. hahhaa

I had to talk her out of taking her library card to Wendys, the the park and Walmart. She was pretty determined about taking it to Walmart because she wanted to buy something with it... I had to repeatly tell we can only use it at the library to borrow books and videos!!

When we got home she left it on the counter so she could show Brian when he got home!!! And she's had it in her hands since she showed him....

Christopher wanted to know when he could get his library card.... hmmm...

Chris in the TUX

Here's a first glimpse of Chris in the tux... the lighting is terrible in the house at night so forgive the poor quality of the pic...


Notice the lolipop in his hand!! We have some WORK ahead of us.... for him to wear the tux AND walk down an aisle.... this should be interesting... we have....

less than TWO WEEKS!!!

Discipline,Training and the Rewards

We're in one of those seasons again.... you know... when it feels like all your attempts at disciplining have gone out the window. It hasn't been awful but it's been pretty draining on the parents:)

We were trying to encourage one another in this task called parenting the other day. And the conversation came to the point where we both agreed that we are in a "season of training" with our children right now.... and it's tough. At home it can feel like it's constant correction and refereeing, time outs, "pops" and fussing.

I notice my choices of reading material during these times are titles like To TrainUp a Child , Peacemaking for Families or Bringing Up Boys... hahaha.

Finally after "school time" and in the midst of bickering I decided to retreat outside... they all find their own things to do; usually (some time-outs were served outside as well). And I opened my Bible and found this in Proverbs for today (the 29th):

15 To discipline and reprimand a child produces wisdom,
but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child.
17 Discipline your children, and they will give you happiness and peace of
mind. (NLT)

ahhhh... sounds good.... but I know it's going to take many "seasons of training" and times of discipline and correction! Which means HARD WORK!!

Before you think that we can't see rewards now.....

Christopher used the potty and was given a pack of Smarties with 3 in it. He received his "encouragement" and immediately torn into it and offered one to Anna and one to Lydia leaving one for himself. The girls were thankful by his gift and he was tickled for the praise he received for sharing.

I have another story to share tomorrow about the importance of "first time obedience"!

More Sunday Pics

I love taking pictures on Sunday afternoons as we first leave church. The kids are usually still pretty clean, they have a ton of energy and many days the weather has been gorgeous making colors stand out....






.... so today I got ok ones. I quickly realized that while I was in a photographic mood, everyone else was wanting to play, hungry and/or sleepy:) So we went home ate and napped.... all of us:)

And some of my pics might be a little better if I cropped them and messed with them a bit.... maybe tomorrow:)

Spouse Look-A-Like?

Have you heard that the longer people are married the more and more they start looking alike???

Well Brian recently (fri) got a new pair of glasses!! It was much needed since he hadn't had a new pair since before we were married and he hadn't had an eye examine since we moved to our current home:)

The night before he went, we did a virtual try-on session!! It was fun and really good since at the doctors office he picked out frames AFTER his eyes were dialated!!!! I joked him them that he was choosing frames that looked like mine:)

Well here we are:


I wonder if he chose frames like mine because he's used to seeing me? And maybe we dress more alike now because we both like to give our opinions about each others clothes.... I've got some more collared, fitted blouses and on the weekends he's got some dark, carpenter jeans:)

In all cases, it's fun to have someone who knows you as well as your spouse does. They are a source of support, companionship, stability, love and yes, sometimes admonishment!!!

Chasing Planes, some more PT and Babysitting

Well, it's crop dusting time again.... or atleast the plane flew overhead a couple of times making passes over the fields in our area. The kids LOVE the planes... well Lydia isn't too much for the planes getting too close but she likes them in the sky!

Christopher was a hoot though. He immediately grabbed his bucket and found a stick to "catch" the plane with. The plane was in the sky so his sense of how BIG the plane really was ....was a little off!! But it was cute to see him so determined to "catch" the plane.

I did make a video of him, but it's kind of hard to heard him so I'm still debating about posting it. He describes how he will spray the plane with his stick and then catch the plane in the bucket..... he even makes plans to climb on the church roof to get closer to the plane....

ALL BOY!!!



Lydia on the other hand had a very good potty training morning. When I tried to PT Chris, Lydia was actually using the potty by herself. But now that the focus is on her she's been having a LOT of accidents.

I've still been sticking "big girl pants" (BGP) on her and then after she wets through a few I stick back ont eh diapers and start again in the morning. I'm thinking of this as the TRAINING stage. I will set the timer to give us both warnings that she should try but sometimes she's not wanting to try or I don't hear the timer.

I'm not really in a rush with her. I just have seen her interest and ability. And she's taking her diaper off after just drops of pee-pee because she doesn't want to be wet....so we'd really be going through diapers:) Plus she wants her BGP... and her gummy bears:)

So we'll just keep on:) This morning though I took her to church and outside to play and she didn't wet once (she held it or didn't have to go). So maybe our "training time" is starting to yield some results????

Finally tonight I'll be heading to Drea's for some babysitting.... for months we've been talking about watching eachothers' kids for the evening to give eachother Date Nights. So finally one of us saw the need and we're trying it out:) So... we hope they have a needed break and a nice evening.... our chance is coming soon:)

Just a question...... when a friend watches your kids in the evening, do they drop their kids off at your house, or do you go to theirs???

I offered to go to Andrea's just because her boys so to bed earlier in the evening and I thought they would want to enjoy the evening without any time contraints (minus businesses closing, Kroger is 24 hours though). And while they probably wouldn't care if the boys stayed up late one night... it wouldn't be good to try it on a Saturday night... sounds like a rough start to a Sunday:)

Texture Issues

I have a good friend who has "texture issues".... ahahaa... we've had a lot of conversations about different foods that end like, "I don't like the texture."

From those conversations, a Sid the Science Kid episode last week and a texture discussion with Christopher..... this is what I get :)

Anna came back from a "trip" with Brian. She stated that she was hungry!! And then reached up onto the counter for the blueberry muffins I had baked for breakfast. After a few bites, she came into the kitchen and put her plate with an almost whole muffin on it. I asked her why she wasn't going to finish her muffin and she said,

"I can't finish my muffin. I like the taste but the texture is weird."


***Here's a pic of her enjoying a "cookie" last Saturday afternoon. NO texture issues there.

Funny Photo Friday

Found have a place for my silly pictures of the week:)

Actually this one was from our Saturday workday. Anna and her new little girl friend were found giggling under the bed. I snapped a pic to show her Daddy where I finally found them:) It was until later that I saw Anna's friend pretending to snap a picture of me:)
And here's the final picture of Lydia hamming it up in front of the camera... I got 3 or 4 really (good for me) pictures! She was just having a blast "cheesing" for the camera!!
This Funny Photo Friday is being hosted by Blissfully Domestic. Join in the fun and submit your own pics!!

Contest for a BECO Carrier

All those Moms, Moms-to-be and friends of Moms-to-be... heads up on TWO websites that are both hosting BECO Carriers:)

Check out SIMPLE.... very cute BECO Butterfly Carrier (like $90).. Here Ends Tomorrow, Sept 26th

And at Baby Snazz... they are giving away one of their own BECO Butterfly Carriers... HERE Ends Oct 31st!!

***This pic is one of our SIMPLE moms modeling the carrier!!

Worrying a Little Too Soon??

Christopher sat down to to his workbook this morning... he's finally getting into the groove and enjoys some of his workbook time!! This morning he did some work and then wanted to write his name at the top of the page (like I usually do and date it)! But this is how he wrote his name:


When I see him write all of his letters backwards and from right to left, I always start to think dyslexia??? Anyway, I know I'm thinking this too soon.... I mean he's almost 3 (in late Nov) and he's writing his name.... pretty good....

So to ease my little overactive Mommy brain, I looked up a couple of resources and this is what I found:

Letter and number reversals are the most common warning sign [of dyslexia]. Such reversals are fairly common up to the age of 7 or 8 and usually diminish by that time. If they do not, it may be appropriate to test for dyslexia or other learning problems.

So it looks like I am a little premature in worrying..... but nonetheless, maybe I'll make little worksheets that will encourage him to write from left to right AND start writing his letters "facing" the right.....

No Name Fish

We finally got a new fish to replace our Mr Chips who "kicked the bucket" during VBS.... we kept his passing from the kids, even leaving the water in the bowl, but after a few weeks Anna started getting suspicious of why she didn't see Chips... she started getting worried that he jumped out. So I had to spill the beans!

While at PetSmart on Tuesday with our friends, the kids were looking at fish and then we left the store. Anna just broke down crying saying that she "missed her fish". So Andrea rose to the occassion and we went back in and picked out our new fish!

The problem is that we still haven't named him. Daddy has been pulling for the name Warren Betta (like Warren Beatty). Tuesday the name was Fishy Hammer, yesterday the name was Sylvester and I just asked about the name and was told his name should be "Harry Hippo".... hmmm??

SO he isn't named yet... but like you could see from the photo above on the left, he's well loved!! Anna even asked to feed him this morning (without our prompting)!!Mr CHips would have LOVED for someone to remember to feed him in the morning, we usually remembered that we forgot by lunchtime:)

A True Couponing Newbie

Well I have to admit that I've gotten hooked on couponing, probably because of the influence of some new friends :) A couple of days a week I'll check sale flyers online, print off coupons and now load coupons onto my Kroger card!!!

Last week I went to Kroger and did a great job with sticking to the sales and using my coupons:) I spent the same amount I saved!!! So cut my grocery bill in half (at least at Kroger).

Last night I tried out my new couponing skills again at Kroger and Food Lion!! I also picked up basic needs at Kroger that were not on-sale because it was late and I didn't want to go to WalMart... so my status weren't the greatest.... At Kroger, I spent a little over $60 and saved (coupons and sales) $40!! pretty good considering I got over 12 pounds of meat and that I'm just learning and stocking up my coupons ;)

So here's my YAY! and my Duh!! for my second week couponing:

YAY! - So we drink soymilk by the gallons.... and I found some GREAT soymilk coupons online a couple of weeks ago. With Kroger's sale and my coupons, I got two half gallons of soymilk for .99 each... a gallon of soymilk for $2.10 including tax!!

Duh!! - One of my main buys at Kroger was their generic cereal... 6 for $10.00 and an extra $4 off if you bought six. So I stocked up and then thought I should buy some granola bars so I put a box back.... then I realized all the granola bars had milk in them so I left the cereal aisle.... I didn't realize until I got home that I only got 5 boxes!!!!! Grrr... like loosing $3!!!

What can I say??? I'm a true couponing newbie!!

The Bride and Groom - Sort of

Here's another "Anna original"... she drew it of her Uncle Scott and very soon-to-be Aunt Bea...

Just in case you were wondering, Uncle Scott is the green one and Aunt Bea is the purple one:)

And this is what the description underneath says:
(dictated by Anna, written by Mommy)

Uncle Scott and Miss Bea getting married. Miss Bea and Uncle Scott have 2 grown
feet because they can be in the family.

So I guess all those who are in our family must have "two grown feet" at least in a silly little girl's mind:)
My kiddies are definitely NOT lacking in imagination and silliness:)

***FYI.... Lydia added the green to the picture... just the wedding decorations that she thought Anna overlooked:)

Update on Anna

Well Anna went to bed feeling very hot and "hurting".... but we gave her the medicine and some water hoping that some good rest would help. We didn't hear a peep out of her all night:)

This morning while we were snuggling on the couch (watching the news with Daddy), she walked in and announced, "I feel better today!!" She's been acting totally back, but I'm thinking she should TRY to get a little extra rest today......

we'll see if THAT happens. Although she did inform me that her head hurt a little too much to do school today.... hahhahaa

I'm not sre what the bug was thta hit us. But it's only a 24-hr bug that includes pain, headaches and a high fever.... strange.... but I'll take that over a week long cold, or 24-hr nauseous bug!

Off to attempt school and order to our day..... wish me luck:)

Anna's Turn

Anna had been feeling poorly all day... her highest temperature was like a 103.5!! I had been giving her children's ibruprofen, but it wasn't helping so her last dose of medicine was children's Tylenol....

An hour later she asked for two things:
1. Cheerios
2. To try on her flower girl dress, like Lydia did :)

Here she is:




She didn't want to take it off..... Like Lydia's the dress is a little long.... so I'll be looking into that tomorrow:)

Showing Off the Flower girl dress..... maybe??

We got our flower girl dresses in the mail this morning.... very quick delivery... yay.... Lydia got to try it on first.....




It's a "little" long... but it's soo cute!! So we'll see what Anna's looks like before we decide what to do:)

Another Exciting Day... haa haa

We didn't actually have anything extra planned today.... just get some cleaning done, laundry and schooling.... hmmmmm??? Maybe today I am supposed to be learning that I can handle more than I want to... when I rely on Him, my faithful Lord.

So it started at about 3:30am when Anna came in saying she couldn't sleep and while tucking her in I felt she was burning up.... kind of like Christopher on Friday...gotta' love those "family" germs:)Needless to say she's been on the couch or in bed all morning... she tried to do some school but "hurt too much" to do anything... so we'll read later and push stuff back a day...

Lydia has been semi-potty training for a month now:) When we put her in diapers she either takes them off to pee-pee or pee-pees once in them and throws them away... so we've been going thorugh some diapers.... and she's demonstrating that she's ready to potty train. So this week I was going to focus more on potty training Lydia. More stick to my plan and not give in to diapers soo quickly (after soo many accidents).

But don't you know as soon as I started really focusing to Lydia pottying this morning, Little Man decided he wanted to join in the fun.... he liked getting the gummy bears (2- one for pottying, one for pottying with a happy heart)!! But then I had to remind him about pottying again and he was done :)

And just to add to the growing choas, I had my sweet husband bring down all the little boy clothes so I could finally get them sorted and put away in plastic bins instead of the cardboard.... which I've been meaning to do for over a year now....

Hahhaa.... girls' stuff is next... they grow like weeds:)But it had been nice to have everything soo organzied with the girls stuff, so when I need a certian size or season for Lydia... it's right there in the labeled bin:)

If your husband/pastor asks....

How was the sermon?

My husband asked the question this afternoon after church. Before I answered him, he stopped me and told me I had to follow the ....

Sermon Critiquing Suggestions for Pastor Wives :)

1. It's generally better to wait and be asked about their sermon than to initiate the conversation.

2. Always immediately respond with something positive.... if there is NOTHING positive comment on his appearance, posture, etc

3. Never offer negative feedback if your pastor is hungry.... sooo nothing too critcal before lunch.

4. Hesitate and add an element of being unsure of yourself before giving negative feedback.

5. If your husband is particularly prideful you may need to follow negative feedback with ; "But what do I know? You're the professional and I'm just you sweet, humble wife." Then smile.

6. Comparisions to legendary preachers is always nice:) hahahaa...

7. FINAL NOTE: "Honesy is the best policy" doesn't appear in the Bible.

A conclusions from my husband's wife. I am very blessed to be the wife of a good preacher.... went I get the chance to sit and listen to my husband I am always very proud of him and usually left with something to "chew on" (AKA apply to my life). Part of the reason I enjoy hearing him preach is that I like his well thoughout, clearly presented, and logical style and his illustrations usually capture his main points, allow me to relate to the point/passage and are easy to remember....

... But we all have off days or moments :).... And my heart (and hopefully the heart of many pastor wives) is to encourage my husband and the ministry he is serving!! So I want to encouarge him and give him an honest answer to make him "better"!!

In all honesty, our husband/pastors need our encouragements !!! So let's remember that "iron sharpens iron" and that "two are better than one" and work with our husbands. Encouarge their ministries. And preaching!!!!

Saturday at Work

We went and worked as a church this morning and afternoon.... we did alot of tasks to help "tidy up" the ministry we were helping. A huge blessing for us personally is that the "missionary" family has smaller kids similiar in ages to Christopher and Anna!! But we had a full workday and it's always soo freshing to be with church members working side-by-side (alhtough I mostly kept my kids and took pictures).

So here are the cute kiddie pics of the day:)

(Anna was enjoying the hug.... I just took the pic during an expression change!! Sweet girls... even trying on each other's flip-flops and giggling/hiding under beds!)

We know we had a good day when we are already wanting to see the pictures of our "new" friends and church members.... when we all get home, eat, bathe and go to bed:) The kids were asking to go to be at 8:15pm tonight.... they are usually in bed by 9!!

Preschool Writing

I've had this laying around.... and I've meaning to blog it because I find it to be soo funny and because it's an EASY idea to do with your little ones; helping them learn to create their own stories, begin to process of writing with them, scissor control if they cut out out their own pictures and help with word recognition and spelling.

One of our year goals is for Anna to dictate to me a story and then copy the story onto her paper herself (or just have me help with words she cant spell).... but we're not quite there yet... ie a "year goal"!

I couple of weeks ago Christopher was supposed to be hunting for pictures in a magazine that were blue. Anna also loves doing this activity so she starting hunting out blue pictures and then started hunting for pictures she "liked".

Since we have a wedding in just a couple of weeks, Anna has been talking of marraiges, weddings, dresses, etc endlessly:) I wasn't surprised when she chose this picture.

And here is the story she made to go with it (I did help with grammer.... next time I don't think I will... have it be a real example of what she's doing):

These people are getting married. Someone is giving them a married box. There is
coffee and candy in the box. They are happy.

Daddy Time

A New Hideout

We tried to get some yardwork done this evening... We did well keeping tabs on the kids utnil Christopher "disappeared". We found him in a very boy-spot... climbing up into a bush.

So for any of those out there who might one day be at our house, outside with the kids and they all run in different directions. You then count "1,2.... wheres #3... Christopher?? Christopher??"

Make sure you check INSIDE the bush to the right of the house... He's probably in there!!

And yes, for all those who have been the least bit interested in my camera.... I receievd it back today....YAY!! It's back... no more cheesy baby camera pics...at least not from me:)

I was very, very impressed with Canon... their customer service, repair times, etc!! And of course I LOVE my camera!!

Evidence.....

... that your kids are big enough to get into the fridge themselves (and that they like grapes)!!

Good, Frustrating and Loved

Well today we had a good day... the kids and I tried to stay on some kind of laid back schedule which included reading, coloring, cleaning up, playing outside,etc!! It was a good day, although I'm quickly seeing and learning that I have A LOT of training to do....

Anna said tonight," Did you put Christopher's shirt on?" "Yes", I responded. "Mommy, Christopher is a big boy and we need to train him how to put his own shirt on now."

It's been a frustrating day as well..... I've really been wanting to put together a blog for our church.... just to have the activities and possibly Brian's sermons available. Also as an outreach... maybe someone would be willing to get aquanited with our church first online before actually stepping through the door and for information regarding some of the outreach activities we have going on.....

...anyway, a SIMPLE task of making a workable blog has left me frustrated.... and even more frustrating is that I can see some of my dad in my attitude....

I remember as a highschool/college student spending the weekend with my Dad. He had just bought a gaming joystick (is that what they're called) so him and my stepmom (and maybe my brother) could play some games. Anywho... he just could not get the thing to work... out of sheer frustration he picked up the joystick, walked outside and down the pier and threw it in the water..... HA HAHAA...

Who knows what the problem was... I wonder if he had it loaded correctly... but sometimes working on something that just WON'T WORK, I feel like doing the same thing. But I feel like I have a little "gentler" way... I usually just sit the computer down and do something different....

...and hopefully not steam about how much time I wasted....I could have been doing laundry, fixing dinner, reading to the kids...you get the point....

But I did get a refreshed at church... Miss Sue-Sue kept the kids in the nursery for me while I attended service.... THANK YOU!!

But now it's late and I'm tired... I have a little sense of energy knowing that tomorrow is a new day, my camera should be arriving(according to FedEx)and I will have some sweet bright-eyed little kids waiting at my bed in the morning (hopefully after the sunrise) :)

My late night inspiritation for the NEW DAY tomorrow:

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. Great is His faithfulness; his lovingkindness begins afresh each day. My soul claims the Lord as my inheritance; therefore I will hope in Him. The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for Him, to those who seek for Him."
Lamentations 3:22 (NIV), 23,24,25(Living Bible)

Thank you for holding me up Lord, even on days when I'm distracted and frustrated over silly things. Help me not wander too far from those things that are more important. And thank you for showing your lovingkindness to me. Help me to seek you more and give me patience to wait on You for all things.

Girls' Day

The girls and I left early this morning for the doctors.... they had to go for their well checkups (about time). ANyway, I like to put off doctor's visits because in the past they've been really tough to take.... Anna used to cry as we pulled into the parking lot and didn't stop until we were pulling OUT.

Maybe it's because she is 4 now... or because she is experienced or more sensible, but she did a great job. She was a little hestitant and didn't obey doctors and nurses immediately but she complied.... And of course we found out that she growing like a weed... she's in the 70th percentile with height!! She got all the tall genes... and might be taller than both Brian and I! Lyddie Bug is growing quickly too.... and although I think she's a little pudgy, she's right where she needs to be:)

After the doctors we headed to Krogers (to scoop up some sales)with some friends. When we went in it was pouring down rain, when we were coming it out the weather had cleared a bit. But Anna wanted to use her cute little umbrella again. Here's a picture that Andrea snapped:

So that's a pretty good pic of her hair now:)

Our morning was filled with playtime and lunch with friends and then a grocery run to Wally World. A busy but fun morning/ early afternoon!!

When Christopher woke up from his nap, he was soo sweet. I asked him about his morning/early afternoon with Daddy. I asked him about lunch and this is how the conversation went:
Me:"Did you eat hamburgers?"
Chris: "yep"
Me: "Did you eat french fries?"
Chris: "Probably...... and some checkup" (aka ketchup)

Funny kid.... where did he get "probably" from???

Another Canon Update

According to the repair status filed online today.... my camera is finished and will get to me in 4 days.... we'll see.... it needs to be shipped first....

I might actually have it for a church work day at a local children's home on Sat!! We'll see....

But I'll have it back quickly and that's awesome:) Another answered prayer is that all of the repairs were covered under the Canon 1 yr warranty....

We had a fun day... I'll post anout it later:) Gotta make dinner and get rid of this headache!!

We'll See When it Dries

Anna's hair had really been bothering me.... I was told that in order to keep the curls at the bottom I needed to trim her hair when it was all on top of her head..... so I did!

And her curls are beautiful when there is some humidity in the air. And it hangs soo beautifully. But whenever I braided it there was always a good 3-4 inches that hung down from the end of the braid and just looked scraggly.... And when there isn't humidity, it's just scraggly at the bottom!!

Well after all the talk of haircuts/hairdos the last few days, Anna told me that she wanted me to cut her hair tonight.... ME???

So after her bath I cut her hair.... ohhhh... I did try to keep an angle and I desparately tried to have a straight line across the back....BUT...

we'll just have to see what it looks like when it dries.....

The BEST thing was that she WANTED her hair cut and although she did not stay as still as I needed her to, she was calm and excited about getting her hair cut. And in the end she said she liked it... so it was a good experince for her...

NOT for her Mommy... I'm so worried it 's not straight and will look BAD... but with some clips and braids it will be cute.....

And it's still pretty long.... I'd say wet it's half way down her back versus almost past her bottom...

I already told her that we'd let it grow for a little while and then maybe have to have someone cut it nicely for her, for Uncle Scott's wedding in Oct (if it doesn't look good)...

we'll see when it dries....

Update on Canon

My camera was in the hands of the Canon repair people this morning and I recieved an e-mail that said that it was in the process of fixing it!!!! So far it looks like the problem is with the camera and is under warranty... we'll see what the final word is..... BUt I could really have my camera back by next week.... AMAZING!!

YUmmmmm

I found a yummy recipe from one of the Family Circle Magazines my mother-in-love passed down to me. There are always TONS of recipes I'd love to try, but with little picky eaters, sometimes a big picky eater and food allergies, I'm kind of limited!!!!

So here is a new, yummmy, chocolately, allergy-safe (for us) dessert (candy):

Chocolate Breakup

Saltine crackers (salted)
1 stick Light Blue bonnet butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 bag (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup nuts (walnuts or pecans, or sprinkles for non-nut eaters)

1 Heat oven to 350. Cover 15.5 by 10-inch jelly rool pan with nonstick foil (and I spray it with cooking spray b/c one time it all stuck).

2. Line pan with Saltine crackers to form a single layer, breaking pieces to fit.

3. Bring butter and sugar to boil (on stovetop OR in microwave). Pour mixture evenly over the crackers. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes for until crackers are light brown.

4. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolates over the crackers evenly (I usually stick back in the hot oven for a few minutes to help the chocolate melt and spread). Sprinkle the nuts on top.

5. Freeze for 3 hours. Break up into 2-inch pieces to serve!

Brian is my chocolate critic.... he really doesn't like chocolate desserts, especially semi-sweet chocolate.... but he is a BIG fan of this dessert!! It must be the combination with the salty crackers, sugar and the nuts???

Two Confessions

1. I was tired this morning.... so my first confession is that I stayed up late, much later than I wanted, because I watched High School Musical! Besides staying up late to watch a teeny-bopper movie... I actually liked the movie. It was very, very clean (despite some a little provacative dancing... at least for high school). What a difference than all the other trash out there!! no wonder it's soo popular...

2. My husband actually quoted this verse to me for supper when our dinner didn't quite work out like I had hoped....

"Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fatted calf with hatred." Prov15:17

Hahahhaa... anyway my soup didn't work out like I'd hope, so Brian pulled out some frig favorites and we just "made do". The kids loved our make-shift supper... sausage, corn bread and fruit salad... hahaha.... good 'ole Sunday dinner:)

Gotta Watch Out for those PKs

Christopher's dinosaur-do this morning.... he loved it!!

Another Bike Contraption

A couple of months ago my mom was cleanign out her garage and found the old bike that she'd connect to her bike...so my little brother could ride with her. When our little guys are too big to ride in a seat and too little to ride safety on the road (or at least with Mom and and Dad comfortable with them riding on the road)....there aren't many solutions.

Well we found the replacement part for our AlleyCat and so now Brian can pull the little ones in the trailer and I can ride with Anna "helping" on the AlleyCat....

.... BOTH Anna and Christopher tried it and LOVED riding on it:) Although Christopher feet can't quite get to the peddles, yet:)And I'm thinking it will also be a good transition for Anna as she's really wanting to ride her bike without training wheels... so maybe this will give her the confidence:)

By the way... still enjoying the pics with Anna's camera??

Been Downgraded :)

I didn't want to miss the biking man with his three Amigos!! So I scooped up Anna's little camera.... So until I get to Andrea's I've been downgraded to a Fisher Price Kid Tough...hmmm 0 Megapixel camera...at least it's easy to use:)



Actually I thought Brian was going to hook up our Alley Cat (we got the replacement part today Mom), but instead he hooked up his Coccoon... Still a funny sight in our little town:) And it gives this Momma a few minutes of quiet.... much needed today.