One Mom Show

Fall pics

2010-10-26T16:52:00.000-05:00

A few pictures from our fall photo shoot this afternoon....

Noah's Ark

2010-10-18T17:09:00.000-05:00

This week's Bible story is Noah's Ark. I plopped the kids down in the garage with some magazines and had them pick out pairs of animals to glue into their arks. I must say, they made some very interesting selections. hehe! When they were finished, Aidan asked to add a Noah so they cut out a couple men and we added a white beard. A fun and silly afternoon project!

Cereal Attempt #2

2010-10-17T21:37:00.000-05:00

SUCCESS!!!

We tried cereal a couple weeks ago and Sydney Grace was NOT impressed. I randomly decided to give it another try tonight and she seemed to really enjoy it.

I'm not sure what was harder for me, Sydee Grace being old enough to try cereal or Hanni and Ai being big enough to feed her. They are so awesome with her, she's been incredibly blessed with the best big brother and big sister!

In this last one she was looking at Aaron waiting on him to give her another bite.

Oh, and that high chair is getting a new cover as soon as I get to Hobby Lobby and buy some fabric!!

Stool Revamp!

2010-10-16T19:25:00.002-05:00

We have these two plain jane, honey colored stools that once served as plant stands but the kids have used them for the last couple years when they help me cook (almost nightly).

I've been really needing a creative outlet lately so I decided to revamp them. I've tried to keep the colors in my kitchen/dining room bright and cheery! The main colors are black and red and I've added some aqua and lime green as well. (These also happen to be the colors I chose for my fiestaware!) We had a half gallon or more of black paint in the garage so I was going to just paint them black but then I decided to add in some color. Polka dots for the first one (Hannah's) and I'm thinking I may do stripes for Aidan's.

Alrighty...blogger is being goofy so I'll have to try to add the before pic later on.

My Dancing Girl

2010-10-13T19:47:00.000-05:00

Hanni started dance last week and was really excited to show off what she's learned so far!! Please forgive the shotty video quality, I used Aaron's cell phone.

4 months!!

2010-10-13T18:21:00.001-05:00

Our sweet baby is just days away from being FOUR months old!! She is growing like a weed and jabbering up a storm. She loves to snuggle and is the most consistent little stinker I've ever seen! She takes a very short nap in the morning, a little bit longer one in early afternoon and a long nap in the evenings. She is ready for bed by 8 pm and wants to be fed, played with and swaddled by 9 at the latest. She has not deviated from that "schedule" pretty much since birth. Her big brother and big sister love to talk and play and "love" on her. They love her SO much and she's been blessed with awesome siblings.

Here are a few pics from our little photo shoot today...

2010-09-21T22:49:00.000-05:00

We've been trying to get a full week of school in since the 3rd week of August but due to being out of town, a death in the family and my gallbladder surgery, we're JUST now able to be successful a month later. Ahh well, we're just sort of unofficially doing kindergarten so I guess it's not such a big deal. We tend to do most of our learning through everyday experiences anyway. ;)

My plan throughout the year is to blog about our week at least once, mostly just to share our progress and so that I have some way of keeping up with what we've done when. I'm much better at this blogging thing than I am at keeping a written journal so we'll see how it goes.

The overall goal for this year is that the kids continue to enjoy learning while also adding in a little more structure. Most of our "learning time" is spent just living life (grocery store, role play, nature walks, conversation, playdates, etc) and I typically strive for at least 15-30 min of "table time" each day. Table time consists of everything from phonics lessons to crafts. We had been focusing more on character traits (which I still feel are REALLY important) but I decided to switch and focus more on working our way through the Bible. We'll be covering one or two Bible stories each week using these resources as a guide (http://www.dltk-bible.com/genesis/lesson-otbooks.htm and http://www.dltk-bible.com/genesis/lesson-ntbooks.htm) and I'll be adding activities and my own twist as we go along. We're also dabbling some in phonics with The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, Starfall, workbooks, etc. I'm not using any official curriculum for math but I have a list of skills we're going to be working through. Each of the kiddos has a spiral that we do random journal entries in once or twice a week. I use the journals to encourage creative thinking and for handwriting practice. The kids tend to really enjoy Science, History and Geography so we'll throw lots of that in also. I'm not sure what route we'll go next year when they officially start kindergarten but I continue to pray that God makes it VERY clear to both Aaron and me.

Now if you made it through all that, here are a few pictures from our week thus far...

This little book helps keep mommy on track throughout the week.

Day/Night journal drawings

While the girls were napping Aidan and I created an "1800's neighborhood" (Aidan's idea was inspired by our trip to Pioneer Farms on Sunday)

A close up

Washing their "pet rocks" after our morning walk

Mommy's mouse/zebra

Hannah said this one was a raccoon

I didn't get a picture of Aidan's finished products but he painted his rocks when he got home from soccer practice.

Pioneer Farms

2010-09-20T22:03:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we took advantage of Austin Museum Day (free admission) and took the kids to visit Pioneer Farms in Northeast Austin which also happens to be home to the Biscuit Brothers for any of you PBS watchers. I'm so thankful for the fun time we had together as a family. The place was really nice but we were a bit disappointed that only a couple of the guides there were willing to talk to us about "their" home.

Here are a few pictures from our visit...

3 months

2010-09-18T19:41:00.000-05:00

And we're back...

2010-09-06T11:39:00.000-05:00

So it's only been two months since I blogged last and my goodness there's been SO much happen in that time! Sydney is 11 weeks old and the twins are just days away from turning FIVE!!! Instead of typing out a long, boring update I think I'll just jump right in to what's going on with us now!!

Sydney is NOT a fan of tummy time but finally tolerated it long enough to roll over a few times yesterday! She's been smiling and "ah-goooooo"ing for a few weeks now and we are all just smitten with her!

This week makes week number 3 of attempting to start school. I am having surgery on Wednesday but I'm still determined to get some good learning time in before then and I've got some plans together for GG when she's here helping this week. Each Saturday or Sunday I try to write out a rough outline of what we'll be covering the next week so that we have some sort of structure to our table time. I opted not to use a curriculum this year so I've made a list of topics/goals and we're just working through them pretty informally. I've included a picture of our outline for this week. As you can see, it's pretty sparse since I'll be out of commission after Wednesday.

Hannah and Aidan are both sounding out words and reading "at" words fluently. I think they were surprised at how well they're doing and so excited to be actually reading! Their handwriting is improving as well and they are easily able to write any letter (capital or lowercase) that I call out to them.

These are their journal entries for today. I asked them to head outside for a few minutes and make some observations about the sky. Hannah drew big fluffy clouds and Aidan drew a cloud he saw that looked like a bus.

Then we made name clouds with cotton balls. Each kiddo traced their name with glue and then stretched out cotton balls to stick on their letters. Poor Aidan could not stand the way the cotton felt on his fingers so Mommy helped out with the stretching.

2 week pics

2010-07-03T14:48:00.000-05:00

Sydney's First Week

2010-06-24T11:04:00.000-05:00

Introducing Sydney Grace

2010-06-21T22:50:00.000-05:00

One week!

2010-06-14T08:27:00.000-05:00

Ummmm....yeah... so this morning I have my last prenatal appointment of this pregnancy and as of next Monday morning at this time, we'll officially be a family of 5! I must have some sort of weird wiring because suddenly I'm just not sure if I'm ready for this. Since yesterday, when reality started to sink in, I've been fighting becoming this weepy, needy, clingy person that I know is just under the surface. Most women in my shoes are doing everything imaginable to get labor going and apparently I "look" ready because I've had several people tell me I "look like [I'm] ready to be done." I'm not sure if that means I look huge or I look awful but apparently I've got "the look". haha

I'm so ready to meet this little girl so I'm going to blamed this sudden burst of tears on hormones and leave it at that. We have a busy week planned and Aaron begins paternity leave on Saturday so I'm hoping time will just fly by and I won't have much time to sit and dwell.

The beginning of my "stash"

2010-06-12T19:21:00.000-05:00

When the twins were still infants, I was introduced to the modern version of cloth diapering but it wasn't really something we could afford to invest in at the time. Over the course of this pregnancy, I began to look into it again and finally decided to make the leap. There are SOOOO many options and it can be quite overwhelming but thankfully I have some wonderful online friends who helped me figure out which systems would work best for us. To be totally honest, we're doing this more for economical reasons than environmental ones. I FULLY intend on using flushable liners at least part time. ;) I have quite a stock of pampers and huggies so we'll use those for the first month or two and then gradually make the leap. The stash I have now is about enough to make it through a day or so but I'll continue to add here and there so that we eventually have enough to wash every 2 or 3 days.

These are our pockets....

And these are hybrid dipes that I'm anxious to try...

A few recent projects...

2010-06-11T19:30:00.000-05:00

A dinosaur apron for the little guy

lots of flower clippies for the girls

I also made each of the kids a set of beanbags, a pair of shorts for Aidan and a couple more aprons (one for Hanni and one for a birthday gift). I keep saying I'm going to put the sewing machine away so that I can get the pack n play set up in our bedroom but I just can't seem to do it.

A Sweet Surprise!!

2010-06-05T11:27:00.000-05:00

Last night when Aaron got home, I was surprised with a huge FedEx box that had apparently been sitting in our front entry all day. Ooops! When I opened it, I found a beautifully arranged diaper wreath and a sweet letter from my best girlfriend. She has organized a baby shower via mail for me!! Since we don't live near family (or friends really), she took the time to get info from Aaron and contacted some of my family to set the whole thing up. I guess I'm not the best at showing my excitement or appreciation but this was such a sweet surprise and I am so very thankful for everyone involved. I've asked that she and Aaron not reveal any additional details to me (and for the record, not sharing details with your best bud is NOT easy haha) so that I can enjoy the blessings that are due to arrive on my doorstep this week. I'll keep this blog post updated with pictures of our blessings as they come in this week.

I'm not sure what I did to deserve such a wonderful, sweet, thoughtful friend but I am so thankful she's a part of our lives!! Love you Sherry Bob!!!

So to start things off.....

Blessings.....

Blankets that Aaron's grandmother made for Sydney.

A close up of the blankets that she handstiched.

I also received a swaddle blanket from Aaron's aunt Tina.

This week as been so much fun!! I am so very grateful for all the goodies Sydney has been blessed with, most of which I've shared here. My mother in law and grandmother were kind enough to send us gift cards and cash as well. :) I'm so thankful to have a friend who would organize such a sweet idea and for all of those who took part. Thank you all so very much!!

Wedding Gifts

2010-05-28T20:28:00.001-05:00

My sister and her fiance' leave for Antigua early in the morning for their wedding on Wednesday. Hopefully she won't check my blog before she gets back because I wanted to share a couple of the gifts I put together for her and my soon to be brother in law.

Family rules similar to the ones hanging in our dining room

Not a wonderful picture but I wanted to get one of it in the frame

Aaron cut, sanded and painted the plaque for me and I finally got the lettering put on this morning. This one is from my sister, Rachel and I.

For the Birds!!

2010-05-25T11:26:00.001-05:00

We had several apples that we somehow managed to let get bad before we ate them and some nasty peanut butter that no one would eat so I decided to try to find some use for them instead of just tossing them. The best I could come up with was treats for the birds so we went with it. It was a messy, messy project but the kids had fun and Aaron got to use a power tool. haha Hopefully the birds enjoy their treats!

Reptiles!

2010-05-19T15:05:00.001-05:00

We finished up our mammal study last week and the kids agreed to start with reptiles next. Hannah got to pick which category we started with and chose turtles/tortoises and I was very thankful that we got to push back snakes a week or two. ;) Aidan keeps reassuring Hannah and I that snakes are NOT creepy in pictures or behind glass at the zoo, they are only creepy in the wild. I've really enjoyed our little impromptu animal study and they seem to as well. It ought to be easy enough to continue with once Sydney arrives since most of our learning comes from reading library books and discussing them.

Yesterday we did a little turtle/tortoise craft to pass some time since we've kinda been cooped up this week. Hannah and Aidan painted paper plates then we added a head and legs, stapled the plates together and poured a few beans into the middle to make turtle tambourines! They each added their inital to the turtle shell with some mod podge and glitter.

Today I decided that I needed to make something for my little guy since there's been so much fuss over the nursery (which will eventually be the girls' room). Extinct or not, dinosaurs are definitely Aidan's favorite reptiles and he's requested dinosaur decor when Hannah makes the move into the girls' room later down the road. Hannah fell asleep on the couch so Aidan and I picked a dinosaur I thought I might be able to freehand and then he helped choose colors that will coordinate with we'll one day do in his room. I was very surprised that what I drew/painted actually does favor a dinosaur quite a bit. The most important thing was that he loved it.

5 weeks!!

2010-05-17T16:19:00.000-05:00

Only FIVE weeks until we meet Sydney Grace!

I really cannot believe how fast this pregnancy has flown by. I've never been 34 weeks pregnant before and I'm just so thankful for the opportunity to carry a baby to term! I'm sure I'm forgetting SOMETHING but I made a Target run today to buy baby soap, receiving blankets and a few other things we needed. All her laundry is washed and folded or hung, her room is done so now I'm looking forward to relaxing a bit and enjoying these last few weeks as a family of four. Hannah and Aidan were given Big Brother and Big Sister books a few weeks ago and I'm hoping to start filling those out with them and spending a little one on one time with each of my big kiddos as they transition to new their new roles. We can't meet to meet our littlest girl!

The Finished Product

2010-05-15T13:13:00.000-05:00

I'm sure I'll find a few other things to add or change but for now the nursery is DONE!!! It's not the original vision I had but I'm still rather happy with how it all came together.

Busy, Busy!

2010-05-12T19:26:00.000-05:00

UPDATE....

I decided to go ahead and throw the crib skirt together rather quickly tonight. One little corner of the nursery is almost completely done!

This verse is one that I really want my kiddos (specifically my girls) to know and find comfort in of as they grow up. Sometimes this world is really harsh but God does NOT make mistakes!! I ordered the vinyl lettering and then found a piece of wood the EXACT size I needed in the garage when we were cleaning up the other day. I finally got around to painting it and applying the lettering & ribbon today. For now it will hang about Sydney's crib.

This was my first project of the day. I made a cover for my camera strap. I change my mind and way too often to do something permanent and thankfully I found a tutorial for one that is rather easily removed. After I finished the strap cover this morning I got tons of housework done and tonight after dinner I got started on the crib skirt. It's a little bittersweet to see my to-do list getting smaller and smaller. I'm so excited to meet my littlest girl and I've really enjoyed this time of preparation as it's given me a lot of opportunities to be creative and productive.

More progress!!

2010-05-11T18:36:00.000-05:00

All the furniture is painted and in the nursery so I've finally been able to start decorating a bit. We hung a shelf yesterday and I decided to get crackin' on my long sewing to-do list today. Next on my list is the crib skirt, a camera strap cover for my D60 and a couple placemat type thingies to put on top of the dresser and nightstand in the nursery.

Custom Changing Pad Cover!

Carseat Canopy to keep the sun off my littlest girlie!

Bedding

2010-05-06T13:19:00.000-05:00

8 weeks!

2010-04-27T09:02:00.000-05:00

8 weeks from now I will be snuggling a sweet, cuddly, 24 hour old newborn!!! I can't believe time is flying by so quickly and soon we'll be bringing our littlest girl home. We still have lots to do to prepare for her arrival and I anticipate all that keeping us plenty busy and that the next few weeks will be gone before we know it. I can't wait to see her little face, her little fingers and her little toes!

2 down, 1 to go!

2010-04-24T19:24:00.000-05:00

Aaron has now refinished the crib and chest of drawers and only lacks painting the changing table!! The chest of drawers proved to be a bit of a challenge (the inside had to be rebuilt in order to replace the drawer guides among other things) but my handy hubby came through with ease. :) Once the changing table is done, we can get our guest bed out of the nursery and into the garage for storage and I can get the decorating done. It's looking like we may actually finish the room by early June like we'd hoped!

While Aaron was finishing up the chest of drawers the last couple days, I was busy creating some artwork for the nursery. I bought a ton of different size canvases when Michaels had them on sale a couple weeks ago and couldn't pass up the chance to create something (on the cheap) for the girls' room.

A few projects...

2010-04-22T16:26:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to share a few projects that I've done this week. I've kinda been dabbling in everything and hope to start painting a couple canvases for the girls' room tonight. :)

Babylegs for Sydney

Of course sister wanted some too!

And so did brother!

Since I made the black, white & gray bow, she wanted a skirt to match so I made that for her today. I realized her babylegs would match about the time I was finishing up the skirt.

"Scrap" mobile for my littlest girl

Bows! Since I'm going to have two girlies to outfit with bows I figured I oughta learn how to make them.

Babylegs

2010-04-19T20:52:00.000-05:00

I bought the knee socks to make these a couple months ago but just got around to getting them done. I laughed a little when I realized I had purchased the exact same 3 pack of socks that the tutorial's author used in the tutorial. Babylegs sell for about $12/pair but since I found my knee socks on clearance, I got three pair for $4.98!! They may not be store shelf worthy but they'll definitely serve their intended purpose.

Crawfish!

2010-04-18T20:34:00.001-05:00

We had a crawfish boil with some old friends last night and the kiddos enjoyed torturing the poor crawfish and keeping the adults entertained. I never know what to expect with these two but, as usual, they didn't fail to keep us laughing.

First he played with them

Then he cooked them

Then he devoured them

She did the "typical girl" screech when it came to holding the live ones but obviously had no qualms about the ones that had been cooked.

But she's not much of a crawfish fan and went with sausage instead.

Another haircut!

2010-04-15T15:56:00.000-05:00

It's amazing to me how haircuts can make my babies look totally different.

Before

After

A few new Seuss additions!

2010-04-12T20:39:00.000-05:00

Baby bedding

2010-04-12T20:29:00.000-05:00

So my Saturday was spent sewing and constructing Sydney's crib bumpers. Aaron's mom was kind enough to drive down and help me and there is absolutely NO way I could have done it alone. She kept us rolling and did all the cutting and pinning. I did most of the sewing but I'll hardly take the credit for the finished product. We ended up using all the fabrics I bought and the final result is rather busy but I think it will look great once it's all together and in the crib.

Sewing a basting stitch for the ruffles

Close up of the finished ruffles

All done!!

Hibiscus

2010-04-08T16:30:00.000-05:00

I just love these flowering plants! They make me think of a remote, tropical place so bright and beautiful! When I was pregnant with Hannah and Aidan, I had this pitiful tiny little hibiscus that sat out front. The day we went for our 20 week ultrasound and discovered we would be the parents of TWO babies that plant had two blooms on it for the first time ever. Definitely one of those "God wink" occurrences and I sure wish I knew what I did with the photos. This year I decided to get a hibiscus tree and I've been trying to protect the poor thing from the crazy winds we've had lately. Sam's had orange, pink and red and although I LOVE pink, I decided to go with orange because they're just so darn pretty. Well imagine my surprise when I walked outside yesterday and saw both orange AND bright pink!!

Bathroom redo Seuss-style!

2010-04-05T15:12:00.001-05:00

Since I don't have enough going on right now, I thought I'd throw in redoing the kids/guest bathroom. I loved Pottery Barn Kids' Dr. Seuss stuff but $30 or $40 for a shower curtain just seems a little silly to me. So I took the idea and decided to run with it. I got the shower curtain and a few other things at Target but I'm determined to make as much of the decor as possible.

This past weekend I sewed the ties for the shower curtain rings and painted the polka dot canvas which I'll be added a Dr. Seuss quote to. It's still very much a work in progress but I'm happy with it so far.

Easter weekend

2010-04-05T14:50:00.001-05:00

We were blessed to have family visiting this past weekend to join us for Easter festivities. Aaron smoked a DELISH pork shoulder and everyone kept busy with sanding furniture for the nursery, shopping, snocones, jumping on the trampoline, yummy meals, an easter egg hunt and lots of pictures. Saturday morning, we took Hannah and Aidan to a park here in Hutto for the community. They were so overwhelmed by the mass of children running towards them to snatch up candy that they just clung to one another and managed to pick up a few pieces of candy each. I was so thankful I caught these moments on camera because it's one of THE sweetest things I've ever witnessed my children do.

As sweet as it was to witness them stick together in a "tough" situation, it was even more sweet to hear them retell the REAL reason we celebrate on Easter morning. We're pretty open about Santa and the Easter bunny being just for fun/pretend but the kids still enjoy the worldly traditions of eggs, candy and presents. It's so wonderful to see them always come back to Jesus and how important He is.

Easter is also one time of year that I try to coordinate all of us in matching attire. Since the weather was yucky we weren't able to get any great pictures outside but managed a few good ones indoors despite the cruddy lighting.

Thinking out loud

2010-03-31T10:26:00.000-05:00

Aaron's mom is coming down in a couple weeks to help me assemble Sydney's bedding so I figured I should probably get some idea together of how I'd like to arrange the fabrics. I'm just the slightest bit obsessive compulsive so typically things like this take me days or weeks to decide. I decided to sit down and make a little layout of sorts to fill in with my fabrics and see it that might help speed things along. To my surprise, IT DID!! I think I've made up my mind already! Of course my choice means buying MORE fabric and not using 2 yards of fabric I've already bought but they'll be lots of other uses for that.

So, on side one, we'll have the floral all the way down.

For side two, I went with option 2. I'll have to make another run to Joann's for the polka dot fabric but I really like the look of the big polka dots more than the tiny ones.

This was another option that I liked but not as much as the one above. Since I'm using the solid pink for the bumpers, I've decided to use the swirls for the ties and hopefully I can get started on those today or tomorrow.

I would would love to say the designing part is done but I still have the crib skirt to figure out and then I need to figure out if I want to make crib sheets, use white or figure out something else.

After looking over what I've got with Aaron, we came up with one other possibility for side two..

Obviously, if we go with option 3, the ties will be polka dot for side one as well.

Make a Difference Monday

2010-03-29T10:32:00.001-05:00

And boy let me tell you, this one involves different on SO many levels!

My baby girl has been asking to cut & donate her beautiful, long hair for several months now. Last night I just decided to go ahead and do it today and be done with it. Her hair really needed the cut and it IS just hair but I will admit that tears welled up as it was cut. Aaron loves his girls to have long hair so it was especially tough for him to let us go through with it but I've reminded him (as I've reminded myself) that it WILL grow back.

Hannah has had one trim and one cut (couple inches) in her lifetime and that's it. She wasn't thrilled about sitting there to get it done but I've caught her admiring her hair and running her fingers through it several times since we got home. In fact, she JUST walked in as I was typing and said, "Mama, I really like my hair." I also think it's sweet that she was very concerned about HOW they were going to make her hair into a wig. Apparently she was under the impression that they'd do it right there in the salon. haha

Making progress

2010-03-24T11:38:00.000-05:00

The kids and I did a little shopping yesterday (by little I mean we headed out at 12:30 and didn't get home until almost 8! oops) and picked out Miss Sydney/Gracie's coming home outfit and the fabric for her bedding. Aaron will hopefully get the crib finished up soon and then we'll start getting her room put together. I have so many ideas bouncing around in my head and can't wait to see how it turns out! I have set a goal for us to be done in 10 weeks, well closer to 9 now. That puts us having everything ready and set up by the beginning of June so that I can make whatever finishing touches and try to enjoy the last few weeks before our little girl arrives.

Crib bedding fabrics (I also have some solid hot pink we'll use for accents)

Syd's coming home outfit! (I think it's cute and kinda funny that both my dad and Aaron have been calling her "Syd")

St. Patty's Day

2010-03-17T09:49:00.000-05:00

Last night we watched a Veggie Tales short about St. Patrick and his work as a missionary in Ireland. Then we started off the morning with a Shamrock/Holy Trinity craft and an attempt by mommy to explain the Trinity. I was very pleased that the video and the craft opened up quite the dialogue at breakfast this morning. The kids found it quite silly that people prayed to twigs (one of the Veggie Tales illustrations) and asked lots of questions about how we can talk to God, how He can talk to us, etc. I'm excited to begin discussing Easter with them now.

For breakfast, we made green pancakes and the kids had green milk to drink. Since I didn't have a shamrock cookie cutter, I did my best to arrange the pancakes in a shamrock-like shape. I wasn't all that proud of how they turned out but the kids really enjoyed their green breakfast. We somehow forgot to unload the freezer bag after our trip to Target yesterday so my frozen veggies began thawing and need to be cooked ASAP. Works out perfectly as I had grabbed bags of brussel sprouts (Han and I LOVE them) and sugar snap peas (a family fav) so we'll have a green lunch too! Later this afternoon we're going to make rainbow cupcakes too!

March 17th is also the day our beloved Belle (the dog) was born so we've done a little celebrating with her this morning too.

Here are a few pictures from our morning....

Make a Difference Monday

2010-03-15T12:22:00.000-05:00

Aidan reminded me at breakfast that today was "Monday to make a difference" and we decided to draw Daddy pictures to show him how much we appreciate him. Hannah shared that she's thankful that Daddy takes her to Red Robin & McDonalds (can you tell it's lunch time?) and Aidan shared that he's thankful that Daddy goes to work to make money and that he plays with him.

Spring Photos

2010-03-11T13:21:00.000-06:00

The kids and I did a quick little shoot downtown in their Easter garb. They're getting a lot better about cooperating with their snap happy mama and posed themselves in 95% of these!

Homemade Edible Arrangement

2010-03-10T18:41:00.000-06:00

Today was our 4th anniversary!! The traditional gifts for 4th anniversary are fruits/flowers so I thought it'd be a nice treat to order Aaron a edible arrangement and have it delivered. Then I found out how much they cost. lol Long story short, I figured I could manage a decent enough arrangement on my own so off the kids and I went to H-E-B to gather supplies! Here's a little picture walk thru of our creation.

What you'll need:

"Helpers" (optional)

Sliced Pineapple (thank you kind HEB employee who did this for me!)

Freshly rinsed strawberries

Grapes fresh out of the bath

Cantelope (preferably a ripe one...oops)

Then you just add fruit randomly to skewers.

SEE, even 4 year olds can do it!!

We used a flower cookie cutter to cut flowers out of pineapple slices and little balls (cut in half) of cantelope for the flower center or "pollen" as Aidan called it. Place the skewers in floral foam and cover with lettuce or any other leafy green.

The finished product!

*It's beneficial if you just go ahead and buy a cute container at the store instead of getting home to realize you don't have much more than a ziplock storage container to use as a base.

She Sews! Saturday

2010-03-06T16:53:00.000-06:00

Projects from this week:

Get out & vote!

2010-03-02T14:23:00.000-06:00

Today is the day of the Texas primaries so I took the kiddos along with me to vote. Before we left, I searched the net for pretend voter cards for the kids and FINALLY found some. They were with us when we voted in the past presidential primary & election but didn't remember it much so I thought feeling like they were a part of the process would be fun for them. I was so thrilled that the ladies at the polling place made a huge fuss over them, having them sign their cards, stamping them and then giving each kiddo a sample ballot to fill in while I did mine. Hannah and Aidan had a lot of fun and while they may not understand the process very well yet, I'm thankful for the opportunity to take them along and teach them the importance of voting at a young age.

Here they are ready to walk out the door

By the way, the skirt Hannah is wearing is yet ANOTHER one I've made for her. She was eager to help/watch me make it this morning so that she could wear it today. When we got home she requested I make her another one. haha

Make a Difference Monday

2010-03-01T13:23:00.001-06:00

Monday is trash pickup day in our neighborhood so the kids decided they would pull the trash cans and recycle bins up to a few of our neighbors houses for them. They did 5 houses before it started raining pretty hard and needed/wanted very little help from me. Aidan even rolled a couple trash carts up to the houses all on his own! I'm so proud of them and their willingness to serve others!

Grape Apes

2010-02-27T12:48:00.001-06:00

Hannah and Aidan loved soccer so much in the fall that they wanted to play again this spring. Today we had team pictures and since we JUST ordered the ridiculously priced portraits less than 6 months ago, I decided to just take my own this year. I'm hoping to get some better ones at some point (or have time to edit these) but for now these will work just fine.

Aaron is coaching their team again and since we were given the team color of purple he decided we'd be the Grape Apes! haha I wasn't familiar with the cartoon but apparently it was the first thing that came to Aaron's mind so I have just tried to go with it. Here's a few pictures of my little cuties this morning!

She Sews! Saturday

2010-02-26T22:38:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I'm an hour early. Shoot me! haha

Tonight I managed to finish up two new dresses for Miss Hannah. I came across a bandana dress tutorial and I liked the overall style of the dress but wanted more options for prints so I chose to tweak it and use fabric instead of bandanas. I also decided on the first one to make my own straps from fabric instead of the suggested 1.5" ribbon. The straps we a bit of a pain but I just love the way they look on the dress. The second dress went rather quickly since I chose to use ribbon but I don't love it as much. Ahh well. Hannah is thrilled to have new dresses and I'm still in shock that I've been able to make them for her.

Adding one more I finished this (Saturday) afternoon!!

Snow Day!

2010-02-24T15:21:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we woke up to quite a sight! SNOW!! When we moved to central Texas, I expected to see spring hail storms but wasn't quite expecting an inch or two of snow. This actually the third snow we've had this winter but was the first that left any accumulation. Aaron had the day off so he and the kids spent about an hour outside building snowmen and throwing snowballs. Belle even joined in on the action! I was able to stay inside the doorway (gotta protect my camera) and snap pictures. I much prefer dryness and warmth to wet, freezing fingertips.

She Sews! Again!

2010-02-23T22:57:00.000-06:00

So I'm thinking of making Sundays "She Sews! Sunday" and do a recap of any sewing projects I've done throughout the week on Sunday. Yes, I know today is NOT Sunday but my machine has been busy the last couple evenings and I wanted to share my progress. From now on, look for a recap of my little projects each Sunday afternoon! Oh and next time I promise to find a place other than my yucky ironing board to take pictures!

Make a Difference Monday

2010-02-22T14:56:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I heard about an idea for Make a Difference Monday on KLOVE (the Christian radio station I listen to). They suggested people pay for tolls for the people behind them, pay for the next fellow's coffee in the drive thru at starbucks, etc. When I heard the idea, I immediately thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to encourage a servants heart in my children and to provide them with opportunities to show love to others.

For today's project, we baked chocolate chip cookies together and took a bunch to the Hutto Police Department. The kiddos also drew thank you notes to deliver along with the cookies. As Aidan was drawing, he told me his card was for a GIRL officer and we were lucky enough to catch a female crime lab tech while we were waiting to visit with a police officer when we made our deliveries. She was afraid he'd be disappointed she wasn't a "real" police officer but Aidan was so thrilled. He had drawn her holding balloons (I don't question the 4 year old mind) and it just so happened that her birthday was coming up. It also happened to be the birthday of the officer who came out to talk to the kiddos. The officers were kind enough to give each of the kids a Junior Hutto Police Officer badge and sticker which they've been sporting around ever since.

I honestly expected a little hesitation from Hannah and Aidan on this but I was proud that they were such willing participants. When I mentioned the idea this morning and explained why we were doing it, they were eager to get to work on the cards and cookies.

She Sews!!

2010-02-21T18:11:00.000-06:00

While my grandmother was here to help me along, I decided to take on a little sewing project. Quite some time ago I came across this tutorial and just LOVED the little skirt (the Amy Butler fabrics probably helped that along a bit haha). I kind of took her idea and did my own thing but ultimately, it's the same principle. This morning we got to work assembling and sewing and had most everything but the waist finished up by the time my grandmother and family left for home. GG helped with the bottom band of fabric and explained to me how to gather the top (a little scary to me at first), my mom and dad added some input on construction and somehow I managed to complete it. Hannah just loves her twirly skirt and maybe, just maybe I'll make her another one one of these days. Sewing doesn't come naturally to me at all but I'm beginning to enjoy it more and more.

My little model

A closer look

Nature & Science Center

2010-02-19T16:35:00.000-06:00

Today we met up with my good friend Amanda and her little ones for some fun at Austin's Nature & Science Center. We'd both been wanting to take our kiddos there for some time and I'm so glad she invited the kids and I join to them! It was kind of a dreary day but the kids had a blast despite that. We had a little "picnic" outside, enjoyed the indoor exhibits for awhile and then headed back outdoors to visit a few animal friends and check out the dino pit. Aidan and Hannah just LOVE a cartoon on PBS called Dinosaur Train and Aidan especially has become very interested in dinosaurs. I think he could have stayed there digging in the sand all day! If you're every in the Austin area, I definitely recommend this free outing!

Catching up

2010-02-17T10:11:00.000-06:00

The kiddos and I took a little extended weekend trip to Tyler and Lufkin this past week/weekend. During our Tyler visit we wound up without hot water or electricity and then about 4 inches of snow fell overnight our last night there. The kids enjoyed playing in it a bit while we waited on the roads to clear up so we could head to Lufkin. The Lufkin trip was much less eventful but much more enjoyable due to the fact that we had heat and were able to take hot showers. Somewhere along the way the kids left their coughs/colds and I picked up yet ANOTHER sinus infection. After two days spent mostly in bed, I'm finally able to breathe somewhat normally and I'm hoping to get things back in order around here.

Yesterday morning while mommy laid in bed, Aidan was busy creating his latest masterpieces. I must say, I am VERY proud of these two drawings. The one on the left is a bluebird eating an apple with two apple trees and the wind blowing (towards the right if it wasn't obvious). The second is a "red robin" hanging out among the apple trees. Aaron and I just keep looking at the first wondering to ourselves how our four year old came up with such a detailed and creative drawing. These two never cease to amaze us!

It's a.....

2010-02-08T10:47:00.001-06:00

GIRL!!!

A little annoyed to be poked on so early in the morning

Close up

Tomorrow is the "big" day!

2010-02-07T15:27:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow we'll find out if we're adding a little brother or sister to our family!! I think the majority of friends/family are guessing that it's a girl but you never know. I just hope the little critter cooperates so that mommy can start shopping! haha Reallythough, we'll be happy with either; we just want a healthy kiddo!

Friday Fun!!

2010-02-05T17:27:00.001-06:00

This afternoon we finally got around to working on our valentines crafts since we'll be out of town most of next week. The kids decorated wooden hearts that we'll add magnets to and then made "fish" from hearts that turned out looking more like whales than fish. The kids are excited to deliver their magnet creations to good friends Brooke, Kylee, Olivia and Walker when we visit next week!!

Ummm...I believe there's something wrong with this picture!

2010-02-04T15:31:00.000-06:00

Do you see it?

Today was "V" day at the library's storytime. The librarian filled in today and read lots of books about vegetables. Great right? Well she mentioned french fries a couple times when asking the kids to name vegetables and it threw me off a little but I just blew it off. Then we head over to the craft table after storytime and lo and behold....FRENCH FRIES!!! For a veggie collage! haha I get that they're made from potatoes but there's something about the deep fried in grease part that causes me to feel they don't really deserve the "good for you veggie" title.

For what it's worth, my kids hardly ever eat french fries. I know, weird, but salad is at the top of their favorite foods list so what can I say. They did find it a bit entertaining to hear me sharing our veggie experience with a friend on the phone as we left the library though and were very proud of their veggie crafts!

As they grow...

2010-02-03T16:52:00.000-06:00

We did a little project this afternoon that I hope to repeat in 6 months, 12 months, 18 months and then randomly as they grow up. I had each of the kids write "My Family" at the top of their paper and then commence to draw each of us. Hannah made sure to add a "big belly" for Mommy and Baby and then of course Aidan decided to as well. I'm hoping the next few drawings will depict a nice, flat tummy. Hey a girl can dream right?! Aidan has taught himself how to write "DADDY" (he makes his craft for Daddy at the library each Thursday) and insisted he label Daddy himself. Daddy also ended up with a wild hair-do courtesy of Aidan. I am really excited to see how their handwriting and drawing skills improve over the course of the next few years and I think they'll appreciate having these when they're a big older.

Big Sister doing the chin hold!

Big Brother showing off his masterpiece!

Close-ups!

Let's build!

2010-02-03T10:55:00.001-06:00

My kids LOVE their Lincoln Logs. This week Aidan has spent the better part of every day just building away in the living room and it's amazing what the little guy can come up with. Here's a shot of him and his latest creation and of course one of sister too!

Underwear at the Library

2010-01-28T12:37:00.000-06:00

So Thursday is story time at the library. Each week they do a new letter theme and this week's letter is "u". The chick that reads (who i will lovingly refer to as reading chick or RC) picked up a book that had underwear in the title and this is what unfolded....

RC: blah blah blah Underwear by so and so
Hannah: my daddy wears underwear. he doesn't sleep in underwear though.
RC: oh...well....ok

The other moms all found it quite funny. Thankfully it was a small group today but we see these people EVERY week. I stepped outside to call Aaron to tell him thinking he'd be a little miffed but i dont' think i've heard him laugh that hard in quite some time. I was crying i was laughing so hard. I told aaron he now has a "get out of story time free" pass. Oh and just so ya'll don't think my husband struts around naked in front of my kiddos, Aaron sleeps in those mesh-like basketball shorts.

I think we may have a problem...

2010-01-20T12:19:00.001-06:00

A "we own way too many bows" problem! haha This isn't even all of them and there are TONS more I'd love to buy. I had started a new bow hanger for Hannah right after we moved (in July...oops!) and decided to finish assembling it today. I guess I should have taken a "before" picture because once the bows were added the cuteness of the hanger sort of got lost in all the bows. Hannah was very excited to have a pretty place for her bows again. (they had been hanging on a single ribbon in her closet)

long time no blog..

2010-01-19T15:53:00.001-06:00

We've been busy recovering from the holidays, schooling and entertaining company so the blog has been neglected just a bit.

Aidan finally agreed to get his hair cut this past weekend so my little shaggy guy now looks like a totally different kiddo. Now Hannah has decided that cutting her hair off is a good idea too. :( I've been trying to convince Aaron that we should cut it and donate her hair to Locks of Love but he's having a hard time letting go. Now that SHE is asking Mommy is having a hard time letting go.

We had a little scare with the baby last week as I thought Hannah may have contracted Fifth Disease (harmless to her, potentially deadly to an unborn child). Blood work revealed that I am immune (PRAISE THE LORD) and we were very relieved to hear that! Only 3 more weeks until we know if we're adding a brother or a sister to our family!

Here are some new pictures of the kids and one of their latest preschooling projects!

Taking a break to smile for mommy!

He loves to doodle!

We finally finished last week's Four Seasons crafts!

Hannah & Aidan say thank you!

2010-01-04T18:21:00.001-06:00

Instead of trying to keep their attention to write out individual thank you notes, I thought I'd have Hannah and Aidan help me create virtual ones! They each typed out the message and chose the colors and shapes. I hope everyone who blessed our family this Christmas knows how deeply grateful we are!

Whew!

2010-01-04T17:35:00.001-06:00

I keep putting off my post-Christmas blog post but figured I should do it before any more time passes. We had a fun visit to Atlanta (Texas) for Christmas with my family and my sister's graduation. Being gone for a week and 6 hours of driving each way wore this mama out but I am thankful we could make the trip. The kids and I arrived home just in time to prep the house for the arrival of Aaron's side of the family. We were so blessed to have them (including Aaron's 90 & 91 year old grandparents) here to celebrate the birth of Jesus with us. It was a little crazy in our little house but I'm glad they were all able to be here. The kids were spoiled with more toys than I thought their room could hold but somehow we managed to squeeze it all in. It helped a ton that we did our annual toy purge & donation before Christmas.

May God bless richly bless you in 2010!!!

More Christmas pics to come soon!

Christmas kiddos

2009-12-13T21:59:00.000-06:00

I figured I'd share a few more Christmas pictures before the kids and I head out of town tomorrow. Things will be rather chaotic when we get home next week but I'll have lots of pics ands stories to share once things quiet down after Christmas.

Snow Day

2009-12-04T16:53:00.000-06:00

We didn't get much but it snowed today all over Texas. Around 1 pm, the kids headed outside to play in the flurries and enjoy only the second snow of their lives!

Aidan decided to make "snow angels"

My sweet Hanni

Aaron broke out his ski hat. I just love this picture!

my lovies!

Snowflakes

2009-12-01T13:51:00.000-06:00

Today we made snowflakes to decorate the dining room! Aaron cut them out (you can definitely tell a man was in charge of color selection) and the kids and I decorated them with markers, glitter and chalk. We made a huge mess but it was a fun project to do together as a family!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

2009-11-29T17:19:00.000-06:00

The kids did an awesome job decorating the tree.

Reluctantly participating in picture time.

What's daddy doing?

Sassy girl!

Aaron's son!

Little Bitty Baby Blob

2009-11-16T18:25:00.000-06:00

It's official! We will soon be a family of 5!

Isn't our little baby blob just precious?!

Foto Friday

2009-11-13T15:35:00.001-06:00

Just thought I'd share a couple pictures of the kids in their Christmas pajamas. I snapped a some pics today and hopefully I can convince Aaron to get some Christmas decor up so we can take some nicer ones. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

A birthday, some halloween pics and an announcement!

2009-11-01T21:14:00.001-06:00

My loves!

My husband, the toilet!

Today was Aaron's birthday (Happy 31st, dear!!) and on Friday I surprised him with an early birthday present......in July we'll be adding a new little Carter to the family!!! We're excited that God has chosen to bless us with another child to love and raise and can't wait to tell Hannah and Aidan!

Happy Halloween!!

2009-10-31T16:29:00.000-05:00

3x Thursday - Halloween edition

2009-10-29T08:50:00.000-05:00

1. Do you go trick or treating door to door or to a fall festival, trunk or treat, etc?

2. Do your kids pick their own costumes?

3. What type of treats do you hand out at your house?

TWBA @ MGR

2009-10-27T10:38:00.000-05:00

This week's blog assignment at My Great Retreat is to create an acrostic using the letters of my first name to describe myself. I'm usually not so great with things like this but I'll give it a shot!

Seriously loves to clean!
A lover of the Lord!
Really interested in photography
A little bit OCD
Happy to serve my family

TWBA @ MGR

2009-10-14T17:32:00.000-05:00

This week's blog assignment at My Great Retreat is to take this quiz. I was really hoping for apple cider (my fav) or something warm and fuzzy but my result was beer. REALLY? Because we watch a lot of football around here, I'm BEER?!?! These quizzes are always entertaining!

You Are Beer

You are a social organizer of sorts. Whether you're at Oktoberfest or watching the big game, you're always ready to crack open a beer with a few friends.

You wouldn't say that fall is your favorite season. You tend to love all the seasons equally.

You enjoy getting together with your friends for all sorts of occasions, and fall fun is no exception.

Whether you're at a wild Halloween party, picking pumpkins, or going for a hayride ... you know how to have a blast during this time of the year.

What Autumn Drink Are You?

Blogthings: Free Quizzes for Everyone

Want it Wednesday!

2009-10-07T12:55:00.001-05:00

I see things all the time that I'd like to have but THIS is something I've GOT to have!

A Rainbow cainster vacuum cleaner! I was told they cost thousands of dollars but I've already found a few online that run around $1300 which makes this baby a lot more feasible than I originally thought. I borrowed a neighbor's today and it did a kick-butt job of cleaning my carpet (which apparently had never been cleaned until we moved into this house *gag*). I cannot wait to own one!

How the Carter's fight the sickies!

2009-10-04T21:31:00.000-05:00

Since my kids were born prematurely, I've always felt I did a pretty good job of being careful during cold/flu season and about germs in general. Now that we've learned a simple cold mixed with some allergy triggers can result in a hospital stay for Aidan, I've vowed to be even more careful. Trying to find a balance between helicopter, germ freak mom and aware but not paranoid mom has been difficult, but ultimately I just want to keep my kids well. Germs and illnesses are unavoidable (unless a kid in a bubble is your idea of fun) so I've found it best to be dilligent about handwashing and have a plan for when the sickies surface.

Honey...kids love it and it does some serious damage control when it comes to coughing. I'm not really into holistic treatments but I'm also not really into pumping any more medication that necessary into my children, especially when it usually doesn't work. When the kids had coughing/congestion as toddlers, our pedi would prescribe medication while telling me it probably wouldn't help them. Great huh?! Then one day I read somewhere that a spoonful of honey is a great treatment for coughs. I was skeptical, but it worked!! And since it's honey, the kids were more than happy to take a "dose" when their coughing would get out of hand.
**Never give honey to children under the age of 1.**

For stuffy noses and congestion, we do a Vick's vapor rub and saline routine. A few days of saline squirts in their noses and Vick's on their chests/backs and things start getting back to normal. Again, this tends to sit better with me than loading them up on cold meds. (In our house, congestion or cough also means albuterol breathing treatments for Aidan since things can go south rather quickly for him.)

I'm a firm believer that fever happens for a reason, to fight infection. That said, I'm not willing to let a fever go completely untreated. We do rub downs with lukewarm washcloths and the usual tylenol or motrin.

What about you? Have any home remedies or tips on how to fight the sickies? I'd love to hear 'em!

Simple Mom - 12 Weeks to a Peaceful Christmas

2009-10-02T12:50:00.001-05:00

Week One: Simplify and Prepare Your Christmas Budget

Posted using ShareThis

Home Management Binder

2009-09-30T17:45:00.000-05:00

This is an excerpt from the Home Management Binder I made to help keep myself motivated and on track with getting things done around here. Each day, Monday thru Friday, is devoted to a specific area of the house on top of the things that need to be taken care of on a daily basis. After using it for awhile, some weeks I follow it to the letter, other weeks I just clean as I want to. Following this format has gotten me in a habit of doing some cleaning tasks I had never even thought to do before. Breaking the cleaning tasks into separate days helped me to feel less overwhelmed and I end each day with a sense of accomplishment knowing my home is CLEAN clean, not just wiped down.

Edited to add --->

Here's the rest of my week...

These need a little updating/tweaking since we moved but they still work pretty well.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-30T08:53:00.000-05:00

Happy Fall, Ya'll!!

2009-09-22T11:27:00.001-05:00

The first day of fall brought rain which made for a perfect day of crafts and playtime indoors. I helped the kids make thumbprint fall trees to celebrate the season and each of them shared why they are excited about fall. Aidan also wanted to make sure everyone knows his tree is "manly". My sisters and I did these same type trees in preschool and my mom has them framed. It's so much fun recreating my own memories with my children.

Thankful Thursday

2009-09-17T08:35:00.000-05:00

I'm thankful for my husband, kids, family and faith everyday but today I'm especially thankful for having had Aaron home with us all week. Usually by this point, I'm ready for him to head back to work and get back to normal but I'm really going to miss having him here next week. We haven't done anything particularly special, just enjoyed being together as a family.

FOUR!!

2009-09-15T08:04:00.001-05:00

On Sunday, Hannah & Aidan turned four!! We had a visit from Gamma, Pops, Gea & Grandaddy on Saturday and then Nana, Poppa & GG are coming down this weekend. Then we'll be getting together with some little friends on Sunday afternoon. I cannot believe FOUR years have past since they were born. I'm amazed at how healthy and BIG they are! God has truly blessed me and I'm so very thankful!

Hook 'Em

2009-09-05T15:22:00.001-05:00

Horns fans since birth!!

Patient

2009-09-04T16:04:00.000-05:00

"Be patient, bearing with one another in love." Ephesians 4:2

This week has been a learning experience for all of us. Patience is something everyone struggles with, especially me. I've gotten compliments and comments on my ability to be patient with my kids but it truly is exahausting for me. But it's worth it to me, to give my chidlren a fair chance at figuring out how things work and how life works on their own.

Every Monday I go through the week's character trait and give the kids examples or situations. So this Monday I gave them several scenarios and asked them to tell me which person in each example was being patient or impatient. They did well with it and I expected them to, the patience talk is something we've had before. What I didn't expect was for them to begin encouraging each other to be patient in some of the very scenarios we had talked about originally. They didn't go about it in a bossy way, they genuinely seemed to want to help one another.

I don't want to give my kids the idea that I'm perfect and that everything I tell them or expect from them is just because I'm a mean ole mama who wants everything her way. I want them to understand WHY I choose to parent them they way I do. When we say our Bible verse together each week, I remind them that the words we are saying are God's words, words that He wants us to learn and remember so that we can make good choices. I also tell them that Mommy & Daddy do the things we do because one day we will be held accountable to God for the way we raised them. I'm sure that may seem like way too much information for not-quite four year olds but they really seem to grasp what I'm saying and I hope that God's Word will stick with them and be a comfort and encouragement to them as they grow up. While we're on the topic, this week brought a very proud moment for me. Hannah memorized her Bible verse!! She was talking to Nana & Poppa and I asked her if she could tell them her Bible verse if I said it with her. Well, she just started saying it all on her own and I think "in love" was the only part I had to remind her of. It was so sweet to hear her speak those words.

God is really using teaching my children to minister to me. It's such a humbling reminder each week to be aware of my actions and behaviors. I know I've said it before, but I just didn't forsee myself learning right along with them like I have. It's an incredible blessing and I'm very thankful!

1st practice

2009-09-03T20:05:00.000-05:00

Tonight the kids had their first soccer practice. It went really well, all the kids played well together but leaving was another story. We had two (one of them was Aidan) who DID NOT want to go home. haha I think the kids are going to have a blast!

A little update....every night at bedtime, Aaron has been talking to the kids about soccer. He goes over the "rules", asks them questions, etc. Being the creatures of habit that they are, they asked him tonight to talk about soccer again so I asked them what their favorite part of practice was. Their answers were SO typical Hannah and Aidan. Aidan had TWO favorites, keeping the ball inside the white lines and keeping the balls inside the orange cones (a little drill we did with them). Ready for Hannah's? Hannah's favorite part was kicking the ball OUTSIDE of the white lines. hahaha That child is all for games without boundaries or rules but once you start adding rules into the mix, she's off picking daisies. :) I have a feeling she might contribute a few gray hairs to mama's head when she gets a bit older.

Here are a few pictures I snapped as we were walking out the door:

Make a List Monday

2009-08-31T09:11:00.001-05:00

Five Things I Love About Being a Mom:

1. Watching my children learn new things each day.
2. Learning new things myself through teaching/watching them.
3. The unconditional love that only children can truly offer.
4. Hugs, kisses, snuggles and extra lovin' just when I need it.
5. Sharing the love of Jesus with my children and then seeing them share it with someone else.

One of my current favorite songs

2009-08-25T22:50:00.000-05:00

Beautiful, truthful, thought provoking, humbling words.....

Chris And Conrad - Lead Me To The Cross

Savior I come I quiet my soul
remember Redemptions hill
Where Your blood was spilled
For my ransom

Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself I belong to You
Lead me, lead me to the cross

You were as I Tempted and trialed Human
The word became flesh
Bore my sin and death
Now you're risen
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost

Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself I belong to You
Lead me, lead me to the cross
Lead me to your heart
Lead me to your heart

Sarah's Sunday Spill

2009-08-23T17:18:00.000-05:00

Today we visited a church in Round Rock. It was so refreshing to actually TALK to people instead of being ignored. Whether or not this church is "the one", there was definitely a reason for us to be there today. As I mentioned Wednesday, I've really felt attacked this week as we began our first week of learning at home. That exact thing was a topic of discussion in Sunday School this morning (James 4:1-11). I found myself literally giggling (quietly) as the class leader began this particular part of the discussion and hearing other people share definitely made me feel a lot better. It seems so "churchy" to say "the devil is attacking me" but that's exactly what he has been doing. He is ALWAYS there looking for a way to separate us from God. His hope is that we'll focus so much on the world, that will take our eyes off the cross.

We begin our second week of "somewhat structured learning" tomorrow and character trait of the week is "obey". This should be a very interesting week!

Hanni lounging with Belle & sipping yogurt

Being silly before church (amazingly we had time to kill)

I thought it was funny that Barbie grabbed Aidan.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-19T14:26:00.000-05:00

Respect

2009-08-19T09:48:00.001-05:00

I started "school" with the kids on Monday. Each week we have a plan for learning but it's all accomplished through everyday activities and a few worksheets. I want it to be a fun experience for the kids and my goal is that they don't even realize they are learning through the process. Each week we have a specific character trait and corresponding Bible verse and story to discuss. This week's character trait is respect (I'm sure you guessed that already) and the verse we're using with it is 1 Peter 2:17 - "Show proper respect to everyone."

What's amazing to me is how much I'm learning through this experience called parenting. For a long time, I had this idea that parenting involved a lot of just being right and kids molding to that. Sounds like a good idea right?! I say "no" they say "yes ma'am". "I'm the adult, you're the kid, you just need to LISTEN!" "I can scream at you but you better not even THINK of raising your voice to me." Just a few examples of how I thought parenting worked and I just couldn't figure out why I was ALWAYS so frustrated and angry and why my kids wouldn't listen. I've learned A LOT from my kids over the course of the last few years. Their NICU stay taught me that I am a lot stronger than I thought I was, juggling the needs of two tiny newborns taught me to multitask efficiently and attempting to teach my children how to be considerate human beings has taught me that it really is more about leading by example than I ever thought it was. If you don't believe me, try explaining to your 3-4 year old what "respect" means. You'll probably tell him/her that we show respect by saying yes ma'am, using kind words and not hitting or raising our voice. If your 3-4 is like my two, he/she will undoubtedly start asking questions. "Why?" is a favorite in our house. With my two, the questions were very humbling. They began to point out little things they notice I do and asked why it was ok for me to do that. Ouch! Some might say that because I'M the adult, I should have just told them that I'm their mother and they don't need to worry about me. But what does that teach them? What does that teach me?

I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father, that He has made such drastic changes in me over the course of the last year. God has really opened my eyes to what it takes to be the type of wife and mother He wants me to be. Hearing my children say their Bible verses is such an awesome experience. Making a pact with my daughter to work really hard at controlling our outbursts, is very humbling but it strengthening both of us. I can't imagine what I've done to deserve the blessings that God pours out each and every single day.

Through all these positive changes and growth, there has been some negative. Really though, negative isn't the right word. Satan has really tried to trip me up the last couple days. Yesterday I came really close to loosing my temper with the kids for the first time in a REALLY long time. I just couldnt' figure out why all of a sudden they were throwing tantrums and arguing with EVERYTHING I said. Then it occurred to me, I've been trying to live out and teach my children respect this week. The Bible says that Satan is always there trying to find a way to get his foot in the door and it's not a big secret that patience can be a huge weakness of mine. After a lot of prayer, a talk with Aaron and a little venting, I felt 100% better and I know that God will give me the strength I need to continue to teach my children and to learn from them.

Under Construction

2009-08-13T13:29:00.001-05:00

I'm in the process of updating/redoing some things on the blog.

Out with the old, in with the new!

2009-08-12T20:29:00.001-05:00

We got a brand new dining table today!! We've been wanting a bar height set for awhile now but a new table isn't exactly a necessity. Aaron came across a deal he couldn't pass up today and viola', new dining digs.

Our old hand-me-down "retro" table.

The new pretty one!!

Make a List Monday

2009-08-10T14:28:00.001-05:00

Things I admire about my husband:

1. His love for the Lord.
2. His work ethic.
3. His outgoing personality.
4. His dedication to his family.
5. His love for me even when I'm not so loveable.

Let the games begin!

2009-08-08T13:38:00.000-05:00

Today Aaron and I signed the kiddos up for soccer. I'm having a really hard time grasping the fact that my babies are old enough to play organized sports but I'm also really excited for them. I'm not sure they really know what to expect but so far they seem to be looking forward to playing. I think Daddy is secretly the most excited out of all of us. This is exactly the type of thing he's been waiting to do with the kids. He's even talked about trying to arrange his schedule so he won't miss practices or games. The kids are so blessed to have such a loving Daddy.

We should find out in a couple weeks what team they'll be on and when their games are. Aaron thinks it'd be fun if they were on different teams and of course I'd rather them play together. I can just see it now, me running to practices at the same time in different places or games at the same time on different fields. Gosh, what am I going to do when they're teenagers running 100 mph in different directions?

"Not Me" Monday

2009-08-03T10:21:00.000-05:00

My first "not me" Monday and it's going to be brief.

It is not me who has realized she has become completely obsessed with things going in their proper place. I would never get aggravated with guests (especially family) who obviously cannot read my mind and know where every little thing goes.

We're Here!

2009-07-28T14:38:00.000-05:00

Well we made it to Austin. We've had a few setbacks but overall the move went rather well. I didn't take any pictures of the actual move but I managed to take a few in our first week or so here. I'll use those to talk through our time here thus far.

Sherry and the girls came for one last Lufkin visit the day before we moved. The kids had a blast playing and Sherry was a huge help in packing up a few last things. Brooke had gone to town with Aaron during our little photo session & I didn't think to get one of the whole gang before they headed home.

The kids in their new rom with their new beds. Their beds ended up being a lot larger than we anticipated but they are enjoying their room nonetheless. Their room was also the first room to be decorated and I'll update with pics later on.

We had Bruce (Brusier), Kim and Ragan over for dinner our first Friday here and the kids quickly won them over. By the end of the night, they had convinced Ragan to read them a few books.

The kids' sleeping arrangements during our night without electricity (thanks again TXU). They were SO hot, SO tired and SO sweet!

The kids wrote their first words this week. Aidan's first word was actually "poop". He unintentionally wrote it while writing p's, o's and a's. A couple days later, he was writing "pa" on everything and I decided to see if he could write "poppa". Then of course Hannah wanted to try as well and did a great job too.

A couple days later, Aidan wowed me yet again. I was cleaning and he called me over to see that he had written "cat" all by himself on the chalkboard. Then he wanted to write "dog" as well. The kids LOVE a cartoon on PBS called Word World where all the animals and objects' bodies are made up of the letters that spell out what they are. When we were at Target a few days ago, we found these (see the dog on top of the easel) Word World animals on clearance. We bought the kids cat, cow, dog & pig and these toys are what prompted Aidan to write "dog" and "cat". He studied the letters on the toys for a bit and then walked over and wrote out the words on his easel. I was SO proud and really can't wait to start "school" at the end of August.

The kids also helped me with a little art/decor project. I had them paint little canvases which we then put their handprints and names on. I finished them off with a little black ribbon around the edges to hide the staples. I'll include finished pics when I do the house tour post.

We've had a busy couple of weeks between unpacking, shopping, decorating and getting settled and I am definitely looking forward to things slowing down a bit. The kids seem to love it here and have adjusted so well to the transtition. Our prayer now is that the Lord leads us to a good church home and that our family can be a light for Him in our new surroundings.

We love you Calvary!

2009-07-12T16:45:00.000-05:00

Our SS class gave us a "send off" this morning following church. It was such a blessing to fellowship with loved ones one last time. We are leaving behind such a loving and generous family at Calvary but we know that God will direct us to a new church home full of loving people. Calvary will ALWAYS hold a special place in our hearts.

Hannah & Aidan with their Sunday School teacher Ms. Joyce. She and I have grown pretty close over the last 6 months and I'm not sure if us leaving is going to be harder on her or us.

Randy, Becky & Missouri (our pastor and his family)

Hannah refusing to tell Mr. Will goodbye. Hannah has ALWAYS played hard to get with Mr. Will and I think it's because she loves him so much.

Adios Lufkin

2009-07-10T12:57:00.000-05:00

I figured I'd take the opportunity to blog one last time from Lufkin. Aaron will be home tonight, we'll hopefully spend most of tomorrow enjoying each other as a family, Sunday we'll have church and a going away type gathering afterwards, Monday we pick up the Uhaul and then Tuesday we load and head to Hutto.

I'm still not really sure how I feel about this whole thing. Part of me is excited, part of me is terrified and part of me is in complete denial. The kids seem to be coming around to the idea and Aaron really enjoyed his first week in his new job. I think I've been so focused on packing, cleaning and keeping it together for everyone that the reality hasn't had time to sink in.

To all of our loved ones here, we are going to miss you all terribly. It's hard to imagine not seeing your faces on a regular basis. Know we love you and our home is always open when you're ever in the Austin area. Thank you so much for all the love, support and encouragment you've offered us in the last 5 years.