Weekend Wrap-Up

Ever feel like you are so busy, but yet you have nothing to show for it??? We did a whole lot of nothing this weekend. Eating, shopping and visiting with family. That is my idea of a good time! Scarlett and Ethan made their hand print Christmas tree shirts with my mom. These turned out SO CUTE! They love doing any kind of arts and crafts that gets their hands dirty!

Scarlett couldn't wait to try hers on and model it for all of us to see.

We had a lot of fun on Thanksgiving day. It is always so much fun just to spend the day sitting around with family. Scarlett and Carson colored all afternoon on the floor at my Granny's house. They used styrofoam plates to made puppets. Too cute! Carson is only 2 1/2 years old, but he thinks he is as big as they are! Ethan, Scarlett and Carson have a lot of fun playing together.

Mitchell came home and spent the night with us. I went to bed at eleven pm and when I got up at 3:30 am they were STILL up playing video games! I was informed they were having a tournament! Did you see the story about the kid that collapsed after playing video games for 20 hours??? That would be my husband. I am so glad Mitchell feels welcome at our house, and our house is a fun place for him to be and I am glad that hubby feels like a kid when he gets to hang out and play video games all night! ha!

The rest of the weekend was spent doing pretty much more of the same. Shopping, Eating, and hanging out.

Sounds exciting, huh?? That is my idea of a holiday! Now I start to hit the panic button, trying to get everything done over the next few weeks. Better get busy...

Wishing you all a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving

WOW, it is Thanksgiving all ready! When Thanksgiving rolls around I realize how fast this year has gone by, I realize how quickly everything is passing these days. Is it true that time moves faster the older we get???

I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Thanksgiving. I remember growing up and being at my grandmother's house early Thanksgiving morning so my mom could help her in the kitchen and my brother and I would watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. What fun! Now, I sit back and get excited as I watch my kids watch the parade and get excited over which huge air filled balloon will roll down the streets. Just once I would LOVE to be in NYC for the parade. That would be a thrill. I love going to my granny's house on Thanksgiving, not because the food is the best but because I have such a big family on that side. Her house is crowded, it is hot, but we have the best time. My granny had four kids and each of them have two or three kids and now each of use have two or three (or even four like my brother) kids of their own. Imagine what a loud house that is on Thanksgiving day! We sit and talk and laugh and of course the Dallas game is playing in the living room while the men pretend to watch with their eyes closed! ha! My cousin, Kristy and I , scope out the ads, and see just where we needed to be in the morning and divise a plan of who gets what for the other. I have much to be thankful for!

Now that I am older and married I have a new family. Hubby's family is wonderful! Thanksgiving lunch at their house has become our tradition. Hubby's Aunt and him fry the turkeys every year on Wednesday night. That is their bonding, their time together. We eat BIG at his house! It has become a joke that the food at my families house is not nearly as good.. so we fill up BIG TIME at his family during lunch. :)

As I sat and watched my children and husband sleep this morning I thought about how lucky I am. Even when things don't seem to be "right" they are still far greater than most. I have so much to be thankful for on this day and every day of the year.

I am a child of God, which is probably the single most important thing I should be thankful for. I have a wonderful family! I have parents that define unconditional love, I have two brothers that have great families and I love them all dearly. I have an amazingly good husband and two children that have blessed me beyond what I thought possible. We have our health, our jobs; we have plenty. I hope we are teaching our kids to be thankful. To be greatful in all that they have been given. The list could go on for days! I have great in laws that accepted me with open arms. I definitely can not forget my friends! I have some of the best friends any girl could ask for! I think long and lasting friendships are rare and I feel so blessed to have found a bond with such a great group of friends.

2008 has been such a great year for my family! We are blessed with so much. New friends, new house, new traditions. We are creating a wonderful life!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! Take the time to tell those around you how blessed you are they are in your life! Wishing you all the best this holiday season!

Almost Home....

We are almost there! Our home is almost ready for us to move in and I am so excited! I don't think we realized how much of a project this was going to be and I also realize that we are no where near finished. We have done all the major work, but it will be a while yet before we finish everything. We plan to replace all the light fixtures/ceiling fans and all the interior and exterior doors. One thing at a time I try to keep telling myself, but I am the type that wants it all done yesterday! ha!

The big projects are all finished. My dad finished up our bar area and it looks great! Our kitchen looks completely different. I have to order cabinet handles and knobs and then we will be done. We bought a new dining room table and chairs and have it in the house just waiting for us to be there and use it for family dinners.

Here is a before and after picture of our kitchen.

These cabinets were taken out to make room for a light fixture so that we could use this area as a breakfast bar or eating are for the kids. I think we will probably use this A LOT. They can do all their projects, make their cookies and everything from this area.
The light fixture is a brushed nickel, so I am trying to find cabinet knobs and handles with the brushed nickel finish. I know what I want just have to find it at a price I can handle buying 60 of them! We have SO MANY cabinets and drawers in this kitchen.
Yes, this ugly ceiling fan is the next thing to go! We are trying to find a light fixture to go over our dining room table now. Hopefully I will find it this weekend and this fan can find its way to the dumpster. :)

I am starting to get excited at the thought of moving. I just hope and pray we are in the new house before Christmas.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Lunch with Hubby and "Flellie" comes to stay

Today we went to hubby's work and had lunch with him and his co-workers for their annual Thanksgiving lunch. We are so lucky that we are always invited to their parties.

We took a few pictures before leaving the house. The kids just love being the photographer. This morning we never did get a good picture of Scarlett and I. :( Lunch was yummo! I made the mashed potatoes.. well I sorta made the mashed potatoes. I used the new Steam and mash bags from Ore Ida. You talk about easy and good. One thing I do not like about mashed potatoes is the peeling, so these were perfect! Steam the potatoes, and mix the way you want with all the seasons and butter you desire.

Here is Ethan just before leaving. I wish I had a picture of him by the time we got home. He had shoes in hand and his sweater vest was long gone! We had been home ten minutes when I found him in his room playing basketball in his undies.

Our "elf" came to live with us today. The kids had to name him in order to "adopt" him. Naming this elf proved to be difficult. These two didn't agree on anything! I finally told each of them to pick one name they liked. Scarlett liked Ellie and Ethan like Flappy. So, the elf's name is "Flappy Ellie" or "Flellie" for short.

A rather uneventful day, just the way I like it. Hope you all are excited about this holiday season!

Where does she get these things???

We were getting dressed to run to Hobby Lobby today and Scarlett decided she wanted to dress herself. She went in her room and about ten minutes later came out like this:


She told me she was "fashion and fire" and this was how all the cool girls were doing it this year! Wow! Is there something you can give these kids to make them SLOW DOWN!!!

Fun time with Friends

This past Friday the kids and I went to Branson with Ms. Nancie and Hayden. What fun we had! This was the first time the three of us had gone somewhere and left daddy at home. Scarlett was not to happy about leaving her daddy home. It was so sweet that Friday morning before we left. She kissed him goodbye as he was leaving for work, and then she sat down and looked so sad. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I just miss my daddy!". So sweet! We headed outside to give daddy one more kiss and hug before leaving. That seemed to make her feel better.

We took the kids to play at the Grand Country Inn and their indoor water park. What a great idea! They had so much fun! Nancie and I even decided it looked like fun and we hung out in the hot tub the whole afternoon. It is so much fun to just get away from things and have some fun with friends. Nancie and I only had mild ticks as we pass the outlet malls without stopping! ha! We decided it would be a great place to come back with the husbands and leave them at the water park with the kiddos while the two of us shop! Now that's my idea of a good time! :)



The temperature dropped while we there and we even saw a few flurries as we were leaving on Saturday. I hope this means we might have a white Christmas! I just hope it waits until we are back home from Nashville, TN to bring us a white Christmas.

That small break was just what I needed for a "new" attitude. I am getting excited about Christmas! I have started making my list and even been able to check off a few things for other people. I can't wait to put up my tree and decorate for the holidays. I can't wait to get picture of the kids in their Christmas outfits, make our Christmas cards, and finish our projects for gifts.

I think we are going to start a "new" tradition here in our house. What better time than moving into a new house to add a new Christmas tradition. Have you seen the book or heard about the "Elf on the Shelf"? The little elf reports back to the North Pole daily and then reappears on the shelf the next morning for the kids to find. I though this would be so much for the kids during the month of December. I can't wait to start his new tradition with them.

and on a final note, here is our little puppy. You can't tell much right now, but he is the brown one in the middle. He won't be ready until December 16th which is just right in time for Christmas. I am so excited to see the kids faces when they open that box Christmas morning. I think that will be the best Christmas gift I could give myself to see them as excited as I know they will be!

Hope you all are getting the holiday spirit! Have a wonderful Tuesday!!

The Little Things

Learning to appreciate the little things in life is a "life lesson" I need to learn. I let things get me down and stress me and really stay with me way more than they should. This week has been one of those weeks. I am so ready to move into our "new house" and yet the house is not ready for us. The floors have been there waiting to be layed, and they will be layed but not until the week of Thanksgiving. Not a big deal compared to the bigger picture. We could have no house, we could not have this opportunity. In the grand scheme of things, waiting another week or two to move in is really a small thing.

I sat at work tonight and thought about all the little things in my life that will not change no matter when I move into our house. I need to learn appreciation for all the small things that surround me daily.

After my "mini-melt down" I had today. Poor Abby, I think she must just know WHEN to call me! It seems that anytime I am ready for mini melt downs she calls me at just the right time. Just when I need someone to hear me out and agree with my side, Abby is there! Thanks, girl! :) I am ready to move on and appreciate all the small things! Don't sweat the small stuff, right???

I decided these things: th e mindset that something great (or even something planned) has to happen before we can be happy is a myth. If you believe that winning a prize or buying yourself that great item that you've been wanting so long is going to make you happy, you're absolutely right. It will make you happy...for about two hours. Then you'll be looking for something else to bring on that shot of joy. Take pleasure out of the little things in life that happen more frequently and you'll find the long term solution to true happiness.

I wanted to include a poem by Mother Theresa that sums it all up. Life is beautiful. Appreciate it!

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it.Life is bliss, taste it.Life is a dream, realize it.Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it.Life is a game, play it.Life is costly, care for it.Life is wealth, keep it. Life is love, enjoy it. Life is mystery, know it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is sorrow, overcome it.Life is a song, sing it. Life is a struggle, accept it.Life is tragedy, confront it.Life is an adventure, dare it.Life is luck, make it.Life is too precious, do not destroy it. Life is life, fight for it.

Way Back Wednesday Random Pics...

Have you ever just looked through the pictures on your computer? I was surprised when I did a search for jpeg images that I had over 25,000 pictures on my computer! I guess that means I need to do some major back up one weekend. Here are just some random pictures that made me smile for a Way Back Wednesday moment...

Ethan got some brand new Superman pajamas and he LOVED them! He used our bed and would jump and "fly" like Superman. I just happened to catch him right as he "took off" on his flight!
This was after the "Dr. Suess Birthday Party" at our local library. Back when Ethan was three years old.
Playing at the park back in 2005.
I wish you could see her little apron. It said "Diva in Training". Too cute! She used to play in her toy kitchen for hours!
Scarlett used to use her own clothes to play dress up. She would put on a fashion show almost every night. Occasionally, like this time, she might have on two or three dresses, some pants, a hat and accessories. She was never at a loss of creativity.
and my last, but one of my favorite pictures of Scarlett from "way back". This was before she became a pro at applying lipstick. She used to ask me all the time "you got "wipstick"?" It was a must have in her book!

Ten Things Tuesday

It is quiet here in the ICU, my patients are having a good night and I have decided to blog. I thought since it was Tuesday I would play the "Ten Things on Tuesday" and make of list of ten things I am looking forward to this holiday season. I hope some of you will play along and list some of you favorite things about this time of year.

1. First and foremost, I am looking forward to celebrating Jesus' birth. Teaching my children the "REAL" meaning of Christmas is so important to me. Yesterday while shopping at Hobby Lobby, I had a proud mom moment. We were looking through all the trees and Christmas decorations and Ethan turned to me and said, "...you know it's not all about the trees, or Rudolph, or the presents..." and Scarlett said "Yeah, it's about baby Jesus and his birthday". Wow, what a great thing to hear as a mom! I purchased Lisa Whelchel's book "The ADVENTure of Christmas" last year and it is WONDERFUL! It has projects and stories for each of the 24 days leading up to Christmas. I look forward to working through this book with the kids this year. I highly recommend it for anyone that wants to help their kids "find Jesus" in the season.

2. I look forward to finding the perfect gift. I just love finding something I know is just right for that special person.

3. I look forward to getting dressed up and going out on New Year's Eve. Yes, hubby, I said it. It has been years since the two of us have gone out on New Year's Eve and I have decided this year is just for us. I want to get dressed up and go to a big party.

4. I can't wait to get my Christmas tree and Christmas decoration up. I look forward to being in a new house and spending Christmas morning around the fire. This will be the first time hubby and I have had a fireplace. I can't wait to read "The Night before Christmas" around the fireplace, with a cup of hot cocoa.

5. Visiting friends and family in Tennessee. I stress right up until we are in the car leaving, but it always turns out just fine and I manage to get everything done for Christmas. I think I operate best under stress.

6. This one is a big secret we are keeping from my kids, but since they dont' read my blog I can talk about it here. It is definitely something I am excited about and just another reason I love my hubby so much. Even though he is slightly opposed to this idea he has agreed. He knows how much the kids and I want a puppy. So, "Santa Claus" is bringing the kids a puppy! I think we have narrowed it down and possibly decided on a Shorkie, which is a Shihtzu and yorkie mix. TOO CUTE! I think I am the most excited about seeing my kids face when they open the box from Santa and there is a real puppy with a big red bow! They will be the most excited two kids you have ever seen!

7. I am looking forward to my birthday. Not neccesarily getting older, but a day just for me. Being that I have a December birthday it has not always felt special, but hubby does make sure it is a day just for me, and if all else fails, I celebrate it myself. Last year did not go as planned on my birthday and I had a big party just for me. I bought so much snack food! I spread out the holiday tablecloth and all the food and the four of us had a great time. :) It made me feel a lot better.

8. Did I mention shopping on Black Friday? LOVE IT! I search through the ads and find the MUST haves vs. "if I have time". I love the stores that open at 4am! I am there! I get so excited, it is like Christmas for me a month early! :)

9. Spending time with my family. Christmas at my house has always been a HUGE deal. Ask hubby, when he would stay at my house on Christmas Eve while we were dating he did not believe me when I told him that we were up at 5am to open presents (yes, I was well into my twenties). Some of my best memories are Christmas Eve after my mom and dad AKA Mr. and Mrs. Claus went to bed and my two brothers and I would sneak into the living room and grab our stockings. We would all pile on one bed and dump them out. Oh what fun! We had the BEST stockings. Still do. My mom makes stockings for all twelve of us in the family.

10. One of my patients has his TV on the music channel and they are playing instrumental Christmas music. It is making me so happy. I think overall I am just looking forward to BEING this Holiday season. Another year has passed, another year filled with so many blessings. There is so much to be thankful for this holiday and I plan to spend my time living in the moment every day.

Okay, so that was a long list! It is now 6am and I get to go home in just a little while. Wow! I passed the time well. Hubby is off work today so I am looking forward to spending the day with my family.

What are some of the things you are looking forward to most this holiday season?

Stay Gold

Today was a perfect fall day. The weather was cool, there were leaves on the ground and I was feeling so blessed. I have my children with me, my husband is working on the house and I am shopping with my mom! How much better does it get???

I found a really nice comforter set for our bedroom at the new house. Our room is going to be chocolate brown and blue so I wanted something nice but not to feminine. That was my husband's only requirement. I found just the thing today and being that I was shopping with my mom, and it is close to my birthday she bought it a little early. I love shopping with my mom! The only bad part is that they only had one curtain set to match and I needed two.
After shopping I returned home with kids and I am not trying to get motivated to fix dinner. I went grocery shopping this morning and it is amazing how well I do without kids in tow! I used ALL my coupons, got several things free, and ended up saving 46% total! Over $80 at the grocery store was saved using my coupons! WOO HOO! That always makes me feel happy when I can save money like that.. just means more money to spend on something fun.

I guess I have procrastinated long enough and my oven is definitley preheated. Scarlett has banned me from the living room since she is "fixing" me a present. So far she has came through and got a pink gift sack, some blue tissue paper and the tape gun! I hear her singing and wrapping. The pull of the tape gun has been heard ten times already. A packing tape gun, so my present is going to wrapped really tight. She told me that "I will love it", and I am sure I will. How could you not love something your kids do for you out of kindness. Even if it is wrapping up your perfume you have owned for a year... and I do love that perfume!

Every year this exact season brings to mind one of my favorite poems. I absolutely love poetry and I hope I instill a love of poetry and literature in my children. Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" has been my favorite poem since I was 11 years old. I think it helps that it was featured in one of my favorite movies "The Outsiders".

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
so dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay."

When I was younger the poem was so appropriate for the changing of the seasons. Fall being my favorite time of the year, I always thought of this poem as the leaves changed.

Once I got married I thought about how it could apply for love. Young and new love is so exciting, that fades into what I now call "real love". But I also think there is not reason for it to "sink to grief" and not "stay gold".. so this poem always reminds to keep the excitement fresh in our marriage even on those days when I feel anything but excitement.

Once I had kids I noticed how aptly the poem applied to the life cycle. Cherish those times in your life that you think it just can't get any better! Cherish your children being small, it passes quickly. Cherish your husband, your mother, your father, cherish your family.

I just really love that poem and it seems no matter the stage in my life it applies and reminds me of something. I think I may have to get out my DVD of "The Outsiders" its been a while since I watched the movie. :)

Hope you all had a great weekend and are having a great night! I HAVE to go fix dinner.. Hubby will be home soon and I haven't even started cooking.

UPDATE: I realize now why they are in the living room making me presents. While I was in the kitchen cooking they came in singing Happy Birthday to me! HA! They heard my mom say Happy Birthday when she bought the bedding for me and so they thought it was my birthday. How sweet are my kids! They came home and got right to work on something just for me. I feel special.

Having a Flashback Friday just for me

My pictures will not mean much to anybody except me. You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words, these definitely are to me. When I found these pictures while cleaning out some storage areas they made me smile. They reminded me of a few things.

They reminded me of a spoiled twenty seven year old. They reminded me of a boy who decided he could take on that spoiled twenty seven year old. They reminded me of a boy who took on the biggest task of his life! :) They also reminded me of the thirty five year old that is a better person because of that boy.
In case you haven't guess that twenty seven year old is me, and of course that "boy" is hubby. These pictures were taken during January of 2000. Almost a month after he had proposed to me and decided that he was ready for the challenge of being my husband. These pictures were taken while he walked to my house on that cold January day, all because I was at home and I was bored, and I was pouting that I couldn't drive, couldn't get out and I couldn't see him. I convinced him to WALK TO MY HOUSE!

You have to understand that it doesn't snow very often here in Arkansas, so when we get 4-6" on the ground the whole city shuts down. We were all at a stand still and I was horribly bored with myself. He took off through the woods and it was almost sunset but I needed to see him, I wanted him to come watch movies with me (sounds important, doesn't it?). I was seriously very full of myself, and more importantly I was bored. My mom and brother, Matt, laughed and thought "Yeah, right.. he is going to WALK to see you". I knew he would, I knew that I had convinced him it was that important.

I wish I had a picture of him as he crested the hill that led down the road to my house. The sun is setting behind him and there he is with a pack of dogs following, stick in hand and bundled up looking like the abominable snowman! Matt and I were waiting and watching by the mailbox and laughed when we saw him. I knew at that very moment that he was the right guy for me. I knew that over our lifetime he would do anything he could within his means to keep me happy.

These pictures also remind me of how much I have grown because of him and my kids. I am no longer that selfish, self concerned person (yes, I still have my moments, but don't we all?). October of that year we got married and three months later found out we were having a little baby. Four weeks prior to our first anniversary little Ethan came into or lives. You talk about a change! After having a child you learn how small and unimportant your needs become. You grow so concerned with your child and their well being. You learn to sacrifice everything just to give them the very best of yourself.

Thinking back to that January 2000 and how much life has changed for me and "that boy". I think we are both glad we made the choices we made. I wouldn't change a thing!

Just a reminder I received....

I received this in a email today and thought it was a wonderful reminder to us all for now and every day.

Gratitude is the memory of the heart." – Jean Baptiste Massieu

What do you have to be thankful for as a parent? Have you stopped to think about it recently? Amazingly, you’ve done nothing special to deserve God’s goodness and love, but He chooses to bless you anyway. Uniquely packaged, these divine blessings come through special acts of kindness by a friend, an encouraging love note from a child or family member, an unexpected, homemade gift crafted by little hands, a beautiful sunrise or sunset made “just for you,” a soft sofa after a long day of teaching, or your child’s “Thanks, that was great!” after eating the evening meal.

Unfortunately, so many of these simple blessings we receive each day from God’s hand go unnoticed, unacknowledged, and unappreciated. Lost under piles of housework and “to dos,” we can only see the bigger problems and things we don’t have. Not until tragedy strikes and our world falls apart do we slow down, reflect, and realize how wonderful life’s everyday blessings can be. So, why is it that we continually fall from an attitude of gratitude to one of ungratefulness or complaining?

Perhaps it’s because we’re much like the people of Israel in the Old Testament. When the grapes were on the vine and the goats were fat in the fields, they forgot the Lord who saved them from Egypt’s bondage and slavery. Developing a self-sufficient mentality, they repeatedly forgot God until a humbling chain of events brought them back to their knees in grateful worship saying, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2).

What about your soul? Do you find it difficult to gratefully remember God’s blessings amidst all the busyness of work, parenting and homemaking? Don’t let this Thanksgiving just be about turkey, pumpkin pies, and holiday activities. Although gratitude is the most fragile of virtues, you can strengthen it by opening your eyes each day to the bounty of God’s blessings to truly “give thanks.” “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation” (Psalm 68:19).

Father God,

When I begin to count all the blessings in my life, I’m overwhelmed at Your love. Change my attitude today and help me express my gratefulness for my family, my home, and every good and perfect gift You’ve given me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Praying for our Nation

For the TV and time to be consumed with the Presidential election over the past year and a half it was over in a flash. The new president elect made his acceptance speech, and the other gracefully stepped down. I think as a nation it is time now to be Americans, as Christians it is time now to pray for our nation, rather you are Republican or Democrat, we are all American's and our great nation needs healing.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (New Living Translation)

14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

As we watched the election results come across our television last night it was a great time to talk with our kids about democracy and how blessed they are to be Americans. They felt defeated that who "we" had voted for did not win, but I assured them how great it was to even be able to vote. Many did not have the right to choose, many countries had no voice.

When I went in to vote yesterday morning the people working at the site were so great with the kids. They explained it all to them from how to fill out the form, how to place it in the machine and even gave them stickers for helping their mom vote. It was a very slow time during the day so I was able to take my time and explain the whole process to them. We decided that since they couldn't vote we would make our own voting booth at home and give them the chance to vote.

We made a little booth and I printed out a voting sheet. They were able to choose who they wanted for President, and I also included some questions from what we had learned that day. They had a lot of fun and even played all night in the booth. Pretending to vote, or to help others (which were their stuffed animals) come in and vote.

Hubby and Ethan went to bed early which left Scarlett and I up to talk. It is so funny how mature she seems when it is just her and I talking. As we got up to go to bed she said, "..thanks mommy, that was good conversation." I just love my kids!

Sixth Picture Story

6th Picture

When I saw this on Leigh Ann and Megan's blog, I thought this was a very cute idea. Here is what you are supposed to do:

1. Open your picture folder.

2. Go to the sixth folder.

3. Open the sixth picture.

4. Import into your blog and tell the story.

Here is my sixth picture...

Okay, so my pictures are not really in folders, so I just took the sixth picture in my "picture" folder. Here is the story behind this photo...

This is at Riverfest 2006 and my pouty faced little girl is MAD! She has already rung the bell on the trolley, painted, played drums and ate ice cream. We have now came across the water fountain and all the little kids are playing. Many of them without their shirts on, of course "many" of them are boys, and the other half is the riff raff that Riverfest tends to bring out. Scarlett is not wanting to take NO for an answer and the fact that so many have their shirts off is not helping my case. I received this look many times over the next few minutes while we waited and watched Ethan play in the water. She never joined in the fun. She stayed mad about having to keep herself clothed. It is so hard to be mad when she looks so cute pouting! :)

Another great award...

Tonda, over at Reflections of an Everyday Life, left me this great award! I was so surprised and so happy to see my name as a "Kreative Blogger". I don't think of myself as a creative person so I really appreciate this award. So, now I get to pass this award on to other creative bloggers I know.
The rules are simple. You simply list six things that make you happy and pass the award on to six other creative bloggers.

1. My family makes me so very happy. I know it goes without saying, but when I think of happy I think of my family. I just love spending time with and being with my family. I feel very blessed to have such a great family.

2. New lipstick! I love, love love buying new lipstick. I like trying new shades, although rarely do I venture away from my faves.

3. Scrapbooking. I love being able to sit down and spend time with my friends or by myself catching up on my scrapbooks. I have not been able to do very much of it lately but it really makes me happy.

4. A fresh made bed. I love having crisp clean sheets, a freshly fluffed down featherbed, and pillows piled high on my bed. I love it. To me, there is nothing like going to bed on a crispy clean bed that has been fluffed to the max.

5. Water makes me very happy. I don't care if I am swimming, at the lake in a boat, or laying beside the ocean. I love being around water! Luckily for me, my kids got the same water gene.

6. Surprises. I love surprises! Even the smallest surprise usually comes at just the right time. I love getting the small happy things that make my day! I also love being the one to surprise others. I think it is great to share something with another person that makes them happy.

Now, to pass this on. I know many of you have probably received this, or have received another award from me but I am limited on who I can share these things with. There are several blogs I read daily and several really inspire me to be more creative, or to blog more and better. Here are a few of my favorites. Some are friends and some are just people that I read daily that I have never met. Some are people I hope to meet one day, like Megan. All of them are great reads and they all have beautiful families.

1. Leigh Ann
2. Katy
3. Megan H
4. Naomi
5. Nancie
6. Kelly

Thank you again, Tonda for this great award! I really, really appreciate it! Sorry it took me so long to get this posted. :) I still haven't figured out how to get my awards on the side bar. :(

How about them HOGS!!!!

We left early Saturday morning for the drive to Razorback Stadium. Ethan was PUMPED!! He loves his Razorback football! We took Mitchell and Andrew with us to the game and they were just as excited. We left the house at 7:30 am so we could get there in plenty of time to tailgate. I was surprised that all four of the kids woke up on their own and woke up in great moods! Yeah for ME!

As we drove on the interstate here is a picture of the prettiest and brightest rainbow I have ever seen! How great is it to be reminded of God's promises with something so awesome! Of course, we took it as a sign that it was going to be a great day for the Hogs! :)
We got a great spot in the parking lot and set up our little tailgating feast. The kids had so much fun! They played football, passed out candy and ate a lot of food! We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, had salsa and cheese dip and Halloween cookies for dessert. This was such a great idea, even if I had to laugh at hubby and his tailgate list! :)
After we ate, it was time to head to the stadium. I took one last picture of our tailgating crew, ready to head to the game. We told my 8 year old nephew, Andrew, we didn't have tickets that we only drove up there to tailgate. I think he thought we were crazy! Once I told him the truth and that we had tickets and even had a ticket for him, he was very excited. One of Ethan's favorite sights is Razorback Stadium. He gets so excited when it is finally on the horizon as we walk across the campus. I know I have said it before but this kid is a football star at heart! I think there is nothing he would love better than to be a Razorback football player. At the game I sat in the stands and as the crowd cheered on their Hogs, I thought about how it would be thirteen years from now and my child is on the field, his name being called and me, his mom, in the stand with a jersey on and the name CASH on the back. How awesome that would be for him and his mom... and definitely don't leave out the proud dad! We had some great seats, right on the 50 yard line! The crowd was fired up but by halftime my little cheerleader was over it. She was ready to get up and walk around. So the entire second half for Scarlett and I was spent in the food court, in Hog Heaven and walking around the stadium. She cheered more and louder while sitting in the food court. She put on quite a show for the final touchdown that gave us the winning lead. Razorbacks 30-Tulsa 23! That was a perfect ending to a great day!
By the time we returned to the car and headed on our way back home to Little Rock the kids were exhausted! My two, are night owls, so they didn't fall asleep.. but when Andrew did they got quite the laugh! They stared at him as if they had never seen a kid go to sleep in the car! Scarlett finally gave in and went to sleep but Ethan watched movies the whole way home. It was such a fun time and I am glad that Mitchell and Andrew were able to go with us. The kids love spending time with their cousins.

Today is Sunday and we are truly using it as a day of rest! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Halloween 2008

I am such a bad mom! We arrived in Benton ready to trick or treat and guess who's camera did not have a her media card in her camera??? Yep, you guess it, so I am waiting on pictures from everyone else to show you some cute pics of my kids trick or treating. Let's just say I had the cutest Batgirl and Batman on the block. :)

After trick or treating, two of my nephews came home with us to spend the night. Mitchell, my 14 year old nephew was Michael Myers for Halloween. He was rather scary! We decided it would be fun to scare people and of course being that he is 14 he thought that sounded cool. Hubby and I are not in the habit of trying to get my nephews hurt or maimed while they are in our care, but tonight was HILARIOUS!!! We had Mitchell stand out by the road with our jack-o-lantern and watch the cars driving by. You should have seen the brake lights on the cars that drove by our house!! :) Tell me if you drove by and saw this... would you be scared????

A house nearby was having a Halloween party, complete with a very loud karaoke machine.. so we pulled down the drive and dared him to get out and run around the bonfire and scare the people. I think they had been partaking rather heavily in the libations because they didn't even seem to notice him there. It was a big laugh for all of us left in the car just watching! :)
By 1:00 am ( we had put the little kids to be a long time before this) we had had our fun with Mitchell and we had a very long day ahead of us, so we all went to bed. Definitely not your typical Halloween night but I don't think hubby and I have enjoyed Halloween that much in quite a few years.

Hope you all had a very Happy Halloween!!!