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!

The Stache

A while back, my friend Josh (the farmer) did an experiment / poll on his blog concerning facial hair. While most of his options were just disconcerting (and fairly creepy), it did make me want to grow a mustache. The idea lingered for a while...

A couple of weeks ago, I had a full goatee (well, as full as MINE gets, anyway). I decided to shave it off (itchy) on a Sunday night. While lathering up, I made the quick decision to leave the 'stache and see how fantastically terrible it would be. I wasn't disappointed! When Allison came in and reacted to it (what IS that???), I knew it had to stay! As we laid in bed watching TV, she kept looking over at me and making the "your wife is seriously grossed out" sound. Fodder for the flame!!

I knew most of my co-workers (the ones who lambaste me the most) were out of town, so I wore it to work on Monday. My boss noticed it immediately and almost fell over laughing at me. Fodder, fodder...

After 1 day of stroking my 'stache and joining with the laughers (and haters), I shaved it off. It was fun while it lasted, but good riddance.

I was giving my best Inspector Jacques Clouseau facial expression, as one must do when sporting a 'stache.

WiiFit For Sale

We bought a WiiFit last weekend and I posted about it on Monday. Then this week, John get an offer from a co-worker about buying hers. It is cheaper and has barely been used. We are going to do that and save $50.

WiiFit is hard to find, so before we return it to GameStop, we thought we might see if anyone in Blogger land is looking for one and wants to buy ours. It has not been opened and we bought it for $89.99 + tax. Leave a comment if you are interested in buying it from us!

Lunch with B

Emma goes to preschool on Tuesday mornings while Brooklyn and I go to a Bible study. Emma usually stays for extended care and the Cramer's bring her home so I don't have to mess with B's nap. It is a blessing and Emma loves being able to stay with her friends for a little longer.

Brooklyn and I have been coming home after Bible study on Tuesdays and having lunch together at the girls' table in the playroom. Yes, the chairs are small for me, but it is worth it. B and I don't get much one on one time together (that will all change next year), so it is fun for us. Belle joins us in the playroom and sits there waiting for a crumb to drop. You would think we didn't feed the dog.

After lunch today, I offered B a cookie. She has had an Oreo before, but today she realized that they come apart and you can lick the icing from the middle. It was messy and fun! I had a great video of her eating the Oreo, but it won't load for some reason. My tech support is out of town, so I have no one to help me. :(

Happies

I feel a little bad about my "happies" this week b/c many of them are materialistic things. BUT, they did make me so happy. (for our CG members who are doing FPU with Dave Ramsey-all was paid for in cash or was a gift!)

The girls and I went to a nursery to get some plants for our front flower beds. They discovered this butterfly bush. When we were there, we watched 4 butterflies make this their home. I couldn't resist so I bought it. It does get pretty big, so we will either plant it in a HUGE pot for the backyard or use it to hide the gas meter in the back. We have already had butterflies and they have made the girls and I so happy!



My very own bike! (yes, I know the wheel is not on the front) I have been borrowing a friend's bike for all of our bike excursions and now I have my own. My parents let me get it as an early Christmas present, so that I can enjoy riding in this beautiful weather! Thanks Mom and Dad!




Cute, girly rain boots! My sister got the butterfly ones for B for her bday and Emma has had the kitty ones. They make me smile when I pass them in the garage!
Did I mention how cute they are on their feet?



John and I typically do not buy Christmas presents for each other, but this year we agreed on getting the family a Wii. They are a little hard to find, but I got the last one at Target a few weeks ago. It is in hiding right now b/c we agreed to wait until closer to Christmas.
Friday night, we went out on a date and ran a few errands too. We went to Game Stop to just look around and found a WiiFit. I have never played this, but it was one of the reasons I wanted a Wii. It is REALLY hard to find and random that we went to Game Stop on the day they got one in stock. John bought it for me and I bought him Mario Cart. The waiting until Christmas thing is getting harder and harder. Especially when I think how useful the WiiFit would be to help me keep off those holiday pounds! :)

Krispy Kreme Treat

Brooklyn had her 2 year check up today + flu shot. Emma also got the Flu Mist while we were there. Emma opted for the Flu Mist and it was much less dramatic than last year's shot.

Brooklyn weighed in at 26 pounds and 34 3/4" tall. In 6 months, she has grown 4 inches and gained 2 pounds. I thought she was looking taller! She is now in the 25% for her height and b/t 25-50% for weight.

I love comparing my girls growth, so when we got home I got out Emma's stats from this age. What is interesting is that B has always been just slightly bigger than Em in all areas. This time was different. B is 1 1/4" taller, but 2 pounds lighter than what Emma was at age 2.

Dr. Jason said that Brooklyn looked great and was doing well. I think she should be talking more, but she understands SOOO much that he is not concerned and thinks she will start soon. I do have to remember that she has a very talkative older sister to compete with and who often likes to talk for her!

I told the girls we would go for a treat after our appointment. We are never near Krispy Kreme, but since we were today, we went for a Halloween donut! They were so cute and the girls loved them. I did too!! I figured a few extra calories for my hard work at the doctor was ok. :)

Excuse our blog! It is under construction and I made the mistake of deleting our old format. (John to the rescue!) I hate that there is not a hyperlink from our header to see all the posts. The HOME button below each post will get you there for now.

Brooklyn's Birthday Party

Here are a few of the pictures from Brooklyn's birthday party on Friday night. We had cake at Old Main Lawn and then headed over to the Pep Rally at the Greek Theater. The weather could not have been more perfect for being outside and running around!

We put Razorback tattoos on all the kiddos and the favors were red pom poms to take to the Pep Rally. The big girls cheered/danced their little hearts out!

Brooklyn LOVED the bobble head Razorback and the rest of the Hog mascots at the Pep Rally. She loved hearing the band play the Fight Song and getting to cheer to Woo Pig Sooie!

It was a great way to celebrate a very special little girl!

Tagged

I have been tagged, but my most creative friend, Brooke!

I didn't know if I could come up with 7 interesting/random/weird facts, but once I mentioned it to John, he assured me he could help.

1. I like ketchup on my scrambled eggs

2. I can touch my tongue to my nose. Emma shares this talent too. I guess it is hereditary or maybe just that we both have a small space b/t our mouth and nose. Or just a long tongue. I am not sure.

3. I have major ear issues. I hate for my ears to be touched and my gag reflex kicks in when the doctor has to look in my ears. My gag reflex kicks in even more when I hear "ear stories". This happened on Sunday when John told me about Wyatt Williams sticking a popcorn kernel in his ear. John updated me last night that he will be having anesthesia to get it out. AHHH! Honestly, my stomach was churning and I held back gagging.

4. I used to always win the "headstand" contests in gymnastics. Not sure I could do it now.

5. I really like things to have a place and for them to be in that place. I never thought I was like this until I had kids with toys everywhere.

6. For my 13th birthday, I joined my Dad on a business trip to Chicago. He scored us tickets to a Bulls/Celtics game. This was when Jordan and Bird were still playing and they were our 2 favorites. In my program, I had an invitation to join in the free throw contest at half time. I hated the spotlight then as much as I do now, but for some reason my Dad was able to talk me into it. Thousands of people were cheering for me and I made the shot! It was crazy considering I was the smallest person out there. I won a trip to Detroit to see the Pistons play the Bulls, but we couldn't go. My Dad sold it to a guy working the concession stand. It was my day of fame.

7. John says that this could be a post all its own, but I have a really crazy family tree. I could go on and on, but I will just mention a few funny family facts. My Dad will be 78 years old next week and is the greatest Dad in the world. He was always the oldest Dad, but acted the youngest. My oldest half sister (my Dad had 3 children from a previous marriage) is 58 years old and she was pregnant with my nephew (her 3rd child) when my Mom was pregnant with me. My middle half sister is around 55 and was also pregnant at the same time with my niece. I have 13 neices and nephews right now that are b/t the ages of 40years old and 9 months. Out of these 13, 4 are older than me. Wrap your head around all that! I could go on, but I will spare you!

I think everyone I know has been tagged, but I am going to tag a few of my old CG friends. I have been thinking about all of you a lot lately. We are all spread out now and I miss you guys! We need to have a reunion soon.
Sarah, Whitney, Erica, and Georgia

"Happy" 2nd Birthday Brooklyn!

Happy Birthday B!! You are my "happy" today and everyday. It is so hard for me to believe that you are 2 years old. This time last year, we thought you were our laid back child, but oh how a year can change things! :) You have learned to speak/or scream for yourself and you make sure you are heard over the other voices in our house. Your little giggle is contagious and your smile melts me. You made our family complete and we all love you very much!! Lots of love on this special day!
Love you-
Mommy

I also want to give Birthday wishes to 2 other special people that share a birthday with B:
Happy Birthday Amy and Happy Birthday Ben! I love you both and love that Brooklyn gets to share a birthday with you two!

We had a very fun birthday weekend with family and friends. Brooklyn loves the Hogs, so her birthday was all HOG. We had cake on the Old Main lawn and then headed over to the pep rally at the Greek Theater. It was a perfect night outside and we all had a really great time! As soon as I can go through all the pictures, I will post them.

Happies

We loved hanging out with the Tokar girls! There will be a whole blog of our trip when I get caught up enough to write it!
The girls played great together and we loved hang out time with Kate and Trav.



I love this picture that John took of B over the weekend. I could eat this girl up she is so cute!
Don't zoom in to close or you will see the snot which has not been to cute!




Silly faces!
We were trying to get B to smile at the camera by making crazy faces at her. She thought it was so funny and that she was supposed to do them back at us.




Answered prayer for a safe trip and easy travel on the airplane. They both did so great!!





Our trip to the bakery this morning, ended with us buying the "best (and cutest) sugar cookies" in the world!
A little plug for "Shelby Lynn's" in downtown Springdale. What a treat!

God at Work in Little Hearts

We have been having issues lately with Emma lying to us about certain things. For a while, it was her pretending and there was no harm in it, but lately it has been full out lies. I HATE lying. (and I HATE the word "hate")It is one of those things that gets under my skin. Tell me the horrible truth, but don't lie to me.
I tried talking to her about it in my own words, but nothing was getting through to her. Then it dawned on me that it might be more effective to bring God in it. (novel idea, huh?) After a lie she told last week, we sat down together and looked up lying in my concordance. This is what we found in Proverbs 12:22:

The Lord detests lying lips,
but he delights in men who are truthful.

For a little girl who knows that we don't use the word "hate" around our house for anything, these words struck a chord.
Tonight, she told me another lie, so I sent her to her room so we could talk. I could tell that she was really sad about it. We said the verse together again and talked about how we want God to delight in our truthfulness. We want to do things to glorify Him and lying is not one of those things. She started crying so I held her for a bit. I was about to leave her room b/c she had asked to be alone and I asked her if she was okay. This is what she said, "Something in my heart feels really bad."
It brought tears to my eyes. Tears of sadness for her to feel that pain, but joy for her that she is hearing the Holy Spirit in her life. Thank you God for slowly beginning to reveal yourself to my child.

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!

What would you do?

What would you do if your in laws took your girls for the weekend? John and I had the weekend to ourselves and we had a great time. I met John's Mom in Harrison for the trade off and then headed back to Fayetteville. John got off work a little early, so we were at Lake Fayetteville by 5:00 and ready to ride. We rode 6 miles on our bikes (well, my borrowed bike) and got back to the car before the rain started. We went home to clean up and then headed to La Hacienda, one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. It is the home of the BEST cheese enchilladas I have ever had and they can also make a yummy tasting margarita. We headed home to watch Baby Mama, which was pretty funny. At 10:30, John make me get off the couch and head to Walmart to shop for bikes. Why at 10:30PM? Because we could! We took this lovely picture of ourselves. It is horrible, but it documents our weekend alone.
We had breakfast with Josh and Margo on Saturday morning and then headed over to Tulsa to shop for a bit before the American Idol concert. We met up with John's sister, Amy, and all of her kids + Kelley and Emily Kate Davis for dinner. All of us headed over to the concert and got drenched on our way inside. Our tickets were not together so we parted ways for the night once inside. The concert was really fun!! The top 10 each sang about 3 songs each and then David and David sang about 4. There were 2-3 group songs. This is our second AI concert and we have decided that you really have to like the season's performers as a whole to enjoy the concert. There was only one in this group who I didn't enjoy, so it made the concert really good. David Cook was amazing. Have I mentioned that I have a slight rock star crush? I can't wait for his album to be released. He can sing, but he was also really great with the audience.
We left Tulsa around 10:30 and proceeded through the hurricane to get home. It was a long, a little scary, and slow drive home, but we made it before the major stuff hit. Amy and the gang were about an hour behind us and did have to drive through some of the really bad stuff. Amy then returned home to a tree stabbed through her roof, broken window in Luke's room and a messed up back porch on their brand new home. It is a blessing that Luke was not in his bed when it all happened. Thank you AI for keeping us out that night.









We slept in on Sunday morning. John had to do some work and I headed to get groceries before John's parents brought the girls back home. It was a refreshing weekend together. We were able to relax and do some really fun stuff. One of the best parts of the weekend was having the girls come through our door calling our names and hugging our necks. We are glad to have them back home!!

Happies

I love the begining of fall! I love fall candles, candy corn, snuggling with sisters (this pic was not posed) b/c it is cold in the morning, 65 degree sunny days, the smell of brisk air, the anticipation of the fall leaves in Northwest Arkansas, playing in leaves, Arkansas football, sweatshirts, riding bikes, hiking, and new fall clothes! These are a few of my favorites. This will not be the last of fall happies over the next few weeks!

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!

Thanks for the Rain, Gustav!

Hurricane Gustav dumped a lot of water on Arkansas this past week, much to the dismay of almost everyone I know. However, I was yelling at Gustav to bring it on! The more rain, the bigger the waterfalls! I got up at 4:30 this morning and drove down to the Jasper/Ponca area to hit up some easy-to-find waterfalls.

First, I went to Triple Falls near Camp Orr, a Boy Scout camp in Mt. Vernon (outside of Jasper). After a very steep drive down into the valley, it's a very easy 200 yard walk upstream. Usually, there's only 1 or two falls here, but with all the rain, all three were flowing nicely. The big fall on the right was running so hard, that it was causing a decent wind and mist at the bottom. I kept having to wipe my lens dry. It was worth it!








On my way up and out of the valley, I came across a nice opening that overlooked the valley I was just in. The best thing about this part of the state is the early morning fog...it's super thick, and creates some really stunning views from above.







I then headed to Hammerschmidt Falls, a few miles west of Triple Falls (just outside of Low Gap). The best part of this one was the Jeep trail you take to get there. I have a Jeep Liberty (the pansy version of a real Jeep), but it's a free company car, so it's even more fun when it's not your own. I got to go into 4x4 Low and tackle some 2-2.5 foot ruts where the road washed out. On my way out, I did get two wheels off the ground and rocked sideways a bit. It was really fun!

Hammerschmidt Falls is another easy falls to get to. You park, then follow the creek downstream for about 200 yards, past all these great cascades. When you get to the falls, you're actually on the TOP, so you have to hike down into the base to get a good look at the waterfall. It wasn't running at full steam, though. During heavy rains, the entire top of the falls is going, not just the little spigot you see here. Regardless, it's a very cool spot, and I spent most of my time photographing the cascades at the top of the falls.







All of that, and I was home at 10:30. We had a great outdoors day celebrating the Fall weather. Allison will post more about that later. If anyone is interested in joining me for a waterfall outing, let me know...I'd love some company!!

Fall Retreat

I had a great time at Fall Retreat and enjoyed my group so much. This is a picture of them. I enjoyed getting to know them and I am very excited to see where God leads me with them. There is a lot I could post about Fall Retreat, but for me, I need to write about what I learned so that I can always come back to this as a reminder.

Brian Pope spoke on Friday night and it was great. He was showing us in Exodus that God chose Moses and then in many of the chapters that follow he started the chapter with "then God spoke to Moses". Meaning, God did not just throw Moses out there alone. He stayed by him and spoke to him. So, if Moses needed God by his side, surely I do too. God blessed me with 2 precious little girls to take care of on this Earth. Over the past few months of summer, I have chosen to do things my way and on my own. Where has it left me? Tired, frustrated, impatient, lonely, selfish, distant and just out of sorts.

I was reminded this weekend that I cannot do "life" without God. If I depend on myself, then my relationship with Him, John, my girls, my family and my friends will suffer. I must ABIDE in Him. I must draw close to Him. I must root my heart in Him. I must let His voice be the most clear voice in my life.

We sang this on Friday night and the words struck me hard. You might not want to listen to the video (but it is really good), but read the words.

FULL ATTENTION by Jeremy Riddle

May your voice be louder
May your voice be clearer
Than all the others, than all the others

And may your face be dearer
May your words be sweeter
Than all the others, than all the others
In my life

(Chorus)
Please keep my eyes fixed on you
Please root my heart so deep in you
Keep me abiding, keep me abiding
Keep me abiding that I, Oh that I may bear fruit

May your presence be nearer
May your presence be truer
Than all the others, than all the others

And may your light shine brighter
May your love move deeper
Than all the others, than all the others
In my life

(Chorus 2X)