Thankfulness....

I have been pondering this one alot this week with the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching. My sweet daughter made a thankful list after school the other day...just because. I thought it was fun to see the things on her list:

My thankful list 2010
I am thankful for...
1.Friends
2.a nice warm bed to sleep in every night
3.family
4.toys
5.calendars
6.magnets
7.food
8.books
9.balls
10.a nice brother
11.I'm thankful for Jesus

I couldn't believe she listed calendars and magnets but oh well! For these we are thankful. I am thankful for so many things and have been blessed in so many ways that I think my list would be too long!
One of the things in 2010 that we are thankful for is that God's plans are not our own....and we have to learn to trust that he ultimately knows what is best for us in our lives and wants the best for each of us. I have recently learned this lesson or maybe have had to relearn it as we found out we are expecting BABY #3 in the Spring! I am thankful for a healthy body to carry this child and the love and promise of a new life that will be joining us! Our family is getting excited to see what God's plan is through this journey. And becuase it just isn't right to post without a picture or two...for me at least. Wishing you all the happiest of Thanksgivings!

3 and 7....

Apparently when you are 3 you like to dress up in any available costume and run around for hours pretending to be something else. Everyday is like that around here.

Also, did you know that at 7 you know just about everything there is to know...like 100 + 100 = 200 and how to spell independent and so many other useful things. I apparently did not know but was informed today. You almost know enough that you really don't have to go to school but maybe you want more for your life and you decide that making friends, learning new things, and even doing the dreaded mad minutes in Math can be fun! Cannot believe that school is officially underway and I have a second grader in the house, which reminds me that I have a lunch to pack and some laundry to fold before tomorrow...Oh the un-scheduled days of summer are over! BOO!



The good news is that the first words at lunch that came from the aforementioned 7 year old were "Mom, I can't wait for tomorrow because I get to go to school again!"

These things make me happy...

I have not shared any pictures on here in quite some time and these just bring me happiness to look at them. They are some taken in December on our vacation and it was an afternoon where we played, swam, danced, sang, and ran around at a play area/pool and had a BALL! These pictures and memories just make me happy and put a smile on my face.

Some things I don't want to forget about this day:

-Halle dancing to "I like to move it, move it" and loving every second of it!
-The best swimming pool day on our entire trip and we took full advantage of the nice weather.
-Caleb and I braving it to go down the water slide, only to find out he had to go by himself behind me. He did it and had a huge smile on his face when I caught him at the bottom.
-Playing tug boat with both kids in the water
-meeting 2 families and listening to them tell me how cute the kids were and how fast theirs had grown up and to enjoy these days and moments like these ones.
-lots of laughter and dancing to the music the DJ was playing all afternoon
-an empty playground
-root beer floats by poolside
-the best pizza for dinner from Flippers Pizzeria
-watching Caleb and Daddy hang their feet in the hot tub and chat
-Caleb loving his feet in the hot tub and not wanting to leave the pool
-skipping Caleb's nap and then watching him fall right to sleep the moment we got into our car














Hope your week is a happy one!

funny conversation

Our conversation at dinner went something like this:

3 year old boy currently obsessed with animals and all of their behaviors:
(shaking his head while saying this)
"Mom, dinasaurs don't drive (pause)
they don't wear socks (pause)
they don't wear shoes either (pause)
Mom, they don't have tires"

6 year old sister who knows much more than her younger brother(at least in her eyes:
"They are also extinct!"

Daddy: "Do you know what extinct means?"

Sister: "Yes, of course, it means they are no longer living on the earth"

Daddy: "Okay that is right"

Brother: "Mom, Elephants don't wear socks, and they don't wear shoes.

Mom: "you're right, do elephants drive?"

Brother: "Mom, elephants don't have tires!"

been gone too long...

I am back to the blog after a long absence. I have had a very full plate all of this summer and the craziness is still continuing this fall---I cannot beleive that September is nearly over and October is just around the corner. Not to mention, Christmas, but we will just quit talking about that one and enjoy this day. Acts 17:27-28 He is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being....doing alot of living and moving in Jesus today! Maybe I wish there was a little less moving involved but, alas, there is lots of laundry to be done and that means 2 flights of stairs all day.
Over the last month we have been busy finishing up our first fix and flip property that closed last week and was lots of work but a success! I wish I had taken some before pictures.....but here are some of the highlights.




We have been working on our second simultaneously and it should be finished in 1 or 2weeks. Caleb turned 3 and we had to have a party to celebrate. It was oh so much fun and the weather cooperated giving us an outdoor park picnic which he really loved! He is still telling people about it-that is certainly a success in my opinion.






Which reminds me that I need to post about what he is like at 3 years old...I will work on that one. We had a visit from some dear friends from Missouri--Yeah! It was great to see them and their growing family.



I have been busy srapping with the Brand New October Kit from Freehand Scraps It is so cute! I wish I had some more time with it....but I have 4 completed layouts and one more that might come together tonight-we shall see. Here are some sneaks...It will be available on October 1st!! Don't miss out!




Last week, Halle had to dress up as a scarecrow or farmer for their seed time and harvest unit they are studying...she of course insisted on being a scarecrow, which is a much more involved and difficult costume to make. With help from my talented mother, we pulled it off and barely in time for her to showcase her cuteness. She was darling in her thrift store denim jumper complete with patches and hankerchief pinned in her back pocket, and rafia wrist and ankle bracelets along with hat and rafia hair....thanks Mom! You came through to make one 1st Grader very happy. She is missing the hat...I will have to have her dress up again and take some more pictures.

Bubbles are so fun....

We had so much fun with the bubble shooters that I bought for the kids the other night. They did very well until the end. I had bought two so they would not fight and then realized after opening them that I only had enough batteries for 1 and a half.....OH no....they shared and took turns and then at the very end the fighting began. They are siblings but we are still trying to teach them to share and that can be very hard to do at times. Needless to say, I am headed out today to buy some more batteries, bubbles, check Father's Day off the list, and some Sunday School craft items for my lesson tomorrow.






Here is a quick scrapbook page I made from the June Freehand Scraps kit....it is a favorite picture of mine from Halle's one year shoot and it is for the baby book that is slowly taking shape and the end is in sight!! Hurray!


I plan to stitch my journaling onto the page with the sun and cloud....should be finished soon, I hope.

Halle sabotaged my camera this week and took some of the funniest photos....this one is Caleb's current obsession with "wittle Tato head" as he calls him. He has been playing and playing with this and the big Tato head and now Halle is asking for a Mrs. Potato Head.


Have a great weekend!

Conversations

I have to jot these down so I can remember them....While driving down the road the other day...
Daddy: Halle, do you want to stop at Lamar's and get a doughnut?
Mommy: Does a bear live in the woods?
Halle: Yes of course bears live in the woods and this bear wants a doughnut!!

While doing the bible story in Caleb's nursery class with Nana at church:
Caleb: HAPPY BIRTHDAY you you! (translation-to you) while looking at the picture of the men at Pentecost with the tongues of fire on their heads. (We have celebrated too many birthdays over the last 3 months)

This afternoon, while I was working at my desk and Halle was coloring...
Halle: Mom, I think I need to have a bath again tonight.
Mom: Why?
Halle: My hair just fell into my hot chocolate while I was coloring.
I look over to see one ponytail drenched in hot chocolate and a very apologetic face on Halle. I had to laugh!

Birthday Girl.....

We are preparing to leave tomorrow on a road trip to California(I will try to update the blog on our trip and share some photos), but I had to write down a few thoughts today to celebrate Halle and her birthday and the blessing that she is to our family and everyone who knows her.

Halle at 6: She is such a blessing to all!! She loves to sing and dance, loves music and if we are not playing any at the moment in the car then she will ask politely to "turn a song on please". She is 100% girlie girl and in love with anything that sparkles, shimmers, twinkles and, of course, anything that is pink! She has an incredible imagination and can make a game from a stick or really even a piece of trash. At recess you may find her swinging on the swings, or playing with her best friends at school Abigail, Abby, or Remi and their game usually involves building pretend campfires from wood chips and pine needles, or on a treasure hunt for something edible to feed their imaginary puppy. She is currently intent on perfecting her cartwheel, and loves to hit golf balls in the backyard or driving range with daddy, or even smack around a tennis ball. She really isn't half bad at it either. She recently read her first book completely for her entire class and is working on reading skills at school and at home where her favorite books are those that surround bible stories and God's little girl. She loves playing with her brother and he adores his big sister. Outside of her brother, her favorite people are still her cousins Tanner and Chloe. She adores them both and talks of them incessantly. She is always setting up little play areas around our home (house type setups) and dreaming up imaginative ways to work her story into those areas. Again, I told you she is very creative and has a huge imagination. Her favorite movie currently is High School Musical, because of all the singing and dancing I presume. I cannot believe that this little girl can be 6, but that she is, and we love her to pieces....Happy Birthday Halle! (I have already told her that she cannot turn 7) So sadly, this will be her last birthday. ;)

I just love that smile....




Here she is one year ago on the big day....She is so much wiser and older and changing everyday......


Speaking of Halle's love for life and her cousins...this series of photos were too cute not too share.