Trick or Treat

We have had a busy last two weeks. Lots of playdates, a couple of trips to the doctor, a trip to the zoo and a super fun day of trick or treating have made me one tired mommy!! We have a real fun zoo program here where they do all kinds of cute kid things, like the bouncy house...

...trick or treating and pumpkin bowling. Since we have a zoo membership it's super nice that we can go there and just have a fun free day!

The weather here has been so cooperative. The peanut got to jump in a big old pile of leaves I raked for the first time too! She loved it! In fact, yesterday I opened the door for the dog, she walked right out and went right back to that pile of leaves. So cute! I got a couple of real cute shots that day too...

Then tonight it was dress up time. She was the cutest ladybug you ever did see! My sister's daughter wore the costume last year so it was free...my favorite price! And people could not stop oohing and ahhing over it. Adorable!!

My husband was Peyton Manning and the dog was dogzilla! Hilarious! I wish I had a better picture of it for you. You should google dogzilla costume and see it better. So funny!

The peanut got the worst ear infection of her life, which is saying a lot since she had one consistently for 6 months before she got tubes last year. I felt so bad for her as we had no idea and she was so fussy last weekend. We figured out the pressure must have been building and it finally just burst. It was horrible. So, she's on antibiotics (which have been burning her poor little tooshy to no end!) and ear drops now. Hopefully it will clear up soon!

I have a respiratory thing going on...what's new with that though. Nothing a little streroids can't help, right? :) Yep, they don't even mess with antibiotics, go for the strong stuff with me! LOL

One of my friends from Seattle was out last week (I lived there 4 1/2 years ago) and she has a daughter the same age as the peanut. It was fun catching up and was funny that it seemed like it was just yesterday that we had seen each other last! Aren't those the best kind of friendships?!?!

So that's what's going on in our lives...how are you doing?!?!

Wordless Wednesday - Friends at the Zoo

For more entries or to participate go to http://wordlesswednesday.com.

She did it!

Lilla pee peed in the potty!!

Now for those people with grown children or no children you are probably rolling your eyes right now…I realize that…but it’s serious. Do you know what I could save in diapers alone? Oh my gosh, I could start stashing the money…I mean Michael doesn’t really need to know, right? I am so just kidding people. LOL

It was so cute, she just wanted to sit on it while I read her books. Suddenly it started playing a little song (it’s like this little royal noise it makes when water trickles in) and I about fell off the stool in shock!! I think she nearly jumped from the potty seat. But boy was she proud. We called daddy and she said, “Pee pee.” Is that cute or what?

Ah, childhood!

Present day martyrs?

I cannot believe I had not heard this story before today. In recent news I've heard about Halle Berry getting pregnant by her boyfriend, Britney Spears losing custody of her kids and Keifer Sutherland getting another DUI. Yeah, that's what is important in our world.

On September 28th in Kano, Nigeria in a school of an estimated 1,500 muslims and maybe a dozen Christians, one Christian student was accused of drawing a cartoon of Muhammed on the wall of the school. Mind you there are Muslims at prayer at all times in this school and not really a feasible way that any person would have had opportunity to do this, but that is the accusation.

As a result, at least 10 (possibly more as there is an apparent government cover up of the situation), Christians were killed in the streets of Kano. Another 61 are reported injured. All of the Christian churches were torched and destroyed. Many, many Christian homes were destroyed as well. Preachers and servicemen trying to help out the Christians were arrested.

This is what is going on in our world today.

To read more, go to http://vom.org/

Saturday Photo Hunt - Pink

A few posts down I posted some photos from our little photo shoot the other day. The dress the peanut was wearing was definitely pink. I played with it in photoshop to make it pop out. I seriously have no idea how I did it but it's kind of cool, eh?

Wordless Wednesday - Taking Care of Baby

Autumn Photo Shoot

Today the peanut and I had a little photoshoot in our backyard. There were a lot of pictures taken but let me just tell you how there were few smiles. She was definitely not in the mood for it. I think this is going to be the last day warm enough to do one in this dress, and I've waited over a year for her to wear this dress, so I just had to get it done today. However, there were a couple of random smiles so I think I got 2 or 3 good ones out of the bunch...what do you think?

I think she's pretty darn tooting cute if I do say so myself. You know, not that I'm biased or anything like that! :)

Guess how I got her to finally stay seated and smile?

God love Ellie Mae!

Three Wooden Crosses

I don’t normally listen to country music but when I was on the way to Storytime at the library today I was flipping through the stations and just happened to land on the local one. A familiar tune came over the waves followed by a song I’d not heard before. I almost flipped the station as it sounded a little old fashioned which I am usually not interested in. I’m glad I didn’t because the song’s words were really amazing. The name of the song is Three Wooden Crosses and it’s sung by Randy Travis. Here are the words:


A farmer and a teacher, a hooker and a preacher,Ridin’ on a midnight bus bound for Mexico.One’s headed for vacation, one for higher education,An’ two of them were searchin’ for lost souls.That driver never ever saw the stop sign.An’ eighteen wheelers can’t stop on a dime.There are three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway,Why there’s not four of them, Heaven only knows.I guess it’s not what you take when you leave this world behind you,It’s what you leave behind you when you go.
That farmer left a harvest, a home and eighty acres,The faith an’ love for growin’ things in his young son’s heart.An’ that teacher left her wisdom in the minds of lots of children:Did her best to give ‘em all a better start.An’ that preacher whispered: “Can’t you see the Promised Land?”As he laid his blood-stained bible in that hooker’s hand.
There are three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway,Why there’s not four of them, Heaven only knows.I guess it’s not what you take when you leave this world behind you,It’s what you leave behind you when you go.
That’s the story that our preacher told last Sunday.As he held that blood-stained bible up,For all of us to see.He said: “Bless the farmer, and the teacher, an’ the preacher;“Who gave this Bible to my mamma,“Who read it to me.”
There are three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway,Why there’s not four of them, now I guess we know.It’s not what you take when you leave this world behind you,It’s what you leave behind you when you go.
There are three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway.

I was thinking how true the words are really to this song. Life is so short and fleeting and only what we do on this side of eternity really matters. What are you going to leave behind?

My heart is steadfast O God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make music. I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. Psalm 57:7-11.

All the leaves are brown...

So it seems that Autumn may finally be coming to the Midwest. It was cold enough to wear a long sleeve t-shirt yesterday. OK, I did see some people wearing shorts and t-shirts but I'm so ready, I just sweated it out! :) You know, it's not like I don't like summer, I love it. And, I will dearly miss my flip flops, I'm just ready for the heat to end. Plus, I love fall weather. All cuddled up with a hot cup of cider and my old sweatshirts...what's not to love?!?! So, today it was supposed to be like 80 but it's going down to the 50's by the middle of the week. Weird, I know, but that's our part of the country for you!

Yesterday we made finally got around to taking the peanut to her first pumpkin patch. And, let me tell you how my husband was kicking and screaming the whole way, and then he had so much fun. Now, let me state, he's not a fit thrower by nature but we are broke and it did cost per person. However, the peanut was free and then our pumpkin was only 38 cents. I'm so not kidding. They are by the pound and we let the peanut pick out which one she wanted and here it is...

Here are some pics of our family at the patch. Unfortunately the peanut wasn't really feeling good yesterday (I've been sick for days and am afraid I gave her it too!) so we didn't get too many smiles out of her. We never get pictures of our whole family as I'm always the one behind the camera so that was fun!

Oh, and the peanut went on her first hayride...

...yeah, it was really THAT messy!! She had a good time though so we didn't mind at all. We've come to learn that she is very tactile so it was fun for her to get her hands in it.

Speaking of getting her hands in it...last week the peanut also made her first mudpies. Yep, you heard that right...MUD PIES!! We were walking around our yard when she spotted a big bunch of mud and just couldn't resist sticking her hands down in it. My first reaction was...NOOOO!! But before I could say it I remembered how that never would have been allowed in my family and how I would have loved it as a child! Well, the peanut would too so I just let her do it. I mean, it's just mud, it washes. Of course she had a new shirt on and the mud didn't all come out, but I just rationalize that it was a $2.50 shirt from Wal-Mart and you can't put a price tag on a childhood. And boy did she have fun! My only regret is that I didn't have my camera. Oh well, I'll just save that memory in my heart!

Have a good week all!

Prayer please!

Please pray for my friends, Dave and Manna, who delivered quintuplets...yes, quints!!...at 28 weeks tonight. They are amazing people who we met through our first Hungary mission trip and I'm sure they would covet any prayers you could send.

You can visit their blog and send well wishes at http://www.daveandmanna.blogspot.com/

Have a great night all!

Amy

Saturday Photo Hunt - Practical

For my bachelorette party my friend got me this pair of underwear that says Booty Queen on them. What can be more practical than underwear, right?

My daughter's crib goes from a crib to a toddler bed to a twin bed. That's pretty practical.

To see more, go to http://www.tnchick.com

These are a few of my favorite things...

So tomorrow (Friday) for MOPS we are supposed to bring in our favorite thing. Something from our home that we love, whether priceless financially or priceless to us for sentimental reasons, just something that we really love. I've been thinking about it, maybe my scrapbooks, or pictures, they are my favorite things for sure. But I couldn't decide which or what. Then I finally got it...my camera! It kind of encapsulates the whole thing since without it I wouldn't even have the former.
I love my camera. It's a Canon Rebel XT and it is really a great camera. I do wish it were smaller as there is no way that thing is going in my purse, but it takes great pictures and I really do love it.
I was also thinking about how I have very few shots of me since I am always the one behind the camera. Even when the peanut was really little, there are like three pictures of me with her. Bummer. So, today, on what may be the last warm day we have for quite a few months (it was like 80 today and is supposed to hit a whopping 65 tomorrow!) I took a few outside shots.
Enjoy!

Oh, and this last one I just had to show you was taken once we came in...ya think the peanut likes peanut butter?

We're going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship...

For those of you who questioned what the peanut's birthday theme will be in my post about the heater, I actually have decided already. We are going to have a Little Einsteins birthday party. For those who don't know, Baby Einsteins and Little Einsteins are two seperate things. Probably by the same company, I have no idea, but they are different. The peanut loves to watch Little Einsteins. All the classical music, cool insturments and well known artists they highlight make me love the show too. It's so educational and so fun, I think that's great! Anyway, so we, strike that, so I decided to do Little Einsteins. You can go to Disney's website and print off personalized invitations and then the decorations just need to be in primary colors. I am thinking of doing little bags for the kids with toy insturments you can get at the dollar store.

And, I found the recipe for this adorable rocket cake online. My mother in law can make some great cakes and this one really doesn't seem to hard...isn't it too cute?

I think I may only invite a few of her cousins/friends her own age and her grandparents. That way she can have fun and we won't have to do all kinds of activities that she couldn't possibly understand at her age. I thought I could print off some Little Einsteins coloring pages, maybe let them make their own cupcakes and possibly do a little spin off of Simon Says. Dancing since that's what they do on Little Einsteins.

What do you think?

Wordless Wednesday - The Wheels on the Bus

For more pictures or to play along visit http://wordlesswednesday.com

Wait for you

So I know I’ve been absent with the exception of memes and pictures for the most part. This weekend was busy, busy. Trying to fix the very leaky faucet and lawnmower, having dinner with my parents, church, dinner with missionaries from Hungary, baby shower, etc…, just altogether busy. Mostly a lot of running around, which I am going to continue soon. Michael’s going to be home shortly and then off to Wal-Mart again. I tell ya, now that we live in this small town, we live at the Wal-Mart. There’s just not much else to go to. I’ve really been wishing there was a Menards, I love Menards. They have everything there, it’s the best!

Little Ms. Independent no longer holds my finger when she wants to go somewhere, she just goes. Today in the library she wanted to go one way and I wanted to leave. So, I started walking out the door, saying, “Bye, bye” the whole way. Yeah, I had to pull that one out. Anyway, she comes running up to me, holds up her hand and clear as day says, “STOP!” The same way I talk to the dog. Oh yeah people, my hands are really full here!

She’s also decided she likes cartoons. Particularly Little Einsteins, which is a good one for her to like. She’s so funny though, she’ll go into the loft, grab the remote control and give it to me as if to say, “Turn on my cartoon Mama!” Smart she is.

And, the magic eraser has become Amy’s best friend. That thing takes off crayon, can you believe it? Right off her toys. Mmmm hmmm, that’s my new nemesis. Writing utensils.

So now you’ve gotten the update. Exciting I know, just a day in the life…

Monday Music Mambo Meme

Here's another meme, Monday Music Mambo. And, it's question are who are your top 5 grouchiest musicians?

Hmmm...good question...
1. Britney Spears...can you call her a musician? That whole umbrella at the paps window was pretty grouchy!
2. Tommy Lee...he sure uses the F word a lot!
3. Victoria Beckham...she always looks like she just ate a lemon!
4. Avril Lavigne...although I think it's part of her image
5. Alanis Morrisette...maybe not anymore but whew, could she write the I hate you lyrics!

Monday Meme

This is my first time playing...fun!

If you could have a romance with any fictional character, who would it be?
I can't think of one. Probably because I have a happy marriage so I don't think that way. Plus, I'm too much of a realist so it's hard for me to think like that...yeah, I'm sort of a drag that way. :)

If you could be invisible for one hour, where would you go and what would you do?
Maybe go in to a men's locker room to see what they really talk about when we are not there. I would be interested to know.

If you could ask God any single question, what would it be?
When are you coming back?

To see more go to http://manicmondaymeme.blogspot.com/

Ummm...maybe think again

Did you hear that Barack Obama was going door to door on Saturday in Iowa talking to possible voters? All I can say is, with 301 million people in this country, he may want to try a different strategy!

Saturday Photo Hunt - Smelly

Here are the two smelliest things at our house. When the wind is blowing just right, our chickens can give off a really smelly odor. And our dog, well, let's just say she's a beagle. Yup, smelly! We love her all the same.

To see more photos or join in the hunt, go to http://www.tnchick.com

Thursday Thirteen

I decided to do something a little different. Here I have listed the 13 Most Populous Nations. I find the list interesting particularly due to how many I know virtually nothing about. Isn't that crazy? All those people but because they are 3rd world, our schools just pass them by. So not good. If I homeschool the peanut she's going to know about them!

Rank
Country
Population
1.
China
1,321,851,888
2.
India
1,129,866,154
3.
United States
301,139,947
4.
Indonesia
234,693,997
5.
Brazil
190,010,647
6.
Pakistan
169,270,617
7.
Bangladesh
150,448,339
8.
Russia
141,377,752
9.
Nigeria
135,031,164
10.
Japan
127,467,972
11.
Mexico
108,700,891
12.
Philippines
91,077,287
13.
Vietnam
85,262,356

By the way, you can click on the country name to learn more about them. Also, I got the list from http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004391.html.

Have a great Thursday!

Wordless Wednesday - Welcome Fall

Betterman

Do you know the Pearl Jam song that is the title of this post? I really like that song, the concept is not so terrific, but for some reason the song is very catchy.


Anyway, about a week ago Michael and I finally found out the name of the company that makes these business card sized tracts. They are really neat because they are easy to hand out and they are interesting with questions and quizzes on the front and then gospel message on the back.




http://onemilliontracts.com


Pretty cool and so they are really easy to hand out to people. I don't know why but the bulky three page tracts with a picture of Jesus bleeding on the front were just so hard to look at much less give to someone. I would have felt like a Bible beater, which, of course, is my own issue.


Anyway, we ordered some last week and they came in within days of our order. I had actually prayed they would come in the day we went to KY and they sure did! I don't think that would be a prayer God would not want to honor somehow! :) Anyway, we just started handing them out to people and couldn't believe how easy it was!

Yesterday I went downtown to meet my dad and sister for lunch and just as we sat down I took five tracts to neighboring tables and gave them to five people. How awesome that I got to share my faith yesterday!

On to the point...as the peanut and I were loading up in the car to leave I noticed three young ladies, taking a break behind the restaraunt. I really felt like I should go over and give them all tracts too but they were about a hundred yards away and we were getting in the car and going, I justified to myself. As we were pulling out of the parking lot the song, In My Daughter's Eyes by Martina McBride came on. It starts out, "In my daughter's, I am a hero." All I could think is how I wanted her to see me and how I wanted her to know what was truely important to our family. I knew I had to turn the car around. So humbling, but I did and I tell you it really felt good. I have no idea if it meant anything to any of those girls but I prayed for them and I did what God asked me to. I did what I could. And that, feels really good.

Wish you were here

Do you know the Pink Floyd song I named this post after? There is a line that says, "Like two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year." I don't know why, but I really like that song. Weird.

Anyway, I do have a reason for not posting for so long. I mean I've posted, but just a picture here and there. Life has just been hard and frustrating and busy lately.

On Monday the peanut ran out the front door chasing the dog and almost ran into the very busy (people driving 60mph) street in front of my house. Fortunately we have a long driveway! She has never left my side like that before so you know my front door has triple locks on it now!

On Wednesday our mailbox got hit out of who knows where so we had to replace that. Now our lawn mower won't start, which may send us over the edge as our lawn is way too long! Hopefully we can get that fixed pronto!

Like I said in my photohunters post, we had to give up the dog. Poor Michael was so upset. He looked for anyway to keep him, we just couldn't for safety reasons.

That same day we got a call at 2 am that his grandma had passed away. Although we knew it was going to be coming last week, it was still terribly sad. She was the kind of grandmother that you wish you had. So kind to everybody all the time. Just welcoming no matter who you were, she wasn't judgemental at all. Really had a heart to serve Jesus and lived that way. I really loved his grandmother and wish I had had longer with her.

So, she died on Thursday morning, the viewing was on Friday in Louisville, KY and the funeral was there on Saturday. That's about a two and a half hour drive so we stayed the night. Spent some time with his family, they were all heartbroken too. She was really the one that kept the family together, as is the case with so many mommas.

Grandma will really be missed!

Photohunters - Curvy

See how curvy the dog's tail is? Do you think she knew it was about to be grabbed?!?! The picture is of my daughter with the dog we had for one week, Daisy. We had to take her back on Thursday because she kept escaping from our yard. Being that we have a 6 foot buried fence you'd think she couldn't, but she kept finding ways. We are so sad. Unfortunately, we live on a very busy road and she probably would have been killed sooner or later.

If you would like to see more photos visit http://www.tnchick.com

Friday's Feast

Appetizer

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you look forward to your birthday?

Honestly, it depends on the year. Now that I'm older not at all. It falls in the middle of a bunch of other stuff like Valoween, Anniversary, my daughter's birthday, Easter, so it often gets forgotten. It's just really not a big deal anymore.

Soup

What is one word you don’t like the sound, spelling, or meaning of?

The F bomb. I just think it's crude. I think it's an offensive word that people just use to shock and because it is so overused like that, it just sounds ignorant. Just my opinion, of course.

Salad

Do you wear sunglasses when you’re outside? If so, what does your current pair look like?

No, because I am always losing them. I buy cheap ones that never fit right and wind up giving me a headache. The pair this year was like a Nicole Richie, big dark thing going on.

Main Course

If you were to write a book, to whom would you dedicate it?

It would depend what the book was and who inspired it. More than likely my family though as they would have to be the ones supporting and sacrificing for it.

Dessert

Name a beverage that you enjoy.

Grape juice. It's sweet and tart. It stays on your tongue for a long time too. I just drank some and it was yummy! A bit like communion, but yummy nonetheless.

Wordless Wednesday-What the heck?!?!

The body

When I was growing up I attended a church that I just loved. We were there from birth to fourteen when my mom get remarried and I was swooped to a home five hours away. So, we started going to another church. I fell in love with the people there eventually too. I attended until I was 20 and moved to the city. That was the church I got married in and still go back to every chance I get. About and a half later, I finally discovered the church in the city I would call home for the next 8 years. I loved the music, the preaching, the missions...so many things. Two years ago we decided when we moved across town to visit another church. Since then I've fallen in love with the people here, they are so warm and welcoming. It's a small church where you feel like you know everybody and the preaching is very theologically sound.




All this to say, each of these churches holds a special place in my heart. Over the years I have gone back and visited them and wished I could be part of them again. I so desired that sweet fellowship that I once experienced in each of those places and it was a sort of coming home to visit those spaces again.



It was no different this past Sunday as I visited my last church. We had a Hungary missions thing to go to so we decided to just go to the service too. How wonderful to see so many friends that I hadn't seen in so long. New lives had been born since I was there and there were many other changes to catch up with. How I longed to be there with them again! Don't get me wrong, I know where I am is exactly where God wants me to be and I love my church, I just miss these dear sweet Saints.

Suddenly I began to realize just a little piece of what heaven was going to be like. I would no longer have to long for the prescence of these sweet people who shared my love of Jesus because they would be there with me! Oh, what a day, what a place, what a Savior!!