Pumpkin carving

Our small group from church got together Sunday night and cleaned out the "innards" or our family pumpkins. Jeremy was the master artist so we let him carve the faces. The kids enjoyed getting their hands slimy.

Free taco at Taco Bell, tomorrow only

Go here to see the proof. Taco Bell is giving away free beef tacos tomorrow from 2-5 p.m. in honor of the one base stolen during the World Series.

and Melissa said....

I had a "Buy-one-get-one-free" coupon for Starbucks that expires tonight (thanks to my sweet friend, Angie!). Mitch isn't a coffee drinker and I'm slowly becoming one since my close friends love the drug. So, I treated Melissa to a drink of her choice tonight. We went through the drive-thru, excited about our yummy treats that were soon to be in our hands. I ordered my usual (white chocolate mocha Frappicino) and Melissa did the same (Chai Tea Latte). Since she was driving, she couldn't take her first sip until the first traffic light, upon which I heard, "This isn't a Chai Tea - it's a Chocolate Vanilla Latte - but I'LL TAKE IT!

I'm still laughing. She's a hoot.

Costume Party

My midwife had us over to her house tonight for a festive Halloween costume party. It was mostly geared towards the kids (inflatables, bean bag toss, candy and sweets, climbing hat stacks, sandbox, etc) but the adults had fun watching UGA beat the Florida Gators (Go Dawgs!) on the flatscreen. Andrew was a pirate / Luke was a skeleton / Abigail was a pumpkin. Mitch and I were black-eye-peas (we circled our eyes with black paint and wore white shirts with the letter P on it). Here are some pictures from our time tonight.

Easy as Pie

I don't usually post recipes because, myself, I just disregard them. However, I'm learning more about cooking with a recipe rather than just rotating through the same four of five meals I always make. This recipe is for a very simple dessert - only four to five ingredients! Instead of vanilla ice cream, I used strawberry to add some color. It doesn't even require baking, just freezing. I got it here if you're interested in finding more easy recipes. They also have a link where you can sign up for their free food magazine with tons of recipes.

Lemonade Stand Pie
1/3 cup COUNTRY TIME Lemonade Flavor Drink Mix

1/2 cup cold water

2 cups vanilla ice cream, softened

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

1 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)


PLACE drink mix in large bowl. Add water; stir until mix is dissolved. Add ice cream. Beat with electric mixer on low speed until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping. Freeze, if necessary, until mixture is thick enough to mound.

SPOON into crust.

FREEZE at least 4 hours or overnight until firm. Remove from freezer 15 min. before serving. Let stand at room temperature until pie can easily be cut. Store leftover pie in freezer.

Tongue action

Didn't know what to make of that title, huh? Andrew and Luke make silly faces when playing. Take a look!

Sunday School

I took my camera to church this past Sunday so I could snap family photos for our new church directory. Of course, I couldn't help but take a few of my own child. Here's Luke in class studying about the grace of God through the story of Noah. We want our children to know how real these true stories are and how the promise of Jesus is seen throughout the Old Testament. Although Luke is only 22 months in age, we see glimpses that he is "getting it"....the gospel of Jesus. Many may see the story of Noah as just another story in the Bible alongside the others of Adam, Moses, Abraham, and David but we pray that our hearts will be reminded often of His covenental peoples whose lives point us to the new covenant of Christ.

School Fall Festival

Our school's Fall Festival took place tonight. Andrew and Luke were both pirates. Abigail sported a shirt declaring her "Ghoul Power".

I caught them together on the couch this morning shortly after breakfast. They were loving on one another. It made my heart happy.

Andrew's craft time

I have a habit of not throwing away the smallest things. I keep juice caps, pretty tree sticks, various vegetable seeds, large scraps of paper, etc - just because I know there's gonna be a use for them one day....maybe. Today proved correct. I gathered some dried pumpkin seeds and painted them with Andrew while the two younger kids napped. Later this week, our plan is to glue them down to make some sort of picture. When we do, I'll be sure to post a photo of the final result.

Another patch visit

We have just made our second and final trip to the pumpkin patch this fall season (or at least I think). Andrew's class went today as a field trip so Abigail and I tagged along. Here are just a FEW pictures I took.

My youngest two

Luke the Explorer. Always in search of something new to do. I took an egg carton and let him find things around the house that would fit inside the egg holes. He found lots of pennies in the couch and a few juice tops I've saved for future crafts. He later found some lint, toys, beans, and legos to put in the carton.

Abigail is slowly getting attached to her doll. Thanks, Peggy, for giving this doll to her. It's nice to have a girly item around the house!

Anniversary

Happy anniversary #8, Babe! I love you!

The Varsity & diaper babies

On our way home from Athens this past weekend, we ladies visited The Varsity in Atlanta to enjoy one of the most delicious chili dogs ever made on the face of the planet. I brought back two Varsity caps for the boys. Andrew REALLY liked his cap.....not so sure about Luke.

Luke wanted to climb into the crib with Abigail this morning so I grabbed my camera and caught him cuddled up beside her. Now if only I could get him out of diapers!

Georgia PCA Women's Retreat

I had a blast in Athens, GA, this past weekend with other PCA women at our annual retreat. Seven ladies from our church went. It was so refreshing to hear Jill H. speak as well as to see so many friends and faces. God is good.

Attention! Attention!

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

The AC is off & the heat is on in our house!

How discerning are you?

It's not about YOU....it's about Jesus.

To momentarily stop the music on the slideshow below so you can hear Mark speak, just click on the volume/mute button in the bottom left hand corner of the pictures.

Check out my Slide Show!

Happy children

Tonight after dinner, the boys sat down at the table and painted their mini pumpkins. After painting them, they added stickers and Sharpie artwork.


We had a church wide outside party Sunday night and let the kids play on the playground. Luke lived on the slide. Notice his messy pizza sauce face. He wouldn't be still long enough for me to wipe it clean. Oh well....let 'em be kids!

This was the scene captured this past Saturday morning. All the kids were piled in our bed with Dad. I, of course, was behind the camera. Notice Luke's pirate scarf. He loves saying "Argh!". No matter what time of day, a pirate is always a pirate!

In her crib

Some probably won't understand why I waited so long and others will empathize and wonder why I did it so soon. Abigail is now sleeping in her crib on the OTHER side of the house. She's three months old. Both boys made it into their cribs earlier than three months of age but their rooms were also right beside mine at the time. Having a split floor plan is nice in that you don't have to be quiet when in the master bedroom....but it breaks my heart to put my infant daughter so far away from me at night. Believe me, the monitor is at full volume!

Pumpkin Patch 2007

Here are the pictures from our first pumpkin patch visit. We always go twice because it always seems to work out that way (once as a family and a second time as a school field trip). I remember wearing jackets because it was cold last year. Not this time....we were sweating like crazy! The Gysen and Cox families joined us as we searched for the perfect pumpkin in the maze, rode the tractor hay ride, and looked at the grass carp in the water pond. Lots of fun!

What's wrong?

Luke woke up ill after his nap this afternoon. You know how it is. He brings me his pair of shoes and sticks his feet up so I'll put them on. As I begin to do so, he starts screaming and kicking as if he has suddenly decided he doesn't want them on. So, I put them down and start to stand back up. He screams again and motions for me to put the shoes on his feet...and this continues three or four more times until I give up. Nothing I did made him happy. We finally get outside (after I tricked him into the shoes by method of distraction) and he goes through the same routine with the bike helmet. "On? Ok, off? Wait, you want it on? No, off?" AHHHHH! In order to keep my blood pressure at a safe level, I decided to remain lighthearted about it and snap a picture for his scrapbook. I think it's precious!


I knew I kept those bulk diaper boxes for a reason. It rained a little today so we were stuck inside for a short while. While I started dinner, the boys colored on the HUGGIES boxes which later turned into the demolition derby and were demolished.

Numbers

Andrew is always counting things....toys, magnets, chairs, pieces of trash, dishes, laundry piles, pictures on TV, cars, paper, and anything else that doesn't move too fast for him to be able to point at and count. So, I decided to make my own list of numbers to keep count:


One - the number of pets we have (a fish)

Two - the number of cars we own!

Three - the number of children I have

Four - the number of my oldest child's next birthday

Five - the number of fingers I have on each hand (duh!)

Six - the number that comes after five

Seven - the date of my birthday

Eight - the number of years Mitch and I have been married

Nine - the number of physical addresses we've had since we've been married

Ten - the total number of Indian boys

Eleven - the date my third child was due (she came six days earlier)

Twelve - I once worked in a shoe store where the same little girl came every year to purchase a pair of white Easter shoes. She had six toes on each foot....I kid you not.

Thirteen - If over fourteen stories high, remember to always subtract one floor.

Fourteen - the number of friends I have who are pregnant (Chrissy M, Heather D, Leslie L, Becky K, Tasha G, Manuela M, Kelly C, Dawn C, Nicole J, Shea P, Davina P, Leesa B, Cathryn B, & Corie T) ...I'm sure I left someone out

Fifteen - I'm done!

Cloth?

I have a friend who uses cloth diapers on her little boy. She hooked me up with some of the "Fuzzie Bunz" and "Bum Genius" brands...I can't decide which I like better but the cloth diaper idea ain't so bad! I think Abigail likes them, too. They kind of give her more junk in the trunk - like J-Lo!

All about Luke

Just capturing some pictures of my middle child. I'm the middle child, stuck between an older sister and younger brother. He's already wanting to use the potty at 23 months of age and he is sometimes a little vain (he loves the mirror)!

Chrissy is gonna be a mommy!

Chad and Chrissy are gonna be parents for the first time. We love them so much and I'm so glad that Andrew got to be in Chrissy's class this year, her last before the baby arrives in May. Our small group went bowling last night and we caught her enjoying a moment with Andrew and Abigail (thanks to Elizabeth's camera!). I think she's gonna be a great mom!