Halloween and such...

I haven't had a moment to post a few pics of the girls from Halloween.

Ella was Goldilocks, with the three bears tucked neatly into her apron. The minute the costume arrived, we HAD to play with the bears, and sleep with the bears, and feed the bears....I was glad to find them all right as I was loading everyone in the car for our Fall Fest at church.

The twins went as their cute little selves. I did find two cute tees at Target that had a fairy costume on it that said " Cute Costume" so that is what they wore. I'm thinking I might need to do my costume shopping now for next year, so I can save a little money : ).

On a side note regarding our living situation, we are all moved into our new "rent" home. We are semi-settled. I painted Ella's room and Molly and Ruby's room and still need to finish up the kitchen and intend to paint the girls' bathroom as well. I am truly thankful to have such a great landlord that was basically like...do whatever you like. I hope to get some pictures on the wall and such to make it feel more "finished".

One thing I have realized is that this is do-able. I was so concerned how we would manage in a smaller home, and it's really quite funny how quickly you can adjust to things. I find that I'm not as stressed to be "doing" all the time, because there is less to manage, and the girls love being able to play in their rooms all day. Before, we would go upstairs a few times a day to play, but I was always so nervous someone was going to hurt themselves on the stairs. Their are downsides as well, but I'm finding that is true about everything in life, and learning to accept things just as they are (instead of wishing and dreaming about when things will be different) has been quite freeing.

One OTHER side note, not something I usually talk a lot about, but over the last few months I have been feeling horrible. I've been having horrible headaches, and just completely exhausted and run down. So, I finally went to see the Doctor and had a bunch of test run. I went yesterday for my follow up and found out that I am very anemic (I was during both pregnancies, but thought it would go away), and I don't know how you say it...but, I have hypothyroidism. When I researched this condition and looked at the symptoms, I was shocked that I was experiencing about 80% of the symptoms...I had NO idea. Anyway, I am SO thankful that these are not serious conditions and can be treated. So, I am praying that I will get the spring back in my step very soon! Thank you, Lord!

We had a cold front blow through last night, and it is rather chilly here....and windy. Can't believe it is already time turn our clocks back this weekend. Don't forget!!

Keep The Faith,

Fall is here!!

FALL IS HERE!!!

This past weekend our Sunday School class met up at a local pumpkin patch. It was so fun, but definitely a cool, crisp day...and a little windy.

Miss Ruby

Molly and Ruby wondering about in the pumpkin patch - I couldn't get any good shots because of the wind.

And here is Ella in her bandanna hat. A friend of mine gave the each of the girls a little picnic basket with some animal crackers, juice, and jello...and a bandanna. As you can see, she just loved it!!

So, other than the weather turning cooler...that we are SO excited about, we are in the process of closing on our house. We are supposed to be out by Oct 18th. We put a deposit down on a rent house close to Wes's office. I get lots of questions about our current situation and never have enough time to go into detail, so I thought I would share just a little....

About 6 months ago, Wes and I both felt a real prompting (that we feel was from God) to put our house up for sale. We talked about a lot of different options and scenarios that could be possibilities, but knew we couldn't pursue anything until our house sold. The home we live in right now is a historical home or let's just say over 100 years old. It has been completely renovated, but still a little unique, so we just felt it would take a while to sell because it would take a specific buyer. WE LOVE THIS HOUSE!! We started a family in this house. We have SO many wonderful memories in this house. So, this whole process has been a little bittersweet. Another, really big deciding factor for us was the fact that when we bought this house, I was working AND we didn't have children. WELL, now I am a stay at home mom (thank you,Lord and Wes!), and we have been blessed with three children in less than 2 years. We are making it just fine by the goodness and sufficiency the Lord provides, but we just realized, we could do with less...less to maintain...and less of a house payment : )...because one thing has become VERY clear to us over the last few months, we should be saving for these 3 precious gifts we have been given and their futures....near and far.

So, that's where we are right now. We are going to rent for a year (maybe longer), place our trust in God's perfect plan for our lives, and wait to see what's in store. I keep telling myself...a house is a house, it's the family that makes it a home. So, my prayer is that where ever we may be, no matter the size or location of our house, it will always be a warm, joyful, loving HOME where God is honored, loved, and worshipped.

Happy Fall, Y'all!!

Keep the Faith,

Emily's Baby Shower - Welcome Baby Brannon!!!

This past Saturday my Mom and dear friend Elaine and I hosted a baby shower at my house for our best friend, Emily. Here we are with the guest of honor. She is due Nov 2nd, and chose not to find out what she is having. So in a few short weeks we will be welcoming a Baby Jay or Baby Lily. CAN'T WAIT!!! I thought I would share some pictures of the shower. We had SO much fun putting this together! I live for this stuff. I also had to share pictures, because this will officially be the last party I host in my house (tear).

Here is Emily with (from left) her Sister, Niece, Mom, and Mother-In-Law

Buffet Table - Roast Beef Sandwiches w/Mustard Horseradish Sauce, Salad w/Apples, Candied Pecans, and Goat Cheese, Gazpacho w/Shrimp, Parmesan Breadsticks, Strawberries w/Chocolate or Cream Cheese Dip

Iced Tea, Cranberry Lemon-Lime Punch, and Water

Place Setting w/Sugar Cookie Favor made by friend Robin (who I am amazed by!!!) She free hand decorated these cookies! They were just BEAUTIFUL!! I had her make a boy outfit...

and a girl outfit

Baby tree with vintage baby cards, pacifiers, ribbon, and initials for Jay and Lily

The weather turned out to be PERFECT Saturday (Thank you, Lord). We sat outside on the porch. It was so nice!

Wes's Aunt Debra made a quilt for each of the girls when they were born. She is so gifted. I thought they would work perfect as decoration on the table - because they were so pretty and she used all sorts of soft beautiful fabrics that worked great for a gender neutral shower.

Some of the flowers - I found some vintage baby flower vases on ebay, and bought the flowers from Sam's Club

I also found these wire baby carriages online

Dessert Table

More BEAUTIFUL cookies from Robin. She made baby carriages, monogram cookies, and baby bottles in addition to the outfits.

Diaper Cake on the dessert table

Baby Lily Cake

Baby Jay Cake

And, then I had to share this picture...couldn't resist. Wednesday is the girl's Mother's Day Out day, and they are ALWAYS so tired when they come home. I usually feed the twins dinner before Wes and I eat because they usually can't wait until he gets home. So, when we eat dinner, they sit in their exersaucer for a few minutes and watch a video. Well, Ella loves to treat the twins like her little babies, and she apparently gave Molly a pillow...this is what I found. My Molly sweetness....tired baby.

Hope you had a wonderful FALL weekend!!

Keep the Faith,

Amy

Accidents Happen Even On Good Days

We had a wonderful Labor Day weekend in our house! The weather couldn't have been nicer and my parents came to visit. The girls usually go to MDO on Wednesday, but I was able to take the twins on Friday because there were some openings due to the holiday weekend. Ella got to tag along with me and Neena. We had lunch and then went to Gap Kids to look for some new shoes...and of course left with more than we came for : ). I bought Ella two pairs of sneakers for the Summer in hot pink and white and we wore them out, but they were great because they were slip ons and looked cute with about anything. So, I was looking for something similar in Fall colors - these are the shoes we bought...

I thought these would be perfect for everyday Fall

And these were just the CUTEST shoes I've ever seen! When I put them on Ella, she said "Momma, these are so cute!!". Uh-oh!! I think I'm creating a monster much like myself : ). They also had them in Hot Pink and Purple which were REALLY REALLY cute, but for practical reasons, I thought she would be able to wear these with more...thanks Neena!

Another highlight of our weekend was the JUMP-O-LENE. I bought the jump-o-lene to take on our trip to Texas this Summer. It came in very handy while staying at my grandparent's house that isn't so kid friendly. We put it up when we got home from our trip, and pulled it out this weekend because the weather was so nice. Since the girls, especially Ella, hadn't seen it in like 3 months, it was like a brand new toy to her. Have I ever mentioned that I am a big advocate of hiding or rotating toys : ). Anyway, all of the girls had such a fun time jumping, playing in the sand box, and swinging in the back yard.

And then, as if we needed any more excitement, we had yet ANOTHER accident in our house. While I was cleaning up after dinner and Wes was literally 2 feet away tending to Molly and Ruby, Ella took a tumble of some sort and smacked into a piece of furniture in the foyer. I heard a LARGE thud, and then 2 seconds later, the sound no mother EVER wants to here...horrible screaming. I ran to see what happened and there was blood gushing from her mouth. As you can imagine, I suffered a mini heart attack, because at that moment I didn't know exactly what occurred...if she had knocked a tooth out, etc, etc. So as I was assessing the damage and she is gushing blood, I'm thinking, I need to take her to the hospital. BUT, my "eagle scout" husband who manages to remain calm in about EVERY situation, convinced me that there was no need for stitches, and that she just split her lip, yadda, yadda. So, we have survived yet another "boo-boo". However, she looks rather rough with a purple lip and bruised chin...

Pictures taken 2 hours after traumatic event - subject seems to be in good spirits ; ).

So, it was a rather eventful ending to a rather eventful LONG wonderful weekend...I'm coming to realize that anything but, is just out of the ordinary!

Hope you had a great Labor Day!

Keep the Faith,

Pony Ride, Headband, and Dessert

This weekend we went to something called the Frisco Fest where we live. They have it every August and it's kind of like a mini fair that takes place downtown. There are lots of activities for children, live music, food, and merchant booths...and I was surprised how much bigger and better it was this year. We walked there Saturday morning and did a round, it was a little warm so we came back home. After dinner, we normally always take a walk, and we decided to do another round and I am so glad we did. It was much cooler and we were able to enjoy the sights. As we were heading back to come home, we happened upon a pony corral, and I asked Ella if she wanted to ride a pony. Well, she did, and she LOVED it. We kind of had a mini-meltdown when we had to leave. Her pony's name was Banjo.

We had a full day Saturday with two trips to the Frisco Fest, a side walk coloring extravaganza, and a trip to the Academy that just opened in our area. Wes was really happy to hear we were getting an Academy. I have a feeling that it will become one of our weekend outings.

I have to share a funny from Ella. A couple weeks ago, she scratched her finger doing something, and ran to me crying that she had a boo-boo. So, of course I kissed it to make it better and this was our conversation

Ella - "Mama, I need a headband"

Me - "A headband?, I don't think a headband will make it feel better"

Ella - "Yes, Mama!!! I NEED a headband!!!"

I'm a little puzzled at this point, so I go to the medicine cabinet and pull out a band-aid.

Ella - "YES, YES, YES, a headband!!!"

Me - "Ooookkkkk, a headband" with a big smile on my face I wrapped her finger in a band-aid

About 5 minutes later Ella came to me and said "Mama, thank you so much for the headband, I feel sooooo much better!!"

GOTTA LOVE IT!!!

Yesterday as I was cooking dinner, I had just finished feeding the twins and as "dessert" I usually give them pudding or yogurt....it also buys me a few minutes because they love "eating" with their spoons and love pudding or yogurt. Not long after I got them all set up, I hear "Ahhhhh, ahhhh, ahhhh!!!" from Molly (yep, by now I can decipher the crying and whining). So I go to check on them and I find the problem. Ruby has decided she would eat BOTH bowls of dessert. This is becoming a common problem. So, I think I will be separating them from now on. : )

Hope you have a wonderful LONG weekend!

Keep the Faith,

Don't turn your back!!!

I seriously C-A-N-N-O-T turn my back. If I do, this is what I find. Hahahahaha!!!! Oh, Brother am I in for it!!!

Sooooo much fun!!!

They were giggling and having the best time. I was changing Ella's diaper while this was happening behind me. I had to quickly intervene so the whole roll wasn't gone...AND Ella really wanted to play with them, too.

Ella - "Mama, I wan't to color with markers."

Me - "Ok, but we only color on the paper, right?"

Ella - "Yep, only on the paper!"

We tried this once before a month or so again while I was cooking dinner. I let Ella use her big coloring pad on the floor, and when I turned around, there was a beautiful mural on the refrigerator. Really, it was quite impressive. I cleaned it before I realized I should have taken a picture. Something tells me that I will have MANY opportunities to catch these kinds of photos. : ) Thank goodness for washable crayons, markers, paint, etc, etc!!!!

Forgive the unkempt appearance, she did have shorts on...but, if you read my earlier post, we are back and forth in training pants and diapers. Joy, joy, joy!!!

AND, here is "bruiser" Molly...I turned my back for ONE second and she tipped over from the bowl (yes, plastic bowl, also in previous post) she was sitting in and scraped her nose really good on the edge of a door. One MAJOR traumatic crying episode later, we decided she would live.

To compound the issue of my NOT clean house and the complete chaos that ensues (as you could gather from above). We are trying to sell our house, and although we've had no showings in almost 4 months, this week we had 2 very impromptu showings...in the midst of all the FUN you see above. I know that's just part of it, but WOW, it's really been keeping me on my toes!!

Thought you might enjoy these funnies from our household!

Have a GREAT weekend!

Keep the Faith,

Miscellaneous

This will be a rather miscellaneous post. I wanted to post a few pics for the grandparents to see. I hope everyone is transitioning well getting back into the swing of things with school starting. We, or should I say, I, am SOOOOO excited Mother's Day Out is in full swing. I take the girls on Wednesday, and today was their first "official" day back. I really can't complain, because where the girls go to MDO, they offer a Summer program. So, we were able to continue going through the Summer with week breaks before and after the program. Let me just say that this has been like God shining light on me from above, because I would be bald if I had to get through the Summer without it. I am truly SO grateful that God has provided the means for the girls to attend MDO. Thank you, Lord Jesus.

So, I caught a pic of Ella this morning...she runs when I get the camera. Then I had to take a picture of the girls' new lunch boxes. Ella's old lunch box was pretty gross, and the zipper broke, so I splurged to get her a new one as well. This is the twins "first" lunch box. They are getting to be such big girls.

She looks like she is in pain...she wasn't...just refusing to stand still and smile

Lunch boxes

The twins new favorite thing - this is a green plastic bowl I keep Ella's play food in her kitchen. Well, when we go upstairs to play, this is the FIRST thing Ruby does. She goes and dumps the food out, and then sits in the bowl. Wes and I will spin them. They LOVE it. However, the totally fight over who gets to sit in it. It's pretty funny to see them both try to sit in it at the same time.

Ruby being a dare-devil

Molly lovin on her Peter Cottontail. This was a gift from grandma at Easter. He sings Peter Cottontail and hops. She LOVES it...and even though she can't say the words, she babbles and hums the tune.

When you have 3 little ones roaming around, you never know what you will happen upon. I think I noticed that Molly had gone missing, and this is where I found her.

The trail of DESTRUCTION from Hurricane Ella and her two spin off tornadoes Molly and Ruby. This is WHY I would go bald without a day of MDO. : )

My Mom and Dad came for a REALLY quick visit a few weeks ago. Here is Neena "pre-tend" sleeping. Ella loves to cover you with a blanket and pat your back.

Here she is checking on Neena

Papa and Ruby

Papa and Ella

Papa and Molly

This is for you, Aunt Vicki. Ella's Great Aunt Vicki lives in Hawaii and brought the girls some adorable Hawaiian dresses. I thought this looked cute on Ella. The other dresses are still a little big, but I know we will wear them next year.

Ella and her "Emma" doll...and Molly playing with her stuffed animals.

Emma was a gift from grandma that we hoped would help fuel her interest in using the big girl potty. She loves the doll and even praises Emma for tinkling in the potty, but when you ask Ella if she wants to go in the big girl potty she says "No, I'm good". She's had success before, but is REALLY being difficult about it lately. I REFUSE to fight with her over it, and having to chase after two other little ones while attempting potty training, SUPER FUN!! So we will be waiting a little longer. I have a feeling that seeing all of her friends use the "big girl" potty at school might coax her.

Yes, I know you feel all the more enlightened hearing about our potty escapades. That's just what happens in THIS exciting house. I KNOW you're jealous! ; )

We are experiencing some REALLY great weather here. It's supposed to continue into the weekend. I am SO excited to get back outdoors.

Hope the rest of your week is great!

Keep the Faith,