Another post?!?!

I know! I'm posting 3 days in a row. Pretty sure that's some kind of record.

This is for a great cause though, so read on. If you read Amy Beth over at Ministry So Fabulous, you know that they are doing a bit of fundraising for Starlight. If you have no idea what I'm talking about then get over there now and read!

For every person who downloads the Microsoft Live Search program, they receive donations from Microsoft! Isn't that cool?

So head on over and start downloading! It only takes a few minutes and just think of how you are helping out Starlight, which in turn helps so many young girls.

And plus, you might win some coffee!! But hurry! Because this is the last day to do it!!

Now GO!

Conversations and Craftiness

Heard in our house tonight:

Becca: Daaaddd! Hayes said the S-word! Daaaddd!
Daniel: What did he say?
Becca: (whispers or mouths it to him)
Me: (from upstairs) What was it?
Daniel: He said "s-h-u-t u-p."



And now, ok maybe it doesn't count as craftiness, but look what we did today!


I LOVE it! It's been at my house for weeks (told you, Faith!) and we finally got it up today. It's not like it was hard or even took very long. And I knew when I bought it that it would take a while before we put it up. That's just how I roll.

Random

~So guess what we did today? We met this fun girl and had pictures taken! I can't wait to see them. We went to a pretty little park downtown and spent about 1 1/2 hr taking pictures. It was really cold for most of the time so there were a lot with coats and scarves. It was fun to walk around and find neat places to take pics. Heather has a great eye, which we already knew. Hopefully we gave her enough to work with. ha! It gets a little difficult with 2 kids to corral and getting everyone looking at the same time and Hayes to not give us the cheesy 3 yr old smile. She kept saying "Hayes, find your happy place!" And when the happy place was no longer attainable, we knew we were finished!

~I wonder what the record is for the longest amount of time EVER taken for a 2nd grader to write sentences with 16 spelling words?

~What is the latest I can drink Dr. Pepper without also staying up until 1 AM?

~I am SO ready for this election to be over. If only to not have to see ads on TV and to stop getting a zillion calls a day telling me why I should vote for so-and-so. I wish I could just tell them all that I've ALREADY VOTED and you can just leave me alone!

~Nine more spelling words left.

~So, puggle or beagle/terrier mix? Any suggestions?

Friday Fill-In

Ok, seriously, the blogging around here is just sad. I'm following the lead of Michelle at Raising Little Women and doing a Friday Fill-in. Here goes:

1. Right now, I'm feeling a little frustrated with my children and excited for my date tonight!

2. With my husband is where I want to be.

3. How does one keep the clutter under control?

4. Doing my quiet time keeps me on track.

5. Please don't smack your gum around me.

6. Eating chocolate fills me with joy.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to the previously mentioned date night, tomorrow my plans include a hayride and smores and Sunday, I want to see my family and friends at my sister-in-law's baby shower!



For more Friday Fill-Ins go here!

Odd Stuff

I'm seriously at a loss for something to write. Although I did take Hayes to Sesame Street Live today with Faith and Emma. But, I didn't take my camera so I'm relying on Faith for pictures. It was a cute show and the kids had fun. Meanwhile I'll be copying Faith's and Nicki's posts.


35 Odd Things About Me

1. Do you like blue cheese salad dressing? yes

2. Do you own a gun? no

3. What's your favorite drink at Starbucks? strawberry frap (don't like coffee) or hot chocolate

4. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? orange juice or hot tea in the winter

5. Do you do push ups? if they make me in my Group Power class

6. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? brown wooden bead necklace from Brazil

7. Favorite hobby? reading

8. Do you have A.D.D? no

9. What's one trait that you hate about yourself? easily frustrated and impatient

10. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: not crazy about admitting #9, what is Hayes talking about, I'm thirsty

11. Name 4 drinks you regularly drink. lemonade, water, Dr Pepper, orange juice

12. Current worry right now? possibility of identity theft after purse was stolen

13. Current hate right now? that somebody stole my purse

14. Favorite place to be? with family or friends

15. Do you like to travel? YES

16. What color shirt are you wearing? white with black writing

17. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? no

18. Can you whistle? Yes

19. Favorite color? green

20. If you could, would you be a pirate? No and that is a wierd question. I mean, can you even BE a pirate anymore?

21. What song do you sing in the shower? usually whatever the last song I listened to

22. Favorite girl's name? should probably be Rebecca, but I really love Emma Kate

23. Favorite boy's name? Hayes

24. What's in your pocket right now? No pockets

25. Favorite bedsheets as a child? pretty sure I only had white ones---booorrrriiinnnggg

26. Worst injury? head laceration from getting thrown from a car in a wreck. Very blessed that was all.

27. Do you love where you live? yes, house and city

28. How many TVs do you have in your house? three, but only 2 have cable

29. Who is your loudest friend? loudest friend EVER---my late friend Christy ; loudest friend currently---I plead the 5th (but she knows who she is!)

30. How many pets do you have? none

31. Does someone have a crush on you? He better. (I liked Nicki's answer so I copied it)

32. What is your Favorite Book? Redeeming Love

33. What's your favorite candy? Anything with chocolate and caramel

34. Favorite Sports Team? NC State Wolfpack

35. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Please let him (Hayes) go back to bed.

That's it! Happy Friday, y'all!

Go Tell it on the Mountain (or, Go! Go Tell It!----for my choir peeps)

After a crazy, stressful, anxiety-filled week (see last post) I was so in need of some FUN! We headed to the mountains after Becca's soccer game Saturday morning. The highway we take to Blowing Rock goes through my hometown, so how could we not stop and see my parents?

We walked through my old neighborhood to the local and newly remodeled City BBQ. That's a usual stop whenever I'm home so I was excited to get my usual cheeseburger, fries and Cheerwine in a bottle. We ran into old friends too, but it is THE place to eat so you can't really go without seeing people you know. Don't you love a small town?

The drive to the mountains is less than an hour from mom and dad's and most of it was spent answering questions about why we were going to the mountains. We could see trees at Nana's, they said.

The park in the middle of Blowing Rock stopped most of the questions. I love that they have a little shack where you can borrow basketballs, footballs, soccer balls, tennis rackets, and Frisbees to play with in the park. Every thing's just sitting there for you to take and then you bring it back. The honor system!






Can you tell we live in a fairly new neighborhood with basically no trees? My kids were in heaven with all the leaves!

And a trip to Blowing Rock just isn't complete without a visit to Kilwin's for ice cream.

We headed up the parkway to Julian Price Park for a little hike. "Little" being the key word here. Three-year-olds aren't big on hiking.

They are however big on leaf collecting.

A little soccer.

A little drive-by sightseeing.

A possible Christmas card picture.

And the day ended with dinner with my parents on the way home. That's pretty much my perfect day----family, God's glorious scenery, and agreeable children.

Well, that and a Cheerwine.

Lessons from a broken window

So I had something happen to me on Monday night that has never happened before.

I was at soccer practice with Becca when my van was broken into and my purse stolen. Aside from feeling like an idiot for leaving my purse in my car (DON'T DO IT! EVEN AT YOUR CHURCH! DON'T DO IT!) I was feeling mad and frustrated and overwhelmed. And yes it happened at my church.

I was ticked that somebody would have the nerve to break into a car less than 30 yards from the owner. I could SEE my car. And there were maybe 7 cars in the whole lot. Oh it makes me want to scream right now.

I was overwhelmed because Daniel was out of town and it was getting dark and I had to go home with no window, glass all over the van knowing all the things we had to do like canceling credit cards and checks. My sweet friend followed me home and other friends met me there. Melissa gave my kids a bath and helped me get them in bed. Chad and Faith came for moral support and spent the night. Did I mention I have great friends?

Anyway we got everything canceled and hopefully there won't be too much damage done to our accounts. But what I was left with was fear. After Chad and Faith left yesterday, I was overcome with panic. I made the kids come inside from playing. I was afraid to leave them to take a shower. I set our alarm, which I never do during the day. I was pretty much a mess by the time Daniel got home.

I just couldn't get away from the fact that these people know our address. They have keys to Daniel's car. Even though I know that more likely than not they just wanted cash and credit cards, which they used at least 4 times before we could cancel, the fear started taking over.

My girls prayed for me at accountability group last night. They offered to come over during the day. And this morning right after I got up I read this in God Calling:

.....Are doubts and fears in your hearts? Then think of Me, speak to Me. Instead of those fears and doubts there will flow into your hearts and beings such sweet Joy as is beyond any joy of earth.
This is unfailing. Never doubt it. Courage. Courage. Courage. Fear nothing. Rejoice even in the darkest places. Rejoice.

How good and on-time is God? He knows what we need, when we need it. I have been so encouraged today. I even took a shower!!

I know that bad things happen. But worrying about things you can't control doesn't honor the God who has it ALL under control. As Faith said, "He is our rear guard. He's got your back!" So I'll be reminding myself of that as the days go by and fear tries to creep in.

Do you have fear or worry in your heart? Just say His name. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.

End of Summer Fun

Right after we got home from Brazil, as in the DAY AFTER, we went to the beach with Daniel's family. It was a fun but quick trip.

We'll just attribute my lazy eyes to jet-lag, ok? Not to mention no make-up.

Daddy bonding time

Salty Dog Cafe


Cousins---the first 3 pictures were better but then I realized why they were so dark. Flash helps. So by the 4th one, we were losing them.

Sweet little thing

Just minding his own business, while the other two were having difficulty sharing. I think Hayes was just happy to have someone else fighting with his sister.

Yeah.

But he had been away from work almost 2 weeks.

(Too bad I didn't have that attitude when we were there.)

Speaking of work. On a recent Saturday that Daniel had to work, I took the kids with some friends to a small town fall festival in the area.

Buddies

Happy Fall, Y'all!!