Adams Family

Colten Turns One!

2012-01-08T19:16:00.014-06:00

(still working on 2011 catch-up posts...)

Hard to believe that our baby is already one!
Colten turned one on August 30,
and we threw a Dr Seuss party for him on Sept 3.

I have been just a little obsessed with the turquoise
and red color combination lately,
so I had a lot of fun with this party!

(The Dr Seuss printables came from the Etsy shop Photo Designz)

I made some cat-in-the-hat cupcakes and
tried my hand at fondant for Colten's smash cake.
(I found a recipe for marshmallow fondant on Pinterest and
used that for the smash cake. It was a little messy to make,
but much cheaper than buying it and
I could make it any color I wanted.)

I made a photo banner with Colten's monthly pictures.
I used photoshop to convert the pictures to black and white and
just colored in the number on his onesies.
In fact, I loved it so much that it is now on display in his room!

I also made him a special hat and shirt.
I wasn't sure how Chris would react to the foo-foo hat but he obliged me!!

Big brother had to wear the hat too!

After some lunch and presents, it was time for cake!

Happy Birthday to our precious baby boy! We Love You!!

Tanner's 7th Birthday

2011-12-29T22:26:00.014-06:00

{Bear with me as I continue to play catch up on 2011 - this is from July 2011}

Every year we do a themed party for Tanner's birthday. This year he wanted an "army" party. So we pulled out the camo gear and GI Joe's and what a party it was!

Tanner dressed the part and eagerly awaited the arrival of his guests:

I borrowed some old army gear from my parents and used it on the food table, along with some vintage GI Joe's with their jeep.

When the boys arrived, we had them check-in and get their gear (an army hat, dog tags, and face paint). We then had a table set up for them to make cards for the troops. Tanner's uncle is currently serving in Afghanistan, so we sent him all the cards that the boys made.

Once the card making was finished, Boot Camp began. Chris and Darren had the boys running various drills and it was pretty entertaining to watch!!

After the drills, we had the land mine walk. We had water balloons on the path and they had to walk through them blind-folded. This was a big hit!

They then had a water balloon and water gun fight and it was total chaos...just the way boys love it!

We then ate lunch and had cake and ice cream. I made an army tank cake and Tanner loved it. When I was working on the camo effect the night before, I was a little concerned since it was looking more like smashed green bugs than camo. But in the end it was a recognizable army tank...success!!

The whole crew of army boys (and Lena Jane!):

Happy 7th Birthday Tanner! We love you!!

Christmas Cards

2011-11-18T21:35:00.006-06:00

It's that time of year again...the holidays are right around the corner and my head is spinning with everything I need to do!

One thing I love to do during the holidays is get some good family pictures and design a Christmas card (or New Years card!) to send to family and friends. There are so many great options these days for photo cards, but I have to say that I have a new favorite this year! Earlier this year, my sister-in-law introduced me to Tiny Prints and I fell.in.love!!

Their products are fantastic quality, and they have some adorable and really fun designs! I have purchased several special occasion cards from them, as well as some address labels and postcards for my business and I have been very pleased with everything I have received from them.

So I looked over their Christmas card selection...and oh my, it will be tough to pick a favorite!

Here are just a few that I like:

The tri-fold design on this card is great...and I love the fun, bright colors!

I love the message of this card! And check out the back of the card...love it!

Another favorite...and it also has a great design on the back of the card!

So now to get some great pictures and decide on a card! If you are planning to do some photo cards this year, I encourage you to check out Tiny Prints. You won't be disappointed!!

Spring/Summer 2011 Highlights

2011-11-18T21:29:00.000-06:00

This first highlight was actually winter, but it was too big of a deal for me to not include it! On February 4, 2011 (drum roll please) we had snow!! It actually barely covered the ground but it was exciting for us since we rarely see any snow. Everything shut down for the day and we enjoyed our little taste of the white stuff!

LOVE this picture of my boys!! (March 2011)

Easter - April 24, 2011:

Tanner & his cousin Keller (May 2011):

Memorial Day (May 2011) at the lake park across the street:

July 4th parade in Startzville:

Tanner lost his first tooth!! (July 18, 2011)

Catching up with Colten

2011-11-07T21:08:00.000-06:00

Time for another catch up post...or two or three! I will start with Colten since he has changed the most over the past 8 months. He is now 14 months and walking all over the place. He is such a happy baby and we couldn't imagine our life without him! I think the last monthly picture I posted was 4 months...so here are months 5-12:

I look at these pictures and still can't figure out where the time went. That baby stage sure flew by!

Here are a few videos of Colten.

Colten at 7 months:

Tanner making Colten laugh - 8 months:

Colten starting to scoot at 8 1/2 months:

In this one, Colten was 9.5 months (June) and I was feeding him. He did this adorable thing with his hands all the time that looked like he was revving a motorcycle so I was trying to get it on video:

Colten & Bryson at Grandma's house (June):

In this video (July), Papa is feeding Colten ice cream at his house (you can see Colten's hands going in this video too):

Here is another video from July where Colten was very animated during dinner...our little preacher! :)

A Month of Firsts

2011-02-05T00:56:00.010-06:00

The month of January was a month of several "firsts" for Colten. Ideally, I would have posted about these as they happened...but here it is February already, so thus the all-in-one post!!

On January 9, Colten tried rice cereal for the first time. And as we would expect, he was not sure what to think about it!

We are now in the first week of February, and he is just now starting to eat it pretty well!

Then the next day (Jan 10), Colten rolled over for the first time. He had been so close for about a week, and he finally made it all the way over that morning. Wouldn't you know that he decided to do it while I was taking Tanner to school and Daddy was watching him??!! I was so disappointed!! But the next day, I was able to get this video of him rolling over.

Colten's Dedication

2011-02-04T14:53:00.004-06:00

Colten was dedicated in church on December 26. Since most of our family was in town for Christmas, we figured this was the perfect time for his dedication. It meant a lot to have them all there for the special occasion!

I think we set a record for the number of family members on stage for a baby dedication!

My grandfather, Archie Lee Alderson, prayed over Colten and it was so powerful! Colten is named after him (Colten Lee) and it was an honor to have him be a part of the service.

I was reminded after the service, that it had been one year ago TO THE DAY that we found out we were pregnant. Colten is our special miracle from the Lord and we were delighted to dedicate him back to the Lord in the church that we love and surrounded by the family that we hold so dear!

Three and Four Months

2011-01-18T23:02:00.005-06:00

I'm a little behind...so this post will be Colten's three AND four months photos!

Here are the three month pics:

And then his four month photos:

At his four month appointment, he weighed 13 lbs 15 ounces and was 25.5 inches. He is such a happy baby - smiling and laughing all the time. What joy he brings to our house!

Two Months

2010-11-15T19:12:00.005-06:00

Colten was two months on October 30. The time is flying!! It almost seems like you can SEE him grow. Here are his two month pictures:

A few highlights from the month:

* He is smiling and cooing a lot. Melts my heart! Even when it is at 2 in the morning!

* He just discovered his hands and is fascinated when his fists cross his line of vision. It is so funny to see him just stare at them!

* He weighed 11 lbs 2 oz at his 2 month checkup and was 22 1/4 inches long.

* On Friday night (10/29), he slept from 10:30 pm to 6:00 am. I felt like a new woman!! I did have to get up a few times and give him his pacifier, but at least we didn't have that 2 am feeding. It was heavenly...sleep is a precious thing! Although we have had a few rough nights since then, he is sleeping pretty good for the most part.

* He has lost a lot of the dark hair he was born with but still has a ring of dark hair around the bottom of his head. We call it his old-man hair!

A few more pictures from the month of October:

Shutterfly Card Promotion

2010-11-14T21:39:00.004-06:00

I will admit it...I love Shutterfly. I have countless photobooks from them and have used them for Christmas cards for several years now. I love designing the photo cards each year - and they are easy to order and they look great! Besides, family and friends usually love to see updated pictures!

As usual, Shutterfly has some great card options this year. Here are a few of my favorites:

I like both of these...and you can change the titles to say "Merry Christmas" or whatever you want. Love that!

This one is just fun!

Another favorite!

Now we just need to get a good family picture! That usually means about 50 or so attempts - much to the delight of my husband.

So check out the new Shutterfly holiday cards - I know you will find something you like! They also have some some great gift ideas - like Christmas ornaments and wall calendars. I make calendars for the great grandparents every year - and they LOVE them!

If you are a blogger, you might be interested in the promo Shutterfly is currently offering. You can get 50 free photo cards just by blogging about this offer. You can't beat that!

So go get some good pictures...and if you are free, you are welcome to come over and take ours!

Deja Vu

2010-11-07T18:26:00.003-06:00

When I am holding Colten, I sometimes feel like I have been transported back 6 years to when Tanner was born. They are alike in so many ways. And then I pulled out some of Tanner's baby pictures. Oh yes...twins born 6 years apart!

One Month

2010-10-05T12:40:00.007-05:00

Colten turned one month old last week - and even though I am feeling very sleep deprived with a newborn in the house, it still makes me sad that he is growing so fast. Maybe it is because of our fertility struggle over the last several years. I can't help but wonder if this will be our last one and if it is, I want to savor every single second! Chris tells me that I am already spoiling him. Just because he cries in the middle of the night but then is happy as a lark when I pick him up and lay him in bed with me! I tell him that you can't spoil a newborn (or at least that is what I keep telling myself!).

But how am I supposed to resist this:

A friend of a friend makes these adorable iron-on "monthly" transfers. They are perfect for the monthly photo shoot. You can find them here. Here are a few more pictures from his "1 month" session:

A few highlights from Colten's first month:

He is VERY alert for a newborn. In fact, when he was born he was wide-eyed and alert for the first two hours or so. He studied the face of every family member holding him and would even turn his head to look for other voices that he heard. Everyone commented on how alert he was and even our nurse said she had never seen a newborn that alert. In fact, I think she used the word "trippy" to describe it...I wasn't so sure I wanted that word used in relation to my precious new baby boy, but it did make me laugh!

The smiles started early - around 2 weeks - and we get them regularly now (as seen in the pictures above).

We had a weight scare at his 2 week appointment. The doctor weighed him in at 6 lbs 10 oz - more than a pound under his birth weight of 7 lbs 12 oz. I took him in the next week to check it again and he weighed in at 6lb 8 oz. It didn't make any sense because he was eating well, had the right number of pee and poop diapers, and was a very content baby. But the doctor's scale said 6 lbs 8 oz - and scales don't lie right?? She told me to go see a lactation consultant and I made an appointment for the next day. When I took him in, he weighed in at 8 lbs 9 oz. I stood there in shock...knowing that he didn't gain a pound in 24 hours. She had 4 different scales in her office and we checked them all. Yep, my boy was a healthy 8 lbs all right! Turns out the doctor's scale was off!! I was dumbfounded and more than a little annoyed. All that stress and worry for nothing!

Tanner loves his little brother! He has to give him a kiss every morning on his way to school and wants to kiss on him and hold him when he gets home. I love it!!

Finally, here are a few more pics from the month. I also took weekly pictures this month because he was changing so fast!

Colten Lee Adams

2010-09-09T19:45:00.004-05:00

Colten Lee Adams made his arrival at 12:26 PM on Monday, August 30. He was only 4 days past his due date - which was better than his big brother who made me wait for 8 days after his due date!

We are so excited that he is finally here - and I must admit that I still have moments when I can't hardly believe that God has given us this miracle. After four years of longing for another baby and thinking it would never happen, I feel incredibly blessed that God has given me the desire of my heart!

And not only did He give me another baby, but He gave me an easygoing one at that! In fact, I remember my mom telling me after Tanner was born that I had not experienced a real baby because Tanner was so easy. Well, it looks like I still haven't experienced a "real" baby because at least so far, Colten has been very easy as well. God knows how much we can handle - and apparently He knows I need easy!!

Here are some pictures from the first 11 days of Colten's life:

Tanner's first soccer season

2010-06-05T10:02:00.000-05:00

This spring, Tanner had his first experience with organized sports. The two options were soccer and t-ball. After some discussion, we decided to go with soccer this year - mainly because we figured the constant running and activity would be best for Tanner at this age!

The season started in March and we had 10 games. Tanner loved it and it really was fun to go to the games and watch our little guy play. It is still hard to believe that he is already old enough for sports!

Here are some pictures from the season:

Etched Glasses

2010-05-27T15:51:00.008-05:00

Last month, we were able to get away for a long weekend at the beach. It was heavenly!! Lots of naps and relaxation and a chance to catch up on the stack of magazines that were gathering dust on my nightstand.

As I was reading the latest Southern Living (one of my favorite magazines!), I ran across an article on etching glass. This is not something I had ever thought of doing - but they made it look so easy...

...and they had this adorable idea! Don't you just love them??

These would be perfect for summer dinner parties - nobody would lose their glass! I fell in love with them as soon as I saw them and NEEDED a reason to make them. With Mother's Day only a few weeks away, I decided they would be the perfect gift for my mom. We have a large family, and every time we get together for dinner we pull out the faithful red plastic cups and everyone writes their name on a cup. It accomplishes the intended purpose...but THESE glasses would be SO MUCH CUTER!!

So, I picked up 16 glasses from Walmart:

And I set out with my trusty Southern Living magazine and the listed supplies. I used my Cricut to cut out the numbers directly on the clear contact paper. Then I simply put the contact paper on the glass, brushed the etching cream on, let it sit for 10 minutes, and then rinsed under running water. Take the contact paper off...and you have an etched number on your glass. Oh my goodness, this seriously could not be any easier. Truly!!

An inexpensive, easy, handmade gift - I love it!

My stencils weren't quite as fat and chunky as the numbers on the Southern Living glasses...so my glasses didn't look quite the same. But I still liked the way they turned out. I might play with some different fonts next time. The possibilities are really endless! I even thought about trying some with a monogram. They would make a unique wedding gift.

Which reminds me...I need to go get some glasses and make a set for me! If you want to try it out for yourself, the instructions are on the Southern Living website here.

The Gender Reveal Party

2010-05-25T21:00:00.001-05:00

About a month after we found out I was pregnant, I ran across the cutest idea for a fun twist on finding out what we were having. A friend from my college days was pregnant with her 4th, and she posted this idea with some pictures on her Facebook page. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to do the same thing!

So here is how it goes:

On our sonogram day, we told the technician that we wanted her to write down the gender and put it in sealed envelope - without telling us the results! So she warned us when she got to that part of the ultrasound and we turned our heads. We left the doctor's office that day with a sealed envelope - the inside telling us whether the baby was a boy or girl. I will admit that it was difficult to not tear that envelope open - but I knew it would be worth it in the end to keep the secret! Of course, it was even more difficult since the sonogram was on Wednesday...and we weren't finding out the result until Saturday!

I then took the envelope to a friend that makes cakes. Her instructions were to make the cake either pink or blue on the inside, depending on the results inside the envelope - but to make the outside of the cake gender neutral so it wouldn't give anything away.

We picked up the cake on Saturday morning, and that afternoon we had a party with our family to find out the baby's gender. I decorated the dining room in both pink and blue...it was so fun!

We even had pink and blue fruit dip!

I sent Chris to pick up the cake that morning and it was SO CUTE! Far beyond what I had imagined! Of course, when he walked in and showed it to me, I was caught off guard because the outside was blue. But he told me that our friend said the outside in no way indicated what the inside would reveal. So that left me even more confused...was she giving a hint, or was it to throw us off because the inside would be pink?? Only time would tell!

Tanner had a soccer game later that morning, and then the whole family came over after the game for our "baby reveal" party. I had everyone guess what they thought we were having - by writing their name on either a pink or blue piece of paper. The overall result was 5 "boy" guesses and 7 "girl" guesses.

Chris, Tanner and I then cut open the cake for the big reveal.

It's A Boy!!!

We are very excited about having another boy in the family! There is nothing quite like the snuggles and kisses that a little boy gives his mommy!

Let's Try This Again!

2010-05-24T20:21:00.005-05:00

I can't believe it has been almost 10 months since I have posted on my blog! It seems like the more time that went by, the more pressure I felt to have something really great to post. Which made me procrastinate even more...and the vicious cycle kept repeating.

And some great stuff has happened in the past 10 months, so I'm not sure why I didn't post before now. But it is time to start fresh, and try once again to keep this blog updated on a somewhat regular basis. Or at least more than once every 10 months!!

So here goes...

For the biggest news in our world, we found out on December 26 that we are

HAVING ANOTHER BABY!!

To say that we were surprised would be an understatement. After trying for over 4 years for another baby, we didn't think it was going to happen. In fact, after much prayer and discussion, we had decided to adopt through the foster program here in Texas. We took our training classes in October and we were very excited about the direction God was leading us. Our home study was scheduled, and we were only a month away from being certified foster parents.

And then I took the pregnancy test...and got the big surprise. Actually, if the truth be told, I took 4 tests over the course of 2 days because I couldn't believe it!

So, the fostering/adoption plan has been put on hold...and we are now preparing for the arrival of the newest Adams family member at the end of August. We are very excited and feel so blessed that God has given us this gift. We know that His timing is always perfect!

In my next post, I will tell you how we found out what we are having - a boy or girl! I would include it in this post...but it is getting close to 9:00 and this pregnant mommy gets tired very early these days!!

Sports Party

2009-08-01T17:28:00.012-05:00

We had Tanner's 5th birthday party today. It was a "Sports Carnival" and the kids seemed to have a great time.

I had a lot of fun with all the little "details" for this party. About 3 weeks ago, I still hadn't decided on a theme for this year's party. And I am a big theme person!

Well, Target came to the rescue! I ran in one day to pick up a few things and of course I had to stop by the Dollar Section since it is right by the front doors and always calling my name. Lo and behold, they had a whole line of sports related party stuff. Even though it is the "Dollar" section, I am frugal. So, I probably would not have stopped except that it was all 50% off. Whohoo!! Even more exciting was when I checked out, it was actually 75% off!! Double Whohoo!! Of course, there were some things that I was waffling on at .50 but I had to go back and buy them since they were only a quarter!

And thus was born the sports party for Tanner's 5th birthday. Good thing the boy likes sports!

We started off with "craft" time. I love crafts and thus I often subject those around me to craft time! They made little sports flags with some VBS clearance items I found at Hobby Lobby. I made the flags from foam sheets and then the kids decorated them with the foam sports-related stickers. I punched holes in the sides of the flags for a dowel rod. Craft time only lasted about 10 minutes. I think I was hoping for longer...but these are 4 and 5 year olds so I should probably be happy with 10 minutes!

After they finished their flags, the carnival began. Every child was given a strip of tickets. They then went to each station, where they turned in their ticket for a chance to play. After playing at each station, they were able to pick out a prize for their goody bag.

We had four sports stations. Basketball - where they tried to get a basket in the hoop. Baseball - where they tried to hit a ball. Soccer - where they kicked the ball around some cones. And finally ladderball - throwing the balls onto the rungs. The last ticket was for popcorn - which was actually Cracker Jacks, even better!

Everyone had a lot of fun trying the different sports and thankfully I have a large family who was willing to help man the stations!

Once we finished that, we had cupcakes decorated like baseballs and basketballs. I saw these online and they were super easy to make. I usually enjoy doing fun cakes - but I went for something a little easier this year!

After cupcakes, we opened presents. This year was the year of Legos - I think he got 8 different sets! Yikes!! I think I have spent about 3 hours today helping him assemble the various sets. My ~~control-freak side~~ meticulous, organized side is starting to twitch at the idea of keeping them separated and not mixed up. We had a talk before opening them about the importance of only working on one set at a time and keeping them in their respective bags. We will see how long that lasts!

All in all, it was a fun party - from organizing and planning it to actually enjoying it with my sweet Tanner and his friends!

Here are a few more fun "details" from the party.

Every kid had their own water bottle labeled with their name. It was super easy to do . I just made them on the computer and added some sports clip art. I then attached them to the bottles with packing tape.

For their goody bags, I found some reusable lunch bags in the Target clearance bonanza - for only .25! They had sport themed bags which I picked up for the boys, and some pink ones for the girls. I then customized them with everyone's initial. For the boys bags, I used orange and brown felt and for the girls bags I used some fabric scraps. I sewed the initials to the larger squares, and then used spray fabric adhesive to attach them to the bags. It actually went pretty fast - and I was very pleased with how they turned out. For less than .50 a bag, I was happy!!

Before:

After:

Happy Birthday Tanner! Still can't believe my baby is 5!!

My Big Boy

2009-07-29T09:21:00.002-05:00

My dear Tanner,

It is hard to believe that you turned five today. I am misty-eyed just writing this letter, feeling like you have crossed some sort of imaginary line and entered boyhood. While I realize that you haven’t been a “baby” for several years, there is just something about turning five that makes it official for me.

I remember like it was just yesterday the day I found out I was pregnant with you. Your daddy and I were so excited to get that positive test result, after months and months of negative tests. I also clearly remember the day we found out you were going to be a boy. We were having our 13 week sonogram and the technician asked if we wanted to know what we were having. We were shocked because we never suspected that they would know that early! In fact, we hadn’t even decided at that point if we wanted to find out in advance or let it be a surprise. But there was just something about the simple fact that someone else knew what we were going to have, and all we had to do was ask and we could know. Well, it only took a little discussion to decide we couldn’t handle the suspense, and she told us we were having a boy!

I remember the first time I held you and fell so deeply in love with that precious little baby in my arms. You were truly a gift from God and our lives were changed forever the day you were born. I never realized how much I could love someone until that day!

Over the years, you have brought incredible happiness to your Daddy and me. Your love for life, beautiful smile, and sweet spirit bring us such joy. We feel blessed beyond what we deserve that God chose us to be your parents!

Our prayer for you is that you would follow the Lord all the days of your life and serve Him with all your heart. We realize that ultimately you belong to the Lord, and our desire is to raise you in such a way that you understand and value the importance of a personal, close relationship with Him. God has a unique and special design for your life, and there is nothing I desire more than to see you accomplish what He has planned!

I love you Tanner and I am so honored to be called your mother. And I will continue to enjoy and soak up those sweet little hugs and kisses for as long as you are willing to give them. I know the day will be here sooner than I like when you won’t be so free with them!

Loving my sweet, little 5-year-old!
Mommy

My little sister

2009-06-30T23:30:00.000-05:00

My youngest sister, Miranda, is currently in Kenya serving as a communication intern with World Concern for 6 weeks.

God miraculously provided for her and I am so excited about this great opportunity that she has!!

Miranda is such an awesome young lady that loves the Lord, and I am very proud of her.

Check out her blog here (or click the picture below) and you can follow her adventures over the next 6 weeks. It should be interesting - I hear they even have a curfew every night so they don't get crushed by stampeding elephants. Crazy!

The Holy Trinity

2009-06-29T22:10:00.005-05:00

Chris informed me the other day that he and Tanner had a long discussion about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit as they were driving in the car.

The Holy Spirit?? Really??

Apparently Tanner brought it up and was very interested in the topic. Chris said he even informed him that "Jesus is the Word"...very matter of factly.

Deep stuff for a 4 year old! Sunday school must be working :)

That night, it was obviously still fresh in his mind as we sat next to his bed for our nightly prayer.

Part of Tanner's prayer went like this:

"God, please come inside me. And the Holy Christ come too."

I tried not to giggle as he continued with his prayer. I think it will be awhile before he fully understands the Holy Trinity...but he is working on it!!

New product line

2009-06-27T20:40:00.005-05:00

Wow...that title sounds like I have this huge, booming business!! LOL!

One can dream...

My etsy shop has undergone some product changes, due to patent infringement issues. I never in a million years would have guessed that there was a patent out there for household gloves trimmed with an oilcloth cuff.

But apparently there is...and I got the email notification two weeks ago that I had 10 days to remove my gloves.

I can't even begin to tell you how upset and disappointed I was. They were so fun, and I enjoyed making them. Who gets a patent for oilcloth gloves anyway???

My initial reaction was to just ignore the email...my rationale being that I wasn't a real threat to them. I mean really people, 11 gloves sold in 3 months IS NOT hurting your business. You think that argument would hold up??

But once I calmed down and stopped long enough to hear what God was trying to tell me, I knew that the right decision was to just move on and find something else to focus on.

I have had several ideas rattling around in my brain...and I just launched one of them today on my Etsy site.

Adorable, custom totes with an initial appliqued to the front. These are small, little-girl sized totes. If you click my Etsy shop banner in the top right corner, you will see more pictures of them in my shop.

I'm still not convinced that the price is worth the time I put into them, but I am going to try it and see.

I also got my stuff in one of the cute boutiques here in New Braunfels, which I am super excited about.

Now, if I could actually make some money from this endeavor!

4 year old theology

2009-06-18T21:33:00.003-05:00

Tanner was singing a new song the other day in the bathtub...

And I couldn't resist the urge to pull out the camera and video it.

Good thing he's not old enough to be embarrassed that his mommy is videoing him while in the tub!

I hope you enjoy Tanner's theology on God's love.

Creative uses of a dish towel

2009-05-08T20:31:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite blogs, Grace Violet. had a post several months ago about making little girl skirts from dish towels. Of course, she had found these ADORABLE dish towels at Target and despite my endless searching I was unable to get my hands on the same towels.

Mind you, I don't even have a little girl to make these for. But they were so cute, I wanted to try it anyway.

So, I was at Target last week and saw some new dishtowels and snagged them up. Still not quite as cute as the original towels, but they would work. So I have been busy sewing today, and made three skirts for my good friend's three little girls - ages 4, 2 and 6 months.

In my haste and excitement to make them, I didn't stop to take "before" pictures. And of course, I can't find them on the Target website. I might have to go to Target tomorrow and take some pictures so you can truly appreciate this post!!

But here are the finished products:

The only thing I added to the dishtowels was the pink ric-rac on two of the skirts. Other than that, I just cut the towels in half, trimmed a little off the sides, sewed the sides together, and made a hem at the waist for elastic. And voila!

So cute. So fun. And so easy!

That is my kind of project.

Three skirts for around $11 - not bad!!

If you want to try it yourself, check out the great tutorial here.

And the green award goes to...

2009-05-02T08:10:00.004-05:00

I was working on dinner the other day, and heard Tanner say...

"Look at me Mommy. I have a lot of medals!"

I turned around to see this.

I had to laugh. We may not be the "greenest" family on the block, but Tanner has the award for reusable bags!!

Swine flu...and such

2009-05-02T07:45:00.005-05:00

Well, it seems like the swine flu has shut down our little part of the world. Schools are closed for two weeks, parks are closed - they even closed church tomorrow! I think it is all a little crazy and I have my own conspiracy theories about the whole thing...but that is a separate post!

Despite all the doom and gloom, Tanner and I have had a great week. We have taken several walks, played outside, and worked on crafts.

We "attempted" to fly his kite.

We also spent some time throwing rocks in the lake.

Tanner's contribution to bringing up the lake level :)

We had a "see who can make the biggest splash" contest.

All in all, a good week!

Where did your legs go?

2009-04-19T21:59:00.004-05:00

On Easter Sunday, I'm not sure what possessed me...something from my Pentecostal, dress-up-for-everything roots I suppose. But for some reason, I decided to wear hose with my dress. Black opaque hose of all things.

I can't remember the last time I put hose on.

Which was obvious when I walked out of my room and Tanner gave me a funny look.

"Mommy, where did your legs go?".

He slowly walked over, with the strangest look on his face, and reached out to touch them as he said, "I can't really see them".

Oh yeah, I think it is time to throw out the hose!

Easter Update

2009-04-19T20:51:00.009-05:00

We had a great Easter weekend. I meant to post these several days ago, but here are some pictures from the festivities.

We colored eggs at Aunt Diane's house the Wednesday before Easter. This was the first year that I could just watch and take pictures without helping Tanner.

Cousin Rowdy on the other hand was a different story! First he had to taste the dye to make sure it passed inspection.

Then he had to see how well his fingers could be dyed. He WAS a blue and green Easter Egg by the time we were done!

Here is a sampling of the finished product...beautiful!

On Saturday, we had an Easter egg hunt at Meme's house. So much fun!!

Of course, the older cousins had to compare loot!

And then go through all their loot:

Finally, a picture of Meme with her "chickens".

Grand Opening of Etsy Shop

2009-04-16T16:05:00.004-05:00

I am proud to announce that my Etsy shop is now open for business!! I hope to continue adding new things, so keep watching.

I am just excited to finally list something.

I think I will probably scream if something sells!!

Check it out here.

Resurrection Cookies

2009-04-10T17:58:00.002-05:00

I found this recipe on Mom2mom Cafe. I thought it would be a great way to tell Tanner the Easter story.

I will let you know next week how it goes. Have you ever tried this with your kids? If so, I would love to hear how it went!

Easter Resurrection Cookies

To be made the evening before Easter.

You need:

1c. whole pecans
1 tsp. vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1c. sugar
zipper baggie
wooden spoon
scotch tape
Bible

Preheat oven to 300 BEFORE BEGINNING.

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.
Explain that after Jesus was arrested He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl.
Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life.
Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl.
Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.
Read Luke 23:27.

So far the ingredients are not very appetizing.

Add 1 c. sugar.
Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know this and how to belong to Him. Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed.
Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet.
Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matt. 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.

Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door.
Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matt.27:65-66.

GO TO BED!
Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie.

Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty! Read Matt. 28:1-9

Whew...that was exhausting!!

2009-04-04T21:12:00.007-05:00

Well, Diane and I survived our first Wimberly Market Days!! It was EXHAUSTING but fun.

We were up until midnight last night recovering the last set of chairs, and then had quite the adventure trying to maneuver the U-haul trailer filled with our stuff. I don't think Diane will ever step within 20 feet of a trailer again!

I was certain a little old rancher was going to stumble across us last night after we had missed our turn and were stuck on this narrow, dark, out-in-the-middle of nowhere ranch road. There was no where to turn around so we had to do a 3 point turn - that turned into a 15 point turn. With me standing in the middle of the road yelling out instructions while Diane tried to back up. We eventually got out of there, only to repeat the same scene about 3 hours later as we missed yet another turn. This time it was 11 pm with me standing in the middle of the road yelling out instructions. I'm not sure if the lesson is to avoid trailers or use a GPS!

Oh yeah, fun times!!

But enough about the trailer, and onto Wimberley Market Days. We were #19 to get a booth assigned, and we got the first booth that we requested. YIPPEE!! It was a great setup but we later realized it wasn't the best location. I think we missed out on a lot of the traffic...but now we know!

Here is our booth:

I made some glass tile necklaces and the domestic diva gloves. (click on the pictures for a close up view)

Diane had some really cute furniture, vintage linens and fun knick-knacks from Europe.

And just to illustrate how brisk our sales were, here is Diane hard at work:

Overall, it was a great experience. We didn't sell as much as we wanted, but we did cover our costs with a little profit left over. And now that we know what we are doing and still have some inventory left over, we might try it again next month.

But without the trailer, thank you very much. We definitely learned that lesson the hard way!

Honesty

2009-03-21T21:08:00.002-05:00

Tanner comes up with the funniest things sometimes.

Earlier this week, I was making lunch and he informed me he wasn't hungry.

He then said "I don't want to get a big stomach. You know some guys have big stomachs"...as he proceeded to give me his best pot-belly imitation with his shirt lifted and sticking his stomach out.

I was trying not to laugh, as I said, "Really?? So, does Daddy have a big belly?"

"No" Tanner said and he got quiet.

I went back to making the sandwiches, then I heard him from behind me.

"But you have a big bottom!"

Well, thank you! Thank you very much!

I guess it is time to pull out the Taebo videos.

Preschool update

2009-03-16T22:41:00.004-05:00

Tanner and I have been "officially" doing preschool for two weeks now.

At times it has been fun. Other times have been a CHALLENGE!

I have had a sneaky suspicion for some time now that teaching might not be one of my greatest gifts.

Well, I think an incident last week confirmed my suspicions.

I was painstakingly teaching the fine art of writing a lowercase a - using the clock face method. You know...start at "2 o'clock" and go up around the clock...and so on. It seemed simple and logical enough to me. So there I was at the marker board taking great pains to illustrate this and explain it in a way Tanner would understand.

Noticing it was very quiet behind me, I turn around to see Tanner's head on his desk.

"Tanner, what are you doing?" (in my sweetest, calmest, not frustrated in the slightest voice - of course!).

And this is what I hear - "Mommy, you are talking too much and I am getting sleepy!"

Needless to say, the lesson on the lowercase "a" ended right there.

Apparently I bore him into a state of exhaustion.

This is going well!!

Introducing...

2009-03-14T09:09:00.005-05:00

After much thought and discussion and mental angst, I have finally decided on a name for my creative endeavors. You would think I was trying to decide on a baby name!!

Since Diane and I will be selling our crafts and "stuff" at Wimberly Market Days in a few weeks, I knew that I needed a name. I am even thinking about opening an Etsy store...although I'm not sure where I think I am going to find the time for this!

I wanted a catchy name that had significant meaning to me. The Lord gave me the passage in I Kings 17:5-6 back in November of last year as we were beginning to see the effects of the slow economy on our business. Since that time, those verses have brought incredible comfort to me and reminded me that as long as we are obedient to the Lord, He will always provide for us - even if it is in unusual ways! Just as Elijah was obedient to the Lord and the ravens brought him food both morning and night. Not your typical provision!

Every time I would think about a name for my business, all I could think about was this story and the word "raven". So, I have decided the name will be Raven Brook.

I found a cute graphic online and came up with this logo:

Now I need to get busy crafting and sewing, so that I have some products and not just a name!

Chick Fil A

2009-03-14T09:07:00.002-05:00

If you have a Chick Fil A nearby, you will understand the deep sentiment that accompanies this video. Hysterical!!

I love this song, but...

2009-03-09T11:17:00.002-05:00

We got in the car this morning and a Nicole Mullins song was on the radio.

Tanner said, "I love this song but it cracks me up nuts".

I was laughing out loud!! You know..."it cracks me up" or it "drives me nuts", it's all the same thing right???!!

Altered tins

2009-03-07T19:00:00.001-06:00

I love to alter things. I think Mod Podge is one of my favorite inventions!!

A couple of years ago, I altered several of these tins.

Using scrapbook paper, ribbons, chipboard letters, and LOTS of modge podge, I made a couple of recipe boxes.

I also made a mini scrapbook tin - it was my favorite! I made it for my niece who was in kindergarten at the time (actually for her mom - my sister!) I thought it would be a fun and simple way to keep track of some of the memories from elementary school.

Inside the tin, it had 6 cards for kindergarten through 5th grade.

Each card had space on the front to record the years and teacher name as well as a place for their school picture. I put the cards inside a plastic photo sleeve to protect the pictures.

The back of the card had room to record friends, field trips, awards/accomplishments, and memories. You could also file small things in the box behind the appropriate card.

Posting these pictures is reminding me that I never made one of these for myself! I think I need to make a run to Hobby Lobby and get one. I could use a new recipe box!

Prayers

2009-03-06T17:37:00.002-06:00

Tanner's prayers have been getting longer lately...and more specific.

For a while now, his prayers have been more of the follow after mommy and daddy type. Or he had the standard meal time and bed time prayers without much variation.

But I have noticed that has started to change. He has been thanking God for specific things that happen - usually the fun, out of the ordinary events! And he has also started asking for very specific things.

Last night his prayer consisted of two specific prayer requests:

1. Please let us go to the beach...next week!

2. Please give mommy a baby...a baby sister!!

I give a hearty AMEN to both of those requests.

Taking a break from the organizational challenge

2009-02-26T22:50:00.002-06:00

Well, the loft is coming along. Not there yet, but it looks much better than it did around lunch today when I had stuff everywhere and wondered if there was any hope.

I did take some pictures - I guess we can call them "in the middle" pictures. They are probably worse than the "before" pictures would have been. But I will wait to show those to you when I have some good "after" pictures to go with them. And trust me when I say we aren't there yet :)

Since we are picking up Tanner tomorrow night, I am taking a break from the loft and going to enjoy some "me" time tomorrow. My sister-in-law and I are heading to Austin to visit a fun new fabric store and probably hit some thrift shops as well.

Diane and I have talked for years now about having a booth at one of the local craft fairs. Diane is VERY creative and we always thought it would be fun to try selling some of our stuff. So, she has decided to get a booth the first weekend in April at Wimberley Market Days. Just the kick in the rear I needed to stop talking about it and actually do it!

I'm not sure how much I can get ready in a month. But I think I will be crafting and sewing till my fingers fall off! I am actually really excited about it. I just need to decide what exactly I am going to focus on.

Oh, and I need to come up with a business name. Decisions, decisions! I want something cute and unique, but nothing has come to me yet. And I have been thinking about this for a LONG time. I need some inspiration, and I need it fast.

Missing my little man

2009-02-25T22:41:00.003-06:00

Tanner is at Grandpa and Grandma's this week. ALL WEEK!

I dropped him off on Saturday and we are going to pick him up on Friday. It has been incredibly quiet around here - and quite lonely I might add!

Even though it has been nice to get some stuff done around here, I do miss him terribly. But he is having a great time and I'm afraid he doesn't miss us near as much.

I have been taking advantage of this time to get some pre-school stuff organized for him. I think he is finally ready for some structured school-time. Although I will be honest and say that I'm struggling with the idea that my baby is already 4 1/2. It makes me a little sad!

So, yesterday I spent most of the day at the dining room table surrounded by various pre-school and kindergarten curriculums. Some from my mom and some from a friend. Who knew kindergarten stuff could be so overwhelming? I think it is the idea of teaching someone to read - it just intimidates me.

But after many hours of looking at everything and going cross-eyed, I think I have a good idea of where I want to start.

So now, I am tackling the loft in an attempt to create a school room. Let's just say that it will probably take longer than I want it to. I should post a before picture so you can truly appreciate the task ahead of me. But I'm too chicken...or too embarrassed...or too proud...or too something!!

It is an organizational disaster up there! It is part office, part workout room, part attic overflow and part junk room. And I am hoping to transform it tomorrow into a room that doesn't make me cringe.

If you think about it, you might want to say a prayer for me!

And if I have any measure of success, I might post an "after" picture. We'll see...

Gloves for the domestic diva

2009-02-22T21:53:00.000-06:00

I wanted to share another one of my crafts from Christmas.

I think this was one of my favorite gifts to make! It was so hysterical and made me laugh everytime I looked at them.

Introducing, kitchen gloves for even the most discriminating diva:

All you need is a pair of latex gloves, some oilcloth and a little ric-rac.

Sew the oil cloth on the gloves and glue on the trim - and voila!

Almost makes you excited about doing the dishes. Almost!

Free downloads

2009-02-20T21:27:00.001-06:00

I am a fan of free things.

And there are plenty of free things out there - if you know where to look!

I found this website last night that has some great free downloads. Take a peek, but beware that you might lose track of time as you explore her website!

I also put a button on my sidebar, so you can click it whenever you want to see if there are any fun new additions.

I have already starting thinking about Tanner's birthday party this summer, and she has some great ideas for a Super Hero party with lots of great downloads. I think my little man would love that party!

Recycled Magazine Holder

2009-02-18T10:09:00.004-06:00

I stumbled across this fantastic idea yesterday and wanted to share it. Turn a priority box into a magazine holder...how clever is that?

You can find the tutorial at Pink and Polka Dot.

I think I may have to try this soon! I am a self-proclaimed magazine junkie. I love them...and have a hard time throwing them away.

Maybe I will feel better about the piles of magazines if they have cute holders!

Quiet-time church bag

2009-02-14T14:10:00.006-06:00

When children turn 4 at our church, they start going to children's church.

This means you no longer drop them off in the nursery as you come in. Instead, they sit with you during worship and are dismissed after the offering. Since this translates into at least 45 minutes of sitting in church, it can present some unique challenges for a 4 year old!

I have been looking for ideas of church activities to help Tanner make this transition, and found this great tutorial for a crayon roll-up.

I made one at Christmas for my niece and she loves it!

I used a cord stop to keep it closed per the instructions. However, I must admit I felt like it really lowered the cuteness factor! It may be practical - but I like cute.

So...we had a birthday party today for a little girl who was turning 4. I thought I would try another one and make a matching tote bag for her to carry it in. Here is the finished product...

The tote is reversible with the striped fabric inside (forgot to take a picture of that!). This was my first time making a little bag - and I couldn't believe how easy it was!

I put a notebook and the crayon roll-up inside. Now, she has her church quiet-time bag.

I used a wide grosgrain ribbon this time instead of the cord stop - and it definitely completed it. MUCH cuter I thought! Of course, mommy might not appreciate having to tie it all the time. But sometimes you have to sacrifice for style!

My project this week is to make a boy version for Tanner. I have some cowboy fabric for the crayon roll-up, I just have to figure out how to make a bag that will pass the "boy" test (and Chris test!).

Valentine Cookies

2009-02-11T17:57:00.005-06:00

We had a Valentine cookie decorating party today with Tanner's cousin, Lena, and some friends from church.

I tried a new sugar cookie recipe. And they were DIVINE!! The icing recipe came from allrecipes.com.

I made the cookies in advance, mainly because I wanted to test the recipe first. But it turned out so much easier to have the cookies done and just have the kids decorate them.

We used little paintbrushes and they iced them and then used LOTS of sprinkles.

Happy Valentines! Enjoy the ones you love this week!!

The dilemma of preschool art

2009-02-10T12:22:00.005-06:00

Sometimes I feel like a horrible mom - sneaking a few of what seems like hundreds of crayon scribbled pictures into the trash. I even find myself hiding them under other trash, just in case the little man spots them.

Since I'm not inclined to wallpaper every room in my house with Tanner's pictures, I knew that we needed some kind of art solution.

Behold, the rotating art gallery...

I have quite a stash of old window frames that my husband has been carting around for me for the last five years. I think he is more eager than me to see them go to good use. So one day when we were talking about what we were going to do with the constant stream of artwork, he had this brilliant idea! "Why don't you use one of your old windows?" he said.

Why didn't I think of that???

I found some cute magnet clips at Office Max and glued them to ribbon loops. I then used my handy staple gun to attach them to the window frame. And Voila!

Now it is hanging on the kitchen wall - with room for 8 masterpieces at a time. When Tanner creates a new one, he gets to choose which one comes off so a new one can go up. This just went up 2 days ago, so we haven't actually had to deal with the switch-a-roo yet - I am just hoping it pans out as well in reality as it does in my head!

At least now, I feel like we are giving them proper attention before they get stuffed under a milk carton in the trash.

Of course, there will always be those treasures that need to be saved for the scrapbook. Like this one Tanner gave me as he proudly announced "Mommy, look - I drew you!".

All I can say is that I am looking mighty fine these days!

Get rewards for searching the internet

2009-02-08T21:36:00.003-06:00

There is a new search engine in town...and you can win free rewards!! And if you know me, you know that I love FREE!

I discovered swagbucks a few weeks ago and I love it!!

I simply made it my home page instead of google, and now when I do an internet search I am earning points. I can get a $5 Amazon gift card for every 45 points I earn. Since I buy quite a few gifts from Amazon through the year, any little bit helps! After about 3 weeks, I have 27 points.

This is definitely not going to make me rich but since it is something I do anyway I figured why not earn some rewards at the same time?

And even better, once you sign up you can refer your friends and you earn points when they do. Even better!!

So click on the banner below and check it out for yourself.

The Love Month

2009-02-04T12:47:00.003-06:00

I.love.Target.

Especially the dollar section...the allure of all those items priced at only $1 pulls at me every time!

Last year, I picked up some of their cute little mailboxes around Valentines. They have been sitting in my craft hutch, just waiting for the perfect project.

The mailboxes are back this year, and I have seen several blogs discussing these mailboxes and ideas for them. So, I decided to pull out my stash and do something with them.

So here is our February family activity...love mailboxes!

Tanner is so excited about the whole thing, and keeps finding things to put in Daddy and Mommy's mailbox so he can put the flag up!

Family game night

2009-01-30T10:45:00.003-06:00

Last night was family game night. So we decided to play one of the games Tanner received for Christmas. Good idea, right??

When I bought this game, I looked up the reviews. CHECK
It was based on a movie we really liked. CHECK
It was on sale!! CHECK

And then we played the game:

I obviously missed the part about wearing elephant ears and a long nose with velcro on the end of it!

Oh, the things we do for our kids! But Tanner loved it. In fact he wanted to play it over and over again.

My mom always warned me that kids would humble you - but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Decoupaged Journals

2009-01-29T09:07:00.000-06:00

Christmas this year was the year of homemade gifts for me. Partly out of necessity and partly because I just enjoy it that way!

When I was crafting up a storm in December, it was so hard not to post my projects on the blog. But considering most of the recipients were readers of this blog, I had to restrain myself.

Now that Christmas is over, WAY OVER I might add, I figured I would post some of the craft craziness.

Today, I will show you the decoupaged journals. These were so fun to make and one of the few things I actually made for myself too! For some reason, I never seem to find the time to make things for myself - but I have one of these journals and it goes with me everywhere!

I found this idea on one of my favorite crafty blogs here.

I used the larger notebooks, so I had to use two different sheets of paper. It can be a little tricky getting the paper on without bubbles and wrinkles. When that happened, I just reminded myself that homemade also means "not perfect"!!

A before and after shot (I apologize for the blinding light in the shot - photography is something I need to work on this year!):

A few of the journals I made for Christmas gifts:

Close-ups:

2009-01-28T09:33:00.003-06:00

Well, January is almost over and I never posted the rest of our Christmas pictures. My sister posted some yesterday and gave me the motivation I needed to post some of my own!! So...here are some pics from our Christmas in Kerrville:

Our attempt at a family picture - I think this was shot #318:

The silly boys:

A friendly game of football on Christmas Day:

The kids "patiently" waiting for Christmas Eve to begin:

Enjoying Grandpa and Grandma's "ranch":

Budding musician

2008-12-22T20:56:00.005-06:00

We had our family Christmas last night since we are heading to Kerrville for the week.

Tanner's big present was a new guitar. And he has been playing it non-stop ever since!

Tanner wrote a song about the devil and God and he was eager to perform it for us. Enjoy!!

Last minute stocking stuffers

2008-12-17T09:15:00.003-06:00

If you are anything like me, you are still trying to round up those last minute Christmas gifts.

I can say that I am doing better this year...but it's still not completely done.

I found this great deal last night, and thought I would share it with everyone. Amazon is having a great sale on magazines AND you get $5 off at checkout. Makes for some cheap gifts. Great stocking stuffers!

Click here for the amazon magazine deal

Angel Debut

2008-12-14T21:04:00.003-06:00

This morning we had the Kids Christmas Program at church.

And Tanner made his angelic debut!

He was the cutest angel EVER.

Despite the fact that he didn't know any of the songs and just mouthed who knows what most of the time.

Or the fact that 3 songs was a little long to expect a 4 year old to behave and not act a little silly!

Holiday shopping

2008-11-21T19:30:00.002-06:00

Just a reminder as you are doing that online holiday shopping, don't forget about Ebates!

See my post about it here

Just this week, I ordered some photo calendars for Christmas gifts...and I got 8% back through Ebates. And even better, they have a promotion going on right now that if you spend $10 they will give you a $10 bonus. Sweet!!

So if you haven't already, check it out!

Beautiful moments

2008-11-20T16:12:00.000-06:00

One of the young men from our church recently left to go to Indonesia as a missionary. He was a part of our small group and we spent some time praying over him before he left. He was very involved with our children's ministry while he was here, so we had the kids pray over him at the end. So sweet!!

The joy of hand-me-downs

2008-11-19T19:23:00.004-06:00

We love hand-me-downs at our house.

Goodness, Tanner wouldn't be clothed most of the time if we didn't!

Well, this week we received the best hand-me-down to date...at least according to Tanner!

It didn't matter that there was a large rip in the back:

It was the highlight of his day...and he wore it ALL DAY LONG! In fact, there were tears when we had to take it off for nap time.

House Projects...and Bread Disaster

2008-11-08T19:52:00.004-06:00

We had one of those rare Saturdays where nothing was planned and we didn't have to be anywhere. It was a nice change!

Tanner and Chris worked on some projects outside:

I worked on some craft projects and attempted to make cinnamon, raisin bread in my bread machine:

And no, that isn't the lump of dough. That was the finished product!

I am happy to report my crafting turned out much better.

My little cowboy

2008-11-01T07:29:00.005-05:00

We had our annual church Chili Supper last night. Our little man was a cowboy, and an awfully cute one I might add!

Tanner with his cousin Lena:

Small town politics

2008-10-30T20:56:00.004-05:00

Early voting location downtown New Braunfels.

Seems like political opinions abound even in the small Texas towns!

Who are these people

2008-10-28T17:04:00.007-05:00

...and what have they done with my family?

After lunch today, I sat down at the computer to work on some church stuff. Chris decided to vacuum the dining room rug when he saw all the food Tanner had dropped.

Before I knew what had happened, a quick vacuum had turned into a mini "spring cleaning". About an hour later when I had finished my work, I got up to discover Tanner vacuuming his room:

Then the house was dusted and the couches were vacuumed:

Then windows were cleaned:

Needless to say, I began to feel guilty and had to join in by doing a good kitchen cleaning.

I decided we need to make this a regular "family activity"! Great bonding time right??!! Hey, a girl can dream.

All I know is my house looks really clean - and I didn't do much. What else could a woman want?

Solving the hair mystery

2008-10-26T18:14:00.003-05:00

This morning, Chris was helping Tanner get ready for church and as he bent down to put Tanner's shoes on, this is the conversation that ensued:

Tanner: Daddy, you are missing some hair up there.
Chris: Oh really??
Tanner: Yeah, I think the squirrels are getting in your bed at night and eating it.

I have been giggling all day just thinking about it!

Back home

2008-10-12T22:50:00.005-05:00

It is almost 11:00 pm and we are finally home from the beach. I am exhausted so I will keep this short and sweet.

We had a great time - saw dolphins jumping beside the ferry, went to the aquarium in Corpus where Tanner got to touch a shark, and had numerous days on the beach building sand castles and playing in the water.

And believe it or not, I actually found a sand dollar! You would have thought I won the lottery, I was so excited. I was having a great time yesterday walking along the beach by myself just talking with God - and suddenly I looked down and there it was. It was as if He dropped it there just for me - His little way of showing me that He delights in me!

Here are a few more pictures from our week:

Tanner learning how to boogie board:

My surfer boys:

Chris & Tanner with their unique twist on a sand castle:

Beautiful home down the road from our condo:

And finally, CHEAP GAS!! The frugal part of me couldn't resist taking a picture of gas that was more than .60 cheaper than what I had paid 5 days earlier back home :)

Searching for the perfect shells

2008-10-11T08:55:00.003-05:00

I think I could move here.

Beautiful weather, sugary sand, and that wonderful sound of waves lapping the shore.

What else could you want??

Except maybe the elusive sand dollar. The beaches here are strewn with PIECES of sand dollars. Diane and I felt like we were being teased in our search for the whole sand dollar.

Diane got up at 6:30 our first morning and went out to the beach hoping she could find some before everyone hit the beach. She found footprints all over the sand and realized that 6:30 wasn't early enough!

While we were at the beach later in the day with the kids, an older man gave us some shells he had collected. They were gorgeous and that only increased our determination to find some. When we asked him how he had collected so many great shells, he told us he stayed on the beach all night. WHAT??!!!

So, the next night after Chris had arrived, Diane and I got up at 4 AM and went out with our flashlight. There was NO ONE out there - and all I can say is that the beach is a little scary in the middle of the night when you only have one little tiny flashlight for two people. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting - I thought the beach would just be covered with these awesome, perfect, unbroken shells just waiting for us to find.

Yeah, not so much. There was nothing. Only the fact that Diane's phone rang and we just about wet our pants it scared us so bad. Needless to say, we didn't stay out there very long! And we didn't find anything...

So, Diane and the kids headed home yesterday but I talked to her last night and she had another shell tip for me. Apparently, her hairdresser told Linda yesterday that you have to go out to the first sand bar if you want to get the sand dollars. I must be pretty desperate - taking sea shell advice from someone's hair dresser!

But I am hoping to sweet talk Chris into exploring the sand bar today...we'll see how that goes :)

The glorious beach

2008-10-09T09:02:00.002-05:00

We are currently in Port Aransas with Diane, Lena and Rowdy. The weather is absolutely beautiful and we are having a great time.

A few pictures from our first day:

My little man

2008-10-06T23:13:00.002-05:00

If you were to ask Tanner how old he is, he would quickly tell you that he is four - but almost five. For most people, a birthday 10 months away would not constitute "almost". But Tanner is eager to grow up.

While his mommy wishes that time would slow down!!

We recently enrolled him in a city program called Sporties for Shorties. What an appropriate name!

Imagine two young guys trying to explain the fundamentals of basketball, baseball, football, and soccer to a group of 4 and 5 year olds. It was downright comical at times.

But Tanner thoroughly enjoyed it, and is very disappointed that it is over. I definitely think I see sports in his future - he loves anything that involves a ball. And I think I can safely say that any athletic abilities he may have did not come from his mother!

Here is a video from the last class on football:

Crayon update

2008-09-27T12:22:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to let you know the magic concoction wasn't so magic.

About 70% of the load washed clean - namely towels and such.

But Tanner's clothes are still obviously marked with crayon...I see some more scrubbing in my future today.

I did read somewhere that WD40 takes crayon out. But I have to say that will be a last resort. Even if it did work, I can't imagine getting that smell out of the clothes!

It all started with a crayon

2008-09-24T21:20:00.006-05:00

I have been on a blogging hiatus lately. Although I'm not sure you can call it a hiatus when I have never actually been a consistent blogger.

But I am back - because today was one of those days you just have to blog about.

I actually got a good nights sleep last night, which has been rare lately. God obviously knew I needed the rest for what was in store for me.

Now that the ladies retreat is behind me, today was my first day at home to tackle the MESS! It is amazing how fast a clean house can become disgusting. So while I was in the middle of cleaning bathrooms, my husband walks in and tells me he needs to show me something.

I immediately knew I wasn't going to like it!

Sure enough, he takes me to the laundry room and opens the dryer door. I don't even know how to explain what I saw...it was AWFUL! A whole load of clothes covered in what I first thought was black ink.

After careful investigation, we determined it had to be a crayon. And even better, a black crayon.

There were no remains to be found of the crayon - it was all firmly smudged into the clothes. Oh happy day!

I have always been good at checking Chris's pockets before I do the wash, but I don't usually take the time to check Tanners. Obviously, that will have to change.

It was one of those moments that you realize your day has taken an unexpected turn and you aren't overly excited about it.

I can't say that I had been looking forward to a day of cleaning house - but at that moment I would have gladly cleaned two houses rather than deal with the mess in front of me.

But thank God for Google! I immediately jumped on the internet and found some great advice for this particular disaster.

Thankfully, it wasn't as hard as I anticipated to clean the inside of the dryer. Here are the before pictures:

Thanks to some Dawn Power Dissolver and a little elbow grease, the dryer is almost good as new.

The clothes are currently in the washing machine with a concoction that is guaranteed to get the crayon out. Time will tell!

Here is a picture of the clothes - I'll let you know tomorrow how they look.

Oh, and the other minor detail today. Once Tanner was down for his nap, I sat down to do some work for church. And what do I discover? My lovely Mac computer decided to totally erase my entire Windows Operating system and all of the associated files.

Gone, adios, nowhere to be found. And for no good reason I might add!

I'm not sure exactly how that can happen. But I have to say that this is definitely not helping with my efforts to try to like this Mac.

I never had things just disappear on my PC...never!

Here's hoping that tomorrow is a little brighter...

Beth Moore

2008-08-23T18:33:00.005-05:00

Beth Moore was in San Antonio this weekend - and all I can say is WOW!!

That woman can preach. Her enthusiasm for the Word is downright contagious!

And the worship was incredible. Travis Cottrell and his worship team were there - and as my friend said, it was one step away from heaven. There is nothing quite like 10,000 women in one place singing praises to our God. It was so moving!

I have been looking forward to this weekend since last year, and I wasn’t disappointed. I have done about 8 different Beth Moore studies over the last 5 years, and they have always challenged me in my walk with the Lord and really pushed me to take the relationship to a new level. Her love for the Lord and His Word is OBVIOUS, and I am always amazed at her humility despite her incredible popularity.

This weekend she spoke on Psalm 16 and her message was that we are heirs (or heiresses) of God and we have a beautiful inheritance waiting for us. She had so many good points and I know I will probably be mulling over it for days and weeks.

One point that I wanted to share is that because we are heirs of God, we can be secure. If we are looking for affirmation and affection from other people, we are setting them up in the place of Christ in our lives and they will never be able to make us feel completely secure. If we truly grasp the fact that we belong to God and we are his heirs and He is ALL WE NEED - life would look very different for so many of us. We would be focused on following God and obeying Him instead of pleasing people.

There is nothing more attractive than a secure person who doesn't NEED people. Think about that one for awhile! Only Jesus can identify us - not society or other people.

This is one of those principles that I have heard a million times. And every time I think I am getting better at it, God shows me yet another area that needs improvement. Proving one again that I am a work in process!

It was a great weekend and God really stirred up a new enthusiasm for what He has called me to do.

So, if the adorable and amazing Beth comes to your area - you don’t want to miss it!!

My baby turned 4

2008-08-03T14:19:00.007-05:00

I think I am still in denial. How could my baby boy be 4 already?? I don't know where the time has gone, but I suddenly have a "big boy" in the house. All week, I have been hearing how he can now do this and that because "I am 4 now!" We were at Target a couple of days ago, and every toy he saw was suddenly something that we needed to buy because he was 4 now. Pretty funny!!

We had a birthday party for him yesterday with some of his friends from church. With the family there as well, we ended up with 21 adults and 13 kids. Sounds crazy but it actually went very well. We had the party in the front yard and did a beach theme.

I saw this very cute cake in my Family Fun magazine a few months ago:

I had already been thinking about a beach themed party, and when I saw this cake it just sealed the deal for me!

The recipe sounded easy enough. But I was obviously over confident, because my first attempt on Friday night did not go very well! The recipe calls for you to make an 8" square cake that you then use to cut the top two circles. I knew I was in trouble when it came out of the pan in several sections! But I was determined to make it work, so I fit it back together and cut my circles. I then tried to use the icing to hold my circles together. You can imagine how well that went! So I decided to use some round glass dishes and I baked two smaller cakes and then went to bed while they cooled.

I woke up at 5:30 on Saturday morning to attempt the assembly one more time. Finally, success:

We had several "beachy" crafts and games and the kids seemed to have a great time. Tanner is now on new toy overload!!

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Coast trip

2008-07-24T21:35:00.005-05:00

Thanks to Hurricane Dolly, our coast trip was cut short. We were supposed to spend the week in Rockport, and instead we ended up with one good beach day before heading home.

I guess that is what I get for not checking the weather before leaving home!

There is nothing quite like driving to the beach, only to be met by highway signs saying "Hurricane forming in the gulf...please fill your gas tanks!". It was one of those unbelievable, you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me moments.

Tanner was clueless and had a GREAT time building sand castles and playing in the water. He was so funny the first time he put his face under the water and came up spitting. He ran over and said "who put the salt in there??". Too cute!!

On the way home, we were talking about the beach and the salt water. Tanner informed us that a blue man put the salt in there while it was dark. Where does he get this stuff??!!

Thankfully our beach cottage gave us a voucher for two free nights the next time we go down - so we will have to reschedule our beach trip. And next time I will be sure to check the weather first!

Tanner chasing the sea gulls!

Neopolitan ice cream

2008-07-19T21:35:00.007-05:00

It all started with this fabric:

After a year of trying to decide what colors to redo the kitchen, I found this fabric at my FAVORITE furniture and fabric store.

I carried a swatch around in my wallet for a few months and then finally decided to take the plunge. You would think I was buying a new house, not just painting the kitchen!

I decided to paint one accent wall chocolate brown, with the other walls green and the cabinets cream. Oh, and the fabric for the window treatments.

So...I painted the brown wall first. When I first opened the can, I felt like I was in an episode of Trading Spaces. Staring at this open paint can and wondering why in the world I thought that was going to look good. Why is it that the color in the can is nothing like the color once it is on the wall??

But I took the plunge and once it was painted, I breathed a sigh of relief. I actually liked it.

Then on to the green. That is where it started going downhill. As I started to paint one of the walls, I began to wonder why this didn't look like the color chip. Again, why is that?? I let it dry hoping that the color would improve - but no such luck.

All I could think was that I needed a pink wall and we would have neopolitan ice cream. Not exactly the look I was going for!

So off to Home Depot for round #2 in the green paint selection. And I think I got it this time! It looks much better with the brown.

And now if I can just decide on what style I want for the curtains...oh the decisions!

Crazy roadrunner

2008-07-11T12:48:00.004-05:00

I guess you could say that we live in the country. It's not like we have acreage or a farm - but we are about 15 miles out of town. Which means that we get all sorts of critters. Like the raccoons that found our kitchen trash can when we set it outside one night. Or the deer who find great pleasure in eating my freshly planted flowers.

Our latest visitor has been a roadrunner. Now, its not like we have never seen them around. But just not quite like this!

Earlier this week, Chris and I were sitting on the couch and kept hearing a strange noise on our dining room sliding door. When we finally got up to check - this is what we found.

The crazy thing was trying desperately to get inside - or he saw something he wanted. I don't know what the problem was, but he continued to peck on our door for a good 10 minutes! Chris immediately began to wonder if roadrunners can have rabies :)

Yesterday evening, Chris spotted the same roadrunner on our neighbor's roof pecking on the chimney pipe.

And then this morning, I found him on top of Chris's truck. He wasn't too excited about that!

So, now we are under strict instructions to not leave the doors open for ANY REASON! Chris is convinced that this bird would make a mad dash for inside our house if given the opportunity. Strange stuff...

Online shopping tip

2008-07-07T19:57:00.003-05:00

Ok, I admit it...I love online shopping! The fact that I can jump online and buy something with a few clicks of the mouse, and then have it delivered to my door...it brings me great joy and satisfaction. However, being the frugal, coupon loving person that I am - I only like to shop online when I can find a great deal.

So I thought I would share my latest find. It is called ebates. This website rocks!

You simply link to the store of choice from their website and you get cash back for shopping. I used them last week for the first time. I ordered some ink cartridges for my printer and I got 17% cash back. Gotta love that!!

I just received my email today telling me that I had $9.48 cash back in my account. So if you have some online shopping to do, check them out!

And even better, if you sign up and list me as your referral - we will each get $5 credited to our account! So sign up here...and tell your friends :)

Getting paid to shop...what could be better??!!

Happy Birthday America!

2008-07-05T20:40:00.008-05:00

We had a great 4th of July with my family! We left early Friday morning and met them in Fredericksburg for the parade. It was a fantastic parade with the all American, patriotic feel that you would expect from a small town. It seems like most of the parades we have been to the past few years resemble a rolling yellow pages ad - with every local business in the town driving their car down the road with their signs all over it. Not really my idea of a parade. But the Fredericksburg parade was different. There were a few local businesses that advertised with a float but most of the entries were a salute to our great country. It had everything from vintage cars and tractors to WWII era army vehicles. There were also a number of military themed floats and everyone seemed to have a real respect and appreciation for those serving our country. Tanner had a great time and waved his little flag at everyone that went by!

After dinner, we went back into Fredericksburg for the fireworks show. It was a GREAT show and we had a great spot very close to the action. It reminded me of fireworks shows when I was a kid where it felt like they were falling on you. It was a little too loud and too close for Tanner who spent most of the time watching from inside the car! And then he decided he needed to go to the bathroom right at the end, so he and Chris missed the fantastic finale! Poor Chris!!

Overall, I was very impressed with the Fredericksburg festivities - we just might have to make it a tradition!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. We are so incredibly fortunate to live in such a wonderful country with the freedom that we have. May we never take for granted all the sacrifice that is represented in that freedom!

Favorite things...

2008-06-14T20:46:00.009-05:00

Vacation has come to an end...but it has been a great week! Although we didn't take off for some exotic location and Tanner was sick on Thurs and Fri, it was still a good week. I feel relaxed and I actually got several projects done around the house. I know that may sound like work for some, but it gives me great satisfaction to cross things off my list. A little sick perhaps, but true nonetheless. So...a couple of things I discovered this week that are near the top of my "favorite things" list.

1. First, a nifty feature that Google has called Google Reader. If you are a blog reader, this thing is totally awesome!! I have several (ok...quite a few) blogs that I enjoy reading and the Google reader makes it so much easier. You enter all your favorite blogs, and it gives you a recap of all the new posts whenever you log in. So no more surfing all over the interet, checking all your favorite blogs to see if there are any new posts. Now, you just go to one place...and all the new posts are there for your reading enjoyment. I don't know how long this fabulous invention has been around, but I have been thoroughly enjoying it this week!! I guess that makes me a little geeky that I find this so neat...but oh well :)

2. Next is the most incredible cleaner called Jomax. Again, I am demonstrating how easy it is to impress me...but this stuff is absolutely unbelievable. The siding and wood trim on our house has been slowly growing a black/green mildew coating for the last year. And it was simply starting to look hideous. I knew we had to do something about it, but I had this horrible feeling that it was going to take a lot of elbow grease and sweat so quite honestly I was just procrastinating. Not that it was getting any better, mind you, while I procrastinated. My dad told me on several occasions that I needed to use Jomax on it. He told me that you just sprayed it on and it would fizz and just roll off. Yeah right! Nothing in life is that easy! Or so I thought...which is why I kept putting it off. I hate to even admit that we actually had a bottle of Jomax but I just couldn't fathom it was going to be that easy. Well, I have to say that Dad was right...again! This stuff is absolute magic! In fact, I told Chris that every new home owner should be given a bottle of this stuff. I mixed some water, bleach and Jomax in a tank sprayer and sprayed the house. Right before my eyes, the mold, mildew and dirt simply disappeared. Amazing! If I could only spray Jomax inside the house and have it magically clean in a few minutes. Now that would be something! Here is a before and after picture - in case you thought I was exaggerating:

3. And finally...a girl's best friend, chocolate! If you have not tried the Ghirardelli Brownie Mix - run to the store right now and get some. This stuff is sinfully delicious. And yes it comes out of a box and is not homemade, but it is truly divine. In fact, if you are on a serious diet then don't even tempt yourself. And I say serious diet, because I feel like I am always on a diet...but it never seems to be very serious! In fact, I think I hear some brownies in the kitchen right now calling my name. Heaven help me!

Water fun

2008-06-10T20:37:00.006-05:00

Chris and I are taking vacation this week - long overdue! We originally planned to go down to Rockport for the week, but the forecast was calling for wind and rain. Not exactly the weather you want for the beach. So we decided to stay home and do some fun day trips around here. We went to Schlitterbahn yesterday, which Tanner loved! The boy has no fear and wanted to go on EVERY SINGLE ride!! I think his favorite ride was the Der Bahn Speed Slide - a three story body slide that you would think would terrify a 3 year old. But oh no! He rode down with Chris and absolutely loved it. Here is a picture from the website since I didn't have my camera for this ride:

We were there for 8 hours and soaked up a lot of sun. I was slathering sun screen on every few hours and kept Tanner well covered - as you can see from the pictures. Poor little guy has my fair skin rather than his daddy's nice olive skin. Overall it was a great day! Here are some pictures:

Powerful message

2008-05-20T07:59:00.002-05:00

This is an extremely powerful message from Lou Giglio. It's long but worth it. We serve such an awesome God!!

The things people do

2008-04-28T08:36:00.002-05:00

This is pretty neat - I would have loved to see this!

Good stuff

2008-04-22T22:34:00.003-05:00

I am currently doing Beth Moore's new study on the Psalms of Ascent. And like everything 'Beth' that I have encountered before, it is awesome! There were a few quotes in the study today that really spoke to me - and I just had to share them.

Psalm 123:1 - "I lift my eyes to You, the One enthroned in heaven."

Where is our focus and where are our eyes looking? Are we focused on God or our circumstances and the world around us?

Beth said, "...everything else will downsize into its proper place when we look to God alone. Just as God is enthroned over the flood, He is enthroned over everything that troubles you."

Boy, I needed to hear that - I really need God to downsize some things that I have allowed to consume my thoughts. What an awesome reminder, that if I keep my eyes looking up He will give me a new perspective. Ultimately, He is in control and praise the Lord He is bigger than anything else going on around me. What a relief that is!

One last quote, and I'll stop - although this one is long. But oh so good! Beth quotes this from Eugune Peterson's book A Long Obedience in the Same Direction:

"We are not presented with a functional god who will help us out of jams or an entertainment god who will lighten our tedious hours. We are presented with the God of exodus and Easter, the God of Sinai and Calvary. If we want to understand God, we must do it on his terms. If we want to see God the way he really is, we must look to the place of authority - to Scripture and to Jesus Christ."
"And do we really want it any other way? I don't think so. We would very soon become contemptuous of a god whom we could figure out like a puzzle or learn to use like a tool. No, if God is worth our attention at all, he must be a God we can look up to - a God we must look up to...the moment we look up to God (and not over at him, or down on him) we are in the posture of servitude."

Lord, keep me eyes on you...the Holy One enthroned on High!

The pukies...

2008-04-21T10:41:00.004-05:00

What is it about getting sick right after vacation? We were enjoying a night in our own beds on Saturday night when Tanner woke up puking at 1:30 am. So needless to say, no church yesterday for Tanner & I. We spent the day on the couch watching movies - well, I guess Tanner did. I spent the day doing laundry from camping. So it was a good catch up day for me, but I really could have done without the puking all day. Thankfully it appears to have been a short lived bug, because he seems back to normal today. So off we go!

A weekend away

2008-04-19T21:03:00.005-05:00

The weather the last few weeks has been delightful! Cool in the evenings and around 75 during the day. And here in South Texas, that is a rarity let me tell you!

So, we decided to take advantage of it and go camping this weekend. We thought about leaving Thursday afternoon, but we had one of those lovely Texas thunderstorms roll in. And this one was quite the humdinger. In fact, it kept Tanner up most of the night...which of course meant Mommy and Daddy were up as well. So we left Friday morning fully rested and in such good moods. Or something like that - you know it's not always the best idea to head off for a camping trip when you are already exhausted. But off we went.

We stayed at Pedernales Falls State Park. We only camped one night, but it was great! It is an absolutely beautiful area of the Texas Hill Country, and we had a wonderful time hiking, swimming and just relaxing. Although, I will say that relaxing looks a little different when you have a 3 year old.

Here are a few pics from one of our hikes:

Tanner & Daddy looking for critters!

Out of the mouth of babes

2008-04-16T08:58:00.003-05:00

Ok, I have to share a Tanner funny. We were at the grocery store yesterday and a slightly overweight (putting it tactfully) cashier walked by us. Tanner proceeded to tell me that she had a "big tummy". Thankfully we were out of earshot and he said it in a quieter voice. I had to keep from laughing as he followed it up with "she has a lot of lunch in her tummy". Not sure if that was what he actually said, I asked him again and he said, a little louder, "she has a lot of food in her tummy!". I know that I am in store for a lot more of these embarrassing, but oh so funny moments, but this was one of the first...and I just had to share.

The BIG movie

2008-04-01T15:55:00.003-05:00

We had a "family fun" day on Saturday, and took Tanner to the movie theater for the first time. Or the BIG movie as Tanner called it! On my sister's recommendation, we went to see 'Horton Hears a Who'. I must confess that I don't ever remember reading this Dr. Seuss book (shocking I know!), so I didn't know the story line until my sister told me about it. She really piqued my interest when she told me about a message Lou Engle gave regarding a prophetic word relating to abortion and this movie. Here is a link to a YouTube video with Lou's message:

I must say that this perspective made the movie really interesting to watch. As the church, are we protecting the unborn with the same passion and conviction that Horton protects his "speck"?? Food for thought...

Easter

2008-03-23T20:36:00.006-05:00

A few pictures from our Easter celebration today. We had lunch at our house after church and then had an Easter egg hunt with 13 adults standing around watching Tanner hunt for eggs :) It definitely wasn't like the Ebersole egg hunts growing up...with kids running around in every direction trying to find the most eggs. It was an extremely competitive endeavor, which I know is no surprise to those who know our family. Poor Tanner needs some cousins in town or even better, some siblings, to bring a little more excitement to the hunt!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter celebrating the fact that we serve a Lord who is alive and wants to have a relationship with us. In fact, He delights in us - how awesome is that!

another point of view

2008-03-16T19:05:00.004-05:00

Chris shared a testimony from our Haiti trip at church this morning. He did such a great job that I wanted to share it here:

Faith yes, love still the best
And love we did – planted seeds of the Gospel, encouraged would be pastors, prayed for those overseeing orphanages, discipled youth on the street, loved the lonely, hopeless, and dying wherever and whenever we could.

As we came back my thoughts were on “The Church” as we see it in Acts–
Can it be done? – I know it can! We met together, ate with and enjoyed each others company, prayed together about what we were to do (such as giving to the needy, when there are so many, etc.), we mourned with each other over what we saw or felt, laughed over things out of our control (no hot water, A/C, mosquito nets, or luggage), sacrificed for each other (mostly aisle seats for me and my leg), gave to each other whatever we had (food, money,…sarcasm (a hard time), stomach viruses,) whatever we had.

It was easy to recognize where we were - In a foreign and hostile land (here at home we sometimes forget and simply or naively call the land we live in …“the world”).
We looked after and checked on each other, for we could not afford to assume that someone else would, or that it was just “our leader’s job”. Although “Momma Duck” (as we affectionately named Jada) did a great job of watching over us.

Our Mission – our focus – was always on others and the Kingdom
It was never about ourselves.
Church services we could not understand (except for one of us “Ask Shonie about that”).
Singing or attempting to sing from a hymnal written in another language to a very roughly tuned guitar.
No A/C, carpet, or comfy chairs, no big restaurant to rush off to after Church
It did not matter – We were on a mission, and it wasn’t about us.
Everything we learned (the language, customs,etc.) things we prayed for, spent time on, places we traveled to,… fears we overcame. It was all done with a hope that someone else’s life would be better off for it. Every moment had a purpose. And it felt good!

If you are here this morning and benefit from our mission statement of being saved, healed, trained, and released. Remember whatever you gain here, it is ultimately intended to benefit someone else. And I pray you will not forget your mission when you walk out the door.

Haiti slideshow

2008-03-15T16:23:00.001-05:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

God answers prayers!

2008-03-13T21:40:00.003-05:00

i have to share a great testimony of answered prayer while we were in Haiti. As I mentioned in a previous post, Chris tore the meniscus in his knee right before we left for Haiti. By the time we left, it was really hurting him and he could not put any weight on the leg. So off we went with a knee brace, ice packs, and a cane - with a lot of people praying for him! The first few days in Haiti it was really bothering him but then God took over! Every morning that he woke up, his knee was a little better. By Wednesday, he was not using the knee brace or the cane and by Friday, he was on the playground playing soccer with the kids. It was truly a miracle and there was no explanation except prayer. When we returned home, he went to see his doctor who explained that if the meniscus lays a certain way it can alleviate some of the pain. However, it usually flaps up and that is what causes the pain. I know that God miraculously laid that cartilage down while we were in Haiti! We serve such an awesome and powerful God!!

The greatest part about it was that Chris had such an incredible time with the kids and really bonded with them. He would have missed out on a lot of that if he had not injured his knee because he would have been doing construction work like he originally planned. God used the knee injury to put him exactly where he needed to be. Praise God!!

The second day after we returned home, Chris woke up and said it must have flapped back up because it was hurting again! He did have surgery yesterday to correct it, and everything went well and the doctor said he should have no long term damage. Thank you to everyone who prayed for him...God heard your prayers!!

The rest of the story...

2008-03-13T14:58:00.007-05:00

We have been home from Haiti for 5 days, so I guess it is about time that I update the blog with the rest of our Haiti trip. Here are some excerpts from my journaling for the last half of our trip

Tuesday (March 4)

Today we visited another orphanage that was a 15-20 minute walk from the school. This orphanage was much smaller and cleaner which definitely made it easier to visit. They have babies and young children up to age 5 and currently have 27 children. The great part was that all but 2 of them are currently in the process of being adopted. The couple that runs the place said that most of their children get adopted soon after they arrive. They also get a lot of brothers and sisters, and most of the time they are adopted together. It was refreshing to see such a ray of hope for children who have been neglected and abandoned. The walk there was the first time that I have really been out in the streets and it really gave me a better picture of Haiti. Out on the streets, people are hanging out everywhere you look and the poverty just stares you in the face. The homes here are concrete or cinder block and most of them are half finished. Occasionally, you will see a nicer painted cement home with a wall around it, but they are few and far between. Since there are very few cars and most people don’t have electricity, people seem to spend most of their time outside just hanging out with their neighbors and friends. April told us that if a house does have electricity, it will draw a crowd at night because everyone wants to hang out by the light. There is a house next to our hotel that we have wondered about because there are always a lot of people there in the evenings…now we know it is because they have electricity and it is one of the few lights in the area at night! It really is hard to get your mind around the lives these people lead. Even though you see it all around you, I still don’t think it really sinks in. April made the comment yesterday that she has been here for 10 years, and she has really gotten to know her students and what their lives are like outside of school. However, no matter how many times she goes into their homes and experiences their life, she always has the option to leave. And that is an option they don’t have. Because we can leave, we can never really know what it is like to live in such poverty. Experiencing it for one week on a mission trip is a great opportunity to gain a new perspective on what is really important, but we can always go back home. It breaks your heart when you realize that the majority of these Haitian people will never know anything different.

A few pictures from the orphanage today (we did face painting with the kids...they loved it!)

Thursday (March 6)

As we get closer to our departure day, it is getting harder to think about leaving this place. Chris really had a tough time today. He has really connected with the kids…which I knew he would. He has always been great with kids and they love him! It is always neat to see how God uses things in our lives. When Chris injured his knee right before we left for Haiti, he was so disappointed because he really wanted to help with the construction of the new church they are building. He didn’t know what he would be able to do in the school. But God had plans!! Chris is having so much fun with the 1st graders and the 7th and 8th graders. In fact, when I meet kids in his class and they find out that I am married to Mister Chris, their faces just light up. We have one more day to go, and I know we are all a little anxious about telling the kids goodbye.

Now I want to share some funny things from today. We have such a great team, and we all get along so well together. Chris is always telling us that we are the giggliest girls he has ever seen! We sometimes sound like a bunch of middle school girls at summer camp. We were really hooting and hollering tonight at dinner, the laugh till you cry kind, when Shonie was rehashing Sissy’s bad day. It started off this morning when apparently Sissy, Shonie & Sherry were on the roof of the school having their quiet time. The roof is a flat cement two story roof with no sides. As they were leaving, Sissy was headed for what she thought were the stairs. However, she got distracted with the scenery and was walking towards the edge of the roof without looking where she was going. Shonie noticed just in time that she was a few steps from walking right off the roof! Shonie hollered at her and stopped her just in time. Of course, it was one of those things that was rather scary and traumatic at the time, but boy was it funny when they were telling it later. The roof incident was then followed with several other things later in the morning. Sissy & Shonie were sitting on a bench in the playground, and Sissy had just finished saying that she was having a bad day when a volleyball from the other side of the playground flew across the picnic table and hit her on the head. She then gets up and moves to the other side of the picnic table, and a few minutes later she gets up screaming because a dog just walked over and pee’d on her skirt! I was laughing so hard and crying when they were telling this story at dinner. Sissy said she went on a hike that afternoon and it started to look like ran, and she made the comment that this was the day she would get struck by lightening. Thankfully she was spared! This trip has been overwhelming in so many ways, with the poverty and needs all around us...I think God knew we needed a little laughter today!

Friday (Mar 7)

It was tough today saying goodbye to all the kids. This week has flown by, like we knew it would. We have been practicing songs with the different classes all week, and today they did a performance. It was so touching to see the kids really worshipping the Lord in song. In Haiti, music seems to be a big part of their culture so the kids love to learn new songs. In fact, they just belt it out...something you don't see with American kids. For the most part, our kids get nervous at the idea of singing in front of people whereas these kids just sing at the tops of their lungs with no insecurity or inhibitions. I wonder if our overstimulated and media obsessed culture breeds insecurity in our kids??

After school, they had a baptism in the ocean right outside the school. That was incredible to witness! In Haiti, many of the parents don't allow their children to be baptized. I'm not sure if it is the public proclamation they don't like or what - but I was glad that we were able to be there for the baptism. Here are a few pictures:

After lunch, we went downtown to the market. April took us to her local "Wal-mart" - a large warehouse with lots of vendors and all kinds of miscellaneous things. She told us not to touch anything, because if we touch it we buy it. That was very hard for me, being the touchy feely person that I am! I had to stick my hands in my pockets!! After visiting several little stores, we hopped in the back of the pickup truck and drove for about 20 minutes to a hospital called the House of Hope. It was a nice facility, for Haiti, and Jada even pointed out that they had actual landscaping - or at least an attempt, which is something you just don't see here. We visited the pediatric section for terminally ill children. We took candy with us and passed that out and just loved on the kids, holding them and talking to them. I was holding a little girl probably around 18 months old whose name was Nena. April told me that she came to the orphanage as a tiny baby with AIDS, but she had recently been tested again and it came back negative! She was a beautiful little girl and we found out later that one of the nurses was in the process of adopting her. After our visit to the hospital, we headed back to Sonlight in the back of the pickup. Chris commented that he felt like a walking mud pie by the time we got back. The dust here just cakes everything!

It is hard to believe that we are heading back home tomorrow. It has been an incredible week. I'm sure I will be processing for weeks all that God has shown and taught me.

Haiti update

2008-03-04T05:57:00.002-06:00

I have journaled A LOT the last few days, but here are a few of the highlights:

We arrived in Port-a-Prince around 12:30 Saturday afternoon. At that point, we rode in the van for about 2 miles to another smaller airport where we boarded a “puddle jumper” for the flight to Port-de-Paix. That was an experience! This plane held 20 people and was SMALL! I know they make smaller planes but I don’t think I ever want to be in anything smaller than that!! Talk about feeling every little bump. But it was a short trip, about 45 minutes, and overall it wasn’t bad. Of course, the whole flight I was thinking about my carry on bag that they decided was too heavy for me to take on board and they insisted on checking. So I sat there at the window watching the pilots and other Haitian men arguing, rather heatedly, about whether or not it could go on the plane. After about 10 minutes of intense conversation, I watched as my bag was rolled off to goodness knows where. Not only was that my overnight bag with clothes for the next day and toiletries and camera, but it made me a little nervous to think that a bag that couldn’t have weighed more than 25 lbs was such a point of heated discussion. Were we really that close to our weight limit?? I felt like we all needed to hold our breath for the flight! And then there were the strong gas fumes as we prepared to take off. In fact, Paul had Shonie convinced that the liquid dripping out of the engine was gasoline, thus explaining the gas smell. Once we got in the air, he then proceeded to tell Shonie that the good news was the smell was gone and no more gas was leaking out…bad news was that he hoped we had enough gas left to get there. So we had Shonie worried about our gas and I was worried about my bag (aka camera!) and the weight on the plane. But we made it! For the landing, we came in on a little road…and I mean little, dirt road right next to a river. All along the river there were women washing clothes and the river banks were covered with clothes laid out to dry. It was an incredible sight! We were definitely not in America anymore!

After we landed in Port-de-Paix, April and John from Sonlight were there to greet us. It was so refreshing to see April’s smiling face as we got off that plane! At that point, we discovered that all of our baggage was coming separately and we would not get it until the next day. Great…I didn’t have anything except the clothes on my back! So we all piled into the back of a Ford pickup truck and headed for Sonlight. That was another interesting experience. It was about a 10 minute ride, and the streets were just total chaos. There are obviously no traffic laws, except that the biggest vehicle gets the right of way. That usually was us but a couple times we met big dump trucks and then we just had to lean in so we didn’t lose an arm! For the most part, people are walking or riding mopeds. In fact, the “beeps” from mopeds are pretty much a constant noise around here.

We are staying in a “hotel” of sorts across the street from Sonlight. Our rooms are very basic…nothing fancy but they have running water and electricity which is more than most people around here. A funny thing about the electricity in the hotel is that it only comes on in the evening and then goes off around 6:30 in the morning. But that works for us since we aren’t in our rooms much during the day. The shower consists of a pipe coming out of the wall, but there is warm water if you let it run for about 20 minutes first. Jada had us prepared for no hot water, so I am very grateful! Although I must say I feel like a very spoiled American as I write this.

On Monday, we spent the morning at the school. We were all in different class rooms assisting the teachers with whatever they needed. It was great to interact one-on-one with the students…but I will share more about that later. In the afternoon, we went to an orphanage across the street. I don’t even know how to put into words what we saw and experienced. This orphanage houses around 200 kids with five families living there to oversee them. I didn’t see many of the adults, but there were kids everywhere! They were very dirty with dingy, ragged clothes. And they literally mobbed us when we walked in there. Within minutes, we all had children hanging on each arm, trying to get in our lap or on our back…and just wanting to touch us and have us hold them and love on them. It was heart-breaking to see children in such conditions. I wanted to scoop them up and just take them home where they could have people that love them and take care of them and meet their very basic needs for clean clothes, a roof over the head and food to eat. There was one little girl named Menushta who latched onto me and stuck with me pretty much the whole hour we were there. Someone told me she was 4 years old and I just kept thinking of Tanner. It was a really hard place to visit and I am still processing everything I saw. In our team meeting last night, someone made the point that it gave them a new perspective on what it means to be an orphan. What a comfort to know that we are told in Psalm 68:5 that God is a father to the fatherless. I have a better understanding after today of why orphans have such a special place in God’s heart!

A few pictures. Here are some preschoolers at Sonlight Academy:

This is Menushta and another little boy from the orphanage:

Almost there

2008-03-01T08:30:00.007-06:00

We spent the night in Ft Lauderdale and now we are waiting for our flight to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. We had a really nice hotel room last night…with beds that were a little too comfy  In fact, it isn’t feeling much like a mission trip yet…but I know that is all about to change. They just announced that our departure has been delayed for an hour due to some problems with the plane. Not exactly what we wanted to hear since we are all excited and ready to get there.

Here we are...ready to go!

As I am sitting here typing this blog, I see several members of our team who have befriended some Haitians waiting for our flight. They are having a lesson in "Creole"!

Here we go!

2008-02-29T09:45:00.000-06:00

We are on an airplane on our way to Haiti! Wow…life has been crazy for the last few weeks leading up to this moment. I feel so unprepared and unequipped for this trip and what lies ahead. Yet I know God knew what my calendar and schedule was going to look like. Maybe He wanted me in this place, so that it could be all about Him and not what I can prepare and do in my own strength and abilities. I am really excited about what He has in store for me and the rest of the team. It has been a long time since I have been on a mission trip…too long! I have a feeling I am heading into open heart surgery…performed by the best surgeon. Can’t wait!!

Deut 30:6 - The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

My prayer is that the Lord would circumcise my heart...so that I am wholly devoted to Him!!

Frantic Pace...

2008-02-26T22:45:00.005-06:00

Chris and I will be leaving for Haiti in 2 1/2 days...I can hardly believe it! Life has been a blur these last few months, and I feel like I am drowning most of the time. Church stuff has been downright crazy as we are in the middle of a huge capital campaign and that seems to take up most of our time. That is coming to an end, however, and now we are trying to focus on Haiti for the next few days before we leave.

I honestly haven't had much time to think about our Haiti trip because of everything else going on. But I CAN say that God is stirring up a real sense of excitement and anticipation for what He has in store for us. Of course, just the fact that Chris and I get to go together is something I am really excited about. We have both been on mission trips before, but we have never been together. It is always neat to minister alongside your spouse and best friend, and watch God work through them and use them.

I will say that our excitement about the trip has been challenged a little the last few days. Chris hurt his knee over a week ago and it has been getting progressively worse each day. Over the weekend, it got so bad that he could hardly walk on it. So yesterday he went to see an orthopedic doctor in our church and it looks like he has a torn meniscus. They are doing an MRI tomorrow to confirm that, but the doctor is recommending that he use crutches as much as possible and he thinks he will need surgery when we get back. Needless to say, our vision of this mission trip did not include Chris on crutches! I know Chris is really disappointed because he was planning to help with some construction work while we were down there...but that is definitely out of the picture now. As frustrating and disappointing as it may be, I know that it didn't surprise God and He has something great planned for Chris - crutches and all!

I'm not sure how much internet access we will have while in Haiti...but I will try to give some blog updates if possible!

Zoo trip with cousins

2008-01-13T14:56:00.000-06:00

Rachelle is in town with Kaitlyn & Garrett, so we took the kids to the zoo yesterday. It was an absolute gorgeous, sunny day - you would never guess it is winter around here! The kids had a great time at the zoo...they especially loved the "Lory Landing" where you can feed the birds nectar. Here are a few pictures from our day:

Christmas Lights

2008-01-04T09:41:00.001-06:00

I am a little sad today...it is time to take down the Christmas lights. Some people would probably say PAST time! I just love the lights and decorations at Christmas and I am never ready for it to end. I don't think one month is long enough to fully appreciate all the beautiful Christmas trimmings. And my house never looks as good as it does at Christmas. But Chris reminded me that I wouldn't appreciate it if I left it up all year...so I guess it is time to pack it all away.

I will have to say that I got my love of christmas lights honest...here is a pic of my parent's new house, all decked out for the holidays:

And their gynormous Christmas tree:

And then there is our house...I still have a ways to go to match my parents, but I am slowly adding a little more each year. In fact, I just hit up Walmart's 75% Christmas clearance yesterday and found more goodies for next year...I can hardly wait!

Christmas blessings

2007-12-26T22:31:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas to all!! Well, technically it is the day after Christmas, but I am still in the "spirit". We had a great Christmas with our family and I am still at my parents house in Kerrville...it is so nice to just get away from my house with it's endless piles of things that need to be done.

This year Christmas was broken up with several different celebrations, but it was still nice. Chris, Tanner and I spent Christmas Eve at home by ourselves (which was nice!) and Tanner got his big "Christmas surprise" that night. A new puppy!! Tanner kept watching out the window all night for Daddy who was bringing his surprise, and he was so excited when Daddy walked in the door with the puppy. He ran around the house squealing and calling the "little fella" to chase him. I'm not sure that the puppy was all that thrilled with the ultra hyper 3 year old, but oh well. We got the puppy from the local animal shelter and he is a black lab mixed with something else, maybe a border collie. But he is so sweet and laid back and hasn't barked once yet. You can't imagine how that thrills me...I am just hoping it is not a temporary jinx of some kind!! Here are a few pictures of Tanner with his new puppy:

If you are wondering what the new puppies name is, well so are we! The shelter named him "romi" but we haven't decided if we are going to keep that name. Tanner can't seem to get it down, it always comes out "roni" when he says it. Which just makes me think of macaroni and cheese! Yesterday he said that he wanted to name him Jacob, so we thought we might try Jake. But Tanner didn't seem too thrilled with that variation, and he went back to "roni". So I don't know yet what name the puppy will end up with...but hopefully we can all agree on something soon.

On Christmas morning, Meme came over and we opened the rest of our presents. I think Tanner's favorite present was the western shotgun from Grandpa John. He has been playing with it non-stop since yesterday. He is definitely all boy!

After opening our presents, we headed out to Kerrville to spend a few days at my parent's house. Chris had to head back home today for work, but Tanner and I are planning to relax here for a few more days. The nice thing is that I can actually get some things done since Tanner has uncles here to play with and lots of new things to entertain him!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas with those they love. It is definitely my favorite time of year, and it just reminds me of how blessed I am to have such a wonderful family!

Crazy schedule...

2007-12-13T22:32:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure exactly what happened, but my well intentioned plan to blog at least once a week as turned into once a month! I know that I have been busy, but this is just sad and pathetic...something has to give!

The holidays are definitely here and my "to do" list is much longer than I would like. I still have a few gifts to purchase and I haven't even thought about Christmas cards yet. Maybe I should aim for New Years cards this year.

Here are a few pictures from our month so far.

Tanner had his friend Lauren over and we decorated gingerbread houses. I think as much candy went in their mouth as on the gingerbread houses...but they had lots of fun. And they made beautiful masterpieces, if I must say so myself!

Potty Training Update

2007-11-18T15:24:00.001-06:00

I should probably start this entry by apologizing to any readers that do not have toddlers in their home. Because unless that is your current lot in life, you probably will not appreciate the need to discuss this topic!

But potty training is a VERY REAL issue in the Adams house these days. In fact, Tanner wore "big boy" underwear for the first time on Wednesday. And he did fantastic! After only two accidents, he caught on and used the potty chair for the rest of the day. Although I have to confess that accident #2 just about sent me over the edge...since it happened on MY COUCH!! UUGGGHHHHH!!

But we survived and kept trucking ahead. In reality, except for the couch incident, it really hasn't been as bad as I anticipated. In fact, I'm beginning to think that I am more to blame for the fact that Tanner is almost 3 1/2 and just now getting this down. I always liked to say that he just wasn't ready yet, but I think it was more about me. I just had to take the plunge and set aside several days to really focus on it. Credit goes to my friend Steph who inspired me the night before and convinced me that I could do it!

While I can't say that we are totally 100% potty trained, we are definitely well on our way. YIPPEE!!

October

2007-11-07T07:05:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted. Life has been busy, but I hate to use that as an excuse since everybody I know is busy! I honestly just haven't been motivated to write, for whatever reason. Here are a few pictures from the month of October:

Tanner in the pumpkin patch:

Tanner & Lauren:

Diane was in town with Lena Jane & Rowdy and we celebrated her 40th Birthday!

Potty Training

2007-10-09T16:25:00.000-05:00

I used to always say that I wasn't going to worry about potty-training because Tanner was bound to master it before kindergarten. And most days I do a pretty good job of not worrying about it...but I am having one of those off days and I am filled with horror at the thought that he might be the exception to the rule. The boy just doesn't seem to have any desire to be a "big boy" when it comes to this area. Up until now, our biggest problem has been that he has never actually done anything in the potty chair. Now mind you, it is not from lack of trying on our part! In fact, Chris put him on the potty one morning and sat in there for an hour and a half...they were reading books, drinking juice, watching a movie, drinking more juice, singing songs, and drinking more juice. Chris even had the water faucet running...but NOTHING!! Well that finally changed this weekend. He spent the night with Meme on Sunday night and wouldn't you know it that he sat on the potty chair and pee'd for her no problem. This is beginning to remind me of the "binkie" episode and I am really starting to get a complex here. Why is that all of the conjoling and bribing and talking does nothing when it comes from me but suddenly Chris or a grandparent can just ask him nicely and he does it no problem??!!

So he actually pee'd twice this weekend at Meme's house. Now that he is home however he is not the slightest bit interested...big surprise right?? Everyone tells me not to push him because he will do it when he is ready....but I am ready! Doesn't that count for anything?? Patience has never been my strongest attribute and this whole ordeal is really trying me. I know I probably need to just find 2 to 3 days in a row where we can stay home and put "big boy" underwear on and get serious about this. Of course trying to find that many consecutive days where we don't have to be somewhere is difficult...and maybe I am just chicken because I'm not sure what to expect.