Happies

I am still doing "Happies", but they might not be every Monday. We'll see.
It is probably early for most to get excited about Valentine's Day, but not me. I LOVE when the Valentine decor comes out at Target each year. I refrained from buying everything that they had there. The Dollar Tree had some cute stuff as well.
I really do love Valentine's Day and the whole month of February. It is John's birthday month and my own, plus Vday Day. There are fun heart crafts to make, yummy goodies and good eating out in the month of February. So, here is to looking forward to the month of February!



CUTE, CUTE, CUTE placemats at Target! I bought 2 of these as my holiday goodie for the season.






Really, cute paper plates from the Dollar Tree. I guess I should throw a party now, huh?






Brooklyn picked these darling little Valentines to hand out to her friends at school. They are scratch and sniff and only a dollar at the Dollar Tree.









I bought this tray about 4 or 5 years ago at Target and I still smile when I get it out each year.

Happy Serving

It is Saturday and I'm writing this "happies" post a few days early because I will be out of town on Monday and won't have access to a computer to load pictures. I wanted to make sure that I got to share with you guys how awesome my cell girls worked today! They made me proud!

My last "happies" post was an effort to look past the sickness in our household and see the good. I have to admit that the rest of our week was not a whole lot better. The sickness was gone, but the whiny attitude from all of us remained. Brooklyn has been a mess. Lots of whining, lots of screaming over who knows what and not a whole lot of sleep. I finally took her back to the doctor thinking she had an ear infection, but she was perfectly healthy. I decided to pack us up today and head to Little Rock for a change in scenery. I think it will be good for all of us. Unfortunately, John has to stay here to work, but I have a feeling he won't mind having some peace and quiet for a few days.

Today, many of the cell groups and community groups at our church took part in a thing called INVADE. We were given homes, schools, or organizations that needed help around Northwest Arkansas. I have to admit that I wasn't excited about raking leaves in 37 degree weather. After working for 3 hours on leaves and meeting a really sweet lady that appreciated us beyond words, I am so glad that I went. There is a lot to be said about getting past your own selfish life and going to help someone else. It is a good attitude adjuster. I loved watching my 12 year old girls serve this woman. Not only did they work hard, but they also visited with sweet Nina and listened to her stories.

It was a fun morning and something I would really love for my family to do more often.

Happies

The trees in NWA are AMAZING right now! This is my favorite tree every year and lucky enough it is just down the street from me on Carley Road, so I pass it every day. I took this while in my car and it was on my phone, so it is not great. Hopefully, John can get out and get a good picture of it before the leaves fall off. Emma and I thank Jesus for this tree every time we pass it!






Has anyone tried these? I'm a sucker for Oreos and for anything mint. I saw these on display at Walmart yesterday and snatched them up. They are sooooo good. If you like Thin Mints, you must try!








I have been wanting one of these tshirts for a while now and I finally made my way over to Penguin Ed's and bought one.

Fayetteville does a great job of supporting local businesses. A lot of chains have gone out of business b/c of it. I thought this was neat until Fayetteville closed down Fudruckers and our family could no longer eat our favorite burgers for $12 total.



The best happy of all around our house this week!

Emma found her blankie. It went missing about 3 weeks ago and we have searched this house up and down for it. I knew it was in the house b/c she had it on a Tuesday night and on that Wednesday we never left the house and we didn't go outside b/c of the rain. Wednesday night rolled around and we could not find it. She did amazingly well without it. We got out some of her old small silkies and they did the trick for a few weeks. She asked about it every day and we looked every day, but no blankie.

Last week, she went to the dress up box (that I had looked in many times) and opened the drawer where the pom poms are and it was hiding at the very bottom. Apparently, we had not used the pom poms in a few weeks.

Emma and I were screaming we were so excited! I think I wanted her to have it back more than she did. I still have my blankie from when I was little and it holds a lot of memories for me. (I know, I'm weird) I was sad that she wouldn't have her blankie, but it's back. Hooray!

Happies

I LOVE footie pj's. Brooklyn was very excited about putting these on, but she wanted them off at bedtime. She really is not a fan of her feet being trapped in there. Unfortunately, my days with babies in footie pj's are coming to an end. When Emma saw B's, she asked for some. I spent $6 at Walmart to get her some, so we'll see if she will wear them. She doesn't like wearing socks, so I'm not sure she is going to keep them on either.

We have had a "happy" morning. I feel like we are constantly rushing out the door in the mornings. Today, I just decided we were going to skip everything and stay home. It was well worth it. Brooklyn got to sleep in, instead of getting whisked out of her bed, into clothes with breakfast in the car. Sometimes it is nice just being at home.

I hope everyone is having a "happy" morning. We have a lot going on this week with Halloween festivities. It is going to be really fun and even more fun now that we have had a day of "down time."

A "Happy" Weekend with my Family

This weekend was so fun and full of time with just the 4 of us. Here is what all we did:

Friday Night:
Emma has been wanting to camp outside in the backyard, but we could never figure out a good time to do it this summer. At this point, our nights around here are pretty chilly and we don't have the right gear to camp outside. We decided that on Friday night we would grill hot dogs, jump on the trampoline in the dark, look at stars (Emma's idea) and then set up camp in the living room and watch a movie. We all had so much fun together! The actual sleeping situation wasn't quite camping. Brooklyn couldn't calm down in the tent with Emma, so she had to go to her crib around 9:30. John's body was hurting, so he went to the bed. I took the couch, Emma slept in the tent and Belle slept on her bed that we moved to the living room. Emma woke me up around 2 AM wanting to get in her bed. I headed to my cozy bed too. We woke up and had yummy powdered donuts and headed off to our next outdoor adventure!














Saturday:
The new addition to the Skull Creek Trail had a Grand Opening this weekend so we piled in the bikes and headed down there. The new trail is awesome and now connects to Mud Creek Trail with a REALLY long bike tunnel going under I540. (3 cheers for City of Fayetteville Parks and Recreation!!!) We spent about 3 hours out there riding, playing at the park, eating the provided lunch and then feeding the ducks at the hospital pond. I must add that only Fayetteville would have a free lunch and serve hot dogs and veggie burgers. It was very funny to me, but I was glad. I love veggie burgers.
Last time we tried to feed the ducks, none of them wanted any bread. The girls were very excited (and us too) this time when a Mommy and her 11 little ducklings came swimming toward us. Precious!
We invited ourselves over to the Hannon's house for dinner on Saturday night. My parents had given us some fillets and we asked Sam to grill them for us. In return, I made his favorite cheese grits and a dessert. We all had a very yummy dinner and had fun visiting. We see each other often, but it is usually for a short drop by.













Sunday:
We went to church on Sunday and then were supposed to go to Community Group that night. The people hosting were sick and we were already missing a couple, so we canceled for the night.
It worked out great because we had been wanting to go to the Pumpkin Patch in Pea Ridge. We headed out there and had a blast. The pumpkins are actually on the vine, but there were not many left. We found 2 that we cut off and brought home with us. We also enjoyed a fun hayride. It was a really fun place and John got some great pictures of the girls. It was hard for me to choose what to put on here. Next year, we will go earlier in the season so we have a better selection of pumpkins to choose from. We ate dinner at Wing Stop on the way home. We had 2 very tired girls!
It was a great weekend full of time with just the 4 of us!

Happies

My sister and Claire (and her two female dogs) came to visit last week and we had a great time. John was even more outnumbered than normal.






I love Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte, but the price kills me. Last year I discovered that a gas station nearby had Pumpkin Spice Cappuccino for only $1. IT IS BACK! My sister and I stopped when she was here and it was such a treat! AND, I really do think it tastes better than the Starbucks version. If only there were a drive thru.



We were invited over to John's sister's house on Friday night for smores. They had some friends in from out of town and were nice enough to let us hang with them. They just bought a fire pit thing and wanted to give it a whirl. Their house sits on a neat lot with a bunch of trees so we felt like we were in the woods. As soon as Amy and I walked out the back door, we agreed that the scene outside was a "happy".


All 4 of us are leaving on Thursday to go to Ohio to visit Kate, Travis, Olivia and Annika! They moved to Columbus 2 years ago and we have yet to make it up there. They are such great friends and we miss them terribly. Our girls are right around the same age and have a great time together. We can't wait!

Happies

This week feels like "The New Year". It is the first full week of our "routine" for the school year. I am also using it as a fresh start to shape up my time with the Lord, my eating habits and an exercise plan. I am in the process of getting more organized with my time at home with the girls. I would like to be more intentional with them, but balance that with play. (Intentional meaning: crafts, reading, memorizing scripture, etc....) I'm not into organizing our whole day with crafts and games, but I would really like to do one organized thing with them on the days we are at home.
Two of my "happies" revolve around my attempt to be more active. I am excited about both of these. I can't say that I have been all that excited about exercise in a while.


John and I have been wanting to start biking since we discovered all these trails around Fayetteville. This is also another attempt of having fun exercising. We just didn't have a way of both riding with the girls with us. I borrowed a bike and a "bike tent" (that is what Em calls it) from a friend and we rode yesterday at Mud Creek. The girls did so great and I did pretty good too! I was nervous about the fact that I have not been on a bike for 5 years and I was going to be pulling "precious cargo". Emma will normally ride her bike, but she wanted to try this out with B. We had a lot of fun and are hoping to purchase a bike for me and a "bike tent" soon!


In my attempts to get in shape and have some fun doing it, I am taking tennis lessons. I have recruited a few others to join me. We start tomorrow morning. Don't laugh!
John likes to play and one of my reasons for taking is to maybe get good enough to where we can enjoy playing together.



Praise the Lord! Our children are going to sleep again without talking/playing/yelling for an hour! I don't know if it was the "timer" technique or just being back in a routine, but we are thankful.




The weekend ahead makes me happy to think about. John and I are off to Tulsa this Saturday to see the American Idol Season 7: Summer Tour. We gave each other tickets for our anniversary back in June. John's parents (thank you, thank you) are taking the girls to their house for the whole weekend, so that John and I can have some time at home alone and go to the concert. We have a fun weekend planned together, so stay tuned!